"And it shall be, _when thou art come_ in unto the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and _possessest it_, and
_dwellest_ therein; that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit
of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God
giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto _the
place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name
there_"--not to a place of their own or others' choosing.--"And thou
shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto
him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God that _I am come_ unto
the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us. And
the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down
before the altar of the Lord thy God." (Ver. 1-4.)
The chapter on which we now enter contains the lovely ordinance of the
basket of first-fruits, in which we shall find some principles of the
deepest interest and practical importance. It was when the hand of
Jehovah had conducted His people into the land of promise that the
fruits of that land could be presented. It was obviously necessary to
be in Canaan ere Canaan's fruits could be offered in worship. The
worshiper was able to say, "I profess this day unto the Lord thy God
that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers
for to give us."
Here lay the root of the matter.--"_I am come._" He does not say, I am
coming, hoping to come, or longing to come. No; but, "I am come." Thus
it must ever be. We must know ourselves saved ere we can offer the
fruits of a known salvation. We may be most sincere in our desires
after salvation, most earnest in our efforts to obtain it; but then we
cannot but see that efforts to be saved, and the fruits of a known and
enjoyed salvation, are wholly different. The Israelite did not offer
the basket of first-fruits in order to get into the land, but because
he was actually in it. "I profess this day ... that I am come." There
is no mistake about it--no question, no doubt, not even a hope. I am
actually in the land, and here is the fruit of it.
"And thou shalt speak, and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready
to perish was my father; and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned
there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and
populous; and the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and
laid upon us hard bondage; and when we cried unto the Lord God of our
fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction and
our labor and our oppression; and the Lord brought us forth out of
Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great
terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders; and He hath brought us
into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth
with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first-fruits
of the land, which Thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it
before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God; and thou
shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given
unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the
stranger that is among you."
This is a very beautiful illustration of worship. "A Syrian ready to
perish." Such was the origin. There is nothing to boast of, so far as
nature is concerned. And as to the condition in which grace had found
them, what of it? Hard bondage in the land of Egypt; toiling amid the
brick-kilns, beneath the cruel lash of Pharaoh's taskmasters. But
then, "We cried unto Jehovah." Here was their sure and blessed
resource. It was all they could do, but it was enough. That cry of
helplessness went directly up to the throne and to the heart of God,
and brought Him down into the very midst of the brick-kilns of Egypt.
Hear Jehovah's gracious words to Moses--"I have surely seen the
affliction of My people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry,
by reason of their taskmasters; for _I know their sorrows_; and I am
come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to
bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a
land flowing with milk and honey.... Now therefore, behold, the cry of
the children of Israel is come unto Me; and I have also seen the
oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them." (Ex. iii. 7-9.)
Such was the immediate response of Jehovah to the cry of His people.
"I am come down to deliver them." Yes, blessed be His name, He came
down, in the exercise of His own free and sovereign grace, to deliver
His people; and no power of men or devils--earth or hell could hold
them for a moment beyond the appointed time. Hence, in our chapter, we
have the grand result as set forth in the language of the worshiper
and in the contents of his basket. "I am come unto the country which
the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.... And now, behold, I
have brought the first-fruits of the land, which Thou, O Lord, hast
given me." The Lord had accomplished all, according to the love of His
heart and the faithfulness of His word. Not one jot or tittle had
failed.--"I am come" And "I have brought the fruit." The fruit of
what? of Egypt? Nay; but "of the land, which Thou, O Lord, hast given
me." The worshiper's lips proclaimed the completeness of Jehovah's
work; the worshiper's basket contained the fruit of Jehovah's land.
Nothing could be simpler, nothing more real. There was no room for a
doubt, no ground for a question. He had simply to declare Jehovah's
work and show the fruit. It was all of God from first to last. He had
brought them out of Egypt, and He had brought them into Canaan. He had
filled their baskets with the mellow fruits of His land, and their
hearts with His praise.
And now, beloved reader, let us just ask you, do you think it was
presumption on the part of the Israelite to speak as he did? Was it
right, was it modest, was it humble, of him to say, "_I am come_"?
Would it have been more becoming in him merely to give expression to
the faint hope that at some future period he might come? would doubt
and hesitation as to his position and his portion have been more
honoring and gratifying to the God of Israel? What say you? It may be
that, anticipating our argument, you are ready to say, There is no
analogy. Why not? If an Israelite could say, "I am come unto the
country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us," why
cannot the believer now say, I am come unto Jesus? True, in the one
case, it was sight; in the other, it is faith. But is the latter less
real than the former? Does not the inspired apostle say to the
Hebrews, "Ye _are come_ unto Mount Zion"? and again, "We _receiving_ a
kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve
God with reverence and godly fear." If we are in doubt as to whether
we have "come" or not, and as to whether we have "received the
kingdom" or not, it is impossible to worship in truth or serve with
acceptance. It is when we are in intelligent and peaceful possession
of the place and portion in Christ that true worship can ascend to the
throne above, and effective service be rendered in the vineyard below.
