name! Well has one said: "He pervades the whole of the New Testament
with His presence, so that every doctrine it teaches, every duty it
demands, every narrative it records, every comfort it gives, every
hope it inspires, gathers about His person and ministers to His
glory." So dear does He thus become to the heart of the believer,
that Luther may well be excused for exclaiming, 'I had rather be in
hell with Christ, than in heaven without Him.'
"We believe in Him as our Saviour, Acts vi:31; confess Him as our
Lord, Rom. x:9; we have redemption through His blood, Eph. i:7; we
look to Him as our Leader, Heb. xii:2; we follow Him as our Teacher,
Eph. iv:20, 21; we feed upon Him as our Bread, Jno. vi:48; we go to
Him in our Thirst, Jno. vi: 37; we enter by Him as our door, Jno.
x:9; we are in Him as our vine, Jno. xv:5; we find in Him our rest,
Matt. xi:28; we have in Him our example, Jno. xiii:15; He is our
righteousness, 2 Cor. v:21; we are succored by Him in temptation,
Heb. ii:18; we turn to Him for sympathy, Heb. iv:15; we obtain
through Him our victory, 1 Cor. xv:57; we overcome by Him the world,
1 Jno. v:5; we have in Him eternal life, 1 Jno. v:11, 12; we gain by
Him the resurrection, Phil. iii:20, 21; we appear with Him in glory,
Col. iii:4, we exult in His everlasting love, Rev. i:5, 6."
May the Holy Spirit fill our hearts and eyes with Himself and reveal
to us through the written Word more of the matchless beauty of the
wonderful Person of our Saviour and Lord. We honor and adore Thee,
blessed, blessed Lord, and while Thou art rejected we thy feeble
people would know more of Thyself and keep closer at Thy feet. Amen.
"We would see Jesus, for the shadows lengthen
Over this little landscape of our life,
We would see Jesus, our weak faith to strengthen,
For the last weariness, the final strife.
We would see Jesus, this is _all_ we're needing;
Strength, joy and willingness come with the sight;
We would see Jesus, dying, risen, pleading;
Then welcome day, and farewell mortal night."
Honour and Glory Unto him.
IN Revelation V, that great worship scene, beginning some day in
heaven and going on into future ages, we read of the Lamb to whom
honor and glory are due. He alone is worthy. And every heart who
knows Him rejoicing in His love, cries out, "Thou art worthy!" Yea,
the sweetest song for the redeemed soul is the outburst of praise,
which we find on the threshold of His own Revelation. "Unto Him that
loveth us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and hath made
us kings and priests unto God and His Father; _to him_ be glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen." Soon the great worship John beheld
prophetically may become reality.
As long as we His people are here in this present evil age it is
God's call to us to honor and glorify His Son. This surely is God
the Father's expectation from His children, who are begotten of Him.
This is His call to us in the last days of this rapidly closing age.
It was on the mountain of transfiguration that the Father bore
witness to His Son. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased." The Father bore not alone this witness, but He vindicated
the honor of His Son, whose glory flashed forth on that mountain.
Peter had spoken; in fact, he was still speaking when the Father's
voice was heard. "Lord, it is good to be here; if Thou wilt let us
make here three tabernacles, one for Thee and one for Moses and one
for Elias." These were Peter's words. At the first glance they
appear harmless. Indeed, they are generally used in spiritual
application of having a good time here. But they have a far
different meaning. Peter had spoken once more in the impulsiveness
of the flesh. By putting the Lord of Glory alongside of Moses and
Elias, he had lowered the dignity of Him. The One whom he had but
recently confessed as the Christ, the Son of the living God, he now
put into the same position and place with Moses and Elias. He lost
sight of the wonderful and glorious person of Christ. When he
uttered this human suggestion the Shekinah cloud appeared and its
glorious splendor covered them. Out of that cloud came the Father's
voice vindicating the honor of His Son. Who is Moses? Who is Elias?
Sinful men they were, man of failure and weakness. But here is
another. This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear Him.
And how that beloved Son is in our day dishonored!
