We have now passed along this outline of the great dispensational dealings of God in their larger features, as through grace we have been enabled: from the fall of man, out to the eternal state.
We read in Psalm 25, “The meek will he guide in judgment, the meek will he teach his way... The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.” And, in His dealings with His servants, we find that He acts according to the principles of His word: for we read in Num. 12, “Now the man Moses was very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” And in Psalm 103:77He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. (Psalm 103:7), “He made known his ways to Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.” It is to those who are morally near Him He deals thus, giving them capacity to understand Him, and the communications of His mind. This is solemn. For while Israel could only know Him in His overt acts, they were morally far from Him, and consequently unfit to hear the communications of His counsels and ways. This is ever so: there is a moral fitness in one Christian — a practical obedience to His mind and will as revealed — a desire to bow to Him, and respond to the way He has revealed Himself, that He waits upon, and guides and instructs; while another is dull of hearing, and learns but little, and even that little has not its freshness and power in his soul. “The natural man [on the other hand,] receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:1414But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)).” “If any man will [desire] to do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself (John 7:1717If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. (John 7:17)).” — is a simple principle, and yet how much it involves! God does not reveal His truth, to be a mere sum of knowledge learned, for the gratification of the mind. What He teaches, with so much condescension, is imperfectly learned, if learned at all, when the conscience has been unexercised, and the claims of His truth have not found a response in the soul, so as to judge the darkness, and set the feet to walk in, and rise, and live in the power of it. And besides this, divine truth is so contrary to every thought of men, even of the best of men, that even the soul which enjoys the revelation of it, is prone to sink into human thoughts, arid human use of tire truth.
Our meditations have led us, we trust, through grace, into some understanding of the greater features of the dispensational dealings of God, than which nothing is more important: without an understanding of dispensational truth, the soul is unsteady in its testimony. If laboring for the Lord, it makes the need of souls the paramount object; and the claims of the Lord upon the souls of His people are too often forgotten. The “alabaster box of ointment” should be joined with “this gospel,” that is, the publication of the activities of the grace of God by the Gospel, meeting the soul’s need, united to such teaching as would lead the soul, through grace, thus satisfied and set at rest, into such an apprehension of the person of Christ Himself, and such an appreciation of Him, that the knowledge of His mind and will is sought; and the heart learns to bow to His claims, and to walk in the path of intelligent obedience, which His eye would mark out, and His written word direct, so that it may please God (1 Thess. 4:11Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1)).
I am bold to say that without a knowledge of dispensational truth, this is quite impossible: doubtless there may be, and there is piety amongst many; but piousness, while it meets with a certain amount of respect, even from the man of the world, whose heart is not seared, is not “the truth of God.” It is one thing to be pious, another to walk in the truth. The soul that has been established in dispensational truth, and that has ascertained the ways of God during the various dispensations (and even when the testimony entrusted to men in each dispensation has been corrupted and destroyed), learns how to respond to God’s way; how to walk before Him in accordance with His mind and will; even when the dispensation has fallen into ruins.
Surely one judges that the path marked out in one dispensation, would be unsuited for another; and judges, too, with spiritual discernment, that a path right in the beginning of a dispensation, necessarily changes its character when the dispensation has fallen into ruins through the unfaithfulness of those to whom the testimony is entrusted; yet all the while recognizing that divine principles never have changed, even while the vessel proved that it could not hold the treasure committed to it.
The Christian, thus instructed, sees that which answered to God in a divine way, the fruit of the Spirit’s teaching, in the soul of a godly Jew under law, when his nation, as an elect earthly one, was owned of God, necessarily altering its character when his nation became corrupted; while the divine counsels altered not. And still he is able to see the more vividly that the pathway of a godly Jew, in an earthly nation, under the law, cannot be that of a Christian in a dispensation where his calling is one out of and above the world altogether; and, moreover, that the experience of a godly Israelite in his dispensation is not such, in its best state, as is suited to a member of the body of a glorified Christ. That to be satisfied with such, is to ignore the position of the Christian as such, and to return to Judaism in principle. To walk as those of whom it is said, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord” (Psa. 119:11ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. (Psalm 119:1)), is right and blessed in its time while to “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)), is quite another, and far beyond it; it is to realize that the dispensation with an unrent vail has ceased, that the things permitted in such a dispensation have passed away, and that the Christian is now within the vail, in the full light of God’s presence, set there to walk as becomes such a position, and to judge everything in his ways inconsistent with the place, in the liberty of grace. The whole range of his responsibility flows from his position and from the relationship in which he is placed.