For what, let us ask, is true worship? It is simply telling out, in
the presence of God, what He is, and what He has done. It is the heart
occupied with and delighting in God and in all His marvelous actings
and ways. Now, if we have no knowledge of God, and no faith in what
He has done, how can we worship Him? "He that cometh to God must
believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek Him." But then to know God is eternal life. I cannot worship God
if I do not know Him, and I cannot know Him without having eternal
life. The Athenians had erected an altar "to the unknown God," and
Paul told them that they were worshiping in ignorance, and proceeded
to declare unto them the true God as revealed in the Person and work
of the Man Christ Jesus.
It is deeply important to be clear as to this. I must know God ere I
can worship Him. I may "feel after Him, if haply I may find Him;" but
feeling after One whom I have not found, and worshiping and delighting
in One whom I have found, are two totally different things. God has
revealed Himself, blessed be His name! He has given us the light of
the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. He has come
near to us in the Person of that blessed One, so that we may know Him,
love Him, trust in Him, delight in Him, and use Him, in all our
weakness and in all our need. We have no longer to grope for Him amid
the darkness of nature, nor yet among the clouds and mists of spurious
religion, in its ten thousand forms. No; our God has made Himself
known by a revelation so plain that the wayfaring man, though a fool
in all beside, may not err therein. The Christian can say, "_I know_
whom I have believed." This is the basis of all true worship. There
may be a vast amount of fleshly pietism, mechanical religion, and
ceremonial routine without a single atom of true spiritual worship.
This latter can only flow from the knowledge of God.
But our object is not to write a treatise on worship, but simply to
unfold to our readers the instructive and beautiful ordinance of the
basket of first-fruits. And having shown that worship was the first
thing with an Israelite who found himself in possession of the
land--and further, that we now must know our place and privilege in
Christ before we can truthfully and intelligently worship the
Father--we shall proceed to point out another very important practical
result illustrated in our chapter, namely, _active benevolence_.
"When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine
increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given
it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that
they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; then thou shalt say
before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out
of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the
stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Thy
commandments, which Thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed
Thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them." (Ver. 12, 13.)
Nothing can be more beautiful than the moral order of these things. It
is precisely similar to what we have in Hebrews xiii. "By Him
therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,
that is, _the fruit_ of our lips giving thanks to His name." Here is
the worship. "But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with
such sacrifices God is well pleased." Here is the active benevolence.
Putting both together, we have what we may call the upper and the
nether side of the Christian's character--praising God and doing good
to men. Precious characteristics! May we exhibit them more faithfully.
One thing is certain, they will always go together. Show us a man
whose heart is full of praise to God, and we will show you one whose
heart is open to every form of human need. He may not be rich in this
world's goods; he may be obliged to say, like one of old who was not
ashamed to say it, "Silver and gold have I none;" but he will have the
tear of sympathy, the kindly look, the soothing word, and these things
tell far more powerfully upon a sensitive heart than the opening of
the purse-strings, and the jingling of silver and gold. Our adorable
Lord and Master, our great Exemplar, "went about doing good;" but we
never read of His giving money to any one; indeed, we are warranted in
believing that the blessed One never possessed a penny. When He wanted
to answer the Herodians on the subject of paying tribute to Cæsar, He
had to ask them to show Him a penny; and when asked to pay tribute, He
sent Peter to the sea to get it. He never carried money, and most
assuredly money is not named in the category of gifts bestowed by Him
upon His servants. Still He went about doing good, and we are to do
the same, in our little measure; it is at once our high privilege and
our bounden duty to do so.
And let the reader mark the divine order laid down in Hebrews xiii.
and illustrated in Deuteronomy xxvi. Worship gets the first, the
highest place. Let us never forget this. We, in our wisdom or our
sentimentality, might imagine that doing good to men, usefulness,
philanthropy, is the highest thing; but it is not so. "Whoso offereth
_praise_ glorifieth Me." God inhabits the praises of His people. He
delights to surround Himself with hearts filled to overflowing with a
sense of His goodness, His greatness, and His glory. Hence, we are to
offer the sacrifice of praise to God "continually." So also the
Psalmist says, "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall
continually be in my mouth." It is not merely now and then, or when
all is bright and cheery around us, when everything goes on smoothly
and prosperously; no, but "_at all times_"--"_continually_." The
stream of thanksgiving is to flow uninterruptedly. There is no
interval for murmuring or complaining, fretfulness or dissatisfaction,
gloom or despondency. Praise and thanksgiving are to be our continual
occupation. We are ever to cultivate the spirit of worship. Every
breath, as it were, ought to be a halleluiah. Thus it shall be by and
by. Praise will be our happy and holy service while eternity rolls
along its course of golden ages. When we shall have no further call to
"communicate," no demand on our resources or our sympathies, when we
shall have bid an eternal adieu to this scene of sorrow and need,
death and desolation, then shall we praise our God for evermore,
without let or interruption, in the sanctuary of His own blessed
presence above.
