In the comments to follow, it is assumed that the saints meet together in accordance with 1 Cor. 14 on ground which leaves scope for the Holy Spirit to lead to a hymn by one, prayer by another, or a word of exhortation or doctrine by a third. Now it is obvious that if room is left for the Spirit to use whomever He will for the edifying of the body, this cannot be done without affording opportunity for forwardness and self-sufficiency to act without any guidance of the Spirit at all. Hence it is important to know how to distinguish between that which is of the flesh and that which is of the Spirit.

I would now suggest some of the broad and principal landmarks by which we may distinguish the guidance of the Spirit from fleshly counterfeits and pretensions. First, let us consider several things which are not a warrant for our taking part in conducting the meetings of the saints.

Negative Marks

The mere circumstance of there being liberty to act is no warrant for acting. The fact that there is no formal hindrance to anyone taking part in the meeting renders it possible for those whose only qualification is that they can read to take up a principal part of the time in reading chapter after chapter, and hymn after hymn. But while it is easy enough to read a chapter, to know which is the right one to read, and which is the right time to read it, is quite another matter. And to give out a hymn which really embodies and expresses the worship of the saints is what only can be done by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

That no one else is doing anything at the time is not sufficient warrant for taking part in the meeting. On the one hand, silence for its own sake cannot be too much deprecated. It may become as complete a form as anything else. But on the other hand, silence is better than what is said or done merely to break the silence. I know well what it is to think of a good many persons present who are not in communion, perhaps not believers, and to feel uneasy at the silence on their account. Where this commonly occurs, it may be a call from God for an entirely different kind of meeting; but it can never authorize anyone to speak, or pray, or give out a hymn, for the mere sake of something being done.

Again, one’s individual state and experiences are no certain guides as to any part we may take in meetings of the saints. A hymn may have been very sweet to my own soul, or I may have been present where it has been sung with great enjoyment of the Lord’s presence. I am not to conclude from this that it is my place to give out the hymn at the next meeting I attend. There may be no suitability in it to the present state of the assembly. The hymn must be expressive of what those assembled feel, or there will be no sincerity in their joining to sing it. And who but He who knows the actual state of the assembly can guide to a hymn expressive of that state?

Then as to prayer:when one prays in the assembly, it is as the vehicle for the expression of its wants and its requests. I may have burdens of my own to cast on the Lord in prayer, which it would be very improper for me to name in the assembly. If I am led by the Spirit to pray in the assembly, I shall be enabled to offer such prayers, and make such confessions, and present such thanksgivings as are suited to the actual state of those whose mouth I become in thus addressing God.

Similarly, a portion of Scripture may have interested my own soul greatly, and I may have profited by it; however, it does not follow that I am to read it at the Lord’s table, or in other meetings of the saints. Some particular subject may be occupying my own attention greatly, and it may be well for my own soul that it should do so; but it may not be at all the subject to which God would have the attention of the saints generally drawn.

Positive Marks

Scripture gives us ample instruction as to what are the marks of true ministry. I wish now to draw your attention to some of the plainer and more obvious of these marks.

The guidance of the Spirit is not by blind impulses and unintelligent impressions, but by filling the spiritual understanding with God’s thoughts as revealed in the written Word, and by acting on the renewed affections. In early days there were indeed God’s gifts which might be in their use unconnected with spiritual intelligence. I refer to the gift of tongues where there was no interpreter. And it would appear that because this gift seemed more marvelous in men’s eyes than the others, the Corinthians were fond of using and displaying it. For this the apostle rebukes them:"I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all; yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. Brethren, be not children in understanding; howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men" (1 Cor. 14:18-20).

The least that can be looked for in those who minister is acquaintance with the Scripture, the understanding of God’s mind as revealed in the Word. Observe that there may be this without any gift of utterance, without any capacity to communicate it to others. But without this, what have we to communicate? God’s saints are surely not assembled from time to time in the name of Jesus to have crude and undigested human thoughts presented to them, or to have retold to them what others have spoken or written. Personal acquaintance with God’s Word, familiarity with Scripture, understanding of its contents, is surely essential to the ministry of the Word. When our Lord was about to send out His disciples as His witnesses, it is said, "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45).

How often we read of Paul, when preaching to the Jews, reasoning with them out of the Scriptures (Acts 18:4,19). If the apostle addresses the Romans as able to admonish one another, it is because he can say of them, "And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another" (Rom. 15:14). If you look at the armor to be put on by the believer, you will find truth as a girdle for the loins, and "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Eph. 6:14-17). If you consider the qualifications of the bishop or overseer you will find:."Holding fast the faithful Word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers" (Titus 1:9).

