"Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation." Exod. 15:13. The children of Israel were brought to God as to the new standing they occupied. In the desert, just indeed entering upon it—this marked their character as pilgrims—they were yet brought into God's holy habitation. This corresponds with our position as believers in the Lord Jesus. He once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, to bring us to God. This is our place as His redeemed. That is, we are brought to God according to all that He is; His whole moral nature, having been completely satisfied in the death of Christ, can now rest in us in perfect complacency. The hymn therefore only expresses scriptural thought, when it says -
"So near, so very near to God, I cannot nearer be,
For in the Person of His Son I am as near as He."
The place indeed is accorded to us in grace, but none the less in righteousness, so that not only are all the attributes of God's character concerned in bringing us there, but He Himself is also glorified by it. It is an immense thought and one which, when held in power, imparts both strength and energy to our souls—that we are even now brought to God. The whole distance—measured by the death of Christ on the cross when He was made sin for us—has been bridged over, and our position of nearness is marked by the place He now occupies as glorified at the right hand of God. In heaven itself we shall not be nearer, as to our position, because it is in Christ. It should not be forgotten that our enjoyment of the truth, indeed even our apprehension of it, will depend upon our practical condition. God looks for a state corresponding with our standing; that is, our responsibility is measured by our privilege. But until we know our place, there cannot be an answering condition. We must first learn that we are brought to God, if we would in any measure walk in accordance with the position. State and walk must ever flow from a known relationship. Unless therefore we are taught the truth of our standing before God, we shall never answer to it in our souls, or in our walk and conversation.