The Hands: April 2023
Table of Contents
Hands
Behold My Hands and My Feet
Now look at them! What do you think about those wounds on the risen body of Jesus? Do they not speak peace to your heart and conscience? “The blood of Jesus Christ [God's] Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Oh! yes, my fellow-believer, Jesus feels keenly every doubting thought that arises in our hearts.
Blessed Jesus! Thy work is finished; here our souls rest. Our sins were laid on Thee; they cannot be laid on us. On our account wrath was on Thee; on Thy account it is peace, endless peace, to us. Hear the words of Jesus, “Go in peace," and doubt no more. He does not say, Look at your sins or your failings. We might look at them in despair. But He says, “Behold My hands and My feet," as though He had said, Is it not enough? Could I love you more?
Faith is always self-renouncing; it brings a broken, empty heart to receive and welcome God's gracious gifts. Faith, therefore, gives all the glory to God. Believing in Christ, we come to Him for all, employ Him in all, trust Him through all, look to Him under all, hope in Him to do all, and to Him ascribe the glory of all.
C. Stanley (adapted)
The Mighty Hand of God
Did you ever ponder that expression, “The mighty hand of God,” or take time to consider its meaning?
Creation
Let us look at two or three scriptures which tell us something of what that mighty hand has done. In Psalm 102:25, we find these words: “Of old Thou hast laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of Thy hands.” What a wonderful work! How truly the work of a mighty hand! Again in Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handywork.” And once more: “The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. ... All those things hath Mine hand made .... saith the Lord” (Isa. 66:1-2). Surely when we look around us at all the wonders of the heavens, the sun, the moon, the innumerable stars — each one a world in itself — and then at all the wonders of the earth—in its animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms—we are ready to exclaim, “The hand must indeed be mighty which has made all this.”
But has that mighty hand only created all these marvelous things and then left them? Ah no! He supports and cares for the works of His hands, as we read in Psalm 145:16: “Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” Not one creature, however small or despised, is forgotten by Him, and will He forget the youngest and the weakest of His children?
Redemption
How much more that hand has done for us than for any other creature; turn once more to the Scripture and read in Zechariah 13:6: “One shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in Thine hands?” Can we not answer this question and say, “He was wounded for our transgressions”? How it surpasses all our thoughts — that mighty One, the Creator of heaven and earth, humbling Himself, becoming obedient unto death, allowing one of the creatures His hand had made to wound Him, to nail Him to a cross, and all that He might bear the punishment of their sin; yes, of our sin.
Resurrection
And in resurrection, we still see Him the same loving, tender Savior; we hear Him saying to Thomas, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands” (John 20:27). Again, those hands take bread and fish and give them to the weary disciples, after their night of fruitless labor on the sea. Finally, the last sight they had of Him was with hands uplifted to bless them, as “He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51). And is that mighty hand still in exercise for us? Yes, it is holding us day and night, and we have our Lord’s own word that “neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:28). And who is it that He is holding so safely and so surely in His mighty hand? His sheep—those who have heard His voice and have come to Him for salvation and protection.
Humility and Dependence
Before closing this meditation, let us look at one more verse. We shall find it in 1 Peter 5:6: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God.” Does it not humble us to think of His might, and does it not humble us to think of His love? But what is the next verse? “Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.” Did you ever care for a little helpless child, or even a little bird, or a little puppy or a kitten? Then you have some faint idea of what caring for another means. It does not mean loving from a long distance; no, it means daily, hourly, almost constant acts of thoughtful love.
“Do you not often forget about your baby, when you are attending her?” a friend once asked, and the young mother replied in surprise, “Why no, she is always in my mind.” And if that is the way we care for what we love, is not our Lord’s care for His loved ones far better? Can we not safely trust Him with everything that troubles or distresses us, knowing that the hand that cares for us is “mighty”?
