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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     (From Help and Food,
Vol. 43).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mutual Submission

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

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

Submission by Wives

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love by Husbands

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

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

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

Final Authority

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

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

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

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

Midst the
darkness, storm, and sorrow,

    One
bright gleam I see:

Well I
know the blessed morrow,

    Christ
will come for me.

Midst the
light and peace and glory

    Of
the Father’s home,

Christ
for me is watching, waiting—

    Waiting
till I come.

Long the
blessed Guide has led me

    By
the desert road;

Now I see
the golden towers—

    City
of my God.

There,
amidst the love and glory,

    He is
waiting yet;

On His
hands a name is graven

    He
can ne’er forget.

There,
amidst the songs of heaven,

    Sweeter
to His ear

Is the
footfall through the desert

    Ever
drawing near.

There,
made ready, are the mansions,

    Glorious,
bright, and fair;

But the
bride the Father gave Him

    Still
is wanting there.

Who is
this who comes to meet me

    On
the desert way,

As the
Morning Star, foretelling

    God’s
unclouded day?

He it is
who came to win me

    On
the cross of shame;

In his
glory, well I know Him,

    Evermore
the same.

Oh, the
blessed joy of meeting,

    All
the desert past!

Oh, the
wondrous words of greeting

    He
shall speak at last!

He and I
together entering

    Those
bright courts above;

He and I
together sharing

    All the
Father’s love.

Where no
shade nor stain can enter,

    Nor
the gold be dim—

In that
holiness unsullied

    I
shall walk with Him.

Meet
companion then for Jesus,

    From
Him, for Him made;

Glory of
God’s grace forever

    There
in me displayed.

He who in
His hour of sorrow

    Bore
the curse alone;

I who
through the lonely desert

    Trod
where He had gone.

He and I
in that bright glory

    One
deep joy shall share—

Mine, to
be forever with Him;

    His,
that I am there.

     (From
Help and Food, Vol. 3.)

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

    Thus speaks the Bride whose feet have trod

    The chamber of eternal rest,

    The secret treasure-house of God,

    Where God is manifest:

    “Created things, arise and flee,

    Ye are but sorrow and care to me.”

    This wide, wide world, so rich and fair,

    Thou sure canst find thy solace there?

    “Nay, ’neath the flowers the serpent glides

    Amidst the bravery envy hides.”

    And is not heaven enough for thee?

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

    O bride, the saints in glory shine;

    Can they not fill this heart of thine?

    “Nay, were the Lamb their Light withdrawn,

    The saints in gloom would weep and mourn.”

    Can the Son of God not comfort thee?

    “Yea, Christ and none besides for me.

    For mine is a soul of noble birth,

    That needeth more than heaven and earth;

    And the breath of God must draw me in

    To the Heart that was riven for my sin.

    For the Sun of the Godhead pours His rays

    Through the crystal depths of His Manhood’s grace,

    And the Spirit sent by Father and Son

    Hath filled my soul, and my heart hath won;

    And the longing and love are past and gone,

    For all that is less than God alone—

    God only, sweet to this heart of mine,

    O wondrous death that is life divine!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude
… saying, Alleluia:for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and
rejoice, and give honor to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
wife has made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed
in fine linen, clean and white:for the fine linen is the righteousness of
saints. And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are those who are called unto the
marriage supper of the Lamb…. These are the true sayings of God” (Rev.
19:6-9).

    There are two main subjects in this passage:(1) God
manifestly assuming His kingly power and (2) the Lamb taking to Himself His
bride—the Church of the New Testament. The moment has not yet arrived for the
Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered as none ever did, to mount His throne. But all
is getting ready for that grand event. O blessed moment for which creation
groans and waits, for which the Church hopes and prays, and for which the
wearied tribes of Israel long with eager expectation! The Nazarene is God’s appointed
King. But two events must necessarily take place before the throne of the world
is occupied by Christ:Babylon must be judged on earth, and the marriage of the
Lamb must be celebrated in heaven. The first is described in Revelation 18; we
are now about to consider the second.

    In the subject now to be introduced the affections are
deeply stirred and the heart moved to its very center. Hence the prefatory call
to rejoice and give God glory, for the “marriage of the Lamb is come, and His
wife has made herself ready.”

    This great and grand event is the consummation of joy
to Christ as Man. It is not said the marriage of the bride, but the
marriage of the Lamb. It is His joy that is specially in view, not
ours. The marriage, of which no details are given, takes place in heaven, and
on the eve of the Lord’s return in power, subsequent to the rapture (1 Thess.
4; John 14:3). The marriage is the disclosed secret of Ephesians 5:32. Not Israel, nor a remnant thereof, but the Church of the New Testament is the bride. Israel in her land was the wife of Jehovah (Jer. 3:14-20; Isa. 54:1), but the wife was
divorced because of her iniquity. Israel, however, is to be reinstated in
Jehovah’s favor. But a divorced wife can never again be a virgin, and it is not
a divorced wife but a virgin whom the Lord marries (Lev. 21:13,14; 2 Cor.
11:2). Israel, moreover, has her place and blessing on the earth; the
marriage of the Lamb is in heaven, the Church’s proper home. The exclusively
heavenly character of the scene forbids the application of it to the nation of Israel.

    Of whom is the bride composed? We answer
unhesitatingly, all saints embraced between Pentecost (Acts 2) and the
translation (1 Thess. 4:17). These events respectively mark the commencement
and the termination of the Church’s sojourn on earth. The Church, then, is the
bride. The Church is imperishable because founded on the glory and dignity of
Christ as Son of God (Matt. 16:18). His body is the nearest of all to
Him (Eph 1:23) and the bride is the dearest object to His heart and eye.
He has loved the Church with a deathless love that knows no cessation till He
presents her in glory to Himself (Eph. 5:25-27). The Church is about to be
displayed in the kingdom as the bride and wife of the Lamb. His glory and joy
is exceeding! More of the oil of gladness is poured upon His head than upon
ours (Heb. 1:9). Our place, our blessing, our gladness are wrapped up in His.
Then shall He who died “see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied” (Isa.
53:11).

    “His wife has made herself ready.” There are two sorts
of fitness, and the Church is the subject of both. First, God in the exercise
of His sovereign grace makes one fit for heavenly glory—“meet to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12). Second, believers have
to make themselves ready before they enter on their eternal glory. That is, the
story of earth has to be gone over again in the presence of Him who is light.
Our lives have to be reviewed at the “judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10).
The light of the throne will be cast over and upon every moment of our lives,
discovering the hidden, and bringing out the true character of every act, word,
and service. The enigmas of life will be explained, unsolved problems cleared
up, and all mistakes and misunderstandings rectified. This precedes the
marriage:“His wife has made herself ready.” What would it be if in glory we
remembered one incident of a painful kind that had not been set right? All will
come out at the judgment seat as a matter between each saint and God. It will
not be a public exposure before others. Nor must this be understood as
signifying judicial judgment; all that has been settled on the Cross. We appear
before the judgment seat of Christ crowned and glorified, “raised in glory”
(1 Cor. 15:43), to have the light of the throne cast upon the past. What a
mercy that it is so. We shall then pass from the judgment seat with its
searching light into the loved presence of the Lamb as His bride and wife for
ever.