From all this it is evident, my brethren, that it is not merely by little scraps of truth, brought out whenever some impulse to that end visits us, that the church is to be edified. No, they by whom the Holy Spirit acts to feed and nourish and guide the saints of God are they whose souls are exercised habitually in the Word of God_they "who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Heb. 5:14).

However, knowledge of God’s Word is not sufficient. There must be its present application to the consciences of the saints to meet their present need. For this there must be either acquaintance with their state (and this could never be very perfect or accurate), or else direct guidance from God. This is true of those who are in the fullest sense, and most manifestly, the gifts of Christ to His Church, as evangelists, pastors, or teachers. It is God only who can guide them to those portions of truth which will reach the conscience and meet the need of souls. It is He only who can enable them to present the truth in such a way as to secure these ends. God the Holy Spirit knows the need of each and all in the assembly; and He can guide those who speak to speak the suited, needed truth, whether they have the knowledge of the state of those addressed or not. How important, then, is implicit and unfeigned subjection to Him.

One thing that always marks ministry in the Spirit is the prompting of personal affection for Christ. "Lovest thou Me?" was the thrice repeated question to Peter, connected with the injunction to feed Christ’s flock. "For the love of Christ constraineth us," Paul says. How different is this from the many motives that might influence us naturally. How important that we should be able each time we minister to say with a good conscience, "My motive for speaking was not a love of prominence, or force of habit, or a restlessness which could not be content unless something was being done, but love to Christ and to His flock."

Further, ministry and worship in the Spirit is always marked by a deep sense of responsibility to Christ. Suppose we were questioned after the close of a meeting, "Why did you give out such a hymn, or read such a chapter, or offer such a prayer, or speak such a word?" Could we with a clear, good conscience reply, "My only reason for doing so was the solemn conviction that it was my Master’s will"? My brethren, is there not often the taking this part or that without any sense of responsibility to Christ?

"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God" (1 Peter 4:11). This is not an exhortation for one to speak according to the Scriptures, though all should, of course, do this. It says rather that they who speak are to speak as God’s mouthpiece. If I cannot say in speaking, "This is what I believe I have been taught of God, and what God has given me to speak at this time," I ought to be silent. Of course a man may be mistaken in saying this; but nothing less ought to induce anyone to take part in the meetings than the solemn conviction before God that God has given him something to say. If our consciences were exercised to act under such responsibility as this, it would doubtless prevent a great deal which does take place; but at the same time it would make way for God to manifest His presence as we are not accustomed to witness it.

One other point I would mention. A man may have little or no human learning, he may be unable to express himself in any elegant diction, or even with grammatical propriety. All this he may lack, and yet be a good minister of Jesus Christ if he is acquainted with the Word and subject to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

May the Lord in His mercy, beloved brethren, grant us to walk humbly with Himself, and thus may no hindrance be presented to the working of His blessed Spirit among us.

(Condensed from Five Letters on Worship and Ministry in the Spirit.)

God has revealed Himself to us as the "God of all grace" (1 Peter 5:10), and He has set us in the position of "having tasted that the Lord is gracious" (1 Peter 2:3). How hard it is for us to believe that the Lord is gracious! The natural feeling of our hearts is, "I know that thou art an austere man" (see Luke 19:21). There is in all of us naturally a lack of understanding of the grace of God.

There is sometimes the thought that grace implies God’s passing over sin. To the contrary! The thought of grace supposes sin to be such a horribly bad thing that God cannot tolerate it. If it were in the power of unrighteous, evil man to patch up his ways and mend himself so that he could stand before God, there would be no need of grace. The very fact that the Lord is gracious shows man’s state as a sinner so utterly ruined and hopeless that nothing but free grace can meet his need. The moment I understand that I am a sinful man, and that the Lord came to me because He knew the full extent and hatefulness of my sin, I understand what grace is. Faith makes me see that God is greater than my sin, and not that my sin is greater than God.

Now it is good to realize that the Lord who laid down His life for me is the same Lord with whom I have to do every day of my life. All His dealings with me are on the same principles of grace. The great secret of growth is the looking up to the Lord as gracious. How precious, how strengthening it is to know that Jesus is at this moment feeling and exercising the same love toward me as when He died on the cross for me.

