Here then we have a deeply interesting view of the Christian remnant.
It is not the Church restored, but a distinct company clear of Jezebel"s teaching and Satan"s depths, and going on to the end. It is of the utmost importance that the reader should be clear in reference to the fact that the last four churches run on synchronously to the end. It simplifies the whole subject immensely, and gives us a very definite, practical view of the Christian remnant. There is no mention of a remnant until we get to Thyatira. Then all hope of corporate restoration is given up. This simple fact overturns the church of Rome from its very foundations. It is presented to us as an apostate and idolatrous system, threatened with the judgment of G.o.d: and a remnant are addressed who have nothing to do with her. So much for the boasted, universal, infallible church of Rome.
But what of Sardis? Is this the Church restored? Nothing of the kind.
"Thou hast _a name_ that thou livest, and _art dead_." This is not a restored or reformed Church, but _threatened_ with Christ"s coming _as a thief_, instead of being cheered with "the bright and morning star."
In a word, it is Protestantism with "a name," but the works "not perfect before G.o.d." And what then? The Christian remnant. "_A few names_ even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and _they_ [He does not say _thou_] shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy." We have here a vivid and most striking contrast between dead, cold, nominal profession and a few true-hearted, earnest lovers of Christ--between form and power, death and life.
In the last two a.s.semblies we have the contrast continued, enlarged, and enforced. Philadelphia gives us a most precious picture of a company of true Christians, humble, lowly, feeble, but true to Christ; holding fast His word, and not denying His name--Christ and His word treasured in the heart and confessed in the life--a living reality, not a lifeless form. The moral beauty of this is excellent. The very contemplation of it is refreshing and edifying indeed. In short, it is Christ reproduced by the Holy Ghost in a beloved remnant. There is no pretension to be anything, no a.s.sumption of great things. Christ is all: His word, His name, how precious! We seem to have gathered up and concentrated here the lovely moral traits of the various remnants that have come under our notice, brought out in full blow and yielding a fragrant perfume.
Now all this is most grateful to the heart of Christ. It is not a question of great service rendered, mighty works performed, anything striking or splendid in the eyes of men. No; it is something far more precious to the Lord, namely, the deep, calm, thorough appreciation of Himself and His precious word. This is far more to Him than the most showy services and costly sacrifices. What He looks for is a place in the heart. Without this all is worthless. But the very feeblest breathing of the heart"s affections after Himself is most precious.
Let us harken to our adorable Lord as He pours out His loving heart to this dear Philadelphian company--this true Christian remnant. "These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept _My word_, and hast not denied _My name_. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan"--those who take their stand on the boasted ground of traditionary religion--"which _say_ they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that _I have loved thee_"--precious, blessed fact, the basis and guarantee of all, for time and eternity!--"Because thou hast kept the word of My _patience_ [not My _power_], I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (t??? ?at??????ta?, those finding their home on the earth, in contrast to those whose citizenship is in heaven).
The Lord Christ most graciously pledges Himself to keep His beloved a.s.sembly from the terrible hour of trial that is coming upon this whole scene. He will have His heavenly people with Himself in their heavenly home ere a single seal is opened, a trumpet sounded, or a vial poured out. All praise to His name for this bright, blessed, tranquilizing, joyful hope! May we live in the power of it while we wait for the full fruition!
But we must quote the remainder of this most exquisite address, so full of comfort and consolation. "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of _My G.o.d_, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of _My G.o.d_, and the name of the city of _My G.o.d_, new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from _My G.o.d_: and _My new name_."
Nothing can exceed the grace that shines in all this. Jehovah spoke gracious words to His beloved remnant in the days of Malachi. "_They shall be Mine_, ... in that day when I make up _My jewels_; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth G.o.d and him that serveth Him not. For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all _the proud_, yea, and all that _do wickedly_, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that"--what? That have done great things, made great sacrifices, made a great profession, had a great name? No; but--"_fear My name_ shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts" (Mal. iii. 17-iv.
3).