    “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in
fine linen, clean and white:for the fine linen is the righteousness of
saints.” The harlot (Rev. 17) was gorgeously arrayed, but her pomp, splendor,
and ornaments were claimed as a matter of right. With the bride it is
different; she is arrayed as a matter of grace. The fine linen, pure and
lustrous, of the bride is her righteousness, or righteous acts, done on earth.
But she claims no merit, for these righteous acts were wrought by the power of
the Holy Spirit in her. Her garments bespeak her practical character. She can
now enter on the enjoyment of eternal companionship and union of the closest
nature (that of wife) with her husband, the Lamb. Her deeds on earth have
been appraised at their true value in heaven.

    “Write, Blessed are those who are called unto the
marriage supper of the Lamb.” The bride and guests are clearly distinguished.
The former is, of course, in more immediate relation to the Lamb. The bride is
wed; the guests sup. Those called to the supper are “blessed.” This is not said
of the bride. Her blessing, which is that of the highest order and character,
is expressed in the simple words, bride and wife. What
unspeakable joy is conveyed in these terms! But the guests are pronounced blessed.
Who are they? We answer, the friends of the Bridegroom. But as the friends
of the Bridegroom they enjoy a higher and dearer character of
blessedness than they would if merely the friends of the bride. John the
Baptist expressly tells us that he is a friend of the Bridegroom (John 3:29).
The Baptist was martyred before the Church was formed, hence he comes in as
perhaps the most honored of the guests at the marriage supper. Old Testament
saints constitute the large company of called guests, each one being a friend
of the Bridegroom, and rejoicing in His presence and voice. The apocalyptic
martyrs (Rev. 20:4) are not raised till after the marriage, hence cannot
be numbered among the guests. Angels may be spectators of the scene, but guests
they cannot be. Angels are never spoken of in the way that these are. It is
called a supper, perhaps in contrast to the subsequent supper of judgment (Rev.
19:17). The former is in connection with the Lamb and His joy; the latter is in
relation to God and the judgment He executes on the ungodly.

    These divine communications have attached to them all
the weight and authority of God Himself. “These are the true sayings of God.”
The basis of our faith is not conjecture, but the certainty that God has
spoken. Absolute certainty is of prime importance in these days when the
dogmatism of belief in a divine revelation is considered to savor of a narrow
and illiberal spirit. In old times God spake in the prophets; in New
Testament times God has spoken in His Son (Heb. 1:1,2). How blessed,
therefore, to have the confirmation of these grand and heart-gladdening truths
from God Himself!

    (From Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.)

* * * * *

    Our love to Him should begin on earth, as it shall be
in heaven; for the bride takes not by a thousand degrees so much delight in her
wedding garment as she does in her Bridegroom. So we, in the life to come,
howbeit clothed with glory as with a robe, shall not be so much affected with
the glory that goes about us, as with the Bridegroom’s joyful face and
presence.

                                 Samuel Rutherford
(1600-1661)

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

Examples in Scripture of

Premarital Interactions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dating and Courtship Today

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

            “Whether joy
or whether trial,

            All can only
work for good.”

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

            “When we stand
with Christ in glory,

            Looking o’er
life’s finished story,”

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

            (From Help and
Food, Vol. 46.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best gift of all Thou hast

            bestowed,

The precious, priceless blood
that

            flowed

When Jesus bore our sins’
great

            load—

For this we thank Thee!

And then that wondrous love
of

            thine

Which made us heirs of wealth

            divine,

And us to Thee as sons did
join—

For this we thank Thee!

For sweetest fellowship on
earth

With other sons of heavenly
birth,

In greater joy than this
world’s

            mirth—

For this we thank Thee!

For patient grace that guides
our

            way,

While pilgrims in this world
we

            stay,

In fire by night, in cloud by
day—

For this we thank Thee!

For sickness, sadness, pain
and

            loss,

For fellowship with Jesus’
cross

That turns this world’s gold
into

            dross—

For this we thank Thee!

For loving faithfulness and
grace

That cast us down upon our
face,

And make the flesh take its
own

            place—

For this we thank Thee!

In all our joy and all our
grief,

For chastening sore, or sweet

            relief,

For lengthened days, or
waiting

            brief—

For all we thank Thee!

For many mansions in thy
home,

Where we one day with Christ
shall

            come,

And never, never from Thee
roam—

For this we thank Thee!

And when our time on earth is

            o’er,

When in thy presence we adore,

O then, for all that’s gone

            before,

We e’er shall thank Thee!

“David and the
captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of
Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and
with cymbals” (1 Chron. 25:1).

In 1 Kings 1 we
see King David as a decrepit old man; Abishag ministered to him, seeking almost
in vain to keep the spark of life from going out. But when Solomon’s title to
the throne was disputed by Adonijah, David blazed forth as much the king and
man of might as ever, and secured for Solomon the throne and the succession.
The “man after [God’s] own heart” (Acts 13:22), realizing as his end drew near
the glory that awaited his successor, made full and ample provision not merely
for Solomon’s own throne, but above all, for the glory and the worship and
service of the house of God—that which was dearest to his heart.

David provided
not only for the building of the temple, but for the worship of the Levites,
the courses of the priests, the porters at the gates, and all the details. We
can imagine with what keen delight this old man would arrange all. Faith could
see, not the bare threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (1 Chron. 21:28; 2
Chron. 3:1), but the stately temple filled with worshiping priests and singing
Levites, and over all, the overshadowing glory. And faith could rejoice, though
for sight there was nothing. So it should ever be for us. Sight has nothing to
show, but how lively the view that faith opens up!

It is in
connection with the ordering of the Levite service of worship that we have an
expression that should arrest our attention:“David … separated to the
service … [those] who should prophesy with harps.” We would naturally
think of harps being used to play upon to aid in the melody of the worship, but
there seems to be distinct meaning, as we know there is in every word of
Scripture, in this word “prophesy.” They were to prophesy with harps;
that is, they were to speak for God, which is really the thought of
prophesying. And does it not seem a strange combination? The harp suggests
praise, worship, and joy offered to God; the prophesying suggests, as it were,
God’s voice for His people to hear. Without doubt, the thought that underlies
it, first of all, is that their playing with harps was not a natural exercise,
but under divine guidance. As the incense was made according to the formula
given to Moses, and nothing could be added or taken from it, so the melody
which was to accompany the sweet psalms of praise was also ordered of God.
This, of course, does not set aside the thought of their being men of gift and
of training, but it reminds us of the fact that everything connected with God
must be under His control.

We have another
mention of an instrument of music in connection with the exercise of prophecy
in the life of Elisha—when the kings of Judah and Israel and Edom were stranded
in the wilderness without water, and the enemy threatened them. In their
helplessness they turned to the prophet of the Lord who, for the sake of
Jehoshaphat, came to their relief. “Bring me a minstrel,” Elisha said. “And it
came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon
him.” It was in connection with what we might call praise that God gave His
word of deliverance for these kings.

This opens up a
very important thought for us and one that we forget all too easily. Nothing is
more needed among the people of God than prophecy. What would we be without
God’s word for us? Of course, we have the written Word, that which embodies all
the truth of God revealed to us, and which it is at once our privilege and
responsibility to feed upon and to be filled with. But the word in season, the
word from the Lord out of His written Word, that which appeals to conscience
and to heart and ministers “edification, and exhortation, and comfort” (1 Cor.
14:3), how important, how necessary to receive this!

