"The Crown of Glory"

(Continued from p. 177.)

Of another crown we read in 1 Peter 5:1-4. He, who "| had been specially deputed to feed the lambs and sheep '.i of Christ's flock writes,

"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed; feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."

Every word in this stirring exhortation is of moment, and may well be carefully weighed.

Note first of all that Peter though one of the chiefest apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one to whom a special revelation and particular mission had been given, claims no authoritative place over other servants of Christ. He is "also an elder." That is, he writes of himself as a "co-presbyter"-one with his fellow-presbyters. If Peter was the first Pope it is clear that he never knew it. He does not write as "the Holy Father" to whom :others are in duty bound to be subject, but he exhorts his fellow-elders, as being himself one of their company.

It is true he had been privileged beyond most if not all of them. He had known the Lord, had companied with Him during His earthly ministry and had known ':Him after His resurrection. He had seen Him die- He was a witness (not a partaker) of His sufferings. He would share in the soon-coming glory.

Remembering the words of the risen Saviour, spoken so long ago that morning by the seaside,"Feed My lambs, ? shepherd My sheep," he passes on the exhortation to his brethren engaged in the work of ministering to the people of the Lord. Observe he bids them, "Feed the flock of God"-not, "Fleece the flock." Nothing can be more reprehensible than to think of a Christian church or assembly of believers as owing a living to the preacher or teacher who imparts the Word of life to them. He who thinks of the "ministry" as "one of the learned professions" and a mere means of livelihood, is on low ground indeed. The true minister of Christ is a man with a shepherd's heart who loves the flock and cares for them for the sake of Him who bought them with His blood. That they have responsibility to him is plain, but he looks, not to them but to the Lord for his support. And be it noted, the elders are not set over the flock (though indeed they are "over them in the Lord") but they are told to "feed the flock of God which is among you." It is true they are to lead the sheep, as in Hebrews 13:17, where we read,

"Obey them that have the rule over you (or, literally, that guide you), and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief:for that is unprofitable for you."

In the assembly of God, if things are as they should be, there will be neither clerical pretension on the one hand nor anarchy on the other. The Christian company is a brotherhood where each should have in view the best interests of all the rest, and where all the gifts given by the great Head of the Church may be freely exercised for the blessing of the whole Church.

To some is given in a special way the service of oversight, and such are bidden to care for the rest not as by constraint, but willingly; that is, not as being pressed into a position from which a lowly man might well shrink but as gladly serving for Christ's sake, and although those who give their whole time to the ministry of the Word are to subsist upon what grateful saints gladly give (as unto the Lord) they are not to be controlled by covetousness, nor to serve for "filthy lucre."

Neither are they to "lord it over possessions." Notice that the word "God's" is in italics. The warning is really against regarding the saints as their own allotted portion.

Men speak (thoughtlessly often, no doubt) of "my church," or "my congregation," but this is practically to deny and to forget that it is "His church" and "the congregation of the Lord," to which they may be called to minister.

It has been pointed out often that the word for "heritage" is kleros, from which we get our word "clergy." And here, paradoxical as it may seem, the laymen are the clergy! All God's people are His clergymen, according as it is written, "The Lord's portion is His people."

What a solemn thing then to lord it over such! But how grateful such should be and how responsive to those who feed them as Christ's under-shepherds who are called upon not only to minister the Word but to be examples (or models of behavior) to the flock.

Alas, that oft-times they find this a most thankless service. Their most earnest labors are frequently quite unappreciated and they can say with Paul, "The more abundantly I love you, the less I [am] loved." But the "pay-day" is coming! When the Chief Shepherd shall be manifested a crown of glory awaits every faithful servant who has cared for His lambs and sheep during His absence. The glory of this age passes away but the crown of glory is unfading and eternal.

Often, down here, the faithful servant is called on to bear reproach and shame, to have his good evil-
spoken of, and his motives impugned. Men would crown him with thorns, as they cruelly did to the Good Shepherd Himself but even as He is now "crowned, with glory and honor," so shall they who follow Him be, in that day.

"Go, labor on; spend and be spent;
Thy joy to do the Master's will,
It is the way the Saviour went,
Should not the saved one tread it still?"

Then, when called to His judgment-seat to give an account of the souls committed to his care, how will the true under-shepherd rejoice as he hears the "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!" Then shall the unfading glory-crown encircle the head that often ached because of ingratitude and lack of appreciation here on earth, and the unchanging brilliance of the wreath that tells of divine appreciation will cover the brow that once was worn with care. H. A. Ironside

(To be continued, D. V.)

May we be faithful to the will of God in our walk and large-hearted towards all His children. I earnestly desire to preserve the true character of the work of Brethren, poor as they may be; and we are poor, and wherever we have lost the sense of it, God has 'chastened us.

I believe God has committed a testimony to us, even the testimony necessary at this time for His Church. What a responsibility! And in us what incapacity for keeping this precious deposit, if we are not kept of Him and near Him! Away from Him, from His presence realized in a sensible way, it would be, alas, but one more good thing spoiled, while the one to whom it has been committed would be puffed up as to the very thing in which he has been unfaithful.

May God keep us near to Himself in humility.

Compromises are in my judgment always wrong. J. N. Darby