I remember hearing of some great
public occasion at which one speaker tried to silence another by remarking,
"Why, I remember when you used to brush my boots."

But the remark had the very
opposite effect to what was intended; for he who had once been the shoe-shine
boy immediately replied, "Yes, sir; and didn’t I do them well?"

Now the children of this world
are constantly teaching us that they are wiser in their generation than the
children of light; and we do well to take a leaf out of their book this time,
or rather out of God’s book, for it is there the leaf really is.

We have a great truth taught
here; it is that "whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy
might" (Eccl. 9:10). "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the
Lord, and not unto men" (Col. 3:23). If it is the "Lord’s work"
you are doing, do not undertake more than you can do. Rather undertake very
little, but do it well, "do it with thy might," throw your
soul into it; "do it heartily."

Quantity appears well in the eyes of the
world and of our brethren; but it is quality God deals with. There is no
getting over the fact that we never read of a reward to the man who has gone
through much work and done many things; but we do read, "Well done,
thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things"
(Matt. 25:21). It may be very little the Lord gives me to do; but very little
though it be, I want to do it well, because it is for Him. How sweet
will it be to hear Him say, "You did it well!"

But to do it well applies to my
everyday work just as much as the Lord’s work; indeed, we ought to be able to
call all our work the Lord’s work. It may be in brushing the
boots like the one who did them well, or in sweeping the floors, or mending the
stockings, or cleaning up the house, or bringing a cup of cold water—it matters
not. The Lord says I am to do it heartily; I’m to do it well. It may be my lot
is cast in a factory, a mill, a shop, an office—the same rule applies.
"Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily"; "do it with thy might."

An idea seems to prevail that
conversion to God is a sentimental thing that we carry about with us in our
pockets, so to speak, to be brought out at prayer meetings and the like. But it
is nothing of the kind. It is a "new creation" in Christ Jesus; and
the new creation is to manifest itself in everything we do, and
everywhere our lot may be cast; "Always bearing about in the body the
dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in
our body" (2 Cor. 4:10).

"But sanctify the Lord God
in your hearts:and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh
you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:having a good
conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be
ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ" (1 Peter
3:15, 16).

The soul that walks with God is
not hard, but submissive. There is no softer spirit nor one which is more
sensitive to every feeling than the spirit of submission. This spirit takes the
will out of the affections, but does not destroy the affections. So it
was with Christ. He felt everything, His tenderness was perfect, and yet how
perfect was His submissiveness.

God exercises the heart by means
of trials. Often when the heart is brought into the presence of God who is
dealing with us, all our ways, all the interior of our heart, all His ways with
us, and all His appeals to us rise up within us. If the will is unbroken, or no
clearness as to God’s grace be known, a perplexed and anxious response to the
trial results. A real knowledge of God’s grace will produce a humble and lowly
judgment of self.

Even in a man who is gracious
and righteous in the main of his life, there often remains a sediment at the
bottom of the heart which the rod of God stirs up when He thrusts it in. This
sediment—consisting not merely of faults but of a mass of unjudged material of
everyday life, a living under the influence of the things that are seen, or
unjudged affections of every kind—often underlies all the contents of the
heart. But this sediment is always carried off by the living stream of the
waters of His grace. If we respond rightly to God’s stirring up of our hearts
through trials, all that is not up to the measure of our spiritual height will
be judged in its true character as connected with the flesh.

When grace is fully known and
when there is full submission to God, the practical result of the Christian’s
trial will be a sweet odor of willing bowing before God—and even
thankfulness—in the midst of sorrow. God, too, is very present in the trial,
and it is thus we make real progress in such experiences. It is astonishing
what progress a soul sometimes makes in a time of sorrow. The soul is more in
God’s presence at such a time. There is much more confidence, quietness, and
absence of the will; much more walking with and dependence on Him, intimacy
with Him, and independence of circumstances. A great deal less lies between Him
and us, and so all the blessedness that is in Him can come to act upon the soul
and be reflected by it. How sweet this is! What a difference does it make even
in the Christian who, perhaps, was generally blameless in his outward walk!

A first trial of this kind is
always very painful, for the heart has not been in it before. God comes and
claims His right on our tenderest affections. We are in His hands, and our
sorrow is a result of God’s love—the best that the wisdom of His love can send.
If the needed work can be done without sorrow, we can be assured that He will
not send the sorrow. In any case, His love is far better than our will.

Let us trust Him; He has given
His Son for us and proven His love. Let us present our requests to Him. He
would have us do this and then lean fully on His love and wisdom. If He
strikes, be assured He will give more than He takes away.

(Revised from "The Tender
Sympathy of Christ.")

FRAGMENT. When we look back to a
past life, we have more to be thankful for our trials than for anything else.         J.N.
Darby

Another year is dawning!

Dear Master, let it be,

In working or in waiting,

Another year with Thee.

Another year of learning

Upon Thy loving breast,

Of ever-deepening trustfulness,

Of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of mercies;

Of faithfulness and grace;

Another year of gladness

In the shining of Thy face.

Another year of progress;

Another year of praise;

Another year of proving

Thy presence "all the
days."

Another year of service,

Of witness for Thy love;

Another year of training

For holier work above.

Another year is dawning!

Dear Master, let it be,

On earth, or else in heaven,

Another
year for Thee!

"Where will we go this
summer?" In many homes this is a big question this time of year. The
husband will have a few weeks off, the wife longs for a change, and the
children will be out of school and home at least part of the time, even if they
work or go to summer school.

For most of us, vacation time is
the one time of the year when the pressure is off. We can relax; we can do what
we  want to do; we can go where we want to go. That is natural,
and a change can be very beneficial. However, we will get the most out of it if
we will take into account not only our physical, mental, and emotional needs
but also our spiritual needs and opportunities.

As believers we have been taught
and are assured that we ought to pray, seeking guidance from God our Father
when we make decisions. If there is one area in which dependent prayer and
waiting on the Lord seem to be overlooked, it is planning vacations.

Commonly, we lament the lack of
time during our working days to cultivate spiritual growth and to "do the
work of an evangelist." Now, in our vacation time, it can be different.
What opportunity there is now for this! Let us not think for a moment that the
two are incompatible:a vacation trip and attention to the interests of the
Lord Jesus our Saviour. No, not at all. In fact, we will only obtain the
physical and emotional rest which we may crave as we renew and strengthen
through communion with God our Father and the Lord Jesus those inner vital
qualities of faith, joy, and peace.

Attending a Bible Conference is
a valuable way of spending a part, at least, of a vacation with the family. We
do need to be together with other Christians in these spiritually dark last
days. Or try to arrange your vacation so as to be near an assembly of believers
or isolated saints for mutual edification and remembering the Lord together.

As we think of how short time is
(think how it has flown by since last vacation!) in the light of eternity, our
Lord’s coming being so near at hand, let us think of those around us yet in
their sins—"without Christ . . . having no hope, and without God in the
world." Remember that we are debtors unto all men to make known the
gospel. Never was there greater need than today. The love of God is real; death
and judgment are real also. Pray for a greater love for souls, and as there is
opportunity speak to others about the Saviour. Plan time for this especially on
your vacation. It is a challenge, isn’t it!

Plan to take along a generous
supply of good gospel tracts and any extra Sunday school papers you may have
available. Remember you are sowing in faith. The Lord may give you golden
opportunities which you will never have again. Put some tracts in the glove compartment,
perhaps, to have ready for those who service your car, take your money at the
toll booths, and give you a motel room.

Perhaps you haven’t the courage
to walk up to people and hand them tracts. You may fear rebuffs or scornful
comments. Until you gain, with the Lord’s help, this courage and overcome these
fears, you may find it easier to go to a shopping center and put tracts in
cars. This is a gospel activity which can be done year around in most places,
but the summer time is ideal in that most of the car windows will be open, a
crack at least, and the tracts can be put inside the cars rather than on the
windshields which may be unlawful in some places.

One more word:brother, sister,
whatever your vacation plans may involve, we earnestly appeal to you to set
aside part of the time for being alone—alone with God and the Lord Jesus. Spend
time on your knees and with the Bible before you. This is absolutely necessary
for spiritual growth. Our blessed Lord as a Man here on earth is our great
example, for the Gospels note frequently His being alone with God, His Father.
For example, Mark 1:35:"And in the morning, rising up a great while
before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there
prayed"; and Matthew 14:23:"And when He had sent the multitudes
away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray:and when the evening was come,
He was there alone." Then too, in Mark 7, when one who could neither hear
nor speak aright was brought to the Lord Jesus, he was taken aside from the multitude
and a wonderful change was effected in him by divine grace.

Consider these thoughts when
praying about and planning your vacation. Then, driving carefully, and
observing the traffic signs, in the Lord’s mercy you will return home safely,
refreshed, relaxed, and ready to take up your work again, the new nature
brightened as well as the body and mind. You will be glad that the Lord was
honored on your vacation. To Him be all glory!

"Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (1
Cor. 15:58).

(Reprinted,
with modifications, from May 1967 Words of Truth.)

(1 Kings 17:2-9)

The way the Lord would have us
spiritually is that He never gives us a stock of anything—of grace or of
gift—so that we can say, "I have got enough to last me so long at
least." That would be taking us out of the place of faith, and depriving
us of the blessing God has for us. He covets to show us what He is:His power,
His love, His unforgetfulness of us. As it is said of the people whom in His
love and His pity He redeemed:"He bare them and carried them all the days
of old." It is a great thing to get this in a real and practical way for
ourselves with God. If He keeps us low down here—and you know it is His way in
more senses than one to call and choose the poor—it is not because His hand is
niggard, God forbid, but that we may not miss realizing this great blessing of
His care. Often, all we think of is having our need met; but how little a thing
is that with God! It would cost Him nothing, we may say, to meet the need of a
lifetime in a moment; and a lesser love than His would supply it at once and
get rid of a constant burden. But that is not His way. To supply the need is a
small thing; but to supply it in such a way as to make us feel in each
seasonable supply the Father’s eye never withdrawn from us, the Father’s heart
ever employed about us, that is what He means. "Give us day by day our
daily bread," is the prayer the Lord taught His disciples; and thus we ask
Him continually to be waiting on us. Is it not much more than to ask,
"Give us now, that we may not have to come again"?

To the saints gathered unto our
dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ:

"Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in Him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father,
but is of the world" (1 John 2:15,16).

These verses have been much
before me the past few months. How we need this truth and practical application
of it. When we think of the fact that whatsoever is not of God is of the world
(which is the sphere of Satan), how careful we should be to walk as He would
have us walk.

My main thoughts have to do with
our personal dress or adornment. We see in Genesis that man was unclothed until
sin came in; Adam and Eve first realized they were naked after they had sinned.
Then we see God making coats to cover them because of sin. We also think of
Peter when he was fishing; when he heard "that it was the Lord, he girt
his fisher’s coat unto him (for he was naked), and did cast himself into the
sea" (John 21:7). How about us today? Are we properly dressed when we are
in God’s presence?

We should be free from the
fashions of the world. In Scripture we are not told to follow the world’s
fashions, but rather to count the world dead with all its deeds and to
"love not the world." Our dress should be of such a nature that it
helps to display Christ in our lives. Some believers dress in a way that tends
to draw attention to the body. Should we not rather dress in a way that draws
attention to our soul and spirit—to Christ living in us? We as Christians
should have a chaste, modest appearance at all times; and this applies not only
to our outward appearance, but to our attitudes, and behavior—our spiritual
lives—as well. (See 1 Tim. 2:9, 1 Peter 3:1-7.) If we are following the world,
we can not be following Christ at the same time.