He was in all eternity the beloved Son. When God created all things,
for Him and by Him, He was the delight of God. This is the
foundation of our faith. When he spoke of coming into the world, as
we read in Hebrews X, to do the Father's will, the Father's love and
delight was upon Him. In humiliation beginning there in Bethlehem He
was the beloved Son of God. In all He did, every step of the way,
the Holy One had above Himself the loving Father. And then He went
to the cross, putting away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. In the
awful suffering on the cross, in the hours of darkness, when as the
substitute of sinners He tasted death, God's holy hand rested upon
that beloved One in judgment, so that He uttered that never to be
forgotten cry "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" And God
in His mighty power opened the grave and brought Him forth. He
raised Him from the dead. He was received up in the Glory, exalted
into the highest position. He is the heir of all things, the
upholder of all things, all things consist and exist by Him. God has
given Him the pre-eminence in all things.
And this blessed One, the beloved Son of God is denied, He is
rejected, dishonored and refused. God speaks in Him, by Him, and he
who has made known God, in whom redemption for man was procured is
dishonored. But how is He dishonored and robbed of His Glory? And
where is He dishonored? Not in the world as such so much but in
Christendom. The harvest of this destructive and evil criticism of
the Bible, rejecting the Bible as the inspired Word of God is being
reaped. After the written Word has been attacked and lowered the
enemy who stands behind "Higher Criticism" in a disguised form has
thrown off the mask and bluntly strikes at the Person of the beloved
Son of God. First the devil in the garb of "reverend criticism"
denied Isaiah vii:14, the promise of the virgin bringing forth a
son, as having anything to do with Christ, and now the harvest, the
denial of the virgin birth of our Lord. It would take many pages to
mention all how our ever beloved Lord is robbed of His Glory, how
His Person is dishonored. This denial of the Person of Christ is the
apostasy. It is the very breath of the personal antichrist, the man
of sin, which we feel in these last days.
The Father's voice is not heard in these days as it was heard on the
transfiguration mountain. The heavens are silent to all the dishonor
heaped upon Him, who is in the heaven of heavens. But God the Father
looks to His people in whom the Holy Spirit dwells to honor and
glorify His Son. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to stand as bold
witnesses for Himself and to contend earnestly for the faith once
and for all delivered unto the Saints. The Father expects us that we
stand up for the honor of His Son. His voice to us is "_Honor my
Son!_"
We feel deeply impressed with this great call of God to us at the
present time of increasing darkness and apostasy. Let each child of
God act accordingly. Honor your Lord wherever you are. "Be thou not
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord" (2 Tim. i:8). If you cannot
publicly stand up and honor Christ then honor Him, speak well of
Him, in the home circle or wherever you are. O child of God, walk
close to Him! Sit more at His feet! Cast yourself more upon Him! Let
Him be your all in all! And as He is the sole object of your heart
you will honor Him in the day when He is rejected.
But this will mean something else. It means separation. God's call
to His people is to stand aloft from all which dishonors His Son.
This means much in our days. How can we honor the Beloved One if we
have fellowship with that which dishonors Him? No child of God
should go on with any institution, school or church where the
written Word is set aside or belittled. The second Epistle of
Timothy, which has special reference to our times is very clear on
this separation. No one needs to wait for a special call from God to
act and separate from the corruption of Christendom. It is all given
before hand by the Holy Spirit. "From such turn away" (2 Tim.
iii:5). And those from whom God commands us to separate are persons
who have the form of godliness and deny the power thereof. Again it
is written: "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold
and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and
some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he
shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master's
use, prepared unto every good work" (2 Tim. ii:20-21). Hear the Word
of the Lord! Hear His call! Be faithful to Him! Keep His Word and do
not deny His Name! Honor and glorify Him who is our Lord whom we
soon shall see face to face.
Christ's Resurrection Song.
