OUTLOOK
[p. 206] OUTLOOK
Genesis 13:14-18; Genesis 15:5,6; 2 Peter 1:9
I want to say something about outlook; it is a much used word. The outlook of many is dark at the present time. Sometimes the darkness arises from one’s personal circumstances; sometimes from a pessimistic disposition, which makes more of what is against it than what is for it; and sometimes from a fearful disposition. The outlook of the characteristic believer is always bright and promising. It hinges on three things — faith, hope and love. Faith and hope are grouped together; love is put over against them both — “the greater of these” (1 Corinthians 13:13). They are both great, but love is greater. It would seem as if faith and hope are of about the same value, but love is greater. Indeed, without it the other two become of little value. Without love we are nothing, that is what Scripture says; and, of course, that makes a great many people worth nothing; far more than, perhaps, many of us have imagined. Without love we are said to be nothing, a very solemn matter, because it is the divine standard. When God comes to weigh things, which He will do and is doing, there will be a standard, and that standard is Christ. Not that judgment is not graded; it is graded. You can understand that, when you receive the things done in the body in view of having a place in the kingdom, God will take great pains so that everything is accredited to one worthy of credits; but those who have no faith, who die in unbelief, and consequently have no love, are worthy of no credits; a most solemn consideration. So that it is well, if there be one here who is without love, to look into the matter. For a person with no love is nothing; in the divine realm he is nothing at all. Thus his outlook cannot be bright or assuring.
Well, the outlook, as I said, of the true christian is bright characteristically; always bright. The more [p. 207] extensive the outlook the greater the brightness; and so God begins early to teach His people to look, to acquire the habit of looking afar off. Esau represents one of those in that period who could not see afar off. Peter alludes to such as he, and states certain things that are to be added to the christian, which enable him to see things afar off. Esau did not have these. He was a twin; he and Jacob were twins. They had equal advantages, but Esau could not see afar off. He came in from the field, like a young man who has been out to the football match, tired and hungry, and Jacob was cooking. He was a practical man. Every true christian is a practical man. Jacob was cooking a meal, and Esau, who could only think of immediate material things, said, I would like to have some of the food you are cooking. Jacob saw afar off, and saw that it was his opportunity to acquire what belongs to the purpose of God; and he made a bargain with a willing man for his birthright. The commodities in that transaction were a birthright on the one hand, which looked on into the future, into eternity, and on the other hand a mere mess of pottage. Weigh those two things. Put them on the scales. Well, they were put on the scales, and Esau said to Jacob, I will have the pottage, and you can have the birthright. That was a transaction between the twins, the two brothers. The one could not see afar off, and the other could and did, and secured the inheritance; which implied the inheritance of God, which He assigns to faith.
Well, all that is preliminary, and it is for every young person here, for each of us, to inquire as to whether he has ever had such a transaction as that. Buying and selling is a very common thing, but did ever two commodities like those go into barter? Here is a mess of pottage. But what did the man say? Esau said, I am going to die; what good is the inheritance to me?. The fact is, he did not value the inheritance. Many millions of believers, who valued the inheritance, since [p. 208] that day have died. If I die as a believer I shall rise again. Faith appropriates that great fact. Esau had no thought of that at all, and yet he will be raised. How will he be raised? As the man that God hated! Think of the awfulness of being brought up from the grave as a man who not only hates God, but whom God hates! What will become of him? God will assign him as far away as hatred will have him go. Divine hatred is always right, just as much as divine love is right. “I loved Jacob.” What will God do to Jacob when he comes up? He has a fixed place in blessing. God says, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:32). He is their God; not He was. And Jacob will be raised as one whom God loves. It is a rare thing for God to speak of one particular person in this way. He says in the last book of the Old Testament, “I loved Jacob” (Malachi 1:2). It was an historical matter. There was evidence of his lovableness from the outset. He took his brother by the heel in the womb. He was a supplanter of such a man, which would be in accord with the mind of God, who, as we have noted, “hated Esau”. But He loved Jacob. All things work together for good for every one who loves God and whom God loves. Everything that happens works out for them; those who are the called according to His purpose. I have said all that because of Esau. He was short-sighted.
I turn now to Abraham; it is he whom I have specially in mind; the father of all believers. Lot was separated from him. What can we say of people who turn away from the truth? Are they worth anything? If they have not love, they are worth nothing; but as they turn away from the saints, God takes account of them, and He says, in effect, to the saints, I know you miss them; I know they cause you grief, and I want you to know I can recompense you. And so He says to Abraham, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where [p. 209] thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward”.