Many believers follow the trends
in the world not only in matters of dress but also as to length of hair. Many
brothers in Christ let their hair grow long and many sisters cut their hair,
even though Scripture instructs otherwise. "Doth not even nature itself
teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a
woman have long hair, it is a glory to her:for her hair is given her for a
covering" (1 Cor. 11:14, 15). They do not understand how nature teaches
us, so they tend to disregard God’s teaching as to short and long hair.

Let us also remember that we are
part of God’s Church here in this world. We are not of the world, even though
we are in the world. Let us love God and His truth that he has given us. Let us
hold the truth of the Church and not the things of the world.

"Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might
present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25-27;
read also verses 28-32). Here we have the affections of Christ brought out, and
the Church is looked at as His wife. First, He gave Himself that it might be
presented a glorious Church. The type will then be fulfilled of Adam and Eve.
In heaven the Church will be displayed as the bride, the Lamb’s wife. She will
be complete when the Lord comes, for then she will be forever united to Him in
glory.

Ye "are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief
corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation
of God through the Spirit" (Eph. 2:20-22). "Endeavoring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). There is a practical
unity produced by the Holy Spirit among the people of God. This is when He is
permitted to impress the truth of the one body upon us and to lead us to act in
accordance with divine principles. Thus, all saints are members of the one
body; no one can question that, no one can undo it. But to what degree, we ask,
are God’s people keeping the unity of the Spirit? Our sorrowful answer must be,
how little! With most believers, sad to say, what concerns the glory of our
Lord and practical obedience in carrying out His will has little weight. They
seem never to have realized that Christ has a Church on earth, established upon
principles revealed in His Word. As a result, they are incapable of entering
into the unity of the Spirit. As in the days of the judges, everyone does that
which is right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6).

The consciences of the saints
are shocked, and rightly so, at any moral delinquency, any lapse into fleshly
ways, measured by ordinary standards. But are we equally shocked by a
deliberate and persistent ignoring of the unity of the Spirit? The Scriptures
bear ample witness to the oneness of the Church; its heavenly, separate
character; its divinely appointed order. But we find God’s people establishing
churches and setting up order and procedures according to their own devising.
Is this an endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit?

Let us all desire and endeavor,
by God’s grace, to walk in obedience to the truth set forth in God’s Word. May
we allow God’s Word and perfect will to govern all our ways, to His honor and
glory.

I close with Christian love to
all.

1.Introduction:Charisma versus
Fruit

One hears a great deal these
days in Christendom about the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit—particularly
speaking in tongues and the working of miracles such as healing. Even the
larger, more staid denominations of Protestantism and Roman Catholicism are
finding the charismatic movement growing within their ranks. It is being
proclaimed that the signs of having the Holy Spirit dwelling in us are the
ability to speak in tongues and/or to work miracles of healing and so forth.

Let us see what the Word of God
has to say about this. "In whom also, having believed, ye have been sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. 1:13 JND); "If any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Rom. 8:9). Thus, every soul
who has been truly born again, who has put his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ
as his personal Saviour, has received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Nowhere in
Scripture does it suggest that a believer must demonstrate charismatic powers
to prove he has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him.

Many of those associated with
charismatic movements allude to Acts 2:1-4 and Acts 10:44-46 as evidence that
the gift of the Holy Spirit is accompanied or should be accompanied by speaking
with tongues; and they cite Acts 8:14-17 and Acts 19:1-7 as evidence that
conversion is not always immediately accompanied by the gift of the Spirit, but
that the Spirit may come upon people some time after conversion.

These passages in Acts do not
give a description of general Christian experience. They describe what happened
to very specific groups of people during a transition period in God’s manner of
dealing with the Jews and Gentiles. The general teaching of the New Testament
regarding the reception of the Holy Spirit is given in such passages as Gal.
3:2("by the hearing of faith"), Gal. 3:14 ("through
faith"), and Eph. 1:13 ("having believed").

The 120 believers who initially
received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost received Him quite a while
after their conversion (Acts 1:14, 15; 2:1). However, they could not have
received the Holy Spirit until after Christ’s ascension (John 7:39). The 3000
who were converted later that day evidently received the Holy Spirit when they
believed, since Peter had promised they would (Acts 2:38, 39). Also, there is
no record that they spoke with tongues.

What about the Samaritans in
Acts 8? The need for a delegation from Jerusalem to lay hands on the believers
may very well have been to avoid a perpetuation of the schism between Jews and
Samaritans which had existed for centuries. The Samaritans had to acknowledge
the authority of the Jewish apostles and the Jews had to acknowledge the
genuineness of the Samaritans conversion. Once again, there is no record that
these believers spoke with tongues when they received the Holy Spirit.

The gift of tongues given to
those of Cornelius’ household was evidently a special sign meant to impress
Peter’s Jewish companions of the reality of the Gentiles’ conversion, since no
doubt they would have been very skeptical without such a sign. The men of Ephesus whom Paul met (Acts 19) may not have been Christians at all (that is, followers of
the crucified and risen Christ) at the time of their meeting. They seemed to
have responded to the preaching of John the Baptist a few years previous, and
had received his baptism unto repentance, but apparently they did not yet know
Christ as having died for them and risen from the dead and were not aware of
the Spirit’s coming. Thus they were very atypical of believers today.

The gift of tongues, then, is
not necessary as a sign of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Of all the groups
who received the Spirit as recorded in Acts, only three are said to have spoken
in tongues (Acts 2:1-4,10:44-46 and 19:1-6).

What then is the evidence of the
Holy Spirit’s indwelling an individual today? No doubt it is the manifestation
of the fruit of the Spirit in that person’s life. It seems to be significant
that in the only passage in Paul’s epistles which speaks of being filled with
the Spirit (Eph. 5:15-21), only moral qualities are spoken of; gifts are not
mentioned.

Much rather than being concerned
about obtaining and manifesting charismatic gifts,* the growing, spiritual
Christian should be exercised as to the degree in which he is practically
walking in the Spirit and manifesting the fruit of the Spirit in his life. No
doubt many of our readers are able to quote the ninefold fruit of the Spirit as
given in Galatians 5. But how many of us know the meanings of these words and
the practical meaning which they should have in our lives?

(*The question whether the
charismatic gifts actually exist at all today—that is, as given and controlled
by the Holy Spirits—is beyond the scope of the present article.)

In coming issues, if the Lord be
not come, we will focus on each of the nine types or aspects of spiritual
fruit, and will try to discover how we can more consistently manifest this
fruit as we daily seek to live for the Lord and His glory.

Scripture speaks of our having
both peace with God and the peace of God. It is the latter which
perhaps is more directly connected with the third fruit of the Spirit found in
Gal. 5:22, although it is our peace with God which provides the basis
and motivation for all spiritual fruit.

In Romans 5:1 we read:
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ." This verse refers to the results in our
consciences of knowing that Christ has died for our sins and has been
resurrected and taken to glory as a sign of God’s acceptance of His work of
atonement for sin. The hymn writer, J. G. Deck, has expressed this truth so
well:

"And now we draw near to
the throne of grace,

For His blood and the Priest are
there;

And we joyfully seek God’s holy
face,

With our censer of praise and
prayer.

The burning mount and the mystic
veil,

With our terrors and guilt, are
gone;

Our conscience has peace that
can never fail,

‘Tis the Lamb on high on the
throne.

We can draw near by faith to an
infinitely holy God without fear of rejection or judgment, since Christ has
borne the judgment for us. Thus, we have peace with God, and not terror
in His presence.

The peace of God involves
a further step, having to do with our daily lives. In His closing address to
His disciples, the Lord Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I
give unto you" (John 14:27). What is the nature of this peace which Christ
gives to us? It is the very peace which He possessed as He walked through this
scene. We think of the time a great storm came up while Jesus and His disciples
were in a ship. The disciples were terrified as the wind and the waves buffeted
the ship; but where was Jesus? He was in the bottom of the ship—asleep! He was
at peace about all things because He knew that nothing happened without God His
Father allowing it, and He was perfectly subject to His Father’s will. The Lord
Jesus also experienced all sorts of slighting, opposition, reproach, and
rejection by man; but none of these things ruffled Him, troubled Him, or led
Him to try to defend Himself. Not that He did not feel the reproach and
rejection—no doubt He felt these things far more deeply than we ever could
because of His perfect, sinless nature. But He committed all to God, trusted in
Him, had perfect, unclouded rest in Him, with the result that "when He was
reviled, [He] reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not" (1
Peter 2:23). The Lord Jesus was at peace in the presence of all the things
which were so much against Him. And this peace which characterized His life He
gives to us—amazing grace!

Note, again in John 14:27, the
result of this peace which He gives to us:"Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid." The apostle Paul brings out a similar
thought:"Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6,7). Do we become angry, or
irritated, or peeved, or sullen when things do not go our way? Do we
fret and worry when we find ourselves in adverse or uncertain circumstances?
How often this is so with each of us. And do we not often excuse ourselves on
such occasions by saying, "We are only human," or "You would do
the same if you were in my shoes"? But when we respond this way we forget
that Christ offers us His peace—"the peace of God which passeth all
understanding"—for such circumstances. We should rather ask, "Would
Christ respond this way if He were in my shoes?" The answer is obvious—
and it should humble us.

Another writer gives the
following comments on Phil. 4:7:"Paul was in prison when he wrote to the
Philippians, unable to build up the churches or to labor in the gospel. He
might have been cast down in spirit, but he never was more happy in his Me. How is this? Because, instead of being anxious and troubled about the danger to the
Church and the afflictions of individuals, and about souls that were perishing,
he looked at them in connection with God, instead of looking at them as
connected with himself. If God was in peace about these things, why should
not he also be? Thus the simple resource of spreading out all before God
and casting it off himself into the bosom of his Father had for its effect that
God’s peace kept his heart and mind. Nor was it special to the apostle. He puts
it before the saints as that which ought to be equally their portion. It is
evident there is no room left for anxiety. God would not have His children
burdened or troubled about circumstances. Till the Lord come, this is the
blessed source of relief. God is here working, and His peace keeps our hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus, where we give Him His honor and our trust"
(from Lectures on Philippians by W. Kelly).

One frequent reason for our
failing to realize the peace of God in our lives is our allowance of unjudged
sin in our lives. Whenever we sin—that is, when we do what we want to do
rather than what God wants us to do, or when we have the consciousness
of liking anything that God does not like—a barrier comes up between us and God
our Father. It is not that we have lost our peace with God, for
"Our conscience has peace that can never fail." But, just as with
human relationships in which we tend to avoid one whom we have offended, we
feel uncomfortable in God’s presence as long as we have not judged our sin. And
when a trial comes our way while we are in such a condition, our unjudged sin
prevents us from drawing near to the throne of grace and drawing upon the
infinite reservoir of God’s peace. The only solution is to humble ourselves and
confess and judge the sin in God’s presence; then communion with the Father is
restored and His peace can once more flow unhindered to us and thus "keep
[our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

As we walk in the Spirit and are
filled with the Spirit, we will manifest this fruit of the Spirit—peace—in all
of the circumstances of our lives. And as we do so, we will find people
wondering at us, curious as to how we can remain calm and at peace in adverse
and trying circumstances. This is because it is the peace of God which
we have, and that peace "passeth all understanding."

