“And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” (Numbers 21:8, 9.) “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15.)
In this beautiful figure of the Old Testament, and the divine application of it, in the New, by the blessed Lord Himself, we have unfolded to us the glorious result of a look of faith at the One who said, “Even so must the Son of man be lifted up;” a look which is recognized by God Himself, in the same way as He deigned to recognize the faith of His people of old―”He beheld”―”He lived.” It is always thus; the God with whom we have to do is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” and as He has honored in the past, unquestioning faith in His word, so now He does the same for all who believe in Him. The result, then, of this look of faith at this lifted up Son of man on the Cross, is―God is believed―Christ is honored―and the sinner saved!
But it is not only the one look that the believer has, precious as is the result of this; it is not that we have one bright glimpse of Christ, and then all dark again while down here; but what the apostle John saw with his actual eyes, is now the believer’s privilege to see by faith: “1 beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain.” (Rev. 5: 6.)
What assurance this second look gives! for the One spoken of there, “in the midst of the throne,” is the very same who was lifted up on the Cross, the Lamb as it had been slain.
One third look, we may call the look beyond death; and we have an example of it in Acts 7:55, 56, where Stephen’s vision is thus recorded: “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, yoked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
In these two last looks we have brought before us, that which gives peace and assurance both in life and death, the presence in the glory of the Lord who died on the Cross.
We have now traced from God’s word,―(1) the look of faith, at the very outset of the Christian’s course; (2) the look which brings confidence and trust through our life down here; (3) the look which gives triumph in the hour of death: but precious though these three looks are, they all pale in the light of the wondrous glory of the last look of the believer, for they are only looks of faith: the first―saving faith; the second―confiding faith; and the third―triumphant faith: but the last look is the one when
“Faith and hope shall cease,
And love abide alone.”
For “we know that, when he shall Appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2.)
And now, having traced the four looks, which the believer is privileged to enjoy (and the last one is eternal!) ― four looks at the “Chiefest among ten thousand!” ― three, here on earth, one throughout eternity in His own presence, ―sad indeed is the contrast presented by the one only look the unsaved soul can ever have at the Prince of life.
For example, let us look at the terrible case of Balaam. He was no infidel, but one who had to acknowledge having heard God’s word, and having heard about Him; listen to his own words: “I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh.” (Num. 24:16, 17.) A sad, sad look, from afar off, at the Light they have refused, and the Love they have slighted, and then! ― “blackness and darkness forever!” Oh, dear friend! if you cannot speak of the four looks being your happy portion, this last terrible only look is what must be yours, if you die unsaved, or if the Lord should come and you should be left behind. Can you bear the thought that, instead of three pleasant looks of faith, and one future eternal look of bright, unclouded joy in His blessed presence, your one solitary look should be but for an instant, and afar off? This must be so unless you come to the One who now lovingly invites you, saying “Look unto me and be ye saved.” (Isaiah 45:22.)
But He is still lingering in grace, still beseeching sinners to take Him at His word and prove His truth by turning the looks of faith at Him who was “lifted up.” Oh, dear reader, do remember this―that those who will not look now must look by and by, for, whether they will or not, they shall see Him, but not nigh. But if you look now, with the eye of faith, at the “lifted up” Son of Man, you will have Him for your stay and guide in life or death, and, to crown it all, you will “appear with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:4.)
Look then now―at once: to-morrow may never be. Do not turn a deaf ear to the gracious entreaty of a God of love, who gave His Son that you might never die, but turn today to the “lifted up” Son of man, and prove the truth of the text “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
“I heard the voice of Jesus say,
I am this dark world’s light;
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,
And all thy day be bright.
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk,
Till traveling days are done.”
J. K. B.