MINISTRY AT A BURIAL
(i) VESSELS
David C.Brown
Romans 9: 23-24; Jeremiah 18: 1-4; 2 Timothy 2: 20-21; 2 Corinthians 4: 7
You will see that these scriptures make use of the thought of a vessel. A person is viewed in that way – as a vessel. It begins so attractively with the reference in Romans to persons who can be viewed as vessels of mercy. Our beloved sister whom the Lord has taken to be with Himself was a vessel of mercy. How much we who know mercy should appreciate what it is to be secured as vessels of mercy. In our sister’s lifetime there was a time when she came to know the Lord Jesus as her own Saviour, secured in that way eternally through no merit of hers, through no virtue of hers, through no particular value of hers. She was a vessel of mercy, pure mercy, and how wonderful and gracious it is and how wonderful and glorious it is. God’s glory was displayed as the scripture says “that He might make known the riches of His glory”. The riches of His glory were known upon our sister, a vessel of mercy. How wonderful! Do you, dear fellow-believer, relish the fact that you are a vessel of mercy? The mercy of God has reached you through no merit of yours and you can live and enjoy the wonderful fact that you are a vessel of mercy.
If someone is to be a vessel of mercy it means that they have to ask for mercy, they have had to plead for mercy. I am reminded of the blind men who heard that the Lord Jesus and was passing by cried, “Have mercy on us, Lord”, Matt. 20: 30. I would ask every one of us here, every person here, have you ever said that to the Lord Jesus? Have you ever said ‘I need mercy’? How vital it is. In his prayer, our brother touched affectionately on how the Lord Jesus has gone, the way that He has gone into death, the way that He has gone and borne sins; He has borne my sins, He bore our sister’s sins. We know because of that that we are vessels of mercy. But I cannot say that for everyone here – I do not know. I would only ask everyone, have you ever pleaded to God for mercy? The gospels show Pharisees who thought they were sufficiently good not to need to ask for mercy. If anyone has that kind of attitude then I would say you deeply need to call to God for mercy. There were Sadducees in the gospels, who did not believe in the resurrection. If anyone is blinded by these things, they should appreciate that it is blindness and simply plead to God for mercy, and plead to the Lord Jesus for mercy. I would commend that to everyone, that no one should leave this room without being a person who in their heart has cried to the Lord Jesus for mercy. Everyone will be secured in this way as a vessel of mercy. What glory there is that is upon a vessel of mercy; God’s glory will be displayed in them eternally.
The reference in Jeremiah has often been brought together with the one in Romans. Here we have the work of God, and how beautiful and precious it is as we think of our beloved sister to think of the work of God in securing and forming this vessel. Now the vessel, the clay here, it says first of all was marred, it was spoilt. With each one of us there is that sinful nature that God cannot act on. He cannot make anything of it, He cannot produce a vessel that is for His glory out of our own sinful nature. But He is able and prepared to work with us to make with us a vessel that is for His testimony. Our sister had that part, a vessel for His testimony. Think of the way in which He has worked until now; so far as what is moral in her is concerned, it is absolutely complete, so far as what is spiritual is concerned, it is complete and that completed vessel will shine eternally.
The scripture brings in numerous references to vessels. There are golden vessels, copper vessels, and others and in each of them you could think of the work of God. But the thought of the Potter is exceedingly attractive to me because, from observing a potter, he does not use tools or instruments, he uses his hands. We have known that in the past year; the hand of God was upon our sister in her formation in completion of the work. But not only in the past year, in every moment, He had His hand upon her. In a way this was so even before she came to know the Saviour, because He is a preserver of all men. But then she came to know Him and He began to form a work with her. That was a wonderful work, and it is complete now; it is complete and exactly according to the will and pleasure of God. How wonderful it is to think of what God had in mind. And the work of the Potter involves some pressure. You see that in the pressure our sister went through, not only in the last year. You might well say, Why did she have to go through these pressures – in her mind and spirit especially – why did she have to go that way? It was His hand that was upon her, it was the hand of One who loved her best upon her. It was His hand that allowed, ever caused, these pressures upon her. The hand that was loving her was the hand that was forming her so that she is now in that glorious completed condition so far as what is moral and spiritual is concerned.
Now a vessel is to be useable, it is to be serviceable and our sister was also serviceable. That is why I referred to Timothy because it brings in another thought – a vessel to honour. Our sister was not going to receive this world’s honours. This world was not going to put its honours upon such a one, but in the sight of God she was a vessel to honour. Now that was in a particular way because she had taken a place, “if therefore one shall have purified himself from these, in separating himself from them, he shall be a vessel to honour”. She took her place in the testimony of the Lord Jesus distinctly. She remembered His Name; she was there a vessel to honour in the place that she had taken. Now it is for us each to see whether our relationships are in that line, a vessel to honour, serviceable to the Master, serviceable in the support of the testimony of the Lord now, serviceable in the support of the glad tidings, serviceable to the people of God, serviceable to our neighbours, serviceable under the Lord’s hand. That brings in testimony to what He is. Well, that was her service and the service that she had here is complete, the work is complete.
Just a final thought from Corinthians, about the way in which she acted and operated in a vessel that is an earthen vessel. For us all, our body is a vessel that is going to come to its end. There is a scripture, that affected me greatly as I was by her bedside, at the end of Ecclesiastes, which says “or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain” (12: 6). The time came – in the grace of the Lord it was very gentle, very tender – but the time came when what was earthen was shattered, was broken and no longer available to us. But there had been a treasure in that earthen vessel. So that we do not discard it, we have care, we have interest even in her body. That body in which she suffered was the body in which the glory of God shone, the body in which all these workings out were secured, and that body, that earthen vessel, is not discarded. We would take care of it, and be careful in going to the grave, careful in burying it, careful in committing it to the Lord Jesus. He is going to have His eye upon it. From the very beginning, as the Psalm puts it, “Thine eye did see my unformed substance”, Ps. 37: 16. Before even she was born the eye of God was upon her unformed substance and His eye is going to be upon her body, and in due time, His time – may it be soon – there will be a transformation. She will be transformed, we will be transformed, she will be raised and she will be suitable. That precious moral and spiritual vessel that we have been speaking about will shine in what is no longer an earthen vessel. It will shine in a vessel, a body of glory, that suits it. We look forward to seeing her then, we look forward to being with her then, but most of all we look forward to seeing the Lord of whom we sang:
How bright, how gladsome will His advent be (Hymn 213)
We look forward to that: to be with Him, to see Him, to be transformed by that experience of seeing Him. May we be encouraged in these things. I trust that there is comfort in them and establishment. But I would trust too that there is something that would challenge every heart here, so that there should be what is for the Master in the time when we are here.