It is of peculiar moment rightly to apprehend the force of the expression, “delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee.” It would come painfully short of the intention of the blessed Lord in these words, if it were not clearly understood that He means by them an entirely new and heavenly mission; “delivering thee,” &c., signifies really a taking him out from either Jew or Gentile as to nationality, or country, and then sending him to them as one who had come forth from on high, from a heavenly Savior, with whom He was now united by the Holy Ghost whom he had received at the moment when, through the instrumentality of Ananias, his natural vision was restored to him. (See Acts 9:1717And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 9:17).) Observe, the Savior in glory was revealed IN him, this the apostle himself tells us in Gal. 1:1616To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: (Galatians 1:16). In that expression, “to reveal his Son IN me,” lies the distinctive character of his apostleship and mission; Peter, for instance, could have spoken of how the Father had revealed the Son to him; Paul could say “IN me.” This great reality is connected with the truth of which the great apostle of the Gentiles was the chosen minister and witness; it is connected with the truth of the union of Christ and the church, this very truth having been intimated at his conversion—“Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me.” How wonderful and how blessed this inward revelation of the glory of the Savior in Paul; herein consists the true source of all his witness and ministry. It has been truly said, that Israel had cast the heir of the vineyard out, and that a new testimony was therefore now to go forth, a testimony which, while it proclaimed the loss of the hopes, both of Israel and the earth, as clearly announced the call out of the earth of a heavenly people; of this, in surprising grace, Saul the persecutor, is made the special bearer. Let us dwell with adoring praise on the rich grace displayed by the Lord in choosing Saul to be the vessel of this heavenly treasure; all connected with him at that moment illustrates that grace; viz., it was when his enmity against God and His anointed had reached its highest point; it was when the witnesses whose hands had been first upon Stephen, had laid down at his feet their clothes, now such is the abounding grace and goodness of the Lord, that at that moment, and in such a man, the heavenly glory of the heavenly Savior is revealed. I would use the words of another in setting forth this grace, namely,
Before this, man’s fullest enmity had been met by God’s love; for the cross was at the same moment the witness of both, as the witness of Saul now is. The soldier’s spear, as one has observed, drew forth the blood and water—sin has drawn forth grace. And now, as we may say, Saul’s journey to Damascus was the spear making its way a second time into the side of Christ, for he was now going with commission and slaughter against the flock of God. But it was on this journey that the light from heaven arrested him. The blood of Jesus thus again met the soldier’s cruel spear, and Saul is a pattern of all long- suffering. The sovereign grace that saves the church was thus displayed in Saul. But the heavenly glory that is re- served for the church was also displayed to him, for he sees Jesus in it. And by these things his future ministry is formed.
It has been said, and I think with great correctness, that at the time of calling out new ministries there have been characteristic exhibitions of Christ; striking illustrations of this will be found in the histories of Moses and David and other worthies of old, yet was it reserved for this heavenly ministry to be connected with the most blessed exhibition of all; the Lord Jesus having ascended into heaven, and being there head over all things to the church which is His body, He appeared to Saul of Tarsus from that glory, and in him appoints a ministry formed upon the principle of this manifestation. Thus it is that heaven was the birth-place of the apostleship of the Gentiles, and according to this, as in the scripture before us, he is sent from heaven to gather out and raise up a new and heavenly company, which should not only be for heaven, but from heaven as well.
The apostle tells us himself that he was “one born out of due time” but we are now seeing, I trust, how that it was out of due place, for it did not come from Jerusalem, as in fact it arose after the number of the twelve had been perfected by the appointment of Matthias. Nothing therefore can be more certain than that his call, mission and endowment were all characterized by heaven and glory. If we contemplate the subject of his witness and testimony, this will be further emphasized; for he comes out with this witness, that Christ and the church were one, that heaven was their common inheritance, and the gospel committed to him was “the gospel of the glory of Christ.”