There are points of similarity and points of contrast in the Jewish and Christian remnants which we cannot go into just now, inasmuch as our object in referring to both is to ill.u.s.trate our special theme, namely, that in darkest days we find a devoted remnant dear to the heart of G.o.d, the heart of Christ, and who are addressed in the most tender and endearing terms, comforted by the most precious a.s.surances, and cheered by the brightest hopes. This we believe to be the special subject laid upon the heart to present to the whole Church of G.o.d, for the purpose of encouraging every member of the beloved body of Christ on the face of the earth to stand apart from all that is contrary to His mind as revealed in His word, and to be found in the position, att.i.tude and spirit of the true Christian remnant, waiting for the coming of our beloved Lord.
I shall merely refer to one point which marks the distinction between the two remnants in the clearest way. It is this: the Jewish remnant is cheered by the hope of the Sun of righteousness; whereas to the Christian remnant is granted the far higher, brighter and sweeter privilege of looking out for the bright and morning Star. A little child can understand the difference between these two things. The morning star appears in the heavens long before the sun rises; and in like manner the Church will meet her Lord as "the bright and morning Star" before the beams of the Sun of righteousness fall in healing power on the G.o.d-fearing remnant of Israel.
And now a word, in conclusion, as to Laodicea. Nothing can be more vivid or striking than the contrast between it and Philadelphia in every respect. We have here the last phase of the professing Christian body. It is just about to be spewed out as something insufferably nauseous to Christ. It is not a question of gross immorality. It may to man"s eye present a very respectable appearance; but to the heart of Christ its condition is most repulsive. It is characterized by lukewarmness and indifference. "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth."
How awfully solemn to find the professing Church in such a condition!
And to think how soon we pa.s.s from the attractions of Philadelphia--so grateful to the heart of Christ, so refreshing to His spirit--to the withering atmosphere of Laodicea, where there is not a single redeeming feature! We have heartless indifference as to Christ and His interests, combined with the most deplorable self-gratulation. "Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and _have need of nothing_; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see."
How solemn is all this! People boasting of their riches, and of their having need of nothing, and Christ outside. They have lost the sense of divine righteousness, symbolized by "gold," and practical human righteousness, as symbolized by "white raiment," and yet full of themselves and their doings--the very reverse of the dear Philadelphian company. There, He reproves nothing; here, He commends nothing. There, Christ is all; here, He is actually outside, and the Church is all. In a word, it is perfectly appalling to contemplate. We are just at the close. We have got to the last solemn phase of the Church as G.o.d"s witness on the earth.
Yet even here, in the face of this most deplorable condition of things, the infinite grace and changeless love of the heart of Christ shine out in all their undimmed l.u.s.tre. He is outside; this tells what the Church is. But He is knocking, calling, waiting: this tells what He is, eternal and universal homage to His name! "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." The gold, the white raiment and the eyesalve are offered. Love has various offices to discharge, various characters in which to clothe itself; but it is the same love still--"the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever,"
even though it has to "rebuke and chasten." Here His att.i.tude and His action speak volumes, both as to the Church and as to Himself.
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: _if any man_ hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to _him_, and will sup with him, and _he with Me_."[6]
[6] Here it is not to the outside sinner, but to the professing Church the Lord makes this most solemn and weighty appeal. It is not Christ knocking at the door of the sinner"s heart, (true as that is also), but at the door of those in the professing Church. How telling! how suggestive! Oh, may professing Christians ponder it!
In the church of Sardis the remnant is spoken of as "a few names"; in Laodicea there is an "if" as to one; but even if there be a single hearing ear, if there be one to open the door, that one is a.s.sured of the high privilege, the immense favor, of supping with Christ--of having that precious one as Guest and Host. "I with him, and he with Me." When the corporate witness has reached the very lowest point, individual faithfulness is rewarded with intimate fellowship with the heart of Christ. Such is the infinite and everlasting love of our beloved Saviour and Lord. Oh, who would not trust Him and praise Him and love Him and serve Him?
And now, beloved Christian reader, I would earnestly and affectionately entreat you to join in pet.i.tion to our ever-gracious G.o.d to stir up the hearts of His beloved people all over the world to seek a more p.r.o.nounced, whole-hearted, devoted discipleship; to turn away from everything contrary to His word; to be true to His word and to His name in this dark and evil day; and thus realize the truth, which has pa.s.sed before us in this paper, that _the greater the ruin, the richer the grace; the deeper the gloom, the brighter the outshining of individual faith_.
