Christian Position, Conflict, and Hope

For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt (Ex. 12:12, 33).

GOD'S sentence of judgment had gone forth. Death was declared against the firstborn throughout all the land of Egypt. His testimony by Moses had been again and again rejected; and now God's hand must smite and cut off. His long-suffering had run its course. He had repeatedly manifested His displeasure, but it had been unheeded. His patience could no longer endure. He said, "All the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die...and there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt." Thus death was threatened throughout all the land. God declared it should be. This was enough. His word must stand. The result we know.

And so now the word of God speaks of coming wrath and judgment. God's message of abounding grace in the gospel has been sounding for a long time in men's ears. Many have rejected it. Few believe the record God has given of His Son; and inevitable judgment is pending. "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness." The solemn verdict has been announced, "Now is the judgment of this world;" and the Executioner is coming. "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power (2 Thess. 1:7-9)." It is certain, then, that the wrath of God is coming, and that it is only a question of time as to its execution. Then surely will be sudden and everlasting destruction, and they shall not escape.

Nor could it be otherwise; for men are not only by nature unclean, but practical transgressors, rebellious, unfit for God's presence. Every trial has only proved their unclean and insubject condition. God tried man first in innocence; then as having a conscience and without law; then under law with many privileges, priesthood, prophets, kings; after this by the personal ministry of His beloved Son; and now by the ministry of Divine grace by the Holy Ghost. But all have proved man to be evil and insubject to the will of God. Early in man's course God's testimony was, that "the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of man are only evil, and that continually"; and still the Divine declaration is, that "the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom. 8:7,8). This is God's verdict, and the sentence is final. Whether men agree with it or not, it is God's righteous estimate of fallen man. And if men in their natural state do not and cannot please God, how can they be fit for His holy presence? The ways of men invariably prove the willful and insubject state of their hearts; for if God commands, he disobeys; if God loves, man hates. If God sends His Son to bless and save, they hate Him without a cause; they reject Him, saying, "This is the heir; come, let us kill Him, that the inheritance may be ours." If God preaches peace and remission of sins, they will not believe. As therefore the judgment of God upon the Egyptians could no longer be withheld because of their hatred of God and His people, and rejection of His word, so the coming wrath is inevitable because of man's enmity and wilfulness, and continual insubjection to God and His truth.

But let us not fail to notice that before the judgment actually came upon the firstborn in Egypt, God did, in His great love and pity, proclaim by His servant the way of safety. So He does now by the gospel, blessed be His name! The people of Israel were told to search for and take a lamb without blemish. This was the first thing. It must be without a spot, in order to be a fit type of Him it was intended to represent, who would, hundreds of years after this, be found here as the holy, pure, and perfect Lamb of God. Then, observe, this spotless, unoffending lamb must be killed, because nothing could meet our need less than the death of the holy Son of God. Most pure and perfect as His life was, yet had He stopped short of death, whatever other sufferings He had endured, no one could have been saved. It was absolutely, imperatively necessary that Jesus should die; for the wages of sin is death; and, blessed be God, Jesus did die,—He "died for the ungodly." This was His perfection, He "was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." For this, too, He came down from heaven; for He "was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death." Then, on the cross bearing sins, and forsaken of God because our sins were upon Him, He suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God. However precious the life of Jesus was—and most precious it was to God, and is to us—yet His death, the shedding of His blood, the laying down of His life, became necessary to meet the holy and righteous claims of a just God against sin, to deliver us from its guilt and condemnation, in order, too, that "we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."

But all this in the antitype God has provided. He has found a Lamb without spot, and according to His own purpose and counsel He has been slain. He died that we might live,—

"The Prince of life in death hath lain,
To clear me from all charge of sin;
And, Lord, from guilt of crimson stain
Thy precious blood hath made me clean."

And it is the death of Jesus that the apostle Paul first calls attention to when speaking of the gospel which he preached: "I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3).

But true and blessed as it is that Christ has been delivered for our offenses, died for our sins, and shed His blood for many, it may now be asked, What benefit has it been to us? Many will tell you that they know that Christ died and shed His blood; but if you press them as to what it has done for them, they will perhaps be unable to say. Why is this? Because they only know these points as historical facts, and have never availed themselves of that precious blood for their own soul's safety. Hence we are further told that the Israelites used the blood. This was their faith. God told them to take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood, and sprinkle the lintel and the two side-posts of their houses with the blood, and then to go inside and rest in perfect peace. This is the vital point in this most beautiful narrative. We should not fail to notice the places where the blood was to be sprinkled,—the lintel and side-posts of the doors. It was to be exalted by them, looked up to, as is certainly the case now with all who really value the blood of Christ. We know that mere professors would put it on the threshold, because, with all their boasted profession, they practically trample underfoot the Son of God, and count His precious blood unsanctifying. The Israelite had to place it as it were between him and God, and to know its protecting power also, both on the right hand and on the left. And what can be more assuring to the true believer now, than knowing that he looks to the blood of Christ as between him and God, and that God looks upon him as under its precious sin-cleansing and sanctifying safety?

But suppose they had said, "The blood is not enough," or, "It cannot be expected that they would be sheltered only by it," would it not have betrayed rank unbelief? But they believed God. They availed themselves of the blood. They gratefully took God's way of shelter. Their safety was in the blood. They sprinkled the lintel and door-posts of their houses, and were safe unquestionably, perfectly safe. However sinful, ignorant, and unworthy, yet being underneath the shelter of the blood they were safe. However pious they might have been, their safety was not in their piety, but in the blood. Kind and benevolent acts and self-sacrificing ways, however commendable in their place, did not in the least help their security; for it was only through the blood. For God had said, "The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt" Thus their safety was wholly in the blood; it was to be to them "for a token." And God declared that when He saw the blood He would save all who were under its blessed shelter. How charming and how simple this is! God did not say, When I see your doings, or feelings, or hear your prayers—no; but "When I see the blood." No bars or locks, however numerous or powerful, could have excluded the messenger of God's judgment; but the blood on the lintel and side- posts was enough. The people might have been young or old, moral or immoral, learned or ignorant, but having taken refuge beneath the blood-sprinkled lintel, they were perfectly safe. How anxious every believing Israelite must have been to get all his household inside the house marked with the blood! Cannot you imagine some of them asking why they might not go outside the door; and the loving parents saying, "Because God's terrible judgment is coming; and He has promised safety to those only who are in houses which have been marked with the blood of the lamb."

Again, you may easily conceive there were some inside the blood-stained door-posts who were the subjects of doubts and fears, and otherwise lacking comfort. Why? Because they forgot that all their safety was in the blood. If they were taken up with self, their own doings, feelings, fitness, and the like, they would surely be unhappy, but if their minds and hearts rested on the two things God had given them—the blood for a taken, and His word for assurance—they would find it an effectual remedy for all doubts and fears. Trusting, then, wholly in the blood, and relying only on what God said about it, would be enough to keep them in perfect peace. And so now, God declares that Jesus has made peace by the blood of His cross, and He now proclaims peace to everyone that believeth. And those who do believe, trusting only in the blood of Christ, and relying on what God says, that "whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish," they have peace with God. Oh, yes; God's testimony to the all-cleansing virtue of the blood of Jesus is the remedy for all doubts and fears. That precious blood withers up all fleshly confidence, and silences every accusing of conscience; for it tells of sins judged and cleansed. The blood speaks to us of God's perfect love, even when we were dead in sins; it tells us of peace made, of redemption accomplished, of a new and living way into the holiest, of title to everlasting glory.

Being sheltered by the blood is the vital point. Many stumble here, and the mistake is fatal. They are lost, forever lost, because they reject the blood of Jesus as the only ground of peace and safety; for

"Nothing can for sin atone,
But the blood of Christ alone."

They say they are sinners, and that Christ is the Savior: but they do not avail themselves of the value of His death. They do not take shelter in His blood as the alone way of safety. This is unbelief. It is refusing to hear Him that speaks from heaven. God has declared that "without the shedding of blood is no remission;" that "it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins;" that "in Christ we have redemption through His blood;" and that "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." Therefore it is clear that no sin is too black for that precious blood to wash away. Oh no; it is "the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul;" and happy indeed are those who, taking shelter before God in the blood of Jesus, so rely on His testimony to its perfect efficacy as to be unquestionably assured of perfect safety. Oh the blessedness of God saying to us, Ye are "NOW JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD!"

Remember, then, what God said to those who took Him at His word, and relied on the sheltering power of the blood of the lamb. He told them two things. First, that the blood (mark, not their feelings, nor opinions, nor even prayers, but the blood), and the blood only, was to be the token to them of their perfect safety. Come what might, they were to think of the blood, and be in peace, because they were sheltered by it. "The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are." This is most blessed. It is the perfect cure for every doubt or question or suggestion of the enemy. The Divine assurance was of perfect safety, because of the blood. Secondly, God said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." Thus God acted in virtue of the blood. He did not say, When I see your feelings or doings. Oh, no; but "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." Thus we see that the blood answers every claim of God, as well as meets every need of our souls. They were not only in their houses perfectly safe, but they were also entitled to know it, and to be in perfect peace about it.

And what then? Did God leave these people thus safe to do their own will, follow their own opinions, and live as they liked? Or did He prescribe occupation for them as thus secure and separated off for Himself by the blood? Most assuredly He did. He set three things before them, all of which have a solemn voice of instruction to us.

First, they were to put away all leaven out of their houses. Now leaven in Scripture will always be found to represent what is evil. They were thus to separate themselves from all evil. They were to hold to nothing that was unsuitable to God. His word is, "Be ye holy; for I am holy." So now, being purchased by the blood of Jesus, we are God's; to be for Him always; to show forth the characteristics of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We are to depart from iniquity, to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God. Whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, to do all for the glory of God.

Secondly, they were to "eat of the flesh of the lamb roast with fire." This was their happy occupation, and it loudly admonishes us as to the need of communion with Him who "loved us, and gave Himself for us." Nothing can go right with us if communion be neglected. We are called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. They might have remembered the sufferings, death, and bloodshedding of the lamb; they might rejoice in their present safety, but they were to be occupied with and feed on the lamb that had been slain. Particular parts of the lamb were specially noticed as provided for them—"His head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof" (v. 9). And we cannot fail to notice in these words of the Holy Ghost, that it is our privilege to have communion with our blessed Lord as to His mind, as we understand "his head" teaches us. Thus should we be not ignorant, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Intelligently entering into His counsels, purposes, and thoughts, as revealed to us in the word and by the Holy Ghost, is one of our highest present privileges. To be able to say, without fear of contradiction, that "we have the mind of Christ," and "know the things that are freely given to us of God," because "the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God," was what an apostle was wont unhesitatingly to pronounce as characterizing the saints of God. Oh the blessedness of thus having communion with the Lord as to His mind and will!

By "his legs" we understand His walk. This also, by the Spirit, through the word, it becomes us to enter into; for He hath left us an example that we should follow His steps,—walk as He walked. And I ask, Can any exercise exceed the blessedness of tracing the steps of the blessed Son of God while here? At one time we see Him in a solitary place, or spending a whole night in prayer! at another preaching early in the temple. Sometimes we behold Him disputing with doctors, or in controversy with rationalistic Pharisees or infidel Sadducees. Again, He is found by the side of the lake of Gennesaret or walking Jerusalem's streets, exposed to the temptations of Satan or the hatred of wicked men; He is sitting down in a Pharisee's house to meat, or talking to a crowd of thousands; or sitting alone on Samaria's well with an inquiring sinner, or sailing along the sea of Galilee in a boat. In public or in private, every step was obedience to the Father's will; every word that escaped His holy lips the Father gave Him to say; every act was such a manifestation of the Father that He could say, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." Ah! this was true and perfect; all was fruit in due season; but to enter into it, enjoy it, and gather comfort and strength from the believing contemplation of it, is a privilege indeed.

But they were to feed on the "purtenance" also—the inward part. And so the affections of Christ are laid open to us in the precious word of God; and the Spirit delights to take of the things of Christ and show unto us. We know that He did love indeed; that whom He loved when He was in the world, He loved them unto the end; that He loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; and that it was when we were enemies, ungodly, sinners, that He so loved us as willingly to die for us. We know that His heart is so set upon us that He is always in spirit with us, and will never leave nor forsake us; that the same loving heart, though now beating on the throne of God, is ever and unceasingly occupied in ministering to us and caring for us. And so ardently does He long to have us in the glory with Him, that He has not only promised to come again to receive us unto Himself, that where He is we may be also; but His heart still says, "Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory" (John 17:24). It is thus entering into the affections of Christ, and enjoying His love, that our hearts are lifted up in adoring worship, and rise superior to all the distressing circumstances which may cross our path. Let us not fail to see, then, that during this present time, before the coming of our Lord, it is our happy privilege to be occupied with the thoughts, the walk, and the love of that Lamb who is now in the midst of the throne as it had been slain.

Thirdly, there is also another point of deep practical importance. They were to eat it in haste,—not as those who were settling down in Egypt. On the contrary, they were to be ready to move at the Lord's command. Their position was to be one of entire subjection to the will of God,—ready to go at His bidding. We read, "Thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's Passover" (v. 11). They had to feed on the lamb with girded loins, staff in hand, and shod feet. They were a distinct and practically separated people from the Egyptians,—consciously the Lord's, and in a position ready for whatever He pleased. True it is there was no singing in Egypt as there was afterward on the other side of the Red Sea, nor was there fighting as when beyond Jordan; but there was conscious peace, shelter from judgment, separation from evil, feeding on the lamb, and the expectation of leaving Egypt forever and dwelling in the land flowing with milk and honey.