WHEN the blessed Lord appeared in the midst of His disciples and
they beheld the risen One in His glorified body of flesh and bones
and He ate before them, He told them that all things which were
written in the Law of Moses, and the Prophets and _in the Psalms_
concerning Him, had to be fulfilled (Luke xxiv:44). While on the way
to Emmaus He said to the two sorrowing and perplexed disciples
"Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into
His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets he expounded
unto them all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." It
seems to us He must have then spoken much of the Psalms, these
wonderful prayers and songs of praise, with which His Jewish
disciples were so familiar. In the Psalms the richest prophecies
concerning Christ are found. There we behold Him in His divine
perfections as well as in His true humanity; in His suffering and in
His glory; in His rejection and in His exaltation. Oh that we, the
Lord's people, might read the Psalms more, so that the Holy Spirit
can reveal Christ more to our hearts. In many unexpected places we
can find Him in these songs. There is for instance the xxxvii Psalm,
so much enjoyed by the Saints of God. It contains such precious
exhortations to faith, to be patient and to hope. But in taking the
comfort of these blessed exhortations and their accompanying
promises, we are apt to overlook some verses which tell us of our
Lord. Verses 30-33 apply to Him. "The mouth of the righteous
speaketh wisdom and His tongue talketh of judgment. The law of His
God is in His heart; none of His steps shall slide. The wicked
watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay Him. Jehovah will not
leave Him in his hand, nor condemn Him when He is judged." Our Lord
is this righteous One. Words of wisdom and judgment, mercy and truth
flowed from His lips while righteousness in heart and life, and
perfect obedience were manifested in Him. Then His death and
deliverance are indicated in these words. However, care must be
taken not to apply all the experiences of the Psalms to Christ. We
saw recently an exposition of Psalm xxxviii:7. The words "For my
loins are filled with a loathsome disease and there is no soundness
in my flesh" were applied to Christ. This is a very serious mistake.
He knew no sin and therefore no loathsome disease could fill His
loins. Such exposition is evil.
Many joyous expressions of praise to God are found in the Psalms
which properly belong first to Him, who is the leader of the praises
of His people (Heb. ii:12). One of these sweet outbursts of praise
is contained in the opening verses of the xl Psalm. The first three
verses may be called "the resurrection song of Christ":
"I waited patiently for the Lord,
And He inclined unto me
And heard my cry.
He brought me up also
Out of an horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay;
And set my feet upon a rock,
Established my goings.
And He has put a new song in my mouth;
Praise unto our God;
Many shall see it and fear,
And shall trust in the Lord."
It is the experience of our Saviour, which must here first of all be
considered. Patiently He had waited for Jehovah. Himself Jehovah He
had taken the place of dependence under God His Father and patiently
He endured. He was obedient unto death, the death of the cross. He
endured the cross, despising the shame. He cried to God. "Who in the
days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and fears unto Him that was able to save Him from
death, and _was heard_ in that he feared; though He were Son, yet
learned He obedience by the things which He suffered" (Heb. v:7-8).
The place of death is given in this Psalm: "the horrible pit and the
miry clay." Who can describe all what is meant by these words!
"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we
did esteem Him stricken and smitten of God and afflicted. But He was
wounded for our transgressions, the chastisement of our peace was
upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed" (Isa. liii:45). He
went into the horrible pit, or as it reads literally, the pit of
destruction, the place which belongs to fallen man by nature, so
that we might be taken out of it. He went into the jaws of death and
there the billows and waves, yea all the billows and waves of the
judgment of the holy God passed over Him. In another Psalm the Holy
Spirit describes His agony. (Ps. lxix). There we read His cry "Save
me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep
mire, where there is no standing; I am come into deep waters, where
the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying, my throat is dried;
mine eyes fail while I wait for my God." And deeper He went for our
sakes. The miry clay has a special meaning. Any one who sinks into a
pit filled with miry clay cannot help himself. All his struggling
does not help; the more he labors the deeper he sinks. One who is in
the miry clay cannot save himself. And does this not remind us of
the Lord and of what was said of Him "He saved others, Himself He
cannot save." He was in the miry clay. He might have saved Himself
but He would not. His mighty love it was, that love which passeth
knowledge, which brought Him from Heaven's Glory down to the
horrible pit, the miry clay.