FRAGMENT. Anxiety reflects upon
God, weakens and discourages our souls, and gives Satan an occasion against us.
If God is our Father, and if His promises are true, He will provide for us and
supply our needs. Why then should we be anxious?

The sympathy of Christ is
associated with His priesthood on high. He sympathizes not with sin, nor with
sinners as such, but with the suffering saints of God. When Christ was on earth
He was tempted, but the temptation was not in any way from within. There was in
Him no propensity to evil that answered to the trial of Satan. On the contrary,
all that the enemy found was dependence on God, simple unwavering faith in His
Word. There was in Christ the total absence of self-will inwardly; He in every
respect hated and rejected evil. He "knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21).

Christ was on earth, as He will
soon appear in glory, wholly without sin (Hebrews 4:15; 9:28). Indeed, had
there been an infinitesimal particle of fallen humanity in Christ, how could He
be a meet sacrifice to God for sin? Even the typical animals must needs be
unblemished. No offerings, it is remarkable, were so stamped with holiness as
the meat offering and the sin and trespass offerings. They emphatically were
"most holy" (Lev. 6:17), and they speak of Christ in His human
activity and Christ made sin for us. Had Christ been, as born of woman, under
the yoke of fallen manhood in any sense or degree, even without question of a
single failure in His ways, He never could have been an adequate sacrifice for
us, because there must have been thus the gravest possible defect in His humanity.
For what is so serious in such an offering as the signs of the fall, no matter
how suppressed or attenuated? Thus, atonement would be made impossible, unless
God can accept a fall-stained victim.

If Christ could not sin, how
then is He able to help and sympathize with those who are tempted? First of
all, in Hebrews 2:18 we read, "For in that He Himself hath suffered being
tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted." It does not say that
He suffered after being tempted, for this a man may do who yields and
repents. There was not, there could not be, distress of conscience in the Lord
Jesus, any more than the workings of unbelief, such as we may feel. He suffered
in the entire moral being the sufferings of holiness and grace; He loathed and
rejected all that the enemy presented to His holy nature. Hence He, who in
human nature knew trial and suffering beyond all, is able to comfort the tried
saint. This is the real idea and application of temptation here. It does not
mean inward susceptibility or proclivity to evil, as it does in James 1:14
where it is expressly connected with lust. But James, in the same chapter
(verses 2 and 12) uses the word in its more ordinary scriptural application to
trials. The confusion arises from not heeding the difference between such an
inward working of fallen nature as is described in James 1:14, and the being
tried by Satan without.

Let us now look at Hebrews 4:15:
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin." There is a notion too prevalent among theologians and their
followers that the blessed Lord Himself was compassed with infirmities. If they
call it infirmity for a man here below to eat, drink, sleep, or feel the lack
of these things, then in this sense the Lord surely was compassed with
infirmities. But it is feared that all too many go farther than this and
associate an inward moral infirmity with the Lord.

Christ could be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities; He was in all points tempted as we are, sin
excepted. He was tempted in all things in a way similar to the manner in which
we are tempted; but in this He differed essentially from us in that He had
absolutely no sin in His nature. Consequently we have inward
temptations connected with sin in us, such as James speaks of, which Christ never
had. He had nothing to do with sin in temptation, though He had all to do with
it in suffering on the cross. He had not the smallest tendency to sin in His
humanity. Though a partaker of blood and flesh, He had not what the apostle
Paul calls "the flesh." There was no liability to sin in Him who was
perfect man. There was such a propensity in the first man Adam, and he
accordingly fell. But the second man, the last Adam, had no such infirmity,
though He did have the capacity to suffer in body and soul and to die on the
cross for our sins. Of inward moral infirmity He had none.

It is argued that Christ could
not sympathize without personal consciousness of fallen humanity. But if this
argument is carried to its logical conclusion, it requires actual failure (and
to what amount?) in the Mediator in order fully to sympathize with us! The
sympathy of Jesus is in Scripture based on wholly different grounds. Never
having known sin (which, if known, narrows and blunts the heart), but having
suffered infinitely, His affections are large and free to go out to us in our
sore distresses as saints, who have not only the same outward enemy to try us,
but also a treacherous nature within.

The truth is that the believer,
resting by faith on redemption as a work already and perfectly accomplished for
him, does not want Christ to sympathize with His indwelling sin, any more than
with his sins. Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree. Sin and the
flesh are condemned in Christ crucified. The sympathy of Christ with sin (or
even with sinners as such) would be an opiate for sin, to us most perilous, to
Him most dishonoring. On the contrary, His sympathy is with the regenerate in
their great weakness, who hate sin, who have to endure the contradiction of
sinners, and who are opposed by Satan acting on the flesh and in the world.
This therefore is the needed and the spiritual consolation:"We have not a
high priest not able to sympathize with our infirmities, but tempted in all
things in like manner, sin apart. Let us approach therefore with boldness to
the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace for seasonable
help" (Heb. 4:15, 16 JND).

(Extracted from "Christ
Tempted and Sympathizing" in Bible Treasury, Volume 20.)

FRAGMENT. The gospels display
the One in whom was no selfishness. They tell out the heart that was ready for
everybody. No matter how deep his own sorrow, He always cared for others. He
could warn Peter in Gethsemane, and comfort the dying thief on the cross. His
heart was above circumstances, never acting under them, but ever according to
God in them.                                                                                                                         J. N.D.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, a
renowned preacher of the 1800’s, had just finished lecturing to his students on
the call to service for God in the gospel, when a young Bible student
approached him. "Doctor Spurgeon, you said that one sign of God’s call is
His blessing us with results when we preach. I have been preaching for two and
a half years and haven’t had a convert yet. I think I’m going to quit."

With years of experience and
wisdom and a twinkle in his eye, the old evangelist said, "Well, young
whippersnapper, who do you think you are anyway? You don’t expect someone to be
saved every time you preach, now do you?"

"Well, no sir,"
stammered the young man, "I guess not."

"Then that," replied
Spurgeon, "is the very reason that no one is."

Let us take God at His word and pray,
believe, and act in positive faith, and God will surely add fruit to our labor
for Him.

We have but little conception of
what an assembly would be were each one distinctly led by the Holy Spirit, and
gathered only to Jesus. We would not then have to complain of dull,
heavy, unprofitable, trying meetings. We would have no fear of an unhallowed
intrusion of mere nature and its restless doings—no making of prayer, no
talking for talking’s sake, no hymn book seized to fill a gap. Each one would
know his place in the Lord’s immediate presence; each gifted vessel would be
filled, fitted, and used by the Master’s hand; each eye would be directed to
Jesus; each heart occupied with Him. If a chapter were read, it would be the
very voice of God. If a word were spoken, it would tell with power upon the
heart. If prayer were offered, it would lead the soul into the very presence of
God. If a hymn were sung, it would lift the spirit up to God, and be like
sweeping the strings of the heavenly harp. We would have no ready-made sermons;
no teaching or preaching prayers, as though we would explain doctrines to God;
no praying at our neighbors, or asking for all manner of graces for
them, in which we ourselves are lamentably deficient; no singing for music’s
sake, or being disturbed if harmony be interfered with. All these evils would
be avoided. We would feel ourselves in the very sanctuary of God, and enjoy a
foretaste of that time when we shall worship in the courts above, and go no
more out.

We may be asked, "Where
will you find all this down here?" Ah! this is the question. It is one
thing to present an ideal on paper, and another thing to realize it in the
midst of error, failure, and infirmity. Through mercy, some of us have tasted,
at times, a little of this blessedness. We have occasionally enjoyed moments of
heaven upon earth. Oh, for more of it! May the Lord, in His great mercy, raise
the tone of the assemblies everywhere! May He greatly enlarge our capacity for
more profound communion and spiritual worship! May He enable us so to walk in
private life from day to day as to judge ourselves and our ways in His holy
presence, that at least we may not prove a lump of lead or a waster to any of
God’s assemblies.

Even though we may not be able
to reach in experience the full expression of the assembly, yet let us never be
satisfied with anything less. Let us honestly aim at the loftiest standard, and
earnestly pray to be lifted up thereto. As to the ground of God’s
assembly, we should hold it with jealous tenacity, and never consent for an
hour to occupy any other. As to the tone and character of an assembly, they may
and will vary immensely, and will depend upon the faith and spirituality of
those gathered. Where the tone of things is felt to be low, when meetings are
felt to be unprofitable, where things are said and done repeatedly which are
felt by the spiritual to be wholly out of place, let all who feel it wait on
God—wait continually and believingly—and He will assuredly hear and answer. In
this way the very trials and exercises which are peculiar to an assembly will
have the happy effect of casting us more immediately upon Him; and thus the
eater will yield meat, and the strong sweetness (Judges 14:14). We must count
upon trials and difficulties in any expression of the assembly, just because it
is the right and divine way for God’s people on earth. The devil will
put forth every effort to drive us from that true and holy ground. He will try
the patience, try the temper, hurt the feelings, cause offence in nameless and
numberless ways— anything and everything to make us forsake the true ground of
the assembly.

It is well to remember this. We
can only hold the divine ground by faith. This marks the assembly of God, and
distinguishes it from every human system. You cannot get on there save by
faith. And, further, if you want to be somebody, if you are seeking a place, if
you want to exalt self, you need not think of any true expression of the
assembly. If the assembly be in any measure what it should be, fleshly or
worldly greatness in any shape will be of no account in it. The Divine Presence
withers up everything of that kind and levels all human pretension.

Finally,
you cannot get on in the assembly if you are living in secret sin. The Divine
Presence will not suit you. Have we not often experienced in the assembly a
feeling of uneasiness, caused by the recollection of many things which had
escaped our notice during the week? Wrong thoughts, foolish words, unspiritual
ways—all these things crowd in upon the mind and exercise the conscience in the
assembly! How is this? Because the atmosphere of the assembly is more searching
than that which we have been breathing during the week. We have not been in the
presence of God in our private walk. We have not been judging ourselves; and
hence, when we take our place in a spiritual assembly, our hearts are detected
and our ways are exposed in the light; and that exercise which ought to have
gone on in private— the needed exercise of self-judgment—must go on at the
table of the Lord. This is poor, miserable work for us, but it proves the power
of the presence of God in the assembly. Things must be in a miserably low state
in any assembly when hearts are not thus detected and exposed. It is a fine evidence
of the power of the Holy Spirit in an assembly when careless, carnal, worldly,
self-exalting, money-loving, unprincipled persons are compelled to judge
themselves in God’s presence, or, failing this, are driven away by the
spirituality of the atmosphere. Such an assembly is no place for these. They
can breathe more freely outside.

Some people talk of "a
believing sinner," or speak of the worship offered to God by "poor
sinners." Many hymns indeed never bring the soul beyond this condition.
But what is meant by "sinner" in the Word of God is a soul altogether
without peace, a soul which feels its want of Christ, without the knowledge of
redemption. It is not truthfulness to deny what saints are in the sight of God.
If I have failed in anything, will taking the ground of a poor sinner make the
sin to be less, or give me to feel it more? No! If I am a saint, blessed with
God in His beloved Son, made one with Christ, and the Holy Spirit given to
dwell in me, then I ought to feel and say, "How terrible that I have
failed, and broken down, and dishonored the Lord, and been indifferent to His
glory!" If I feel my own coldness and indifference, it is to be treated as
baseness and hated as sin. On the other hand, to take the ground of a
"poor sinner" is really, though it may not be intended, to make
excuses for evil. Which of the two ways would act most powerfully upon the
conscience? Which humbles man and exalts God most? Clearly the more that you
realize what God has given you, and made you in Christ, the more you will feel
the sin and dishonor of your course if you are walking inconsistently. But if
you keep speaking about yourself merely as a sinner, it may seem lowly to the
superficial, but it only becomes a kind of palliative of your evil, and never
causes such thorough humbling as God looks for in the child of faith.