If we turn to
the Old Testament prophets, we see that their message consisted largely of
warning, of denunciation of evil, of lamentation over the declension of a
people privileged as no other nation. The pages of the prophets are stained
with their tears, and yet who that has read, “Isaiah’s wild measure” but has
heard the sound of the harp mingling its melody even when the theme was most
sad, and sending a glimmer of hope over the darkest pages. Rising above and
reaching beyond all the gloom is that clear, triumphant note of victory that
looks on to the end, assured that at the last the harps will have not a
message of sorrow but one of unmingled joy and delight.

Putting it very
simply, the thought suggested by the harps is the spirit of praise and worship.
Even our sins ought to be sung out to God, as it were. The book of Psalms as a
whole gives us this thought. No matter how humbling the sin, how deep the
humiliation, how sore the oppression of the enemy, the harp is never laid
aside. It all goes up, as it were, to God in worship. And is there not deep
instruction in this? None are more easily discouraged than the people of God
when their failures are brought to remembrance. They are overwhelmed. Mere
calling sin to mind will never give deliverance from it; but here comes in the
harp of praise too; for in spite of all weakness and manifold shortcomings, how
much we have to praise for!

There is
lacking among us, no doubt, much of that faithfulness that marked the prophets
of old. “He who has My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully” (Jer. 23:28) is
too easily forgotten, and while we do not prophesy “smooth things” of deceit
(Isa. 30:10), there may be the passing over, the avoiding those painful “wounds
of a friend” (Prov. 27:6) that heal while they smite. This is included in the
“exhortation” that the apostle Paul speaks of in 1 Cor. 14:3. We must deal
faithfully with one another and we may all prophesy. But let us always take our
harp when we prophesy. Let us always remember that we can praise God and that
the accompaniment to the saddest message that we may have to bring to our
brethren is the sweet song of redemption. Oh, how this illumines whatever may
have to be said! How it changes denunciation into entreaty! How anger is melted
to tears, and even over those who have gone farthest astray, how the yearning
pity mingles with the faith to count upon their recovery as we deliver, it may
be, a message of sorrow!

In quite
another connection we have a similar thought:“Be careful [or anxious] for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6). The supplication suggests
strong entreaty of hearts that have a sense of need and must have an answer
from God. Yet coupled with it is that “thanksgiving” that lightens the burden
and, in anticipation, praises God for the answer. Do we always remember to
mingle thanks with our prayers as we wait long for the answer, as it is
deferred until the heart well nigh grows sick? Let us remember the
thanksgiving, for our God does hear and will in His own way and time give an
answer of peace. Meanwhile, too, “the peace of God that passes all
understanding [keeps our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

We have been
speaking of admonition. This is connected, in Col. 3:16, with psalms and hymns:
“Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Be the punctuation altered as
it may, the close connection between the admonition and the psalms and hymns
is, to say the least, suggestive of prophesying with the harp. In our own
experience, have we not oftentimes received the tenderest and most effectual
admonitions in the melody of praise?

Yet, gracious Lord, when we reflect

How apt to turn the eye from Thee,

Forget Thee, too, with sad neglect

And listen to the enemy,

And yet to find Thee still the same,

‘Tis this that humbles us with shame.

It seems as
though the very joy of God’s grace, instead of making us forget our own wrong,
leaves us not hopeless and discouraged but draws us closer to Himself:

Astonished at Thy feet we fall.

Thy love exceeds our highest thought.

Henceforth be Thou our all in all,

Thou who our souls with blood hast

bought.

May we henceforth more faithful prove

And ne’er forget Thy ceaseless love.

This is but one
illustration of what, without doubt, has been frequently the experience of
God’s beloved people. Have we not often expected a blow, felt that we deserved
it, that nothing short of some correction from the rod of God could move us,
and been surprised and melted into deepest contrition by the sweet voice of the
harp bringing the message of love that never changes?

Then, too, the
one who brings the needed message of admonition is also prone to discouragement
sometimes, forgetting his own weaknesses as he things of those of his brethren.
He goes in gloom, with but little hope of seeing results, to do that which is a
most unpleasant duty, and he does it faithfully, but in a hard way. He goes
away unsuccessful and doubly depressed. How different it might have been had he
taken his harp with him and remembered that it is grace alone that restores, as
it is grace alone that saves.

We must not
think that all prophecy is admonition or that every message from God is a word
of warning. How far this is from the truth! Has a father nothing but correction
for his children? It is the exception, rather than the rule. What happy family
is there where admonition is the prevailing atmosphere? It comes with all the
greater force because of its comparative rarity. But prophecy goes on always.
The Father is always speaking to His children and would use us as His
mouthpieces for His message. Exhortation, edification, and comfort are all
included in it, and how everything is lightened and rendered effective by the
spirit of praise! We come with happy hearts and speak to one another for
edification, and how different it is when, in a mere perfunctory way, we go
over truths clear to the mind, but lacking in just that one thing which makes
them effective and which the spirit of praise furnishes! Is there not, too
often, an atmosphere of depression among the people of God? They are looking at
one another, and like Joseph’s brethren, starving as they look into one
another’s faces, and yet their Bibles are in their hands, full of most priceless
truth. Constraint, the fear of man, and occupation with one’s brethren have
hindered the free outflow of that which should come in all its simplicity and
with all its power. What is the remedy? Take the harp. Strike a few notes.
Think of the love of God, of His grace and goodness; think of what redemption
is, and how all constraint vanishes! The Spirit of the Lord is free because we
are occupied, not with one another, but with Christ, and thus there is the
liberty which comes from the Spirit’s freedom.

Take again the
meeting for prayer. How many heavy hearts come to the prayer meeting. Do they
go away heavy or light? It is a libel upon the grace and love of God to carry a
heavy heart away from where we have met with Him. He will surely give a word of
help and blessing if the eye has been turned to Him, or if the harp of praise
has become the vehicle for the message of prophecy.

It is needless
to enlarge. We have simply dwelt upon one idea, looking at a few of its many
sides. The spirit of praise is absolutely essential. God dwells amid the
praises of His people (Psa. 22:22; Heb. 2:12). There can be no sense of His
presence without worship, and there can be no true liberty without praise
accompanying it. Let us then take a lesson from David’s provision. Let us learn
more than ever to prophesy with the harp, and to do everything with
thanksgiving. How light it would make our lives, and what a foretaste it would
give us of that time near at hand—we know not how near—when the melody of the
harp will sound out in all its entrancing sweetness as we sing:“Unto Him who
loves us and has washed us from our sins in His own blood … to Him be glory
and dominion for ever and ever” (Rev. 1:5,6).

(From Help
and Food, Vol. 19.)

In this article
I would like first to link Psalms 22, 23, and 24 together and show the
connection that they have with each other, and then present some more detailed
thoughts on the first and last of these Psalms.

In the New
Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken of as “the Good Shepherd” (John
10:11), “the Great Shepherd” (Heb. 13:20), and “the Chief Shepherd” (1 Pet.
5:4). Also, in Hebrews 9, three lines of truth—past, present, and future—
relating to Him in these aspects are unfolded. In verse 26, we read:“Once in
the end of the [age] has He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself”; this corresponds to Psalm 22, the past work of Christ “the Good
Shepherd” who gave His life for the sheep. In verse 24, Christ is presented as
having “entered … into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of
God for us”; this is the truth of Psalm 23, the present work of Christ
“the Great Shepherd of the sheep.” In verse 28, we read:“Unto those who
look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto
salvation”; this is Psalm 24, the future work of Christ “the Chief
Shepherd” who will yet come in glory.