"But to do good and to communicate _forget not_." There is singular
interest attaching to the mode in which this is put. He does not say,
But to offer the sacrifice of praise forget not. No; but lest, in the
full and happy enjoyment of our own place and portion in Christ, we
should "forget" that we are passing through a scene of want and
misery, trial and pressure, the apostle adds the salutary and
much-needed admonition as to doing good and communicating. The
spiritual Israelite is not only to rejoice in every good thing which
the Lord his God has bestowed upon him, but he is also to remember the
Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow--that is, the one
who has no earthly portion, and is thoroughly devoted to the Lord's
work, and the one who has no home, the one who has no natural
protector, and the one who has no earthly stay. It must ever be thus.
The rich tide of grace rolls down from the bosom of God, fills our
hearts to overflowing, and in its overflow, refreshes and gladdens our
whole sphere of action. If we were only living in the enjoyment of
what is ours in God, our every movement, our every act, our every
word, yea, our every look, would do good. The Christian, according to
the divine idea, is one who stands with one hand lifted up to God in
the presentation of the sacrifice of praise, and the other hand filled
with the fragrant fruits of genuine benevolence to meet every form of
human need.
O beloved reader, let us deeply ponder these things; let us really
apply our whole hearts to the earnest consideration of them; let us
seek a fuller realization and a truer expression of these two great
branches of practical Christianity, and not be satisfied with any
thing less.
We shall now briefly glance at the third point in the precious chapter
before us. We shall do little more than quote the passage for the
reader. The Israelite, having presented his basket and distributed his
tithes, was further instructed to say, "I have not eaten thereof in my
_mourning_, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any _unclean_
use, nor given aught thereof for _the dead_; but I have hearkened to
the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that Thou
hast commanded me. Look down from Thy holy habitation, from heaven,
and bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou hast given us, as
Thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and
honey. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these
statutes and judgments; thou shalt therefore _keep_ and _do_ them,
_with all thine heart_ and _with all thy soul_. Thou hast avouched the
Lord this day to be thy God, and to _walk in His ways_, and to keep
His statutes and His commandments and His judgments, and to hearken
unto His voice: and the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His
peculiar people"--that is, a people of His own special possession--"as
He hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep _all_ His
commandments; and to make thee high above all nations which He hath
made, in praise and in name and in honor; and that thou mayest be _a
holy people_ unto the Lord thy God, as He hath spoken." (Ver. 14-19.)
Here we have personal holiness, practical sanctification, entire
separation from every thing inconsistent with the holy place and
relationship into which they had been introduced, in the sovereign
grace and mercy of God. There must be no mourning, no uncleanness, no
dead works. We have no room, no time, for any such things as these;
they do not belong to that blessed sphere in which we are privileged
to live and move and have our being. We have just three things to do:
We look up to God, and offer the sacrifice of praise; we look around
at a needy world, and do good; we look in upon the circle of our own
being--our inner life, and seek, by grace, to keep ourselves
unspotted. "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is
this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to
keep himself unspotted from the world." (Jas. i. 27.)
Thus, whether we hearken to Moses in Deuteronomy xxvi, or to Paul in
Hebrews xiii, or to James in his most wholesome, needed, practical
epistle, it is the same Spirit that speaks to us, and the same grand
lessons that are impressed upon us--lessons of unspeakable value and
moral importance--lessons loudly called for in this day of easy-going
profession, in the which the doctrines of grace are taken up and held
in a merely intellectual way, and connected with all sorts of
worldliness and self-indulgence.
Truly, there is an urgent need of a more powerful, practical ministry
amongst us. There is a deplorable lack of the prophetic and pastoral
element in our ministrations. By the prophetic element, we mean that
character of ministry that deals with the conscience, and brings it
into the immediate presence of God. This is _greatly_ needed. There is
a good deal of ministry which addresses itself to the intelligence,
but sadly too little for the heart and the conscience. The teacher
speaks to the understanding; the prophet speaks to the conscience;[24]
the pastor speaks to the heart. We speak, of course, generally. It may
so happen that the three elements are found in the ministry of one
man; but they are distinct; and we cannot but feel that where the
prophetic and pastoral gifts are lacking in any assembly, the teachers
should very earnestly wait upon the Lord for spiritual power to deal
with the hearts and consciences of His beloved people. Blessed be His
name, He has all needed gift, grace, and power for His servants. All
we need is, to wait on Him in real earnestness and sincerity of heart,
and He will most assuredly supply us with all suited grace and moral
fitness for whatever service we may be called to render in His Church.
[24] Very many seem to entertain the idea that a prophet is one who
foretells future events, but it would be a mistake thus to confine the
term. 1 Corinthians xiv. 28-32 lets us into the meaning of the words
"prophet" and "prophesying." The teacher and the prophet are closely
and beautifully connected. The teacher unfolds truth from the Word of
God; the prophet applies it to the conscience; and, we may add, the
pastor sees how the ministry of both the one and the other is acting
on the heart and in the life.
Oh, that all the Lord's servants may be stirred up to a more
deep-toned earnestness, in every department of His blessed work! May
we be "instant in season, out of season," and in no wise discouraged
by the condition of things around us, but rather find in that very
condition an urgent reason for more intense devotedness.