Young Christian, Vol. 2
His Right Hand - the Dependent Man
Devotedness
Psalm 16 gives us the life of a perfectly dependent man, and this was brought out most fully in the life of the Lord Jesus. His life of dependence was characterized by both devotedness and confidence. Psalm 16:8 shows us devotedness: “I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” If we decided on our own path, what would we say? I have set the Lord sometimes before me, and the “sometimes” fewer than the other times. Sometimes we set each other before us; oftener we set ourselves. He says, “I have set the Lord always before me.” He has nothing before His mind but the Lord, Jehovah. There was His devotedness. “Lo, I come to do Thy will,” He says, and again, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).
Confidence
There is also confidence. “Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Think of this: Does not God delight to put Himself at the right hand of the soul that simply trusts in Him? God says, If you put Me always before you, I shall bring Myself very near; I will put Myself at your right hand. If you set Me always before you, I will bring Myself as near as I can. What does God put Himself at your right hand for? That you may put your right hand into His right hand and be upheld by Him. “Thy right hand hath holden me up” (Psa. 18:35). “Thou hast holden me by my right hand” (Psa. 73:23).
What can God alone do to the man who sets Jehovah at His right hand? Jehovah’s answer to the dependent man is this: “Sit Thou at my right hand.” You have Him putting Jehovah at His right hand down here; that gives confidence. And to the man who says, “I have set the Lord always before me,” Jehovah answers, I will set that man at My right hand in glory. The thought of the right hand coming in here brings out the end of the pathway of the blessed Lord Jesus. How does He reach that glory? Through death, and thus we get the lovely connection of Psalm 110 with Psalm 16 in Peter’s sermon of Acts 2:25-36.
Joy
Now we have in Psalm 16:9 that which gives Him joy in view of all that was before Him. “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).
Assurance
In Psalm 16:10 we have the assurance in view of death. “Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine holy One to see corruption.” The holy One is that which He was intrinsically and practically. He can go even into death in full assurance, and so can the believer. Christ, of course, saw no corruption. First Corinthians 15:54 gives the other side for the believer: “When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption.” He was so holy that if He got into death as the end of a pathway of grace and obedience, the only thing God could possibly do was to take Him out of death and set Him in glory.
Association With God in Glory
Psalm 16:11 gives us the close of the pathway: “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” It is God Himself who is the fullness of His joy. Pleasures in what way? I believe they are in association with Him. He has had God down here, and when at His right hand, there are eternal associations with Him there.
This psalm gives to us in a blessed way the divine life coming out in a man down here on this earth. First dependence; then thorough subservience or subjection; then fellowship, fidelity, God the portion of the soul, satisfaction; then worship and counsel, devotedness and confidence, joy, assurance in view of death, and finally association with God in glory.
May the Lord keep us walking more in the footprints of the blessed Master, for His own name and His glory’s sake.
Christian Truth, Vol. 31
The Hands of the Lord Jesus
The human hand is a most interesting and intricate part of our body. The Lord has created it with the ability to do many complicated things that to some of us might seem impossible. For example, the late Queen Elizabeth II of England once received a most unusual gift — four complete outdoor scenes, painted in detail on four grains of rice. That painting must have been done under a microscope! Most of us have seen the way well-trained hands, combined with a good ear for music, can play a violin and bring out beautiful strains that touch our hearts. Some of us marvel too at the skill of a plastic surgeon, or a carpenter, or a good pastry chef, and the things they can do with their hands.
However, like the other members of our bodies, human hands can be used in wrong ways, and we are all aware of the evil in this world, much of it done by human hands, either directly or indirectly. Men and women have not only carried out acts of violence to others, but have also resorted to robbery, vandalism, and other acts involving their hands. In more recent years Internet crime and fraud have become rampant, again, all involving the human hand, and, of course, the brain too.
Responsibility
The word “hand” has also come to be used in a general way to refer to responsibility which is recognized as having been given to someone. We speak of things being “in the hands of government,” and in the Word of God, we often find the expression “the hand of the Lord” used in the same way.