Another point of great interest here is that spoken of in Gal. 1, how that “he conferred not with flesh and blood”—he did not go to any of the twelve, nor to Jerusalem, Why? Because his office and mission were from heaven. Was such an one as he, who had been ordained, as men speak, by glory, and commissioned from heaven, to get himself sanctioned or in anywise accredited by or from earth? Further, the gospel he preached he did not learn from the twelve, or at Jerusalem, neither was he taught it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. The previous pillars could not be used to support his ministry. Further, as has been so truly said, he was sent so positively from heaven, and for that which is essentially heavenly, that he says, “Christ sent me not to baptize.” Why was this? Evidently because there was now to be no gathering point on earth; in that sense, Christ was the center, but then, and mark it well, He was in heaven. The economy committed to Paul was heavenly, its source of power and its home was heaven. “For our citizenship is in heaven” sets that forth clearly; the state to which we belong has its existence in the heavens; for this was the enrolling which Paul was the minister. I would for a little refer to that which is of the deepest moment just now, and which flows as a necessary consequence from all that has been already set forth as to Paul’s ministry.
I feel assured that our God is in an especial way, at this present juncture, raising questions with us as to how far in our souls we have by faith apprehended the deep significance of the apostle’s ministry and mission, and as to how far in faith we have submitted ourselves to it in the power of the Holy Ghost, so as to be formed and fashioned in the heavenly manners and ways suited to such a ministry and mission. If I may venture to say so to my beloved brethren in the Lord, I would say that of late His voice has sounded a very solemn and arresting challenge to us as to this. The apostle himself could say to his son Timothy in forecasting days that have now arrived, that he, Timothy, had “fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,”—these were the heavenly clusters as it were which grew upon the heavenly tree; these manners and ways of heaven, could not be formed in any other place; these were the fruits of the true Canaan, but they grew there. It is quite true that the great apostle has passed away and left no successor: but the ministry survives the vessel of it. How far have we in faith and by the Spirit, drunk in the ministry? This is a question that may well challenge conscience and heart, where there is such to be challenged. I do not now speak of information about truth, nor do I raise any question as to experience in any way, but I do ask my beloved brethren to challenge their hearts as to FAITH; I am assured before the Lord that in His presence we shall find how little it has been faith, and how much it has been little more than credence, by which I mean a reliance of the mind on facts derived from other sources than personal knowledge. It may be objected that in thus writing I leave myself open to the charge of turning souls in on themselves; my reply to this is, that in order to produce exercise of conscience and self judgment it must be so; “go call thy husband and come hither,” is the great example of it; it was thus the avenue of her soul was opened up. I am profoundly convinced that the great need of the present amongst us is an exercise of conscience as to how far we have but received into our minds information, true and correct in itself, but without faith. How easy it is both to speak and write, the Lord knows, but it is another thing entirely to be a man from heaven in this earthly scene, exhibiting in a foreign land, fruits and graces, which both grew and ripened in their own heavenly sunlight; from heaven and therefore a stranger in a strange land, passing on through it as still from heaven, and therefore a pilgrim of faith; I am free to confess as I dwell upon it, and contemplate it, I am overwhelmed with the greatness of the calling; as well as the little measure in which it is taken up in faith. I know well nothing calls forth the anger of the devil or his most vigorous assaults, than such a ministry and testimony; and in proportion to the desire to exhibit the fruits of such a ministry among men, is the opposition and attack so skillfully delivered by the enemy. Alas! I also know how failure in various ways, supplies the exposed spot, which a keen and watchful foe soon discovers; and further, I do know how it is said by those around in a sort of Galleo spirit, “well it is true, these men are very intelligent in scripture, have cast off all the old superstitions, are wonderfully correct as to their creed and information, but in other respects they are pretty much like all others, if anything a little worse, they live luxuriously, are keen in worldly matters, deepen their interests and enlarge their borders in this world.”
Alas, how true is this unfriendly witness! Lord awaken all Thy saints to a true acceptance in faith of the Christian calling, that they may be, while here on earth, like Thy servant of old, from heaven both in their mission, witness, works, words and ways, for Thy blessed Son’s sake.