This is a truth that should be applied by us in the most common everyday circumstances of life. Suppose, for instance, I have a bad temper which I find difficult to overcome. If I bring it to Jesus as my Friend, virtue goes out of Him for my need. My faith should thus be ever in exercise against temptations, and not simply my own effort. My own effort will never be sufficient. The source of real strength is in the sense of the Lord’s being gracious.

The natural man in us always disbelieves Christ as the only source of strength and of every blessing. Suppose my soul is out of communion and the natural heart says, "I must correct the cause of this before I can come to Christ." But He is gracious! And knowing this, we should return to Him at once, just as we are, and then humble ourselves deeply before Him. It is only in Him and from Him that we shall find that which will restore our souls. Humbleness in His presence is the only real humbleness. If we own ourselves in His presence to be just what we are, we shall find that He will show us nothing but grace.

It is Jesus who gives abiding rest to our souls, and not what our thoughts about ourselves may be. Faith never thinks about that which is in ourselves as its ground of rest. Rather, it receives and loves what God has revealed, and what are God’s thoughts about Jesus, in whom is His rest. In knowing Jesus to be precious to our souls, and having our eyes and our hearts occupied with Hun, we will be effectually prevented from being taken up with the vanity and sin around. And this, too, will be our strength against the sin and corruption of our own hearts.

WHATEVER I SEE IN MYSELF THAT IS NOT IN HIM, IS SIN. But it is not thinking of my own sins and my own vileness that will humble me, but thinking of the Lord Jesus_dwelling upon the excellency in Him. It is well to be done with ourselves, and to be taken up with Jesus. We are entitled to forget ourselves; we are entitled to forget our sins; we are entitled to forget all but Jesus.

There is nothing so difficult for our hearts as to abide in the sense of grace, to continue practically conscious that we are not under law, but under grace. There is nothing more difficult for us to comprehend than the fulness of that "grace of God wherein [we] stand," and to walk in the power and consciousness of it. It is only in the presence of God that we can know it. The moment we get away from the presence of God there will always be certain workings of our own thoughts within us, and our own thoughts can never reach up to the thoughts of God about us, to the "grace of God."

The having very simple thoughts of grace is the source of our strength as Christians. The abiding in the sense of grace, in the presence of God, is the secret of all holiness, peace, and quietness of spirit.

In Romans 7 we find a description of a person born again, but whose whole set of reasonings centers in himself. He stops short of grace. He stops short of the simple fact that, however bad he may be, God is love, and only love towards him. Instead of looking at God, it is all I, I, I. Faith looks at God as He has revealed Himself in grace.

Grace has reference to what God is, and not to what we are, except indeed that the very greatness of our sins magnifies the extent of the "grace of God." At the same time we must remember that the object of grace is to bring our souls into communion with God_to sanctify us by bringing our souls to know God and to love Hun. Therefore the knowledge of grace is the true source of sanctification.

It is better to be thinking of what God is than of what we are. The looking at ourselves is really pride, a want of the thorough consciousness that we are good for nothing. Until we see this we never quite look away from self to God. In looking to Christ, it is our privilege to forget ourselves. True humility does not so much consist in thinking badly of ourselves, as in not thinking of ourselves at all. I am too bad to be worth thinking about. What I want is to forget myself and look to God, who is indeed worth all my thoughts.

Beloved, if we can say as in Romans 7, "In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing," we have thought quite long enough about ourselves. Let us then think about Him who thought about us with thoughts of good and not of evil, long before we had thought of ourselves at all. Let us see what His thoughts of grace about us are, and take up the words of faith, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31).

FRAGMENT
Grace is the sweetest sound that ever reached our ears;
When conscience charged and justice frowned, ’twas grace
removed our fears.

Grace is a mine of wealth laid open to the poor;
Grace is the sov’reign spring of health; ’tis life
for evermore.

(Part II)

In the first part of this article, we considered the following questions concerning the conduct of assembly meetings:(1) Who is permitted to participate in such a meeting? (2) How can each brother and sister prepare for such a meeting?

(3) Is there to be a specific theme for the meeting? (4) Is a particular order to be followed? and (5) What can be done about long periods of silence during such a meeting? Three types of assembly meetings were particularly focused upon:the remembrance meeting (or Lord’s supper), prayer meeting, and meeting for ministry of the Word of God.

