THE thought that there is to be a time of disclosure of that which is now either obscured or secret is a very solemn thought. The revelation of the Lord Jesus in glory will make good every word which God has spoken, however that word may now be contradicted by appearances. “That day will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart.”
The Lord Jesus, in His ministry, applied to different persons, and with a different bearing, the words, “There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known.” (Matt. 10:2626Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. (Matthew 10:26).) Such is the breadth of the truth contained in these words, that they are used by our Lord in the way of encouragement as well as of warning.
On the memorable occasion of the Lord of the harvest sending forth laborers into His harvest (Matt. 10), Jesus having pointed out to them all the perils of their mission, that they would be as sheep among wolves, that men to whom they preached the glad tidings of salvation would be against them, that their own kindred would be their foes, that they would be charged by religionists with being in league with Satan, thus encourages them: “Fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.” (Matt. 10:26, 2726Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. (Matthew 10:26‑27).)
In the description given by the apostle of “the mystery of godliness” (1 Tim. 3:1616And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)), there is the contrast between “seen of angels, and preached unto the Gentiles.” Preaching is testimony to the truth, which the revelation of the Lord Jesus in glory will palpably substantiate. So long as there is preaching, the doctrines taught by the Lord Himself, and by His apostles, will be open to the captious criticism of men, because they carry not with them the demonstration which man’s wisdom thinks fit to demand. And when the doctrines of Christ are only supported by the arguments of human wisdom, however honestly intended, the doctrines themselves are lowered and weakened, because it is the judgment of man on what God has revealed, and not the authority of God appealing directly to the conscience. The tendency “to savor the things of men” instead of “the things of God,” is found in the disciple of the Lord Himself. (Matt. 16:2323But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. (Matthew 16:23).) This consideration, coupled with the sweeping assertion, that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him,” draws the line between the preacher declaring the testimony of God, and the skillful arguer and debater. The apostle Paul repudiated such aid, which he was well able to have used, when he had to do with a people trained to all subtlety of argument. “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.” (1 Cor. 2:11And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1).) It was “the testimony of God” to His own grace, and to His own estimate of the work of Christ on the cross, and therefore incapable of human demonstration. But there was One, even the Holy Ghost, who could and did demonstrate these things to such as He quickened. “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God.” (1 Cor. 2:4, 54And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4‑5).) The apostle did not come to the Corinthians with human credentials. That which had been revealed to him he declared to them, leaving the truth to commend itself to their consciences. What the Lord had “told him in darkness,” in visions or revelations, that he spoke forth in the light, as the truth which, however gainsayed by men, was nevertheless the truth of God; what the Lord had whispered in his ear, he preached upon the housetop. The servant might, as his Lord and Master, be called a madman, or one in league with Beelzebub; his words might be thought the words of a babbler, or the ravings of one out of his mind; but they were, nevertheless, “the words of soberness and truth.” There was a day coming which would make good his words. They might now appear obscure, mysterious, or wanting in sober sense; but “there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known.” This was to embolden the apostle in his testimony; this was the reason why he should not fear the gainsayers. “Fear them not, therefore.” There was a day coming, when the Lord would make good, beyond dispute, all His words, and “judge all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” It is by the tongue that men think to prevail: the last days of corrupt Christendom are characterized by men speaking great swelling words of vanity, and the great Apostate himself is characterized by “a mouth speaking great things;” but the day of revelation will make it manifest “whose words shall stand,” those of the Lord or those of man. (Jer. 44:2828Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs. (Jeremiah 44:28).) There should be a fearlessness in testifying to the truth; but such is man, that instead of fearlessness there is often shame. “Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me,” says Jesus, “and of My words.” Men who are morally truthful, for the most part find present opportunity for establishing their veracity. But the word of God which the Holy Ghost, as the Spirit of truth, applies to the conscience with such demonstration and power to those whom He has quickened, fails of carrying conviction to the natural heart of man. Man is set against “the truth,” whether in the Person or word of Christ. He will not hear God speak. (Prov. 1:24-3324Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: 30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. (Proverbs 1:24‑33).) “Why do ye not understand My speech?” says Jesus, “even because ye cannot hear My word... And I, because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not.” (John 8:43 -4543Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. (John 8:43‑45).) In what a deplorable condition is man? “The Truth” Himself, speaking the truth, is not believed. “The Liar” and father of lies finds ready credence.