Humanity
It is a wonderful thing to think of our blessed Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, because “the children are partakers of flesh and blood,” “also Himself likewise took part of the same” (Heb. 2:14). Our Lord Jesus became a man and had all the human attributes of man, “yet without sin.” His hands are referred to quite a few times, and it is heart-warming and instructive for our souls to consider what Scripture says about them.
First of all, His hands were always used in the right way — for the glory of God His Father. When He dispensed blessing in this world, He could easily have done this by one word of His power. Occasionally He did it this way, saying, for example, to the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk” (John 5:8). But many other times, His words were combined with His blessed hands. When He healed the leper in Luke 5:13, “He put forth His hand, and touched Him, saying, I will: be thou clean.” What a comfort that added touch was! It conveyed not only power, but also compassion. No one else dared touch the leper, but the Lord Jesus, as God, could do so, and He would do so. On another occasion, when He met the funeral procession of the son of the widow of Nain, it is recorded that “He came and touched the bier ... and He said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise” (Luke 7:14). That touch meant much, for once again, any other Jew would have been defiled by touching a dead body.
The Touch of the Hand
When mothers came with their young children, their wish was that the Lord Jesus would “touch them” (Luke 18:15), and in another place (Matt. 19:13), it is recorded that there “were brought unto Him little children, that He should put His hands on them, and pray.” As one who was recognized as a great teacher among them, His touch meant much to the mothers of those young children. Because of His love, the Lord Jesus was only too glad to touch those children. We do not know how many of those mothers recognized the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, or whether any of those children grew up to know and love the Lord Jesus.
Judgment
On at least one occasion our blessed Lord used His hands in judgment, defending the glory of His Father. When He saw the money-changers and animals in the temple, we know that “when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables” (John 2:15). The Lord may have done this twice during His earthly ministry.
But all this, blessed although it was, could never settle the question of sin. Our Lord might heal all diseases, feed the hungry, and even raise the dead, but none of this brought sinful man any closer to God. Our Lord’s hands must be nailed to Calvary’s cross, and this was prophesied in the Old Testament: “They pierced My hands and My feet” (Psa. 22:16). When it became time for redemption to be accomplished, His hands and feet must be nailed to Calvary’s cross, and the judgment for sin borne in those three hours of darkness. The children’s hymn expresses it well: “Those kind hands, that did such good, they nailed them to a cross of wood.”
Bodily Resurrection
However, as we well know, our Lord did not remain in death, for it was “not possible that He should be holden of it” (Acts 2:24). He rose on that resurrection morning, and as one of the proofs of who He was, “He showed unto them His hands and His side” (John 20:20). Those nail marks in His hands and the spear mark in His side will remain for all eternity, to show us that He suffered for us. In a coming day, when Israel is brought back into blessing on earth, they too will recognize for the first time that the One whom they crucified was indeed their Messiah. They will say in that day, “What are these wounds in Thine hands?” (Zech. 13:6). Our Lord’s answer will be, “Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends.”
When He was about to ascend up to heaven, we find His hands once again used in blessing: “He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50-51).
His Hands in Heaven
Now that our Lord Jesus is in heaven, are His hands idle? Is He simply resting up there, until the Father gives Him the word to come back for His bride? It is true that there is no direct reference to the Lord’s hands in Scripture after He ascended back to heaven, but if we think of the expression “hands” in a general way, His hands are certainly occupied with us during His time before we are called home. He lives there as our great High Priest, ever interceding for us, and a hymn expresses it well:
Our great High Priest is sitting
At God’s right hand above,
For us His hands uplifting,
In sympathy and love.
Little Flock Hymnbook, #79 Appendix
He is also up there as our Advocate, looking after our interests in every way, to restore us if we sin. How precious this is, to think that as our great High Priest and Advocate, he maintains each of us during our sojourn here on earth!
Figuratively speaking, He continues to wash our feet, as we get in John 13, and in so doing He removes all the defilement of our mind and conscience that we get as we walk through this world. Just as His hands were physically involved in washing the disciples’ feet before He went to the cross, so He is actively washing our feet in a spiritual way today.
