Schoolmaster to Christ
NUMBERS CHAPTER 9
Schoolmaster to Christ
NUMBERS CHAPTER 9
Scripture Reading: Numbers 9 (KJV)
"And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Let the children of Israel also keep the Passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at even, in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel" (vv. 1-5).
There are three distinct positions in which we find this great redemption-feast celebrated: in Egypt (Ex. 12); in the wilderness (Num. 9); and in the land of Canaan (Josh. 5). Redemption lies at the foundation of everything connected with the history of God's people. Are they to be delivered from the bondage, the death, and the darkness of Egypt? Yes, by redemption. Are they to be borne along through all the difficulties and dangers of the desert? Yes, on the ground of redemption. Are they to walk across the ruins of the frowning walls of Jericho, and plant their feet on the necks of the kings of Canaan? Yes, in virtue of redemption.
Thus the blood of the paschal lamb met the Israel of God and the deep degradation of the land of Egypt, and delivered them out of it. It met them in the dreary desert, and carried them through it. It met them on their entrance into the land of Canaan, and established them.
In other words, the blood of the lamb met the people in Egypt; it accompanied them through the desert; and planted them in Canaan. It was the basis of all God's actions in them, with them, and for them. Was it a question of the judgment of God against Egypt? The blood of the lamb screened them from it. Was it a question of the numberless and nameless wants of the wilderness? The blood of the lamb secured a full provision for them. Was it a question of the dreaded power of the seven nations of Canaan? The blood of the lamb was the sure and certain pledge of complete and glorious victory. The moment we behold Jehovah coming forth to act on behalf of His people, on the ground of the blood of the lamb, all is infallibly secured, from first to last. The whole of that mysterious and marvelous journey, from the brick kilns of Egypt to the vine clad hills and honeyed plains of Palestine, illustrates and sets forth the varied virtues of the blood of the lamb.
However, this chapter presents the Passover entirely from a wilderness standpoint; and this will accounts for the introduction of the following circumstance: "There were certain men which were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the Passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day."
Here was a practical difficulty; something abnormal, as we say; something not anticipated, and therefore the question was submitted to Moses and Aaron. ''They came before Moses" – the exponent of the claims of God; "and before Aaron" – the exponent of the provisions of God's grace. There is something distinct and emphatic in the way both of these functionaries are referred to. The two elements of which they are the expression would be deemed essential in the solving of such a difficulty as that which here presented itself.
"And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in his appointed season among the children of Israel?" There was the plain confession regarding the defilement, and the question raised was this: were they to be deprived of the holy privilege of coming before the Lord in His appointed way? Was there no resource, no provision for such a case?
This was certainly a deeply interesting question – one for which no answer had as yet been provided. We have no such case anticipated in the original institution, in Exodus 12, although we have there a full statement of all the rites and ceremonies of the feast. It was reserved for the wilderness to evolve this new point. It was in the actual walk of the people – in the practical details of desert life, that the difficulty presented itself for which a solution had to be provided. Hence it is that the record of this entire affair is appropriately given in Numbers – book of the wilderness.
"And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you." What a lovely attitude. Moses had no answer to offer; but he knew who did, and he waited on Him. This was the best and wisest thing for Moses to do. He did not pretend to be able to provide an answer. He was not ashamed to say that he did not know. With all his wisdom and knowledge, he did not hesitate to reveal his ignorance. This is true knowledge – true wisdom. It might be humiliating for one in Moses' position to appear before the congregation or any members of it, as one being ignorant on any question. He who had led the people out of Egypt; who had conducted them through the Red Sea; who had conversed with Jehovah; and who received his commission from the great "I AM;" could it be possible that he was unable to meet a difficulty arising out of such a simple case as that now before him? Was it really true that such a one as Moses was ignorant as to the right course, in reference to men defiled by a dead body?
How few there are who, though not occupying a lofty position like Moses, would not have attempted a reply of some sort to such a query. But Moses was a meek man. He knew better than to presume to speak when he had nothing to say. Would that we could more faithfully followed his example. It would save us from many sad exhibitions, from many blunders, from many false attempts. To do so would make us more real, more simple, and more unaffected. How silly it is to be ashamed to expose our ignorance. We foolishly imagine that our reputation as wise and intelligent is touched when we utter that sentence expressing true moral greatness – "I don't know." It is a total mistake. We always attach much more weight and importance to the words of a man who never pretends to knowledge he does not possess. But a man who is always ready to speak, in flippant self-confidence, is one we are never ready to hear. How we need to always walk in the spirit of these lovely words, "Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command."