We also may see
in these three Psalms The Cross, The Crook, and The Crown,
setting forth the symbols of the past, present, and future work
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Shepherd of the sheep and lambs of His flock. The
Cross shows His love unfolded in His sufferings to make propitiation for
our sins (Psalm 22). The Crook suggests His grace that flows out in the
loving, faithful care and ministry He carries on now (Psalm 23). The Crown
symbolizes the glory that He will yet reveal in His kingdom on earth (Psalm
24).

       Psalm 22, The Cross

This Psalm is
divided into two sections. The first, verses 1-21, depicts the sufferings unto
death that Christ endured as the Sin-bearer. He suffered alone in an
agony of soul that the human mind can never fathom. The second section, verses
22-31, tells of His associating others with Him in His resurrection in the
victory He won by His death.

The most casual
reader will immediately identify this Psalm as being one of the several
referred to as Messianic; that is, it projects the Messiah of Israel in His
sufferings and coming glory. The very first words, “My God, My God, why hast
Thou forsaken Me?” were uttered by our Lord Jesus on the cross 1,000 years
after they were written by the Spirit of God through David. How marvelous to
see prophecy so accurately fulfilled as “holy men of God spoke as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21)!

     Section I (Verses 1-21)

The Holy
Sufferer cries out, “Why?” as His God turns His back upon Him. In the daytime
and in the night seasons the words of His roaring are constantly uttered, but
there is no response—no help coming to Him (verses 1,2). He then answers His
own question as to why this is. He says, “But Thou art holy, O Thou who
inhabits the praises of Israel” (verse 3). The holiness of His God would not
permit Him to look upon sin, even upon His beloved Son who on the cross was
made sin, or a sin offering, to be consumed by the righteous judgment of God.
The answer to the Sufferer’s “Why?” in respect to ourselves is simply, “He was
forsaken that we might be accepted.” What grace is thus displayed to sinners in
perfect accord with divine righteousness in the work of this unique Sufferer!

He continues in
verses 4 and 5 to speak of the fact that the fathers in Israel in times past
cried unto God and were delivered; they trusted and were not confounded.
However, as for Himself, He says, “I am a worm and no man; a reproach of men
and despised of the people” (verse 6). The depth of humiliation into which He
entered is indicated here. The worm referred to is the cochineal, that insect
which was used to make the scarlet dye for the garments of the high priest and
for the curtains of the tabernacle. How graphically it depicts the sufferings
of Christ! As the worm was crushed and the dye extracted, so Christ was crushed
beneath the rod of God’s judgment against sin, and the blood which He shed is
that which has provided the beautiful garment of salvation to make the sinner
fit for God’s presence.

Another
prophecy concerning Calvary is seen in verse 8:“He trusted on the LORD that He
would deliver Him; let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him.” The elders
and scribes reviled Him in this way on the cross, saying, “He trusted in God;
let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him; for He said, I am the Son of God”
(Matt. 27:43). However, the Holy Sufferer seeks refuge in the fact that from
the time of His birth He was the object of His Father’s care, and God was His
hope when He was upon His mother’s breasts. “Thou art My God from My mother’s
belly,” He says. “Be not far from Me; for trouble is near; for there is none to
help,” He pleads (verses 10,11). Surely such trust would not be unrewarded, but
before He is answered, His work of suffering for sin must be completed.

He then turns
to speak of those who beset Him round and gaped upon Him with their mouths open
like a roaring lion (verses 12,13). This no doubt symbolized the same high
priest, scribes, and elders who gloated over their innocent Victim and
repeatedly, hatefully cried out for Pilate to “crucify Him!”

Then, too, the
physical sufferings of the cross are further indicated in verses 13-17. Hanging
upon the cross, His bones were out of joint, His heart was melted, His strength
was dried up, His tongue stuck to His jaws for lack of water. All His bones could
be counted as they were gruesomely projected (a similar prophetic picture is
found in Isa. 52:14).

His suffering
at the hands of the “dogs”—the term used for the Gentiles—is spoken of in verse
16. It is said of them, “They pierced My hands and My feet.” This is a
remarkable prophecy concerning the manner of His death. Totally unknown to the
Jews, who punished by stoning to death, was death by crucifixion, practiced by
the Romans, and here prophesied by the Psalmist. But the Romans at the time of
this writing were not even thought of at all as an existing people, much less
as a powerful empire. What a testimony this is to the inspiration and
infallibility of the Old Testament Scriptures!

Verse 15 shows
that it was God who brought the Holy Victim “into the dust of death.”
According to God’s eternal counsel His beloved Son should suffer for sins. He
was truly the “Lamb without blemish and without spot … foreordained before
the foundation of the world” for this purpose (1 Pet. 1:19,20).

Another
Scripture fulfilled at Calvary is verse 18:“They part My garments among them,
and cast lots upon My vesture.” John, in referring to this, tells us, “These
things therefore the solders did” (John 19:24).

In verses 19-21
the Holy Sufferer appeals to the power of Jehovah to be delivered from the
power of the dog, the Gentile power, that had Him bound, scourged, and nailed
to the Cross. He also cries for deliverance from the lion’s mouth—from Satan’s
vicious devouring. And then, being confident that He was heard “because of His
piety” (Heb. 5:7 JND), He says, “Thou has heard Me from the horns of the
unicorn.” The unicorn was actually the aurochs, a wild horned beast upon whose
horns the criminal was often impaled to be carried about until death claimed
the victim. Thus He thought of His plight. But He was heard from the
horns of the aurochs! Though death was to be His portion, yet He was saved out
of it, and the next section of the Psalm reveals the results of His atoning
death. He was raised from among the dead and is no longer alone. The time of
His suffering is forever past, and He now identifies others with Him in His
triumph.

    Section II (Verses 22-31)

The Holy
Sufferer is now the Triumphant Redeemer. In resurrection He declares the Name of
His God to His brethren. To Mary, in John 20:17, He says, “I ascend unto My
Father and your Father; and to My God and your God.” Taking His place in the
midst of the congregation, He Himself begins the praise—He leads the singing!
Verse 22 is cited in Hebrews 2 where the perfection of the Captain of Salvation
through suffering is declared. He was made a little lower than the angels in
order to suffer and taste death for every man. It was just like Him and His
love to do so. But now we see Him crowned with glory and honor, the Head of a
new creation, bringing many sons to glory to be eternally identified with Him!
What marvelous truth is unfolded in Heb. 2:9-12 and prophesied here in Psalm
22!

The Psalmist,
by the Holy Spirit, now turns to Israel:“You who fear the LORD, praise him;
all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all you the seed of
Israel. For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted
[One]; neither has He hid His face from Him; but when He cried unto him, He
heard” (verses 23,24). This tells of the acceptance of the death of the
afflicted One, and of the raising of Him from among the dead in triumph. This
is the foundation upon which Israel in a future day will be brought to
repentance and faith, to praise Him as their Messiah King.

