Isaiah was a good man. Very few, probably, could have been found equal to him. He was grieved
too with the evils which were about him, and denounced them. Six times in the fifth chapter of
his book he cries, "Woe," to as many kinds of evildoers. He hated evil and loved good.

This is commendable; but a man may do this while yet knowing little of himself or of God. The
man who knew not himself nor God dared to come in to the wedding without a wedding garment
on, with the result of the awful sentence, "Cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 22:13).

The mercy of God, therefore, brings Isaiah through a new experience which he relates hi the sixth
chapter. He gets a vision_a throne and the Lord sitting upon it. It is surrounded with seraphim
who all proclaim the holiness of Him who sits there. It pierces him; it convicts him. In contrast
with his wicked neighbors he was a very good man; but in contrast with the holiness which shines
upon and through him from that resplendent throne, he is but a poor vile sinner. So he cries,
"Woe is me!" When away from God it is easy enough to say or to think, "I thank Thee, O God,
I am not like the rest of men," or, as so many say, "Of course we are all sinners." But in the
presence of His throne, alone there under the rays of His light, no covering can avail, no excuse
can be found. "Guilty," "lost," is all that the best of men can say. And if the best have only that
to say there, what of the rest? what of you, reader? Pointed question, you may say. Yes, but not
more so than must come to you sooner or later, for there is not a soul of man that will not come
before that Throne. If they refuse it in this life of responsibility they must be brought before it in
the coming life of accountability.

Had there been but the throne there could have been no hope for Isaiah, for good works have in
them no merit to atone for bad ones. The evil that was in him and the evil he had done, detected
by the Throne, could only bring from the Throne the sentence of judgment against the guilty man.
What can a righteous judge do but condemn the guilty? But there is an altar beside the throne.
That is, a sacrifice for sin has been made, and there are live coals upon it. The righteous sentence
of the Judge upon the throne has been borne by the Victim upon the altar. In Jesus upon the cross
is all this fulfilled. Blessed sight then is Jesus and the cross to a convicted and condemned sinner!
It is salvation_free, full, immediate, and eternal salvation. The moment one of the coals had
touched Isaiah’s lips, the angel could proclaim to him, "Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine
iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."

There is no doubt about it, no uncertainty. The salvation that God provides makes a man fit to be
with God at once. In preaching Christ, therefore, the apostle could say, "Be it known unto you
therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins;
and by Him, all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by
the law of Moses" (Acts 13?|8,39). And again, "Giving thanks unto the Father who hath made
us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have
redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:12-14).

Is the confession of our true condition, and of our sins, a hard matter when we see such grace?
No, it is really an invitation to the hungry to come and be fed; to the filthy to come and be
washed; to the lost to come and be saved; to the guilty to come and be cleared. All that God
requires of man is to own his guilt, and his true condition. God Himself does all the rest. God
gave His Son to atone for the sin. God forgives. God justifies. God thus glorifies Himself in the
grace that saves every sinner who, before the throne, cries out, "Woe is me."

Then, how sweet! He makes the cleansed sinner His messenger to other men:"Whom shall I send,
and who will go for us?" He asks. To which Isaiah replies now without fear, "Here am I, send
me." How blessed to be turned from a guilty sinner into a servant of the living God.

One word more in closing:Now, in this present life, is the time when the altar is found by the
throne. In the life to come the altar will be no more by the throne, and sinners brought before the
throne will find no more grace, but justice_stern, awful justice only. How dreadful to fritter away
this wonderful day of grace we are now in. Reader, what are you doing with it?

God could not pass the sinner by,
His sin demands that he must die;
But in the cross of Christ we see
How God can save, yet righteous be.

"And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of
Bethlehem, which is by the gate!" (2 Sam. 23:15). Such was the breathing of David’s heart_a
breathing which met with a speedy and hearty response from three members of that devoted and
heroic band which flocked around him in the cave of Adullam. "And the three mighty men brake
through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the
gate, and took it, 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. Had there been
a specific command given to any one, it would merely have afforded an occasion for ready
obedience; but the utterance of a desire developed that ardent attachment to the person of David
which is so lovely to behold.

And mark the actings of David in this most touching scene:"Nevertheless he would not drink
thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord. And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should
do this; is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would
not drink it. 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 the 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.)

Hebrew scholars tell us that the same Hebrew word for "one" is used in Genesis 2:24, "And they
shall become one flesh," and in Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel:the Lord our God is one
Lord." This fact has sometimes been used as an evidence that even in the Old Testament the triune
nature of God – a unity of more than one part – was alluded to. I would like to look at the reverse
side of the coin and use it to show the ideal nature of the oneness between husband and wife.

The Persons of the Trinity have had, have, and will have the same purposes and goals for all
eternity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit may have different roles in carrying out these purposes,
but there is no conflict of purpose or will in the Godhead. Just so, the ideal married couple will
have the same purposes and goals although their roles in achieving these goals may be somewhat
different. There will not be a conflict of wills, because for a Christian couple the question should
never be, "Shall we carry out his will or her will in this matter?" but, "What is God’s will for our
family in this matter?"