But the sufferings of our adorable Lord are not so much before us in
this Psalm as the fact of His resurrection. His cry was heard. The
prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears were
answered; His resurrection from the dead was God's blessed answer.
While in other Scriptures it is stated that Christ Himself arose,
here His resurrection is seen as an act of God. "He brought me up."
This act of God bears witness to the completeness and perfection of
the accomplished salvation. "We believe in Him who raised up Jesus
our Lord from the dead. Who was delivered for our offences and was
raised again for our justification" (Rom. iv:24-25). But we read
also that His feet were set upon a rock. "And set my feet upon a
rock." He is the first born from the dead. Sin and death are
abolished by His mighty work. "Knowing that Christ being raised from
the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in
that He died, He died unto sin once, but in that He liveth, He
liveth unto God" (Rom. vi:9-10). Upon that rock the feet of every
believing sinner securely rest.
But His ascension is likewise mentioned in this resurrection song.
"And established my goings." He "whose goings forth have been from
old, from everlasting" (Micah v:2) and who came from everlasting
glory to walk in obedience to the cross and the grave has gone back
into heaven. He was received up into glory; He ascended on high and
led captivity captive.
And the mighty victor sings now a _new song_. It is the triumphant
song of redemption, to the praise of God. On account of Him, what He
has accomplished in His death on the cross and Who is raised from
the dead and in glory "many shall see it and fear and shall trust in
the Lord." But this wonderful resurrection song the Lord sings not
alone. We, who have trusted in Him and know Him have part in this
song. Believing in Him we are taken out, yea forever, from the
terrible pit and the miry clay. There is no more death and no more
wrath for us. We are also risen with Him, our feet are planted upon
the rock, our goings are established. We belong to the heavenlies
where He is. We sing praises in His name unto our God, His God and
our God, His Father and our Father, the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Oh! that our hearts may enter deeper into this song of
accomplished redemption "praise unto our God;" the loving God who
spared not His only Begotten.
And indeed "many shall see and fear and trust in the Lord." This
reaches into the future. Israel too will be taken from the place of
spiritual and national death, and raised to life to join the new
song. Nations will see it and fear and trust Jehovah. At last the
great new song of resurrection and the new creation will swell in
its divinely revealed length and breadth, heighth and depth. Now He
sings the song, and His co-heirs sing it too in feebleness, yet by
His Grace and through His Spirit. Ere long in His presence all the
Redeemed will praise in Glory with glorified lips. Heavenly beings
will utter their praise and in a wider circle down on earth, every
creature will join in.
"And they sung a _new song_ saying, Thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof; for thou was slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue, and people,
and nation. And hast made us unto _our_ God, Kings and priests, and
we shall reign over the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice
of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and
the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands. Saying with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and
wisdom, and strength and honor, and glory and blessing. And every
creature which is in heaven, and on the earth and under the earth,
and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I
saying, blessing, and honor, and glory and power, be unto Him that
sitteth on the throne, and unto the lamb forever and ever" (Revel.
v:9-13). That song will never end. Oh may we learn to sing it now,
and in His Name sing praises unto our God.
May we follow the great leader of Praise, Him who is anointed with
the oil of gladness above His fellows. May the path He followed down
here become more and more ours. May we serve, be obedient, give up,
wait patiently for the Lord, after His own pattern, suffer with Him,
be rejected with Him, bear His reproach and through it all rejoice
in Him and sing "the new song." How happy we ought to be as linked
with Him, the blessed Christ of God. And as we walk in His
fellowship the heart longs to see Him as He is. Even so; come Lord
Jesus.
The Glory Song.
Rev. i:5-6.
"UNTO Him who loveth us and washed us from our sins in His own blood
and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father: To Him
be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen" (Rev. i:5-6). This
great outburst of praise may well be called "the Glory Song." It
glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ; it reveals also the Glory of those
He has redeemed and will be heard throughout eternity. There will
never be a moment in the countless ages of eternity when this Glory
song will be hushed or forgotten. We begin to sing it here on earth.