This all points
to the time when not only Israel will be converted, but “all the ends of the
world shall remember and turn unto the LORD; and all the kindreds of the
nations shall worship before Thee. For the kingdom is the LORD’s:and He
is the Governor among the nations” (verses 27,28). Thus the 22nd Psalm
is linked with the 24th, which is a projection of the future Crown of Glory.
Meanwhile, however, “a seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord
for a generation” (verse 30). This seed shall come and bear witness of His
righteousness to a future generation—“unto a people that shall be born, that He
has done this” (verse 31). Actually, the message that shall be declared to Jew
and Gentile alike will proclaim, “He has finished the work!” How fitting that
this appears at the end of this Psalm, thus reminding us of His loud voice of
triumph on Calvary, after He had suffered for sins at the hand of a Holy
God—“It is finished.” The glory of the coming kingdom is truly based upon this
finished work, and will be the theme of praise of both the heavenly and earthly
saints. The earthly remnant of Israel and the multitude of Gentile nations
saved through the tribulation will enter His glorious kingdom praising the Lamb
whose blood had made their robes white for their eternal acceptance and
blessing.

       Psalm 24, The Crown

Recalling that
Psalm 23 presents Christ as “the Great Shepherd” of the sheep in His
present work symbolized by The Crook, we pass on to consider Psalm 24.
Here He is seen as “the Chief Shepherd” wearing The Crown of
glory in the day of His kingdom.

His power and
glory as Creator are first declared:“The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness
thereof; the world, and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the
seas, and established it upon the floods” (verses 1,2). And who is it that
shall dwell with Him? “He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (verse 4). They
are those who have been cleansed from their sins and manifest their standing by
a practical state of purity and righteousness. These shall receive the blessing
from the LORD” as His gifts of grace, receiving a righteousness from God that
will enable them to live and stand with the King during His millennial reign.

Both the
remnant of Israel and the various tribes of the Gentiles are included in verse
6. Israel will turn and seek Him and He will be found of them as their
long-awaited Messiah. The Gentiles also will find Him through the testimony of
Israel. “O Jacob,” suggests the grace to Jacob which now makes him “Israel”—a
prince with God.” The Gentiles will realize that their blessings have come to
them through “Jacob” now restored and blessed by Jehovah. The grace that met
unfaithful, deceitful Jacob will meet the need of the Gentiles who turn in
repentance to Him. Revelation 7 gives both the 144,000 of the 12 tribes of
Israel and the multitude of the Gentile nations saved through the tribulation,
converted and brought to Christ to form His kingdom when “the King of Glory
shall come in!”

“Who is this
King of Glory?” He is “the LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle”
(verse 8). He is the same One the Apostle John writes of in Rev. 19:11, the
“Faithful and True,” the One who “in righteousness … does judge and make
war.” The Chief Shepherd, coming in glory, will bear the rod of judgment. He
will be victorious over the nations that have opposed Him. The writer of the
2nd Psalm graphically depicts it thus as the presumptuous kings of the earth
set themselves against Him:“He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD
shall have them in derision…. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou
shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” When He comes, He will
destroy the western powers and cast the political ruler—the “beast”—and the
antichrist alive into the lake of fire. He will also break the king of the
north and his armies—Israel’s inveterate enemy, the dragon, whom God will use
as His rod against Jerusalem and apostate Israel (see Isa. 10:5-12, 14:24,25;
30:31-33). Finally, He will destroy Russia who will come against Israel when
she is established in her land in peace (Ezek. 38,39). In all this Jehovah will
be acclaimed as the Mighty Deliverer of His people. He truly is “The LORD of
hosts.” This is “the King of Glory”!

Hence, as the
three Psalms bring Him before us, He was the Holy Sufferer, the Good
Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep on The Cross (Psalm 22); He is
the Great Shepherd of the sheep now caring for us with His Crook (Psalm
23); and He will be the Chief Shepherd wearing The Crown when He
comes to judge His enemies and set up His kingdom of power and glory (Psalm
24).

(From Words
of Truth, Vol. 24.)

“And David
longed and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of
Bethlehem” (1 Chron. 11:17). Such was the breathing of David’s heart—a
breathing that met with a speedy and hearty response from three members of his
devoted and heroic band. “And the three broke through the host of the
Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem … and brought it to
David.” There was no command issued. No one in particular was singled out and
commissioned to go. There was the simple utterance of the desire, and this it
was which afforded the opportunity for genuine affection and true devotedness.

Mark the
response of David in this most touching scene:“But David would not drink of
it, but poured it out to the LORD. And said … Shall I drink the blood of
these men who have put their lives in jeopardy?” It was a sacrifice too costly
for any save Jehovah Himself, and hence David would not permit the sweet odor
of it to be interrupted in its ascent to the throne of God.

How little did
those three mighty men imagine that their act of loving devotedness should be
recorded on the eternal page of inspiration, there to be read by untold
millions! They never thought of this. Their hearts were set on David, and they
counted not their lives dear unto them so that they might gratify him or
refresh his spirit. Had they acted to get a name or place for themselves, it
would have robbed their act of all its charms and consigned it to its merited
contempt and oblivion. But no; they loved David. This was the spring of their
activity, and they proved that he was more precious to their hearts than life
itself. They forgot all in the one absorbing object of serving David, and the
odor of their sacrifice ascended to the throne of God while the record of their
deed shines on the page of inspiration, and shall continue to shine so long as
that page endures.

Oh! how we long
for something like this in reference to the true David in this day of His
rejection. We do greatly covet a more intense and self-sacrificing devotedness
as the fruit of the constraining love of Christ. It is not, by any means, a
question of working for rewards, for a crown, or for a place, though we fully
believe in the doctrine of rewards. No! the very moment we make rewards our
object, we are below the mark. We believe that service rendered with the eye
upon the reward would be defective. But then we believe also that every jot or
tittle of true service will be rewarded in the day of Christ’s glory, and that
each servant will get his place in the record, and his niche in the kingdom
according to the measure of His personal devotedness down here. This we hold to
be a great practical truth and we press it as such upon the attention of the
Christian reader. We must confess we long to see the standard of devotedness
greatly raised among us, and this can only be effected by having our hearts
more entirely consecrated to Christ and His cause. O Lord, revive Thy work!

(From Short
Papers, Vol. 2, Copyright 1975 by Believers Bookshelf, Sunbury,
Pennsylvania; used by permission.)

“Abide in Me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine, no more can you, except you abide in Me. I am the Vine, you are the
branches; He who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit,
for without Me you can do nothing…. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in
you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:4-7).

The beloved
apostle John, who heard these farewell words from the lips of the Lord, also
spoke of them in his Epistle:“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also
so to walk, even as He walked…. Little children, abide in Him, that, when He
shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His
coming…. Whosoever abides in Him sins not” (1 John 2:6,28; 3:6).

What are we to
understand by the Lord’s words, “Abide in Me”? (1) They imply a walk in such
nearness to Christ that the soul delights in all His loveliness and moral
excellencies, and thus finds in Him its object and perfect pattern. (2) They
suppose a heart in communion with Christ, that delights to confide in Him and
learn of Him. (3) Above all, they imply a life lived under the influence of His
presence and realized by faith.