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body: or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto the Lord. The fourteenth day of the second month, at even, they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs."
There are two foundational, unchangeable truths set forth in the Passover: redemption, and the unity of God's people. Nothing can ever do away with them. There may be failure and unfaithfulness in various forms; but the glorious truths of eternal redemption and unity of God's people remain in force and value. Hence that impressive ordinance that so vividly shadowed those truths was of perpetual obligation. Circumstances were not to interfere with it. Death or distance was not to interrupt it. "If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet shall he keep the Passover unto the Lord." It was imperative on every member of the congregation to celebrate this feast, so much so that a special provision is made in Numbers 9 for those who were not up to the mark of keeping it as ordered. Such persons were to observe it "On the fourteenth day of the second month." This was the provision of grace for all cases of unavoidable defilement or distance.
A reading of 2 Chronicles 30 will reveal that Hezekiah, and the congregation in his day, availed themselves of this gracious provision. "And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation . . . Then they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month" (vv. 13, 15).
The grace of God can meet us in our greatest weakness, if only that weakness be felt and confessed.1 However, this most precious and comfortable truth should not lead us to trifle with sin or defilement. Though grace permitted the second month instead of the first, it did not allow any laxity regarding the rites and ceremonies of the feast. "The unleavened bread and bitter herbs" were always to have their place; none of the sacrifice was to remain till the morning, nor was a single bone of it to be broken. God cannot allow any lowering of the standard of truth or holiness. Through weakness, failure, or the power of circumstances, man might be behind the time; but he must not be below the mark. Grace permitted the former; holiness forbids the latter; and if anyone had presumed on the grace to dispense with the holiness, he would have been cut off from the congregation.
This certainly speaks to our age. As we pass through the pages of this marvelous Book of Numbers, we must remember that the things that happened to Israel are our types, and that it is our duty and privilege to hang over these types and seek to understand the holy lessons they are designed by God to teach.
What are we to learn from the regulations regarding the Passover, in the second month? Why was Israel so specially enjoined not to omit a single rite or ceremony on that particular occasion? Why is it that, in this ninth chapter of Numbers, the directions for the second month are much more minute than those for the first? Surely, it is not that one ordinance of God was more important than the other – they were both the same. Neither is it that there was a shade of difference in either case – again both were the same. Still, to the student who ponders this chapter, the fact must be striking that where reference is made to the celebration of the Passover in the first month, we simply read the words, "according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it." But, on the other hand, when reference is made to the second month, we have a minute statement of what those rites and ceremonies were: "They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it" (Compare verse 3 with 11, 12).
What does this plain fact teach? We believe it distinctly teaches that with regard to the things of God we are never to lower the standard because of failure and weakness on the part of God's people; but rather, we are to take special pains to hold the standard up, in all its divine integrity. No doubt, there should be the deep sense of failure – the deeper the better; but God's truth is not to be surrendered. We can always confidently reckon on the resources of Divine grace, while seeking to maintain with unwavering decision the standard of divine truth.
Let us seek to always keep this thought in the remembrance of our hearts. On the one hand, we are in danger of forgetting the fact that failure has come in – yes, gross failure, unfaithfulness, and sin. On the other hand, in view of that failure we are in danger of forgetting the unfailing faithfulness of God. In spite of everything, organized religion has failed and become a ruin; and not only so, but we ourselves have individually failed and have helped in the ruin. We should deeply and constantly feel all this. We should always bear on our spirits before God the deep and heart-subduing consciousness of how sadly and shamefully we have behaved ourselves in the house of God. It would be adding immensely to our failure were we to forget that we have failed. The most profound humility and deepest brokenness of spirit become us in the remembrance of all this; and these inward feelings and exercises will surely express themselves in a lowly walk and carriage in the midst of the scene in which we move.
"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (2 Tim. 2:19). Here is the resource of the faithful, in view of the ruins of Christendom. God never fails, never changes, and we simply need to depart from iniquity and cling to Him. We are to do what is right, and follow it diligently, and leave results to Him.