And how is it, dear fellow-Christians, with our souls? Are we peacefully enjoying the shelter of the blood, and resting on the precious assurance of God's unerring word? And in the sweet comfort of this, is Christ everything to our hearts—our strength, our joy, our never-failing resource? Are we truly realizing that because we are the redeemed of the Lord we are ready to go, to stay, to wait, to serve, to be wholly and unreservedly His? Oh the blessedness of this rest of soul! nay, more, the enjoyment of the thoughts, the love, the ways of Christ Himself! And though all our joys here, however pure and spiritual, are mixed with human elements of bitterness—bitter herbs—yet we must find Him to be the spring of joy, the strength of life, the true, never-ending source of all that is pure and blissful. Thanks be unto God for "the precious blood of Christ!"

"The perfect righteousness of God

Is witnessed in the Savior's blood;

'Tis in the Cross of Christ we trace

His righteousness, yet wondrous grace.

God could not pass the sinner by;

His sin demands that he must die:

But in the Cross of Christ we see

How God can save, yet righteous be.

"The sin is laid on Jesus' head;

'Tis in His blood sin's debt is paid;

Stern justice can demand no more,

And mercy can dispense her store!

"The sinner who believes is free,

Can say, 'The Savior died for me;'

Can point to the atoning blood,

And say, This made my peace with God."'

The Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore (Ex. 14. 30).

To be safely sheltered from the judgment of God by the blood of the lamb, was the precious lesson taught by the Passover. But many a soul has great distress, and becomes subject to the assaults of the adversary, even after having taken refuge in the blood of Jesus as the only shelter from the wrath to come. To be really trusting in the atoning work of Christ, as the alone foundation of peace and safety, is one thing; to know deliverance from self and the world and Satan, is another. Hence many souls have deep conflict, and are longing for deliverance, as they say, from the plague of their own heart, because they do not see how wondrously God has wrought this for them in the work of Jesus on the cross, as their substitute. It may be through much soul-conflict and distress that some are brought so entirely to look out of self as to fix the eye of their heart only upon the Lord Jesus; but this very sorrowful experience is usually turned to good account. All who are taught of God must surely be instructed according to the Divine word, that "the flesh profiteth nothing," and sooner or later learn in their experience something of the truth, that, "no flesh shall glory in His presence; and he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."

Conscious shelter, then, from the wrath to come some have who know not the enjoyment of the liberty wherewith Christ hath made them free. It is this latter subject which this chapter brings before us, and it is of the deepest importance to our souls to learn clearly from Scripture the Lord's own mind concerning this great deliverance. It is most remarkable that the place of the occurrence of this scene should be Pihahiroth, for it means "the entrance into liberty;" and the end of this chapter, and the singing which followed, tells us what a time of unprecedented happiness and rejoicing it was.

They had learned in time of deepest trial the safety afforded them by the blood of the lamb, according to the word of the Lord. He had indeed passed over them. While death, with its attendant miseries, by the messenger of God's judgment, was in every other house, yet in virtue of the blood of the lamb they had been preserved. Thus kept in safety by the blood, and brought out of Egypt by the power of God, under His peculiar guidance, the pillar of cloud over them by day, and pillar of fire by night, it was not till they came to the borders of the Red Sea that their fears and anguish appear to have begun. What immediately gave rise to it was lifting up their eyes and seeing the hosts of Pharaoh, his mighty men with their chariots and horses hotly pursuing them. The waves of the Red Sea rolling before them, and the king of Egypt with his armed soldiers immediately behind them, they found themselves in such circumstances of peril and distress as they never expected, and for which they were totally unprepared. At once their minds became occupied with themselves, their dangers, and their enemies; in fact, their circumstances. Their misery was intense. They wished they had never left Egypt. They murmured against Moses. We read, "When Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness (vv. 10-12)." Such were the expressions of distress and misery which the children of Israel now gave forth; and it reminds us of another utterance of later date: "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?" Their case seemed to them so hopeless that they contemplated dying in the wilderness, and regretted they had ever left Egypt; they said that they actually preferred the cruel bondage of serving the Egyptians, to their present fear and anguish at the prospect of being wholly exterminated by Pharaoh and his hosts.

But is it possible that these are the same people who only a short time before had personally experienced that they were objects of Divine favor, and before whom went to lead them, the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night? Yes, they are the same people; and though they called unto the Lord when they lifted up their eyes and beheld the vast multitude of Egyptian soldiers marching after them, they murmured against Moses, despondingly spoke of dying in the wilderness, and wrongly judged themselves worse off than when made to serve the Egyptians with rigor at the brick-kiln. In short, they never were so miserable before. It is a vivid illustration of what many a soul passes through now. The picture is not overdrawn. It is a life-like delineation, for it is drawn by a Divine hand, and abounds with most instructive lessons.

The fact is, that what at first usually brings a soul to realize its need of the Savior is the sense of guilt on account of sins committed. The burden of known transgressions, and therefore of deserved judgment, is so intolerable that the distressed heart cries out, "What must I do to be saved?" and is rejoiced to find shelter in the blood of Jesus shed for the remission of sins. The joy is often very great at finding in the Cross of Christ that God is both "a just God and a Savior," and hope therefore of eternal salvation lights up the dark scene where before only gloom and despondency had occupied the soul. Like the children of Israel in Egypt, they happily experience the sheltering value of the blood, and flatter themselves with the idea that they will never be unhappy again. So o n they move in their Christian career. They tread a new path. They realize, too, that God is with them. Their backs are turned upon this Egypt world, and with their faces toward the promised rest," -the land flowing with milk and honey," -they go onward, according to their knowledge of the will and guidance of God, little suspecting what is so soon and so deeply to try them.

A question as yet unknown to them must sooner or later exercise their consciences before God. Hitherto it was the transgressions they had knowingly committed against an infinitely holy, sin-hating God, as we have noticed, that had distressed them; and this they knew had all been met for them, and their souls were happy in believing in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. But now the question is about the flesh (prefigured by the Egyptians, men of flesh), the nature from which all transgressions spring; or, as Scripture calls it, our "old man." The fact is, the old nature, that which is born of the flesh is totally unfit for God's presence or His service; and to learn this experimentally cannot but be very distressing. To accept the doctrine because we see it in Scripture is simple enough; but to work it out in God's sight, that "in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing," is very humiliating. This was not in the least suspected by many of us when we first gladly accepted the shelter which the precious blood of the Cross gave to our sin-stricken souls. Still, it has to be learned that the nature that did the sins, the old man, is so totally and irremediably bad,—not subject to God, neither indeed can be,—that the only way in which God could deal with it was to judge it, and put it thus away out of His sight. The distress connected with this second lesson is often far greater than the distress of the first. Still, it is the way of learning deliverance, and the only way, as I judge, of entrance into the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.

When the soul that has known remission of sins through the blood of Jesus finds within, every now and then, an innumerable host of lusts and pride and murmurings and complainings cropping up, and even if they do not break out, are ready at any moment to do so, the heart is ready to say, "Am I a Christian? Am I not deceived? I thought Christianity would make me always happy, and yet I am so miserable! I never supposed a real Christian could have known such abominable and unclean workings within as I have. Surely I am worse now than when I was in bondage to sin and Satan and the world. Besides, resolutions do not drive these things out. Neither do ordinances eradicate them. They recoil after the severest bodily mortifications and self-denial. They boldly intrude in my prayers and holiest exercises. Now and then they lie dormant, but spring up again on the smallest occasions. No one knows this but myself and God; for I am speaking of workings within. I cannot overcome them. So that, distressed and almost ready to give up my profession of Christ's name, I cry out, 'O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?'" Now, observe here, this is not, "O wicked sins that I have done!" but, "O wretched man that I am!" It is "the flesh, with its affections and lusts,"—the nature that did the sins. And when our souls realize these evil workings within, headed by the power of Satan, threatening to have dominion over us, it becomes to us as clear and formidable an host as Pharaoh and his horsemen and army were to the timid and distressed children of Israel And as nothing could pacify them but deliverance from this mighty power which was against them, and contrary to God, so nothing less than the setting aside in judgment of these hosts of evil within could meet the requirements of our consciences, because we know that nothing less could satisfy an infinitely holy God. And this, as we shall see, is what Scripture teaches us has been done. Blessed be the God of all grace!

"Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you to-day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace (v. 13)." Here we see that God Himself would deliver them from this mighty host of flesh, and from Pharaoh its leader, and that by His own power, without any help whatever, or struggle, or interference of man, He would do it all completely, and forever. It should also be their comfort and blessing to look and see what God' did; and so when a soul has learned its thorough helplessness for overcoming flesh and Satan, and mastering self with its ten thousand forms of deceitfulness and desperate wickedness, and at last gives completely up, and cries out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" he is taught by the Holy Spirit that God has delivered him through Jesus Christ our Lord. And looking back upon Him when hanging on the cross, and viewing Him now as risen from among the dead, he is led triumphantly to reply to his own question, "I thank God through Jesus Christ." He really knows what it is to "stand still" to "see" by faith a risen Savior who was crucified, and he gives praise to God.

It is well to see how fully God has met our need in the accomplished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only did Jesus once suffer for sins the just for the unjust, but He, the holy One, was made sin for us; and we are told that God condemned "sin in the flesh" in Him. So that not only sins, the fruit unto death of an evil nature, have been suffered for, in that Jesus shed His blood for many for the remission of sins; but "sin in the flesh," the nature that did the sins, has been so judicially "condemned" by God, and set aside as no longer to have a place before Him, that the Holy Ghost declares that our "old man" (observe here it is not old sins, but old man) "is crucified with Him." And so completely is this recognized in Scripture that believers are now said to be "not in the flesh," but "in Christ Jesus." But what I want now to trace in Scripture is, that God has not only judged sins on Jesus on the cross, who purged them by His blood, but that He has judicially set aside as only fit for judgment our "old man" in Jesus our substitute, as truly as He swept away in judgment Pharaoh and all his hosts, so that the children of Israel might see them dead, and forever after reckon them dead, and no longer living.

In tracing the narrative in our chapter, we shall see that all is accomplished by the power of God. It is redemption by power. In Egypt it was redemption by blood. In Christ crucified, risen, and ascended, we have both. "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." The blood must be the basis of all our blessing. "Without the shedding of blood is no remission." But we want more than remission of sins; we need to be brought to glory, and it is the work of Jesus to "bring many sons to glory." It needed the power of God to bring those who had been sheltered by blood, not only clean out of Egypt, but to deliver them from Pharaoh and the Egyptians, by bringing them through death and judgment on entirely new ground. Just as we are now, in Christ risen, not only rescued from this present evil world, but delivered from the dominion of sin and Satan, and put on entirely new ground, the other side of death. Looking back upon the Cross, we see it has all been accomplished through death and judgment; so that death and judgment are now behind us; risen life in Christ possessed by us, for we are risen with Christ; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We, who were of the world, in our sins, in the flesh, and it may be under law, are now spoken of in Scripture as "not of the world," "washed from our sins," "not in the flesh," "not under law," but "in Christ." All this may be traced in this scene of the Red Sea, the waters of death forming to man-s eye an insuperable barrier to his ever entering the land. But by the power of God the waters of the Red Sea were divided so as to form a dry path, with a liquid wall on either side. The children of Israel were commanded to "go forward." All now that was needed was faith, in order to avail themselves of the value of this work of God, to pass through according to His word. This they did. "By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land." They gladly accepted God's way of deliverance. "The children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on the right hand, and on the left." Thus they crossed the Red Sea. But what of their enemies which they so feared? The very work of God that was to His people their deliverance and salvation, was the very work that forever put away through death and judgment their enemies from their sight, so that they never saw them living afterward. And does not all this bring home forcibly to our soul's remembrance the accomplished work of Jesus? When we think of deliverance from sin and Satan, death and judgment, where do we look? Did He not "through death destroy him that had the power of death," which is the devil? Was not our "old man"—the flesh, with its mighty host of affections and lusts, crucified with Him? And now, having life in Him who is out of death, risen with Christ, cannot we see death and judgment behind us, as surely as Israel saw the tumultuous waves of the Red Sea rolling behind them instead of before them?

But let us never forget that God judged Pharaoh and the Egyptians, the men of flesh. With hearts filled with bitter enmity to the things and people of God (for such is the flesh—see Rom. 8), the Egyptians hotly pursued after Israel. Like the carnal man still, they rushed madly and unconsciously into the very jaws of God's devouring judgment. So fatally ignorant and dark is man. They appeared to succeed for a little while. The counterfeit of faith in those men of flesh seemed, too, to prosper for a moment. But, alas! alas! God was against them, and not for them. They had not believed God. They had not the shelter of the blood. God marked their evil ways, and, as usual, He took the wise in their own craftiness; for God will save His own, and He must judge the wicked. How awfully solemn this is! We read, "God looked unto the host of the Egyptians;" God "troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels," until they said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians." We also read that "the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea." Thus God wrought.

How very blessed is the contemplation of this double aspect of the work of Christ, in executing judgment upon all our enemies, and bringing us out by His mighty power in raising Christ from among the dead, and giving us life and liberty forever in Him. Glorious triumph! All is of God; to Him be all the glory!