The Christian, so instructed, is enabled to pass through the world, with the truth girding his loins, and with a moral apprehension as to the worth of all its vaunted progress in civilization, religion, politics, and everything around: and although his testimony may be, as it were, an individual one, “clothed in sackcloth,” still his faith is confirmed by the very principles around him which tend in an opposite direction, — and he feels that through grace “none of these things move” him; and that the day is coming when his testimony, if in accordance with the mind of the Lord, will be owned, and that then he will see to the full the use the Lord has had for him as a witness, when to outward appearance he was, as Jeremiah, “shut up” — and when he “sat alone,” the word of the Lord the joy and rejoicing of his heart.
Let me ask the Christian soul a question. Are the claims of the Lord Jesus on you of deep and paramount importance in your eyes? In proposing such a question, I do so to those who profess to Jove and own Christ as their Lord; and whose consciences have been forever set at rest; and introduced by faith into the full cloudless presence of God, in Christ — to those who see every question that could hinder their perfect peace, answered by the atoning blood — past, present, future — all secure. Are the claims of Christ of sufficient weight, that you would seek to know His mind and will, even if it were to break up the most cherished associations of your heart? And, knowing His mind and will, are you seeking for grace to walk therein? I feel this a deeply solemn question in the present day, a day of the highest sounding profession, without conscience or life toward God.
Religion is putting forth her fairest and most seductive forms; seeking the aid of science, and poetry, and art, to deck herself withal; holding in her band a cup of prostitution, which stupefies the senses, lulls to sleep the conscience. And even where she is not putting on the outward adorning, she practices all sorts of deceits. Those whose senses would not be ensnared by the outward adorning, are ensnared by the specious arguments of expediency, and a round of evangelical activity — works perfect it may be, before men, but not perfect before God (Rev. 3:22Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. (Revelation 3:2)). She is suiting herself more and more to natural, unrenewed man, and under the name of Christ, she turns away her eye from Christ, and boasts that she is “rich and increased with goods and has need of nothing” (Rev. 3:1717Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (Revelation 3:17)). “The form of godliness, without the power,” surely is the condition of things around us. The Lordship of Christ is ignored. The presence of the Holy Spirit either denied in words; or, what is worse, professed to be acknowledged in words, and completely denied in practice. This is truly solemn. The very vital central truth of Christianity, and of the Church of God — that which marks off, in a clear line this interval, from all that went before or which follows, denied; and the whole merged into a heap of confusion, out of which souls can find no clue; and are “ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
“The foundation of God stands sure,” whatever man’s unfaithfulness has been. God’s principles do not alter; and the responsibility of His people never alters. While it is their blessing to know that “the Lord knoweth them that are his,” still their responsibility is, “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Tim. 2:1919Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (2 Timothy 2:19), &c.).” The Christian is to purge himself from the vessels unto dishonor, that he may be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for his master’s use, prepared unto every good work. He must not, as we have before touched upon, rest satisfied with the corruption — nor need he try to repair the injury that has been done; that will never be repaired till the professing mass meets its end in judgment. His path is a plain one. “Depart from iniquity.” “Purge himself from the vessels to dishonor.” And now comes his personal walk of holiness. He is to “flee also youthful lusts”; and then his walk, in the company of others, to “follow righteousness, faith, peace, charity with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” This is the principle — a plain one — separation from evil, and to God in the midst of it.
