VOL.
LXII. May/June 1979 No. 3
The Ministry and Power of the Holy Spirit "Underneath Are the Everlasting Arms" The Ministry and
Power of the Holy Spirit
"But
the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name,
shall teach you all things, and remind you of all things which I said to
you." THIS
prophetic promise of Jesus had its initial fulfillment at Pentecost, and
was spoken to the Apostles on the night
that he instituted the memorial of his coming death. Manifestly, the words
have a direct application to the Apostles, as they were the ones who
needed to be reminded of the things Jesus had said to them, not only for
their own benefit, but also for the benefit of all for whom they would
record them. Jesus
had been their constant companion and teacher for three
and a half
years. They had learned to rely upon him for guidance in all the affairs
of their lives; they felt their utter dependence upon him; and so the news
that he was about to leave them and go where they could not follow, had
filled them with sorrow and apprehension. Jesus had more than once told
them of his' coming sacrifice and death, but their preconceived ideas had
apparently made it impossible for thorn to comprehend. They were looking
for a Messiah that would exalt their nation above the nations of earth
and would bring the blessings promised by the Prophets, so they were not
prepared to believe him. Peter wanted to know why he could not go where
his Lord was going. "I will lay down my life on your
behalf," he said; but as Jesus foretold, the night did not pass
before Peter had denied him with cursing. Unmindful
of his own approaching trial and suffering, Jesus, in his realization of
the sorrow and need of the Apostles, spent most of the remaining time at
his disposal, in ministering to them the assurance that divine power and
wisdom would take care of them; that a helper would be with them
continually to give them aid and. guidance. As our text says, this helper
would be the holy spirit which the Father would send in his name or stead;
and it would not only constitute their teacher, guiding them in the matter
of truth, but would also recall to their minds all the things he had
previously said to them. JESUS OPERATING THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRITThe
Greek word that is translated as "helper" in our text, is used
only by John. The four times it occurs in his Gospel, it applies to the
holy spirit, and is rendered by the various translators as comforter,
helper, and
advocate.
This is
also the word that is translated as advocate in First John, chapter two,
verse one, where we are told that "We have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Therefore, the holy spirit
which dwells in the mind, and heart of each one whose consecration has
been accepted of the Father, operates for them in our, Lord's name or
stead, since it was in his name that we received the spirit. In
the Apostle Paul's writings we have a verification of this fact. He does
not use the same word that John uses, but a word of similar meaning by
which he shows that both our Lord and the holy spirit intercede for us. In
Romans 8:26, 27 he says: "In like manner also the spirit assists
our weaknesses; for we do
not know
what we should pray for as we ought; but; the spirit itself intercedes
with unspoken groans. And
he who searches.
the hearts, knows what is the mind of the spirit, because according to God
it intercedes on behalf of saints." (Diagott.) On the other hand, in verse thirty-four we read: "Who is he that:
condemn eth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also h maketh intercession
for us.
This is the same word used in connection with the operation of the holy
spirit, and so we can see that it operates in full accord with the work of
Christ on behalf of saints. THE HOLY SPIRITBut
what is the holy spirit? And how is it manifested? To other than Bible
Students it would be necessary to answer these questions; for the men who
translated our King James version of the Bible, believed it to be a
person, equal in every respect to the Father and the Son, Therefore,
whenever possible, they gave it the name Ghost, and
designated it by personal pronouns. Brother Russell's exposition of the
matter in Volume Five of the Scripture Studies, very fully and definitely shows the fallacy of this
view, and he points out, that in those texts where it has been possible to
construe it as being a person, it is solely because it reflects the mind,
will, power, and influence of the one from whom it emanates. It is holy
therefore, because God is holy, and because it is the exercise of his
mind, will, power, and influence,, in and for those who are being fitted
for the heavenly inheritance. The
literal meaning of the Hebrew "ruach" and the Greek "pneuma"
which are often rendered by the word "spirit," is wind or
current of air, and we find them translated by the word "wind"
more than one hundred times in our King James version. For example, Psalm
1:4 reads: "The chaff which the wind driveth away." The fitness
of this translation is readily seen because of the manner in which they
at that time threshed their grain. Then again in John 3:8 we read:
"The wind bloweth where it listeth." In the context of this
latter citation, our Lord gives us an indication of the basic thought
underlying the word wherever it occurs; for he says, "Thou hearest
the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it cometh or ' whither it goeth."