In the New Testament we have a couple, Aquila and Priscilla, who closely approached this ideal.
The first mention of this couple is in Acts 18. Paul lived with them in Corinth because they were
tentmakers and so was he. The passage implies that Aquila and Priscilla worked together at the
same secular occupation. (For the purposes of this article, secular occupation will mean the work
by which one provides for the physical needs of oneself or others.) I believe that in an ideal
environment all husbands and wives would do this. Unfortunately, in modern society few couples
can work together in the same secular work. However, even if they are physically separated
during their secular work, they can carry it out with a common purpose; they can have a
partnership of attitude. For example, let us suppose the husband of a young couple with children
goes out to some job or business, while the wife stays home to care for the children and house.
The husband should not regard his job as a means to inflate his ego or to make a name for himself
in the business or professional world. The purpose of his job is to glorify God, provide a means
to lay up treasure in heaven, and to provide for the physical and educational needs of his family.
Likewise, the wife in spending the money her husband earns and in caring for the home should
not have as her goals keeping herself and the children in the forefront of fashion or making her
home the showplace of the neighborhood, but to glorify God, have the means to lay up treasure
in heaven, and to provide for the physical and emotional needs of the family.

If the wife works outside the home her purposes should be the same ones; her work should not
be a means to pursue selfish ends. There should be this oneness of attitude toward the purposes
of secular work even if the couple cannot engage in exactly the same work.

The husband and wife should also minister together to the emotional, educational, and spiritual
needs of the family. Both should be interested in the training and discipline of the children. Both
should share the interests and activities of the children. Both should provide time in their schedules
for family worship, family communication, and family recreation.

Aquila and Priscilla not only worked together in their secular work, they worked together in their
spiritual ministry. Together they traveled with Paul to Syria (Acts 18:18), together they ministered

to Apollos (Acts 18:26), and together they provided a place in their home for the assembly (1 Cor.
16:19). Both are referred to as Paul’s helpers in Christ Jesus (Rom. 16:3). The ideal Christian
couple should be seeking ways to serve the Lord together and to help one another develop and use
the spiritual gifts of each. A husband and wife can minister together hi teaching children, in visits
to homes and hospitals, in tract distribution, and in ministering to the saved and unsaved in their
own home. If the husband has been given a gift for public ministry, the wife can have a part in
this as they study the Bible and pray together. The wife’s spiritual and scriptural insights spoken
to her husband privately may be very helpful to him as he ministers publicly. Even if their roles
in the ministry are somewhat different, they should have the partnership of a common purpose.

Serving the Lord together promotes the unity of the couple as well as the interests of Christ. In
fact, the unity of the couple is one of Christ’s interests (Eph. 5:28-31). Working together to
promote spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being in each other, in their own children, and in
persons outside the family will form special ties between husband and wife that can be formed in
no other way.

Some of the key elements that go into making a lasting and happy marriage have been discussed
previously in this series. These include the proper choice of a marriage partner and appropriate
behavior during the premarital period. If both the man and the woman are dedicated, born-again
Christians, and if they have developed a strong spiritual relationship during the engagement and
pre-engagement period, the marriage will be off to an excellent start. However, to maintain a
happy, vital marriage long term usually requires a great deal of adjustment by both partners and
much effort throughout their lives.

The results of a survey were published in the local newspaper recently. It was a study of 35
couples who had attained their 50th wedding anniversary. Spouses were interviewed individually
with the promise that their responses would not be told to their mates. To the surprise of the
researchers, they found that the majority of the couples_60 percent of them_ were unhappy in
their marriages. The fact that they had lived together for 50 years was not so much an expression
of their happiness as it was of the times in which they lived. They did not believe in divorce; it
was not an option to them nor to most couples who had grown up in their generation.

One of the purposes of this series on "The Christian and Marriage" is to reaffirm the position of
the Word of God_which happens also to coincide with the traditional American viewpoint_that
divorce is not an option, but is hated and forbidden by God (Mal. 2:16). (This topic of divorce
will be dealt with in detail in a future issue.) But in urging the position that marriage is for life and
that the couple should stick it out at all costs, it is not my desire to consign married couples to
lifetimes of mutual misery. Marriage should not just be a lifelong commitment (that is, "till death
do us part"); rather, I believe it is God’s intention that it should be a continual, lifelong source of
mutual joy and happiness for both partners. And this is possible when both are true Christians.
As both partners are progressively drawn closer to Christ, with Christ dwelling in then- hearts by
faith and being rooted and grounded in love (Eph. 3:17), they will experience not only increasing
joy in the Lord but a growing love for and joy with each other as well.

Many books have been written on this topic from a Christian perspective. Obviously we can only
scratch the surface in the few pages available in this magazine. A few suggestions for further
reading are given at the end of this article. Two key bases for a happy marriage are discussed in
Ephesians 5_love and submission. These will be discussed at this time. Other important
considerations will be taken up in the next issue, Lord willing.