All Things in His Hands
But why is it said that when Jesus knew that He should depart out of this world unto the Father and that the Father had given all things into His hands, He arose from supper and washed the disciples’ feet? Why did He do this at the prospect of His eternal fellowship with the Father and His dominion over all things that the Father had given into His hands? Because He knew that in that glory and possessing power over all things, He would be the servant of His people forever. How is He to serve them when they are with Him in His heavenly kingdom? By ministering to their happiness and enjoyment. This He says Himself, as we read in Luke 12:37. After exhorting His disciples to watch for His coming, He said, “Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching: verily, I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.”
He Will Rest
Also, we know that He is still “upholding all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3), for surely, as we read in Colossians 1:17 JND, “He is before all, and all things subsist together by Him.” Not until the eternal state, when sin will be forever removed from this universe, will our Lord Jesus Christ rest, and at that time He will rest, and the Father will rest, in the rich blessing of His own in both heaven and earth. God will rest at that time in our blessing, when everything is according to His mind. But the nail prints in His hands and that mark in His side from which that precious blood flowed that cleanses us from sin — those wounds will remain for all eternity, to remind us of how much He suffered for us.
W. J. Prost
Moses' Hands
“Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword” (Ex. 17:8-13).
In this passage we find that Joshua, at the commandment of Moses, goes out at the head of men chosen for the battle. Joshua brings before us Christ leading His people into conflict in the energy of the Spirit of God. The battle is the Lord’s, for without Him we cannot expect victory. We must count on the Lord in every situation, instead of relying on the energy and schemes of men. There can be no successful warfare with the enemy apart from the energy of the Spirit of God. Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
We see Joshua leading his men below in the plain, as Moses goes up with Aaron and Hur to the top of the hill. Moses in this way is a type of Christ in heaven in intercession for His people. He leads His people in the energy of the Spirit below, but maintains them by His intercession above in the presence of God. Apart from His priestly intercession they have no power against the enemy, and the energy of the Spirit is in relation to this intercession. Paul could say, “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom. 8:34).
Aaron — the Great High Priest
But no one man is a perfect type of Christ, and thus Aaron and Hur are needed too. Moses’ hands were heavy, and he was helped by Aaron and Hur. Aaron, although not formally set apart for the priesthood at this time, is, no doubt, a type of Christ as our great High Priest. Because of all that Christ has gone through, He is able to intercede for us. He has experienced in this world all that a sinless man could experience and thus is able to be “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15). If we avail ourselves of His priesthood and are willing to “come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16), we will indeed “receive mercy, and find grace for seasonable help” (Heb. 4:16 JND).
Hur — the Advocate
We see also that Hur is needed, and his name means “white” or “purity.” He is a type of Christ as our Advocate, for we read in 1 John 2:1, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” If we realized more our weakness and infirmity and availed ourselves of Christ’s priesthood more often, we would not sin. However, if we sin, we find that we have an advocate in Christ—one who meets us in our need. The word translated “advocate” is the same as that which is translated “comforter” in John’s Gospel, and it literally means “one who takes charge of and looks after all of our affairs.” We cannot fight the battle with sin on our conscience, and God never supposes that the believer must sin because he is weak. However, God has graciously made provision if we sin. The same One who bore our sins on the cross now goes to God, in righteousness, to act for our restoration. Every possible situation is covered, and victory is assured! The Spirit of God is our Comforter or Advocate down here, for He was sent down when the Lord Jesus was glorified in heaven. But how wonderful to realize that the Lord Jesus is also our Comforter or Advocate up there, acting for us if we sin.