It was indeed the salvation of the Lord. This is the first time, if I mistake not, that the word "salvation" occurs in Holy Scripture. It was a salvation from death and judgment, from Pharaoh and all the Egyptians. They saw the salvation of the Lord. And we read, "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore." They were now looking at these great enemies of their souls as dead upon the sea-shore, set aside forever by the judicial hand of the living God. And so, believing what God says, that "our old man is crucified with Christ," we are enjoined to reckon ourselves to have died indeed unto sin, and alive unto God in our Lord Jesus Christ. As long as we reckon the "old man" to be living, and strive against him and his actings, we give him importance; but when in virtue of the substitution-work of Jesus we see that we have died, we give the flesh no place, no importance, we do not recognize it, have no confidence in it, so that our eyes are taken off self altogether, and fixed upon a risen Christ; or, if we think of the old nature and its actings, we only see it dead, we reckon it to have died in the Cross of Christ, as having been under Divine judgment. As long as a believer is thinking of old self and its lusts, watching against and providing against it, he is reckoning the old man to be living, and not dead, and fear and distress and weakness and failure of various kinds come out in consequence. We read that "they that are Christ's, have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts." And when? Was it not when they accepted God's judgment of it in the Cross? We are therefore never told in the epistles to crucify the flesh, or to mortify the flesh, and for this reason, because God in His abundant grace has condemned it already—it has been crucified with Christ. But we are told to mortify, or put to death, the members of our body,—the unclean actings of this old nature still in us, which we are to reckon to have died. We are also taught to mortify, or put to death, by the Spirit, not the flesh still in us, but its actings, "the deeds of the body." All this is known only in the way of faith. Faith sees that God has done it, and believes God when He says He has done it. This is simple enough. To the apostle it was such a reality, that he said, "I am crucified." And if you ask, "When?" he replies, "With Christ." And lest we should suppose it to be an alteration merely of the old nature, he adds, "Nevertheless I live; yet not I (not the old nature improved), but Christ liveth in me." It is a new nature that lives; it is Christ, his life, living in him; for he is a new creation in Christ Jesus.

We do well then to remember the wide contrast in Israel's experience when they looked at the Egyptians as living, and when they looked at them as dead. So we may be assured that if we look into the workings of the flesh in us, and be occupied with it as if living, we must not expect to be otherwise than very wretched. The most miserable people on earth, perhaps, are Christians who have given themselves up to self-occupation, and the more so because they are God-fearing and conscientious; for, having learned the folly of the world's resources, they have nothing to lift them outside self, or to keep them from being occupied with it; and surely the happiest people on earth are those who "rejoice in Christ Jesus, worship God in the spirit, and have no confidence in the flesh." Blessed are those who, knowing they have risen life in a risen Christ, do reckon themselves to have died indeed unto sin, and alive unto God in our Lord Jesus Christ. Such worship and adore God as their God and Father, and praise Him for all His wondrous grace to them in Christ Jesus, and through His precious blood.

We therefore find when Israel had got the other side of the Red Sea how happy they were. It was a joyous moment, for they were entirely occupied with God and what He had done. They were not occupied with self nor with circumstances, but, I repeat, with God. "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea....Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy." What a burst of triumph this is! And what a change from the sore distress they were in such a short time before! But now they had seen God's salvation, and His great deliverance from the formidable host of the Egyptians which threatened to swallow them up in their wrath. They were thus in liberty and on new ground. God had delivered them, God had given them the victory; and now they are taken up with Him, praising Him, and giving the glory due unto His name, ascribing all the power and glory of their deliverance to Him. How simple, and yet how very blessed this is! What secrets are unfolded, what resources are opened up to us in the contemplation of a crucified and risen Savior!

And where, dear Christian friends, do we take our place before God? Is it on the Egypt side of the Red Sea, or the other? You cannot be happy in the former position. There was no singing in Egypt, though perfect safety; for they were sheltered by the blood of the lamb. But after that, when they arrived at Pihahiroth, perhaps they never had such fear and distress of soul. And yet, if you had asked them, Have you not been under the shelter of the blood? they would have replied, "Yes." Have you not been brought out of Egypt, and into the wilderness, by the direct power of God? "Yes." Is not the token of God's care and presence in the cloudy pillar by day, and the fiery pillar by night, continually with you? "Yes."

Then why this deep, this bitter distress? The inquirer would immediately be directed to Pharaoh and all his hosts, who were so hotly pursuing them, shut in as they were by the Red Sea. Deliverance, they would say, we want; and nothing but a mightier power than any they had ever known could effect it. Oh the misery, the self-occupation, the lack of joy and gladness of those who take their place, though secure, no doubt, on Egypt's side of the Red Sea!

And, oh, how rich the blessing, when assured by the infallible word of God—and we see the accomplishment in the finished and triumphant work of Jesus through death—of deliverance judicially from the "old man," from the world, from Satan, and know we have the present possession of eternal life in Christ risen! We praise and give thanks. We rejoice in Christ Jesus our life. We look back upon the Egypt-world as a long way off, and as knowing that the waters of death and judgment, which have swallowed up all that was against us, roll between us and it. Thus have we peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: we are consciously objects of Divine favor, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. If when in Egypt we were met, through the grace of God, by the blood of the Lamb, it is at the Red Sea we have to do with Christ risen out of death, who is our life. And this makes all the difference. Blessed as it is to know the shelter of the blood, it is more blessed to know that we have resurrection life,—a life that lives the other side of death and judgment,—an imperishable life, a life that naturally springs upward and onward, a life that has tastes, feelings, joys, and habits suited to God, and cannot rest the sole of her foot in the region of sin and Satan. Of such, too, it is written, "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then ye also shall appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3.4). We may joyfully sing—

"O Lord, Thou now art risen!

Thy travail now is o'er;

For sin Thou once hast suffered —

Thou liv'st to die no more!

Sin, death and hell are vanquished

By Thee, who'rt now our Head;

And, lo! we share Thy triumphs,

Thou First-born from the dead.

Into Thy death baptized,

We own with Thee we died;

With Thee, our life we're risen,
And shall be glorified.

From sin, the world, and Satan,

We're ransomed by Thy blood.

And here would walk as strangers

Alive with Thee to God."

OS 5:1-6:27{It was by the power of God that the people of Israel were brought into the land. The only way for them out of Egypt to Canaan was by the blood of the lamb, and by the mighty power of God bringing them through death and judgment, as set forth by the Red Sea and Jordan. Their feet are now in the land where God's eyes and God's blessings always are. All is of God. They now possess what they had so long desired. They did not hope to be in the land, for they were there, and every inch they stood upon was for their own enjoyment. This is to us like the truth of Ephesians, where we are looked at as now made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ. This is beyond being dead and risen, it is ascension truth,—in Christ, who is in the heavenlies. This is where the grace of God has set every believer. He may not know it but he is accepted in the beloved, blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and sitting in heavenly places in Christ. To know this as a divine reality gives true rest of soul. We are, then, as to spiritual life and standing, in Christ in heavenly places, or, according to the type, in the land now. To know it as a doctrine of Scripture is one thing; for our souls so to believe it as to enter into the holiest, inside the rent veil, and thus joyfully possess the good land, so to speak, is quite another thing. But we fall short of the blessings God would have us now embrace if we do not enter upon, possess, and enjoy this blessed nearness to God now; for He who is ascended into heaven, and sitting on God's right hand, being our life, righteousness, and sanctification, we are alive for evermore,—righteous as He is righteous, and as near to God as He is, because of the abundant grace and power of God to usward in Christ. When consciously near, entering where God has set us, we do not try to get near, and strive to be there, but rejoice that He has set us there. It is all His own doing, by His almighty power, and the exceeding riches of His grace. There is no effort in this; we see Jesus our Lord, our Head, our Life, our Righteousness, and rejoice that we are in Him there; yea, filled to the full in Him who is the Head of all principality and power. As we sometimes sing with reverence and joy, —

"So near, so very near to God,

Nearer I cannot be;

For in the person of His Son

I am as near as He.

"So dear, so very dear to God,

More dear I cannot be;

The love wherewith He loves His Son,

Such is His love to me."

Such is the height to which the grace and power of God in Christ, through His precious blood, have brought us, so that we wait for nothing less than the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body, at the coming of our Lord. It is more than being sheltered by the blood of the Lamb, as Israel in Egypt sets forth; more than deliverance from the power of flesh and Satan, through death and judgment, and having risen life in the wilderness; it is being already in the possession and enjoyment of heavenly places by faith, in spiritual life and power. Every Christian is there, but how few seem to know it! We may say all Christians are in some sense in all three places. As a fact, we are still in this Egypt-world, though not of it; as to experience, we are passing through a wilderness, a region which is dry and barren, and can yield nothing for our souls; and as to faith, we are in spiritual life, and standing in Christ Jesus in heavenly places. Only notice in Joshua, that after they entered the land it was not all peace and joy, but, on the contrary, conflict; for they had to fight hard in order to stand where God had brought them, and enjoy what God had given them. And so with us, for we who have entered upon our present possession in the heavenlies have to wrestle with wicked spirits in heavenly places in order to stand there, and enjoy the blessings given to us of God. And such only, be it observed, know this sharp and terrible conflict—a conflict "not against flesh and blood," but "against wicked spirits in high or heavenly places (Eph. 6. 12)."

The first thing the children of Israel were enjoined to do, after they had passed through Jordan, carried twelve stones into the land, and set up twelve in the midst of Jordan to the praise of God, was to make "sharp knives," and to circumcise again the second time. It is an injunction of all-importance; for "the flesh" cannot be used in the service of God, cannot be recognized as having any place in the heavenlies. It must be wholly and decidedly renounced. Whether it be the flesh in its moral, intellectual, or religious phases, (alas, how deceitful it is, and desperately wicked!) it must be wholly denied. Its wisdom as well as its righteousness, its ways of refinement as well as of violence and corruption, its iniquity, both ecclesiastical and social, must be entirely set aside,—its claims, its pretensions, its pride, its lusts, in short, the "old man" must be completely "put off." It needs a sharp knife; but it must be done. The attempt to be something in the flesh denies the work of Christ on the cross, and that we have died with Christ. To set it up in Christians in any form is to undermine the real value of the Cross, and sooner or later to lose the present enjoyment of that work in the soul. In short, to reckon ourselves to be living in the flesh, instead of having died with Christ and alive in Him, is to deny that we have either crossed the Red Sea or Jordan, and practically to confess that we are still in Egypt among the "hopers to be saved," instead of possessing and enjoying our true place and new relationships and privileges as seated in Christ Jesus in heavenly places.

Secondly, they celebrated the ground of their deliverance and present blessings in keeping the Passover. The Passover was never forgotten; it was celebrated in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the land. So with us, it should be and will be had in everlasting remembrance, that the death and blood-shedding of the Lamb of God is the alone foundation of all our blessings. If now we have entered inside the veil, it is by the blood of Jesus. Our title to be there forever is, that Jesus has entered into heaven itself by His own blood. This is never to be forgotten, for

"Our every joy on earth, in heaven,
We owe it to His blood."

The Passover, then, was celebrated by them after they entered the land. Now we are told that Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us; and do we ever enter into the real purport and value of the Lord's Supper, unless we eat it as those who are already in Christ in the heavenlies, and therefore look back upon His death upon the cross? that is, we see Him now crowned with glory and honor, and remember Him as He was in death for us on the cross. We remember Jesus, and show His death till He come. And seeing that we owe all our present and eternal blessings to the never-ending virtue of His precious blood, how can we ever forget such rich, such abundant mercy, in thus loving us, washing us from our sins in His own blood, and making us kings and priests unto God and His Father? (Josh. 5:10)

Thirdly, they feasted; they ate of "the old corn of the land" (Josh. 5:11). They were no longer dependent upon the ministry of a daily supply morning by morning, faithful and unfailing as it was; but they now had a continuous unceasing supply always at hand. So, now, souls who are consciously in heavenly places in Christ can feed unceasingly on Him; they enjoy not merely a living Christ who came down to die, but a risen and ascended Christ gone up on high. They feed on a triumphant, glorified Christ—the true corn of wheat that belongs to heaven. They know the fullness of Christ is theirs. They can now enter into God's thoughts of Him whom He raised from the dead, and to whom He said, "Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." They see Him crowned with glory and honor. He is the object of their desire, as well as the accomplisher of their eternal salvation. They see in that Man in the glory, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the all-worthy One, to whom angels and principalities and powers are made subject. They gaze by faith on Him, are attracted to Him, commanded by Him, satisfied with Him, rejoice in Him—their strength, their sufficiency, their righteousness, their glory. They find Him enough to fill their hearts and minds; and so ardently do they long for unbroken fellowship with Him, that the fervent utterance of their hearts is,—

"O fix our earnest gaze
So wholly, Lord, on Thee,
That with Thy beauty occupied,
We elsewhere none may see!"

They feed, then, upon "the old corn of the land," the fullness of an ever-living, ever-loving Savior in the glory. It is on Christ Himself they now feast, and draw their strength and comfort in blessed consciousness that they are in Him who is their everlasting life and righteousness.

