The Steward: July 1966

In 1 Cor. 15:1 The Apostle Paul writes of “the Gospel... wherein ye stand,” and in Romans 5:2 of “this grace wherein we stand,” while in Gal. 5:1 he bids us: “stand fast... in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.” And note how many times we read about “Stand” in Ephesians 6. Perhaps all this is well summed up in his appeal to his beloved Philippians: “Therefore, my beloved brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown... stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” (Phil. 4:1).

But the Christian life is more than a stand — it is a walk (which in Scripture refers to conduct). Once, says Paul, “we walked in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1, 2) but having been saved by grace, through faith in Christ, we are now to “walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4). In his epistles the apostle also bids us to “Walk worthy of the Lord (Col. 1:10), to “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15-17.)

But the Christian life is even more than a walk; it is a race. Sad to say, some Christians whose “walk” is consistent and commendable, never have come to look on the Christian life as a race. They never put enough into it so that it might be said of them that they are running. Yet the same great apostle wrote, by divine inspiration, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” (Heb. 12:1).

The word “patience” in this passage points out the fact that the Christian race is not a short “hundred yard dash.” Nevertheless we, believers in Christ, should put into it all that we have. “They which run in a race,” says the apostle, “run all,” but they do not all receive the prize. Hence the admonition: “So run, that ye may obtain.” (1 Cor. 9.24).

Those who have not trusted Christ as Saviour, have not even begun to stand, or walk, much less to run a race for Him. These might as well forget rewards until they first accept “the gift of God... eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6.23).

(From “The Alliston Herald”, Alliston, Ontario)

A Correction

(From a letter)

“May I ask, in re-reading your lovely booklet on the Offerings of Leviticus, am I to understand that no meat offering was offered on the Day of Atonement? (Lev. 16, and 23). And yet in Numbers 29:7-11, we read of the ‘continual’ burnt offering with its meat offering, evening as well as morning, and its frankincense required in the Law (Lev. 2:1, 2), together with the burnt offering of the day with its meat offering (Num. 29:8,9) and the required frankincense, on the tenth day of the seventh month, and does not this refer to the ‘burnt offering’ for himself (Aaron) and for the people, in Lev. 16:24? For every burnt offering was accompanied by its meat offering (the oil, and the frankincense) and with its drink offering.

“The ‘meat offering’ — of fine wheat flour, with the oil, and the frankincense, and the salt — what a precious type and foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus Christ as Man, in Manhood, on earth. And do we not find Him foreshadowed as such in the offerings on the Day of Atonement? God’s food (bread) and ours.

“Moreover, regarding the ‘live-goat’ let go in the wilderness — do we not find the counterpart or antitype in Hebrews 13:20, in virtue of the blood of the everlasting covenant? “Just a few thoughts, dear brother.

Yours in Him

Enoch Widell

Thank you so much, dear Brother, for correcting me in this beautiful and important type.

G. C. Willis

Meditations on the Twenty Third Psalm

Chapter 11

(Ps. 23:5)

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” The bereaved and benighted pilgrim now enters a new path of experience. He is emerging from the thick darkness of the valley. Light from on high is breaking through the clouds, and scattering its beams over his path. He only begins to realize what has happened, and to find out where he is. The departure of his fellow-pilgrim is no dream of the night, but a stern reality under the hand of the Lord. It meets him everywhere and in every form. He has never trodden this lonely way before, but the footsteps of many are found here, and of Him who knows from experience every step of the way, and how to succor those who are passing through these gloomy regions. (Heb. 2:17, 18).

Happy thought! The dark and dreary valley, with its days and nights of heaviness, introduce the exhausted pilgrim, in due time, to the rich provisions of the Shepherd’s care, and to a more intimate acquaintance with Himself. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” He is still in the wilderness, and in the presence of his enemies, but divine refreshment is provided to strengthen him on his way, and in the presence of the Lord all enemies are powerless. Thus the Good Shepherd, when the first heat of the trial is over, causeth His weary ones to sit down under His protection, and partake of the rich repast, which He has prepared with His own hands. Blessed Lord, what thoughtful love and tender care are Thine! In the day of nature’s extreme weakness, when there is not so much as strength left to see a friend, far less to encounter a foe, Thou thinkest of us, and carest for us. Others may upbraid, but Thou upbraidest not. Secured by Thy presence, we sit in safety at Thy table, feed on the bounties of Thy love, and are hidden, under the shadow of Thy wing, from the assaults of the enemy.

Sayest thou, my soul, canst thou say, as many, that such a repast — such an expression of the Lord’s own deep sympathies — would amply repay all thy sore travel through the valley? I seek not so to balance things — I cannot — I dare not propose to my Lord another such journey through the desert for anything. Still, if He leads the way, there must be unspeakable blessedness to the soul in following Him. But there is no reason why the Christian should not be perfectly happy with the Lord, though in the depths of sorrow.

“The Lord is my Shepherd,” he may well

say at all times, “I shall not want.”

“Wherever He may guide me

No want shall turn me back;

My Shepherd is beside me,

And nothing can I lack.

His wisdom never faileth,

His sight is never dim;

He knows the way He taketh,

And I will walk with Him.”