The Two Hands
There is a beautiful detail to be noticed here. When reference is first made to Moses, it says that “when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed.” Only one hand is mentioned, although it took Aaron and Hur together to hold up his hands, in the plural. In type, this brings before us a precious truth concerning the priesthood and advocacy of the Lord Jesus. We do not always come to the throne of grace to avail ourselves of the priestly functions of the Lord Jesus, for we do not always feel our need. We do not feel our weakness, and, as a result, our hand may fall down and miss the Lord’s ever faithful hand of priesthood. Then Amalek, a picture of the energy of the flesh in the believer, may prevail. But the other hand, the hand typical of advocacy is still uplifted; it never fails. We do not need to ask the Lord to come to our aid in His capacity as advocate, for He does this without our asking. We are told to come boldly unto the throne of grace, but if we sin, it simply says that “we have an advocate with the Father.” As soon as we sin, even if we have not realized the full extent of our failure before God, Christ as our Advocate begins to act in order to restore us. How blessed, and how reassuring! Truly “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him” (Heb. 7:25)!
W. J. Prost
With All Thy Might
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might” (Eccl. 9:10).
Thomas Carlyle, a leading historian and writer of the nineteenth century, often quoted that sentence, and one day he had a great chance of proving that he tried hard to practice it. He had written the story of the French Revolution and had lent the manuscript to his friend, John Stuart Mill, who wanted very much to see it before it was printed.
One evening, Carlyle was seated in his study after a hard day’s work. A hurried knock sounded at the front door, and heavy steps came up the stairs. Mill entered, looking deadly pale. “Why, what’s the matter?” said Carlyle, leading his friend to a seat. Then Mill told him, in broken sentences, how he had left the manuscript lying on a table, and someone had burnt it. It was all gone. Five months of hard work were lost!
When Carlyle had thoroughly recovered from the shock of the bad news, he bravely set to work and wrote it all again. If you have ever had a difficult math problem to do before you were allowed to go out to play, and if, when you took your problem to be marked, your teacher tore it up and told you to do it again, you will know something of Carlyle’s feelings.
Each one of us has a work to do in this world. That is part of what we are here for, and our happiness depends on getting it done. Everything worth doing at all is worth doing well. If we put all our might into our work, we shall get the most out of it.
Dedicated to Learning
I was travelling by train the other evening. Three young men got into the same car. Directly the train started, one said to another, “Have you got it with you?” I did not hear what it was he asked for, but I should not have been surprised if it had been a pack of cards. But no, it was a piece of a man’s skull. They took it in their hands and passed it from one to another, having great fun in naming all the parts of it. They were medical students coming home from a lecture at the university, and in order not to waste their time, they were going over all that they had learned about the marks on that bone.
Watch the Sheep
An eminent merchant said that he once learned a very valuable lesson when he was 11 years old. “My grandfather,” he said, “had a flock of sheep, and my job was to look after them. As I could not do it all by myself, a boy was sent to help me. But that boy was more fond of putting his head into a storybook than of looking after sheep, so the work was mostly left to me, while he lay under the trees and read. I did not like it, and at last I went to my grandfather and complained. The old gentleman said with a smile, ‘Never mind, my boy; if you watch the sheep, you will have the sheep.’ ‘What does grandfather mean by that?’ I thought. ‘I don’t expect to have the sheep; I don’t want to be a farmer.’ I did not understand, but I trusted him. I thought it would be sure to be all right, and went back to my work.
“In the field I could not keep the words out of my head, ‘If you watch the sheep, you will have the sheep.’ Then I thought of something I had heard on Lord’s Day: ‘Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things’ (Matt. 25:21). I began to see through it. It meant this: ‘Never you mind who neglects his work; you be faithful, and you will have your reward.’”
Whatever you have to do, do it as if you wanted to finish it. Do it as if it were of the greatest consequence to get it well done with and out of the way. To see some men work, you would think that they wanted to spin it out as long as they could. They look as if they expected they would never get another job in this world after that was done. The only real way to work is to put your back into it. I don’t suppose that many people work because they like it, but because they have to do it. And yet the most miserable people are generally those who have nothing to do.
Jesus said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17). Our Savior belongs to a working family. And I hope you do too.