If a Christlike
man of God visited our home, would not his presence have a restraining
influence upon everyone in the home? We should probably be a little more
careful than usual of our words and ways. If this would be the effect of the
presence of a man of like passions with ourselves, what would be the effect of
the realized presence of Christ Himself? To walk in the consciousness that He
listens to our words, sees our every act, and reads our thoughts, is to walk
under the blessed influence of His presence and thus abide in Him.

The Scriptures
that exhort us to abide in Christ tell us also of the blessedness we shall
enjoy if we do abide in Him.

     By Abiding in Christ We

     Shall Bring Forth Fruit

The fruit in
this passage is not service or the exercise of gift, however important these
may be in their place. Rather, it is the expression of something of the
loveliness of Christ—the reproduction of His own character— in our lives (see
Gal. 5:22,23, “the fruit of the Spirit”). Any little setting forth of the
graces of Christ goes up as fruit to the Father, and goes out as testimony to
the world. We shall never exhibit the character of Christ by simply trying to
be like Christ. If, however, we seek His company and come under His influence
by abiding in Him, we shall be changed into His image from glory to glory (2
Cor. 3:18).

    By Abiding in Christ Our

    Prayers Will Be Answered

If we are under
the blessed influence of His presence, with His words abiding in our hearts,
our thoughts will be formed by His thoughts and our prayers will be in accord
with His mind. Thus praying, we will have answers to our prayers.

     By Abiding in Christ We

     Will Walk As He Walked

How did Christ
walk? Of Him we read, “Christ pleased not Himself” (Rom. 15:3). And the Lord
could say, “I do always those things that please Him [that is, the Father]”
(John 8:29). This is the perfect pattern for the believer’s walk, just as the
apostle Paul exhorts believers to “walk in love, as Christ also has loved us”
(Eph. 5:2). The outstanding marks of the Lord’s path were the entire absence of
self-will in doing the Father’s will, and the serving of others in love. For
us, it is possible to tread such a path only as we abide in Christ.

We may know the
doctrines of Christianity; we may rightly hold the great essential truths of
our faith. But, as another has said, “No amount of knowledge, however correct,
no amount of intelligence, however exact, will ever put upon your soul the
impress of the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ.” If we are to wear the impress of
Christ, we must be in His company and walk with Him. Every man is formed by the
company that he keeps:the character of the one in whose company we walk is the
character we shall reflect. We must abide in Christ and thus walk with
Christ if we are to be like Christ and walk as He walked.

     By Abiding in Christ We

      Shall Not Be Ashamed

Often our walk,
ways, speech, and manners may be acceptable according to human standards. But
if we were to judge ourselves, our words, and our ways in the light of the
coming glory of the appearing of Christ, would we not find much that we would
have to condemn, and confess with shame as far short of the standard of glory?
Only as we abide in Christ, walking in self-judgment, will we be preserved from
all that would cause shame in the day of glory.

      By Abiding in Christ

          We Do Not Sin

“Sin is
lawlessness” (1 John 3:4 JND), that is, the essence of sin is doing one’s own
will without reference to God or man. The world around is increasingly marked
by lawlessness—everyone doing what is right in his own eyes. How are we to
escape the evil principle of lawlessness and self-will? Only by abiding in
Christ, for “whosoever abides in Him sins not” (1 John 3:6). Only as we are
held under the influence of the One who could say, “I came … not to do Mine
own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38) shall we escape the
self-will that is the very essence of sin.

These, then,
are the blessed results of abiding in Christ.

Defendant: Timothy McVeigh

Crime: Destroying a federal building and killing 168 people with
a bomb.

Verdict: Guilty on all
counts.

Penalty: Death by
injection.

Many people
worldwide followed with interest the trial of Timothy McVeigh. The jurors had a
heavy burden upon them. Based upon the evidence presented at the trial they had
to decide whether Timothy McVeigh was guilty or not. If Timothy McVeigh was
found guilty of breaking the laws of the land then he, as a responsible person,
would be subject to the penalty that the law prescribed:death or life
imprisonment.

There is
another verdict that has been passed upon every individual in the world. The
evidence is in and has been presented before the Judge of all the earth.

Defendants: You and me.

Crime: Sin—moral and
spiritual.

Verdict: Guilty on all
counts.

Penalty: Physical and spiritual death!

For what does
God hold every responsible person accountable? SIN! Every moral sin (for
example, murder, idolatry, adultery, fornication, lying, stealing) has been
recorded in God’s record book. Also every spiritual sin (for example,
pride, jealousy, hatred, anger, envy, greed) has been recorded. God’s Ten
Commandments express to us the standard that God has set. These commandments
are recorded for us in Exod. 20:3-17. The Lord Jesus summed up these Ten
Commandments for us in Matt. 22:37-40:“You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This
is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall
love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.”

This is the
standard that has been set by God. Have you, dear reader, met that
standard? Have you loved the Lord our God with all your heart, soul, and
mind? If you have ever taken God’s name in vain, then you are guilty.
Have you loved your neighbor as yourself? If you have ever coveted anything,
then you are guilty. Have you ever hated someone or stolen something or
told a lie? If so, then you are guilty.

   How Many of Us Are Guilty?

God has
answered that question in the Bible:“Now we know that what things soever the
law says, it says to those who are under the law:that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19). “All
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (verse 23). We all have
broken God’s law and are all guilty before God.

      What Is the Penalty?

The penalty is
death and judgment:The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). “It is
appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”
(Heb. 9:27).

   When Does This Take Place?

Death as a
penalty for sin may take place at any age and at any time. “Boast not yourself
of tomorrow:for you know not what a day may bring forth” (Prov. 27:1).
We will see later on that it is possible for you to escape this penalty.

The final
penalty for sin will take place in the future at the great white throne
judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). Here is a summary of that judgment:

1. Each sin
that has been committed will be brought before the one standing before the Lord
Jesus Christ.

2. There will
be no defense lawyer to argue against the charges that have all been recorded
in God’s books.

3. Each person
standing before the Lord Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne at this awful
moment will be pronounced:“Guilty on all counts.”

4. Each one
will then be cast into the lake of fire.

Here is what
God has said about that awful time:“And I saw a great white throne, and Him
who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there
was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before
God; and the books were opened:and another book was opened, which is the book
of life:and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the
books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it;
and death and hell delivered up the dead that were in them:and they were
judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into
the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:11-15). It
is possible for you to escape this penalty too.

         The Good News!

God has
provided a way of escape from the penalty of death and judgment. “For God so
loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God in
His wonderful love for us provided what His justice demanded. God so loved us
that He gave His own beloved Son to die for our sins on the cross of Calvary.
God does the loving and God does the giving. You and I must do the believing.

  How Do I Escape the Penalty?

1. Admitting
that I am a sinner. I must come as a hell-deserving sinner, confessing my sins
because Christ “came not to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance” (Luke 5:32). “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”
(1 Tim. 1:15).

2. Believing
that Jesus Christ died for my sins on Calvary’s cross. “Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). “By Him all who believe
are justified from all things” (Acts 13:39).

3. Coming
to the Lord Jesus just as you are. “Come unto Me, all you who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). “Him who comes to
Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

The above is
the ABC of the gospel. Dear reader, if you have not already come to the
Lord Jesus, you may come to Him right now. No matter where you are at this
present time you may simply bow your head and confess your sins to the Lord and
accept Him as your own personal Saviour. God has said, “If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

What Will Happen if You Do
This?