(From Lectures
on the Epistle to the Galatians.)

It would seem, in chapter 11,
that the sisters at Corinth gave the assembly a good deal of trouble, and that
they had forgotten entirely their due relative place. No doubt the men were at
least as much to blame. It is hardly possible that women should ever put
themselves forward in the church unless Christian men have deserted their true
responsible position and public action. It is the man’s place to guide; and
although women may assuredly be far more useful in certain cases, still, unless
the man guides, what an evident departure from the order God has assigned to
them both!

Thus it was at Corinth. Among
the heathen, women played a most important part, and in no quarter of the
world, perhaps, so prominent a one as there. Need it be said that this was to
their deep shame? There was no city in which they were so degraded as that in
which they attained such conspicuous and unnatural prominence. And how does the
apostle meet this? He brings in Christ. This is what decides all. He affirms
the everlasting principles of God, and he adds that which has so brightly been
revealed in and by Christ. He points out that Christ is the image and the glory
of God, and that the man stands in an analogous place as connected with and
distinguished from the woman. That is to say, the woman’s place is one of
unobtrusiveness; in fact, she is most effective where she is least seen. The
man, on the contrary, has a public part—a rougher and ruder task, no doubt—one
that may not at all bring into play the finer affections, but which demands a
calmer and more comprehensive judgment. The man has the duty of the outward
rule and administration.

Accordingly, the apostle marks
the first departure from what was right by the woman’s losing the sign of her
subjection. She was to have a covering on her head; she was to have that which
indicated as a sign that she was subject to another.* The man seemed to have
failed just in the opposite way; and although this may seem a very little
thing, what a wonderful thing it is, and what power it shows, to be able to
combine in the same epistle eternal things and the very smallest matter of
personal decorum, the wearing of long hair or short, the use of a covering on
the head or not! How truly it marks God and His Word!

(*Ed. note:There is no warrant
whatever for the notion, so prevalent today, that the woman’s hair is the
covering spoken of in 1 Cor. 11:5, 6. "For if a woman be not covered, let
her hair also be cut off. But if it be shameful to a woman to have her hair cut
off or to be shaved, let her be covered" (v. 6 JND). The covering and the
hair are clearly distinct in this verse. May we also consider whether the
tendency today toward getting away with as small a head covering as possible is
glorifying to God and whether it befits the truth—that of the woman being
hidden and subject—depicted in this symbol.)

It was out of order for woman to
prophesy with her head uncovered; man’s place was to do so. He is the
"image and glory of God" (v. 7). The apostle connects it all with
first principles, going back to the creation of Adam and Eve in a very blessed
manner, and above all bringing in the second Man, the last Adam.

The first part of 1 Cor. 11 has
nothing to do with the assembly, and thus does not dispose of the question
whether a woman should prophesy there. In fact, nothing is said or implied in
the early verses of the assembly at all. The point primarily argued is of her
prophesying after the manner of a man, and this is done with the greatest
possible wisdom. Her prophesying is not absolutely shut out. If a woman has a
gift for prophesy, which she certainly may have as well as a man, for what is
it given of the Lord but for exercise? Only she must take care how she does
exercise it. First of all, he rebukes the unseemly way in which it was done—the
woman forgetting that she was a woman, and the man that he is responsible not
to act as a woman. They seem to have reasoned in a petty way at Corinth that because a woman has a gift no less than a man, she is free to use the gift
just as a man might. This is in principle wrong; for after all, a woman is not
a man, nor like one officially, say what you please. The apostle sets aside the
whole basis of the argument as false; and we must never hear reasoning which
overthrows what God has ordained. Nature ought to have taught them better. But
he does not dwell on this; it was a withering rebuke even to hint at their forgetfulness
of natural propriety.

(From Lectures
Introductory to the Study of the Epistles of Paul the Apostle.)

There is a gain which many of
God’s dear children have not yet obtained, and a lesson some have not learned.
Paul had both found the gain and learned the lesson. May we follow him.

"Godliness with
contentment is great gain" (1 Tim. 6:6). "I have learned, in whatsoever
state I am,. . . to be content" (Phil. 4:11).

Many of the people of God
manifestly lack the peace, and rest, and satisfaction which there is for them
in this. While learning many and wonderful lessons from our Teacher, the Holy
Spirit, how slow we are apt to be to learn the great lesson of being content,
no matter what our state, or condition, or position in the world.

Paul had learned how to be
abased, or to abound; to be full or to be hungry—to abound and to suffer need. Everywhere
and in all things he was instructed in this (Phil. 4:12). Oh, that we
all might learn this lesson, on which so much depends for the formation of our
Christian character. If things do not go according to our ideas, if business or
household cares trouble us, and plans do not mature as we expected, how often
there is impatience and worry, then hasty or angry words. If to "get on in
the world" possesses the mind, there follows a struggle for those things
which prove unprofitable even when obtained, and the destruction of
spirituality. It is sad to see so many of God’s dear people struggling for
place, or favor, or money, or enjoyment in the scene in which the blessed
Saviour we confess was "a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."

The children of Israel burned incense to the brazen serpent because God had put power in it for a little
while. Hezekiah broke it in pieces, calling it "Nehushtan"—meaning,
"a piece of brass." Such are the things of this world. They have
value but for a day; yet people struggle and fight for them. Should the
"heirs of God" do so?

Solomon drained to the dregs the
cup of this world’s enjoyments, honors, and glories. He made him great works,
built houses, planted vineyards, gardens, and trees; had great public works and
buildings; had servants, cattle, gold, silver, and the peculiar treasure of
kings; he proved his heart with mirth and pleasure; he gave his heart to wine,
while yet acquainting himself with wisdom as well as folly; so that he became
great and increased more than all who had preceded him in Jerusalem. In fact,
whatsoever his eyes desired he kept not from them and withheld not his heart
from any joy (Eccl. 2). And what was the result? Was he happy, content,
satisfied? No, it was all Nehushtan! Behold, all was vanity and vexation
of spirit, until he hated life. The child of God can find nothing in this world
to satisfy the soul. "For all that is in the world … is not of
the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away" (1 John 2:16,
17).

The Lord Jesus Christ alone is
sufficient to satisfy—to fill with contentment and joy—the souls of God’s
people.

A trusting saint said lately,
"I am going to try to live just from day to day trusting God. My income
has been cut down this year and I have been worried and full of care about
making ends meet, and tried to rush things along in my own impetuous way. I am
in the habit of pushing things along by myself when I want them done, and
accomplishing everything for myself. This year I could not succeed. I seemed to
be up against a stone wall. Now, when I have given up and left it with God, here
today comes just what I wanted and could not obtain for myself."

Why do we not know with the
apostle "that all things work together for good to them that
love God," and so let God work while we look up to Him and trust? (Rom.
8:28). Why are we not "content with such things as [we] have" when He
is with us and has said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee"?
(Heb. 13:5). "Having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (1
Tim. 6:8). And that does not mean all the delicacies out of season, nor the
latest freaks of fashion in clothing. We brought nothing into the world, and it
is certain that we can carry nothing out. Why then should we be burdened with a
lot of excess baggage which must be left behind?

Do we feel our wages are not
enough? (Luke 3:14) Let us do our work, not with eye service as men pleasers,
but conscientiously as in the sight of God, remembering we serve the Lord
Christ. Our employer must recognize merit where it is possessed, and
prayer to God will bring increase in salary, if needed, quicker than any
earthly means. "My God shall supply all your need" (Phil. 4:19).

Why should we worry about the
things we miss here, when "all things are yours, and ye are
Christ’s"? Here is the answer—we forget Christ. In the multitude of cares
and worries we heap up for ourselves, we forget Him. "He satisfieth the
longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness" (Psalm 107:9),
and no one and nothing else can. He not only satisfies us, but "abundantly
satisfies" (Psalm 36:8).

"Will the Lord indeed care
for me?" some one may ask. "It seems as though I am such a feeble,
stumbling child of His, that He might not care much about me." But yes He
does. He cares for every member of His body, even the weakest.

There is sweet assurance in Eph.
5:30:"We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones."
Here is the closest, most intimate connection between the feeblest member of
the Body and its great and powerful Head. As long as you are His, the care of
you is His care; and right well will He do it if you will let Him have His way
to do it. It is when we take that care for ourselves and put Him aside that we
run into difficulty. What then shall we do? Simply rest in Christ.

God finds His rest and
satisfaction in His beloved Son. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). Would that we all might say as to our
experience, "Christ is all" (Col. 3:11), and be careful for nothing,
thankful for anything, prayerful in everything.

"The Lord is at hand. Be
careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus" (Phil. 4:5-7). May the Lord lead our hearts into the patient
waiting for His dear Son, for His name’s sake.

(From Help and Food, Vol.
23.)

FRAGMENT.
Satan is constantly trying to awaken or strengthen within us a high opinion of
ourselves, knowing that this will weaken our sense of dependence on Jesus,
making us unloving toward each other, and put us off our guard.

A writer in a well-known
magazine of Christian psychology states that a person must first love himself
before he can love others. He supports this statement by quoting Mark 12:31-33:
"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

Another contemporary Christian
writer opposes this view and says that the verse does not mean love your
neighbor as you should love yourself, but love your neighbor as you are
so apt to love yourself. He also says we should not accept ourselves as we are,
but acknowledge our unworthiness and ask God to make us what we ought to be.

Is one of these men right and
the other wrong? I believe they are both right but about different aspects of
human personality. We should never love ourselves in the sense of wanting to
please ourselves, or have our own way; or in the sense of being puffed up over
ourselves, our accomplishments, our genealogy, our socioeconomic status. This
is the kind of self-love concerning which the apostle Paul warns Timothy as
being characteristic of the last days:"Men shall be lovers of their own
selves" (2 Tim. 3:2). We should never accept any aspect of sin in
ourselves, but should always judge it in humility before God. Neither must we
accept or be satisfied with our measure of spiritual growth or attainment. If
we are really going on with the Lord, we will feel keenly how far short we come
as to our knowledge of Christ and of His Word, our devotedness to Him, our
consistency of walk, our obedience to His Word and will, our practical
sanctification unto Himself, our service for Him, and our use and development
of the gifts He has given us.

But there are ways, set forth in
Scripture, in which it is right and proper to love ourselves. One such
Scripture has already been quoted:"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself." Another passage akin to this is Eph. 5:28, 29:"So ought
men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth
it, even as the Lord the Church." If the self-love referred to here is
sinful, then as we grow in our relationship with Christ, we will be delivered
from this self-love; but note well that at the same time we will be delivered
from love for our neighbor and love for our wife! The clear implication of Eph.
5:28 is that a man would have to stop loving his wife in order to stop loving
himself!