I want to stress the idea of a long outlook. We are today in the presence of great pressure, great sorrow; the most sorrowful time one has experienced. It is a time of great sorrow. God intends it to be that, but one intent in what is transpiring is that God’s people should look a long way ahead and see the end of all things. Scripture stresses much the end which God has ordained. James says, “the coming of the Lord is drawn high” (James 5:8); and Peter says, “the end of all things is drawn nigh” (1 Peter 4:7). And again, “For yet a very little while he that comes will come, and will not delay” (Hebrews 10:37). The end is stressed. Well, if it be stressed, why not look out for it? That is looking forward a long way. What is going to be the end of all this distress? God has His end. He has everything scheduled, and all is on His calendar. Nothing happens without Him. The sparrow does not fall without God; how much more a soldier on the battlefield? Or a seaman at sea? God has everything under His hand. The point is to learn to have a long look-out and see what is in mind. It does not matter what is in the minds of statesmen, for at best they do not see things clearly. The christian only can see a long way off. An unconverted man cannot see a long way off. As christians we should cultivate the habit of taking a long outlook. Get up as high as possible. You will remember how the angel took the prophet John, as he tells us in the book of Revelation, to an exceedingly great and high mountain to show him the heavenly city. It was worth showing and worth seeing. In the wilderness he saw the false city, but the heavenly is seen from a great altitude, seen in all its glorious features.
That is the principle as to Abraham. God says, Lift up your eyes and look northward, southward, eastward, and westward. And Abraham did so. God [p. 210] says further, Whatever you see is going to be yours. Notice that. If you become depressed, lift up your eyes. God would lead you out to see all that He intends to give you. “Things which eye has not seen, and ear not heard, and which have not come into man’s heart, which God has prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). God says, Are they not worth looking at? They are going to be yours. But notice: What your eyes see will be yours. You say, Is that all I am going to have? If that be so, some of us will not have very much, for our outlook is usually contracted. I am speaking of what is for the believer’s enjoyment at the present time. What you see is yours. We often think too much of current happenings, and our vision is so short that we do not see beyond them. Of course, we cannot wholly ignore current things, but we must not allow them to becloud eternal things. There are limits, of course. Even the inheritance that God assigns to us is not infinite; it is finite, but it is extensive and we are to look as far as we can. It is a question of the land, and each is to look as far as he can over the land. Look in all directions of the compass, and what you see will be yours. That is a present reality. Even although I have not visited the place, I can see further than my feet have travelled. What a comfort that is. Yes, that wealthy land, we will say it is the valley of the Jordan, a rich territory, say it is Carmel (Carmel was a fruitful place on the coast of the Mediterranean) and all other rich parts of the territory — well, it is mine. If I can see it, it is mine. That is what God says. I do not need all that, Abraham might say; I have not an heir. What good is all this territory to me, if I have not an heir? God says, You are to have not only an heir, but a countless seed; if you can count the dust of the earth then you can count your seed. You will have plenty of family companionship. Abraham would value that. It is said that he dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob. You say, Why not Esau? Well evidently Esau was not [p. 211] available. He was a fleshly-minded young man, and Abraham was a spiritually-minded father. It is most sorrowful if a father cannot have companionship in a young son or daughter — he being spiritual, and the young one carnal. Abraham did not have companionship with Esau, but he did with Isaac and Jacob. If he had a million like them he would dwell with them also. God impresses upon him, You will have an immense family. Throughout the north, south, east and west of the land they would be seen as the dust of the earth for numbers.
Well, now, we come to Genesis 15, where we have the heavens; and I would point out that the chapter begins with “the word of Jehovah”. It is the first time you get the expression; not that what He said to Abraham in chapter 13 was not this; but the word of God coming in formally has a certain meaning. “For the word of God is living and operative, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, both of joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). God now speaks to Abraham by His word, the word of Jehovah, and in a vision, implying, I believe, that Abraham is progressing in the truth. As spoken to in vision he is not diverted by external things; he is abstracted from natural conditions. Thus God can speak to him now wholly as He would wish to. It is all by divine arrangement. It is now to be God’s word, and surely it will be so in Abraham’s heart. “Thy word have I hid in my heart” (Psalm 119:11). The word of God has a great place in that sense; it has a great place morally. That is the point in chapter 15. It is a question of vision and the word of God. God says, Look up and count the stars, if you can. You say, Well, what is the difference?. You cannot count the stars and you cannot count the dust of the earth. I would rather count the stars, if they are countable. It is more interesting work. Every one of them contains [p. 212] something that encourages me. Dust in itself cannot encourage me at all; but God can make dust to live; and He did. The dust of Egypt was made to live. Gnats were made out of the dust, and the magicians of Egypt said, We cannot do that; we can imitate Moses and Aaron to a point, but we cannot produce life. Thank God! God does that. Man cannot do it.