But here it may be profitable to observe, on meditating on this new line of experience, that the Good Shepherd is not now leading the soul beside the still waters and the green pastures. No, He has done so already. He is now leading the soul into further truth, and into a path of richer experience. As the babes, in the Second Chapter of John’s First Epistle, know Abba, Father, and the forgiveness of sins, so the flock of the Good Shepherd in our beautiful Psalm, start their journey in the knowledge of Himself, and of what He is to them, and of His grace and love in their salvation. But, as we also read in the same chapter of “young men and fathers,” so here, some are led on to a more individual character of blessing. Thou preparest a table before me. Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”

For example: the woman who came to Jesus, in the house of Simon, under deep distress of soul about her sins, He introduced her at once, we may say, to the green pastures and the still waters. He met her heart’s desire about sin with an unqualified pardon — salvation and peace. He thus led her, without raising a single question as to the past or present, into the grace and love of His heart, and into the value of His cross.

He made her, as it were, to lie down — to find perfect rest — in the green pastures, and beside the peaceful waters of His boundless mercy. Such is the Lord’s way in grace with every soul that comes to Him; and such is the inalienable heritage of every sheep and lamb of His flock. As to these things, there is no difference between the babes, the young men and the fathers. One may know them better than another, and enjoy them more than another, but they are offered the same to all. And observe, further, He never needs to repeat these precious sayings. The word has gone forth from His mouth, and “the word of the Lord endureth forever.” When He has said, “Thy sins are forgiven, thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace,” these words endure forever; just as the blood on the door-posts never was repeated.

“Blest Lamb of God, Thy precious blood

Shall never lose its power,

Till every ransomed saint of God

Be saved to sin no more.”

Let us now turn, in further illustration of the truth before us, to the bereaved sisters of Bethany. They, too, were in great distress, but of a very different kind to hers who bathed His feet with tears. It was no question with Martha and Mary as to forgiveness and justification, but of needed consolation and strength, in the hour of their deep sorrow, and of nature’s utter weakness. And, Oh, what new treasure He opens out to them! The deep treasures of His love, tenderness, sympathies, power and consolations. Oh, what sighs they saw, what words they heard, and what blessings they received! “But for the death of their brother,” as one has sweetly said, “they might never have seen the Redeemer’s tears.” But this was not all, though these tears must have been the wonder of heaven, and the deepest consolation of His bereaved ones in all ages. They are embalmed in the heart of sorrow. But the mourning sisters were also privileged to see, not only the most touching expression of His manhood, but the crowning display of His Godhead.

“Jesus wept” — “Lazarus, come forth.”

And it was to them, in their deep sorrow, that He revealed the blessed truth — “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

What glory to God, may we not say — what a telling forth of what our Jesus is — what comfort for the mourner — what blessing to Mary, flowed from the death of Lazarus! In a high and blessed sense the soul has only to do with the Lord Himself at such a time. Experience becomes more and more a personal thing. Now it is not so much the language of the soul — what great things the Lord has done for me, as, what the Lord Himself is to me. Counion is not only a real but a personal thing. “Thou preparest a table before me.” “Thou” — “me.” And sweeter far than tongue can speak, or pen can write, is the refreshment which the Lord provides at such times. It comes with the unmistakable impression of His own hand.

He who knows the end from the beginning, and sees what is coming, alone can make provision. Nothing takes Him by surprise. The cloud that has darkened the heavens and desolated the earth, He saw before it was the size of a man’s hand. It may have come upon the pilgrim suddenly, like a thunderclap, so that, for the moment, he knew not where to look, what to say, or what to do. He was overwhelmed — his soul was sinking in deep waters. But there was one eye that saw what was coming and prepared for it. And, Oh, what a preparation is His! With wonder and amazement the soul can only worship in the presence of a love that has thought of everything, and provided for everything, even to the least thing. Adorable Lord, what grace is Thine! what care for Thy people! But why wonder? No event, no circumstance in the event, could be too minute for Him who counts the hairs of our head, and suffers not a sparrow to fall to the ground without His providence.

(To be continued, if the Lord will)

Matters of Controversy

“If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment.... between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, (being) matters of controversy within thy gates.” (Deut. 17:8) .... How often “matters of controversy” arise within our gates, within the gatherings of the Lord’s people: Should this brother be received at the Lord’s table? Should that sister be put away? Brother A is absolutely certain he should be received, while brother B is equally certain he should not be received. And so the matters of controversy arise: bitterness comes in, the roots of which defile many, and yet are so hard to lay aside.

What is to be done? Let the Word of God answer. “Then thou shalt arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose; and thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites.... and inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment: and thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall show thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee ... thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.” (Deut. 17:8-11).

That is plain, clear teaching that any man of Israel could understand. All he had to do was to obey. And is the path more difficult today? Is there a place today which the Lord thy God has chosen? I believe there is such a place, — even where two or three are gathered together unto the Name of the Lord Jesus, as we read in Matthew 18:20; there our Lord is present in the midst: even as He said: “There am I in the midst of them.”

