Let us now apply to ourselves the practical question: While on the way to the rest of God, what do we enjoy as our present portion; and how do our hearts answer to it? It is easy to get discouraged through dwelling upon failure, ruin, confusion, decline, and increasing indifference—all sadly true. Every kind of evil is rampant and increasing, and there is much to fill us with shame and sorrow. But, owning this, what is our resource? Beloved brethren, is it not the same as it was for Israel? We too have God with us, not be_ cause there is any good in us, but because of what He is. (Compare Deut. 7:7-9; 9:5, 67The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; (Deuteronomy 7:7‑9)
5Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people. (Deuteronomy 9:5‑6).) He is ever near for faith. How often the people of Israel "forgat" Him we are continually reminded as we read their history, even though they had the constant witness of His presence with them, showing that He, at all events, was faithful. And are we not in the same danger of losing the sense of the nearness and all-sufficiency of God for us in our pathway "'here at the present moment?
Let us now look at the heart's answer to this, as given in Psalm 27. We find there the yearnings of a true heart after God, one who delights in what God is-"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" v. 1.
If God had made known, as we have seen in Exod. 29, etc., His desire to dwell with His people, we find here the responsive desire in the soul to dwell with God: "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple." v. 4. "One thing have I desired"; the heart's aim is subject to dependence upon God.
Beautifully indeed is this expressed in connection with the daily path, in Psalm 16; only there in its fullness and perfection as set forth in Christ. None but the blessed Lord Himself could say truly, "I have set the LORD always before Me." But that is the attitude our souls should have.
Verse 8 of Psalm 27 is difficult to render. The words in italics in our English Bibles reveal an attempt to make the meaning plain. If we take the marginal reading and compare it with the text, it helps us to see its force, as presenting the promptings of the conscience in God's presence, saying, as it were on God's behalf, "Seek My face." May we not, on the strength of various scriptures, conclude that the first promptings of the conscience in God's presence, before there has been time for the will to act, are almost invariably right? The conscience is the channel by which the voice of God reaches us, and if we heed it without questioning or tampering with it, we get a right direction for our souls. The heart being thus brought under the influence of the strivings of the Spirit, witnesses and speaks for God. The will opposes that by human reasonings. We may understand it better if we refer to Isa. 30:2121And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. (Isaiah 30:21), where the heart's natural perversity is noticed, leading one to the right hand or to the left. Something attracts and would draw aside; and then by the ear is heard a "word behind," the voice of conscience, saying, "No; this is the way, walk in it." So here, the heart or conscience speaking for God, says, "Seek... My face." A deep impression is made on the soul in the secret of God's presence. No outward observer knows what is going on; no human eye can penetrate the exercises of the soul before God; but there, in secret,_ is heard the voice whispering, "Seek ye My face," leading to the ready response, "Thy face, LORD, will I seek." Such is the experience of a true heart that must have God really and experimentally for its object. Nearness to Himself will alone satisfy that soul.
In connection with this, the 6th verse is remarkable. He says, "I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD." The word used here for "offer" is the one habitually used for killing or sacrificing sheep and oxen, especially in connection with the peace offering, the particular class of offering which sets forth the various features of communion. He speaks of offering, not outside the tabernacle upon the brazen altar, which was the proper place for such sacrifices, but of coming inside the tabernacle, as if to the golden altar, before the veil, to "offer" and sing praises before,, Jehovah. How wonderful that the soul should be led into such holy boldness! We are now,
indeed, through the finished work of Christ, called to enjoy as "sons" a far more intimate relationship with God than was made known in Old Testament times. But the principle is the same; the Holy Spirit shows how the Lord leads on, and satisfies with Himself, the soul that seeks His face. May we be so kept from the workings of our natural hearts and minds, that the Psalmist's holy desires in God's presence may be ours uninterruptedly. But the heart is treacherous, and if our wills are unbroken, communion is hindered.
Two examples often referred to will here serve to show us what our hearts are capable of: first, Jonah, as to the effect of the knowledge of God's ways of grace, apart from communion with Him; second, Jacob, as to the will being in exercise when seeking for blessing.
Jonah was one who knew the truth about God, in which Moses found the rest and joy of his soul. He probably understood better than anyone then living God's ways of goodness and grace; and God made choice of him to carry to the.—greatest oppressor of Israel a message in which there seemed no room for grace at all, "Yet forty days, and Niongtiga -Auk be overthrown." It was certainly a great, though a needed, test to the prophet to whom the Lord took pleasure in referring (Matt. 12, etc.). Instead of going to Nineveh in simple obedience to God, Jonah trusted his knowledge, and that led to his going to Joppa and sailing away in an opposite direction; that is, to Tarshish. Why he did so, we learn from chapter 4:2: "Was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: because I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Thee of the evil." In his heart, he said, I cannot go with this message; for I know full well that God will not overthrow Nineveh, and what will be said then of Jonah and his prophesying in the name of the Lord? Evidently he thought of his own mission as Jehovah's prophet and, constituting himself, as it were, the guardian of God's honor and glory, argued thus: If I go and declare that Nineveh is to be overthrown, and it turns out not to be the case, as I am perfectly assured it will not be, what will they say about Jehovah? In what will He appear mightier than the false gods? Compare Jer. 28:99The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him. (Jeremiah 28:9). All the false prophets pretended to speak in God's name, though their habit was to prophecy of peace, not of judgment. But Jonah, reasoning as to the mere fact of the accomplishment or not of what was to be announced, thought the only way out of the difficulty was not to take the message at all; and with a bad conscience he goes away "from the presence of the LORD." This is stated three times in the first chapter.