The key to understanding these Scriptures
is to realize that it is agape love referred to in Eph. 5:28 and Mark
12:31, 33, whereas it is philia love in 2 Tim. 3:2. Agape love
is a self-sacrificing, giving kind of love, that love which characterizes
God—"God is love." Philia love, on the other hand, is more a
pleasure-seeking, self-seeking, getting land of love.* But, you ask, how can I
love myself with a selfless kind of love? This seems like a contradiction of
terms. Perhaps it would help if we recalled that we are not our own, but bought
with a price (1 Cor. 6:19, 20); that we are God’s creatures, His instruments,
His vessels, His servants; that we are members of the body of Christ and
temples of the Holy Spirit. Do we not desire to nourish and cherish—take the
best possible care of—ourselves; and not just with respect to the needs of our
bodies, but the needs of our souls and spirits as well? Thus, if I have agape
love for myself, I will, for example, abstain from alcohol and from heavy
meals in order to keep my mind alert that I might be "ready always"
to serve the Lord. Also, I will feed my soul and spirit daily with that
heavenly bread, the Word of God, that I might be able to respond to the cares
of this life on a spiritual plane.

(* The reader is referred to the
July, 1970, issue of Words of Truth far a fuller exposition of the
difference between these two Greek words for "love.")

If I have agape love for
myself, I will also accept with thankfulness the way God made me. Whatever I
may possess in talents, abilities, temperament, personality, intelligence,
beauty, or physical health and strength are gifts from God. Whatever I lack in
any of these areas is also a gift from God, for He has distributed these
characteristics according to His infinite wisdom, in keeping with the perfect
plan He has for my life.

A person who feels dissatisfied
with himself, who envies other people because he supposes them to be superior
to himself with respect to certain characteristics, this person cannot fully
love others. Much of his energy will be used in attempting to drag others down
or to build himself up in his own mind or in the mind of others. A person who
does not like the mind or body he was born with is actually complaining against
God and accusing Him of being unfair.

God does not expect us to use
talents we do not have. He does expect each one of us to develop and use the
talents He has given us for His honor and glory (not ours). He also expects us
to develop those inner qualities which are listed in Galatians 5 as fruit of
the Spirit. Each of us has a special place in the body of Christ that only we
can fill. To best fill this position, let us accept our mental and physical
selves as God has made us, and concentrate on developing our spiritual selves
and the fruit of the Spirit.

There is a beautiful little
picture in the Old Testament in connection with the candlestick. The candle was
really a little olive-oil lamp with a wick. The wick would burn just so long,
and then turn over charred and blackened, needing to be snuffed. The Lord told
Moses to make a golden candlestick with seven lamps, and its snuffers and the
snuff-dishes of pure gold. The more I read my Bible the more I am impressed
with the importance of every word. What is there in snuffers and snuff-dishes?
Well, you see, if a lamp is going to shine brightly, it needs to be snuffed
sometimes; and if I want to burn brightly for Christ, there will be many a time
when I have to judge myself in the presence of God, or I will be just like the
burned wick which obscured the light. The priest of old was to go in and trim
the lamp and use a golden snuffer. Gold in Scripture speaks of that which is
divine, so the believer who reproves his brother is to go to him in fellowship
with God. I may be able to help my brother if I go in tenderness and grace.
What did the priest do with that snuff when he took it away? Did he scatter it
all around, get it on his white robe, and on his hands, and go around defiling
the garments of other priests? Oh, no; he was to take that dirty black snuff
and put it in a golden snuff-dish, and cover it up so that it would not defile
anybody else. That is what love does. You do not spread abroad your brother’s
failures, you just show real love, and cover them up in the presence of God.
That is love in a practical sense. "Love covers a multitude of sins"
(1 Peter 4:8 JND).

FRAGMENT. Love enables a man to
meet all trials. Should one spit in his face, this makes no difference, for
love abides because it never draws its strength from circumstances, but rides
above all circumstances.     J.N. Darby

FRAGMENT. Love is active; love
leads one to seek to serve, to delight to minister. Are you trying to serve the
people of God or are you one of those who love to be served? Some Christians
are always wanting others to do for them, and then there are Christians who are
always trying to do for others. You know which are the happier of the two. The
folk that are constantly looking for attention are never happy. They are ever
feeling hurt and slighted. But with those who are manifesting the love of
Christ how different! Someone once said to me, "I go to such and such a
place, but they are a cold lot there. I never see any love manifested,"
and I said, "Do you ever show any?" He looked at me and said,
"Well, perhaps not as much as I should." Standing right near was
another who had been to the same place, and I said, "How do you find them
down there?—a pretty cold lot?" "Why," she said, "I think
they are one of the most loving and affectionate groups of Christians I have
ever seen." She was showing love to them, and because of that she was
getting good returns. You find what you are looking for.                                                                                                                      H.A.
Ironside

My life is but a weaving between
my Lord and me,

I cannot choose the colors He
worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow and
I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper and I,
the underside.

Not till the loom is silent and
the shuttles cease to fly

Shall God unroll the canvas and
explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
in the Weaver’s skillful hand

As the
threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

The apostle tells us in Romans
15:4 that "whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning." The first ten or twelve chapters of 1 Chronicles are little
more than a list of names. What the "learning" is, I am frank to
confess I do not know. But in 1 Chron. 4:9, 10 something is said about the one
whose name is mentioned:"And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren:
and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me
indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that
thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him
that which he requested." Why are we told something about Jabez, while
nothing is said about others? The fact that the Spirit of God lingers over him
encourages us to do so also. We are told he "was more honorable than his
brethren." Naturally we ask, What made him so?

The Chronicles are a history, a
review book; and in this way suggest to us the judgment seat of Christ. We are
making our histories now, and a review day is coming. At the judgment seat of
Christ our stories will be told. Will it be said of any of us, "He was
more honorable than his brethren"? I suppose we would like that to be said
of us. Let us then linger over these verses to see if we can find out what it
was that made him honorable.

There are two things to be
noticed. Sorrow gave him his name, and he was a man of earnest desires. There
is no doubt a close connection between the two things.

First, then, sorrow gave him his
name. This is also true in a sense of us. How? Let us see. This world is a
scene of sorrow. Evil has come into it. There is not a heart that does not feel
more or less its power. The story of this world is one of human woe. The cry of
need and suffering rises up on every hand. It is impossible to be unaffected by
it. And the more we are with God about it, the more we enter into His mind, the
more serious we will be, and the more we will view the world in the light of
the reality of things as they are before the eye of God. Thus soberness will be
stamped upon us. We will not be able to mock at human need. We cannot be
indifferent to suffering or laugh at the ills and griefs of men.

Our Lord had this character. He
was "a man of sorrows?’ He wept in the midst of human ill and the havoc of
a scene of evil. He said, too, "Blessed are they that mourn." To
be mourners in the sense in which He was a mourner is to know the grace by
which tears are wiped away. In the scene to which we are passing there will be
no sorrow. No ill or evil will ever enter the new creation.

But we must pass on to the
second point, and to understand it we must look at the history of Israel. God put them in Canaan and told Joshua to divide the land among the twelve tribes.
He did so, giving an explicitly defined position to each tribe. Now when this
was done, each tribe was responsible to drive out and destroy the inhabitants
occupying land within its own territory. If we turn to the Book of Judges, we
shall find that every tribe failed. They did not drive out the inhabitants.
There was, however, much greater energy of faith in Judah than in the other
tribes. We have the story of Caleb who drove out of Hebron the three sons of
Anak; of Othniel who took Kirjath-sepher; and of Achsah who despised not her
father’s gift of a south land, but in the boldness of faith asked a further
gift of springs of water. We read of Judah going up, having asked counsel of
the Lord, and slaying the Canaanites and the Perizzites. He slew also
Adoni-bezek and took Jerusalem. He took Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron. He drove out
the inhabitants of the mountains, but he "could not drive out the
inhabitants of the valleys." Notwithstanding his greater energy of faith,
he failed. He gave up the conflict; he stopped pressing on. Why was this? And
why was it that each tribe broke down and ceased fighting before they drove out
all the enemies? Perhaps after getting possession of part of the land, they settled
down to enjoy it. They may have become satisfied with what they had acquired,
and so gave up the effort to acquire more. But whether this was so or not, it
is evident that the effort to complete the subjugation of the land was given
up.

If now we turn to this man,
Jabez, we find he was not content to enjoy merely the coast he already
possessed. There was in him an energy of faith that said, "My coast is a
gift of the God of Israel. It is a good coast. But He who gave me so good a
coast must delight in giving. His gifts are well worth having. I want
them." And so he prays to have his coast enlarged.

Have we not now gathered the
lesson of his story? If so, let us apply it. God has given us His Word as our
inheritance. We have learned something of certain parts of it, though as to
what we do know, we have to say we do not know it as we ought to know it. We
have no reason to be proud of our knowledge of God’s Word. But whatever we know
through God’s mercy, do we want to know more? Have we not to some extent
settled down to enjoy what we have learned, and given up the effort to learn
more?

Let us remember the words of the
Lord:"Labor … for that meat which endureth unto everlasting
life" (John 6:27). Our danger is in being satisfied with what we have
learned. Are we seeking to get out of the Bible what is in it? Have we learned
the spiritual value of all its different books? We cannot say we have. It is
true of us that there is still "much land to be possessed." Why is
not our coast being enlarged? Is it not because we have failed in respect to
what was so prominent in Jabez? Are we fervently desiring to increase in the
knowledge of God’s Word?

We live in a day when every
effort is made to rob us of the blessings and authority of the Scriptures. May
we be thoroughly alive to it! How prone we are to feed on certain favorite
passages. We need "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God." How often we find ourselves at our wits’ end to know what to do! Why
is it so? Simply because we do not know the specific word of God that applies
to the circumstances in which we are. We cannot throw the Bible as a whole at
the enemy. We need to meet him with the particular "saying of God"
that suits the occasion. How busy the enemy is! How often he prevails! How
seldom we conquer! May the Lord give us diligence and earnest desire and
fixedness of purpose to increase in the knowledge of His Word!

Of the three great events in the
average human existence —birth, marriage, and death—the central one, marriage,
is the only one in which men and women have a choice. The need, therefore, that
young people should consider well before making their choice of a partner, is
exceedingly important because the effects of such a choice are vital as well as
lasting.

Let me mention, in the first
place, the matter of

The Equal Yoke

Writing as I am to young
Christians, the first thing which I want to say is that God’s will, as revealed
to us in the Scriptures, is that Christian women should marry only Christian
men, and that Christian men should marry only Christian women. The marriage of
a believer with an unbeliever constitutes what is called in Scripture an "unequal
yoke." God’s law on this matter, with the reasons for it, is clearly set
forth in 2 Cor. 6:14-16. I would urge you to ponder those verses very
carefully. They deal with the very basic things of married life, concerning
which it is important that the vital question should be seriously considered:
"Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3). We cannot
urge too strongly the tremendous necessity of ascertaining, before any
friendship is made—which might eventually lead to marriage—that the friend to
be taken into one’s heart is a genuine believer in the Lord Jesus.

Besides being of one mind
concerning the Christian faith there are certain other things necessary if the
marriage is to be an ideally happy one. When two distinct personalities are to
spend life together, some very practical things are essential. Knowing this,
the Heavenly Father has given, for the guidance of young men, and particularly
for Christian young men, a full length portrait of one who would make an ideal
wife; and He has likewise given a similar portrait of one who would make an
ideal husband. Let me bring these two portraits before you.

The Message to the Young Men

My brother, before you ever
contemplate asking any young woman to marry you, I would counsel you to read
prayerfully and repeatedly the words contained in Proverbs 31:10-31. The
superlative value of the woman described in these verses cannot be expressed.
"Her price is far above rubies" (v. 10). The ruby was the most
precious gem known to the ancients; and in this description of "Mrs.
Far-above-Rubies," the wise Counselor makes it crystal clear that, while
men can build houses, women alone can make homes.