Dear Fellow-believer, do you believe there is such a place? Do you believe the Word of the Lord Jesus still stands true? Do you believe that though heaven and earth pass away, His Word will not pass away? I know that thou believest: then just take Him at His Word in this precious verse also. If you could see Him with your natural eye, visibly, before you, would you not unhesitatingly take your matters of controversy straight to Him, and humbly bow to His decision? I am sure you would: I cannot imagine you contradicting His sentence, and saying, “No, Lord, I do not agree with that sentence, and I will not bow to any sentence to which I cannot agree: so I shall not submit to it.”

Yet that is the attitude of many today who call Him ‘Lord.’ It would seem that He is only ‘Lord’ to them by lip-service, and that in reality He is not their LORD at all, — or, the only alternative that I can see, — they do not believe in their hearts that He is in the midst today of two or three gathered together unto His Name, — because they cannot see Him present with their natural eyes; and not knowing the “eyes of your understanding” (or, “the eyes of your heart”), they despise and turn away from the place on earth that the Lord has chosen to put His Name there: and they turn to their own devices, rather than bow to the authority of our Lord Jesus.

The result too often is that instead of the matter of controversy being healed, it is only made worse. The friends and followers of the one who has so presumptuously refused to submit to the sentence given in Christ’s Name, pat him on the back, and praise him for his courage and ‘faithfulness’ in sticking to his own principles: even though in reality it means nothing but his own self-will, defying or denying the authority of Christ Himself who is in the midst.

What happens now to the man who thus presumptuously refuses the Lord’s authority in Israel? “And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God.... even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.” (Deut. 17:12).

Now, a question. Do you know where those last nine words are quoted in the New Testament? True, not quoted exactly, but almost exactly. “Israel” is changed to “yourselves.” Turn to 1 Cor. 5:13. There you find a man in the assembly at Corinth going on with fornication, and the assembly allowed it, and did nothing about it. You know the passage. The whole assembly (not a ‘brothers’ meeting) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, are to ‘put away from among yourselves that wicked person.’ Notice how closely these two Scriptures correspond: Deut. 17:12. “Thou-shalt-put away the wicked — (person) from — among Israel.” 1 Cor. 5:13. “Put-ye-away the wicked — (person) from — among yourselves.”

You will notice that the name given to the man who will not submit to “the sentence of judgment” is exactly the same as the name given to the fornicator: — “the wicked person.” In God’s sight, the man doing presumptuously, and refusing to bow to the sentence given in the Name of the Lord, is in exactly the same category as the fornicator, — whom very likely he heartily despises. Both are “wicked persons.” And the same sentence is passed by the Word of God on each: “Put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” That is carried out by the death-sentence on the man who refused the sentence of judgment, which would seem to indicate that in God’s sight, he is worse than the fornicator. I might add that the Greek word translated ‘presumptuously’ has the meaning of “arrogantly, haughtily, proudly”. It is only pride and arrogance makes me dare to set up my own self-will and my own opinion and refuse to bow to the Lord’s authority in the midst.

May the Lord in His mercy help us to gladly give up our own opinions and submit joyfully to the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ in the midst. Remember, there alone down here is the place where the Lord’s authority is to be found: not in a ‘leading brother,’ or a ‘laboring brother,’ or in a ‘brothers’ meeting,’ or in ‘a group of well-taught, older brethren.’ No! To none of these has the Lord given authority to pass that sentence of judgment: it is only to the assembly “in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together.... with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 5.4).

I cannot but think if we would give up our own devices, and humbly follow the Word of God, that many of our matters of controversy would quickly pass away.

“O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.” (Daniel 9.8-10).

Psalms of Come Union

(H. L. Rossier)

Psalm 16.

Our Association with Christ in Service

In the light of the New Testament, Psalm 2 presents to us our association with Christ in His reign; and Psalm 8 our close association with the Son of Man when all things are subjected unto Him. In Psalm 16 we see Christ, the perfect Servant, coming to associate. Himself with those who under the power of the Holy Spirit, repent and confess their sins before God. These are they whom He calls “the saints that are in the earth, and the excellent.” He can associate Himself with nothing that is of the flesh, for nothing good dwells in it, and holiness can never associate itself with evil. But all the work of God on the heart is good, worthy of Him who produces it, whatever may be the developments which He may give to it afterward. And the Lord can associate Himself fully with such a work. The poor sinners who repent are for Him the excellent of the earth, and when He sees them descend in humiliation by the confession of their sins even down into the baptism of repentance, He descends with them.

From another viewpoint, this Psalm expresses the perfect communion with God which filled the heart of Christ when He came into this world as a Servant: “He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister” (Mark 10:45). The second half of this verse: “and to give His life a ransom for many” is not referred to in Psalm 16. (It is realized in Psalm 22) while every detail here contributes to the finished portrait of the perfect servant. In the work of redemption Christ remained entirely alone. It is the only place where all association with Him is impossible for us, although we have, as we shall see later, Communion with Him in the results of His work.