In other words, it is an invisible power or influence and is properly
applied to God's mind or power or influence which are invisible. The
theory that only the literal meanings of Hebrew or Greek words are
necessary or proper in their translation; is certainly disproven by the
variety of ways these two words must be translated to convey the meanings
of the texts in which they are found. For example, it would not make very
good sense to change the word "mind" to wind or to spirit in
Proverbs 29:11, where we read, "A fool uttereth all his mind." MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SPIRITWhen
the spirit of God "moved" or "brooded upon the face of the
waters," it was his power that caused them to bring forth in harmony
with his will; and when his holy spirit is received into our lives, it is
his influence and power that causes the change that takes place within us.
The holy spirit has been manifested in many, many ways; and when we search
the Word in an attempt to list these, we very soon come to a realization
that there is no intelligence or power that has not come from God; not
from the Son, nor from the holy spirit, but from God. Therefore, when our
Lord Jesus, in his prehuman existence, exercised authority and power in
the creation of all things that were made, it was because the wisdom and
power to do this 'was communicated to him by God through the holy spirit.
Jesus testified, "I can of mine own self do nothing." (John
5:30.) "I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me,
he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. .
Whatsoever I speak, therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I
speak." - John 12:49, 50. Since,
as we are told, all things came into being through the Logos, and apart
from him nothing has been created (John 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:6), therefore it was
the spirit of God exercised through him that "brooded upon the face
of the waters." The skill and intelligence of the workmen that
wrought all the various parts and paraphernalia for the tabernacle
service, were but the manifestation of God's spirit operating through
them, for we read: "Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab and every wise
hearted man in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding to know how to
work all :manner of work ifor the service of the sanctuary, according to
all that the Lord had commanded." - Exod. 36:1. The
holy spirit's operation therefore is manifested in the "brooding upon
the face of the waters"; the imparting of skill and cunning to
craftsmen in fashioning and furnishing the tabernacle; the giving of
understanding and ability, to Moses and the Elders of Israel to establish
and operate a form of government that has been a criterion for all
attempts at righteous government since that day. To the judges and leaders
of Israel the holy spirit gave power and wisdom to keep that nation
separate from the idolatrous nations all about them. To Joseph and
Daniel it gave ability to interpret dreams; and all the true prophets of
God were inspired by it to foretell coming
events and
the out-working of God's plan. But in this case, it was more or less a
mechanical operation, for they themselves were not given to understand
the things they prophesied. With the coming of our Lord, however, there
was a change of operation: Jesus received the spirit without measure.
(John 3:34.) This was at the time he symbolized his consecration by
water immersion, for John testified saying, "I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it
abode on him. And I knew him not [as
the Son of God, the Messiah]: but he that sent me to baptize with water,
the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending, and
remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the holy spirit. And
I saw and bear record that this is the
Son of God." - John 1:32-34. Jesus,
therefore, is the one through whom we receive the baptism of the holy
spirit; for just as in
the
tabernacle picture, the holy anointing oil was all poured
upon the head of Aaron by Moses, whence it flowed down to his body
members; so, in antitype, God anointed Jesus with the fulness of his own
mind, will, power, influence, and Jesus in turn has imparted this holy
spirit to his body members in proportion to their capacity and ability to
use it. The
amount of the spirit that we individually receive, seems to be in direct
proportion to the depth and faithfulness of our consecration. Not that anything
less than our all is ever accepted of the Father, but that we
differ in
what constitutes that all,
and in the
manner and degree in which we are able to present that all in service. VESSELS IN THE LORD'S SERVICEWe
recall a very forceful illustration of this that was given at a Brooklyn
Convention in 1944 by our Brother Sonntag. In effect he said: Just imagine
you are viewing a
large table
on which there is placed a variety of vessels dedicated to the purpose of
ministering a very pure, life-giving water. In the center is a tall,
gracefully formed vase, beautiful in outline and contour; it indicates
refinements, lovely traits and manners, so to speak. Here beside it is
another vase, almost as tall but not so well formed: its appearance is
not so graceful, and it will not pour as smoothly and easily. Then over on
this corner of the table stands a jug.