Fourthly, this life of faith qualifies us for the fight of faith. Feasting first, then fighting. This is the Divine order; and for this the captain of the Lord of hosts appears as their strength. They had to take possession of what God had given them, and all on which the sole of their foot rested, and only so much could they enjoy. Conflict, then, sharp conflict with the enemies in the land, was before them, and it would have been overwhelming did they not know that the Lord of hosts was with them. Joshua, when near Jericho, "lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a Man with a drawn sword in His hand: and Joshua went unto Him, and said unto Him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And He said Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." This was a most affecting reply to Joshua; for he fell on his face and worshiped, and said, "What saith my lord unto His servant? And the Captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And he did so." And what is this but the Lord appearing to His servant as the Commander and Strength of His people? How forcibly it reminds us of the Divine injunction by the apostle: "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." And besides these points, do we not see what exercise of soul we need in order to fully place ourselves in the hands of the Lord, and realize that He is for us and with us? Thus we should encourage ourselves in Him, and lean not on fleshly energy, but on His almighty arm, and faithfulness and love. It cannot, I believe, be too strongly impressed upon our souls, that we need Divine energy to take possession of, and to enjoy our blessings in heavenly places in Christ; that Satan's chief aim is to keep us from being inside the veil,—the true ground of worship and communion, and the true power for all service. Severed from Christ, we are perfect weakness; we can do nothing. Abiding in Him, we can do all things through His strength; so that to be "strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might," we must have to do with the Lord Himself, as those who "reckon ourselves to have died indeed unto sin, and to be alive unto God in our Lord Jesus Christ." Then we look to the Lord for all, trust in Him about all, see Him in all, and lean on Him concerning all. True Christian life is, therefore, living a life of faith upon the Son of God, abiding in Him, having all our resources in Hint Then, like in Israel's history, the victory will be ours; and when fleshly confidence is relied on, instead of the strength of the Lord, we shall bitterly feel that the enemy will triumph. May we know, beloved, day by day, more of the constant practical reality of being strong in the Lord; for it is written, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee."

"Though numerous hosts of mighty foes,
Though earth and hell our way oppose,
He safely leads His saints along:
His loving-kindness, oh how strong!"

Thus far we have considered the enjoyment and exercise of soul Godward in those who had crossed the dried-up Jordan and taken possession of the land. Of necessity their feelings and experiences are different from what they were in Egypt or in the wilderness. But having traced a little their exercises and ways Godward in the fifth chapter, let us now look at their ways manward as set forth in the sixth chapter.

Firstly, notice the distinct place of separation they necessarily took before men, because of their having been separated unto God. The two will doubtless always go together, for the sense of nearness to God will throw us off from that which we know to be contrary to God. They were outside the Jericho-world, for it was doomed; it was exposed to judgment, and only waited for the time of execution. This the men of Jericho did not believe; but it did not alter the fact, any more than people saying the world is getting better does not alter the verdict passed upon it: "Now is the judgment of this world." But, observe, this is not all: they were outside with the ark,—type of Christ. A Pharisee or a monk can separate himself from society; but to look at this world as a great system reared up by men and Satan, and see people too (unbelievers) exposed to the judgment of God, having rejected Christ, and to take a place with Christ, outside of it politically, religiously, socially, is the true path. It is because we are in Christ up there, and forever united to Him by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, that we are necessarily linked with Christ down here, and that must be in separation from the world, for they have rejected Him, and still reject. The answer was, and still is, "We will not have this man to reign over us." No marvel, therefore, that the Holy Ghost enjoins us, when speaking of unbelievers, to "come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing: and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Cor. 6:17, 18)."

Secondly, they took the place of obedience. And how can it be otherwise with us if we realize the fact that we are united to Him in the heavenlies? When Paul, going up to Damascus, unexpectedly caught a sight of Jesus in the glory, and heard from His own precious lips, "Why persecutest thou ME?" was not the immediate response of his deeply-moved heart, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" for he surely felt at once, that nothing less than full surrender to the Lord's claims would be consistent with the exceeding grace that He had manifested. If we then are really conscious of our nothingness in the flesh, as having died with Christ, and enter into and possess the blessing and enjoyment of being one with Him who is in the glory, how can we have lower thoughts than that—

"Love so amazing, so Divine,

Demands our soul, our life, our all "?

All this is beautifully set forth in the charming picture we are contemplating. It is a Divinely-illustrated scene. The people now standing on the promised land, now enjoying the long-promised, long-looked-for region flowing with milk and honey, having feasted on the old corn, and conscious of the captain of the Lord's host being with them, they surrender themselves entirely to the appointed guidance, and take the place of obedience so plainly marked out for them, whether to walk or rest, to be quiet or to shout, to sound the horn or not, according to the word of the Lord. And this proved to be the path of blessing. Their testimony was simply owning the Lord, hearkening to His word, doing His will, though it were to manifest to the people of Jericho a spectacle of weakness and folly. But if the priests made a long blast with "rams' horns," and for six days all the men of war compassed the city once each day with them and the ark, and on the seventh day seven times, it was according to the word of the Lord; and what could be a truer testimony? If they neither shouted, nor made any noise with their voice, neither let any word proceed out of their mouth, until Joshua bade them shout, according to the word of the Lord, it was in obedience to the will of the Lord. We know what success followed. And surely the path of obedience must always be with us the path of blessing. We are sanctified unto obedience. We realize the presence of the Lord with us only in the path of obedience. To speak of union with Christ in the heavens, and our present blessings and standing in Him, while our hearts are unexercised as to obedience to the Lord in our present circumstances, is only to show that we traffic in high-flown doctrines, and know little of their true meaning in our souls. Or, it may betray the solemn fact that the natural mind has been amusing itself with an intellectual gratification on the doctrines of Scripture, without the heart in any way grasping their precious heaven-born, unfathomable, eternal realities. The great proof of love to our Lord Jesus Christ now is, that we keep His commandments, prize His sayings, and treasure up His words; and to such, and to such alone, He has promised to manifest Himself, and make them know that He and the Father have taken up their abode with them. Precious, profoundly precious realities for our enjoyment! and suited surely to such as have been rescued from this present evil age, who have died with Christ, and now live in Him, and who are characterized as not walking after the flesh, but after the Spirit. It is this entire consecration to the will of the Lord, which is so needed in these times of laxity and carelessness—whole-hearted dedication to Him, full surrender to His never-failing guidance, and the paramount authority of His holy word at all cost. Such hearts can truly sing,—

"While here, to do His will be mine, And His to fix my time of rest."

Thirdly, let us look at their service. What was it? Was it to do what they could to improve Jericho? Was it to endeavor to elevate the masses of the inhabitants of this strongly-fortified and well-built city? Was it to tell them that the world was getting better? Certainly not; for none of these things would be true. But it was to save sinners out of this already doomed city. God's testimony had gone out against it. The city, the king, and all the men of valor were given to Joshua for destruction; but there were some to be saved out of it—some who would not come into judgment, and the faithful servants of God were intent on saving them. A harlot among them there was; but she was a woman of faith, had shown it by favoring the people of God, and openly confessed her faith by putting the scarlet line in the window. Little could the wise and mighty men of this famous city suspect for a moment what the scarlet line meant, even if they had seen it. Not so, however, with God's people. For when the wall had fallen down flat, the city was taken, and the process of utter destruction was about to begin; at Joshua's command, "the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city with fire." We are told that "Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had,...because she hid the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho," at whose command she had bound the "scarlet line" in the window (see Josh. 2:18; 6:22-25).

And does not this exquisite picture again read a further lesson of precious instruction to us? For if the world through which we are passing is under condemnation; if Jesus meant what He said when He uttered the solemn verdict, "Now is the judgment of this world;" and if there be not one line of Scripture enjoining us to improve it, what is our position toward it, but as separated ones by the grace of God to minister to souls, and seek to bring them out? to do good to people in it, and expect no good thing from it? Hence the Holy Spirit pointedly marks out the faithful servants of the Lord Jesus as those who "went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles, for His name's sake." And surely, if our place now is oneness with Christ in the heavenlies, what can our position here be but separation unto the Lord in fellowship with every member of His body (the only membership in the New Testament), as those who warn men of their danger, and seek to save believing Rahabs? Thus God's way has been, and still is, in judgment to remember mercy. And how blessed this service is to—

"Call them in,"—the Jew, the Gentile;

Bid the stranger to the feast;

Call them in,—the rich, the noble,

From the highest to the least.

Forth the Father runs to meet them,

He hath all their sorrows seen;

Robe, and ring, and royal sandals,

Wait the lost ones,—"call them in."

But here is also a solemn word of warning against lust and covetousness; for we are beset with snares on every hand. One of those who had professed faithfulness to God saw a Babylonish garment and a wedge of gold, and coveted them. Accordingly, he took them, and hid them in his house; but God saw him, and His judgment fell heavily in consequence. And the common baits of Satan to professing Christians now we all know to be love of dress,—"the Babylonish garment;" and the possession of wealth,—" the wedge of gold." And it is very remarkable that corrupted Christianity, the Babylon of the Apocalypse, is likened to a woman arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. Joshua warned the people to keep themselves from the accursed thing, lest they made themselves accursed; but Achan heeded it not, and by his sin brought misery and defeat upon all the people, as well as swift destruction upon himself. May the Lord graciously keep us true to Himself in heart and purpose, and from loving the world, or the things of the world. But, for this, we need to have our souls happily occupied with Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us.

And now, beloved fellow-Christians, let us see how far we have entered into this place and character of blessing and testimony into which God has so mercifully brought us. Do we habitually take our place before God as those who are already brought nigh to Him in Christ Jesus in heavenly places? Are we struggling to get near through the workings of a spirit of bondage and unbelief? or do we bless and praise God that our "old man was crucified with Christ," and that we are a new creation, and have life, standing, righteousness, and nearness to God in Christ ascended? We have it, I say; for God has given it to us; He has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Blessed rest for our souls! solid and abiding peace too! Well; being then in all the acceptance of Christ Himself, in whom we are made accepted, do we know what it is practically to put a sharp knife to "the flesh," and to rejoice in Christ Jesus, in the precious remembrance of His body given and His blood shed for us? Do we know what it is in God's presence, in the holiest of all, to feast on an ever-living, ever-loving Christ—"the old corn of the land"? and, having feasted do we realize strength to fight against Satan and his hosts for the possession of those heavenly blessings which God has given us in Christ now to enjoy? And, as to our position here before men, do we maintain the place of separation with Christ as not of the world, because it is doomed to judgment? And do we seek to tread the path of obedience, and bear the testimony of the Lord, whatever reproach and censure it may bring upon us? Do we labor to bring souls out of it by the power of the precious blood of Jesus, the true "scarlet line"? And do we steadfastly decline the fashionable and costly attire, and the will-be-rich spirit of this present age? These are solemn, all-important questions for our consciences, beloved fellow-Christians, on which our present joy or sorrow, as well as the glory or dishonor of the Lord, hang. May we unhesitatingly grasp and delight in our present blessings, in the spirit of communion and worship, in Christ inside the veil, and know them as deep and unfading realities, so that we may be found in the true place of separation and faithfulness before men and thus bring praise and glory to God.

Many conflicts the children of Israel had to encounter, and trials of various kinds, before the glory of Solomon dawned upon their land; still, having been sheltered by the blood, redeemed out of Egypt by the power of God, brought right through the Red Sea and Jordan, they were now standing upon the inheritance which God had given them, and could rejoice in hope of glory in their land, and the subjugation of all their enemies. Nay, more, according to the teaching of Moses, for "the days of heaven upon earth," when a greater than Solomon will rule.

The children of Israel were no doubt a people taken up by God in the flesh, and blessed as a nation on the earth; but without doubt they remarkably set forth in type many things both for our instruction and warning. But believers now are actually redeemed, delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. We are safe forever, because of the eternal efficacy of the blood of Jesus. Having life—eternal life—in Christ risen and ascended, and blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Him, it is for us, as before noticed, to enter upon, take possession of, and with worshiping hearts abide in this place of wondrous blessing in Christ which God has given to us; and also, thus blessed and made known to us by the Holy Ghost, to rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Thus enjoying our present standing and relationships in Christ, how can we but obey the will of God, and wait for His Son from heaven?

"Ascended now in glory bright,

Life-giving Head Thou art;

Nor life, nor death, nor depth, nor height,

Thy saints and Thee can part.

"Then teach us, Lord, to know and own

The wondrous mystery,

That Thou in heaven with us art one,

And we are one with Thee!

"And soon shall come that glorious day,
When, seated on Thy throne,
Thou shalt to wondering worlds display
That Thou with us art one."

It was in true love and mercy that God closed the garden of Eden and guarded the way to the tree of life, lest man in a fallen and sinful state should have eaten of that tree and have lived forever. Had Adam partaken of the tree of life, neither he nor we could have been saved, but must have lived forever in a condition of sin, and at an infinite distance from God. Hence it was mercy that led our God to take steps so that man should not eat of that tree. God's love towards man did not change when he sinned, but at once He was ready with the means for his redemption from sin and death. Salvation was at hand as soon as the man sinned; the earthly paradise was closed forever, but the paradise of God was opened in heaven. Earth can afford no joy, no rest to the sinner. Heaven, the garden of God's delights, is open, and it is there, and there alone, that man can find satisfaction. It is there he can be abundantly satisfied with the goodness of God's presence, and drink of the rivers of His pleasures. With God is the fountain of life, and in His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures for evermore.

