the things of Christ and revealing them. There are two methods of
teaching children, by precept, and by example. I go into a schoolroom
one summer afternoon, and remark the hot cheeks and tired eyes of the
little ones. Outside the open window the bees are droning past, the
butterflies flit from flower to flower, and nature seems to cry to the
little hearts, "Come and play with me." Does a garden ever look so
beautiful as to children shut up to their studies? "What are you
learning, little ones?" I say. "Botany," is the sad answer "We've got
to learn all these hard names, and copy these diagrams." "Well," I
say, "shut up your books, and come with me." And presently I teach
them more botany by contact with the flowers themselves, than they
would have learned by hours of poring over lesson-books. It is so the
Spirit teaches. Is gentleness or purity, self-sacrifice or prayer, the
lesson that we are set to acquire? There is no need for Him to make a
new revelation to us. It is enough if He but bring us face to face
with Jesus, and show these qualities shining through His words and
deeds. The truth certainly, but the truth as it is in Jesus.
The condition of proficiency in the Spirit's school is _obedience_.
"He will _guide_ you into all truth." This word is very significant.
Literally it means, _Show the way_. Ordinarily men ask to know the
truth before they obey. The Spirit demands that they should obey
before they know. Let me know the outcome of this act; its philosophy,
its reasonableness, its result, then I will obey. But the Spirit
answers, "It is enough for thee, O child of man, to know Me. Canst
thou not trust? Wilt thou not obey? And as thou obeyest thou shalt
know. Take this path, plod along its difficult way, climb where it
climbs, so shalt thou ascend the steep of obedience, and at each step a
further horizon of the truth will open outspread beneath thee."
Let us be more sensitive to the guidance of the Spirit, following
whithersoever He clearly indicates, as when the Spirit said to Philip,
"Go, join thyself to this chariot." We shall know when we follow on to
know the Lord. His going forth is prepared for those who are prepared
to obey whatsoever He may appoint.
The aim of the Spirit is to glorify our Lord. "He shall glorify Me,
for He shall receive of mine." The Spirit's presence, as such, should
not be a subject of our close scrutiny, lest we conflict with His holy
purpose of being hidden, that Jesus may be all in all before the gaze
of saint and sinner. He is so anxious that nothing should divert the
soul's gaze from the Lord whom He would reveal, that He carefully
withdraws Himself from view. "There must be nothing, not even God
Himself, to distract the heart from Jesus, through whom we come to God.
But remember that when you have the most precious views of your dear
Lord, it is because the Holy Spirit, all unseen, is witnessing and
working within you."
The _authority_ of the Holy Spirit appears in the words, "He shall not
speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak."
Where does He hear the truths He utters? Where? There is only one
place. In the depths of the eternal throne, in the heart of Deity
itself, in the secret place of the Most High. Oh, marvel! surpassing
thought, yet true! that things which pass between the Father and the
Son, in the depths which no angel can penetrate, may be disclosed and
made known to those humble and contrite hearts who are willing to make
a space and pause for the Divine Spirit to speak the deep things of God.
May it be ours to be patient and willing pupils in this heavenly school
in which the Holy Spirit is Teacher, and Jesus the Text-Book, and
character the essential condition of knowledge.
XX
The Conqueror of the World
"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world."--JOHN xvi. 33.
It was the road between Jerusalem and the Gate of the Garden. Behind,
lay the city bathed in slumber; before, the Mount of Olives with its
terraced gardens; above, the Passover moon, pouring down floods of
silver light that dropped to the ground through the waving branches of
the trees. The Lord was on His way to betrayal and death, along that
path flecked by checkered moonlight.
The farewell talk had been prolonged until the disciples had grasped
something of the Master's meaning. With many a comforting assurance it
had borne them forward to the magnificent but simple declaration, "_I
came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave
the world, and go to the Father_" (ver. 28). At that announcement
light seems to have broken in upon their hearts, and they said unto
Him, "_Lo, now speakest Thou plainly, . . . by this we believe that
Thou camest forth from God._" Jesus replied, not as translators render
it, "_Do ye now believe_"; but as it should be rendered, "_At last ye
believe_"; and He proceeded to formulate three paradoxes:
First, That within an hour or so He would be alone, yet not alone.