May God help each of us to give the foregoing line of thought close attention. Let us pause and prayerfully consider the whole subject. We are convinced that a due consideration of its two sides would greatly help us to pick our steps amid the surrounding ruins. Remembrance of the church's condition, and of our own personal unfaithfulness, would keep us humble; while, at the same time, the apprehension of God's unchanging standard, and His unswerving faithfulness, would detach us from the evil around, keeping us steady in the path of separation. Together, both would effectually preserve us from empty pretension on one hand, and from laxity and indifference on the other. We must constantly keep before our souls the humbling fact that we have failed, always holding fast the grand truth that God is eternally faithful.
These are lessons for the wilderness – lessons for this age; lessons for us. They are forcibly suggested by the inspired record of the Passover in the second month, a record peculiar to the Book of Numbers – the great wilderness book. It is in the wilderness that human failure fully comes out; and in the wilderness the infinite resources of God’s grace are displayed. But once more, let us reiterate the statement and may it be engraved on our hearts in characters deep and broad. The richest provisions of God's grace and mercy afford no warrant whatsoever for lowering the standard of Divine truth. If any had pleaded defilement or distance as an excuse for not keeping the Passover, or for keeping it in a way God had not enjoined, he would most assuredly have been cut off from the congregation. And so it is with us, if we consent to surrender any truth of God, because failure has come in; if in sheer unbelief of heart we give up God's standard and abandon His ground; if from the condition of things around us we shake off the authority of God's truth over the conscience, or its formative influence on our conduct and character – it is evident that our communion is suspended.2
While the heart desires to further pursue this great line of truth, we close this part of our subject by quoting the remainder of this wilderness record concerning the Passover. "But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the Passover, even the same soul shall be cat off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the Lord in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the Passover unto the Lord; according to the ordinance of the Passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land" (vv. 13, 14).
For the Israelite to willfully neglect the Passover argues a total lack of appreciation of the benefits and blessings coming out of his redemption and deliverance from the land of Egypt. The more deeply the Israelite entered into the divine reality of what had been accomplished on that memorable night – when the congregation of Israel found refuge and repose beneath the shelter of the blood – the more earnestly he would long for the return of "the fourteenth day of the first month," so that he might have an opportunity of commemorating that glorious occasion. If anything prevented him from enjoying the ordinance in "the first month" the more gladly and thankfully he would avail himself of "the second." But the man who could be satisfied to go on from year to year without keeping the Passover proved that his heart was far away from the God of Israel. It was worse than vain for anyone to speak of loving the God of his fathers; of enjoying the blessings of redemption, while the ordinance God had appointed to set forth that redemption lay neglected from year to year.
To a certain extent, may we apply all this to ourselves in reference to the Lord's Supper? Doubtless we may do so, and with much profit. Here is the connection between the Passover and the Lord's Supper: the former was the type, the latter the memorial, of the death of Christ.
There is a sentence in 1 Corinthians 5 that establishes the connection: "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." The Passover was the memorial of Israel's redemption from the bondage of Egypt; and the Lord's Supper is the memorial of the church's redemption from the heavier and darker bondage of sin and Satan. Hence, as every true and faithful Israelite would surely be found keeping the Passover in the appointed season, according to all its rites and ceremonies, so will every true and faithful Christian be found celebrating the Lord's Supper in its appointed season, and according to all the principles laid down in the New Testament regarding it. If an Israelite had neglected the Passover, even on one single occasion, he would have been cut off from the congregation. Such neglect was not to be tolerated in the assembly of old. It was instantly visited with God's displeasure.
In the face of this solemn fact, is it of no concern for Christians to neglect the supper of their Lord from week to week and month to month? Are we to suppose that the One Who declared in Numbers 9 that the neglecter of the Passover should be cut off, takes no account of the neglecter of the Lord's Table? This should have the effect of stirring us up to greater diligence in the celebration of that most precious feast wherein "we do show the Lord's death till he come."
To a pious Israelite there was nothing like the Passover, because it was the memorial of his redemption. And, to a pious Christian, there is nothing like the Lord's Supper, because it is the memorial of his redemption and of the death of his Lord. Of all the exercises in which the Christian can engage, there is nothing more precious, nothing more expressive, nothing that brings Christ more touchingly or solemnly before his heart, than the Lord's Supper. We may sing about the Lord's death, we may pray about it, we may read about it, we may hear about it; but it is only in the supper that we "show" it forth.