In this second and concluding part, three additional questions are discussed:(6) What if a particular brother does not edify the assembly by his ministry? (7) How long should a message be? and (8) How is such a meeting brought to a close?

What If There Is No Edification ?

As noted previously, according to 1 Cor. 14 the purpose of the assembly meeting is edification of the saints. But suppose a particular brother who participates rather frequently in the assembly meeting repeatedly fails to edify. Let me suggest a few things to consider in this regard.

First, the problem may be in me and not in the speaker. I may be harboring some unjudged ill feelings toward that brother that effectively blocks my spirit from receiving any ministry that the brother may give.

Second, it is well to keep in mind that the people attending an assembly meeting often cover a wide range of ages and of spiritual maturity. A brother’s ministry may be unprofitable to me because it typically covers lessons I learned long ago; but the lessons may be just what are needed by some of the younger ones present. And rather than be bored by it all, I should be praying that those to whom the message is directed will receive it and live it. Further, it will not do me any harm to challenge myself whether the truths that are being presented are as fresh, and real, and living in me as they once were. (If I find them boring, perhaps they are not as real to me as they ought to be!) And finally, if I pay close attention, I may get some pointers as to how better to present simple truths to young believers.

Third, it may be that the person is acting in the flesh and not in the Spirit, and is truly edifying nobody. If, after talking with several other brothers and sisters of all ages, I find that all are agreed that they are not edified by the brother’s ministry, it is scriptural for other brothers to go to him, in a spirit of meekness (Gal. 6:1), and tell him the problem and seek to help him to become more attuned to the leading of the Holy Spirit. "Let the prophets speak . . . and let the others judge" (1 Cor. 14:29).

How Long Should a Message Be?

The apostle Paul said, "In the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue" (1 Cor. 14:19). It is generally found that the shorter and more succinct a message is, the higher the likelihood the main points will be remembered by the hearers. The unknown tongue, while referring to a foreign, unintelligible language in the case of the Corinthians, could apply to speakers who try to cover Genesis to Revelation and all major (and some minor) doctrines in one message. In general, the messages should have one or two key themes or points to impress upon the audience, and care should be taken not to ramble all over and get off on many different tangents while trying to make those main points. Dependence on the Holy Spirit does not end with standing up to speak. There should be equal_if not greater_dependence on the Spirit while giving the message in order to stick to the main point the Spirit wants you to bring out and in order to know when to stop and sit down. Verse 30 of 1 Cor. 14 seems relevant in this regard, though it is difficult to know exactly how to carry it out in practice:"If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace." I would suggest that if the brother who is speaking continues to look to the Holy Spirit for guidance while he speaks, the Spirit will make it plain to him when he should conclude and "hold his peace" so that another brother can minister what the Spirit has given to him.

How Is an Assembly Meeting Brought to a Close?

This is perhaps the most difficult of our questions to answer. I can easily tell you from personal experience how such meetings traditionally are ended. The weekly remembrance and prayer meetings generally are announced for a specific time period (say, one hour). At the appointed time, Bibles and hymn books are put away and the Holy Spirit is dismissed, as it were.

No doubt it would be more in keeping with the character of these meetings_that is, assembly meetings with the Holy Spirit in full control_to allow more flexibility to go over the appointed hour if the Spirit so leads. If another meeting, such as Sunday school, is scheduled to start immediately after the remembrance meeting is scheduled to end, this severely limits the flexibility of letting the Spirit_rather than the clock_ bring the meeting to a close. So it would be wise to schedule a break between the two meetings if the remembrance meeting is first.

On the other hand, if several families are missing (due to bad weather, vacations, etc.) and there are only one or two brothers left, there is no reason a remembrance meeting need necessarily last a whole hour. It need not be more than the giving of thanks for the bread and wine and perhaps a hymn or two_of course, all according to the Spirit’s leading. Even when several brothers are present, allowance must be given to the Spirit to close the meeting early, perhaps to allow the assembly the final few minutes to silently meditate upon the thoughts already expressed.

In the case of an assembly meeting for ministry of the Word, the length of the meeting is defined in part by the number of prophets_that is, those who read and/or expound the Scriptures_who have spoken. "Let the prophets speak two or three" (1 Cor. 14:29). No doubt this restriction, imposed by the all-wise God, takes account of man’s inability to take in and retain more than a few main ideas in a single sitting. Even after the third speaker has sat down, allowance should still be given to the Holy Spirit to lead in additional hymns, prayers, and worship.

