_Chastis.e.m.e.nt leads to the enjoyment of G.o.d"s love._ Many a father has been surprised as he made his first experience of how a child, after being punished in love, began to cling to him more tenderly than before. Even so, while to those who live at a distance from their Father, the misery in this world appears to be the one thing that shakes their faith in G.o.d"s Love, it is just through suffering that His children learn to know the Reality of that Love. The chastening is so distinctly a father"s prerogative; it leads so directly to the confession of its needfulness and its lovingness; it wakens so powerfully the longing for pardon and comfort and deliverance, that it does indeed become, strange though this may seem, one of the surest guides into the deeper experience of the Divine Love. Chastening is the school in which the blessed lesson is learnt that the will of G.o.d is all Love, and that Holiness is the fire of Love, consuming that it may purify, destroying the dross only that it may a.s.similate into its own perfect purity all that yields itself to the wondrous change.
"We know and have believed the love which G.o.d hath in us. G.o.d is love: and he that abideth in love abideth in G.o.d, and G.o.d in Him." Man"s destiny is fellowship with G.o.d, the fellowship, the mutual indwelling of love. It is only by faith that this Love of G.o.d can be known. And faith can only grow by exercise, can only thrive in trial: when visible things fail, its energy is roused to yield itself to be possessed by the Invisible, by the Divine. Chastis.e.m.e.nt is the nurse of faith; one of its chosen attendants, to lead deeper into the Love of G.o.d. This is the new and living way, the way of the rent flesh in fellowship with Jesus leading up into the Holiest of all. There it is seen how the Justice that will not spare the child, and the Love that sustains and sanctifies it, are both one in the Holiness of G.o.d.
0 ye chastened saints! who are so specially being led in the way that goes through the rent veil of the flesh, you have boldness to enter in.
Draw near; come and dwell in the Holiest of all. Make your abode in the Holiest of all: there you are made partakers of _His_ Holiness.
Chastis.e.m.e.nt is bringing your heart into unity with G.o.d"s Will, G.o.d"s Son, G.o.d"s Love. Abide in G.o.d"s Will. Abide in G.o.d"s Son. Abide in G.o.d"s Love. Dwell, within the veil, in the Holiest of all.
BE YE HOLY, AS I AM HOLY.
Most Holy G.o.d! once again I bless Thee for the wondrous revelation of Thy Holiness. Not only have I heard Thee speak, "I am holy," but Thou hast invited me to fellowship with Thyself: "Be holy, as I am holy."
Blessed be Thy name! I have heard more even: "I make holy," is Thy word of promise, pledging Thine own Power to work out the purpose of Thy Love. I do thank Thee for what Thou hast revealed in Thy Son, in Thy Spirit, in Thy Word, of the path of Holiness. But how shall I bless Thee for the lesson of this day, that there is not a loss or sorrow, not a pain or care, not a temptation or trial, but Thy love also means it, and makes it, to be a help in working out the holiness of Thy people.
Through each Thou drawest to Thyself, that they may taste how, in accepting Thy Will of Love, there is blessing and deliverance.
Blessed Father! Thou knowest how often I have looked upon the circ.u.mstances and the difficulties of this life as hindrances. Oh, let them all, in the light of Thy holy purpose to make us partakers of Thy Holiness, in the light of Thy Will and Thy Love, from this hour be helps. Let, above all, the path of Thy Blessed Son, proving how suffering is the discipline of a Father"s love, and surrender the secret of holiness, and sacrifice the entrance to the Holiest of all, be so revealed that in the power of His Spirit and His grace that path may become mine. Let even chastening, even the least, be from Thine own hand, making me partaker of Thy Holiness. Amen.
1. How wonderful the revelation in the Epistle to the Hebrews of the holiness and the holy making power of suffering, as seen in the Son of G.o.d! "He _learned obedience_ by the things which He suffered." "It became G.o.d to make the Author of our salvation _perfect_ through suffering, for both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one." "In that He Himself hath suffered, He is _able to succour_." "We behold Jesus, because of the suffering of death, _crowned with glory_ and honour." Suffering is the way of the rent veil, the new and living way Jesus walked in and opened for us. Let all sufferers study this. Let all who are "holy in Christ" here learn to know the Christ _in whom_ they are holy, and the way in which He sanctified Himself and sanctifies us.
