IT is very blessed to see how God the Father, and the Son, are one all through these chapters of John as in v. 17-24, but in the opening of chapter 28. there is a remarkable thing for us to note, and that is the place of retirement the Lord had in this world. There was a garden which He entered and His disciples, though as we read, He retired constantly alone, still what is so marked here is, that He was alone with His own (His disciples).
There is such a thing as discipleship, and the true disciple will always be found in the place of retirement with the Lord Himself, that is one great characteristic of the disciple; and there is no trouble to the disciple to find the place of retirement, the true place is where the Lord. is Himself. That is a contrast to the Christian who is not a disciple, and ignorant of the place, whereas the true disciple has not got to beat about to find the place, it is well to be very clear about this.
It is a very important thing at all times, and especially at the present day to recognize, that there is a place of retirement for the disciple, and that, the place where the Lord is,-where He retires to, He had them in an upper room in the crowded city, but it is entirely shut out from the world, and its noise. He had them all at the supper, and we must not forget the assembling of ourselves together, all that is perfectly true in its place; also another word in another place comes in and tells us He had His own places of mountain retirement for prayer where He often retired by Himself, and at one time on such occasions sent His disciples off on the sea by themselves, but that is not what we have here. It is the place where He was wont to retire with His disciples; and now comes in another thing, and that is, " Judas also which betrayed him knew the place."
It is a very sad thing to reflect that the devil knows the place better than the Christian who is not a disciple.
The devil first tempted Judas, then entered into him, and now we find him fully possessed of the devil, and he goes straight to the place. You may be very certain that the devil knows the place, and it is a shame, in a certain sense, if Christians do not know the place. And now Jesus stands forward and says, " Whom seek ye?" The person whom they sought was named Jesus of Nazareth. They sought Jesus the Nazarene a name to them of „contempt.
It is remarkable that though this is His Name, He would not accept the name from them. There is a marked feature in this, that Jesus will not accept it from the people that came at that time-wicked people. And why? Was it that He wanted to be great before men? Was it because He would assert Himself? No! The reason seemingly is this, that He was there pledged to His disciples, and so He was there in face of the sword, in the face of man and of the devil-in protecting;" " I am -' and so immediate was the effect that they went backward and fell to the ground-perfect safety for the disciples, all the powers of the devil subdued-He did not accept the name of Nazarene. That is the one that we are associated with here outwardly on earth, in this world, and associated with in heaven too one may say, but in the place where He is wont to resort, it is the Son of God in power! We have got to have our feet firmly set. We are a sorry thing to look at, and the more we see the sorry ness the better-but it is nevertheless the place of power, for He is there, and as Son of God. He was ready when it came to Himself only to be nothing but Jesus of Nazareth, and so yields Himself to them.
Then we find poor Peter (notwithstanding the arm that was thrown about him) with his sword; and what sorry things our swords are, they are sure to be wielded the wrong way, and at the wrong time; the Lord has to mend that for him, and he heals the ear of Malchus. Peter was anxious to go in to see the end, he tells a lie to enter, and then tells another when he is in. At the end of the chapter we find Jesus asserts Himself as Son. of God with Pilate.
There is nothing worse than policy. Policy is tantamount to having no principle-the difficulty is to have a principle now-a-days. Pilate here is found full of policy, he does all he can to get this man off. He was put in, this responsible place by the Romans, but not to quarrel with the people, but to hold the reins and still keep the-Jews in good humor if he can. The thought strikes him, and he says, " It is customary to release one," that is policy-the people on the other hand never act on policy, but always on a principle, myself-that is their principle —with the governors it must be policy, or they are soon " removed." Art thou the king? Aye, but not of this world-policy is excluded in His kingdom. Jesus says, " Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." Again we have Jesus asserting Himself when the truth is in question.
We may be a little shy of the truth, may we not? It is cast in the street in these days, may it be for us to pick it up, and hold it. There is one thing to note, it is no use mincing the matter. The one that heareth, or is of " the truth," heareth His voice, His voice gathers out of the world in the first instance, and then gathers here,. and then together there (in the clouds), all together. May we always have an ear for his voice, and so we shall be always ready, for His name's sake. W. F. B.