In Psalm 16 our Communion with Him in service can be complete. On the other hand, in presence of the inimitable pathway of the perfect Servant, the pathway from which nothing succeeded in turning Him, we can only bow in adoration: on the other hand, He has left us the pattern for our service. Doubtless the copy will never attain to the pattern, but in it we can study the qualities needed to serve God in a manner which might be pleasing to Him, and which might reproduce the character of Jesus before the world. The Lord Himself wishes that our association with Him in service should be complete. “If any man serve Me”, He says, “let Him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” (John 12:26).

Let us resume, with more detail, the precious teaching of this Psalm.

“Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust.” (Verse 1). This phrase: “In Thee do I put my trust”, is the expression of the whole personal life of Christ as servant, here below. Chapter two of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Verses 12, 13) brings out this character in a beautiful way. First He associates us with Himself, in virtue of His resurrection, in His own relationship with God the Father, and then as His Church in praise. After this He associates us again with Himself in witness according to the saying in Isaiah 8.18: “Behold, I, and the children whom the Lord hath given Me.” But, between the praise and the witness, He says: “I will put My trust in Him”, as in Isaiah 8:17, and verse 1 of our Psalm. (See Heb. 2:11-13). Here, it is neither worship nor witness, but His own individual service which is considered. Is it necessary to add that the whole of His personal life, and not only His service, is summed up in this phrase.

The expression “In Thee do I put My trust” constantly occurs in the Psalms when dealing with the circumstances of the Remnant who have taken Christ as their pattern.

The faithful pass through times of anguish and distress, dangers of every kind; they are surrounded with enemies; hatred, insults, slanders rain upon them, death continually threatens them. Christ has shared in all these times of anguish; He put His trust in God, and was preserved; He was able to say: “My flesh also shall rest in hope. For Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell; Thou wilt show ‘Me the path of life.” It is by this perfect confidence that He has become the model servant for all those who follow Him, and who find like Him, in this path, a source of joy fulfilled: “Therefore my heart is glad, and My glory rejoiceth?” (v.9).

Verse 1 shows us that confidence in God entirely excludes all confidence in ourselves. Christ would not be the perfect servant, if He had not said: “Preserve Me, O God”. It is there that we find one of the qualities of His perfection, as man. But for us, the realization of our own imperfection makes us express ourselves thus. Our weakness produces in us the need of being preserved, while the very perfection of the place which Christ came to take in grace, made Him speak thus.

In Verses 2 and 3 the Remnant, or rather the Spirit of God in the Remnant, now address themselves to Him. “Thou hast said unto Jehovah: Thou art My Lord, My goodness extendeth not to Thee. Thou hast said unto the saints which are on the earth, and to the excellent: in them are all My delights.” As man, the goodness of the servant does not exalt itself to the level of His Master, whom He recognizes as His lord. Marvelous word, in the mouth of Christ! “Why,” said He, “callest thou Me good? There is none good but One, that is God.” (Mark 10:18). He takes the place of a man dependent on the divine goodness to be preserved. He did not wish to preserve Himself by His own goodness, in which He certainly had a full right to trust; but then, where would be His position as a dependent man, or as a servant? He did not act like the first Adam, who “looked upon it as an object to be snatched at, to be equal with God”. But “He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross”. This voluntary humbling Himself of the Son served as the delight of the Father; even as those who were humbled unto repentance at the baptism of John formed the delight of the Son. So the heavens open at this very moment upon Him, and the Spirit comes down to seal this perfection, and give Him the right to baptize with the Holy Spirit. (John 1:33).

These two characteristics of His perfection as servant: putting His trust in Him, and uniting Himself, cost what it might, with those who, taking the first step in the pathway of faith, are for Him “the saints and the excellent of the earth” — it is these which bring down upon Jesus this declaration of the Father: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

“In them are all My delights”. If His submission to the baptism of John was for Christ a degree of humiliation which the cross alone could surpass, it was also the most exquisite expression of a love which the cross alone made to shine forth in its fullness; a love come down to serve God and man, and finding no rest save where grace had cast its first seed into the heart of miserable sinners.

The Remnant having addressed Christ by the Spirit in verse 2 and 3, it is now He who takes up the speech in Verse 4. He turns His eyes no longer towards God, nor towards the saints, but towards the world, and there He finds only darkness and distance from God, a disheartening spectacle for the servant of Jehovah. They “hasten after another Master” (in fact, Antichrist will bring them into bondage). Their sacrifices are abominable to the servant of Jehovah; their name will not pass His lips. Thus the world is to Him completely a stranger; as far as He is concerned, He lives a perfect Nazarite, in an entire separation to God.

What a contrast when He speaks of Jehovah! (Verses 5, 6). He is the true servant, the true Levite, having no portion for Himself down here. His part, His inheritance, His lot, is Jehovah Himself (Josh. 13:33). With Him, He is above the dangers, the difficulties, the enemies; no storm can shake Him. Who would say, on seeing a path so smooth, so peaceful, so full of joy, that it passes over dark abysses, that it crosses the waves of the raging sea, that it leads down to the cross, always down, down to judgment, down to the forsaking by God, and to death?