2. If we begin by realizing the sympathy of Jesus with us in our suffering, it will lead us on to what is more: sympathy with Jesus in His suffering, fellowship with Him to suffer even as He did.
3. Let suffering and holiness be inseparably linked, as in G.o.d"s mind and in Christ"s person, so in your life through the Spirit. "It became G.o.d to make Him perfect through suffering; for both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one." Let _every trial_, small or great, be the touch of G.o.d"s hand, laying hold on you, to lead you to holiness. Give yourself into that hand.
4. "Insomuch as ye are partakers of _Christ"s sufferings_, rejoice; for _the Spirit of glory_ and of G.o.d resteth on you."
Thirtieth Day.
HOLY IN CHRIST.
The Unction from the Holy One.
"And ye have _an anointing from the Holy One_, and ye know all things. And as for you, the anointing which ye received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you; but as His anointing teacheth you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, ye abide in Him."--1 John ii.
20, 27.
In the revelation by Moses of G.o.d"s Holiness and His way of making holy, the priests, and specially the high priests, were the chief expression of G.o.d"s Holiness in man. In the priests themselves, the holy anointing oil was the one great symbol of the grace that made holy. Moses was to make an holy anointing oil: "And thou shalt take of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron and upon his sons, and he shall be hallowed, and his sons with him." "This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me.
Upon man"s flesh shall it not be poured; neither shall ye make any other like it; it is holy, it shall be holy unto you" (Exod. xxix. 21, x.x.x.
25-32). With this the priests, and specially the high priests, were to be anointed and consecrated: "He that is the high priest among you, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, shall not go out of the holy place, nor profane the holy place of his G.o.d; for _the crown of the anointing oil of his G.o.d_ is upon him" (Lev. xxi. 10, 12). And even so it is said of David, as type of the Messiah, "Our king is _of the Holy One of Israel_. I have found David, my servant; with my _holy oil_ have I anointed him."
We know how the Hebrew name _Messiah_, and the Greek _Christ_, has reference to this. So, in the pa.s.sage just quoted, the Hebrew is, "with my holy oil I have _messiahed_ him." And so in a pa.s.sage like Acts x.
38: "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, whom G.o.d _christed_ with the Holy Ghost and with power." Or Ps. xlv.: "G.o.d hath _messiahed_ thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows;" in Heb. i. 9, "Thy G.o.d hath _christed_ thee with the oil of gladness." And so (as one of our Reformed Catechisms, the Heidelberg, has it, in answer to the question, Why art thou called a Christian?) we are called Christians, because we are fellow-partakers with Him of His christing, His anointing. This is the anointing of which John speaks, the chrisma or christing of the Holy One. The Holy Spirit is the holy anointing which every believer receives: what G.o.d did to His Son to make Him the Christ, He does to me to make me a Christian. "Ye have the anointing of the Holy One."
1. _Ye have an anointing from the Holy One._ It is as the Holy One that the Father gives the anointing: that wherewith He anoints is called the oil of holiness, the Holy Spirit. Holiness is indeed a Divine ointment.
Just as there is nothing so subtle and penetrating as the odour with which the ointment fills a house, so holiness is an indescribable, all-pervading breath of heavenliness which pervades the man on whom the anointing rests. Holiness does not consist in certain actions: this is righteousness. Holiness is the unseen and yet manifest presence of the Holy One resting on His anointed. Direct from the Holy One, the anointing is alone received, or rather, only in the abiding fellowship with Him in Christ, who is the Holy One of G.o.d.