Of her many fine qualities,
there are four which stand out pre-eminently.

1. She is trustworthy. "The
heart of her husband doth safely trust in her" (v. 11). Observe that it is
his heart that trusts in her. The heart is the seat of the affections.
He is not so much concerned about his goods and her care over them. It is her
love for him that he prizes above all. What would be the charm and delight of
goods and possessions without her presence and her love?

His heart "doth safely trust
in her." It is no misplaced confidence; she will never disappoint him or
let him down. "She will do him good and not evil all the days of her
life" (v. 12).

2. She is industrious. "She
seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands." "She
looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of
idleness" (vv. 13 and 27).

3. She is benevolent. "She
stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea she reacheth forth her hands to the
needy" (v. 20). She never forgets that helpfulness is the rent we ought to
pay for living in this world. And so she does all the good she can, to all the
people she can, in all the ways she can, as long as ever she can.

4. She is kindhearted. "She
openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of
kindness" (v. 26). A law—like the law of gravitation—is something that
operates unceasingly; and the wisdom and kindness that characterize her every
utterance are but the incarnation of the lovely and benevolent thoughts which
spring from her heart and mind.

Such then, briefly, is heaven’s
description of the woman that would make you an excellent wife; and the
blessings which will flow to you both through union with such an one are set
forth in the same chapter. You will, through her influence, become a man looked
up to and respected by your fellows (v. 23). And the rewards which will come to
her are recounted in vv. 28-31.

May I suggest then, young
fellow, that if you are forming a friendship with any young woman, a friendship
which you think might eventually lead to your asking her to become your wife,
you wisely and prayerfully consider, and ask yourself, if she is likely to
possess the excellent worthiness of the woman above described.

The Message to the Young Women

My sister, before you give any
answer to the great question which some day may be put to you, and in fact,
before you give your heart’s true love to any young man who seeks to pay you
attention and who seems worthy of your trust, I would suggest that you look
thoughtfully and prayerfully at the picture of God’s ideal man as it is drawn
in the 15th Psalm. Verse 1 makes it clear that he is a citizen of Mount Zion, just as Proverbs 31:30 speaks of you as a woman that fears the Lord. Such a
man, one who is truly equipped to dwell in God’s presence, is likely to be one
who would be to you an ideal husband and partner. Observe some of the things
that characterize him:

1. He is a man of strict
integrity. "He . . . walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, and
speaketh the truth in his heart" (v. 2). He appears practically, before
men, that which he is, judicially, before God.

2. He has perfect command of his
tongue. "He . . . backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his
neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor" (v. 3). He does
not speak words that rankle, nor does he eagerly listen to tales about other
people.

3. He is loyal to his spoken
word. "He . . . sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not" (v. 4).
His word is his bond. And so, in the matter of love, if a man of this caliber
declares his love to the woman he would choose—if he makes it evident that she,
and she alone, is the object of his love —she may absolutely and unreservedly
trust him.

4. In money matters he is
discreet. "He . . . putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward
against the innocent" (v. 5). He uses money wisely, discreetly,
beneficently. He does not allow it to become his master. He is certain to
recognize that the best things in life-the joy of a happy home and a hallowed
wedlock—are treasures which money cannot buy. And such an one will prefer the
sacred joy of his partner’s love, and the sweet delight of her presence and
comradeship, to the engrossment of grasping after the gold of earth—the love of
which has devastated many an otherwise happy home, and destroyed many a holy
union. Of this man it is said that he is "immovable" (v. 5). He is
upright and truthful; bitter retorts never fall from his lips; his promises are
never broken; he is generous to the last degree. He is a true Christian gentleman.

How Much May Be Expected

Having set before you, my young
friends, these two ideals, I must be honest enough to say that if you wait
until you find, in absolute perfection, in the man or the woman who
would be your choice, the traits of character outlined above, your marriage
will have to be postponed until you reach that land where there are no
marriages! (Matt. 22:30). But it is better to have a high ideal, even if one
comes short of it, than to have a low ideal and succeed. You are to be "heirs
together of the grace of life" (1 Peter 3:7); and to ensure your mutual
happiness, each must courteously and constantly consider the well-being of the
other. Courtesy is like an air-cushion; it eases the jolts of life. When a man,
for example, experiences that his wife unvaryingly speaks to him in gentlest
and kindest tones, he will not carelessly tax her by making a habit of arriving
home late for dinner. When occasion arises that he is to be unavoidably
detained at business, he will, if at all possible, advise her to that effect.
And where a woman is aware that her husband is generous towards her in money
matters, she will not spend carelessly or extravagantly or on unnecessary
things; she will wisely practice thrift. And thus together they may have the joy
and privilege of sometimes being a help to others.

In these days in which our lot
is cast, no form of testimony for God is more urgently needed than that which
is furnished by happy Christian homes. May your home, by and by, be such a
home, my young friend, and may you have the joy that comes from recognizing the
Lord Jesus as its supreme Head.

"Beloved, let us love one
another:for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and
knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was
manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten
Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for
our sins" (1 John 4:7-10).

First among the fruit of the
Spirit listed in Galatians 5 is love. A definition of love is not given
in Scripture, and any definitions given in secular dictionaries will be found
to be very inadequate. But while we may not be able adequately to define love,
Scripture gives us some of the characteristics and manifestations of love.
First of all, the text quoted above indicates that "love is of God"
and "God is love." This is the divine nature, the very nature of God.
And this love has been manifested toward us in God’s sending His only begotten
Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sins. Thus this love has a
self-sacrificial quality in it. God, in His love, gave His Son; Christ, in His
love, gave Himself. "Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for
us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor" (Eph.
5:2). "Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it" (Eph.
5:25).

This love is not dependent on
any quality or response found in the object of the love. This love is above all
circumstances. It is far different from the "love" so manifest in
this world which ebbs and flows according to the behavior of the object loved.
As another has expressed it:"The love’ here has no source in the
creature; it ‘is of God’; and if God were not the spring and power, not a soul
could be saved!, nor a saint walk in His love. For love knows how to bring out
all the resources of grace where man lies in utter ruin. See it in Christ who
died for our sins, and lives to be Advocate with the Father. What love in both
ways!"

This same love is part of the
new nature given to all who are born of God. Thus we are exhorted to "love
one another." Again, let us emphasize, this love of which we speak is
independent of the love of others toward us. Remember the words of our Lord
Jesus Christ, "If ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not
even the publicans the same?" (Matt. 5:46). Again quoting another:
"The great principle laid down here is that after we have been born of God
and are partakers of the divine nature, we will not wait for people to love us,
to behave themselves in a way satisfactory to us, but however they behave
themselves we will go on loving them just the same. That is divine love manifested
through the new nature.”

Let us now consider some of the
specific characteristics of love. For this we turn to the ‘love" chapter,
1 Corinthians 13. (In quoting from this chapter we will read "love"
in place of the word "charity.")

"Though I speak with the
tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass,
or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand
all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could
remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing." The greatest spiritual
gifts are worth nothing if manifested apart from love. If I am displaying my
gift in a way to gain for myself the glory and acclaim of men, there is no love
in it, only selfishness. Love would lead me to use my gift to help others
achieve God’s highest purposes and blessings for them, whatever the cost to me.

"And though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not
love, it profiteth me nothing." You may ask, "But how could anyone do
these things apart from love?" The answer is that one might do such things
out of selfishness, expecting something in return, such as the praise of men,
the favor or mercy of God, or the like.

"Love suffereth long"
or literally, "Love has a long temper." It counts to ten (or a
thousand), so to speak. Love shows self-restraint in not hastily retaliating in
the face of provocation. "The Lord … is longsuffering to usward, not
willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9).

"[Love] is kind."
"Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32). "He [God] is
kind unto the unthankful and to the evil" (Luke 6:35).

"Love envieth not" or
really, "Love is never jealous." Do we not often become unhappy when
others are preferred before us? This is selfishness. Love delights to see our
brother or neighbor or colleague honored and esteemed. "Rejoice with them
that do rejoice" (Rom. 12:15).

"Love vaunteth not itself,
is not puffed up." Love does not boast, or brag, or in any way draw
attention to itself. Neither does it become puffed up in pride of self and its
abilities, accomplishments, genealogy, or offspring.

"[Love] doth not behave
itself unseemly," that is, in an unbecoming or shameful manner. And not
only must we guard against behaving in a shameful manner, but let us remember
that "it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of
them in secret" (Eph. 5:12).

"[Love] seeketh not her own."
What is it that occupies our attention and energies the most:seeking to
promote our own interests, reputation, wealth, or honor, or that of the Lord
and of our fellow men? "Look not every man on his own things, but every
man also on the things of others" (Phil. 2:4).

"[Love] is not easily
provoked" or stimulated to anger. We read, "Be ye angry, and sin
not" (Eph. 4:26). The next time you find yourself angry toward someone,
ask yourself whether your anger is solely due to that person’s sin against God,
or whether it may be because that person, in sinning, has offended or slighted you.

"[Love] thinketh no
evil," that is, "love does not reckon up or calculatingly consider
the evil done to it (something more than refraining from imputing
motives)" (W. E. Vine). This characteristic of love goes hand in hand with
the preceding characteristic. We may perhaps be able to control our anger, but
if we reckon up the evil done to us and hold in our hearts a grudge or some
bitterness and resentment toward the evildoer, this again is selfishness and
not love. We will never be able to help that person see and judge his sin as
long as we are in such a state ourselves. How easy it is to respond to the sin
or evil of another by committing a sin ourselves. This is sometimes the most
difficult type of sin for a Christian to recognize and judge since he is so
intent on concentrating on the sin committed by the other person.

"[Love] rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth." How little do we realize the
perverse pleasure we sometimes receive from seeing our brother or our neighbor
fall into sin. It may be that a brother or a sister has once rebuked you for a
fault or a sin in your life. Unless you have taken this rebuke in a spirit of
love, there will be a tendency for you to gloat, inwardly at least, if you
learn of that other brother or sister committing a sin.

"[Love] beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
"Beareth" here means "to hold out against something which
threatens," and "endureth" means "to bear up courageously
and patiently under a trial." Again, it is self-love, or the opposite of
the divine love of which we are speaking, which leads us to give in to the
enemy of our souls or to break down under a severe trial. Love believes and
hopes all things, that is, love is not prone to be suspicious, but rather
credits people with the best possible motives. How prone we are, on the
contrary, to make snap judgments of people and their actions. Sometimes it
almost seems as if we prefer to believe and hope the worst about people.

May our hearts be challenged as
we study from Scripture what "love"—that divine love which is God’s
very nature—is, and what its characteristics are. Does love characterize our
behavior toward God and toward our fellow men? Or are we living for self,
seeking our own things? "For all seek their own, not the things which are
Jesus Christ’s" (Phil. 2:21).

(Acts 20:20)

The verse from which the title
of this article is taken sets forth in a forcible manner the intimate
connection between the work of the teacher and that of the pastor. It is
important that this connection be understood and maintained. The teacher
unfolds truth; the pastor applies it. The teacher enlightens the understanding;
the pastor looks to the state of the heart. The teacher supplies the spiritual nutriment;
the pastor sees to the use that is made of it. The teacher occupies himself
more with the Word; the pastor looks after the soul. The teacher’s work is for
the most part public; the pastor’s work is chiefly in private. When combined in
one person, the teaching faculty imparts immense moral power to the pastor, and
the pastoral element imparts affectionate tenderness to the teacher.