Have we not here an example of the fact that mere knowledge, however correct, even of the ways of God, apart from obedience, is a dangerous thing? We see in Jonah one who was well acquainted with God and His ways, but whose heart was not in tune with the grace and goodness in which, in a sense, his heart found rest for himself—making him ready to be cast into the sea- but which he could not extend to others. Out of communion with God, because disobedient, his knowledge only misled him; and he proved himself unable to abide near the Lord, and trust Him to carry out His purposes in His perfect way.
Jacob affords another instance of the heart's workings. He was not a "worldly" man, like Esau. In his own way he wanted to be right, and he coveted earnestly the promised blessing; but, instead of waiting God's time, he tries to obtain it for himself, with the result that he has to leave his home and flee to Padan-aram. On his journey, God sends him a wonderful dream, speaking to him from the top of the ladder upon which the angels of God were ascending and descending, affording unmistakable evidence that God would continually minister to his needs. In the morning, on awakening, he calls the place "Bethel," the house of God. He is made conscious of God's presence, but this is more than he can bear; and he promptly leaves what to him was a "dreadful... place," because it was "the gate of heaven," and continues his journey alone (Gen. 28). In his subsequent history, it is noteworthy how he avoids Bethel.' Desirous though he was of obtaining blessing as an heir of promise, he was unprepared to meet God and have to do with Him in a close personal way. But God's grace pursued him. Twenty years after he had seen the vision, while still in Padanaram, God appeared to him, saying, "I am the God of Bethel, arise, get thee out from this land."
Jacob then sets forth on his journey to the well-remembered scene of God's gracious intervention on his behalf, where he had sworn conditionally that the Lord should be his God, and that he would render unto Him a tenth of his substance. On his way southward he gets tokens that God is caring for him, especially so at Peniel, where he has the most signal proof and assurance that God is with him and for him. He has only to continue his journey in the same direction to reach Bethel, but, instead of doing so, he deliberately turns aside and goes to Shechem. (Gen. 33.) He is still afraid of God. Unwilling to await God's time and accept His way of bringing His purposes to pass, he had sought to become possessed of the blessing before the time, and had thus lost the sweetest part of it; namely, its reception direct from God's hand as the portion bestowed by Him in His rich and free grace. Quiet subjection to God, and waiting on Him in confidence, he had not known. Hence Bethel is still for him that "dreadful" place.
Trouble met him at Shechem. Once again God appears to him, saying, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there" (Gen. 35:11And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. (Genesis 35:1)). But notice now, what comes out. Jacob feels that the inner life and condition of his household is unsuitable for the "house of God," and he has to say, "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: and let us arise, and go up to Bethel." vv. 2, 3. No wonder he had so studiously avoided "the house of God." But he could not prevent God having His way with him in grace, so as to bring his conscience into the light.
Who would have thought that "strange gods" would be found in Jacob's household? But so it was; and we too have to learn that our hearts are not to be trusted. Unless we are walking with God, our hearts and consciences being brought into the light and judged there, we may find ourselves going on with all kinds of evil things while, at the same time, there may be a great deal of outward earnestness, a show of piety, and a seeking after blessing.
We must not trust ourselves. Our only safety is to have everything tested by the light of God's Word, and to walk in nearness to the Lord, in humility and dependence upon Him, that we may learn His mind, know more of communion with Himself, and thus, as kept by Him, escape both the perils and the seductive influences of the scene around us. David, at Ziklag, after a course characterized by worldly wisdom and failure of faith, found out whither to turn, and "encouraged himself in the LORD his God" (1 Sam. 30:66And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. (1 Samuel 30:6)).
The Lord give us to take to heart the lessons we see exemplified in Jonah and Jacob; and may it be ours to say in all sincerity, "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after"; and, with the Apostle, "One thing I do..."
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It will be observed that the purpose of the above address was to direct attention to the
individual state of soul in connection with God's settled purpose to dwell among His people. There is, however, another side of this blessed truth, which should not be lost sight of, and that is, the collective responsibility of Christians. We are "builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit" (Eph. 2:2222In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)). Hence the importance of that word, "WITH ALL SAINTS," in the expressed desire and prayer of the Apostle, when speaking of comprehending "the breadth, and length, and depth, and height," and knowing "the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge," that we may be "filled with all the fullness of God."