And who receives it? Only he who has given himself entirely to be holy as G.o.d is holy. It was the priest, who was separated to be holy to the Lord, who received the anointing: upon other men"s flesh it was not to be poured. How many would fain have the precious ointment for the sake of its perfume to themselves! No, only he who is wholly consecrated to the service of the Holy One, to the work of the sanctuary, may receive it. If any one had said: I would fain have the anointing, but not be made a priest; I am not ready to go and always be at the call of sinners seeking their G.o.d, he could have no share in it. Holiness is the energy that only lives to make holy, and to bless in so doing: the anointing of the Holy One is for the priest, the servant of G.o.d Most High. It is only in the intensity of a soul truly roused and given up to G.o.d"s glory, G.o.d"s kingdom, G.o.d"s work, that holiness becomes a reality. The holy garments were only prepared for priests and their service. In all our seekings after holiness, let us remember this. As we beware of the error of thinking that work for Christ will make holy, let us also watch against the other, the straining after holiness without work. It is the priest who is set apart for the service of the holy place and the Holy One, it is the believer who is ready to live and die that the Holiness of G.o.d may triumph among men around him, who will receive the anointing.
2. "_The anointing teacheth you._" The new man is created in _knowledge_, as well as in righteousness and holiness. Christ is made to us _wisdom_, as well as righteousness and sanctification. G.o.d"s service and our holiness are above all to be a free and full, an intelligent and most willing, approval of His blessed will. And so the anointing, to fit us for the service of the sanctuary, teaches us to know all things. Just as the perfume of the ointment is the most subtle essence, something that has never yet been found or felt, except as it is smelt, so the spiritual faculty which the anointing gives is the most subtle there can be. It makes "quick of scent in the fear of the Lord:" it teaches us by a Divine instinct, by which the anointed one recognises what has the heavenly fragrance in it, and what is of earth. It is the anointing that makes the Word and the name of Jesus in the Word to be indeed as ointment poured forth.
The great mark of the anointing is thus, teachableness. It is the great mark of Christ, the Holy One of G.o.d, the Anointed One, that He listens: "I speak not of myself; as I hear, so I speak." And so it is of the Holy Spirit too: "He shall not speak out of Himself: whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak." It cannot be otherwise: one anointed with the anointing of this Christ, with this Holy Spirit, will be teachable, will listen to be taught. "The anointing teacheth." "And ye need not that any one teach you: but the anointing teacheth you concerning all things." "They shall be all taught of G.o.d," includes every believer. The secret of true holiness is a very direct and personal relation to the Holy One: all the teaching through the word or men made entirely dependent on and subordinate to the personal teaching of the Holy Ghost.
The teaching comes through the anointing. Not, in the first place, in the thoughts or feelings, but in that all-pervading fragrance which comes from the fresh oil having penetrated the whole inner man.
3. "_And the anointing abideth in you._" "_In you._" In the spiritual life it is of deep importance ever to maintain the harmony between the objective and the subjective: G.o.d in Christ above me, G.o.d in the Spirit within me. In us, not as in a locality, but _in us_, as one with us, entering into the most secret part of our being, and pervading all, dwelling in our very body, the anointing abideth _in us_, forming part of our very selves. And this just in proportion as we know it and yield ourselves to it, as we wait and are still to let the secret fragrance permeate our whole being. And this, again, not interruptedly, but as a continuous and unvarying experience. Above circ.u.mstances and feelings, "the anointing abideth." Not, indeed, as a fixed state or as something in our own possession; but, according to the law of the new life, in the dependence of faith on the Holy One, and in the fellowship of Jesus. "I am anointed with fresh oil,"--this is the objective side; every new morning the believer waits for the renewal of the Divine gift from the Father. "The anointing abideth in you,"--this is the subjective side; the holy life, the life of faith and fellowship, the anointing, is always, from moment to moment, a spiritual reality. The holy anointing oil, always fresh, the anointing abiding always, is the secret of holiness.
4. "_And even as it taught you, ye abide in Him._" Here we have again the Holy Trinity: the Holy One, from whom the holy anointing comes; the Holy Spirit, who is Himself the anointing; and Christ, the Holy One of G.o.d, in whom the anointing teaches us to abide. In Christ the unseen holiness of G.o.d was set before us, and brought nigh: it became human, vested in a human nature, that it might be communicated to us. Within us dwells and works the Holy Spirit, drawing us out to the Christ of G.o.d, uniting us in heart and will to Him, revealing Him, forming Him within us, so that His likeness and mind are embodied in us. It is thus we abide in Christ: the holy anointing of the Holy One teacheth it to us.