God, moreover, is made known to us in the person of His own Son. He has been down to earth, and returned to the paradise of God in heaven. He is God manifested in the flesh. Happy, yea, thrice happy is he who knows HIM who dwells in the midst of the paradise of God, and what it is to abide in His presence, at peace with God, resting in His love and favor. It must, however, not be forgotten—and bless God it never will be forgotten—that this home of God has been opened to us at the cost of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. His precious blood has reconciled us to God on the cross, where He met every claim of Divine justice. By the Eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God without spot, that He might obtain eternal redemption for us who have believed in Him. By dying for us He has freed us from the wages of sin, which is death. By His drinking the bitter cup of judgment there is no condemnation for us who believe. By the shedding of His precious blood we are cleansed from all sin, and we are reconciled to God. He has thus redeemed us to Himself, a peculiar people, to be His companions in glory, for all eternity. On the cross God made Christ sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,—new creatures in Christ, so that we might be as He is (2 Cor. 5.; 1 John 4:17). It is finished. All our sins are forgiven, and the punishment due to us has been borne by the Son of God. The old creation and all its belongings finished too, set aside and done with as far as God is concerned.

By this finished work of Christ on the cross the ground has been cleared for God to bring in a new thing—the new creation. God does not repair what man has spoiled, but commences afresh. Man by sinning has spoiled all; and so we read, God will make all things new. He begins with man, and hence we have in 2 Cor. 5., if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, and all things have become new. On the cross, the old creation, with all its belongings, was condemned, finished, and made an end of. In the resurrection of Christ, God commences the new creation. Will the reader here ask God, by His Spirit, to make this truth very clear, and grant it a resting-place in the inner man?

Now the first thing that happened when our blessed Lord had made an end of the old creation by dying, was the rending of the veil from the top to the bottom. This veil had kept man out from the presence of God. It is now rent in twain, and God is displayed in all His favor and love towards man; for since the death of Christ, nothing can hinder the full and free outflow of Divine love. God always loved us, but until the death of Christ, His love could not be enjoyed in its fullness. The holiest of all is now opened. The very presence of God is uncovered, and into the paradise of God in heaven the believer has free access, having perfect peace with God. Boldness to enter into the holiest of all, by the blood of Christ, is the happy privilege of all who believe in Him, and all spiritual blessings in heavenly places IN CHRIST are theirs.

They who are in the flesh, that is, in the old-Adam nature, cannot please God. He that is born of the flesh is flesh; and therefore, before he can please God, or even enjoy His presence, he must be born of God, that is, be made a new creature in Christ. In the death and resurrection of Christ this has been accomplished. In His death we have died with Him, so that God no longer sees us connected with the first fallen Adam. In the resurrection of Christ we have been quickened and raised up with Him, so that we belong to the new creation of God. Being thus born of God, we have received a nature and a capacity to see by faith into heaven itself, and enjoy all that is presented there to us in the ascended and glorified Christ. The world, sins, the evil nature, wrath, and all that was against us are all behind, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the glory of God in His face are before us. The heavens are opened, and the word to us from God is, "If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3)."

This new nature has its origin in Christ. All its springs of peace and joy and liberty are in HIM in the heavenlies. Nothing whatever of earth can possibly minister to the new man in Christ. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit; and nothing but that which is from the Spirit, who only ministers Christ, can minister to him who is a new creature, -to him who is a spiritual man. Nothing but Christ can feed or satisfy the new man. The true believer is not of the world, even as Christ was not of the world (John 17). The world knows nothing of this life, and fails to understand those who possess it. The world knows not Christ. This life is hid with Christ in God; and hence the world knows nothing of the believer, even as it knows not the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian is heaven-born—born of God. He belongs to God and heaven; and as to earth, he is a stranger and a pilgrim, waiting for the Lord to descend from heaven to raise those who sleep in Him, and to change and catch up to heaven and to HIMSELF those who are alive, and to be forever with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:16, 17). The death of Christ closed this world, and opened the heavens to all believers. A well of spiritual water the believer has within him,—the water of the Spirit of life, which, as is the nature of water, rises to its level, which is Christ in the glory. In Christ all fullness dwells, and of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.

The fullness of the Spirit dwells in Christ bodily, and of this Spirit have we who have been truly redeemed, received. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, and thereby we are united to Christ in heaven. It is thus we are one spirit with the Lord. He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit (1 Cor. 6).

We are, however, not only quickened and risen with Christ on to the resurrection-side of the Cross, with the opened heavens before us, and Christ Himself the one object for the admiring eyes of our faith, and the worship and adoration of our hearts; but we who have believed fully in Christ are seated together in Him in the heavenlies. God says so (Eph. 2:4, 5). Blessed! wondrously blessed it is, to be raised on to the resurrection-side of the Cross with Christ; but still we must not stop there,—for God does not. We must go on to ascension in Christ. God has, by the Holy Spirit, seated us in Christ in the heavenlies. It is unbelief to stop when God would lead us on. We must believe God, and give Him full credit for all He has said in His word to us. We must believe, even if we cannot understand all the marvelous expressions of His infinite love and power towards us. God is love, and therefore He blesses us according to the measure of Himself. He will not have the objects of His love at a distance. He has accepted us in the beloved, in whom He is well pleased. God has given us a Divine nature whereby we can know and enjoy His presence; and He has made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ, where He dwelleth. There we stand in His favor, and dwell in His love. As then to our spiritual natures we have ascended in Christ, and are seated in HIM, He says to us, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14). He adds, "Behold, I come quickly."

We have passed from death unto life, and we have been delivered from the power of darkness, and we have been translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Col. 1). What want we more? What do we look out for? We wait for Gods Son from heaven, to take us, not only in spirit and soul, but in body to Himself. He will come, and then He will change these bodies of ours; He will alter and fashion them like unto His body of glory (Phil. 3). Earth is not our resting place. Heaven is our home. It is but a mere circumstance that we are here in a foreign land. We are heaven-born, and belong to heaven; so we wait for God's Son to come Himself, to take us to the place He has prepared for us, where, unhindered, we shall praise Him for the great salvation wherewith He has saved us.

Now, as we have seen, we are associated with Christ in His resurrection. He was raised by the glory of the Father, the Resurrection and the Life, the last Adam, the Head of the new creation, and we were raised with Him. But we go a step further, for when He ascended to glory we ascended in Him, and were made to sit together in Him, in the heavenly places. This is most positively stated in Eph. 2:5, 6, and by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost this is made good to us; and it is the privilege of the true believer, living and walking in the Spirit, to have a certain consciousness of it. Wonderful truth—wonderful fact, indeed! but so it is; God is holy and righteous, and therefore He must have, for His nature requires, a new creation; and as man failed in the first creation, God has now made His Son Head of the new, in whom there can be no failure. Moreover, the nature of God, as love, demands such a salvation; because love cannot tolerate its object at a distance, and we never could be near to Him in the flesh.

Well, then, we who have fully believed have a place in the glorified Christ in heaven. We have a condition as He has, for He is our life; and moreover, we have a portion with Him, for all spiritual blessings in heaven are ours. Thus, as Christ is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17).

The Holy Ghost descended on the day of Pentecost, after the glorification of the blessed Lord. It is by the Holy Ghost we have been born again; and it is by His dwelling in us that we are united to Christ in heaven. By one Spirit have we all been baptized into one body; and by Him we know our place in Christ, and all the things so freely given to us of God (John 14:20; 1 Cor. 2:10; 1 Cor. 12:13). The importance, then, of our apprehending and giving place and authority to the Holy Ghost, cannot be over-estimated. May the Lord give us all grace to live in the spirit of self-judgment as to the old man; so that the Holy Ghost being ungrieved, may give us more and more the living consciousness of being in Christ in the heavenly places, and of all our portion in Him; so that we may live Christ in all our thoughts, words, and ways, during the little while He remains away.

If we wish to make real progress in the ways and truth of God, we must ever read the word of God in the light of the exhortation: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). God has at sundry times and in divers manners spoken in times past (Heb. 1:1). If therefore we jumble up and do not understand these various actings of God, we must fail to know His truth.

We cannot in this paper take up these different dispensations and the various ways God has made Himself known by. Our present object is to direct attention to that which God is now, and has been since the descent of the Holy Spirit, doing; and this is the practical question that concerns us. We will go step by step, so that all may understand clearly what is the present acting of God.

Now the Lord Jesus Christ came from heaven that He might, by the sacrifice of Himself, atone for our sins, and so open the way for God to come out in the fullness of His nature—love, and the greatest of His relationships, even that of a Father. This has been done. Sin has been atoned for, and God has rent the veil of the temple in twain from the top to the bottom. God has come out to us who believe, as LOVE, and as our God and Father. And not only so, but in Christ, the Head of the new creation, we have been brought to God, and united to Christ by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Our fellowship is truly with the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The blessed Lord had cried, saying, "He that believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters;" and this He spake of the Holy Spirit, who was not yet, because that He (Jesus) had not been glorified.

Now, ten days after the Lord Jesus had been glorified at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the Holy Spirit did descend from heaven and indwelt those who believed in Jesus, and so united them to Christ in glory, in whom dwells the fullness of the Spirit. Acts 2 reveals this wonderful event. Multitudes were at that time delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of the Son of God's love. (Col. 1:22.) Satan was naturally alarmed, and at once set up a tremendous opposition, the head of which was one Saul of Tarsus. Saul did all he could to destroy the saints of God, but if God be for us, who can be against us? and therefore the more the saints were persecuted, the more they multiplied and grew. Saul of Tarsus, fearful as was his enmity against God and His Christ, was yet an object of the eternal love of God. And so we read that while he was going on a mission of destruction, the God of grace and glory met and stopped him in his wild career, the Lord calling to him from heaven, saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ME?" The Lord Jesus had met Satan before this, and had overcome him. He now again meets him and dismisses him. Mark the words of our Lord, "Why persecutest thou ME?" (Acts 9.) We have said that the Holy Spirit of God when He descended on the day of Pentecost, had, by indwelling the believers, united them to Christ in heaven, hence the word "Me." "Why persecutest thou MET' Such was the closeness of this union, that the members on earth could not be touched without the Head in glory being touched also. This is most important, and it is precious as it is important—Christ and the believer are one.

Saul is converted to God, and is himself united by the Holy Spirit to the Christ in heaven. To him, in a special manner, is committed the doctrine and the truth of this union of believers to Christ in heaven. The mystery had existed before the coming of the Holy Spirit, but the teaching or the doctrine of the mystery had not been made known. This was given to Paul, and to him alone, by the revelation of God. It is this I desire to call attention to now, as being of much and practical importance to us; much, very much real blessing is missed by not understanding the truth of this "ME," "Why persecutest thou ME?"

It is in the 3rd chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians, that Paul gives us the Spirit's instruction on the subject of this "ME," that this is the one body of Christ, and this is the truth of this dispensation. The Apostle opens the subject in a somewhat remarkable manner. He says, "If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God," there is something new there. He would not have written, "If ye have heard" if it had been a well-known subject he was about to speak of. In the first place, then, this new thing was the "dispensation of the GRACE of God." The dispensation of the law was a well-known subject and that of the prophets. But now it is the time of grace, when God is displaying His rich, free, and full favor to the chief of sinners. We are saved by grace; we stand in grace; we are kept by grace; yea, God is making Himself known in every aspect and variety of His grace, for He is "THE GOD OF ALL GRACE." The law was given and confined to the Jews, but now "the grace of God that bringeth salvation hash appeared to all." It is, then, now the dispensation, not of law, but of the revelation of God in His FREE, FULL, and SOVEREIGN grace, and it is grace that reigns through righteousness, God being perfectly just in showing forth all His favor and love to whomsoever He will.

Now we go a step further. In this day of grace, there is a something brought out, which the Spirit of God calls "the MYSTERY." This is something quite new. New to man, but not so to God, because it was His eternal purpose to bring it out, and it was hid in God from the beginning of the world. (Eph. 3:9-11) It must be observed, too, that the apostle says, "How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery." It was by revelation. Why so? Why not by the Scriptures? This is very important. It was not made known by the Scriptures for this simple reason, that it is not to be found in the Scriptures as written in Paul's times. This great mystery is not anywhere mentioned in the Old Testament or hinted at. The mystery could, therefore, alone be made known to Paul by a direct revelation of God, and in this way it was made known to him.

Again, it is of interest and importance to us to notice that this mystery had been kept secret, hid in God from all eternity, and never made known to any one until after the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Mark too, how he insists again and again on this, and that most emphatically. Observe then, please, how he writes (Eph. 3:3), "He made known unto ME;" ver. 4, "Whereby when ye read ye may understand MY knowledge in the mystery of Christ;" ver. 5 is very marked indeed. He writes, "In other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed." Then again he says," Whereof I am made a minister;" then, "Unto ME," ver. 8, and in ver. 9, "to make known unto ME." Thus, then, we have it plainly stated by the Spirit of God that this mystery was hid in God from all eternity, until He, by revelation, made it known to the apostle Paul, and to no one else.