LETTERS AND EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS OF J. N. D. ON SUBJECTS OF GENERAL INTEREST.
DEAR —,You must not be surprised at the seeming long delay in answer-. ing your letter, as it has followed me to Lausanne and Geneva. Perhaps the good Lord has given you peace already-at least before you receive this; but, in case it be not so, I answer according to the light God has given me. In the first place, I beseech you to count on the goodness of God, of our God, as He has revealed Himself in Christ, and that notwithstanding feelings which may arise; indeed,
I see that He has already given you to do it in a measure. I know it is difficult-impossible to us-not to judge of God by what we feel in ourselves, but it is evident it is not the truth. Our feelings are not the measure of what He is towards us, but to us they often are (when in the state your mind is in).
In the next place, I admit freely that when the conscience is powerfully wrought upon, it is quite possible that many physical and nervous sentiments may accompany them, which to the world, and perhaps to doctors, appear the whole matter, while they are really (while I quite admit the possibility of their existence) but the mere indices of deeper and much more important feelings; and it is of these that I desire to speak. It is sad indeed to smother up our feelings towards God, which concern our eternal interests, because they produce certain passing, painful effects.
And here I will say a word as to -. I feel thankful that you are fallen into the hands of one who recognizes as he does the word of God. There is a measure of truth in what he says: it is true that we have to rest on the written word; there he is quite right, but he does not-for I know well the system in which his mind has been taught-recognize the effects and working of the Spirit of God in the soul as the revelation of God. teaches and requires that we should; so that, though he be quite right in exhorting you to rest on the written, word, he could not rightly interpret what passes in your soul, nor make sufficient allowance for the work of the Holy Ghost. Nor could you, perhaps, distinguish now quite between what was a physical effort and the real inward truth. Praying God to give you peace and calm as to this even outward physical part, I will apply myself to that which is of God. It is not surprising when the Spirit -of God takes a soul in hand to convince it of sin, to change its whole course and object, to give it a life it had not before, and judge thereon every thought which has had a place in it previously-it is not surprising that in such a case there should be wonderful upsetting and havoc. It is astonishing, when one comes to knew what is really done, that so many are brought peacefully to know themselves, the Lord and His grace.
And here suffer me to add, dear — not as a reproach, but, on the contrary, as confirming the hope that it is the Lord's own work in your soul, that called, as you had been, long before, and that call dropped, as it were, for so long a season, that when the Lord re-visits a soul, and takes up His work which has been neglected (I will not say slighted), it is generally with much more painful convictions-with a hand which acts in love, but as forced to make the soul feet the urgency of the case, and that it must pay attention to God’s hand and call. And when the Lord acts thus in grace-is forced by our folly thus to act-Satan would seek the occasion to tell us it is too late, that the Lord is hard, and acts harshly-first, because We have forced Him to act in a manner to make us feel the position we are in, and our need.
But, be of good cheer, the Lord makes all work together for good to them that love Him. Your case is not extraordinary. Often souls are attracted by the grace of Jesus, or some religious impression, but the conscience slightly touched. A season of neglect ensues, and then the passages which speak of turning back are strongly applied to the conscience, instead of those which speak of ordinary evil, as is the case when the conscience is reached at the beginning. The enemy always seeks to profit by these convictions, when he can no longer hold the soul in bondage by carelessness, and would drive it to despair, and hard thoughts of God. The Lord does not hinder this, for it adds to the seriousness of the convictions, but He is faithful in the end to bring us out of it, If our imagination or feelings are at work, our joys and distress will be more apparent and acute, for the flesh mingles with this also, though the groundwork be real.
When you know Christ and yourself better, you will be better able to discern between what is accessory merely, and real; but it is of little importance to you now, and God is faithful, though you know that when Peter denied Christ with execrations, Christ had prayed for him that his faith might not fail. It was permitted, because Peter had need of this sad lesson as to himself, and this painfully-acquired knowledge of himself was the means of his being able even to strengthen even his brethren-for all that humbles us is good. But I desire to remark, in the case of Peter, that behind all this scene there was the intercession of Christ, which secured the recovery of Peter, and the maintenance of his faith, his confidence and reliance on the goodness of God, instead of falling into despair, as Judas; as he says afterward, " If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious."