Its
capacity is large but it is amore difficult to pour from, as the water is
apt to come in blurbs or gurgles. Then here beside the jug is a
large pail. Any one attempting to drink from a vessel of this shape is apt
to get wet outside as well as inside. There are also a variety of pitchers
-- very serviceable vessels -- and bottles, bowls, flasks, beakers, mugs,
goblets, glasses, cups, and saucers. What
a conglomeration! But if each and all have been emptied of whatever they
may have contained before they were placed on the table, they can all be
used to minister the good water to the thirsty. The water will of course
conform to the contour of the vessel into which it is poured: but this
does not change the water, nor diminish its value to the thirsty, for the
water does not obtain its value from the vessel, but from the fountain
from which it came. It is evident, too, that some of these vessels have
far more capacity than do others, and can therefore be used in a much larger
way. The little flat saucer does, not hold much and may often need
refilling, but in
its very open
simplicity it may be just the vessel most suited to minister to some
poor, thirsty creature. Likewise,
there is just as great a variety in the human vessels that are filled
with the holy spirit, and they differ just as greatly in their capacity
and in their outward form and ability to manifest that spirit. The spirit
that fills the saucer-like individual is just the same as that which fills
the Apostle Paul or John or Peter or whoever it may be; the one is
sanctified just as fully as is the other, for the individual does not
sanctify the spirit, the spirit sanctifies the individual, and is given as fully as the
capacity of
the individual
will permit. And
so while the illustration is apt in the sense that the Lord accepts us as
we are when he cleanses and sanctifies us by his spirit, yet, unless we
could think of some magic quality in the water that would gradually change
the contour of all those vessels so they would eventually conform to the
shape and beauty of the tall vase in the center, it comes short; for the
object and work of the holy spirit in us is to transform us into the image
of Christ. "Whom he did foreknow, them he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son." - Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18. GOD'S WORKMANSHIP THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRITDo
we comprehend the magnitude of this work of the spirit? Do we give it free
course in our lives through earnest, whole-hearted submission and prayerful,
cooperation? Or do we incline to indifference and slackness in our
consecration, permitting the fleshly mind and body to exercise the natural
tendencies of self-indulgence, impatience, fault finding, evil
surmising, and the many other traits that hinder and strangle the
influence of the holy spirit within. When we permit the natural tendencies
to take their course, then "we walk after the flesh" - we help
to fix and establish ungodly traits; and if we continue in this way, there
will come a time when we cannot be changed, when we will lose all desire
for change and so shrink from the effort necessary to godliness. Such
become "carnally minded," which we are warned will mean death. -
Rom. 8:6. Every
time we acquiesce in the evil tendencies of our fallen nature, we
"grieve the holy spirit of God, whereby we have been sealed unto the
day of deliverance." (Eph. 4:30.) Rather, says Paul, "Let all
bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be
put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another,
tender-hearted, forgiving, one another even
as God for Christ's sake hath
forgiven you." - Eph. 4:31, 32. The
holy spirit does not coerce our wills; it counsels adherence to God's
commands. We have been left free to follow the dictates of our own wills,
for the only worship and service accept, able unto the heavenly Father is
that which emanates from the heart as a free-will offering. "God is
a spirit: and they that worship him, must worship him in
spirit and in truth." (John 4:24.) So then, if we give
heed to the voice of the spirit beseeching us to "present our
bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God" (Rom. 12:1),
and in doing this become tender hearted, kind and sympathetic, meek and forgiving, not requiting
evil with evil nor abuse with abuse, but exercising love toward all,
having special consideration for our brethren, since they are the special
targets for Satan's venom, then if faithful to the end we can expect to be
declared "overcomers." The
ministry and power of the holy spirit in us is then, first of all a work
of enlightenment and grace: "Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are
ye light in
the Lord:
walk as children of light." (Eph. 5:8.) And when we have responded to
this enlightenment of the spirit, and have yielded ourselves in full consecration to the doing of God's will, the spirit then becomes