The question now arises, what is this mystery? It is clearly stated in the 6th verse of this third chapter of the Ephesians. It is, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs with the Jews in the common blessings of the Gospel. That the Jews should no longer be the only recipients of God's blessings, but that the Gentiles should be brought into the favor of God, and be as "the SAME BODY." Since the death of Christ, the grace of God went out alike to Jew and Gentile, and of all nations and peoples, God would take out a people and form them by the Holy Spirit into ONE BODY. All believers in Christ were to be sharers of the same salvation in Christ, and to be of the same body, and of this body Christ is the Head in heaven. God hath raised Him from the dead and glorified Him in heaven, seating Him far above all principality, and power, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come, and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church, which is the fullness of Him who filleth all in all. (Eph. 1:21-23.) Thus, then, the Lord Jesus has been raised from the dead and glorified in heaven, not only as Lord and Savior, but as the HEAD of a BODY. In this Head the fullness of the Spirit dwells, and to this Head all true believers are united by the Spirit dwelling also in them. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Cor. 12:13). "There is one body and one Spirit." (Eph. 4:4). It is the special work of the Holy Spirit to gather of all nations a people, and form them into one body, uniting them as members to Christ, the glorified Head. This union is most perfect and intimate, so that we are one Spirit with the Lord, and Christ says of us, We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. (Eph. 5:30). This is so complete, that Christ loves the body as Himself. The Christ of God is Christ and His members in one body. He can and does call it Himself ME. "Why persecutest thou ME?" The Holy Spirit is the true Eliezer who has come out from the Father to find the true Rebekah for the heavenly Isaac, even the Lord Jesus Christ. It is indeed a great mystery, but it is concerning Christ and the Church. (Eph. 5:32.) And I again say this is of the utmost moment to us, for this is truly practical truth, and it is the special and the practical thing that is engaging the thoughts and the affections of the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, and it is the one thing that is occupying the activities of the Spirit of God. We are called to live not only as children of God, but as members of the one body of Christ. If we do not understand this truth we are as yet ignorant of the present actings of God in the earth.

The apostle having thus stated what the mystery of Christ is, proceeds to show its practical character. He says that he was the minister of it, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto him by the effectual working of His power; and the object, therefore, of his ministry, was to make all men know what is the fellowship of the mystery of Christ's body. This body of Christ, then, was to be seen, and the end of Paul's ministry was to make it seen. It was to be a witness for Christ in His rejection. The body of Christ is or was to be the epistle of Christ, seen and read by all men. Not only were the individual believers, but the one body of Christ was to be His epistle, that He might be seen and read in it while He was Himself absent. This is of real importance and interest to us. Where is now to be seen the one body of Christ? At Corinth we read of all the saints assembling by the Holy Spirit in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to break bread in remembrance of Christ, and thus they did as members of His one body. (1 Cor. 10;11.) Any one going to Corinth on the first day of the week to break bread could easily find the one body of Christ. All in Corinth would know. Where is this now? Does the world believe that God has sent Christ by seeing all the members of Christ's body gathering as such by the Holy Spirit, to the name and person of the Lord?

Then there was a second object in the ministry of Paul, in connection with the one body of Christ. It was to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known the manifold wisdom of God. God's purpose is, that in the Church all the various and manifold aspects and counsels of His wisdom should be displayed, so that all the heavenly intelligences should see and know it. But what do they see looking down from heaven at the one body of Christ? Do they see the body of Christ in its oneness, or in its divided condition? This is surely an important and practical question for all true believers, and should not our hearts and consciences be exercised on its account? To man on earth the one body of Christ was to be the witness and the epistle of Christ in its oneness. So, too, the angels in heaven were to see this one body of Christ in all its oneness. Is it not all a sad failure? Do then let us have a conscience about this solemn matter, It is indeed a matter for much exercise; the Spirit of God is here to form this body and bride for Christ, and man has come in and caused a failure, I mean as to its being seen by man and angels as one body. Of course, blessed be God, there is the one body by the one Spirit, and yet in glory God will accomplish all His purposes respecting it. If we feel this failure, and look to the Lord about it, and what is due to Him in this time of ruin, He will give us light and guidance, so that we may to the best of our ability glorify Him. He will indeed show us His mind and will, if we are really exercised about His claims, and if we confess to Him the sin of the Church's departure. What a principle it is in a day of Church ruin to feel, may I say, a sympathy with the Head of the body—the Church, to have a real and a practical interest in all that which is so interesting to Himself. But such even now is the oneness of the members by the one Spirit that we may have, and the Head of the body delights that we should have, and feel a concern in all that concerns Him. We are not writing about an idea, a mere theory, but a clear and practical reality. May we then encourage ourselves in this blessed, new, and divine intimacy of communion, with our Head in heaven.

There are some further details of truth as to the one body in 1 Cor. 12. It will indeed be well if the reader would take it up, and give it prayerful and repeated attention, dwelling on each verse, and I may indeed say each word, for every word of God is pure and needful. I can now only make a few comments on this Cor. 12:12, 13 we have the Spirit of God's formation of the One Body. Next, the Spirit is Lord and sovereign, and bestows gifts to the members severally as HE WILL. This demands our serious and solemn attention and prayerful subjection. The Spirit of God is sovereign, and by Him it is we pray and worship, walk and serve. For it is He, and He alone, who can and does take of the things of Christ and show them unto us. It is not by human learning and wisdom we know God. It is not by power or by might, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. If we do not then give the Holy Spirit His due, proper, and sovereign place, what are we, and what can we do acceptable to God? Then, again, this 1 Cor. 12 teaches that there is no independency in the one body of Christ. Each member is needed, however strong or weak, and each is dependent on the other. The Head needs all the members, and cannot say to the feet, I have no need of you. The members are to be in full and practical love and sympathy with each other, so that there should be no divisions in the body, but that all the members should have the same care one for another; for if one member suffer, all suffer with it; and if one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.

Thus, then, we have seen that it is the clearly revealed mind and will of God that His children, united by the Holy Spirit into one body, should be so seen of man and angels. Now, are our wills one with God's, and are we ready to do all He would have us to do in respect to the Body of His Christ? Again, I say, read the Word of God, and in doing so, wait on and expect the Holy Spirit Himself to teach, and He will do so.

I add a few scriptures for the reader's prayerful attention. John 11:52; John 17:11, 21; Acts 2:11; Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 1, 10, 12; Eph. 2, 3, 4; 1 Tim. 3:15.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Eph. 6:13).

As soon as a sinner has been born again by the Holy Ghost he finds himself in conflict. When in and of the world, all was smooth, but when he became a Christian he found many elements opposing. Now, the question is, what is the Christian's proper conflict? for the Scriptures speak of three: there is Rom. 7: 14 to 24, Gal. 5:17, and Eph. 6:12. Let us then prayerfully, and without prejudice, look at each of these conflicts, and see which is the proper one for the true child of God.

In the well-known conflict of Rom. 7, we have a believer, with strong desires after holiness, longing with the greatest anxiety to keep the law of God; but, instead of doing so, we find he is doing the very opposite. Observe what he says, "that which I do I allow not, for what I would that do I not, but what I hate that do I" (Rom. 7. 15). He knows and desires to do what is right, but does it not but just the reverse; as he says, "the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do" (v. 19). Consequently there is no peace, no joy, no liberty. Now, can it be the mind of God that such should be the experience of His children? Surely not, for He says, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord," and here is one doing that which He allows not. Moreover, God would have us rejoice evermore—to have peace with Him, and liberty in the Holy Ghost. Many dear Christians, and it may be some of my readers, are amongst the number who think that this 7th of Romans' conflict is the proper experience of a Christian. I am free to admit that I believe all have to pass through it, sooner or later, but not to continue in it, because God would have us to have fullness of joy; but to one in Rom. 7 there is nothing of the kind, it is all fear and bondage—the soul crying out for deliverance, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" We shall no doubt see this more distinctly if we examine the conflict itself, and at the same time see how we may get out of it, and in doing so let us go step by step.

The first step will be to ascertain who or what they are that are in conflict, and verse 14 shows us this. On the one hand we have the law, which is spiritual, holy, just, and good; then on the other hand there is "I." Now, what am I? I am carnal, sold under sin, unholy, unjust, bad. Well, bring together these two which are so opposite in their nature, and what will, what must, be the result? Conflict. If two walk together they must be agreed. Bring fire and water together, and you have conflict, and that, too, to the death of the one or the other. It is just so with the law of God and myself: the law is holy, just, and good, but I am the very opposite, and hence the conflict of Rom. 7. I see the law of God and its demands, and I long to keep and obey them, but then I am carnal, and how can that which is carnal do that which is spiritual? It is impossible. The law, while it makes its demands, does not give me power to meet them, and I have none of my own: "to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not" (ver. 18). Under these circumstances, then, what is to be done? It is quite clear that if the law and I are to go on together, we must become alike; that is to say, I must either bring the holy law of God down to my level, or I must make myself like the law. The first thought, that is, of bringing the law of God to our level, or making new definitions of sin, is quite impossible and absurd, to say no more; and therefore we will not waste time in discussing it. But can I bring myself up to the level of the law of God, so as to be able to say, Now I am spiritual as the law is, and holy, just, and good? If so, then the law and I can go on happily together, for we shall be agreed. But it is written in the Scriptures, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil" (Jer. 13:23). And, by the law is the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3); the law entered that the offense might abound (Rom. 5); and, further, the motions of sins which were of the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death (Rom. 7:5). It seems, then, from these Scriptures, that the nature and object of law is to bring out man's sinfulness and deformities. But again, the law is our schoolmaster unto Christ (Gal. 3:24), and therefore, as a schoolmaster, it has something to teach, and that is, that "in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing (Rom. 7:18)." Now, if I have not learned, or am not learning, this all-important lesson, what does it prove? Just this, that I am not honestly at school, and that I am, in spite of all I may say to the contrary, playing the truant. Many are contending for being under law, and yet how few have learned, or are learning, that in them,—that is, in their flesh,—dwelleth no good thing. This schoolmaster, law, is holy, just, and good, and therefore will be sure to be true and faithful in teaching the lesson that I have no good in me at all. Well, then, how can I become like this law-schoolmaster when it does nothing but show me my carnality and total helplessness? This is, however, an all-important and blessed lesson to learn—one we all, sooner or later, must learn. There can be no real deliverance—no settled peace, until I have learned that there is no good in me at all, and that I have no power to produce any. And then, having thus learned myself, Christ comes in and reveals Himself to me as my wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

Seeing, then, we carnal creatures cannot make ourselves spiritual—that we unholy, unjust, and bad creatures cannot make ourselves holy, just, and good, the question once more arises, What is to be done? Well, if two quarrelsome persons are walking together, and they cannot agree, the only thing is to separate, and each go his own way alone. Now, if the reader will still follow me, it will be clearly seen that this is just the argument of the Apostle in Rom. 7. Note the first verse, 'The law has dominion over a man so long as he lives." This is simple enough: if I owe my tradesman a sum of money, and will not pay him, the law is open, and he can compel me to do so; but suppose I have died, what can my tradesman do with me? Nothing. What the law? Nothing. There is no sense nor use in summoning a dead man to pay his debts; but so long as he is alive, the law has of course power and authority over him. Some time since, in London, a murder was committed, and the police secured the man who no doubt was guilty, but they did not take him to prison, nor yet before the magistrate. You will say, How strange that the police should have a murderer in their power, and yet never seek his due punishment according to the law! The simple reason why they so acted was, because the man had committed suicide—he was dead. What could they do with him? It was no use to bring him for trial, he was dead; and all they could do with him was to bury him. The law is powerful enough so long as a man lives, but it is perfectly powerless when the man is dead.

Now, please look at the 6th verse of the 6th of Rom. I will quote it, but it is always as well to turn to the word itself: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." This evil nature, which is carnal, sold under sin, unholy, unjust, and bad, has been crucified with Christ—it is dead with Him; and it is for the believer to take God at His word, and believe what He says and to reckon himself dead with Christ (Rom. 6:11). This, my dear reader, is the great truth we need to learn after we have confessed that there is nothing good in us, that we are dead as before God—no longer in the flesh (that is, our evil nature). As to the old Adam, we are set aside, as before God, and we have no longer any standing before God in Adam our first parent. I repeat the words "before God," because while we are crucified and dead with Christ, yet we, in our experience, find the flesh about us: but then we are to "reckon it dead."

Is it not plain, then, that if we are dead with Christ, and the law can only have dominion over a man so long as he lives, that we are become "dead to law," as it is written in Rom. 7:4: and also "delivered from it," as in Rom. 7:6? The law cannot have power over us, because we are dead. But, further, seeing that the old nature is dead, we can be married (to use the Apostle's illustration) to another, even to Him whom God has raised from the dead—the glorified Christ in heaven (Rom. 7:2-4). So long as we are in the flesh—united to the first Adam, we cannot be united to Christ the last Adam. There can be no adding the new to the old, nor yet a mingling the two into one. Clearly not! God's ways are quite different: He set aside and made an end of the old Adam and its belongings at the Cross. This being done, the ground was clear for Him to introduce an entirely new creation.

This He did by raising Christ from the dead and setting Him far above all principalities and powers in heaven, as the last Adam—the Head of the new creation. Now, as the Apostle says, we are married to Him—made one with Him, by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, that we should bring forth fruit unto God; for when we were in the flesh, the motions of sin, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death (Rom. 7:4, 5). The law demanded holiness, but never gave power to produce it; on the contrary, it produced motions of sin. Grace has come by Jesus Christ, and it gives a new nature, and a power to glorify God in bringing forth much fruit. We are not under law, but under grace (Rom. 6:14). But some may object, and say, "I do not approve of your setting the law aside." I beg pardon, I have not done so, neither have I the least thought of setting it aside, but quite the reverse; we maintain it, nay, as the Apostle says, "we establish the law." Is the law of capital punishment set aside because that murderer died, and so escaped the penalty of the law? Certainly not. So with the law of God. We who believe in Christ have died with Him, and therefore the law cannot touch us; but the law has never yet been set aside. It is we who have been set aside, and made new creatures in Christ. It is thus the believer is delivered from the terrible conflict of Rom. 7.