P. S.--I feel I must not let this paper go forth without adding a word on the immense importance of keeping up a full, clear, earnest gospel testimony. "Do the work of an evangelist" is a charge given by the beloved apostle from his prison at Rome to his dear son Timothy, in view of the total ruin of the professing Church; and truly the circ.u.mstances under which these words were penned impart a touching interest to them. Come what may, Timothy was to continue to announce the glad tidings of G.o.d"s salvation. He might be tempted to give up in despair, and say, "All is going to pieces, people will not listen to the gospel"--"will not endure sound doctrine."
Faith says, "No; we must never give up. G.o.d"s gospel must be preached to every creature under heaven. And even though men reject it, G.o.d is glorified and His heart is refreshed by the precious message of His love being told out in the ears of perishing sinners." We would encourage the heart of every beloved evangelist on the face of the earth by reminding him that however the Church has failed as G.o.d"s witness to the world, yet the precious gospel tells out what He is to every poor, broken-hearted, bankrupt sinner who will only trust Him.
The thought of this has cheered us during forty-eight years of evangelistic work, when the condition of the Church was heart-breaking to contemplate.
And in speaking of the work of an evangelist, we must not confine it to public halls and rooms, which, of course, demand a distinct gift from the Head of the Church. We believe it is the sweet privilege of every child of G.o.d to be in a condition of soul to tell the glad tidings to individual souls in private life; and we must confess we long to see more of this. It matters not what our position in life or sphere of action may be, we should earnestly and prayerfully seek the salvation of those with whom we come in contact. If we fail in this, we are not in communion with the heart of G.o.d and the mind of Christ.
In the Gospels and Acts we see a great deal of this lovely individual work. "Philip findeth Nathanael." "Andrew first findeth his own brother Simon."
We want more of this earnest, beautiful, personal work in private. It is refreshing to the heart of G.o.d. We are apt to get into a groove and rest satisfied with asking people to come to public halls and rooms--all right and good in its place, and most important. We would not pen a line to detract from the value of this service; but at the same time we cannot help feeling our sad deficiency in loving, personal dealing with souls. But this requires nearness to G.o.d in our inward life; which may well cause serious searching of our hearts before G.o.d, for it is the root of our deficiency.
May the gracious Lord stir up the hearts of all His beloved people to a more lively interest in the blessed work of evangelization, at home and abroad, in public and in private!
LIFE AND TIMES OF
DAVID
By C. H. M.
INTRODUCTION
The steps which led to the setting up of a king in Israel are easily traced, and easily accounted for, by all who have studied with any attention the humbling history of the human heart, either as presented in themselves or in others.
In the opening chapters of 1 Samuel we are furnished with a most instructive and solemn picture of Israel"s condition. The house of Elkanah is taken up by the sacred penman as a striking ill.u.s.tration of Israel after the flesh, and Israel after the Spirit. "He had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children."
Thus we have in the domestic circle of this Ephrathite the early scenes of Sarah and Hagar enacted over again. Hannah was the barren woman,--and she was made to feel it deeply, for "her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb."
The barren woman is in Scripture the type of nature"s ruined and helpless condition. There is no ability to do anything for G.o.d--no power to bring forth any fruit to Him; all is death and barrenness.
Such is the real condition of every child of Adam. He can neither do anything for G.o.d nor for himself, as regards his eternal destiny. He is emphatically "without strength"; he is "a dry tree," "a heath in the desert." Such is the lesson taught us by the barren woman.
However, the Lord caused his grace to abound over all Hannah"s weakness and need, and put a song of praise into her mouth. He enabled her to say, "My horn is exalted in the Lord; my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in Thy salvation." It is the Lord"s special province to make the barren woman rejoice. He alone can say, "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord" (Isa. liv. 1).
Hannah realized this, and widowed Israel will ere long realize it also, "for her Maker is her husband; the Lord of Hosts is His name; and her Redeemer the Holy One of Israel." The beautiful song of Hannah is the soul"s thankful acknowledgment of G.o.d"s actings in reference to Israel. "The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory." All this will be most fully exemplified in Israel in the latter day; and it is now exemplified in the person of every one who through grace is raised from his ruined condition in nature to blessedness and peace in Christ.