"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. So it is in the best interests of the Church to listen carefully to
all that Christ enjoins and to obey implicitly and unquestioningly. The wife is also to submit to her
husband. But the problem arises that the husband is not all-knowing and all-wise; and rather than
being good and loving he may 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.

For those areas in which the wife’s expertise and experience far exceed the husband’s, he may be
willing to delegate completely the decision making to her. However, he must realize that God has
delegated to him the ultimate authority and responsibility for the running of the household; thus
he must be prepared at least to share in the responsibility for any unwise decisions made by his
wife.

For the husband’s 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 do with as he pleases. The word
to husbands is "love your wives." And this love is something 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 even if it costs self something.
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 seek to have her share in the decision making.

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. The Christian husband has a very
responsible position which requires much prayer and submission to God to fill properly. In fact,
his very position of leadership is given for the purpose of serving his wife and family, as Christ
said, "Let the leader [be] as he that serves" (Luke 22:26 JND).

So 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 follow the
scriptural order of wives being submissive to then- husbands if agreement cannot be reached, there
will be a strong basis for a truly happy marriage.

This topic will be continued in the next issue, Lord willing. Also, the particular problems facing
a couple in which one is a Christian and the other is not will be considered in a later issue.

Suggested further reading on this topic:
1. LaHaye, Tim:How to Be Happy Though Married. Wheaton, IL:Tyndale House Publishers,
1968.
2. Swindoll, Charles R.:Strike the Original Match. Portland, OR:Multnomah Press, 1980.
3. Wilson, Paul:The Institution of Marriage. Addison, IL:Bible Truth Publishers, 1969.
4. Wright, H. Norman:Communication:Key to Your Marriage. Glendale, CA:G/L Publications,
1974.

The times in Israel were not times in which we should look for such a light as Elijah the Tishbite;
however, it was, exactly, God’s time. God delights in showing, in the very midst of it all, that He
is quite as sufficient for the darkest times as for the brightest. Elijah’s name shows where his
strength was. "My mighty One is Jehovah" is its full significance. "Eli" means "my God," but also
means "my strength" or "my mighty One." "Tishbite" is said by some to mean "the converter,"
the one in whom there was power to turn men from their own way unto Himself, and who sought
to bring a nation back to God. In his own lifetime there might seem to be little apparent success
in that; even so there is the lesson for us. For while God never allows His Word to fall fruitless
to the ground, and we may surely trust Him for that, on this very account we may leave success
to Him. We should not be indifferent, but on the other hand not daunted if our ministry seems to
yield few results. We should be anxious, first of all, that the seed and sowing should be to His
mind, rather than to see results which, perhaps, the day of manifestation will alone disclose.

God would have us realize that success is in His own hands, and that He is content sometimes to
work in a way which is to us inscrutable. Look at the Lord’s life:how many true converts and
followers did He have during His lifetime on earth? A few disciples gathered in an upper room
after His resurrection. Quite a number were converted at Pentecost, but as you go on you find no
such large success, even in apostolic hands, as you might perhaps expect from the gospel. Indeed,
the response to the gospel was quite variable. In many places to which the apostle Paul went,
instead of having converts by the score (which is what people expect now from evangelistic
meetings), there were very few, so far as we know. In only a few places at first was there large
response. In an exceptional place you find the Lord saying, "I have much people in this city."
Alas! the great spread of the gospel took place in proportion to its adulteration; and as it became
popular, so it became corrupt.

If we make success our object, it will become a snare to us. We shall get our eyes upon the
results, and by this, test our work untruly. For if that were the test, what about the success of Him
who said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought." "Yet surely," was His
confidence, "My judgment is with the Lord, and My work with My God” (Isa. 49:4). God, on
the other hand, would have us look, in the most careful way possible, at walk and work and life
and to leave the results of the work to be made manifest in the day fast approaching which shall
make everything manifest. Are you content to leave it to that? Care for souls and love to them is,
of course, another thing. That should not be a matter of little moment, but beware of being
concerned about the results other people are obtaining or about what other people think about your
work. God is more concerned with quality than with quantity.

Now concerning Elijah, while God honored him in the most remarkable way (by sending fire from
heaven), yet there seemed no adequate result. Did the nation turn to God? No, in the next chapter
(1 Kings 19) he is fleeing from Jezebel because she has threatened to kill him. Then you find how
the ill-success of his mission affected Elijah. When he looked at that, he said, "Would God I might
die!" and sank down in discouragement. He was the man who, in the purposes of God, was not
going to die but was to be taken straight into heaven without seeing death at all. Yet he was
vanquished by the apparent lack of success after the wonderful display of power on Mount

Carmel.

Is this not a most wholesome warning to us not to look at the success so much as at the being with
God which will insure ultimate success? If we are to wait for success in order to know that God
has been with us in the work, then most of our work will be done not knowing whether or not we
have God’s mind in it. Yet, only as we work according to God’s will and in His strength can we
work in communion with Him. What comes of it is God’s concern, not ours. We need not be
afraid that His purpose will not be fulfilled, or that what is of Him will not prosper.

(Adapted from "The Man of God" in Help and Food, Vol. 8.)