It is this that is the test of the true anointing: abiding in Christ, as He meant it, becomes truth in us. Here is the life of holiness as the Thrice Holy gives it: the Father, the first, the Holy One, making holy; the Son, the second, His Holy One, in whom we are; the Spirit, the third, who dwells in us, and through whom we abide in Christ, and Christ in us. Thus it is that the Thrice Holy makes us holy.
Let us study the Divine anointing. It comes from the Holy One. There is no other like it. It is G.o.d"s way of making us holy--His holy priests.
It is G.o.d"s way of making us partakers of holiness in Christ. The anointing, received of Him day by day, abiding in us, teaching us all things, especially teaching us to abide in Christ, must be on us every day. Its subtle, all-pervading power must go through our whole life: the odour of the ointment must fill the house. Blessed be G.o.d, it can do so!
The anointing that abideth makes the abiding in Christ a reality and a certainty; and G.o.d Himself, the Holy One, makes the abiding anointing a reality and a certainty too. To His Holy Name be the praise!
BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.
O Thou, who art the Holy One, I come to Thee now for the renewed anointing. O Father! this is the one gift Thy child may most surely count on--the gift of Thy Holy Spirit. Grant me now to sing, "Thou anointest my head;" "I am anointed with fresh oil."
I desire to confess with deep shame that Thy Spirit has been sorely grieved and dishonoured. How often the fleshly mind has usurped His place in Thy worship! How much the fleshly will has sought to do His work! O my Father! let Thy light shine through me to convince me very deeply of this. Let Thy judgment come on all that there is of human willing and running.
Blessed Father! grant me, according to the riches of Thy glory, even now to be strengthened with might by Thy Spirit in the inner man. Strengthen my faith to believe in Christ for a full share in His anointing. Oh, teach me day by day to wait for and receive the anointing with fresh oil!
O my Father! draw me and all Thy children to see that for the abiding in Christ we need the abiding anointing. Father! we would walk humbly, in the dependence of faith, counting upon the inner and ever-abiding anointing. May we so be a sweet savour of Christ to all. Amen.
1. I think I know now the reason why at times we fail in the abiding. We think and read, we listen and pray, we try to believe and strive to look to Jesus only, and yet we fail. What was wanting was this: "His anointing teacheth you; _even as_ it taught you, ye abide in him;" so far, and no farther.
2. The washing always precedes the anointing: we cannot have the anointing if we fail in the cleansing. When cleansed and anointed we are fit for use.
3. Would you have the abiding anointing? Yield yourself wholly to be sanctified and made meet for the Master"s use: dwell in the Holiest of all, in G.o.d"s presence: accept every chastis.e.m.e.nt as a fellowship in the way of the rent flesh: be sure the anointing will flow in union with Jesus. "It is like the precious ointment upon the head of Aaron, that went down to the skirts of his garments."
4. The anointing is the Divine eye-salve, opening the eyes of the heart to know Jesus. So it teaches to abide in Him. I am sure most Christians have no conception of the danger and deceitfulness of a thought religion, with sweet and precious thoughts coming to us in books and preaching, and little power.
The teaching of the Holy Spirit is in the heart first; man"s teaching in the mind. Let all our thinking ever lead us to cease from thought, and to open the heart and will to the Spirit to teach there in His own Divine way, deeper than thought and feeling. Unseen, within the veil, the Holy Spirit abideth. Be silent and still, believe and expect, and cling to Jesus.
5. Oh that G.o.d would visit His Church, and teach His children what it is to wait for, and receive, and walk in the full anointing, the anointing that abideth and teacheth to abide! Oh that the truth of the personal leading of the Holy Spirit in every believer were restored in the Church! He is doing it; He will do it.
Thirty-first Day.
HOLY IN CHRIST.
Holiness and Heaven.
"Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of men ought ye to be in all _holy_ living and G.o.dliness?"--2 Pet.