The birth of Samuel filled up a great blank, not only in the heart of Hannah, but doubtless in the heart of every faithful Israelite who sighed for the true interests of the Lord"s house and the purity of the Lord"s offering, both of which were alike disregarded and trampled upon by the unholy sons of Eli. In Hannah"s desire for "_a man-child_," we perceive not merely the development of the heart of a _mother_, but that of an _Israelite_. She had, no doubt, beheld and mourned over the ruin of everything connected with the temple of the Lord. The dimmed eye of Eli--the vile actings of Hophni and Phinehas--the fading lamp--the desecrated temple--the despised sacrifice--all conspired to tell Hannah that there was a real want, which want could alone be supplied by the precious gift of a man-child from the Lord. Hence she says to her husband, "I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, _that he may appear before the Lord, and there abide forever_." "Abide forever!" Nothing short of this could satisfy the longing soul of Hannah. It was not the mere matter of wiping away her own reproach that rendered Samuel so precious in her eyes. No! she longed to see "a faithful priest"
standing before the Lord; and by faith her eye rested on one who was to abide there forever. Precious, elevating faith--that holy principle which lifts the soul above the depressing influence of things seen and temporal, into the light of things unseen and eternal!
In chapter iii. we have the prediction of the terrible downfall of Eli"s house. "And it came to pa.s.s at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, _and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see_; and ere the lamp of G.o.d went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of G.o.d was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; _that the Lord called Samuel_." This was very expressive--solemnly expressive. Eli"s eyes "dim," and the Lord"s call to Samuel: in other words, Eli"s house is pa.s.sing away, and the faithful priest is about to enter upon the scene. Samuel runs to Eli, but, alas, all the latter could say was, "_Lie down again_." _He_ had no message for the child. h.o.a.ry and dim, he could spend his time in sleep and darkness, while the Lord"s voice was sounding so very near him. Solemn, most solemn warning! Eli was a priest of the Lord, but he failed to walk watchfully, failed to order his house according to the testimonies of G.o.d, failed to restrain his sons; hence we see the sad end to which he came. "And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not" (1 Sam. iii.
11-13).
"Whatsoever a man soweth," says the apostle, "that shall he also reap." How true is this in the history of every child of Adam!--how peculiarly true in the history of every child of G.o.d! According to our sowing shall be our reaping. So Eli was made to feel; and so shall the writer and the reader of this. There is much more of solemn, practical reality in this divine statement than many are apt to imagine. If we indulge in a wrong current of thought, if we adopt a wrong habit of conversation, if we pursue a wrong line of acting, we must inevitably reap the fruits of it sooner or later.[7] May this reflection lead us to more holy watchfulness in our ways; may we be more careful to "sow to the Spirit," that so, of the Spirit, we may "reap life everlasting"!
[7] The statement in the text, I need hardly say, does not by any means interfere with the eternal stability of divine grace and the perfect acceptance of the believer in all the acceptableness of Christ before G.o.d. This is a great foundation truth. Christ is the believer"s life, and Christ is his righteousness--the ground of his peace with G.o.d. He may lose the enjoyment of it, but the thing itself G.o.d has established upon an indestructible basis, and before ever it can be touched the fact of Christ"s resurrection must be called in question, for clearly He could not be where He is if the believer"s peace were not perfectly settled. In order to have perfect peace, I must know my perfect justification: and in order to know my perfect justification, I must know, by faith in G.o.d"s word, that Christ has made a perfect atonement. This is the divine order--perfect atonement as the ground of my perfect justification; and perfect justification as the ground of my perfect peace. G.o.d has joined those three together, and let not man"s unbelieving heart put them asunder.
Hence, therefore, the statement in the text will not, I trust, be misunderstood or misapplied. The principle contained therein may be thus ill.u.s.trated: If my child does wrong, he may injure himself and grieve and displease me; but he is my child all the while. The apostolic statement is as broad as possible--"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." He does not say whether it is a converted or an unconverted man, and therefore the pa.s.sage should have its full application. It could not possibly touch the question of pure and absolute grace.
In chapter iv. a humiliating picture of Israel"s condition in connection with the declining house of Eli is presented. "Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men." Here Israel was being made to realize the curse of a broken law. See Deut. xxviii. 25. They could not stand before their enemies, being weak and powerless by reason of their disobedience.