That there is urgent need of
pastoral care throughout the Church of God, few can deny who know what
pastorship is, and who are at all acquainted with the true condition of the
Church. How rare is the true spiritual pastor! It is easy to take the name and
assume the office; but, in fact, pastorship is neither a name nor an office,
but a living reality—a divinely-imparted gift—something communicated by the
Head of the Church for the growth and blessing of His members. A true pastor is
a man who is not only possessed of a real spiritual gift, but also animated by
the very affections of the heart of Christ toward every lamb and sheep of His
blood-bought flock.

How few real pastors are to be
found in our midst! How rare is the pastor’s gift, the pastor’s heart! Where
shall we find those who duly combine the two grand elements contained in the
title, "publicly and from house to house"? A man may, perhaps, give
us a brief address on the Lord’s day, or a lecture on some weekday; but where
is the "house to house" side of the question? Where is the close,
earnest, diligent looking after individual souls day by day? Very often it happens
that the public teaching shoots over the head; it is the house to house
teaching that is sure to come home to the heart. How frequently it happens that
something uttered in public is entirely misunderstood and misapplied, until
.the loving pastoral visit during the week supplies the true meaning and just
application.

Nor is this all. How much there
is in a pastor’s range that the public teacher never can compass. No doubt
public teaching is very important; would that we had many times more of it than
we have. The teacher’s work is invaluable, and when mellowed by the deep and
tender affection of a pastor’s heart can go a great way indeed in meeting the
soul’s many needs. But the loving pastor who earnestly, prayerfully, and
faithfully goes from house to house, can get at the deep exercises of the soul,
the sorrows of the heart, the puzzling questions of the mind, the grave
difficulties of the conscience. He can enter, in the profound sympathy of an
affectionate heart, into all the circumstances and sorrows of the path. He can
kneel down with the tried, the tempted, the crushed, and the sorrowing one
before the mercy-seat and they can pour out their hearts together, and draw
down sweet consolation from the God of all grace and the Father of mercies.

The public teacher cannot do
this. No doubt, he can anticipate in his public address a great deal of the
soul’s private exercises, sorrows, and difficulties. But he cannot fully meet
the soul’s individual need. This is the pastor’s holy work. A pastor is to the
soul what a doctor is to the body. He must understand disease and medicine. He
must be able to tell what is the matter. He must be able to diagnose the
spiritual condition in order to apply the true remedy.

Let us join in fervent believing
prayer to God to raise up true pastors among us. We are in sad need of them.
The sheep of Christ are not fed and cared for. We are occupied so much with our
own affairs that we have no time to look after the beloved flock of Christ. And
even on those occasions when the Lord’s people assemble in public, how little
there is for their precious souls. And then, all through the week, few loving
pastoral calls, few inquiries after soul or body. There seems to be no time.
Every moment is swallowed up in the business of providing for ourselves and our
families. How different it was with the apostle Paul. He found time to make
tents and also to "teach publicly and from house to house." He was
not only the earnest evangelist, ranging over continents and planting churches,
but he was also the loving pastor, the tender nurse, the skillful spiritual
physician. He had a heart for Christ and for every member of His body. Here
lies the secret of the matter. It is wonderful what a loving heart can
accomplish. If I really love the Church, I shall desire its blessing and
progress, and seek to promote these according to my ability.

May the Lord raise up in the
midst of His people pastors and teachers after His own heart—men filled with
His Spirit and animated by genuine love for His Church, men competent and ready
to teach "publicly and from house to house."

(From Miscellaneous Writings,
Volume 5.)

Some Christians are apt to
confound these two things-special joy and abiding communion—and to suppose,
because the first is not always the case, the discontinuance of the latter is
to be taken for granted and acquiesced in. This is a great mistake. Special
visitations of joy may be afforded. Constant fellowship with God and with the
Lord Jesus is the only right state, the only one recognized in Scripture. We
are to rejoice in the Lord always.

The object of Christ’s love is
to take us into the enjoyment of all that He enjoys Himself.

As you enjoy Christ for
yourself, saints will find it out, and that will be your testimony to them.

"Would to God, that not
only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were . . . altogether such as I
am, except these bonds" (Acts 26:29). What happiness and what love (and in
God these two things go together) are expressed in these words! Though he be a
poor prisoner, aged and rejected, at the end of his career he is rich in God.
Blessed years that he had spent in prison! He could give himself as a model of
happiness, for it filled his heart.

The thing that hinders our
rejoicing is not trouble, but being half and half. If the Christian is in the
world, his conscience reproaches him; if he meets spiritual Christians, he is
unhappy there. Thus, in fact, he is happy nowhere.

Although we often use mottoes
which say, "Christ died for our sins," the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus is equally important with His crucifixion as the basis of our salvation.
In this day when so many theologians have given up belief in the physical
resurrection of Christ, we should remember that believing that "God hath
raised Him from the dead" is necessary for salvation (Rom. 10:9). The incarnation and crucifixion are essential truths. The Son of God had to become a man
in order to die, and He had to die in order to atone for sins, redeem us from
the power of Satan and reconcile us to God; but it is by the resurrection that
all this is made good to us. It is because of the resurrection that we can have
settled peace with God, since the resurrection proves God’s infinite
satisfaction in the work of His Son. It was the resurrection that demonstrated
the complete and eternal overthrow of the kingdom of Satan and all the powers
of darkness. It is because of the resurrection that we are to "walk in
newness of life" (Rom. 6:4). Without the resurrection we would not have
the High Priest or Advocate whom we need so much.

The apostles never preached the
death of Christ without preaching His resurrection. They did not preach it as a
doctrine, but as a fact of history to which they had been eyewitnesses. (Paul
had seen the Lord Jesus not only raised, but ascended into glory.) Their
message usually stated, "God raised Him from the dead" (see Acts
2:24, 32; 3:15; 4:10; 10:40). The fact that God raised Him from the dead
not only shows God’s satisfaction in Christ’s work (as we have mentioned), but
also proves that God is at issue with the world, seeing he has raised, exalted,
and glorified the very One whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Paul’s message
to the Athenians is a deeply solemn passage. The proof that God is going to
judge the world in righteousness is that He has raised His ordained Man from
the dead (Acts 17:31). Paul’s epistles (especially 1 Cor. 15) also show that
the resurrection is an essential part of the gospel and should be preached as
such.

"Now the God of peace, that
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good
work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight,
through Jesus Christ:to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (Heb.
13:20, 21).

(From
"The Great Commission" in Miscellaneous Writings, Vol. 4.)

 (Leviticus 3, 7)

The peculiar feature in the
peace offering is that it is that upon which God Himself feeds; it is not
merely an offering, but food of the offering. In chapter 7 we find that the
remainder of the peace offering was eaten by the worshiper, excepting the
wave-breast and heave-shoulder, which were the priests’. These three things,
then, we observe concerning the peace offering:The blood is sprinkled and the
fat burned for a sweet savor; the wave-breast is for Aaron and his sons, and
the heave-shoulder for the offering priest; the rest is for the worshiper to
feed on, as an occasion of joy and thanksgiving before Jehovah.

Christ is not only here
represented as the perfect burnt offering wholly given up to God in death for
His glory, but also as an offering on which we feed; not only is He God’s
delight, but He is that of which we can partake with Him. He is the subject
matter of communion. The communion is between all saints, the worshiper, the
priest, and God. Not only do we see the sacrifice offered to God opening a way
of access to Him (as in the burnt offering and others), but we find the Lord
takes delight in communion with us about it.

The first thing to be observed
in the peace offering is the complete and absolute acceptance of the sacrifice,
so that the Lord speaks of it as His food, that in which His holiness could
find intrinsic satisfaction. The inwards were presented for a sweet savor (as
Jesus); they are tried and examined by fire, and found to be food for God
Himself. The fat represents the spontaneous actings of the heart. The richness
of an animal is its fat; we judge of its healthy vigorous state by this.

As the slain one, Jesus is that
on which we must feed. He says, "The bread that I will give is My flesh,
which I will give for the life of the world. . . Whoso eateth My flesh, and
drinketh My blood, hath eternal life" (John 6:51, 54). We feed on Jesus as
having given His life unto death. And here is that which not only satisfied the
justice of God, but also is esteemed, fed on by Him as His delight.

In the work which He did, Jesus
was God’s delight; and in this we too have a portion. It is the common food of
those assembled as worshipers to feast on before Jehovah. But if any were
unclean who fed on this sacrifice, they should be cut off from the people (Lev.
7:20). It was only as clean persons they could meet thus with Jehovah. It can
be only as those already cleansed and accepted, that we can have this common
delight in the Lord Jesus, given as a common object of communion and enjoyment
between God and us, and with one another. In this act, our worship is not
simply as coming to inquire about our acceptance; but, having already access,
it is to rejoice with God about the sacrifice, knowing the fruits of it.

Often our worship has not
sufficiently this character in it. We have intercourse frequently with God
about our anxieties, our failures, our evil condition; but if this is all, we
come very far short of the privileges that belong to us. Our religion should
not be altogether a religion of regrets; but rather we are called to joy and
rejoice, through the Spirit, in the perfectness of all that Christ has done;
not merely joy because wrath has been intercepted, but there is that in Jesus
which draws out constant love and delight from the Father, and we too are
introduced into the place of communion with the Father about Him. Now, if we
are associated in this worship, we are there as being clean, for no unclean
person is able to partake of it.

It is most important to see that
we have no real delight of which the source and spring is not Jesus. So
satisfied is God, and so cleansed are we, that we can come thus to enjoy the
communion resulting from what Jesus has done, and as the priest, He feasts with
us now in the holy place. Where two or three are gathered together, there is He
in the midst of them, as the one who has sprinkled the blood, to feast even
now, while we are waiting for that day, when in person He shall be present with
us to eat and drink in the Father’s kingdom. He said once, "With desire I
have desired to eat this passover with you, before I suffer." He
was not content without this last memorial of His love to them and association
with Him. While the expectation was present with Him of the time when He would
drink it new in the kingdom of God, He desired them to have continual
remembrance of Him:"This do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of
Me."

The offering was to be eaten the
same day, or at the latest, on the second day; it was not to be kept longer.
This marks the communion to be necessarily spiritual, and only to be had in
communion with the sacrifice of Christ, not in nature. If it be the willing
state of the soul itself through grace, this may be kept up a longer time;
where it is thanksgiving for actual benefits, there is not the same power in
it. It is only in the Spirit that we can have this communion with God. If the
flesh comes in, all is spoiled; it must be burned with fire. The worshiper must
eat his portion in connection with the burnt offering and the priests’ portion.
If eaten apart from these, having, as it were, from that separation lost the
virtue communicated from the others, it becomes an abomination; and the soul
that eats must bear his iniquity. Thus we shall continually find that joy in
the Lord is apt to degenerate into that which is merely natural. For instance,
if Christians in gladness of heart come to seek the Lord in communion, the
Spirit is present; they forget all grief; the communion between their souls and
God is within the veil, and there is no sorrow there; but if they are not very
watchful, their joy degenerates. It overlasts what is spiritual, and becomes
joy in the flesh. The real test and power of this is its connection with the
sacrifice offered.