1. You will
escape the penalty of death. Instead of death being a penalty for the
Christian, it will be a happy release from earth to heaven:“Absent from the
body, and present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).

2. You will
also escape the penalty of judgment. You will be able to rightly say that your
penalty was paid in full by Christ when He suffered on the cross for your sins.
“Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree … by whose
stripes you were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). “There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).

3. Nothing will
ever be able to separate you from the love of God (Rom. 8:38,39).

4. Your future
is secure and as bright as all the promises of God (John 14:1-3).

The Danger of
Procrastination!

“Behold, now
is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).
Do not put off the salvation of your soul until tomorrow. Tomorrow may never
come for you. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?”
(Heb. 2:3). Come to Christ today and be saved.

            Remember:

“The Lord is
not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering … not willing that any should perish, but that all should come
to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

(From Scripture
Almanac, 1998.)

“You have
forgotten the exhortation that speaks unto you as unto children, My son,
despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of
him:for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He
receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons….
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them
reverence:shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of
spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own
pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.
Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous:
nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them
which are exercised thereby” (Heb. 12:5-11).

In view of the
tendencies of our nature, how needful it is to keep it in check. Thus we are
told in this passage in Hebrews that if you are a child you must expect
chastening. “He who spares his rod hates his son; but he who loves him chastens
him betimes [or promptly]” (Prov. 13:24). In love God is pledged to chasten us.
His rod we are to receive as a part of the proof of that love which gave His
own precious Son for us.

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

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

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

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

Notice that
expression, “partakers of His holiness.” There are given unto us “exceeding
great and precious promises,” whereby we might be “partakers of the divine
nature” (2 Pet. 1:4)—brought to the place where we can drink from the
fountain-source of holiness, the divine nature itself. God chastens us in order
that we may partake of His nature, that we may drink that in, as it were, and
have the fruits of holiness in our outward life as the result. After the
chastening come the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised
thereby.

You will notice
here that there are three ways in which we can be affected by chastening. We
can despise the chastening of the Lord—we may think it a trifle and throw it
off. We have been speaking about reproach and scorn. A man may say, “I don’t
care for people’s opinion—that is nothing to me”; he may brave it out in his
own strength. He is despising the chastening of the Lord. It cannot be a severe
chastening that does not bring us to God.

Then, on the
other hand, there are those who “faint” when they are rebuked of Him. They are
overwhelmed and the hands hang down; they are discouraged.

These are the
two extremes—neither of which is faith. But now we have, “To those who are
exercised thereby.” We are to be exercised by what we pass through, not to
despise it, not to faint under it. We are to learn the lessons that God would
teach us, to go to Him for comfort, help, and guidance, to lay hold upon His
grace and mercy.

(From Lectures
on Hebrews.)

The execution
of Timothy McVeigh on June 11, 2001 stirred up an unusually high interest in
the afterlife and hell. For example, my next door neighbor came over recently
and asked me if I thought that Mr. McVeigh was in hell. I responded that I
feared that he was, based on comments reportedly made by him shortly before his
execution. My neighbor went on to comment that if anyone deserved hell, it was
Timothy McVeigh. I responded that he was quite correct in saying that Mr.
McVeigh deserved to go to hell, but I rather shocked him when I added that in
actuality we all deserve to go to hell. That opened the door for me to
go through the gospel with my neighbor once again. My neighbor believes in hell
but does not yet grasp the vast scope of those who are deserving of it, namely,
the whole human race (Rom. 5:12-21; 6:23; Heb. 9:27,28).

    What Did Timothy McVeigh

       Believe About Hell?

Here are
Timothy McVeigh’s own thoughts about hell, as reported in The Baltimore Sun
on June 10, 2001:“McVeigh insisted that he has no fear of his execution. An
agnostic, he said he will ‘improvise, adapt, and overcome’ if it turns out that
there is an afterlife. ‘If I am going to hell,’ he wrote, ‘I’m gonna have a lot
of company.’” Timothy McVeigh wasn’t sure about the existence of hell, but
assumed that he wouldn’t make out too badly if there was a hell. It is a fairly
common notion—at least wishful thinking—that one will have lots of company in
hell and that hell will be a rather pleasant place, perhaps even a scene where
people can satisfy all of their fleshly lusts without worrying about being
arrested or made to feel guilty by a fundamentalist Christian.

     What Do Others Believe

           About Hell?

Letters to the
editor concerning Timothy McVeigh’s execution were no more enlightened, as
exemplified by this one in The Baltimore Sun:“I truly believe that the
worst punishment for someone such as Timothy McVeigh would have been a sentence
of solitary confinement with no contact with the outside world…. Dying is
only a needle stick to sleep—some punishment!” This letter is typical of the
belief of many people that hell (or heaven) is what people make of their lives
here on earth, and that there is nothing further beyond death.

While searching
the Internet for other ideas people have about hell, I found a web site devoted
to trying to prove in great detail, in a very scholarly—but misguided—way, that
the notion of eternal judgment in the lake of fire is not found in Scripture
and that everyone will end up in heaven.

  What Does the Bible Say
About

   Hell and Eternal Judgment?

“He shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:whose fan is in His
hand, and He will throughly purge his floor, and gather His wheat into the
garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:11,12).

“Enter in at
the strait gate:for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to
destruction, and many there be who go in thereat; because strait is the gate
and narrow is the way that leads unto life, and few there be that find it”
(Matt. 7:13,14).

“Many shall
come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast
out into outer darkness:there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt.
8:11,12; Luke 13:28).

“Fear not those
who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who
is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).

“And His
disciples came unto Him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of
the field. He answered and said unto them … As therefore the tares are
gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. The
Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His
kingdom all things that offend, and those who do iniquity; and shall cast them
into a furnace of fire:there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matt.
13:36-42).

“And when the
king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding
garment; and he said unto him, Friend, how do you come in here not having a
wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants,
Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness;
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 22:11-13).

“His lord
answered and said unto him, … Cast the unprofitable servant into outer
darkness:there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:26-30).

“Then shall the
King say unto those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…. Then shall He
say also unto those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels…. And these shall go
away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal” (Matt.
25:32-46).

“If your hand
offend you, cut it off…. And if your foot offend you, cut it off…. And if
your eye offend you, pluck it out:it is better for you to enter into the
kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43-48; also
Matt. 5:29,30; 18:8,9).

“There was a
certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared
sumptuously every day; and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was
laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that
fell from the rich man’s table:moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into
Abraham’s bosom; the rich man also died and was buried. And in hell he lifted
up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for
I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:19-24).

“He who
believes on the Son has everlasting life; and he who believes not the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him” (John 3:36).

“Marvel not at
this:for the hour is coming in the which all who are in the graves shall hear
His voice, and shall come forth; those who have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation” (John 5:28,29).

“God … will
render to every man according to his deeds:to those who by patient continuance
in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality—eternal life; but unto
those who are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—
indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish” (Rom. 2:5-9).

“Don’t you know
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers
of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9,10;
Gal. 5:19-21).

“No
whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater has any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God…. Because of these things
comes the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience” (Eph. 5:5,6).

“The Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking
vengeance on those who know not God, and who obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ:who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thess. 1:7-9).

“Whosoever
hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life
abiding in him” (1 John 3:14).