But there is a second conflict (Gal. 5:17). Here the enemies are different from those of Rom. 7.: there it was the law and myself, but in Galatians it is the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. The believer has received the Holy Ghost, and has thus learned his union with Christ and deliverance from all bondage and fear. And so in Galatians, we have the Holy Ghost, which we have not in the 7th of Romans. We would walk in and with the Spirit, bringing forth the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, etc., but the flesh would hinder. Now, the great secret is to keep the flesh judged and reckoned dead, so that the Spirit may be ungrieved, and that we, maintaining the consciousness of our union with Christ, the flesh might not work.

There is, however, a third conflict, referred to in Eph. 6:12. Here the enemies are totally distinct from those of Rom. 7. or Gal. 5. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places," or as it is better translated in the margin, "wicked spirits in heavenly places." This is indeed a fearful array. It is not merely the darkness, but the rulers of the darkness—not merely spiritual wickedness, but wicked spirits—Satan the prince of the power of the air, the head and leader of them.

Now it is of great moment that we clearly understand the sphere or range of this conflict. It is not in the world, nor in the wilderness, but it is in the heavenlies; and this last is the true position of the children of God, for they have been made to sit in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 2:5, 6). And therefore in proportion as we are in the conscious enjoyment of our place and portion in Christ in the heavenlies, so we come in contact with Satan, who is not yet cast down into hell, but who is the "prince of the power of the air" (Rev. 12:9, 10; 20:10; Eph. 2:12), and these wicked spirits in the heavenlies (Eph. 6:12). Now, what provision have we to meet and overcome these terrible foes? God in His grace has made the fullest provision, so that we might be able to maintain the enjoyment of our place and position in the most intimate fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. In the first place He bids us to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might; thus we have almighty power, and a resource that is infinite, and "if God be for us, who can be against us?" Then He has provided a complete set of armor. "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Eph. 6:13-18).

It must be very particularly observed that this armor is to be used in the heavenly places, and therefore we must know our place there to take and use it. It is not, therefore, to be used to get to God in the heavenlies (we do that by believing in Christ), but that, overcoming the wiles of the devil, we may be able to stand, and continually enjoy our place and blessings in Christ there. We are seated in Christ in the heavenly places, and Jesus said, In that day (when the Holy Ghost should come) you shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you (John 14:20). It is Satan's aim, not to rob Christ of us, or us of Christ—he knows he can do neither the one nor the other; but he can and he will, if we use not the power of God's might and His whole armor, rob and spoil us of our enjoyment of this our wondrous place and portion, and by his so doing, our testimony for a despised and rejected Christ will be marred and blotted.

The Lord give us all more and more, by the Holy Ghost's indwelling presence, to know and enjoy and live our true standing before God in Christ. God in His marvelous grace has given the true believer in Christ the best of positions and the fullest of blessings. He has set him in heavenly places in Christ, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwells, and made him complete in Him (Eph. 2:5, 6; Col. 2: 9, 10).

Now God, dear reader, expects of us that we shall never be content with the enjoyment of anything less than all which He in His love and good pleasure has given us. He has blessed us freely and fully, and He counts on our ready response; and there is no response so delights Him as seeing us use and enjoy all He has so bountifully given. And, what is better than all, He would have us enjoy all things, not alone, but reverently, in intimate fellowship with Himself, without fear and trembling, resting in the full sense of His favor, and abiding in His love.

Now the God of (the) hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in (the) hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost—(Rom. 15:13).

The Christian reader is entreated to give due attention, and not to turn from the subject of the second coming of Christ without prayerful consideration. I shall endeavor to present it in as simple a way as is possible: and it is not doubted that the blessed doctrine will be seen to be God's truth, if the reader will give up his preconceived notions.

Let me then, in the first place, clear the ground of a very common difficulty in the minds of many. Now I, for one, say that the Lord Jesus may come again at any time, even before you have finished reading this paper, and take the saved to Himself. But, it is replied, "No, that cannot be; because the Gospel has not yet been preached throughout the world, and all people are not yet converted to God; and Christ will not come until the whole world has been saved, and the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea." But is this objection a Scriptural one? No, emphatically no: the very reverse is the truth of God. We are not to expect the conversion of the whole world before Christ comes to take to Himself her whom He loved and gave Himself for—the Church of God, His Bride. "GOD so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." CHRIST, however, in His character as Christ, loved the Church and gave Himself for it (Eph. 5:25). According to the Word of God, and according to past and present fact, God is taking out a people for His name; the world at large, however, and even the religious world, is growing worse and worse; ripening for the judgment which will come over all the earth, commencing at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), this judgment will precede the general judgment (at the Great White Throne) one thousand years. Let us now turn to the Word of God, and see what saith the Lord as to the world getting worse rather than better.

Look at 1 Tim. 4:1, and mark the very striking and emphatic manner in which the Apostle writes. He says, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly." He has something then of special moment to call our attention to. What is it? "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils," etc., etc. Is this all men turning to God and believing in Christ? No; but men who had confessed the faith, and who had taken the ground of profession, turning from the faith and giving heed to Satan, his servants, and his doctrines. But this is in the latter times, it may be said; before the end comes things will improve and get all right. Turn then to 2 Tim. 3:1, etc., and here we have, not the latter times, but the last days; and what will be the character of these last days? "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (2 Tim. 3:1-5). Is this a catalog of the Christian graces, the fruit of the Spirit? All will at once answer, No; it is a list of horrible evils, gross wickednesses. Well, these things are to characterize the last times. But where, in what society, are we to look for this abounding of sin and wickedness? In the godless, the heathen world, where the Gospel has never been heard? No, but we are specially told by the Holy Ghost to look for all this evil in that place where there is a form of godliness, but the power thereof denied. That is, in the place where the word of God is, and where the Gospel is preached—in what we should call the religious world, Christendom. It need not be said that this is intensely solemn. It is, nevertheless, undoubtedly the word of the living and only true God. And not only so, but to any one whose eyes are open to the state of Christendom at this time, it cannot but be seen that evil is abounding, and that of the worst kind—evil as to Christ and His word. Where do we look in these days for infidelity; is it not in the religious world? See too the rapid progress of popery, and that, not in her own legitimate sphere, but within the pale of the Protestant Churches. Are not popery and infidelity now making the most rapid advances in this land?

The question here naturally arises, Is there no remedy for this increase of evil in the professing Church? Are we not to look for a reform? No; we are to expect none; because the Holy Ghost in this same chapter (2 Tim. 3.) informs us that "evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse—deceiving and being deceived," etc. It is quite hopeless, then, looking for any reformation. What then are we who have believed in Jesus to do? We are to live godly in Christ Jesus, turning away from all the evil which so much abounds, and which will do so more and more. We are to live godly in Christ Jesus, and those who will do so shall suffer persecution, even as Christ Jesus Himself did; and "if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him." The resources of those who will live godly are Christ Himself, in whom all fullness dwells, and the word which has been given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16). Seeing then that evil abounds and is to abound, and that in the very midst of the religious world, and that we are to expect no reformation, but rather the contrary, what is the real character of this dispensation according to the mind of God? The word of God states most distinctly, and the history of the Church of God proves that word to be true, that God is not converting the whole world, but He is taking out of all nations a people for His Son. Please, dear reader, do not turn away from this statement, but give me your attention, and follow me step by step to the conclusion; for I want you to understand the subject, whether you will accept it as God's truth or not. Hitherto I have given you chapter and verse for all that has been written, and shall no doubt do so to the end. See then whether it is Scripturally and historically true that God is not converting all men, but is saving whosoever believes in Jesus. The Apostle James stood up and said to the Church meeting at Jerusalem, that Simeon had declared how that God had visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name (Acts 15:11). Is not this historically true? What is the testimony of our every day's experience? Is it the many or the few who confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior? It is but the few—even in this land of open Bibles. It is only a few here, a handful there, who really and truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. In spite of all the efforts put forth for the conversion of the heathen, it is but a remnant after all who are saved.

We now advance a step further, and inquire, What is God doing with these sinners whom He is saving by His grace for His own glory?

This is an important question, and I beg the reader's prayerful attention to the answer. God takes these souls He has saved individually, and by the one Holy Spirit He baptizes them into one body. God is forming a body for His Son. He has raised Him from the dead, and set Him as Head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all: a body composed of sinners saved by grace, which is to be for the display of all the grace and wisdom and glory of God (Eph. 1 and 3. chapters). We have been saved as individual sinners,—" Christ loved me and gave Himself for me;" but do not remain as individuals merely, but become members of a body: Christ's body—bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh. By one Spirit are we baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, bond or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). This is a subject of supreme importance, because it is what is specially occupying the attention and activity of God in this day of His grace. It is quite peculiar to this dispensation; hid indeed in God from all eternity, but never disclosed until it was by revelation made known to the Apostle Paul. If you read carefully the third of Ephesians you cannot fail to see this. I press it upon you, because unless you see this truth you are outside the current and circle of God's thoughts, ways, and actings in this special day, and cannot possibly understand the Scriptures. God is, I repeat, forming a body for His own Son, one body, not many, which is the Church of God, the Bride of Christ.

Previous to the day of Pentecost there were one hundred and twenty believers in an upper room, praying and waiting for the promise of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. When the day of Pentecost was fully come, the Holy Ghost descended upon them. And by that one Spirit they were baptized into one body. This was the commencement of the body of Christ.

This Bride of Christ is still in process of formation. It is a unity. It is one—one body, one Bride. It is impossible to understand the word of God, unless we clearly see this distinct and peculiar characteristic of the dispensation in which we are now living. The saved amongst Israel were never said to be formed into one body. At that time there was no head, as such, to add them to, and the Holy Ghost was not then an abiding Comforter to unite them to the Head, as He now is. They were individual saints of God, and have gone to glory. Now, however, it is different. God is taking out of all nations, Jews and Gentiles, a people whom He is sealing by the Holy Ghost, and so adding them one by one to the one body—the body of Christ; and they are members of His body, and of His flesh, and of His bones (Eph. 5:30).

Again, this body stands to Christ in the relation of a bride to the bridegroom, as we read in 1 Cor. 11:2: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one Husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it. I apologize not for dwelling upon this part of the subject, because it is so immensely important, and particularly so in connection with the return of the Lord Jesus from heaven, because it is for this His Bride that He is coming—coming to take her away from earth to heaven. The cry goes forth, Behold the Bridegroom cometh. Christ is coming in His character of Bridegroom; and for whom does the Bridegroom come? His Bride of course—the nearest and dearest object of His affections, the chief treasure of His heart. "Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it" (Eph. 5.). He has a secret spring, a sweet, deep well of love in His heart for her, which none ever knew or will know but she who stands thus intimately related to Him. God so loved the world,—but the special object of the love of Christ is the Church of God, His body and Bride. In eternity He loved her, and His delights were set on her, but never was it manifested until this particular dispensation of God's grace. It could not have been so, because the object of that special spring of love was not in actual existence. As soon as the time came for the Bride of Christ to be formed, and they who were to be members of His body were born into this world, we find Christ, having loved the Church, came to earth to claim her as His, and to give Himself as an offering to God for her. She was covered with the filthiness of sin, and He shed His precious blood to cleanse her from all sin. She was under condemnation, and He took it all in her stead. She had incurred a fearful punishment on account of her sins, even eternal wrath, which she could not receive and go to be with her Lord too, because it was an eternal punishment; but He gave Himself for her, and He received the just punishment, and that to the very last drop. And thus through death, judgment, and wrath, He obtained and purchased to and for Himself a Bride, who should be his companion and share His glories forever and ever. Eternal praises be to Him who hath thus loved us and given Himself for us! It is, then, for this Bride that Christ is coming again to take her from earth to that special place His special love has prepared for her. "In my Father's house," He said, "are many mansions;" but He adds, "I go to prepare a place for you,"—a special place for His Bride. Behold the Bridegroom cometh!

If this be all true—and it most certainly is, blessed be God—the question arises: What is the proper hope and expectation of the saints of God while passing through this present scene of sorrow and trouble on earth? Is it that they might be saved? Surely not, for they are saved. They have confessed the Lord Jesus with their mouths, and have believed in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead; and therefore they are saved. We do not hope for that which we already possess in a risen and glorified Christ. Neither is it death that they hope for, because the apostle says we shall not all die, but we shall be changed: "Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15:51-53). Again, it is not judgment they hope for, because they are in Christ, and "there is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus; for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath set them free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:1, 2).

What then is their hope? It is Christ Himself (1 Tim. 1:1), for He is the source and object of all our blessing. All is centered in Him, and we have all things in Him. He is our life, peace, joy, hope, wisdom, righteousness, and every spiritual blessing. Apart from Christ we have nothing, for there is nothing spiritual apart from Him. Without Him we have no hope (Eph. 2:12). There is no such thought in the Word of God as any one hoping to be saved as to his soul, because, if he has Christ he is saved. "He shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24), and therefore does not hope to be saved; for to have Christ is to have eternal life and all things. But if you have not Christ, you are not saved. You have no life, for He is Himself the life, and you are without hope in the world. God says so (Eph. 2:12).