His heart rejoices. What? Rejoices in presence of the grave? Yes: “My flesh shall rest in hope”. Rejoices in the presence of Hades (hell), the dwelling of souls after death? Yes: “Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell.” Rejoices in the presence of death and the dissolution which necessarily awaits mortal man? Yes: “Thou wilt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.” In face of all these terrors He knows only one path. The path of death, do you say? No: the path of Life, that which leads Him through death to the presence of God, leads Him to His right hand, in the full enjoyment of an unbounded communion with His Father. This is what is called “The joy set before Him” (Heb. 12:2). It is also ours, for His joy is our joy. We can have a taste of it even now, as He tasted it, in His service here below. He does not say: “In Thy presence will be”, but “In Thy presence is fullness of joy.” That presence was so for His in this world, as it is now for Him in Heaven. He has left us this precious inheritance, present and eternal, Communion with Him in service and the perfect joy of perfect Communion with God!

Among the Psalms of Communion is there much similar to this? God calling us to the Communion of His Son Jesus Christ, and the Son introducing us into the Communion of His Father! But, let us never forget we must have the light of the New Testament to understand in this Psalm our association with Christ in service, in separation from the world, in devotion to God, in triumph over circumstances in the full assurance of a glorious future beyond death, in the perfect joy which the contemplation of the face of the Father gives even now, in the heavenly pleasures, while waiting for these things to be fully realized in the glory. Yes, only the New Testament reveals to us what it is to be associated with His joy: “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” “These things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves.” (John 15:11; 17:13). It is the same as to separation from the world. If we see Him, a Nazarite alone, a Levite alone, in Ps. 16, we hear Him say in the New Testament: “The world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14, 16). And as the Father made Him know the path of Life, we know the path of Life in Him who is the way, the truth and the Life, and who leads us to the Father, so that there where He us, there we may be also with Him (John 17:24).

God's Way of Rest, Power and Consecration

Part 2

The second consequence is deliverance from law. Thus Paul writes, Ye are become dead to the law by the body of Christ. Again, We are now delivered from the law, having died to that wherein we were held. (Rom. 7:4-6, &c.; see also Gal. 2:19.) As the apostle explains, the law has dominion over a man only as long as he liveth. Having then died with Christ, we are emancipated also from the power of the law; and blessed for us that it is so, for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. (Gal. 3:10.) This indeed ought to be an evangel of good tidings to every believer. By nature we are all legal, and our tendency to legality remains with us after we become the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. It is interwoven, we may say, into the very texture of our being, so that it crops up continually in our words and actions. The effect is that many know little of the liberty wherewith Christ has made them free, and are groaning daily under their self-imposed bondage.

But, you reply, we are not under law. The Jews were, but can this be said of Gentile believers?

Certainly not in the same sense; but the principle of law is as native to us as to the Jew. For example, if after I am converted, I feel that I ought to love the Lord more, and try to do so, or that I ought to pray better, and am cast down or depressed because I have not discharged this duty, as I think, more perfectly, I am in principle as much under law as were the Jews. The essence of the law lies in its Thou shalts, and hence, if I turn even the precepts of our blessed Lord into Thou shalt do this or that, I put my neck under the yoke of the law. And the moment I do so I am on the sure road to failure, distress, and a bad conscience.

What, then, we have all to learn is, that through association, in the grace of God, with the death of Christ, we are delivered both from law and from the principle of law. We are married to Another, even to Him that is raised from the dead that we should bring forth fruit (not works, but fruit), unto God. Christianity has no “thou shalts,” but it substitutes for the worls of the law and the works of the flesh, the blessed fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5); and these are produced, not as the works are, by human effort, but by divine power.

The difference between these two things is as great as possible. Knowing now that fruit for God cannot be obtained by any effort or labor of our own, we are delivered from all expectation from self; and learning, at the same time, that the power which can bring forth fruit is in Another (who works, indeed, by the Spirit that dwells in His people), our eye is upward to Him, in the confidence that He will use us for His glory according to His own will. Instead therefore of working, we trust; instead of seeking fruit within, we desire that Christ may work in us according to the energy of His own divine power.

Another consequence is, that we are delivered from the world. The apostle, in opposition to certain legalists, who desire to escape persecution and to glory in the flesh, says, God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. As we read in the Gospel of John, the world was judged in the death of Christ. His crucifixion was the utter and entire condemnation of the world that rejected Him. God thus morally judged it in the cross; and Paul in communion with the mind of God, held it therefore as crucified to him through the cross, as also himself, in the same way, as crucified to it. He was thereby completely delivered from it; for if both were crucified the one to the other, there could be no attraction between the two. The world with all its charms and fascinations could not allure one who held it as morally judged in the death of Christ; neither indeed had one who held himself as crucified through the cross any attractions for the world. Thus regarded, the cross is an unsurmountable barrier between the Christian and the world; and not only a barrier, but also the means by which the true character of the world is detected and exposed. Thereby he learns that the friendship of the world is enmity with God, inasmuch as he ever views it in relation to the cross of Christ.