But there is a deeper work than all these feelings, not so acute, perhaps, but which judges sin in the light of God's grace. Further, until the mind gets based upon the truth that all is grace, and that thus it is by the obedience of One that many are made righteous, the soul which is sincere is necessarily under the taw, and occupied with itself, thinks as you, that it is unworthy to follow Him, and the like. Surely you are unworthy to follow Him and the Lord is pleased to lead you to make the discovery of this humbling truth, seeing that we are lost (and you will be tormented till you are completely convinced of that); we think that there is no hope, when it is exactly there that the gospel begins, for the Son of man came to seek and to save those that are lost, and He has done the whole work that saves them.
You must not attach too much importance to your joy, though it were real, for it never reached the height of its object-nor to your distress, though it may have been an effect of the operation of the Spirit convincing you of sin, which, after all, you cannot measure more than the joy-nor to your indifference, more painful, in some sort, than the distress, and by which the enemy often tempts us. God has weighed all that joy shall be for us; He has weighed all that sin is-all your thoughts seen beforehand, all your indifference-miserable as all this proves us to be-and knowing beforehand all that we are, and all our sin, He has given Christ for us, who has charged Himself with all, and us, such as we are, and has accomplished without us all that was needed by the justice and love of God. It is absolutely accomplished; you can add nothing, by joy or sorrow, to the perfect work of Christ.
All these exercises of soul may be very useful to bring us to the point of acknowledging our own nothingness so that Christ may have His first place in our minds by faith, but they can add nothing to Him. Your peace will come from a calm and holy conviction that you are nothing, and that He is all, and that the Lord knew all that you were, and because you were all this, took your place in responsibility, and suffered for you.
You will say, but I have neglected Christ after being awakened. It is possible, and it is very sad; nay more, as I have said, this gives a handle to the enemy to torment us, but does not change the efficacy of the blood and work of Christ in God's eyes, and that is what gives peace. It is not what you think of Christ's work, but what God thinks of it that saves. Your knowledge of what God thinks of it, by faith gives peace. God says to Israel in Egypt, not when you see the blood, I will pass over, but " When I see the blood." He it is that has been offended. He it is that judges, and He it is that has accepted the ransom in justice, as He gave it in love. He is faithful and just to forgive us.
As we may confound the acuteness of our feelings with the spiritual judgment of sin, almost always at the outset we confound the work of the Spirit and the work of Christ. Each have their place in the saved, but they must not be confounded. The Spirit of God may humble, convict us, reprove within and thus distress us, or give us joy, and often we set about to judge of all this in order to know our acceptance with God. But these things though they have their place in the mind of the redeemed, are not the ground of his peace. Christ has made peace by the blood of the cross. Christ has done all, and has left us nothing but thanksgiving and praise. If some one has paid my debts, my sorrow at the folly that contracted them, nor my joy at their being discharged adds nothing whatever to the payment of the debt, though both be natural and just.
It is sometimes hard to esteem all our feelings as nothing, but it is only a remains of self; but only think what it cost the Son of God in undergoing the wrath of God, and we shall feel on the cue hand the perfect security of our justification, and the nothingness of all our feelings compared with what our sin really was in the sight of God; but He remembers it no more, as He has said. If Christ had not completely discharged and effaced it, He could not be in heaven, for He could not sit at the right hand of God charged with our sins, though He was charged with them on the cross.
If your heart demands, " But how do I know that I have part in all this?" I answer, with the word of the Lord which abides forever, that whoso believeth in Him-that all might be grace—God has willed that it should be by faith, and though faith produces immense effects, it adds nothing to the thing it believes. Christ, and the efficacy of His work, must be, and be before God all that I am. called to believe them to be, before I believe it. The feelings and distress through which we pass are very important, but only in order to bring us to this; and peace and joy are found in a humble lowly sense of sin and of the infinite.