Secondly, That they would have tribulation, and yet be in peace.
Thirdly, That though He was going to His death, He was certainly a
conqueror, and had overcome the world, whose princes were about to
crucify Him.
That word _overcome_ appears to have been used only this once by our
Lord; but it made a lasting impression on the Apostle John, who
constantly makes use of it in his Epistle. We meet with it _six_ times
in his brief first Epistle, and _sixteen_ times in the Book of
Revelation. Who can forget the sevenfold promise spoken by the risen
Lord to those who overcome; or the sublime affirmation concerning the
martyrs, that they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony?
I. CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES HAVE A COMMON FOE--"The world."--And what
is the world? _It is well to take the inspired definition given in 1
John ii. 16_. After enumerating her three daughters--the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--the apostle goes on
to say: "All that is in the world is not of the Father," _i.e._, does
not originate or proceed from Him, but has its source in the world
itself. We might reverse this proposition and say: "All that does not
emanate from the Father, which you cannot trace back to His purpose in
creation, is that mysterious indefinable influence or spirit which
makes the world." The world, in this sense, is not primarily a thing,
or a collection of people, but a spiritual influence poured out into
the very atmosphere of our lives.
The spirit of the world insinuates itself everywhere. It is what we
call society; the consensus of fashionable opinion; the spirit which
finds its satisfaction in the seen and transient; the ambition that is
encircled by the rim of an earthly horizon; the aims, plans, and
activities which are comprehended, as the Preacher says, "under the
sun." You meet it in the school, where little children judge each
other by their dress and the number of horses their fathers keep; in
the country town, where strict lines are drawn between the professional
or wholesale man and the retailer; in gatherings of well-dressed
people, stiff with decorum and the punctilious observance of etiquette.
The world has formulated its _Beatitudes_, thus:
"Blessed are the rich, for they shall inherit the earth."
"Blessed are the light-hearted, for they shall have many friends."
"Blessed are the respectable, for they shall be respected."
"Blessed are they who are not troubled by a sensitive conscience, for
they shall succeed in life."
"Blessed are they who can indulge their appetites to the full, for they
shall be filled."
"Blessed are they who have no need to conciliate their rivals, for they
will be saved from anxiety."
"Blessed are they who have no poor relations, for they shall be
delivered from annoyance."
"Blessed are they of whom all men speak well."
The world's code says, "Do as others do; don't be singular; never
offend against good taste; have a tinge of religiousness, but remember
too much is impracticable for daily life; whatever you do, don't be
poor; never yield an inch, unless you are going to make something by
the concession; take every advantage of bettering your position, it
matters not at what cost to others--they must look after themselves, as
you to yourself."
But it was reserved for John Bunyan to draw Madame Bubble's portrait:
"This woman is a witch. 'I am mistress of the world,' she says, 'and
men are made happy by me.' She wears a great purse at her side; and
her hand is often in her purse fingering her money. Yea, she has
bought off many a man from a pilgrim's life after he had fairly begun
it. She is a bold and impudent slut also, for she will talk to any
man. If there be one cunning to make money, she will speak well of him
from house to house. None can tell of the mischief she does. She
makes variance betwixt rulers and subjects, 'twixt parents and
children, 'twixt a man and his wife, 'twixt the flesh and the heart.
Had she stood by all this while,' said Standfast, whose eyes were still
full of her, 'you could not have set Madame Bubble more amply before
me, nor have better described her features.' 'He that drew her picture
was a good limner,' said Mr. Honest, 'and he that so wrote of her said
true.' 'Oh,' said Standfast, 'what a mercy it is that I did resist
her! for to what might she not have drawn me?'"
II. CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES HAVE A COMMON CONFLICT.--It is inevitable
that there should be collision, and therefore conflict, and as a result
tribulation. The world-spirit will not brook our disagreement with its
plans and aims, and therefore they who persist in living godly lives in
this present evil world must suffer persecution.