“If any man
worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his
hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out
without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with
fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of
the Lamb:and the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever:and they
have no rest day nor night who worship the beast and his image and whosoever
receives the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:9-11).

“And the beast
was taken, and with him the false prophet who wrought miracles before him, with
which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast, and those who
worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning
with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20).

“And the devil
who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast
and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and
ever” (Rev. 20:10).

“Death and hell
were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was
not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev.
20:14,15).

“But the
fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that
burns with fire and brimstone:which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).

What an
extensive, powerful testimony is given to us in the Scriptures concerning the
horrors of eternal judgment for those who reject God’s way of salvation through
the sufferings, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for our sins!
I have heard people accuse the Apostle Paul of promoting “those awful teachings
about hell-fire.” A man who did not believe in hell wrote to me that he lived
by the words of a loving Jesus rather than by His revenge-loving
misinterpreters. But if we look carefully at the references to hell and eternal
judgment of the wicked given above, what do we find? Out of a total of 25
references, 13 are to words spoken directly by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
and five more are from the Book that calls itself “the Revelation of Jesus
Christ”! (Rev. 1:1,2,5). Only five are from Paul’s epistles.

What Do YOU Believe About
Hell?

Let me now
address the readers of Words of Truth, most of whom, doubtless are true
believers in Christ and students of the Word of God:Do you—and do I—really
believe in hell? No doubt we hold Biblically correct doctrines concerning hell.
But do we really believe that hell is terrible, hell is eternal, and
thousands of people around us are doomed to spend eternity there? Have we ever
had an insight into what it would be like to spend eternity in the
blackness of darkness, completely separated from all one’s friends (contrary to
the beliefs of Timothy McVeigh and thousands others), separated from God, and
from all light and all love?

It is rather
ironic that the sects that claim that there is no hell (for example, the
Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons, and the Seventh-Day Adventists) are extremely
active in evangelism, while many people who hold all the right doctrines seem
content to let men and women go on to hell, since they make little or no effort
to change the course of the unconverted.

We must have
compassion on the lost. Where are the “weeping prophets” or “weeping preachers”
or “prayer warriors” for whom the thought of men and women in hell is so
terrible that they will cry to God for the souls of the lost? Let us confess
and judge our complacency. Let us pray for power to overcome inertia, fear,
self-indulgence, and whatever else is holding us back from telling to all we
can their frightful danger.

If we really
believe in hell, let us act as if we believed. Proper doctrine without love,
compassion, and action is a cold, useless thing, as offensive to God as to the
world.

Awhile in the
earthen vessel

The treasures of
glory gleam;

In heaven the
fount eternal,

In the desert
the living stream.

And looking on
Christ in glory,

That glory so
still, so fair,

There passes a
change upon me,

Till I am as He
who is there.

Then no more in
the earthen vessel

The treasure of
God shall be,

But in full and
unclouded beauty,

O Lord, wilt
Thou shine through me.

Afar through
the golden vessel

Will the glory
of God shine bright;

There shall be
no need for the sunshine,

For the Lamb
shall be the light.

Undimmed in
that wondrous vessel,

That light of
surpassing love

Shall illumine
the earth in its gladness,

And shall fill
the heavens above.

All, all in His
new creation,

The glory of God
shall see;

And the lamp
for that light eternal

The Lamb for the
Bride shall be.

A golden lamp
in the heavens,

That all may see
and adore

The Lamb who
was slain and who liveth,

Who liveth for
evermore.

How lost was my condition,

Till Jesus made me whole!

There is but one Physician

Can cure a sin-sick soul!

Next door to death He found me,

And snatched me from the grave;

To tell to all around me

His wondrous power to save.

The worst of all diseases

Is light compared with sin;

On every part it seizes,

But rages most within:

‘Tis palsy, dropsy, fear,

And madness—all combined;

And none but a believer,

The least relief can find.

From men great skill professing

I thought a cure to gain;

But this proved more distressing,

And added to my pain:

Some said that nothing ailed me,

Some gave me up for lost;

Their every refuge failed me,

And all my hopes were crossed.

At length this great Physician—

How matchless is His grace!—

Accepted my petition,

And undertook my case:

First gave me sight to view Him,

For sin my sight had sealed;

Then bid me look unto Him;

I looked, and I was healed.

A dying, risen Jesus,

Seen by the eye of faith,

At once from anguish frees us,

And saves the soul from death:

Come then to this Physician,

His help He’ll freely give,

He makes no hard condition,

‘Tis only—look and live.

(From Olney
Hymns, 1811.)

A carpenter is
a builder, a constructor. It is a most useful and honorable calling. Our
blessed Lord worked with His hands at this calling, and has thus honored all
true labor. His countrymen, who saw no beauty in Him that they should desire
Him, used it as a term of reproach:“Is not this the Carpenter, the son of
Mary…? And they were offended at Him” (Mark 6:3). But our blessed Lord was
not only a carpenter at Nazareth; He had built the world—the whole vast
universe was the work of His hands. Through His atoning sacrifice upon the
cross, He has laid the foundation—“the Christ, the Son of the living God”
(Matt. 16:16)—for His Church. This is a holy temple for the abode of God
through the Spirit, and destined to be that for all eternity in the city to
which the Church gives its name—“the Bride, the Lamb’s wife” (Rev. 21:9), “the
city that has foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). Thus
in all His works, our God with His Son shows us the divine dignity of the labor
of the Carpenter.

In Zechariah,
the prophet is shown a number of visions and symbolic scenes to impress upon
him both the condition of the remnant who had returned to the Lord and the
remedy to meet that condition. In the vision of the four carpenters this is
brought out in a striking way. “I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold four
horns” (Zech. 1:18). These horns are the Gentile powers—from the four corners
of the earth—who have scattered the people of God, and are still threatening
them. “And the Lord showed me four carpenters” (1:20). These are the remedy,
those who are to overcome and drive away the threatening powers of evil.

Notice that it
says, “I … saw … four horns.” It requires little discernment to see
evil and threatening danger. It is easy to see—and to be occupied with—the four
horns. We can all criticize and dwell upon the dangers, the failures of the
saints. But the Lord is the one who shows us the remedy. “The Lord
showed me four carpenters.” What is the power by which the inroads, the
oppression of the enemy is to be met? How shall we combat those four terrible
horns?

Naturally we
would say, by other horns; we must meet force by force, we must smite with the
sword. But what do we see in the midst of the carnage of the enemy’s power?
Carpenters, builders-up of that which is good, strengthening the things that
remain. This is how the Spirit of God puts it before us in the Epistle of Jude.
Evil, false profession, pride, and iniquity were coming in like a flood; all
seemed to be in ruin:“But you, beloved, building up yourselves on
your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the
love of God” (Jude 20,21). They, and we, are called to carpenter work, to the
quiet, steady, persistent construction of that which cannot be moved.

The application
is simple, individually and collectively. We are not to be deterred from going
forward with constructive work. Do temptations, difficulties, or failures
confront us? Let us be found quietly going on with God’s Word, feeding upon it,
storing our minds with it, learning more and more of its blessed fullness. Let
us seek to feed and to shepherd the sheep, to seek to help the need among the
saints. How great the need of pastors, of builders, among the saints. May the
Lord stir us up to these things, that we may see His work prosper, even in most
difficult times.

(From Words
of Truth, Vol. 5.)