There is yet another consequence, and that is deliverance from man. “If,” says the apostle, “ye be dead with Christ, from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world, (or, rather, alive in the world), are ye subject to ordinances (such as, for example) ‘touch not; taste not; handle not,’ &c.?” It is religious man who is in question — whose object is the improvement of the flesh, but instead of amending it he only gratifies it. Now this important Scripture teaches that the believer, as dead with Christ, is entirely freed from man and his religious claims. If he owned them, he would take the place of being alive in the world, and deny the fact of his association with the death of Christ. He thus loses sight of, indeed refuses, man altogether, denies his assumed authority because he is subject only to Christ. Hence, even in all the relationships of life, he obeys, whether it be magistrates, masters, or parents, because he is put in the position of subjection by Christ Himself. Thus a poor slave — a Christian — in obeying his master, obeys the Lord Christ. (Col. 3:22-25.)

There is therefore, complete deliverance for the believer who holds himself as dead with Christ — deliverance from sin, law, the world, and man. It might be said, in language applied to Israel, of the believer, that he takes them captive whose captive he had been. Every enemy is conquered, and Christ alone is acknowledged as Lord.

If this is true, how is it, do you ask, that so few enter upon this path of deliverance and holy liberty?

Preaching in a Garden

Another Story of “The Converted Parson”

I have told you of my first open-air service, on the beach at Perran. This led to many other services in various places, in the open air.

I will try and tell you of one at a place called Rose-in-vale. The chief parishioner was an uneducated man who had risen from a common miner to that of Mine Captain. He had become quite well off, and had a large house and garden: though he and his wife only used two of the smaller rooms. He remarked that he “made no ‘count of them fine things up in the parlours.” He attended church very regularly, though I do not know that otherwise he gave heed to either service or sermon.

During this summer he invited me to give “a preaching” in his garden. Accordingly, on a fixed day I went and tried to speak, but found it most difficult to do so. I know not why; but again and again I felt as though I had lost the thread of my discourse, and was rambling: I was at a loss for words, and could not hold the attention of the people.

Perplexed, and greatly discouraged, I was not sorry when the time came to close; therefore I did not invite the people to remain for an after-meeting for prayer. Several asked why I had dismissed the assembly. “Ah —” I replied, “because there is no power, I could not get on at all!” They were surprised, and said they thought I had been helped more than usual, and were quite sure the Lord was working amongst the people. However, the people had gone now, and could not be recalled. This only made me feel more distressed than before.

I had been terribly burdened while speaking, and to add to my difficulties I saw three coast-guard men, who had come some five or six miles, behaving very badly, and laughing all the time (as I thought) at my discourse, to the great discomfiture of my preaching. Open-air addresses were not common in those days, and for a man to set up (as some said) and pretend to be a second Whitfield or Wesley, was bad enough, but to fail was most humiliating.

Three years after this I was traveling outside a coach, when a rough sailor-looking man came climbing up to the top, although he was told there was no room. “Never mind,” he said, “I will sit on the boxes. I want to talk to this here gentleman.” So saying he perched himself on the luggage, and offered to shake hands with me.

“Do you know me?” I asked.

“Oh yes, bless you, of course I do! Don’t you remember three coast-guard men at Captain O’s garden?”

“Yes,” I said, “Indeed I do, and am not likely to forget them easily; they behaved so badly, and disturbed me so much.”

“Well, I am one of them. I don’t know why we laughed and made fun, for we all of us felt your words deeply, and went home to pray; and a few days afterward we were all three converted — that we were. Praise the Lord! After that, we volunteered for the navy, to go to the Crimean war. I’ve been in some hot scenes, sure enough! One day we got a little too near the Russian battery, and they peppered us brave — no mistake, I assure you. They cut our masts and rigging to pieces, and ploughed up our decks with their shots. Men were being killed on every side of me. I thought, Now I shall see the King in His glory. My soul was so happy, I expected every moment to be cut down and sent into His presence; but not a shot touched me! I had not even a scratch; and here I be, safe and sound, all through mercy!”

Thus these three men who made me at the time so unhappy, and disturbed me so much, turned out well, after all.

Since then, on several occasions, I have felt as discouraged in preaching as I was that day; and though again and again I have said that I will not heed it, I have nevertheless found it difficult to be unmoved under this mysterious influence. I write this for the comfort and encouragement of others who are afflicted under similar circumstances, that they may not be cast down by their feelings.

"Feed My Lambs"

Following Christ

Oh! can I leave this gay and glittering world,

In fellowship with Jesus now to roam?

Let every prospect to the winds be hurled,

And seek, alone with Him, the rest to come?

And can I bear reproach, and shame and scorn,

Nor dread to meet e’en poverty’s cold frown?

And in the wilderness, as one forlorn,

With Jesus bear the cross, and seek the crown?

‘Tis hard, to flesh and blood, ‘tis hard to part

With every earthly joy, and all forsake;

To tear each fond affection from the heart,

To follow Jesus, and His cross partake.

But has He not forsaken all for me?

The brightest glories of the throne on high,

To live on earth despised, and on the tree

To bear my sins, to suffer, bleed and die?

Can I reflect upon His sufferings deep?

Can I consider well His shame and woe?

And yet, by trifles vain, be lulled to sleep,

Nor watch with Him, one hour against the foe!

‘Tis but a little while, and then the hour

Of pain and sorrow, shall have passed away;

Tho’ now the clouds be dark and tempests lower,

Soon comes a cloudless, bright, eternal day.