It is the solemn conviction, that the day is coming when that which is now “covered shall be revealed,” which can alone impart boldness in testifying “the gospel of the grace of God.” “The truth” carries its own evidence wherever it is received; it is “all plain to him that understandeth;” but there ever will be that in the gospel of the grace of God, which will be “hid from the wise and prudent.” No one was ever brought to know the peace of the gospel by arguments, although the arguments for its truth are incontestable. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see.” That which God “hides from the wise and prudent, He reveals unto babes;” and that which He now reveals to the heart and conscience by the Spirit, will be publicly demonstrated at the revelation of Jesus in glory. But although the present testimony is to riches of grace, and riches of glory, laid up in Christ for them that trust Him, yet the one and the other so far surpass all preconceived human thought and expectation, that their announcement falls on the ear “as idle tales.” Something lower and more according to human thoughts than perfect grace, something that would leave man to appear as a prominent actor, will be tolerated even if it be not received. But the announcement of a present salvation and positive security to him that believeth in Jesus, is not only far above the reach of human thought, but so necessarily brings God into prominence, and man into contact with God, that man not only disputes the truth of the testimony, but manifests at the same time the entire alienation of his heart from God. “Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways.” (Job 21:1414Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. (Job 21:14).) To persist in a testimony, against which the whole tide of human thought and feeling is strongly set, requires no small encouragement; and the danger of turning away from testimony to disputation is at all times imminent. The apostle Paul craved the prayers of the Ephesians in very strong language: “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds.” (Eph. 6:19, 2019And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:19‑20).) The ambassador of the Lord of glory, bearing the message of His love and grace to those who had no claim on Him, declaring the unsearchable riches of Christ, found his testimony to end in his imprisonment. But he was “not ashamed,” neither swerved from his testimony, which excited derision among the wise, and opposition among the religious. He knew that there was “nothing hid which should not be revealed;” and he boldly proclaimed on the housetop that which bad been whispered in his own ear. The day of the revelation of the Lord Jesus beamed brightly on the soul of the apostle, and encouraged him to constancy in his testimony, despised as it was. “That day” would abundantly vindicate its truth.
In writing his last epistle to his own son in the faith, the danger lest the testimony should be lowered, or tampered with, pressed heavily upon him. “Stir up the gift which is in thee,” he writes, “for God hath not given us the spirit of fear [cowardice], but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, nor of me his prisoner.” (2 Tim. 1:6-86Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; (2 Timothy 1:6‑8).) That testimony was to death abolished, and to life and incorruptibility brought to light by the gospel. For this testimony the apostle was suffering: “Nevertheless,” he says, “I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day.” “That day” would fully prove that the testimony of the Lord would not bring shame with it. “That day” would bring “life and incorruptibility to light” in a way which could not be gainsayed.
In anticipation of the perilous days which were impending, the apostle charges Timothy before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and kingdom, “Preach the word.” It might seem of little avail to stem the torrent of ungodliness or the strong tide of formality to persist in a rejected testimony, but the appearing of the Lord Jesus would amply vindicate that testimony. Hid and obscure as it might be thought, it would be open and plain then.
But now all the perils which the apostle saw as future are present. The time has come and men have “heaped to themselves teachers, and are turned away from the truth, and are turned unto fables.” How needed therefore “the testimony of the Lord.” How soon may the foolishness of preaching be made manifest as the wisdom of God, in destructive judgment on mockers and despisers, by the Lord Jesus Himself being manifested in glory! “There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor hid that shall not be known.”
In Mark 4:2222For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. (Mark 4:22), and Luke 8:1717For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. (Luke 8:17), we have the same words applied in connection with the parable of the sower. “And He said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel or under a bed; and not to be set in a candlestick? For there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested, neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.”
The parables are generally considered as that part of the Lord’s teaching which is most readily comprehended. And assuredly there is on the surface of the parable something so plain, as easily to be recognized; but under the surface will be found hid the deep things of God. The reason assigned by our Lord for using this method of instruction, is, that the plainest instruction which words can convey would be thrown away on all who were blinded as to their actual condition before God. “And the disciples came and said unto Him, Why speakest Thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath to him shall be given; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away, even that he hath. Therefore speak I unto them in parables, because they seeing, see not; and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand.”
The action of the parable of the sower is simple and plain; yet who thinks that the reception of the word of God by faith into the heart makes the essential difference between man and man? Who hears as though in having an ear to hear depended the salvation of the soul? “Hear and your soul shall live.” Men take it for granted that they understand, and for this very reason hearing they hear and understand not. “If ye were blind ye should have no sin, but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”
The truth hidden under the parable will in due time be manifested. But that very truth which is now hidden from the wise and prudent because they say, “We see,” is now revealed to such as know they are ignorant, and believe that God can teach them. In the face then of human wisdom and prudence, they are not to hide what the Lord has revealed to them, but to be the candlestick to hold the light; for in a very little while man’s light will be turned into darkness, and the great secret of redemption, which is “with them that fear the Lord,” will come abroad.