H. H. Snell
The Laying on of Hands
The laying on of hands was very significant in the sacrifices of the Old Testament. At the consecration of Aaron and his sons, they laid their hands on the bullock for the sin offering, on the ram for the burnt offering, and on the ram of consecration, showing identification of the offerers with the sacrifices (Lev. 8:14,18,22). At the consecration of the Levites, the children of Israel first laid their hands on the Levites, and the Levites laid their hands on the head of one bullock for a sin offering and on another for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites (Num. 8:10-12). On the day of atonement, Aaron laid his hands upon the head of the scapegoat and confessed over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel. Then it was sent away into the wilderness to signify the putting away of the sins confessed over the goat (Lev. 16:21).
Induction to Office
There was also the laying on of hands at the induction to office, as Moses laid his hands on Joshua and gave him a charge from the Lord as his successor (Num. 27:23). The apostles also laid hands upon those that had been chosen to take charge of the poor (Acts 6:6), and it is probable that in the appointment of elders, hands were laid upon them. Timothy was counseled not to “lay hands suddenly” on any man (1 Tim. 5:22). As a mark of commendation and fellowship, hands were laid on Paul and Barnabas when sent forth on their missionary journey (Acts 13:3).
A gift was imparted to Timothy with the laying on of Paul’s hands, the elderhood being associated with the apostle in the act (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6). The Holy Spirit was also given with the laying on of the apostles’ hands (Acts 8:17; Acts 19:6). The sick were often cured with the laying on of hands (Mark 6:5; Luke 4:40; Luke 13:13; Acts 28:8). This apostolic action has been imitated in Christendom and much misused, great pretensions being made as to a status given and spiritual blessing imparted; whereas if it were regarded as a simple recognition and mark of fellowship in service, it would be a scriptural act.
G. Morrish, Concise Bible Dictionary
Show Me Now Thy Way
“Right” and “left” are words that have come into common usage to describe politicians and governments in this day of ideological conflicts. Those who lean to the right are those who hold more conservative values and who favor the rights of the individual, while those who go to the left are those who favor state socialism. We even hear of the “extreme left,” and this term probably refers to those who would go, in varying degrees, over to complete socialism or even communism.
The divergence between the Western nations and such communist states as Russia and China has come, at least in a large part, from this ideological rift. Russia and China have gone all the way to the left; the Western governments have remained to the right — some more and some less. In the past 30 years, however, both Russia and China have altered their practices somewhat, allowing more of the tenets of capitalism to take hold in their economies. They found over the years that pure communism just did not work. In such countries as the United States, there is a strong conservative element that leans heavily to the right, but there is also an increasing amount of leftist pressure. This internal conflict of ideologies is growing in those nations that are to participate in the Roman Empire alliance, and perhaps it will bring about that lack of cohesion in it described in Daniel 2:43 as iron that “is not mixed with clay.”
These turbulent crosscurrents may well provide the fuel to produce that awful massacre (in those days of trouble after the Christians are taken home) mentioned in Revelation 6:4: “There went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another.” This is a description, not of international warfare, but of hand-to-hand wanton killing — anarchy. The forces of evil are already at work, but we can thank God that there is still that restraining Power — the Holy Spirit, who “lets,” or “hinders,” the full display of evil while He is here. (See 2 Thess. 2:7.)
Christians May Become Extremists
Christians may also become extremists in their thinking and practice. They may turn to the right hand or to the left from that pathway which God has marked out in His Word. Now God does not want us to become “rightists” or “leftists,” for neither is according to His mind. He knew the tendencies of the human heart and warned Israel four times in Deuteronomy (5:32; 17:11, 20; 28:14) and twice in Joshua (1:7; 23:6) not to turn to the right hand or to the left from all that was enjoined. Much of our Christian pathway entails keeping Scripture in its proper balance, and the only way to do this is to walk with the Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit. When it is properly read, the Word of God always drives us back to its source — the Lord Himself.
It is needful that we should take heed to all the Word of God if we are to be in God’s ordered path. What heresies and divisions have come into the church on earth through stressing one-sided truth! When part of the truth is emphasized at the expense of the rest, it can become positive error.