Conclusion

To conclude this topic, I would say that the brothers have an awesome responsibility to carry out with regard to the assembly meetings. It is not an easy thing to wait upon the Holy Spirit to lead in an assembly meeting. It is often difficult to discern the voice or prompting of the Spirit and to distinguish it from the prompting of Satan or the flesh. It is difficult to sit through long silences without doing something_anything! The sisters should not be envious of the public place given to the brothers, and should gladly support the brothers with their prayers and encouragement.

On the other hand, let us not allow the sense of this awesome responsibility, and the intense spiritual exercise required by it, to hinder us from conducting assembly meetings. A great deal of blessing and spiritual edification awaits those who desire to gather together as an assembly to wait upon the Spirit alone, letting Him draw out our prayers and praises and allowing the omniscient, all-wise God to minister to current spiritual needs of the assembly as He sees them.

There is nothing that comes before the eyes of men that strikes them more than the meek, lowly, thankful spirit that endures a wrong. The natural man resents, and, if he can, avenges everything of the sort. But to the disciple such grace is a principle of his new life. It is what in its perfection he has beheld in Christ, and what suits his Father who is in the heavens and looks for the reproduction of His own character in His sons. Retaliation is here reversed and uprooted.

Hear the instruction Christ gave to His disciples:"Resist not evil:but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. . . . Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:39-48).

It may be personal lawlessness, an unjust suit, or a hard law; but the disciple of Christ is taught by the Master to bow. What is a brutal insult compared with truly representing Him? Consistency with Him is far more than one’s coat and cloak. Instead of begrudging the service pressed for one mile, add another to please Him who would have us walk by faith, not by sight, still less selfishly. We are also to give habitually to him that asks; for what have not we ourselves received from the divine Giver beyond all we have asked? Are we who are the objects of countless and rich mercies to turn away from one that would ask or borrow?

But the Lord goes farther in His next utterance. Whatever was said of loving one’s neighbor and hating one’s enemy, His word to His disciples was and is, "Love your enemies, . . . and pray for them which . . . persecute you." Such love and piety, to be of value, must be no mere form but a living reality, that they might be sons of their Father in the heavens; for such is their place of dignity. And what a pattern He sets! He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. What rich grace in the first comparison, and what faithful goodness in the second!

Nor was the Lord content with the pointed reference to His Father and our Father, to His God and our God. He would make them ashamed, as His disciples, of not rising above the practice of Jews and Gentiles. If they loved those that loved them, did not the odious tax-gatherers the same? If they greeted their brethren only, the scorned Gentiles did also the same. This was altogether beneath the Christian according to Christ. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." A lower standard of feeling and conduct was to the Saviour intolerable.

Have we such confidence by grace toward God? Assuredly we have no competency as of ourselves; but our competency is of God, according to the spirit of the new covenant, not of the old. The grace of Christ alone suffices the believer.

(From The Bible Treasury, Volume 4, New Series.)

It is of interest to observe how the apostle Paul closes all his Epistles with this desire of his heart_"Grace be with you." And indeed, what can be more in keeping with the "grace and truth" that came by Jesus Christ, whose followers we are, that we should desire such grace for ourselves and others in a world like this?

It is not standing on our rights, for what rights have we? If our due deserts are rendered to us, what can the result be but the lake of fire? But sovereign, unmerited grace to those who deserved it not in the least has been manifested, and from first to last we are debtors to mercy. Where there is the due sense of this in the soul, we shall not be exactors but benefactors. We shall not demand, but be glad to serve, even as "the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:28).

(From The Bible Treasury, Volume 6, New Series.)

The two attributes of God under consideration in this issue are special aspects of His goodness. Mercy might be defined as the outward manifestation of pity, or compassion in action. It often assumes kindness toward one deserving punishment and resulting in that person’s deliverance from the deserved judgment. Grace is perhaps a more positive quality. It denotes positive favor and blessing shown to those who do not deserve it, or who even demerit it, that is, deserve just the opposite.

God in His mercy has delivered us from the consequences and penalty of our sin, and is delivering us daily from the power of sin and from the misery which sin produces. God in His grace has promised us eternal life in His presence in heaven, united as a bride to His own Son, the Bridegroom; He has given us a heavenly inheritance; and He has already brought us into relationship as sons with Himself, our Father.