Yours sincerely in the Lord,
1848. J. N. D.
DEAR -, I dare say you are a nervous person, and your mind upset by it, and this doctor's word thus took possession of it. But if you had peace with God, it would give you a rest and quietness of spirit which would greatly relieve you. Now I do not doubt that God has wrought in your soul, and therefore all is yours, but the first effect of His working is to distress and trouble us, because we cannot say that all is ours, and then look to our state and our fruits and our feelings to know if we are His; that is, we look to the work of the Spirit in us, and so to the imperfect fruits in us of His working, which cannot give us rest, and ought not. Jesus does not say, find. out your state and you shall have rest, but " Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden," as you are, " and I will give' you rest."
Our rest comes not from our being what He wants, but His being what we want. He has made peace by the blood of the cross. That is all settled for those who believe in Him, as you do; but then besides that He has a tender, gracious care over, and interest in us, can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. As to our conscience, He has done what purges our sins and so our conscience. As it is written, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no sin: and for this God will have nothing but Christ's work known by faith, no feelings or fruits or anything; we believe it only that it may be by grace. Otherwise we should have our part, and be able to boast; but then the tender loving-kindness of Christ enters into all our trial and weakness.
Now you want to have done with looking to yourself-" In us, that is in our flesh, dwells no good thing"-and know that the Lord imputes nothing to you, and it is not till we submit to God's righteousness that we get strength. You look to getting the victory in order to get peace. We must get peace to get victory, peace already made by Christ's work, then you will get strength; we do not find it till we see we have none. Conflict we shall still find. You may remain possibly a nervous person, but you will know that God is for you, and that changes everything. He has proved it in giving His Son who died for us when we were mere sinners.
Look simply to Him who has died for us and finished His work. " For herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he „first loved 'us." I do not ask you to accept anything, but to believe that God has given and accepted His Son for you-" They looked unto him -end were lightened.".... Look to Him who is God's wisdom and He will give you rest.
Yours sincerely in the Lord,
1848. J. N. D.
My DEAR The Lord is graciously doing what was and is always needed, making you know yourself. We may often accept the gospel not insincerely, and yet not have the least learned what we are, that is sin in the flesh. As regards confession (Jam. v. 16)-the form this distress takes with you, I agree with-it is not a command imposed, but a means afforded for walking fully in. the light, a relief if I cannot get rid of something that presses on my conscience; nay, even if I have done from time to time what keeps my spirit fretful, and out of communion, it is given as a means of relief, in order to my spirit's being conscious of being in the truth, to find some one worthy of such confidence and opening the matter to them. It is a relief to open the heart, only not to be done with levity, but in the true sense of the evil, and gives occasion to the other to pray for us. This is connected with the government of God, and has nothing to do with deliverance. Its true character is lost if we look on it as an imposed obligation, but we make what is called a clean breast of it, and all sense of guile and false appearance is taken away.
Sometimes the desire to confess is a mere effort to get the mind at ease without a thorough dealing with God which goes to the root.
Rom. 5 is simply forgiveness, faith that Christ has been delivered for our offenses. If that be so, God must despise Christ's work before He imputes sin to me: and not only is that impossible, but God has given proof to the contrary in raising Him from the -dead, and setting Him as man in glory; and He has not got my sins there. The work God has wrought in Christ has blotted out my sins: the Lord imputes no sin. Then comes another source of distress, even if I am clear that believing in Jesus I am justified from all things: I find my old man, nay flesh, produces the evil fruit still.And this perplexes the mind if it has learned forgiveness, and brings •doubts and deep distress where it has not. It is always in its nature legal, that is, refers God's estimate of us to what we are; and His -thoughts towards us are dependent on our state before Him. Whereas our state depends on His thoughts. See the prodigal when he found his father. (Compare Num. 23:2121He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. (Numbers 23:21).)