The Lord Jesus said to His Father, “Sanctify them through Thy truth [not just a part of it]: Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). And the Apostle Paul could say to the elders of Ephesus, “I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:26-27). Many have been the points of controversy where one part of the truth has been pressed at the expense of the other. We will mention a few.
Sovereignty and Responsibility
Much confusion has been caused by those who pressed God’s sovereignty at the expense of man’s responsibility, and vice versa. Both are perfectly true and, when kept in their respective balance, are harmonious. There is no imbalance in the Word of God; all is perfect. The same was true of the Lord Jesus Christ as man down here. He was the fine flour with no one feature more prominent than another. He was “full of grace and truth,” perfectly blended. Here again the imperfection of men comes out; we are apt to show grace at the expense of truth, or to display a decided lack of grace while pressing truth and righteousness. May we learn more of Him and not “turn to the right hand or to the left.”
Gospel Activity and Teaching
Then there are those who put all the emphasis on the gospel; they measure everything in terms of getting people saved. These give little or no attention to establishing saved souls in the truth. They forget that Paul was one of the greatest gospel preachers that ever labored for souls, but he said, “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labor” (Col. 1:28-29). And to the Ephesians he wrote of the great spiritual blessings we have in heavenly places in Christ, which go very far beyond the mere knowledge of salvation. Nor was he content with that alone; he prayed for them that they might enter into these blessings (ch. 1) and that they might walk in the good of them — “that Christ may dwell” in your hearts (ch. 3).
We would not say one word to discourage an evangelical spirit, but let us remember that the saving of the soul is only the beginning. Those who are saved should grow and make progress in the truth, and that truth should be reflected in their daily lives. Shallow indeed is that work which rests satisfied with the knowledge of sins forgiven and is remiss about growing in the knowledge of the Savior Himself, or is careless about walking becomingly down here.
Communion With God’s Thoughts
We may go to one extreme and lose our interest in the gospel, but to do so is to be out of communion with the thoughts of God, for He is ever interested in the gospel of His Son. Or we may be carried away with evangelical zeal and stoop to use methods of which our Lord cannot approve. We may see such methods succeed in others’ labors, because God is sovereign and may bless His own Word, although mixed with things He cannot sanction; nevertheless, we are to follow the rules and turn not from them to the right hand or to the left. Faithfulness, and not apparent success, is the gauge by which our Master measures; “well done...good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21,23).
Paul was careful to communicate spiritual things by spiritual means (see 1 Cor. 2:13 JnD). All that passes for the work of the Lord in present-day evangelism cannot meet such a requirement, nor will it receive a reward. Only that which is done according to God’s Word will be rewarded (see 2 Tim. 2:5). We are apt to forget that unless the Spirit of God works in the heart, all our human persuasion, eloquence or pressure will not save one soul.
Zeal for the Gospel
May the Lord increase our gospel zeal a hundredfold, but may it be balanced with doing it only by approved means, in separation from all that is not of Himself, and by seeking to lead saved souls on in truth. And may we seek out a right path ecclesiastically in which our own feet may walk. This is a matter that many ignore, as if our connections were of no consequence. May the spirit of our hearts be, “Lord show me now Thy way,” and, Lord, “where wilt Thou?” Then we shall be neither “rightists” nor “leftists.”
One final word. An older brother, now with the Lord, used to tell us that if we walked in an extreme position on one side of the road, we would get bricks thrown at us (figuratively speaking) from those in the extreme position on the other side of the road. He further remarked that if we seek to walk a pathway before the Lord, not going either to the right hand or to the left, we will likely get bricks thrown at us from both sides. We must be prepared for this.