Till then the world may frown, and men despise;

Through all, my Saviour will my soul sustain:

The crown in view, the cross before my eyes,

“To me, to live is Christ to die is gain.”

(From ‘Things New and Old’.)

Voltaire said, dying: “I am abandoned of God and men! I shall go to hell! O Christ! O Jesus Christ!”

Dying Mirabeau said: “Give me Opium that I may not think of Eternity.”

Thomas Paine said, dying: “I would give worlds if I had them if I never had written the book Age of Reason. O Lord, help me. Stay with me, it is hell to be left alone.”

Dear Parents, please tell your children about the end of those who teach them there is no God and no Eternity.

"Come", "Follow"

“Come and See” (John 1:39)

“Follow Thou Me” (John 21:22)

It is not a little remarkable that the first and last utterances of our Lord in the Gospel by John consist of three words each. The first recorded word that falls from, His lips in this Gospel is the most welcome of all words as sounding from Him — “Come.”

He had come Himself. He the Lord, in all the glory of His person, ever-existent, distinct, divine, omnipotent, having become flesh, and seen in the grace that displayed His moral glory — He says, “Come.” Welcome and winning word indeed! Unknown by the world He had made, refused by His own, His heart full of grace, He moves on in His path of love to man. The most absolute rejection does not still the warmth of that heart, nor dry up its mighty springs.

Hence, when asked by two of the Baptist’s disciples where He dwelt, His gracious reply was, “Come and see.” And the result? “They abode with Him.” Where is not stated. Whither He conducted them is not told us. He had no palace on earth; of times He had no pillow for His head. He could supply no luxuries to these two disciples save of that of being with Himself. But that is the palace of delight to the true disciple.

Well, they came, and they saw, and they abode with Him, and they did not regret their choice.

The grace that attracted these two men, Andrew and John(?), is exceedingly beautiful. Their conversion was one of heart affection. They were won, drawn, attracted; terror did not drive them, self-interest did not impel; the one influence that acted upon them was that of grace. “Come and see” — fell upon their ears in divine and charming power, and from henceforth they were captives in the chains of love.

But the lips that say “Come,” also say “Follow.” To be a true subject of grace is also to become a true-hearted follower. It is incumbent on “them that are His” to “depart from iniquity.” The two features are as clear as the two sides of a coin. Let either be wanting, and the coin is spurious; it lacks the legal mark of the mint. Hence the “come” of grace in chapter 1:39 is balanced by the “follow” of authority in chapter 21:22.

“Come and see” — “Follow thou Me” — forms the perfect balance and proves the completeness of the coin.

But does the word “follow” sound as sweetly in our ears as did the word “come”? We valued the grace; do we prize the claim? We rejoiced when we freely received all; do we find equal pleasure in the path of obedience? When we came we found all our need supplied; when the Lord says “Follow thou Me,” He means us to find pleasure in what interests Him.

To follow Jesus is practical Christianity, and service which is not following, though perhaps very imposing and successful, is not of any real worth. Hence He says, “if any man serve Me, let him follow Me.” (John 12.26). Yes, the Lord would have that word engraven on the heart of each of His people — “Follow thou Me.” It is His last recorded sentence in the precious Gospel of John. It must have fallen with tremendous force on the ear of Peter, to whom it was said. It had a mighty effect on his after career. May we hear it in like manner, and may our course be truly formed by following the Lord Jesus Christ.

From, “The Christian Post;” copied from “The Christian Friend”, 1893.

“I heard His call, “Come! Follow!” that was all.

My gold grew dim, my soul went after Him: I rose and followed: that was all. Who would not follow if they heard His call?”

Bible for Indonesia

For some years there has been a great shortage of Indonesian Bibles; and the only complete Bibles in Malay that we can get are those in Indonesian, from Indonesia. But there has been such a shortage of Bibles, that often it has been most difficult to get stocks at all.

In view of this shortage of Bibles, the following article from FLOODTIDE by Mrs. Grace Chang of Indonesia is most interesting to us who are in the Christian Book business; and I hope is of deep interest to the whole Church of God.

Mrs. Chang writes: “In 1961 The Japanese Government was negotiating with Indonesia concerning the payment of War Damage reparations. Japan could not make payment in cash, but could produce and supply goods of Indonesia’s choice. This great land of Indonesia is predominantly Moslem, but there is freedom of religion. The leaders of the nation wanted the people to know the basis of their beliefs and so they asked for 500,000 copies of the Koran to be printed in Japan and shipped to Indonesia.

“When this was announced by the government, the Christians of Indonesia saw their opportunity. Through the Indonesian Bible House they put in a request to the government that Bibles also be printed in Japan as part of the war reparations. The government granted the request and permitted 250,000 complete Indonesian Bibles to be printed in Japan and shipped to Indonesia. The first part of this shipment has now been received in Djakarta and is distributed there.

“In the front of each Bible is printed, ‘This is a gift from the government of Indonesia’. Actually the government has set a price with the Bible Society at which the Bibles are to be sold, but they are printed and bound very nicely and the price set is one which the people can afford to pay. So it is still a gift, because the cost of printing when foreign exchange is involved is extremely high these days. Permission for the Bibles to come into the country free of tax is another wonderful concession, but above and beyond all is the government’s acknowledgement that the door of Indonesia is open for the Gospel and the distribution of God’s Word.