In believers, there will be
differences in the power of this communion. Those who rest most simply in the
sacrifice and blood of Jesus will have the most power of sustaining it.
"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 life" (Jude 20, 21). As we walk in the
Spirit, we shall have power to continue in this holy fellowship and joy; but
the earthly vessels are not competent to bear all the glory. There is always a
tendency for the flesh to slip in. We may get full of our joy, and proud
through it, or at least lose a sense of our dependence, and this at once opens
a door to all the folly of our evil nature. After Paul had been in the third
heaven, so that he knew not whether he was in or out of the body, we find he
was in danger of being puffed up. What was the remedy? Any thing that mended
the flesh? Not at all, but a messenger from Satan to buffet him. There is no
mending the flesh; but we know this is not the place or condition in which we
shall always be, for He "shall change our vile body, that it may be
fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is
able even to subdue all things unto Himself’ (Phil. 3:21).

(From "On the Offerings,
and the Consecration of the Priesthood," in Collected Writings, Volume
19.)

The cross displays the love of
God, the love of Christ, the righteousness of God, the grace of God, and the
horribleness of sin.

The love of God for us was
displayed when God forsook and judged His only begotten Son in order to save us
from our sins. He put His beloved Son through such suffering in order to
reconcile us to Himself. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that
He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John
4:10).

            "Who Thy love,
O God, can measure—

            Love that crushed
for us its Treasure,

            Him in whom was all
Thy pleasure,

            Christ, Thy Son of
love?”

The love of Christ for us is
shown in the cross. And such love it was—love that was stronger than death!
Only the death of the cross could fully display the depth and intensity of
Christ’s love.

            "Nought stayed
Thy love—no sorrows, no taunts, no outrage sore;

 Not
all the fiery arrows of Satan’s wrath and power—

Not
all the stormy billows of judgment’s dreadful hour!"

The cross shows the love of
Christ to God. "But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as
the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do" (John 14:31). "Christ
also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling savor" (Eph. 5:2).

The righteousness of God is
displayed because of God’s treatment of sin. God could not overlook sin or
lightly forgive it. He must judge it even though that judgment meant infinite
suffering for His Son. When sin had been associated with or imputed to His Son,
He turned His back on His Son. God can have no association with sin directly or
indirectly.

            "God could not
pass the sinner by,

            His sin demands that
he must die;

            But in the cross of
Christ we see

            How God can save,
yet righteous be."

The grace of God is manifested
in the results of the cross. Man rejected, insulted, and crucified God’s Son.
Yet His death at the hands of rabble-rousing Jews and cynical Romans is the
foundation of all man’s blessing. The last insult, the thrust of the spear,
drew forth the blood which has redeemed us to God. Although man did his worst,
God overcame the evil and caused it all to be for the blessing of man. (If man
would only accept that blessing!) The cross will be the pillar of a purified
and reconciled universe throughout eternity.

We realize the horribleness of
sin because of the terrible suffering which Christ had to undergo in order to
atone for it.

"The stone which the
builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner:this is the
Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Matt. 21:42).

(Ed.
Note:The three poetry selections quoted in this article are from Hymns of
Grace and Truth, Nos. 197, 42, and 279, respectively.)

There are two very important
principles presented in Revelation 3:3,11 which are profoundly interesting,
clear, simple, easily grasped, and full of power when understood— two distinct
things which characterize the overcomer. The first is the truth that has been
communicated; the second is the hope that is set before us.

We find these two things
illustrated in Israel’s history and in the history of the church of God—what He has given us, and what is held out before us. These two things are to form your
character and mine. We are not to be influenced by the character of things
around, or the present condition of the people of God; but we are to be
influenced by what God has given, and what He will give. We are
apt to be discouraged and disheartened by the state of things around, and to
surrender everything because of the ruin, and thus get paralyzed. But if you
get hold of these two things, or rather if they get hold of you, they will
enable you to stem the tide, and to be an overcomer. You are to remember what
you have received and heard, and cherish the hope of glory.

We find illustrations of this in
Old Testament times. All the great reformatory movements in Israel were characterized by this very thing. It was so in Jehoshaphat’s time and in Hezekiah’s
time. The Lord calls back His people to the original standard—to what they had
received at the first. Hezekiah goes back to Moses as his authority to maintain
the divine standard in the celebration of the passover. Many might have said,
"Oh, it is all hopeless; your national unity is gone." Even Solomon
had left abominations behind him. The devil suggests to lower the standard
because of the ruin, but Hezekiah did not listen to that. He was an overcomer.
A tide of blessing rolled in, such as had not been known since the days of
Solomon (2 Chron. 30).

So again in the days of Josiah:
A child was on the throne, a woman filling the prophetic office, Nebuchadnezzar
almost at the gates. What did Josiah do? The book of the law was read. Instead
of lowering the standard on account of the state of things, he acted on the
Word of God—that was his standard of action, and he kept the passover in the
first month. The result was that there had not been such a passover kept since
the days of Samuel.

Thus it was with Hezekiah and
Josiah; and we have a still more beautiful example of it in Ezra and Nehemiah.
In those days a feast was kept which had not been observed since the days of
Joshua the son of Nun. It was reserved for that poor little remnant to keep
that feast. They were over-comers; they went back to God and to what He had
given at the beginning.

Again, Daniel, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego gained a magnificent victory when they refused to eat the
king’s meat. They would not yield one hair’s breath. Were not they overcomers?
They might have said, "God in His governmental dealings has sent us into
captivity, so why should we refuse to eat?" But no, they were enabled to
hold up the standard of God in the midst of the ruin around.

It was the same with Daniel. He
took the loftiest ground, and gained a splendid victory. It was not to make a
show that he opened his windows and prayed toward Jerusalem, but to maintain
the truth of God. He prayed toward God’s center, and he was called the servant
of the living God. If these had surrendered, they would have lost their
victories, and God would have been dishonored.

All this bears upon us in a very
distinct way today. It makes the Word of God of unspeakable value to us. It is
not a question of setting up our own opinion or authority, but we are called on
to maintain the truth of God, and nothing else; and if you do not get hold of
that, you do not know where you are. It might have been said to Josiah when he
broke down the high places built by Solomon (2 Kings 23:13), "Who are you
to set yourself up against Solomon and the institutions set up by a great man
like him?" But it was not a question of Josiah versus Solomon, but
of God versus error.

Now, let us consider the second
great principle, namely, that our character is also to be formed by what is
before us —the coming of the Lord. But mark here, the church of Sardis, instead
of being cheered by the Church’s proper hope, the Bright and Morning Star, is
warned, "If, therefore, thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a
thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." This is
how He will come upon the world—as a thief. We belong to the region of light;
our proper hope is the Morning Star, which is only seen by those who are
watching during the night. The reason why Sardis is warned instead of cheered
by the hope of His coming is that it has sunk down to the world’s level—low,
lifeless, sapless Christianity—and it will overtake them as a thief. This is
what Christianity is threatened with, and what you are threatened with if you
let yourself go down with the stream like a dead fish. The Lord is awakening
the hearts of His people to a deeper sense of this. He is giving them to see
that nothing will do save downright reality. If we have not this, we have
nothing. It is one thing to have doctrines in the mind, and another thing
altogether to have Christ in the heart and Christ in the life.

He is coming for me, and I have
to watch for the Bright and Morning Star. Now let my heart rise up, and
overcome the condition of things around. If I find saints in that condition, I
seek to rouse them out of it. If you want to instruct saints, you must bring
them back to the truth you have received, what God gave at the beginning. Build
on what God has given you, and on the hope that is set before you. I find it a
great thing to say to any one, "Are you prepared to abandon everything
that will not bear the test of the Word of God—to take your stand on
that?" Hold fast the standard of the truth of God, and do not accept
anything less, even though you may be alone in it. If a regiment were cut to
pieces, and only one man left, if he holds the colors, the dignity of the
regiment is maintained. It is not a question of results, but of being true to
Christ, to be really alive in a scene which is characterized by having "a
name to live, while dead." We want something more than mere profession. We
want more power and freshness, more living devotedness to the Person of Christ.
We are called to overcome. The hearing ear is found only with the overcomer.
May our hearts be stirred up to desire it increasingly.

If Jesus Christ had not risen:

1. The Old Testament would be
untrue. "He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1
Cor. 15:4; see also Psa. 16:10, 11; Isa. 53:10, 11).

2. His own words would have been
proven false. "After three days I will rise again" (Matt. 27:63; see
also Matt. 16:21; 17:23; and 20:19).

3. We would have no New
Testament. It would never have been written.

4. There would be no gospel of
salvation. "I declare unto you the gospel. . . that He rose again. … If
Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins" (1 Cor.
15:1, 4, 17).

5. There would be no Church.
"He raised Him from the dead . . . and gave Him to be the head over all
things to the Church, which is His body" (Eph. 1:20-23). "He is the
head of the body, the Church:who [that is, Christ] is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead" (Col. 1:18).

6. We would have no
"blessed hope" of His coming again, and of believers’ resurrection.
"Looking for.. . .the glorious appearing of … Jesus Christ" (Titus
2:13). "The dead in Christ shall rise first" (1 Thess. 4:16).
"They that are Christ’s at His coming" (1 Cor. 15:23).

7. "Thy kingdom come"
would not be realized, because Christ is the King. "Born King of the
Jews" (Matt. 2:2). There could be no kingdom without the King.

(Psalm 63)

David was far from sinless, but
God describes him as a "man after His own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14). He
saw something in David that called forth His divine approbation (1 Sam. 16:7).
So David’s heart should be a subject of intense interest to any who desire to
please the Lord.

In Psalm 63 we find the
opportunity for just such a study of David’s heart. At the outset (verses 1 and
2) we note a yearning for God in the heart of David. It is a very personal
matter; God is his God. So intense is the yearning that he seeks, he thirsts
for, he longs for God. In fact, God is first in his life:"Early will I
seek Thee." God’s interests are uppermost in his mind.

Next (verses 3 and 4) we observe
an attitude of praise in his heart. This man has experienced the lovingkindness
of God and finds that it is better than life itself. This is the source of his
praise.

God’s lovingkindness has
produced a deep sense of satisfaction in David’s heart (verse 5). It is as real
as physical satisfaction. It is very appropriately compared with the pleasure
produced by physical food. We enjoy a good meal, well prepared. But do we enjoy
the experience of fellowship with God, the sweetness of His love, the delight
of His joy, the depth of His peace? Here alone is satisfaction.

Meditation held a prominent
place in the heart of David (verse 6). Contemplation of God was a necessity to
this man. It was his life, and it is our life too (John 6:57).

One of the most precious
thoughts that came to David’s heart as he meditated was the fact of his
security in God (verse 7). God had been his help many a time. What blessed
security is the portion of the saints of God! What security is in Christ our
Saviour, who died to deliver us from the wrath of God upon our sins, and to
raise us up to a heavenly position in Himself!

David was running a race (verse
8). If you had looked into David’s heart, you would have found that his soul
was following hard after God. He was one of an illustrious company, which
comprised also Caleb and Joshua, who "wholly followed the Lord."

Finally, David’s heart was
filled with joy (verse 11). He rejoiced not only in his security and in his
privilege of praise but simply in God Himself. How prominent this thought is in
the New Testament! We are to "joy in God" and to "rejoice in the
Lord." In fact, our joy in Him whom we have not seen and yet believe is
"joy unspeakable and full of glory."

Are
these experiences of David’s heart actually your experiences? They can be. In
fact, they must be if you are to live to the glory of God.