the seed of begettal, the start of a new life, the planting of a hope that
branches out into heavenly aspirations for spirit-life in union with our
Lord. "Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us unto a living hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." - l Pet. 1:3-5. Then following begettal; the spirit becomes the
quickening power; it begins the process of our transformation, the
changing of our thoughts and impulses from following the unholy, natural
tendencies to the cultivation of the fruit of the spirit. The spirit is
also the power that causes the fruit to grow; but we have to cooperate by
the cultivation of the soil, so to speak; we must keep our hearts free
from love of the weeds of self-ease and unholy desires of the flesh, and
must nurture the spirit's planting. We must "give all diligence
in adding to our faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience,
godliness, brotherly kindness and love. For if
these things be in you and abound, they
make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in
the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, he
cannot see afar off, and hash forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore
the father brethren, give diligence to make your calling
and election sure: for if ye
do these things, ye
shall
never fall: for so
an
abundant entrance shall be ministered unto you into the everlasting
Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2. Pet. 1:5-11.) -
John T. Read Memories of the Way"And
thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these
forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know
what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or
no." -Deuteronomy 8:2. The
power of memory is lasting and is influential. A kindness done in secret
-how often has that seed, dropped into the soil of memory, borne fruitage
in the gratitude of years. And again, a harsh word or inflicted injury,
flung upon the memory, too often has rankled there into lawlessness and
into sin. No man can be solitary who has memory. The poorest of us, if we
have memory, is richer than he knows, for by it we can reproduce
ourselves, be young even when the limbs are failing, and have all the
past: belonging to us when the hair is silvery and the eyes are dim. Oh,
it is a rare and divine endowment! This is the faculty which the Jewish
lawgiver calls into exercise: "Thou shalt remember." REMEMBRANCE OF FAVOR AND OF JOYAnd
as the people of Israel recalled their history there would be, in the
first place, the remembrance of favor and consequently of joy. What a
grand history and one rich in instruction was theirs! Jehovah's presence
had gone with them through the tangled desert path -by day in guiding
cloud, by night in lambent flame; their raiment had not waxed old upon
them, neither their foot swelled for forty years. He had spoiled their enemies
in their sight. In Egypt they had quailed beneath the very Omnipotence
which had delivered them, and they had crouched trembling at the base of
Sinai, while ever and anon loomed through the darkness the flashings
forth of the Divinity within. From the time when they groaned in bondage
and their cry went up unto God until now, when after forty years'
vicissitudes, they stood upon the threshold of the land of Canaan, each
day had its wonder and its lesson. There could not fail to be great and
grateful rejoicing in this remembrance of the loving-kindness of the Lord. Brethren,
our own has also been an instructive history. Do not these "ensamples"
refresh our memories? Do we not recall that loving-kindness which
compassed us since first we knew the Lord, and of his favor that hath made
our "mountain to stand strong" (Ps. 30:7)? Think of the gracious
Providence that in your spiritual journey cared for your infancy and
prevented your doings in youth; think of the unexpected deliverances, the
unlooked-for surprises of blessing with which you have been visited.
Pause before the various stones of help which you have erected in the
course of your journey. Remember the stores of gladness inexhaustible
and constantly operating that have been poured upon you by the bounty of
your heavenly Father -the joy of your heart, the joy peculiar to
yourselves, the joy of meetings, the sweetness of farewells, and of that
which came between, more sweet than each. Remember the joys of the Church:
victory over some besetting temptation; glad seasons of Christian
fellowship which can never be forgotten; sermons that seemed, in their
exquisite adaptedness, as if they had been made for you, to counsel in perplexity,
to comfort in trouble. REMEMBRANCE OF SIN AND SORROWNothing
is more remarkable as a fact, and more illustrative of the depravity of
the human heart, than the frequency with which the children of Israel
sinned. Thus secondly in their history would be the remembrance of sin,
and, by consequence of sin, the remembrance of sorrow. Only three days
after the wonderful interposition at the Red Sea their murmurings began.