“.... It has taken five years for this large consignment of Bibles to be produced and delivered, but their arrival at this time is also according to God’s clock. During the happenings of the past two months, ‘men’s hearts have been failing them for fear’. At such a time they are more open to receive God’s Word whether through the testimony of others or by reading it for themselves. That is why on every hand there are greater opportunities than ever before for the distribution of Bibles and Christian literature. What has happened in this land has turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel. Missionaries and Christian workers going to the villages and markets find a greater demand for Bibles and Christian books.

“Praise God for His wonder-working power in supplying His Word for the people of this land at such a time. Pray that the Holy Spirit will bring Life to their hearts as they read it. Continue to pray that the door may be kept open for the Gospel in this great land of Indonesia with its thousands of islands.”

“Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee.” (Psalm 76:10).

(From ‘Floodtide’, slightly abbreviated, Mar.-Apr. 1966).

And as you pray for Indonesia, will you not also pray for Malaysia, with an equally great need!

The Arrows of the Lord

(A Story by William Haslem)

One Sunday a lady and gentleman came to the service from one of the neighboring towns; they were both professors of religion, and members of some Dissenting body. My sermon that evening was upon wheat and chaff — the former was to be gathered into the garner, the latter burned with fire unquenchable. I said we were all either one or the other — to be gathered or burned. They went away very angry, and complained one to the other of my lack of charity; they also remarked that I took good care to let the people know that I was not amongst the chaff which was to be burned.

The arrows of the Lord had evidently found them, and had pierced the joints of their harness. They could not sleep all night for anger and distress. In the morning the gentleman rose early, and before breakfast got his horse, and galloped over eight miles to see me. He came with the intention of finding fault, but instead of this he burst into tears, and told me that he was the greatest of sinners.

He was in sore distress, which increased all the more as he gave vent to his feelings. I could not help rejoicing, and told him that God had wounded him, but that He only wounds to heal, and kills to make alive.

“Ah,” he said, “That is the first thought of comfort I have had; it is like balm to my soul.” We knelt down and prayed; then I had the privilege of leading him to Christ, and we praised God together.

I gave him some breakfast, and after that rode back with him to see his wife, whom he had left that morning in great trouble of soul. We found her rejoicing. It was most touching to see the mutual surprise and joy of these two loving ones, when they discovered they were now united in the Lord.

She told us, that after her husband’s departure she was in such terrible trouble that she got up to pray, and that while she was on her knees she saw a vision on the bedcover. Before her was printed in large visible letters, “THY SINS BE FORGIVEN THEE;” she could scarcely believe her eyes, but with her own finger she traced the letters, and was sure they were there.

Taking them as a message from Christ, she rose and thanked Him, and now felt quite sure she was saved. I could not help telling her not to believe in her eyes or her visions, but in JESUS, and the fact that He had died for her. Having thanked God together, they next began to think of their servants; so we sent for them, and both master and mistress told them what the Lord had done for their souls; and while we were praying, they all three cried aloud for mercy, and found peace.

This was the beginning of a good work in that town by drawing-room meetings, and many were gathered to the Lord. Amongst the number was the mayor of the town, who in his turn wished to have a meeting at his house. But time would fail me to tell of this, perhaps there may be another opportunity.

A Competition

Prizes will be offered for correct answers to the following questions. The value of the prize will vary according to the number of correct answers. Age will be taken into account. All the answers are found in one of the most interesting and delightful parts of the whole Bible: a part that every young person (& old, too) should know well. You will find a reference Bible a help, and you are at liberty to use one. A concordance may be used if you cannot answer without: but please state if you have used one, or if you have had help from others. Please give references in the Bible for all answers, and mail to:—

Mr. G. C. Willis,

Box 535, Sandakan,

Sabah, Malaysia.

Write your name and address very plainly, and give your age.

1. Who was the prophet who rebuked David?

2. Name two men who were probably this prophet’s sons; and tell what happened to them.

3. What was the name of the man who was called David’s Friend?

4. What was the name of the man who is probably this man’s son? What position did he hold?

5. Name an Ammonite amongst David’s ‘mighty men.’

6. Name a Hittite amongst David’s mighty men.

7. Name one of David’s mighty men who came from Saul’s native town.

8. Name the mighty man who defended the field of lentils.

9. Name a mighty man who helped David defend a field of barley.

10. Name two famous Gittites.

11. Who was Bathsheba?

12. Who was her grandfather?

13. What was her husband’s name?

14. Describe her Grandfather’s wisdom.

15. Why do you think he played traitor to David?

16. How did he die?

17. Who was Joab?

18. What relation was Joab to David?

19. Name Joab’s mother.

20. Name his two brothers.

21. What act won the name of “The First Three” for three of David’s mighty men?

22. What relation was Amasa to Joab?

23. Who killed Goliath’s brother? What was this brother’s name?

24. How did Joab die? Why?

25. What were the three special acts told about Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and what do you think is their spiritual meaning? From what famous family have we reason to believe Benaiah sprang.