"And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying. This is my body, which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you" (Lk. 22:19, 20).
Here we have the feast instituted; and, when we turn to the Acts of the Apostles, we read that, "upon the first day of the week, the disciples came together to break bread" (Acts 20:7).
Here we have the feast celebrated; and, lastly, when we turn to the Epistles, we read, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one loaf, and one body; for we are all partakers of that one loaf" (1 Cor. 10:16, 17).
And again, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come" (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
Here we have the feast expounded. In the institution, the celebration, and the exposition, we have a threefold cord, not easily broken – binding our souls to this most precious feast.
In the face of all this holy authority, how could any of God's people be found neglecting the Lord's Table? Or, looking at it from another aspect, how could any of Christ's members be satisfied to go for weeks, months or more without remembering their Lord as He directed and appointed? On a few occasions, we have heard that some professing Christians regard this subject in the light of a return to Jewish ordinances, and as a coming down from the high ground of the church. Apparently, they look on the Lord's Supper and baptism as inward spiritual mysteries, believing that we are departing from true spirituality in insisting on the literal observance of these divine ordinances.
To this we simply reply that God is wiser than us. If the Lord Christ instituted the supper; if God the Holy Spirit led the early church to celebrate it; and if He has also expounded it to us, then who are we to set up our ideas in opposition to God? No doubt, the Lord's Supper should be an inward spiritual mystery to all who partake of it; but it is also something outward, literal, and tangible. There is literal bread, and literal wine – literal eating, and literal drinking. To deny this, is to deny that there are literal people gathered together. We have no right to explain away Scripture in such a way. It is our happy and holy duty to submit to Scripture – absolutely and implicitly bowing down to its divine authority.
Nor is it merely a question of subjection to the authority of Scripture. Most assuredly it is that, as we have abundantly proved by quotation after quotation from God’s Word – that alone should be sufficient for the pious mind. But there is more than this. There is such a thing as the response of love in a Christian's heart, answering to the love in the heart of Christ. Is not this something? Should we not seek to meet the love of such a heart? If our blessed and adorable Lord has appointed the bread and wine in the supper, as memorials of His broken body and shed blood. If He has ordained that we should eat of that bread and drink of that cup in remembrance of Him, should we not, in the power of responsive affection, meet the desire of His loving heart? Surely no earnest Christian will question this. It should be the joy of our hearts to gather around the table of our loving Lord, and remember Him in the way He has appointment – remembering His death until He returns. It is marvelous to think that He seeks a place in the remembrance of such hearts as ours; but so it is. How sad indeed if on any ground and for any reason whatsoever we should neglect the feast He has linked to His precious name.
Of course, this is not the place to enter on an elaborate exposition of the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. We have sought to do this elsewhere. Here we specially desire to urge on the serious student of the Word the immense importance and deep interest of the ordinance as viewed on the double ground of subjection to the authority of Scripture, and responsive love to Christ Himself. Furthermore, we are anxious to impress all who truly believe with a sense of the seriousness of neglecting to eat the Lord's Supper, according to the Scriptures. We may depend on this face: it is dangerous ground for any to set aside this institution of our Lord and Master. It argues a wrong condition of soul. It proves that the conscience is not subject to the authority of the Word of God. It shows that the heart is not in true sympathy with the affections of Christ. Therefore, let us determine to honestly endeavor to discharge our holy responsibilities to the Table of the Lord, ceasing not to keep the feast – celebrating it according to the order laid down by God the Holy Spirit.
Let us now briefly consider the closing paragraph of this chapter, which is as characteristic as any portion of the book. In it we are called to contemplate a numerous host of men, women, and children; traveling through a trackless wilderness, "where there was no way" – passing over a dreary waste, a vast sandy desert, without compass or human guide.
What a thought – what a spectacle. Millions of people moving along without any knowledge of the route they were to travel, wholly dependent on God for guidance, for food and everything else; a thoroughly helpless pilgrim host. They could form no plans for the morrow. When encamped, they had no idea when they would again march. When on the march, they had no idea when or where they might stop.