P. Wilson (adapted and updated)
At the Right Hand of God
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” God is perfectly glorified, sin perfectly manifested, and the work completely accomplished, which puts it away; in a word, God, in all that He is, is glorified in the death of His Son. And what then? “If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him” (John 13:32). The glory of the Father raised Him from the dead, and after forty days on earth He ascends. “He led them (His disciples) out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven” (Luke 23:50). What a wondrous fact to contemplate! A Man has gone up into the glory of God, more than man surely, but a real true man. Imagine what a sight it must have been for the heavenly hosts to witness, as this blessed One ascends! Higher and higher He goes, passing rank after rank; principalities, powers, angels — all left behind in the marvelous ascent, till He reaches the very highest point in glory. As Ephesians 1 puts it, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” Where does Stephen see Him? At the right hand of God. Now I have got a Man in glory, and a Man who did not go there until He accomplished a work whereby I might be there too. Now there can be association, and what a wonderful thing that is! I must first have the Man in order to have association with Him; but where? “At the right hand of God.” Did it ever strike us (I speak to my own heart) how the Spirit of God seems to labor to educate the children of God on this very point? It appears as if He would spare no pains to get us instructed as to the exact spot where Christ is, and yet how little we realize it. Mark 16:19 reads, “He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” Acts 2:33 uses the phrase, “By the right hand of God exalted.” Twice over in Acts 7 we have the expression, “On the right hand of God.” Romans 8:34 says, “Who is even at the right hand of God.” Finally, Hebrews 1:3 emphasizes that He has now “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Bible Herald, 1880 (adapted)
Working With his Hands
There is an exhortation in Ephesians that is a little startling from its very obviousness: “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Eph. 4:28). We must remember that the early assemblies were formed of persons just brought out of heathenism, with all its abominations, and consisted in part of slaves, an oppressed and degraded class, among whom theft was practiced without scruple or shame. The exhortation too goes beyond open theft, and in principle condemns all taking of unfair advantage, such as even the fuller morality of our own day often but feebly condemns. But the interest of the exhortation lies rather in the motive than in the course of conduct enjoined. If believers had been under the law, a simple appeal to the eighth commandment of the ten commandments would have been enough. But we are not under the law, but under grace. What is the obligation then imposed by this position? Not only to do “the righteousness of the law,” but a great deal more. Did Christ stop with doing the righteousness of the law? On the contrary, He went far beyond it. The law requires that we should love our neighbor as ourselves, but it does not require us to lay down our lives for our neighbor. This, however, was what Christ did, and if the life of Christ is in us, “we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). So extreme a sacrifice may indeed be rarely demanded, but the spirit of it may always be shown. Christ not only did not injure man, but “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). His whole life was one of self-sacrificing love. How beautifully this reappears in Paul, “I will very gladly spend and be spent for you” (2 Cor. 12:15). The Christian should walk in the same path, as he has the same life, not only refraining from stealing, or taking unfair advantage, but working to have the means of ministering “to him that needeth.”
This the Holy Spirit, by one of the simplest exhortations in Scripture — an exhortation which from its commonplace character might seem hardly worthy of a place in such an epistle — brings out one of the most striking differences between law and grace. Law simply prohibits evil; grace delights in doing good. Law is what God demands from man; grace is what God is in Himself. How sad, then, to see believers, who have been brought into liberty and associated with Christ, falling back into the lower class of motives and principles and putting themselves again in bondage under a system to which they are declared to be “dead by the body of Christ.” The whole “righteousness of the law” shone out in the ways of Christ, and it will shine out in the ways of one who is abiding in Christ. But how infinitely beyond law the grace revealed in every action of that perfect life! And this is what will appear, of course in a vastly inferior degree, but still as a real fruit of abiding in Him and walking in the power of the new life in which we are quickened together with Him.
Christian Friend, Vol. 6
My Times Are in Thy Hand
Psalm 31:15
My times are in Thy gracious hand;
I’m glad my times are there;
Full much I do not understand;
Enough, that Thou dost care.
My times are in Thy guiding hand;
And this my peace would be;
For Thou wilt guide as Thou hast planned,
And that will prosper me.
My times are in Thy guarding hand;
Thus what can me befall?
Omnipotent — Thou dost command;
Thy scepter rules o’er all.
My times are in Thy giving hand;
Thus till my race is run —
Until I reach the heavenly land,
Of cares I need have none.
J. D. Smith