THE CLOUD AND THE MANNA
[p. 29] THE CLOUD AND THE MANNA
No. 1 ... I do not think that, as a rule, saints are enough impressed with the gravity of choosing a place to reside in. In Israel’s time it was of so much importance that the ark went out of its place, and took three days journey in advance to find out a resting place for them, and in that place there were two things which could not be obtained in any other place. The one was the cloud, the other the manna — guidance and food — both now combined in the Lord. I do trust you may find both at ————. It is not always that there is much food, where there is much ministry. Food is that which feeds, and you know that often the Lord’s crumb is more than a long discourse.
There is a great deal in the way in which you enter on a new path. In the type the manna was gathered before the day began. No doubt morning prayer is a relic of this solemn exercise. I am not slighting morning prayer, but I do not think it is enough. I understand gathering manna before the sun was up, to be this — I have waited on the Lord until He assured me that He would be my continued support in this new path, even as manna for the day was obtained before the day began: it was, so to speak, in the cupboard. You can ever fall back to the way He revealed Himself to you then. You will have your troubles and your difficulties. You will see His wonders in the deep, but He will bring you to the desired haven....
The Lord be with you in this new path. The more He is to you, the better you will serve His own, and the happier you will be yourself. It is very interesting and helpful the difference between the act of the woman in Luke 7 and that of Mary in Mark 14. In Luke 7 the act of devotedness is to make much of Him here; many make sacrifices with this motive; some build a church, and the like. The act in Mark 14 is devotedness that sacrifices what would lend distinction to oneself, because He is no longer here. Deep was her grief because of the death of [p. 30] Lazarus, but the abnegation of that which claims acknowledgment with regard to herself, is the tribute of her heart to Him, rejected from the earth....