“God With Us”
(Matthew 2)
It is a very significant fact, that the test of every one and everything is Christ: doctrines do not test in the same way as the Person to whom, no doubt, all the doctrines of scripture relate.
The great question now, as in the days when the Lord Jesus was here, is, “What think ye of Christ?” Thus it is that here where we have the record of His advent into this world, all classes are manifested in their true character in relation to Him. In this Gospel He is presented as Son of Abraham, Son of David, Messiah the King: hence it is in this connection all through this Gospel we ever find Him, and the presentation of the truths found in the gospel are ever set forth in this connection. There was a spot on earth—the place of privilege and blessing—a favored place, the city of the great King. “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Sion.” Now it was to that spot every eye was turned, wherever expectation was alive in any true heart, it was from thence its hope sprung; hence it is that we find these wise men coming from the far East to Jerusalem, with the language of affection and earnestness, saying, “Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him.” Thus were their hearts moved by His birth, it is the King of Israel they come to seek, all about Him has a claim upon them, they leave their own and distant country, guided by His star, if only they can reach Him; this is the first class or company whom His advent into this world brings as it were to the front. It is a lovely picture this for faith to look upon, oh how Christ can engross heart and mind! Does He command ours? How much would we go through if only we might reach Him? Then observe their attitude on arriving at the place where He was—“they fell down and worshiped him” –
“Jesus is worthy to receive
Honor and power divine”—
is in reality the language of their willing hearts; how blessed to see faith at its goal, enjoying the prize! Is it not lovely to see how His Person having won their affections, commanded their adoration, and opened their treasures! They had nothing too costly to withhold from Him, precious as were their gifts—“gold and frankincense and myrrh”—He was far more precious still. Oh what a sight for faith, child though He was here, an infant of days as to His humanity, yet He as such was their all! He had but just come, yet it was Himself who had come and was there before them. It is lovely to trace in the scriptures how His Person ever addressed the faith and affection of which He was the object; here it was in the first moments of His birth; later on, as we know, in the close of His days on earth, and in the face of the hostility and hatred which beset Him, there was found a Mary who would expend on Him what the Holy Ghost was pleased to call “very costly”—and as she placed it on His body, perfumed the house with its odor. Oh, how at the beginning and at the end Christ was all to faith, whether in the Magi or in a Mary, it found in Him its satisfying portion, and the hatred and violence which marked both the scenes to which we have called attention, could not hinder it in its devotion and affection to Him. Is it so, may I ask affectionately, with us?
I would not leave this beautiful scene without a word on another subject—truly the center of all we have had before us. Let me ask you to think who is this wonderful child, whose advent seems to touch and test all hearts? Who but Emmanuel, God with us! He was none less than God manifest in flesh; the mighty God was there. Oh what grace and love, that He who was “in the beginning with God,” was God, should thus come down to become man; most affecting it is to dwell in thought on circumstances in which He is here found as having become Man: a little child, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger—lowliness, poverty, and rejection, are all found in His birth: well may we sing
“Rich in glory, Thou didst stoop,
Thence is all Thy people’s hope
Thou wast poor, that we might be
Rich in glory, Lord, with Thee.”
Again, it is striking to note how from the first moment of His advent He was a sufferer; in different ways and at different times He was such. Oh how it does appeal to and attract the heart! it is a suffering, sorrowing Christ which does this; in His humiliation He wins, in His glory He satisfies; His humiliation and His glory are the two great powers which work upon our hearts. Then see how Israel suffers too in connection with Him. “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because they are not”—oh what an expression of suffering and death, “they are not”! What a sense of desolation these words carry with them!
Thus we have looked at, in this first class, the faith and affection which found its all in Himself, and expended it all on Him, and we have also looked at who He was, the Object of such faith and love.
