EV 3:11{IT is very remarkable that, throughout the history of God's dealings with man, from the very beginning down to the present moment, there has always been a company of people in existence separated from the general mass of what might be called " the profession," and distinguished by their fidelity to God's truth up to the point it was revealed to them at the particular time they lived. This company of people, though not possessing at any two periods the same measure of truth, has always been marked by the same characteristics; and thus there is an affinity of the closest kind between those who have formed this company from the earliest times down to the days we are in. Let us look at some of these characteristics.
In the first place, it has always been small and insignificant. This is inevitable; for the general tendency with man is to take up with that which is popular. Of this we have proofs all around us. The truth of God never has been, and never can be, popular; and, may I say, it was never meant to be so. Those, therefore, in any period, who have kept to it faithfully, have been in a small minority.
Then, again, it has always been disliked and despised, and generally persecuted by those outside it. This, too, is inevitable. The reason is just this, that the truth of God, when held mi faithfully, serves as a mirror to discover the defects of those before whom it is presented; and this, of all things, is what the " professing " world likes least. Let it go on its own way, and its own self-constituted leaders will take care that its conscience is not disturbed; but let a few faithful ones hold up the truth of God, which is itself without a speck or a flaw, and all the hollowness, and hypocrisy, and evil is at once shown up in its true colors.
No wonder that the small and insignificant company who presume to do such a thing as that should be disliked and despised. No wonder that every little personal defect, every little failing in their walk, should be picked out and placarded about for the amusement of those who, by being brought face-to-face with the truth of God, have been thus disturbed and exposed. Such is only natural. For instance, those Who could not stand the truth of God, as held up by. Paul, found no difficulty whatever in publishing the fact that " his bodily presence was weak and his speech contemptible." So it always is, and always will be.
Then, looking for a moment at the other side of the picture, the faithful few have all along been the medium employed by God for bringing out the truth. This, like what we have been looking at, is also inevitable; for God always acts on this principle: " To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance." He always honors faithfulness where He sees it; and His way of doing so is by communicating fresh light and fresh truth. Of this, endless instances could be given from Scripture and from history. And thus this faithful company that I refer to have always been the depositories and exponents of the truth for the time being. The light communicated to them, of course, ultimately shines out (though robbed of its power) upon the scene around; but whatever truth or light finds its way into the mass of the profession, can always be traced back to the faithful few to whom it was originally communicated. Since the canon of Scripture was closed, the work of the Spirit of God has been simply to unfold what is already written therein, but the same principle applies to this as it does to the times when new, truth was given from God to man.
As I said before, the measure of the truth enjoyed by this separate company of faithful one's has not been the same at any two periods... For instance, the measure of truth possessed by Simeon and Anna, in the days when our Lord first came upon the scene, was very far short indeed of what we have now; but it is not a question of the amount of truth or knowledge, but simply of faithfulness. Thus Abraham, though he knew nothing of many of the glorious truths which we are familiar with to-day, was nevertheless called " the friend of God "-a designation which, I am afraid, very few of us, with all our knowledge and intelligence, could lay claim to.
There is one sad aspect of all this which I rather want to bring out. It does not do to 'overlook it. It is just this, that the testimony has never gone on for any length of time in the same hands. What I mean is, that failure has always come in through the unfaithfulness of those who held the testimony; and thus God has been obliged, if I may so speak, to pass the truth on to others, who have kept it pure for a time; but have in their turn allowed it to slip through their fingers.
Scripture proofs of this are numerous; but we may see it strikingly exemplified in the history of Christendom in England during the last few hundred years. When the Church had sunk into the lowest depths of degradation, in what are known as the " dark ages," the Spirit of '. God raised up men like Wickliffe, Luther, and others, to whom was unfolded truth which, though revealed in the word, had for long ages been little more than a dead letter. This was the origin of " Protestantism," so called, represented by Sardis in Rev. 3 the English development of it becoming known as " the church of England." Bright, indeed, was the light which thus for a time was displayed; and if there had only been faithfulness, further truth would have been unfolded, and the testimony would doubtless have been kept in the hands of those to whom it had been committed. But, alas, corruption began to come in; and the English church particularly, like that from which it had sprung, became a thing of statecraft and priestcraft, and-not to speak irreverently-God was compelled to take away the testimony from it and hand it to others. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of English history, we may see how the truth was gradually passing into other hands, and how steadily the " church of England " persecuted those into whose hands it was falling.
Coming later down, there is no doubt that Wesley and Whitfield, and those connected with them at the latter end of last century, held the testimony for the time being; but how grievously they have failed is apparent to any one who looks at the condition, for many years past, of that which professes to be descended from them.
It was out of the general decay of all that which professed to have the truth that God raised up, about fifty `-years ago, those whom He led by His Spirit to bring out from the word those grand truths we are familiar with to-day, and it is unmistakable that " Brethren " (so-called) have held the lamp of the truth from that day to this. This is said with all humility; but still it is the truth, and cannot be set aside. It is an exceedingly solemn position to be in, and one which, so far from exalting us, should send us on our knees before God in self-judgment and searching of heart. For surely the continuance of the testimony committed to us depends entirely upon our faithfulness; and hence the solemnity of that warning we have quoted at the head of this paper " Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." This was said to the Philadelphians. They were distinguished by having kept the word of Christ and not having denied His name, 11 and yet even to them is this warning necessary. The Lord bring it home to each of us!
It is a surpassing blessing to be led amongst those `who hold the testimony in their hands for the time being; but, at the same time, the responsibility of such a position can hardly be estimated, even at any period in the history of God's dealings. How much is it enhanced now, in these days, when unbelief and opposition to the truth are assuming such proportions, and when things are so rapidly moving on to that point when the Lord Himself shall come to windup in judgment that which now falsely bears His name! We seem to be hardly aware of the responsibility which hangs upon us. Had we a due sense of it, it would be impossible to go on, as many do, quibbling over details which do not affect the truth of God one single iota. I say it with all gentleness and humility; but one cannot but be amazed by the way in which the grand truth of God for to-day is, to a certain extent, shelved; while matters of a personal character, mere personal opinion, are magnified beyond all bounds. Each reader must, and will, own the truth of this.
In view of all this, will the reader bear with me in pressing once more the importance of that warning we have already looked at 2 Are we, any of us, letting slip the grand truths we were once distinguished by? The Lord help us to lay hold of them again with redoubled eagerness and devotion, thinking only and entirely of Him who, from the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, says to Philadelphia, " Behold I come quickly.. Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown! " T. W.