Theirs was a life of daily and hourly dependence. They had to look up for guidance. Their movements were controlled by the wheels of Jehovah's chariot. This truly was a wondrous spectacle. Let as read the record of it, and drink into our souls its heavenly teaching: "And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. at the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle, they rested in their tents. And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and journeyed not. And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the Lord they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the Lord they journeyed. And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed; whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed. Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not; but when it was taken up, they journeyed. At the commandment of the Lord they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed: they kept the charge of the Lord, at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses" (vv. 15-23).
This is a lovely picture of absolute dependence on, and subjection to, divine guidance. There was not a footprint or landmark throughout that "great and terrible wilderness." Therefore, it was useless to look for any guidance from those who had gone before. They were totally dependant on God for every step of the way. They were in a position of constant waiting on Him. To an unsubdued mind; to an unbroken will, this would be intolerable. But to a soul knowing, loving, confiding, and delighting in God, nothing could be more deeply blessed.
Here lies the real gist of the whole matter. Is God known, loved, and trusted? If He is, the heart will delight in absolute dependence on Him. If not, such dependence is insufferable. The unrenewed man loves to think himself independent, fancying himself free, believing that he can do what he likes, go where he likes, say what he likes. However, it is nothing more than delusion. Man is not free. He is the slave of Satan. It is now over six thousand years since he sold himself into the hands of that great spiritual slaveholder who has held him ever since, and who still holds him. Yes, Satan holds the natural man – the unconverted, unrepentant man in terrible bondage. He has him bound hand and foot with chains and fetters that are not seen in their true character because of the gilding wherewith he has so artfully covered them. Satan rules man by means of his lusts, passions, and pleasures. He forms lusts in the heart, and then gratifies them with the things that are in the world, and man vainly imagines himself free because he can gratify his desires. But it is a melancholy delusion; and sooner or later it will be found to be such. There is no freedom save that with which Christ makes His people free. It is He Who says, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." And again, "If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (Jn. 8).
This is true liberty. It is the liberty that the new nature finds when walking in the Spirit – doing those things that are pleasing in the sight of God. "The service of the Lord is perfect freedom." But, in all its departments this service involves the most simple dependence on the living God. Thus it was with the only true and perfect Servant that ever trod this earth. He was always dependent. Every movement, every act, every word – all He did, and all He left undone – was the fruit of the most absolute dependence on, and subjection to, God. He moved when God would have Him move, and stood still when God would have Him stand. He spoke when God would have Him speak, and was silent when God would have Him silent.
Such was Jesus when He lived in this world. As partakers of His nature – His life, and having His Spirit dwelling in us, we are called to walk in His steps, and live a life of simple dependence on God from day to day. At the close of this chapter in Numbers, we have a graphic and beautiful type regarding one special phase of this life of dependence – the Israel of God; the camp in the desert; that pilgrim host followed the movement of the cloud. They had to look up for guidance. This is man's proper work. He was made to turn his countenance upward, in contrast with the brute, who is formed to look downward.3 Israel could form no plans. They could never say, "Tomorrow we will go to such a place." They were entirely dependent on the movement of the cloud. So it was with Israel, and so it should be with us. We are passing through a trackless desert – a moral wilderness. There is absolutely no way that we could know how to walk, or where to go, were it not for that one precious, deep, and comprehensive sentence that fell from the lips of our blessed Lord, "I am the way." Here is God’s infallible guidance. We are to follow Him. "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (Jn. 8). This is living guidance. It is not acting according to the rules and regulations of men; it is following a living Christ; walking as He walked; doing as He did; imitating His example in all things. This is Christian movement – Christian action. It is keeping the eye fixed on Jesus, and having the features, traits, and lineaments of His character imprinted on our new nature – reflected back or reproduced in our daily life and ways.
This will assuredly involve the complete surrender of our will, our plans, and our management. We must follow the cloud; we must wait only on God. We cannot say, "We will go here or there, do this or that tomorrow or next week.'' All our movements must be placed under the regulating power of that one commanding sentence which we often lightly pen and utter – "If the Lord will."
May God help us better understood all this – help us more perfectly know the meaning of Divine guidance. How often we vainly imagine and confidently assert that the cloud is moving in a direction that suits our own inclination. We want to do a certain thing, or make a certain movement, and we seek to persuade ourselves, and others, that our will is the will of God. Organized religious institutions set their own budgets and attendance goals, and when they reach one or the other or both, God is thanked for doing what we have willed God to do for us. Thus, instead of being divinely guided, we are self-deceived. Our will is unbroken, and hence we cannot be guided by God, because the real secret of being guided of God is to have our own will thoroughly subdued. "The meek will he guide in judgement; and the meek will He teach His way." And again, "I will guide thee with mine eye." But let us ponder the admonition, "Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding; whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee" (Ps. 32). If the countenance is turned upward to catch the movement of God’s "eye," we will not need the "bit and bridle."