The more we know the Christ of God and His great love for us, the
more we delight to praise and to worship Him. Such worship of the
heart in the power of the Spirit is the atmosphere of heaven upon
earth. And some day we shall see Him whom we worship and adore in
faith. In that glorious moment, when we shall see Him as He is we
shall realize for the first time the length and breadth, the heighth
and depth of His love and know the Glory to which He has brought us.
Then we and all the redeemed will sing this song in a better and
more perfect way than we have ever done here. "Thou art worthy * * *
for Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of
every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation; and hast made us
unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign over the earth"
(Rev. v:9, 10).
This blessed Word of Praise is placed by the Holy Spirit in the
foreground of the book which bears the name, the Revelation, or,
Unveiling of Jesus Christ. In it is found the great unveiling of the
future, the great coming tribulation and judgment period through
which the earth must pass, events which precede the glorious
manifestation of the Lord. But in this last great Bible book there
is also a complete unveiling of the Person, the Glory and the
dignity of Him to whom all judgment is committed. Not alone are in
this book many of the prophecies, given of old by the holy men of
God, rehearsed, but all He is, His Name, His power, His Glory, His
work, and many of his titles are restated. Think of what He is
called and how He is described in this book. We find Him called the
Son of God, the Son of Man, the Almighty, the Lord, the Alpha, the
Omega, the First, the Last, the Beginning of the Creation of God,
the Amen, the faithful Witness, the First begotten from the dead,
the Word of God, the Lamb, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
mighty Angel, He that liveth, He that was dead, He that is alive
evermore, the Root and Offspring of David, the bright and Morning
star, the Prince of the kings of the earth, the King of kings, the
Lord of lords. What an array of titles. On earth great ones, kings
and princes, have numerous titles. They concern only earthly
glories; they are but for a moment. But His titles concern the earth
and the heavens. They belong to Him because He is God, while others
are acquired through His great work of redemption. His Glory and His
dignity are indescribable. One who reads the Book of Revelation and
reads it again will be increasingly impressed with the Glory of Him,
whom John beheld in all His Majesty.
Before the Spirit of God records this Glory song, the utterance of
praise to be used and to be enjoyed by redeemed sinners, He mentions
three titles of our Lord. The faithful Witness; the First begotten
from the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. These three
titles take in His earthly life, His redemption work and His future
Glory. On earth He was the faithful witness. He glorified the
Father. He had come into the world to bear witness unto the truth.
He was faithful and nothing marred His witness. He came as the Only
begotten of the Father and the faithful witness, the Son of God went
to the cross to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. The open
and empty tomb is the witness that it was perfectly and righteously
accomplished. Now He is the First begotten from the dead as well as
the First fruits. His death and His resurrection are, therefore, in
view in this second title. His glorious future is beheld in the
third title, the Prince of the kings of the earth. The kingdoms of
the earth belong to Him; He has a perfect right and title to the
earth and its government. Now still the god of this age rules, but
ere long He comes "whose right it is" and claims His inheritance. In
these three wonderful titles we behold all the Son of God as Son of
Man has accomplished in His mighty work. He lived the path of faith
and obedience on earth, as the faithful witness. He has put away sin
and conquered death and the grave as well as him who has the power
of death, that is the devil. In the future He will be King of kings
and Lord of lords.
And then follows this outburst of Praise. The Holy Spirit, who is
here on earth to glorify Him, breaks forth at once into singing and
directs the heart to worship Him. Beloved readers if the Holy Spirit
is ungrieved in us He will lead our hearts into such praise and
adoration of the Lord; nothing grieves the Holy Spirit more than
when a believer does not appreciate the Lord Jesus Christ and
manifest this appreciation by praise and worship.
Three things are stated in this blessed doxology:
_He loved us._
_He washed us._
_He hath made us._
These three things correspond to the three titles which precede this
doxology. Love it was, which brought Him down from the Glory to walk
upon this earth in humiliation, the faithful witness, and that love
knew and saw the cross. Love led Him there to die for such as we
are. What love it was! Who can ever declare it!