Now our peace as to our sins is simply that they are forgiven and -put away: Christ has borne them. if I believe in Him God has declared this; I am justified from all things. But for the discovery of our sinful state and getting deliverance, there is an experimental process in us. The doctrine is that we died with Christ; that is Rom. 6 But the resting on the truth found there as a doctrine is connected with the experience found in chapter vii.: the result then being chapter 8. Now this experience is the painful learning -that we have no strength to make good. what we would in what is right. There is a point in this experience which often helps, but is not deliverance-that, in hating the evil which yet works in me, it is not I for I hate the evil, and I am not what I hate. But after this I find what I hate too strong for me, and I am brought to the consciousness of my being without strength, the point to which God was leading me by it all. When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Your anxiety about confession, and distress of soul will all disappear when you have the deliverance which follows this full breaking down. We are conscious then of being in Christ as Rom. 8:11There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1); and then Christ is in us as the power of life. (Vers. 2, 3.) Christ is substituted for self before God. for us as righteousness. What am I before God? Christ. And He having died, and risen again, and received by faith, lives in us; and the flesh is treated as not me, but sin that dwells in me; and we have by the Holy Ghost, the sense of being children. In a word Christ is submitted for self before God, -and yet as living in us-" as he is so are we in this world." This is God's teaching; it belongs to every one who believes in Christ, but we do not get it experimentally till the self for which Christ is substituted, is thoroughly judged and broken down-no good in it, and no means of getting into a better state, however much we desire it. And this is the process we are going through, with a pretty strong will to be broken by it. I add it is of moment in this conflict to avoid all evil, not that this will give us peace, that comes from being dead. with Christ; but if we are not watchful it gives a handle the enemy.
Christ came to save the lost, and we must get to see we are lost as to our state in order to get deliverance; yet in the grace that came to save us when such. God knows when self is really judged, and then gives peace. In yourself, in the flesh, you are lost; but we get out of this standing through being dead. with Christ. The sin in our flesh was judged on the cross. We hear nothing more of the prodigal son once lie found his father; all is what his father was to him.
Sincerely yours in the Lord,
1881. J. N. D.
MY DEAR —, It is experimentally we learn what we are, and very humbling it is, but it casts us on the Lord, so that we find He is righteousness, not anything we are or our state; and then we get strength too, for where sin has abounded grace did much much more abound. You have a strong will, not accustomed to govern yourself, and hence the struggle is more painful; but the Lord is faithful to bring you through it. You must feel that deliverance is not for you till you get it. Our will mixes itself up much more than we think with the flesh, but it is much better to suffer under it, than take it easy as you speak of. When you feel it pressing on your will, look away to Christ at once, and the new man being then in operation the heart gets elsewhere. It is not direct conflict with it, for this being under law, the motions of sin are by it. Then Satan uses it to bring sin on the conscience and discourage us. Resist him, and I do not say you will overcome, but he will flee from you, for Christ has overcome him for us. Then get healthful, active occupations. There is plenty to do in this world, if we have the heart for it; above all, believe Me-" My grace is sufficient for thee." When the heart gets on Christ, all is easy; it is away from what is a snare to us. Once we let the devil inside, so that the mind is occupied with what the flesh tempts us with, it is far harder to get it out than to keep it out. When you speak of gleams of light sometimes, it is what always happens when God is carrying through the process of self-knowledge. He gives us occasional deliverance so to speak, so that we know there is such a thing; like a man rising head above water and getting breath or he would. be drowned, yet goes under again when he has got enough, to show there is such a thing as being out. Understand that God does this, because while He must make you know yourself because it is yourself, He is above, and can and will deliver. But you will find Christ faithful, and what He chews you then that you may not despair, He will accomplish fully. Cry to Him-we ought always to do it, not to faint. Read your Bible as something addressed to yourself, praying Him to give it the efficacy of the Spirit to your soul-no indulgence of will, but ready service in what the house or any other duty may call for, and you will find, not that the flesh is not there, but that you are not in it.
The power that does it is the death of Christ, not for our sins, but as to sin. (See Rom. 8) God has condemned sin in the flesh on the cross, so that there is no condemnation for us. The sin we find working in us is worthy of condemnation, but has been condemned when He was (a sacrifice) for sin; and this we learn by faith, though God makes us learn what it is experimentally, which is just Rom. 7 Chapter 6 is the doctrine. The result, when we have gone through 7. The conflict remains, but the Spirit is there. It is no longer the conflict of natures under law. (Gal. 5:17,1817For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. (Galatians 5:17‑18).)
Look to Christ always faithful and loving, and sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace. That is, God is for you, not requiring, but giving and forgiving.
Sincerely yours in the Lord,
1881. s. N. D.