Part 14 (1/2)
Redemption is now accomplished, Christ is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, the Holy Ghost has come down, the canon of inspiration is complete, everything has been done that love could do. If, therefore, in the face of all this acc.u.mulated light and privilege, a man is found still in unbelief, still living in his sins, surely he has much reason to fear lest this word be p.r.o.nounced upon him at the last, ”Woe unto thee, gospel rejector.” ”Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me” (Prov. i. 24-28). May these words be used by the Holy Ghost to awaken some careless reader, and lead him to the feet of Jesus!
Let us now turn, for a moment, to
THE RESOURCES
which the true, the perfect, the divine Workman found in G.o.d. That blessed One had, most surely, His rebuffs in this wretched world; but He had His never-failing resources in G.o.d; and, hence, when everything seemed against Him, when He might say, ”I have labored in vain, and spent My strength for nought and in vain;” when unbelief, hardness of heart, and rejection met His view on every side, ”At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight. All things are delivered unto Me of My Father; and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.”
Here, then, were the resources--the rich and varied resources of the true Workman, who could thank G.o.d in everything, and at all times. He was unmoved in the midst of all. If the testimony was rejected, if the message fell upon deaf ears and uncirc.u.mcised hearts, if the precious seed which was scattered by His loving hand fell upon the beaten highway and was borne off by the fowls of the air, He could bow His head and say, ”I thank Thee, O Father. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight.” There was no failure on His part. He ever walked and worked in the perfect line of the divine counsels. Not so with us. If our testimony is rejected, if our work is unproductive, we may have to inquire as to the cause. We may have to judge ourselves in the matter. Perhaps we have not been faithful. The lack of result may be wholly attributable to ourselves. It might have been different had we been more single-eyed and devoted. We might have gathered golden sheaves in yonder corner of the field, had it not been for our own carnality and worldliness. We were self-indulgent when we ought to have been self-denying; we were governed by mixed motives. In short, there may be a thousand reasons, in ourselves and in our ways, why our labor has proved unproductive.
But with the only perfect Workman, this was not the case, and hence He could calmly retire from the rebuffs without into the resources within. It was all bright with Him there. ”I thank _Thee_.” He stayed His heart upon the eternal counsels of G.o.d. All things were delivered unto Him; and, as He says, elsewhere, ”All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me.” It was all settled, and all right. The divine counsel shall stand, and the divine good pleasure shall be accomplished. What a sweet relief for the heart amid rebuffs and disappointments! G.o.d will perfect that which concerneth His servants; and even where there are mistakes and failures, as alas! there are in abundance with all of us, the Lord's rich grace abounds over all, and actually takes occasion from our very mistakes to s.h.i.+ne out all the more brightly--though, a.s.suredly, the mistakes must produce their own painful and humiliating results. It is the remembrance of this which alone can give calm repose in the midst of the most discouraging circ.u.mstances. If we take the eye off G.o.d, our souls must soon be overwhelmed. It is our privilege to be able, in our little measure, to thank G.o.d in view of everything, and take refuge in His eternal counsels, which must be made good despite all the unbelief of man, and all the malice of Satan.
But we must draw this paper to a close, and shall do little more than quote the precious words which set forth
THE RETURNS
which our blessed Lord and Saviour makes to us. ”Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
These words are familiar to our readers, and we but introduce them here as completing the lovely picture presented in our chapter. We feel a.s.sured the spiritual reader will greatly enjoy the presentation of the divine Workman in His rebuffs, His resources, and His returns.
It is a marvelous lesson indeed. The Lord Jesus retires from a scene of disappointments, and finds all His springs in G.o.d; He then comes forth into the midst of the very scene that had repulsed Him, and makes His gracious returns. It is all in perfect grace--grace unfailing--mercy inexhaustible--patience unwearied. True, He had sent an answer to the Baptist; He had faithfully portrayed the men of that generation; He had denounced a solemn woe upon the impenitent cities; but He can come forth in all the divine freshness and fulness of the grace that was in Him, and say, to every heavy laden soul, ”_Come unto Me_.”
Beloved reader, all this is divine. It draws out our hearts in wors.h.i.+p and thanksgiving. If _faithfulness_ is constrained, in the view of aggravated impenitence, to say, ”_Woe_ unto thee,” _grace_ can address every burdened heart in the touching accents, ”_Come_ unto _Me_.” Both are perfect. The Lord Jesus felt the rebuffs. He would not have been very man if He had not felt them. Yes, He felt the rebuffs.