The miracle at Marah, although it appeased their thirst, failed to inspire
their confidence, for they tempted God again at the Waters of Strife. They
lusted after the fleshpots of Egypt though the manna fell without ceasing.
Their whole history is a record of perpetual sin, a perpetual lapse, now
into jealousy, and now into sensualism, now into unbelief, and now, alas,
into idolatry. These repeated transgressions of necessity introduced them
to sorrow, and they suffered the strokes of Jehovah's displeasure. And
does not memory recall for us a history that has its sorrowful side also?
What of unfaithfulness since the Lord called you? Your indulgence since
your conversion in things you dared not have done while you were seeking
mercy? Your cherishing of some secret idol; your forbearance to deliver
them that were drawn to death; your efforts for your own aggrandizement
and pleasure while the house of God lay waste? What of that terrible
callousness which could so unfeelingly trample the honest convictions of
a fellow in Christ because they differed from your own; that cruel lack of
concern for a brother or sister in the Lord who so much needed the word in
season you could have given and did not because "they walked not with
you"? And what of that blindness, that unreasoning over-zealousness,
which could overstep the Lord's specific injunction, "Judgment is
mine," and would condemn another as "out of the truth,"
whether by direct words or by innuendo; that sly suggestion of moral
error within as the only explanation for mental differences without? What
of that smug complacency in the holding of the letter of God's Word
while the spirit thereof was violated? Call up these memories; do not
disguise them; they are necessary to bow us in humility before God. PURPOSES OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE Let
us, secondly, notice the purposes of divine Providence in the journey.
These are stated to be three: "To
humble
thee and to prove thee"; "to know what was in thine heart";
and "whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no." We
thus recognize that in all God's dealings with the children of Israel,
there were purposes at work -- purposes of spiritual discipline,
intended to induce self-searching and the improvement of their hearts
and lives. The
first purpose that is spoken of is to induce humility --"to
humble
thee." Everything in their experience taught them their dependence
upon God. Every event, alike in their deliverance from Egypt and in
their passage through the wilderness, was calculated to show them their
own feebleness. What could human might have effected for them in the way
of securing their deliverance from Egypt? Their spirits were broken by
long years of slavery; the iron had not only chained their limbs, it had
entered into their soul. They had not the heart to strike for freedom; and
if they had meditated an uprising, they were a people of such divided
counsels and so distrustful of each other, that it would have been but a
paroxysm of frantic rebellion which would have riveted upon themselves the
yoke of a more bitter bondage. What could human might have availed for
them when on the borders of the Red Sea the giant waves barred their
progress while a host of relentless enemies pressed behind? Brethren,
the dealings of Providence with ourselves are intended to show us our
dependence upon God and to humble us in the dust under his mighty hand. We
are proud, sometimes, and we talk about our endowments, and we boast
largely of what we have done and what we intend to do; but we can do
absolutely nothing. The athletic frame -how soon can he bring it down! The
well-endowed heritage-how soon can he scatter it! The mental glance, keen
and piercing -how soon can he bring upon it the dimness and bewilderment
of years! We cannot, any one of us, bring ourselves into being; we
cannot, any one of us, sustain ourselves in being for a moment. And
so it is with all matters of human glory. The strong man rejoiceth in
his strength, but the Lord bath made him strong; the wise man glorifieth
himself in his intellect and fluent utterance, but these are the bestowments
of God. Ah! why will men "sacrifice to their own net, and burn
incense to their own drag" (Hab. 1:16), when they have absolutely
nothing which they have not received; and when every gift cometh
"from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17) ? And
in the realm of morals and in our spiritual life, our feebleness is the
same. Have you learned this lesson, this deep, hard lesson of humility? Oh!