The apostle thus exhorts the Philippians, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings, that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life.” Their life was to be one of testimony to others that they were right. However others might dispute with, or argue against them, the Lord would, in His own time, manifest that they were right.
In the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we find a very different application of the same truth. “When there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, He began to say unto His disciples, first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets, shall be proclaimed upon the house-tops.”
This caution being addressed to disciples may well lead to great searching of heart. The leaven of Pharisaism is very subtle and penetrating, and therefore needs to be suspected as having place in our own hearts. One feature of Pharisaism is that of being satisfied, because we satisfy the expectations of others. A doctrinal or moral standard is readily formed by Christians associated together, and by this standard Christians are apt to measure themselves with self-complacency. “And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things and they derided Him: and He said, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God.” “God knoweth our hearts,” what is hid there will be known. The use of the Lord’s name to cover over our own tempers; the indignation against evil in others to minister to our own self-complacency; the readiness to rejoice in iniquity, instead of rejoicing in the truth; these and such like tendencies, which we have discovered in our deceitful and desperately wicked hearts, partake of the character of “the leaven of the Pharisees.”
Regard even to our own consistency, jealousy of being thought wrong by others, and the exceeding difficulty of allowing to others that we are or have been in the wrong, all spring from the same source, the leaven of the Pharisees, the desire to justify ourselves before men. Jesus Himself was God’s test applied to the Pharisees—would they prefer themselves or Him whom God had sent? Even so it is now. Jesus is the test by which we can prove our hearts. Is our object the praise of men or of God? Are we anxious to vindicate our own honour or the honour of Jesus? How sensitively should we beware of the leaven of the Pharisees! And what shall be our security against it, but to seek to make the very warning of the Lord an encouragement, as did His faithful and single-eyed servant, the apostle Paul: “With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man’s day (see margin); yea, I judge not mine ownself, for I know nothing by myself: yet am I not hereby justified; but He that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God.” (1 Cor. 4:3-53But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. (1 Corinthians 4:3‑5).)
It is a great thing to be consciously open and naked before Him with whom we have to do, now that during man’s day we have opportunity of concealing our motives from men, and may be often subject to their unfair and adverse judgment. It was the habit of bringing the light of “that day” to bear on present things, that gave the apostle a present joy when he labored under injurious aspersions. “Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.” (2 Cor. 1:1212For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. (2 Corinthians 1:12).)
The Pharisees derided Jesus when He announced to them His doctrine. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Fleshly wisdom was the very thing on which they prided themselves. To know how to attenuate the truth of God, so as least to interfere with self-interest or self-complacency, how to catch the spirit of the age, and sanction it by some goodly name, is of “the leaven of the Pharisees.” Saul, the Pharisee, bad to be taught by the strong hand of the Lord another lesson. “For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile; but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness.” (1 Thess. 2:3-63For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: 4But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. 5For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness: 6Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. (1 Thessalonians 2:3‑6).)
God “requireth truth in the inward parts.” He has made provision in the priestly ministry of Jesus that we may be maintained truthfully before Him, even as were the Thessalonians; “remembering,” writes the apostle, “your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.”
In the sight of God we never lose our character of sinners saved by grace; in the sight of God we have no pretensions; but out of His presence pretensions are apt to arise, and we practically forget that we are only recipients. We measure others by ourselves, and the leaven of the Pharisees is unsuspectedly at work; but God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. Any secret contempt of others, who follow not with us, and fall short of our measure of knowledge, or practice, hardly expressed now, will then be known.
When the doctrine is openly avowed by those who think in themselves that they are righteous and despise others, we instinctively recoil from it. But it is not less loathsome before God when it is secretly entertained in the heart. The day of disclosure will manifest the counsels of the heart. No glorying in the flesh will abide its light. The day of disclosure will show most manifestly that the saints themselves are only sinners saved by grace, through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the day of disclosure, “the first will be last, and the last first.” The day of disclosure will bring to light many a passed by and forgotten act of the saints themselves, on which the Lord has stamped a value. “Inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me.”
Oh! for grace to live, move, act, speak, and eves think in the sight of our God and Father; for “Jesus said unto His disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy; for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid that shall not be known.”