He could say, ”I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.” Mark, ”_I looked_.” His loving human heart fondly ”looked” for pity, but found it not. He looked for comforters, but looked in vain. There was no pity for Jesus--no comforters for Him. He was left alone. Loneliness and desolation, thirst, ignominy and death--such was the portion of the Son of G.o.d and Son of man. ”Reproach,” says He, ”hath broken my heart.” It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the Lord Jesus did not feel in every respect, as man should feel, the varied exercises through which He pa.s.sed. He felt everything that man is capable of feeling except sin, and this latter He bore and expiated on the cross, blessed be His name!
This is not only a great cardinal doctrine of the christian faith, but a truth of infinite sweetness to the heart of every true believer.
Jesus, as man, felt what it was to be neglected, to be disappointed, to be wounded and insulted. Blessed Jesus! thus it was with Thee, down here, because Thou wast very man, perfect in all that became a man, in the midst of this heartless world. Thy loving heart sought sympathy, but found it not. Loneliness was Thy portion while craving sweet companions.h.i.+p. This world had no pity, no comfort for Thee.
And yet, mark the grace which breathes in those words, ”Come unto Me.”
How unlike us! If we, who so often deserve them, because of our ways, meet with rebuffs and disappointments, what returns do we make? Alas!
for the answer. Chagrin and sourness, fault-finding and bitter complaints. And why is this? It may be said we are not perfect:--certainly not in ourselves; but we may rest a.s.sured, that if we were more in the constant habit of retiring from the rebuffs of the world or of the professing church, into our resources in G.o.d, we should be much better able to come forth and make gracious returns in the midst of the scene which had repulsed us. But it too often happens that instead of being driven in upon G.o.d, we are driven in upon _self_; and the consequence is that, instead of returning grace, we return bitterness. It is impossible that we can make a right return if we fail to realize our right resource.
Oh, that we may really learn of Jesus, and take His yoke upon us! May we drink into His meek and lowly spirit! What words--”Meek and lowly!”
How unlike nature! How unlike the world! How unlike us! How much pride, haughtiness, and self-sufficiency in us! What self-confidence, self-seeking, and self-exaltation! May the Lord give us to see ourselves as He sees us, so that we may be in the dust in His presence, and ever walk humbly before Him. May it be given us to prove, in this day of headiness and high-mindedness, the moral security of a lowly mind and a humble spirit--gladly bearing His yoke--the yoke of entire subjection to our Lord's will in all things.
This is the secret of true peace and power. We can only taste of true rest of heart when the will is kept in subjection. It is when we can meet every dispensation of our Father's hand with an ”Even so,” that rest is our portion. If our will is active, rest must be out of the question. It is one thing to _receive_ rest of conscience on coming to Jesus, at the first, and quite another thing to _find_ rest of heart through taking His yoke and learning of Him. May it be given us to know very much more of the latter, in this day of restless activity.
DIVERSITY AND UNITY
It is at once interesting and instructive to mark the varied lines of truth presented in the New Testament, all finding their common centre in that blessed One who is the truth. We see this, both in the Gospels and in the Epistles. Each of the four Evangelists, under the direct guidance and power of the Holy Ghost, gives us a distinct view of Christ. Matthew presents Him in His Jewish relations--as the Messiah, the Son of David, Son of Abraham--heir of the promises made to the fathers. Mark presents Him as the earnest workman, the diligent servant, the laborious minister, the incessant preacher and teacher.
Luke gives us ”The Man Christ Jesus,” in His human relations, Son of man, Son of Adam. John is occupied with the Son of G.o.d, Son of the Father, the heavenly Man, in His heavenly relations.h.i.+ps.
Thus each one has his own specific line. No two are alike, but all agree. There is lovely variety, but the most perfect harmony; there is diversity and unity. Matthew does not interfere with Mark; nor Mark with Luke; nor Luke with John. There is no collision, because each moves in his own proper orbit, and all revolve round the one grand centre.
Nor could we do without any one of the four. There would be a serious blank if one were missing; and it is the Holy Spirit's purpose and joy to set forth every ray of the moral glory of the Son of G.o.d. Each Gospel fulfils his own service, under the guiding hand of the Holy Ghost.
So also is it in the Epistles. Paul's line of things is as distinct from Peter's, as Peter's is from John's, or John's from James'.[13] No two are alike, but all agree. There is no collision, because, like the four Evangelists, each moves in his own appointed orbit, and all revolve round the one common centre. The orbit is distinct, but the centre is one. Paul gives us the great truth of man's relation with G.o.d, on the ground of accomplished redemption, together with the counsels of G.o.d as to Israel and the Church. Peter gives us the Christian pilgrimage and G.o.d's government of the world. James insists upon practical righteousness. John opens up the grand theme of eternal life; first with the Father, then manifested in the Son, communicated unto us, and finally displayed in the glorious future.
[13] A pamphlet ”The Ministries of Peter, of Paul and of John” sets forth beautifully the special lines of these various ministries.