how this lesson must come home to us now, we who have partaken of the
message of Present Truth, as we remember the former days -- the days of
outward spiritual prosperity as through the ministrations of a man of God
we absorbed the letter of the Word spread so abundantly. Yes, there was
growth, but alas, how much of it was a delusive growth, a growth of form
and not of spirit, the growth of a plant and not of an oak. Enduring
things take long to grow and must be deep-rooted; no mushroom like growths
can endure the tests of faith. How we needed to receive the chastisements
of the Lord that we might learn of the delusiveness of a growth which was
so much dependent on a constant learning of some new thing; a
spiritual
prosperity so dependent upon the presence of a servant of the Lord. But
true individual faith could not thrive under those circumstances and how
needful it was, as we all realize now, that the Lord separate our hand
from the one in whose we had placed it, that the succeeding experiences
develop in us a
reliance on
Christ alone. How
painful has been the road, and how humbling to our former spirit of
overconfidence and leaning on the arm of flesh. Yet how far more
spiritually healthful has been the atmosphere of reliance and trust in
His
strength and presence alone. Yes, we remember the Valley of Humiliation.
God has indeed humbled us and thereby made us strong. THE JOURNEY ALSO PROVES USThe
second purpose of God's Providence in the journey is to prove
us. There
were many testing circumstances in the history of the children of
Israel. They were tested by their mercies, as when, feeling the manna
insipid, they lusted after the fleshpots of Egypt; they were tested by
their duties; they were tested by their calamities, as at the Red Sea
and in the conflicts with the hosts of Amalek. They were tested by their
companions, as when they formed unholy league with Midianite idolaters and
brought upon themselves that swift destruction which Balak wished for, but
which the cowardly Balaam dared not for his life invoke. Brethren,
God has his crucible still. As we look back upon our past lives, we shall
find circumstances that have tried us, and we shall remember the results
of the trial sometimes with devout gratitude, oftener with unfeigned
shame. Our afflictions have tried us, and we thought we did well to be
angry; we have arraigned the proceedings of God at the bar of our
limited reason (solemn mockery of judicature!) when the reflection of
tomorrow would have approved what the distrust of today was so ready to
condemn. Our
duties have tried us. We have felt the shrinking of the flesh, and the
result has been sometimes their reluctant and sometimes their spiritless
discharge. Or people have been unjust or unkind to us: we have met with
ingratitude or with treachery; our own familiar one, in whom we trusted,
has betrayed us; slander has been busy belching out her calumnies against
our fair fame; all these things have tested our patience, our endurance,
our meekness, our long-suffering, and, like Moses, we have spoken
unadvisedly, or, like the disciples, we have had to pray, "Lord,
increase our faith," before we could grasp the large and princely
idea of forgiveness to seventy times seven. Often
companionships have tried us, and we have shown how small has been our
self-reliance, and how easily we have taken the hue and mold of the
society in which we were thrown, and how a pointed finger, or a sarcastic
laugh, or a lip scornfully curled, can shame the manhood out of us, and
make us very cowards in resisting evil, or in bearing witness for God. Thus
have we been, thus has God proved us in the wilderness, and if we are in
earnest for heaven, and if we have in any measure profited by the
discipline, we shall be thankful for the trial. Placed as we are in a
sinful world, exposed to its everyday influences, whether of good or
evil, we need a piety which can maintain itself in all circumstances, so
we can say with David, "Thou has proved mine heart; and thou hast
visited me in the night; thou has tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am
purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Concerning the works of
men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the
destroyer" (Ps. 17:3, 4). "KEEP THY HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE"
And
then the third purpose of Providence in the journey is "to know
what was in thine heart --whether thou wouldst keep his commandments,
or no." Human knowledge can give us very little acquaintance with the
heart; such knowledge is too wonderful for man; it is high, and he cannot
attain to it. But there is One who knows it, and knows all its tortuous
policy, and all its sinister motive, and he is anxious that we should know
it too, and one purpose of his providential dealings with us is that we
may know what is in our heart. But
whether it be from the deceitfulness of the object of study, or whether
it be from the morbid reluctance, almost amounting to fear, with which
men shrink from acquaintance with themselves, there are few that have the
bravery to pray, "Lord, make me to know myself." Indeed, it were
