2 Chron. 15, “Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, while ye be with him: and if ye seek him, he will be found of you: but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.” Whilst, as we have seen, this cannot now be said to the individual believer, as to the eternal salvation of his soul, or the love of God to him in Christ; yet cannot these words be true of an assembly now? Or does an assembly once gathered to Christ always remain so? It is clear if they are gathered to Christ, He is in their midst. He says so. And in the beginning this was so. It was the very constitution of the church of God. But did it continue to be so T We read in our chapter, verse 3, “Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city,” &c. Israel had the true God, teaching priest, and laws, but they did not own them; and we see the result.
Has it not been the same with the church?
Yes, for a long season what an utter departure from owning the Lord in the midst of the assembly! He is ever the same, and the Holy Ghost is ever here; but for a long season where should we find the assembly gathered unto the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that He was manifestly in the midst of them? And in those days there was no peace to him that went out, or came in. What vexations and persecutions! What hatred of sect against sect, or so called church against church! And further we see unquestionably that after the blessed reviving in Philadelphia, there will come a state of things when Christ is not in the midst, but outside knocking, “The Lord is with you, while ye be with him.”
These warnings are not given to depress, or discourage, far from it. No, “Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak, for work shall be rewarded.” Can anything in these last days be so strengthening and encouraging; as this, “The Lord is with you?” The question then is this, How is His presence to be realized and enjoyed? “And when Asa heard these words.... he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah.... and renewed the altar of the Lord,” &c (Ver. 8.) This must be done if we would enjoy the manifest presence of the Lord in our midst.
As the Spirit says, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” Whatever we trust in, or rest in apart from Christ, is an abominable idol. And if, like Asa, we hear these words, every idol must be put away, and the altar be renewed, the Person and the work of the Lord Jesus must have the alone supreme place before our souls.
This is the secret of souls being truly gathered to Him. “And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeons for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance WHEN THEY SAW THAT THE LORD HIS GOD WAS WITH HIM.” What is there to attract souls now if Christ is not manifestly in the midst!
We could not desire to see them gathered to a Laodicean assembly. How solemn then these words of Oded! “The Lord is with you, while ye be with him.”
“So they gathered themselves together Jerusalem in the third month,” &c. Oh to be gathered now in the power of resurrection, and so gathered, putting away all idols, and renewing the true table of the Lord! This would lead to large-heartedness. “And they offered to the Lord the same time of the spoil.” Oh how much is spent on self; in dress, in amusements, in superfluities, that might be offered to the Lord! Some are starving, and thousands perishing around and a cry for the gospel in the dark towns, and villages, even of England. Oh, if those professedly gathered to Him would but offer unto the Lord the spoil. And what purpose and diligence is expected of us! if they were bid “to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart, and with all their soul.” Fellow believers, is it so with us? What is our profession worth if it is not? The Lord stir up all hearts.
If we are in His presence, there must, and will be holy discipline. “That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.” There must be no toleration of the flesh: “Baptized into his death.” “Knowing this, that our old man, is crucified with him.” The old man must be treated as dead. How little we have learned this lesson! But if the Lord is with us, there must not be room for a bit of self. Yes, there, was purpose of heart, no lukewarmness: “They sware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting.” “And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about.” (Vers. 14, 15.)
We know it is not for us now to make covenants, or to swear oaths. But should there be less earnestness or purpose of heart in lowly dependence on the Spirit of God? May the Lord arouse us every one to seek the Lord in the midst of His saints truly gathered to His name, with all our hearts, with our whole desire. Is the Holy and the True our whole desire? He who loved us, and gave Himself for us; He who loves us to the end; He whom we shall so soon see! Is He our whole desire? They to sought him with their whole desire.” If this is not the case, that which merely professes to be gathered to Him would soon become Laodicea, and He outside. And what was the result when they sought Him with their whole desire? “He was found of them.” Precious words of encouragement to them, and to us. Yes, to the end it will be so. If but two or three seek Him with their whole desire, He will be found of them. Shall we doubt this? It was to Jerusalem they were gathered together, for there He had recorded His name. But long before this He had said, “In all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.” (Exod. 20:2424An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. (Exodus 20:24).) And long after this, He said to us, concerning His assembly, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Yes, His presence is our Jerusalem. There He is found of us, if we seek Him with our whole desire.
“And the Lord gave them rest round about.” When he had finished redemption, and risen from the dead, did He not stand in the midst and say, “Peace to you,” perfect peace, perfect rest? There is not only peace of conscience, but peace, rest of heart, found in His blest presence that can be found nowhere else. But let us beware of the cold-hearted indifference of Laodicea. There is not one thing the Lord cam approve in that condition of soul. (Revelation in. 15-18.)
Many Christians have great difficulty in giving up their favorite idol, the principle of what is called the mother-church, and gathering simply to Christ as at the beginning. It was really beautiful in Asa: “Concerning Maacha the mother of Asa, the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.” Yes, if we would enjoy the peaceful rest of His presence, all, and every idol must be given up. Surely there ought not to be a moment’s hesitation betwixt Christ and the idolatry of even mother-church, since she and her end is so fully described in Rev. 17.
We would again repeat the caution, let not the reader apply these warnings and encouragements to the question of his soul’s eternal salvation. That is wholly the work of Christ, and it is finished. But as it regards the condition of all assemblies, it would be impossible to overrate the importance of these words of Oded. May the Lord use them to stir up our hearts to seek the Lord in the midst of His saints with all our heart, and all our desire.
The failure of Asa after all this reviving is also full of solemn warning: but for the present we close.
C. S.