_Conflict about the use of power and prerogative._--At His baptism our
Lord was proclaimed to be the Son of the Highest, and anointed with the
Holy Ghost and with power. Instantly the Prince of this world came to
Him with the suggestion that He should use it for the purposes of His
own comfort and display. "Make these stones bread for thine hunger;
cast Thyself down and attract the attention of the crowds." Here were
the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes. But our Lord refused
to use for Himself the power which was entrusted to Him for the
benediction and help of men.
_Conflict as to the way of helping and saving men._--The world's way
was to leap into the seat of power at any cost, and from the height of
universal authority administer the affairs of the world. But Christ
knew better. He saw that He must take the form of a servant, and
humble Himself to the lowest. If He would save men, He cannot save
Himself: if He would bring forth much fruit, He must fall into the
ground to die: if He would ascend far above all heavens, bearing us
with Him to the realms of eternal day, He must descend first into the
lower parts of the earth.
_Conflict in the estimate of poverty and suffering._--The world looked
on these as the most terrible disasters that could befall. Christ, on
the other hand, taught that blessedness lay most within reach of the
poor in spirit, the mourners, the merciful, the forgiving, and the
persecuted. But the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, when they
heard all these things, scoffed at Him.
_Conflict in their diverse notions of royalty._--The Jews looked for a
Messiah who should revive the glories of the days of David and Solomon,
driving the Gentiles from the land, and receiving the homage of the
surrounding nations, whilst every son of Abraham enjoyed opulence and
ease. Referring to this expectation, the Master said, "My kingdom is
not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My
servants fight." His conception of royalty was founded on service,
which would wash the disciples' feet; on humility, which meekly bore
the heavy yoke, on patience, which would not quench the smoking flax,
on suffering, which flinched not from the cross; on the nobility and
dignity of the inner life, which shone through the most humble
circumstances, as the transfiguration glory through His robes. For
this He died. The chief priests and scribes hunted Him to death,
because He persisted in asserting that He was the true King of men.
"And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the Cross, _Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews_."
_There was conflict in regard to religion._--The people of Christ's day
were very religious. The world likes a flavor of religion. It makes a
good background and screen, it serves to hide much that is unbecoming
and questionable; it is respectable, and satisfies an instinctive
longing of the soul. But the world manages its religion in such a way
as not to interfere with its self-aggrandizement; but, in fact, to
promote it. Christ, on the other hand, taught that religion was for
the Father in secret; and consisted, not in the rigorous observance of
outward rite, but in pity, mercy, forgiveness, solitary prayer, and
purity of heart.
Thus the Lord's life was the reversal of everything that the world
prized. Wherever He touched it there was conflict and collision,
strong antagonism was evoked, and profound irritation on the part of
the poor hollow appearance-loving world. So it must be with His
followers. "These pilgrims must needs go through the fair. Well, so
they did; but behold, even as they entered into the fair, all the
people in the fair were moved, and the town itself, as it were, in a
hubbub about them. They were clothed with such kind of raiment as was
diverse from the raiment of any who traded in that fair; few could
understand what they said; and the pilgrims set very light by all their
wares. And they did not believe them to be any other than bedlams and
mad. Therefore they took them and beat them, and besmeared them with
dirt, and then put them in the cage, that they might be made a
spectacle to all the men at the fair."
Child of God, your conflict may be altogether _hidden_ from the eyes of
those around you, _lonely_ with the awful loneliness of one in a crowd
of unsympathizing strangers, _painful_ with the tribulation that Christ
foretold. You have been ridiculed, sneered at, maligned; your tools
hidden, your goods injured, violence threatened or executed. You have
been as a speckled bird, pecked at by the birds around. But this is
the way the Master went. By these marks you may be sure that you are
in the way of His steps.
III. THE COMMON VICTORY.--"Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
In the midst of a battle, when the soldiers are weary with fatigue,
galled with fire, and grimed with smoke, if the general rides into the
midst to cheer them with a few hearty words, and tells them that the
key to the position is in their hands, they cheer him enthusiastically,
and take up new hope. So down the line our Leader and Commander sends
the encouragement of these inspiring words. Let us drink their comfort
and encouragement to the full, that, amid our tribulation, in Him we
may have peace.