a hideous picture if it were suddenly unveiled in the presence of us
all. When the Lord would show Ezekiel the abominations of Jerusalem, he
led him through successive chambers of imagery, upon the walls of which
were portrayed their loathsome and unworthy doings. Ah! if our weakness
were to be thus tapestried in our sight, who of us could bear the disclosure? There
was deep self-knowledge and deep humility in the word of the old reformer,
who, when he saw a criminal led off amid the jeers of the multitude to be
hanged, turned around sighing, and said, "There, but for the grace of
God, goes old John Bradford." There is a very affecting illustration
of what can lurk unsuspected in the human heart, in the eighth chapter of
the second Book of Kings. Hazael, the messenger from the king of Syria, is
shocked at the bare mention of the atrocities Elisha prophesies he shall
commit, and in indignation remonstrates with the Prophet. And yet as one
has quaintly observed, "The dog did it after all." Brethren,
"the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked" (Jer. 17:9). There lurks this danger in us all; there is no
superiority of character in ourselves; there is no firmer power of
resistance to evil. In our unaided strength we are no better fortified
against the evil about us than are our fellowmen. From a thousand causes
of disaster and of shame with which our experience can furnish us, and
which we read in the history of everyday life, it becomes us, with godly
jealousy watching over our own hearts, to guard against the beginnings of
evil. USES OF THE MEMORYIf
these have been your experience in the way that you have trodden, there
will be many uses of the memory of the way. You will know more of
God at its conclusion than you did at its commencement. You will behold
both the goodness and the severity of God - the severity which punishes
sin wherever it is to be found, the goodness which itself provides a
substitute and finds a Savior. Where do you not find him rather? There was
the stream gushing forth from the smitten rock, and the perishing and
thirsty Israelites were happy. "They drank of that spiritual Rock
that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Cor. 10: 4). There
was the brazen serpent, the symbol of accepted propitiation in the
wilderness of sin. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:14, 15). Oh,
as you gather up these memories -the memory of joy, the memory of
sorrow, the memory of sin; as you remember the goodness and the lovingkindness
of the Lord, his faithfulness to fulfill his promises, his tenderness,
which your repeated rebellions have not caused to fail, gather up yourself
in one earnest reconsecration of flesh and spirit, that you may be in
truth living temples now and eventually pillars in the house of God, that
shall go no more out forever. "Ye
have seen ... how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto
myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my
covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people:
for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests,
and an holy nation" (Ex. 19:4-6). - W. J. Siekman "Underneath Are the Everlasting Arms""The
eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." -
Deuteronomy 33:27. The
words of our text are the words wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed
the children of Israel just before his death. However, in an important
sense, they constitute God's message, not only to Israel then, but to
all mankind today. According
to the Genesis account, man was created "in the image of God,"
that is, with similar mental powers of reason, memory, judgment and will,
and moral qualities of justice, benevolence and love; not with a mere
first glimmer of moral sense as claimed by Evolutionists. Moreover,
at the time of his creation there was implanted in him the ability to
appreciate, and the desire to worship, and to, have communion with, his
Creator. Even today, after six thousand years of sin in the earth, there
are times in the lives of most men when their minds reach out, instinctively,
however vaguely, to their Creator. Without this relationship with God man
is incomplete. In confirmation of this note the words of the Apostle
Paul to the people of Athens, in that wonderful speech of his on Mars
Hill. Declaring to them the Unknown God, Paul says that he "hath made
of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,
and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their
habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after
him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him
we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:26-28). Moreover,
these words were spoken, not to Christians, but to pagans. Today, among
the so-called "enlightened" nations (which is another way of
saying those more scientifically advanced) there is a marked tendency to
deny the existence of God, or of any superior intelligent authority in the
universe. The belief is widespread that man came into existence by pure
chance, by a process of evolution, and is, or will shortly become,
entirely self-sufficient. IS PEACE OF MIND EXPERIENCED IN A
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