May He, who alone can do so, give subjection to His word to those whose eyes fall upon these pages, and a growing separation and deepening subjection, as they go on their pathway, to those who by grace have learned in their measure to walk therein! “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; [and] if a man love me, he will keep my words (John 14).” This is characteristic of Christianity. It is intelligent obedience rendered to a person, not to a law. The time was when the faithful and undefiled in the way were blessed, who walked in the law of the Lord (Psa. 119:11ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. (Psalm 119:1), &c.). Then God was unrevealed. He was hidden behind the vail and the dispensational barriers of the age. He was hidden, and had sent forth His claims to men in the law; and although it had said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and with all thy strength,” still it did not reveal a person to attract the heart. That time has passed away. Christ has come; and “by him we believe in God” (1 Peter 1), and to Him we owe the love of our hearts and the obedience of our lives — one whose love constrains us to live henceforth, “not unto ourselves, but unto him who died for us and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:1515And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (2 Corinthians 5:15)). It is a person we are thus called upon to live for and to love; one who has sanctified us unto obedience such as that which characterized His own (1 Peter 1:22Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Peter 1:2)), surrendering self, life, all, for those who hated Him. The law proposed that a man should love his neighbor as himself. The obedience of Christ was the surrendering of self altogether for His enemies.
The Lord Jesus appealed in His day to the Jews (Luke 12:54, 5754And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. (Luke 12:54)
57Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? (Luke 12:57)) to discern “ the signs of the times,” even by the force of natural conscience, and to judge what was right. His word should find an echo in many a Christian heart now, that has sunk down to sleep amongst the dead (Eph. 5:11Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; (Ephesians 5:1)). Everything around us in the present day, religion, the state of men, nations, powers, kingdoms, are each gradually and perceptibly taking their places for the closing scenes of judgment. The Christian, instructed beforehand of these things, can watch them calmly and quietly, awaiting the coming of his Lord. He knows his calling is a heavenly one (Heb. 3:11Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; (Hebrews 3:1)) where judgments cannot come. The coming of the Lord, the Son of God, for his people, is the one boundary, or horizon, of his hopes. His actions, and service, and plans, and sojourn here, are arranged in view of that event; and if called to serve his Lord and Master here, he does so in the sense that he serves as in the last days. May a deepening sense of this fill the souls of His people; and may this their proper hope, ere the day dawn be formed in their hearts, and serve to direct their ways!
It has been said that the Old Testament scriptures end with the hope of the coming of the Sun of Righteousness, and the New with that of the “Morning Star.” Sweetly beautiful is this. The godly remnant of Israel who feared the Lord and spake often one to another, &c. (Mal. 3), had that precious consolation before them — that of the coming of the Sun of Righteousness with healing in his wings (Mal. 4). And we find them in Luke 2, the Simeons and Annas, and “all them that looked for redemption in Israel” (Luke 2:25,3825And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. (Luke 2:25)
38And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. (Luke 2:38)), rejoicing in the advent of the “Sun of Righteousness,” “the consolation of Israel.” But, alas, His beams fell coldly on the hearts of His nation; they had no heart for Him. Men were morally unfit to have God amongst them; and so He was obliged to hide His beams of blessing in the darkened scene that surrounded the cross, and to reserve the day of blessing till another season. Meanwhile, our calling was revealed, and our hope presented to us; not as the “Sun of Righteousness,” but as the Morning Star!”
The more we contemplate the fitness of this symbol of our hope, the more does its divine origin appear. It is the watcher during the long night who sees the morning star for a few moments, while the darkness is rolling itself away from off the face of the earth, and before the beams of the sun enliven the earth with their rays. And so with the Christian’s hope; he watches during the moral darkness of the world, till the dawn; and just as the darkness is deepest and is about to roll itself away before the beams of the advent of the “Sun of Righteousness,” his hope is rewarded in seeing the “Morning Star” (Rev. 22:1616I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. (Revelation 22:16)), in His earliest brightness, coming to take His people to Himself, that they may shine forth with Him as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:4343Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:43)), when He reveals Himself to the Millennial earth as the Sun of Righteousness!
May He, who alone can give blessing, abundantly bless the consideration of these things, and give that hope its own sanctifying power in our souls! “I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify these things in the churches; I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and the Morning Star... He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus... Amen.”