But here is precisely the point in which we sadly fail. We do not sufficiently live near to God, discerning the movement of His eye. The will is at work. We want to have our own way, and hence we are left to reap its bitter fruit. Thus it was with Jonah. He was told to go to Nineveh, but he wanted to go to Tarshish and circumstances seemed to be in favor; providence seemed to point in the direction of his will. But he found his place in the belly of the whale where "the weeds were wrapped about his head." It was there he learned the bitterness of following his own will. In the depths of the ocean, he had to be taught the true meaning of the "bit and bridle," simply because he would not follow the gentler guidance of God.
Our God is gracious, tender, and patient – always teaching and guiding His poor feeble erring children. He spares no pains with us. He occupies Himself continually about us, in order that we may be kept from our own ways – ways that are full of thorns and briars. Our loving Father wants us to walk in His ways – ways that are pleasant and peaceful.
There is nothing in all this world more deeply blessed than to lead a life of habitual dependence on God; to hang on Him moment by moment; to wait on Him and cling to Him for everything – to have all our springs in Him. This is the true secret of peace – this is true independence. The soul that can really say, "All my springs are in thee" is lifted above all creature confidences, human hopes, and earthly expectations. It is not that God does not use the creature to minister to us. We do not mean to even imply this. God does use the creature; but if we lean on the creature instead of leaning on Him, we will quickly find leanness and barrenness in our souls. There is a vast difference between God using the creature to bless us, and our leaning on the creature to the exclusion of Him. In the one we are blessed and He is glorified; in the other we are disappointed and He is dishonored.
It is eternally important that the soul deeply and seriously considers this distinction. In our age, it seems to constantly be overlooked. Often, we think we are leaning on and looking to God, when in reality, if we would only look honestly at the roots of things and judge ourselves in the immediate presence of God, we would find an appalling amount of the leaven of creature confidence. How often do we speak of living by faith and trusting only in God, when if we would only look down into the depths of our hearts, we would find a large measure of dependence on circumstances, reference to second causes, and the like.
We pray that our eye will be fixed only on the living God, and not on man whose breath is in his nostrils. Let as wait patiently and constantly on our eternal Father. If we are at a loss for anything, let our direct and simple reference be to Him. Are we at a loss to know our way, to know which way we should turn, what step we should take? Let us remember that He has said, "I am the way;" let us follow Him. He will make all clear, bright, and certain. If we are following Him, there can be no darkness, no perplexity, no uncertainty, because He has said, "He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness." Therefore, if we are in darkness, it is certain that we are not following Him. No darkness can ever settle on that blessed path along which God leads those who, with a single eye, seek to follow Jesus.
But someone may feel disposed to say, "Well, after all, I am perplexed regarding my path. I really do not know which way to turn or what step to take." If this is our statement, then we ask: "Are we following Jesus? If so, we cannot be in perplexity. Are we following the cloud? If so, our way is as plain as God can make it." Here lies the root of the whole matter. Perplexity or uncertainty is often the fruit of the working of our own will. We are bent on doing something that God does not want us to do – on going somewhere God does not want us to go. We pray about it, and receive no answer. We pray again and again, and get no answer. The simple fact is that God wants us to be quiet – to stand still – to remain where we are. Therefore, instead of racking our brain and harassing our souls about what we ought to do, let us do nothing – simply wait on God.
This is the secret of peace and calm elevation. If an Israelite in the desert had taken it into his head to make some movement independent of Jehovah; if he took it on himself to move when the cloud was at rest, or to halt while the cloud was moving, we can easily see what the result would have been. And so it will always be with us. If we move when we ought to rest, or rest when we ought to move, we will not have God's presence with us. "At the commandment of the Lord they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed." They were kept in constant waiting on God, the most blessed position that anyone can occupy. But it must be occupied before its blessedness can be tasted. It is a reality to be known, not a mere theory to be talked about. May it be ours to prove all our journey through this earthly life.