_He conquered for Himself._--The Lord has shown that a great and
blessed life is possible on conditions which the world pronounces
simply unendurable. He would not accept the world's maxims, would not
be ruled by the world's principles, did despite to the world's most
favorite plans. He even tasted the dregs of reprobation that the world
metes out to those who oppose her, enduring the cross, and despising
the shame. But His life was blessed while it lasted, His name is the
dearest and fairest treasure of our race, and He holds an empire such
as none of the world's most favored conquerors ever won. Does not this
show that the world is a lying temptress, that there is another and a
better policy of life than hers, that the real sweets and prizes of
this brief existence are, after all, not in her gift. Christ has
overcome the world. Her prince came to Him, but found no response to
any of His proposals. He disregarded her flatteries and threatenings;
He would not have her help and despised her hate; He prosecuted His
path in defiance of her, and has left an imperishable glory behind.
Thus He overcame the world.
_And he conquered as our representative and head._--What He did for
Himself He is prepared to repeat in the life-story of His followers.
Ah! lonely soul, thou shalt not be left unaided to withstand the
seductions of the temptress world; Jesus is with thee, thy Great-heart
and Champion. As the Father was with Him, so He is with thee; so thus
thou mayest boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what
man can do unto me."
He does more. Behind the light of this world's glory, Jesus reveals
another; and it is as when the sun rises, while the yellow moon still
lingers in the sky. The world has no glory by reason of that glory,
which excelleth. We are content with this world until He reveals the
glory of the unseen and eternal; then a holy discontent arises with us,
such as the patriarchs felt toward Canaan, when by faith they beheld
the city which hath foundations. I only say to you, get that vision,
and it becomes as easy for you to refuse the passing and worthless
attractions of the world as for an angel to ignore a wanton's beauty,
or a child to make light of diamonds in the rough.
In Jesus you may have peace. It is not certainly ours, unless we
follow the two conditions He lays down. First, of abiding in Him; and,
secondly, of meditating on His words. But if these be observed we
shall have in the midst of strife, just as there is an oratory in the
heart of the castle keep; a hollow cone in the midst of the candle
flame; and a centre of safety in the midst of the sweeping whirlwind.
Oh, abide there, child of God!
And, in addition to peace, there shall one day be victory. We also
shall overcome, and shall sit with Christ on His throne, as He
overcame, and sits with the Father upon His. Then the fruit of the
tree of life, immunity from the second death, the hidden manna, the
white stone, the morning star, the confession before the angels of God,
and the pillar in the temple of Eternity!
XXI
Consecrated to Consecrate
"For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be
sanctified in truth."--JOHN xvii. 19.
"The most precious fragment of the past," is the unstinted eulogium
which a thoughtful man has passed on this transcendent prayer;
transcending in its scope of view, its expressions, its tender pathos,
all other prayers of which we have record.
Its primary characteristic is _timelessness_. Though uttered within a
few hours of Calvary, it contains thoughts and expressions which must
have been familiar to our Lord at any moment during the centuries which
have followed. As we study it, therefore, we are listening to words
which have been uttered many times on our behalf, and will be uttered
until we are with Him, where He is, beholding the glory of the Divine
Son, superadded to that of the Perfect Servant.
The R. V. margin substitutes the word _consecrate_ for _sanctify_, and
it probably conveys a better meaning, because devotion to the will of
God is prominent, rather than the holiness of personal character.
Devotion to God's will is the primary thought suggested by the word;
but of course it involves a blameless and spotless character. Thus we
might read the words, "For their sakes I consecrate Myself, that they
also may be consecrated in truth." Through the dim twilight the Lord
clearly foresaw what was awaiting Him--the agony and bloody sweat, the
cross and passion, the foresakenness and travail of His soul. The
cross with out-stretched arms waited to receive Him; the midnight
darkness to engulf Him, the murderous band to wreak their hate on the
unresisting Lamb--and yet He flinched not, but went right forward,
consecrating Himself.