We must now look at the second class we find here, whom His Person and presence brings out. We find then a striking contrast to the Magi in the king (Herod) and all Jerusalem with him; Herod is a sad character full of pride, vanity, and worldly lust; besides he is a foreign king who is here seen usurping the allegiance of Messiah’s people, while He the true king, owned by the Gentiles as represented by these wise men, is cast out and refused, His own people being entirely indifferent to Him. Oh what a sight is here presented in the distress and trouble which His advent brought upon Herod and all Jerusalem! I need hardly dwell upon the moral state here presented: may I ask you how far you suppose things and people now are changed? Is there any more heart now than then for Christ? Alas! the answer is but too distinctly stamped upon the vast scene of profession around, where there is no more room for Jesus now than on the morning of His birth.
But suffer me to bring this question nearer to our own doors, and to ask, How is it with us in relation to Him? Another has so truly said, that what marked the man who then had possession of the throne of Jerusalem, was “victorious love of the world.” Now how far are we free from a like influence? Is it not this we have to watch against on every side? Oh the inroads and encroachments it has made in our midst; we are looking at a moment when Christ was “an exile in Egypt and then a Nazarene in the earth”; what is He now, may I ask? And what are we in relation to Him and as His disciples in this world that thus hated and rejected Him, and that hates and rejects Him still? Oh, be assured, this is the question of questions, now as then Christ determines everything. How much there is in that name Emmanuel, and what power there is in it to set aside present things: these are surely some of the thoughts the Holy Ghost would press on our souls as we dwell upon this precious page in His history upon earth.
But there is another class represented here, to which I would earnestly call your attention for a little. These scribes are a miserable company; they were conversant with the prophetic scriptures which told of Messiah’s birth, when appealed to, they reply at once, but having said this, we have said all information they had, but no more; they could tell of His coming who was Jehovah’s Shepherd King, to come out of Bethlehem, the house of bread, but their hearts had no interest whatever in Himself. Oh what a picture of a heart unmoved were they, no cravings and longings and yearnings were theirs, which nothing and no one but Jesus could meet and satisfy; no desire to see or hear this wondrous stranger- child had they; if they wished for a reputation for clearness as to the prophetic word, it was theirs; if they desired to make capital out of their knowledge of the sacred writings, none could dispute their claims; but no more than this could be said of them—“like lifeless finger-boards they point along a road in which they neither lead nor follow”; the place of the birth of Jesus, and the character of Him who was coming, they can announce, and then settle down into an indifference in which Christ is unnoticed and unknown. Alas! these scribes of other days are but the prototypes and precursors of those of a like class in this day—hearts where there is neither welcome nor room for Christ, any more than in the inn at Bethlehem.
Oh how all this speaks to our heart this day! I press it earnestly on every conscience and heart; let us each take it to ourselves, as to how we stand in respect of Christ. What is He to us? What is He worth? These and such like, as to Himself, are the questions of the moment.
There is one word of very deep and precious blessedness in the first chapter of this Gospel, and having looked at it a little we shall close our meditations for the present: the word to which I refer is “Emmanuel,” which being interpreted is “God with us” (Matt. 1:2323Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23)). What an announcement for any who had heart for it is in such words; and what an unfolding of the heart of God too! Oh the living grace that would indeed come down and tabernacle among men, so that they should know in very truth “God with is”; and not only this, but God among men in the circumstances we have already had before us, and meeting with such a reception at their hands, coming to His own and His own receiving Him not. Oh what grace and goodness! Then again, think of the power of that name Emmanuel, think of its attractive power, think of its displacing power; has it such with us? We who know it now in all the endearment which the name of Jesus brings with it to our poor hearts? If, indeed, we have heard His blessed voice, is He not able and worthy to make room for Himself, whoever and whatever else would have to stand aside? May the Lord, by His Spirit, so minister Christ to each one of us that nothing else will be of any value comparatively in our eyes, testimony in word and act may be as to Him, the true wisdom in these words.
It cannot be gotten for gold, shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shalt it be valued with pure gold.
May this be our testimony both in word and deed for His sake.