Christ then is the believer's hope, and not only so, but his hope is A COMING CHRIST (Titus 2:11-14). "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time, without sin unto salvation (Heb. 9:28)."

The blessed Lord, just previous to His departure from this world, having told His disciples of His intention to leave them, and the necessity of His doing so, they were greatly troubled; and so He seeks to comfort them, saying (John 14:13), "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, 1 will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where 1 am, there ye may be also." He spake to them of the many mansions in heaven: but what were they to them? The Object of their love was about to depart from them. It was the personal presence of their blessed Lord and Master they desired; it was Himself they loved and cared for.

"Were the vast world our own,
With all its varied store,
And Thou, Lord Jesus, wert unknown,
We still were poor."

They had given up all for Him, and as strangers and pilgrims had followed Him, learning of Him the ways and love of God. It was, I repeat, Himself that alone could satisfy the cravings of their hearts. They had found in Him one who spake as never man spake before, etc.; in Him were discovered to them unlimited resources—spiritual wealth amongst poverty—and inexhaustible fullness in their emptiness—Divine perfection in their conscious sinfulness. Doubtless, they, when He added those precious words, "1 will come again," and I will "receive you to myself, that where I am, ye may be also," found comfort for their sorrowing hearts. This was everything to them. "I" and "Myself." "I will come again, and I will receive you to myself." When on the sea, troubled at the presence of Jesus walking there, they, not knowing who it was, but hearing the word "I," were satisfied. "It is I; be not afraid." That word was quite enough. And so now, as they are once more troubled because of His departure, "I will come again, and receive you to myself," must have proved words of real comfort and joy to them.

Heaven, with all its glories, will be as nothing if Christ be absent; for now that we have learned to love Jesus, though we have not seen Him save by faith, heaven without Him would not be heaven to us. But He will be there, and He will be the one great Center of attraction, the pre-eminent one, God over all, blessed forever. What joy and comfort should it be also to our souls, as we pass through the wide, waste, howling wilderness, to have the blessed Lord to speak to us out of His own word. "I will come again, and I will receive you to myself, that where I am ye may be also."

But again, it is a PERSONAL Christ that is coming. It is not a mere doctrine or theory we have before us. It is a real person, a Divine Person—God manifest in flesh. It is He—"who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." He is one who is now in heaven seated with the Father in the Father's throne, crowned with glory and honor. He is one we see by faith, and love, worship, and adore. After His ascension to heaven, the disciples stood for awhile, gazing up steadfastly into heaven, and two men stood by them, and said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Mark now these blessed words: this same Jesus,—not another, not a messenger or an angel—no, but this same Jesus whom you have walked and talked with, and have learned to love. This same Jesus whose words you have heard, whose acts of love and grace you have known. This same Jesus whom you have seen and handled shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go up to heaven. What a blessed assurance to them and to us, who, through their words, have believed in Jesus!

The Christians at Thessalonica had the coming of a personal Lord before them. They were waiting for God's Son from heaven, God's only begotten Son, that very self-same Son whom He gave for the sin of the world, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. It was God's Son they had before their hearts. They were expecting His return, and for Him they were waiting. These devoted saints at Thessalonica were, however, in trouble about their fellow-saints who had fallen asleep in Jesus; and therefore to comfort them as to this, the Apostle writes to them assuring them that there was no cause for alarm or sorrow about the departed ones, for when the Lord Jesus did descend from heaven, the dead in Christ would rise first, then they which would be alive and remain would, with them, be caught up together, to meet the Lord in the air, and so be forever with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Now please mark these remarkably emphatic words, "The Lord HIMSELF shall descend from heaven." It is a personal Christ that is coming, the Person our hearts have been set upon, and in whom our weary and troubled souls have found a sure and effectual resting-place. "Whom having not seen we love; in whom, though now we see Him not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8)." Will you then please follow me, and notice how very emphatic these words are; so much so indeed that it is very difficult to read—every word in it has to be emphasized so strongly, for every word is so full of meaning, instruction, and power.

Read then, "the Lord." It is the Lord, the definite, distinct, particular Lord; not a Lord, but the Lord—that blessed Person once on earth, but whom God has glorified, and made Lord and Christ, and whom we by grace have confessed as our Lord. It is Jesus the man, the same Jesus that is coming; but He is coming as the LORD, and all who believe shall be received by Him.

Again, it is the Lord HIMSELF. These are precious and powerful words to our souls; so full of meaning and emphasis, causing our hearts to burn afresh; for it is a person, a real personal Lord that is coming.

Dear reader, if I know your heart, your heart does rejoice in this word Himself, it is so full of significance. This same Jesus, who, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. It is, I repeat, this same Jesus, who Himself is the Lord that shall come again and receive us to Himself, and present us to Himself a glorious Church, having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing. He will not send another; He will not depute a mighty host to fetch us. No, no; He will come HIMSELF. Would He be content to send for us? No! I am bold to answer, for I feel I know the heart of Christ enough so to reply; for He so loved the Church that He gave Himself, and died for her, bearing all her sins in His own body on the tree, and paying all her heavy debt, so as to have her as His companion forever in the glory. I know He loves her still, for He is ever serving her, sanctifying and cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. And I know too, that, having loved her when in the world, He will love her unto the end. And moreover, I know His heart's deep and devoted love to her is such that He would not be content without Himself descending once more at least into the air, and catching her away and receiving her to Himself.

Suffer me now to stay a moment and ask you, my reader, What sort of response can and does your heart make to this great love of Christ Jesus towards us His Bride? Would you be content to be sent for? Would you be satisfied if ten thousand times ten thousand of the heavenly hosts were to come and take you away? If we were to hear to-day the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and to see the heavens filled with a countless multitude of angels come to call us away, and saw not the blessed Lord: would there not, think you, be a feeling of disappointment? I think there would be; nay, I feel sure, I am certain there would be, not only a feeling of disappointment, but an expression of it too. Should we not exclaim, Where is the LORD HIMSELF? Where is Jesus, the Son of God. It is Jesus, our Lord, we look for, and our souls need, yea, must have. Such would doubtless be the sort of expression our hearts would give out, were Jesus to send for us and not come Himself. But He will come; for it is written, "The Lord Himself SHALL descend from heaven." Here we have another emphatic word.

It is not man's, but God's "shall"; and therefore God, who cannot lie, will accomplish His own purpose, and fulfill all He has said; and not one word of all He has said shall fail—then the Lord Himself shall DESCEND—here is another emphatic word. He shall descend, or come down, from heaven.

How plain and simple Scripture is! It could not be more so. To descend means to come down. Now some will say, as it often has been said, that our going to Christ through death is the same as His coming to fetch us. This is, however, a very serious mistake, because, in the first place, when the child of God dies there are many who mourn his loss, and he will go alone; but when Jesus comes all the saints of God will go together, and there will be a general rejoicing.

Again, when one dies he is buried, whereas when Christ comes there will be a resurrection of all the saints of God from their graves: for the dead in Christ shall rise first. Surely then the saints going to Jesus by death and His coming to fetch them are not at all the same thing, but the reverse in some respects. And further, coming and going do not mean the same thing. The Lord Himself then shall descend from heaven. The very place is named from whence He will come: the disciples saw Him go up into heaven, and from thence He will come.

Considering then these blessed things, and the blessed word of the Lord Jesus Himself: "I will come again, and receive you to myself;" considering too, the emphatic confirmation of them by the Holy Ghost, through the Apostle—what manner of men ought we to be in all holy conversation, and what should be the attitude of our souls? Surely, in the first place, believing what He says, and then patiently waiting the accomplishment of the same. The Corinthian saints had heard and believed, and were waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:7). So too, as we have before noticed, the Thessalonians were waiting for God's Son from heaven (1 Thess. 1:10), But further, the whole creation is interested in the coming of Christ, and it is represented as being in a groaning state (Rom. 8:22, 23): "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." Now shall we, who are the intelligent creation of God, and who have the deepest interest in the work of Christ and also in His inheritance, shall we, I say, be less concerned than the dumb creation in the coming of Christ? Shall the whole dumb creation groan, and we remain indifferent? Surely not. Shall we then suffer all creation thus to witness against us? Shall it groan and not we? The Lord deepen in our souls the work of His grace, and enlarge our poor scanty hearts towards Himself, so that we may really believe what He has said about His return, and practically wait for Himself from heaven.

And now it may be interesting just for a moment or so to see what are the events which will attend the coming again of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, from heaven, which may be at any moment. The first thing will be the resurrection of the saints who have fallen asleep in Jesus (1 Thess. 4:16). They have been sown in corruption; they will be raised in incorruption: they have been sown in dishonor; they will be raised in glory: they have been sown in weakness; they will be raised in power: they have been sown natural bodies; they will be raised spiritual bodies (1 Cor. 15:42-44). The living saints will receive their heavenly, glorified bodies, they will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; changed at the coming again of Jesus Himself, they will be fashioned like unto His own glorified body, according to the power whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself (Phil. 3:20, 21). Then the living and the risen saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, who will, amidst the shouts of the hallelujahs of the tens of thousands of the heavenly hosts, conduct them home to that place (John 14.), that special place, He went to heaven to prepare for them—His Bride. Then He will present her to Himself a glorious Church, having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing (Eph. 5:27).

Loud and full as will be the praises of the heavenly host, louder still, much louder and fuller, will be the expressions of praise and worship and adoration from us who have been saved and kept by His grace.

While we are thus with the Lord Jesus in heaven, learning more and more of Himself, He discovering to us fresh beauties, deeper perfections, and glories exceeding all we have seen before; worshiping and adoring Him at every additional revelation of Himself, owning how, indeed, the half had not been told; His wisdom and prosperity, His beauty and glories exceeding all the fame we heard thereof, -while, I say, we are in heaven learning of Jesus, on earth evil men and seducers will wax still worse and worse; Satan will be cast down to earth; sin will be developed; man will be left to himself, and it will be seen what man is capable of doing in sin and wickedness. The light will have been removed, and darkness will cover the earth and gross darkness the people. The salt of the earth will have been taken away, and corruption will have its free and unhindered course.

After the flood God left man very much to himself, and man set himself up in independency of God. "And they said, Go to, let us build a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth" (Gen. 11:4). But not only did man act in independency of God, but he set up false gods, gods the work of his own hands, in place of the only true and living God. It will be so again. After the Church is taken away like Enoch, man will once more be left to himself, and he will once more act in open rebellion against God; and that man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth himself against all that is called God, and who, sitting in the temple of God, will show himself as God. The mystery of iniquity was already working, even in the days of the apostle, only there was and is a power in the earth hindering the full manifestation of the man of sin; but when Jesus comes, this letting power (which is the Holy Ghost and the Church) will be taken away, and then shall that wicked one be revealed; and Satan, having thus shown what he can make man do in the ways of sin and wickedness, the Lord will come forth once more with ten thousands of His saints (they having been caught away previous to this development of sin), to "execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him" (Jude 15.) Then shall the Lord consume this man of sin, this wicked one "with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy him with the brightness of His coming" (2 Thess. 2:8).

Christ Jesus, the Lord, will then take His great power and reign, King of kings and Lord of lords, and all shall be subject to His will; all knees shall bow at His name, and every tongue shall confess Him Lord to the glory of God the Father. He shall have universal dominion; and then after these judgments shall the earth be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. The seat and center, however, of His reign shall be the throne of His father David, on Mount Sion in Jerusalem; and before His ancients shall He reign gloriously (Isa. 9:6, 7; 24:23; Mic. 4:7). This latter part not being the particular subject before us, we do not go into it in detail.

When Christ reigns, we—the Church—His Bride, will reign with Him. We, the one pearl of great price, to purchase which Christ, the Merchantman, sold all, will, as it were, be suspended in mid-heaven (Rev. 21:1-3; 23 to end), the one chief and center jewel and ornament in heavenly places; it cost Jesus everything to obtain it, and it will be for the display of the exceeding riches of God's grace, His manifold wisdom, and the praise of His glory,—for the admiration of all the intelligent creation. We, too, are the chief treasure of the heart of Jesus, to obtain which He gave up all.

And now, in conclusion, it may be asked, But can you tell us when He will come? Of days, and months, and years, I know nothing, for the Word of God is quite silent thereon, and therefore we must be silent also. And yet the Holy Scriptures do tell us something as to this; for Paul, writing to the Hebrews, says, 'For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Heb. 10. 37). James informs us that "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (ver. 8). And the Book of Revelation closes with the words of Jesus, "Surely I come quickly." Is it inquired then, When will the Lord Himself come down from heaven and take us, His Bride, to Himself? I answer, Yet a little while—He will not tarry, His coming draweth nigh. And He says Himself, "Surely I come quickly." Can the readers respond and say, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus"?

Christ, the Lord, will come again,

None shall wait for Him in vain;

I shall then His glory see;

Christ will come and call for me.

Then, when the Archangel's voice

Calls the sleeping saints to rise,

Rising millions shall proclaim

Blessings on the Saviors name.

"This is our redeeming God!"

Ransomed hosts will shout aloud:

"Praise, eternal praise be given
To the Lord of earth and heaven!"

Courtesy of BibleTruthPublishers.com. Most likely this text has not been proofread. Any suggestions for spelling or punctuation corrections would be warmly received. Please email them to: BTPmail@bibletruthpublishers.com.