"Twas thus He suffered, though a Son,
Foreknowing, choosing, tasting all,
Until the dreadful work was done
And drank the bitter cup of gall."
I. THE SUBJECTS OF CHRIST'S SOLICITUDE.--In the earlier verses the Lord
speaks of Himself, of His finished work, of the glory which He had
left, of that to which He went, asking only that He might be able to
glorify the Father in every movement of His coming sorrow (1-5).
Then He launches Himself on the full current of intercession, and
pleads for those who had been given to Him, as distinguished from the
world of men out of which they had come. Evidently the same thought
was in His mind as inspired His words in John x., when He spoke of the
sheep whom the Father had given to Him, that He might give them eternal
life (27-29). And it may be that each of these two utterances was
inspired by older words yet, that Zechariah had addressed to the poor
of the flock when he cut asunder his two slaves, Beauty and Bands
(Zech. xi. 7-14).
The underlying conception in all these passages seems to be that the
Father has entrusted to the special keeping of Jesus certain elect
spirits having an affinity to His nature, and who should stand in the
inner circle to Him because associated with Him from high redemptive
purpose. All souls are God's by right of creation, and all are
included in the redemption wrought on the cross; but not all had been
included in the Divine gift of which Jesus speaks, "Thine they were,
and Thou gavest them Me." We conclude that in the eternity of the
past, as the Father beheld all future things as though they were
present, and surveyed the vast multitudes of the human family, He
discerned those who would be attracted by indissoluble union with His
Son, manifest in the flesh; and whom He did foreknow, these also He did
predestinate to be His flock, His brethren and sisters, His chosen band
of associates in His redemptive purpose. These were the subjects of
His powerful solicitude, "I make request, not for the world, but for
those whom Thou hast given Me."
What then? Did not God care for the world? Certainly. He so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
How then can we reconcile the love of God to the world with the
selection of some as the flock of the Lamb, whilst the great world
seems expressly excluded from His prayer? That question is fitly put.
The emphasis is on the word seems. It is only to the superficial view
that the world is excluded. Are the planets excluded from the law of
gravitation because suns are filled with fire and light? Are the lower
orders of creation excluded from the circle of enjoyment because man
with his high organization is more richly endowed than they? Are
sufferers excluded from the healing virtues of nature because a
comparative few are specially qualified as surgeons and physicians?
Can a missionary be charged with neglecting a dark continent because he
concentrates thought and care on a few elect spirits gathered around
him? For instance, could Columba be held guilty of neglecting the
Picts and Scots when on Iona's lone isle he focused his care upon the
handful of followers who assembled around the ancient pile, whose ruins
are his lasting memorial? There is but one answer to these questions.
Election is not exclusive, but inclusive. Its purpose is not primarily
the salvation or delectation of the few, but their equipment to become
the apostles to the many. And if Jesus thought, cared, and prayed so
much for those whom the Father had given Him, His ulterior thought was
that the world might believe that the Father had sent Him (ver. 21).
If then it should be proved that you, my reader, are not included in
the band of the given ones, that would not necessarily involve you in
the eternal condemnation and loss of the future; though it would
exclude you from sharing with Christ in His lofty mission to the sons
of men.
What are the marks then that we belong to the inner circle of the given
ones? They are these--
1. That we have come to Him (John vi. 37).
2. That we hear His voice, listening for the slightest indication of
His will (John x. 27).
3. That we follow His steps through the world.
4. That we receive His words and believe that the Father sent the Son
to be our Saviour.
5. That the world hates us (ver. 14).
Wheresoever these marks are present, they indicate the hand of the
Great Shepherd and Bishop of Souls, and though we be amongst the most
timid and worthless of the flock, He is pledged to keep us, so that
none shall snatch us from His hand, and conduct us through the valley
of the shadow to those dewy upland lawns over which He will lead us
forevermore.
II. WHAT HE SOUGHT FOR THEM--"that they might be consecrated in truth."