An event in the life of the prophet Elisha was used in the previous issue to illustrate the display of goodness to one’s enemies. We see the elements of both mercy and grace in Elisha’s actions. In his God-inspired mercy, Elisha prevented the King of Israel from killing anyone in the captive Syrian army. In grace he did even more_set a feast before them! (2 Kings 6:8-23).

The prodigal son hoped for mercy when he returned home after wasting his fortune and becoming destitute:"I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son:make me as one of thy hired servants." But notice how much higher were the thoughts of his father:"Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found" (Luke 15:18-24). How the grace of the father toward the wayward son shines out here!

Let us consider what the Scriptures have to say about the mercy and grace of God.

"And the Lord passed by before [Moses] and proclaimed, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin" (Exod. 34:6,7).

When David was asked to choose among three punishments for his sin of numbering the people, he answered, "I am in a great strait:let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man" (2 Sam. 24:10-14).

In Nehemiah’s day, the Levites rehearsed before God the history of His mercy and goodness toward His people:"Our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to Thy commandments . . . but Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; yet Thou in Thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness. . . . They were disobedient, and rebelled against Thee, and cast Thy law behind their backs. . . . Therefore Thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them; and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto Thee, Thou heardest them from heaven; and according to Thy manifold mercies Thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. . . . And many times didst Thou deliver them according to Thy mercies.. . . For Thy great mercies’ sake Thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for Thou art a gracious and merciful God" (Neh. 9:16-31). Similarly, the psalmist, in rehearsing Jehovah’s wonderful intervention throughout Israel’s history, exclaimed twenty-six times, "For His mercy endureth for ever" (Psa. 136).

David, repenting of his sin in connection with Bathsheba, cried out, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions" (Psa. 51:1). Similarly, while the proud Pharisee paraded his own fancied goodness before God, the repentant tax collector pleaded the mercy of God for his case:"The publican . . . smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:11-13).

The progression from mercy to grace in God’s dealings with sinners is seen in the following passages in Ephesians and Titus:"But God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, . . . and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith" (Eph. 2:4-8). "For we … were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…. That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:3-7).

However wonderful it is to know that God in His mercy has saved us and pardoned us of our sins, delivering us from the coming judgment which we surely deserve, even more wonderful to us is the truth that He has justified us_cleared us of every charge that was against us. How God’s grace shines out in justifying the guilty sinner (see also Rom. 3:24)!

Notice in the verses previously quoted how God’s grace toward sinners is often referred to in terms of our eternal inheritance in the heavenlies with Christ. We find it similarly in Eph. 1:3-6; after speaking of our being blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ, made holy and without blame before Him (only fully realized in the eternal state), and made the children of God according to the good pleasure of His will, the apostle bows in humble adoration:"To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has taken us into favor [or a position of grace] in the Beloved" (JND).

It is through the knowledge of His grace that we develop the holy boldness to come into God’s presence with our petitions and worship. And it is through the appreciation of all that His grace has given to us for time and eternity that we are led to devote our lives to His service. The apostle Paul, who at one time persecuted the church of God, claims, "By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all:yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Cor. 15:9,10).

God the Son, equally with the Father, was characterized by mercy and grace. Often needy people cried to Him for mercy (Matt. 9:27; 15:22; 17:15). And He is referred to as "a merciful and faithful high priest" (Heb. 2:17) in His present resurrected and glorified position. The people "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth" (Luke 4:22). John declared that He was "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Paul testified, "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). And the Bible closes with the prayer, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (Rev. 22:21).

Believers in Christ are exhorted to be merciful (Matt. 5:7; Luke 6:36; Col. 3:12). But the real secret of the Christian’s spiritual success, as intimated in Rev. 22:21 quoted above, lies in being filled with the appreciation of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and allowing that same grace to flow out of our own lives. Our lips are to minister grace unto the hearers (Eph. 4:29), and our speech is to be always "with grace, seasoned with salt" (Col. 4:6). We are to sing with grace in our hearts to the Lord (Col. 3:16). We are exhorted, along with Timothy, to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 2:1) rather than in any natural abilities. All are to minister their spiritual gifts "one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1 Peter 4:10).

At the close of his second epistle, the apostle Peter exhorts the believers to "grow . . . in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." But knowledge alone does not give power for a godly life. So it is fitting that he includes before knowledge, "Grow in grace." The Lord wants us to grow in our understanding of His infinite grace toward us, and correspondingly to grow in the manifestation of that grace one to another. May our hearts be challenged by this and may we examine ourselves as to the extent to which we are really growing in grace.