As to the stars, every star as made has glory. To count things that have glory is educational. As so engaged I am likely to take on their glory. It is a remarkable suggestion, an opportunity for the taking on of glory; “for star differs from star in glory” (1 Corinthians 15:41). What a field for the eye of faith! We can look away from this poor earth and its happenings. Abraham lived in a time of a great war; four nations against five. He did not join either; but he rescued Lot. That represents the fight of faith, and that, dear brethren, belongs to us; fighting for our brethren. The Lord says, “All who take the sword shall perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52): that is not the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. If I take this, I can use it. It is living and operative. So God said to Abraham, Count the stars. As I look on every face here, there is not one like the other. That is like the stars; “for star differs from star in glory”. In one sense we are all alike, and will be in glory, but everyone will be distinguishable; and so it is with the stars; “for star differs from star in glory”. That is how we shall be eternally. Think of the millions of glories shining in the saints!
Genesis 13, I believe, alludes to Abraham’s earthly family, and chapter 15 to the heavenly. Paul later says, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named” (Ephesians 3:14). He knows all the stars, and all the earth is His. The Lord Jesus, when He comes in glory by-and-by, as He says Himself, will sit down on the throne of His glory, not simply a glorious throne, but the throne of His glory.
[p. 213] And all the nations shall be gathered before Him; certain on His left hand called goats, and certain on His right hand called sheep. And He says to the sheep: “Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the world’s foundation: for I hungered, and ye gave me to eat; I thirsted, and ye gave me to drink ... (Matthew 25:34,35). And He says to the goats, You did not do this. “Depart from me.” You did not come to Me when I was sick. They did not have love. There will be those on earth presently called saved ones; the nations of those that are saved. They will all be known to God; as He says to Abraham, If one can count the dust of the earth, your seed also can be numbered. Thus God brings us into great things as to the number of persons of the seed of Abraham.
In Genesis 15 it is the stars. That is, as I understand it, the heavenly family. And Abraham would have a long outlook; he could look into the distance. As possessed of faith, God gave Abraham power to look up into the heavens. “By faith we apprehend that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:3). It is by faith, not by telescope. God is speaking of persons when dealing with the stars. Look down the line of Abraham and think of the glorious persons; “this man was born there” (Psalm 87:6). Think of the Lord Jesus. The great Sun of the moral universe is in the family of Abraham. He is the Root and the Offspring of David. Think of how luminous, how glorious He is! “I Jesus” (Revelation 22:16). Does it appeal to you? He says, “I Jesus ... I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star”. Does this appeal to your heart? It ought to. Abraham could see that; he had faith for it. The Lord Jesus says, “Your father Abraham exulted in that he should see my day, and he saw and rejoiced” (John 8:56). He was able to look down the line, and see that great Luminary, the Lord Jesus.
[p. 214] Well now, I have spoken about Esau and how short-sighted he was; and how long-sighted Abraham was, and what a testimony to this were the Lord’s own words about Abraham. You say, How did the Lord know it? He says in the same section, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). Let us all have in our souls the truth of the Person of Jesus; who He is. Who do men say that He, the Son of man, is? Relatively, His Name is seldom mentioned with reverential respect in the world. The profane way in which His precious Name is dragged into the gutter by filthy mouths is distressing to those who love Him. Heaven hates it. The name of Jesus is taken in vain, desecrated, blasphemed. We read in the Scriptures of those who blasphemed the excellent Name; a terrible sin. So, as I said, let us get into our souls the truth of the Person of Jesus. He says, “Who do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matthew 16:13). The disciples answered that some said one thing, and some another. But He says to them, “But ye, who do ye say that I am? And Simon Peter answering said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (verses 15,16). He does not say, The eternal Son. That is a word in the creed, but not in Scripture. But He says, “Before Abraham was, I am”. Who is the Creator of the world? You say, God. Yes. But who is the actual Person? Jesus. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things received being through him, and without him not one thing received being which has received being” (John 1:1-3). Jesus was the Person who took Abraham out and told him to look at the stars. Jesus, unquestionably. Who made the world when wisdom was there? “When he prepared the heavens I was there; ... when he appointed the foundations of the earth” (Proverbs 8:27-29). Who was the Creator? Wisdom did not create the world. The actual Creator was the Lord Jesus; the Jehovah of Proverbs 8:22; the “he” of verses 26 to 29. Let us [p. 215] get these facts into our souls. They will make men out of us as we believe them. “Before Abraham was, I am”. Not, I was. He is the eternal I AM. Essentially, He lives outside of time. He made time and has come into time, but abstractly, as in Deity, He is where there is no time. We cannot talk of time in the uncreated condition of things where God is. He has come into the created sphere, but nevertheless “dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor is able to see” (1 Timothy 6:16). You say, That is before Jesus became Man. No, He is God (1 John 5:20). “No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18). Let us have the truth of His deity in our hearts. He has come into time in manhood; but He is the same Person, unchanged and unchangeable, that is Jesus.
I have said all that as speaking of what the Lord said about Abraham, “Your father Abraham exulted in that he should see my day, and he saw and rejoiced”. Abraham was able to look into the future and see Jesus. At least, it is accredited to him that he saw Him. Then the Lord says, “Before Abraham was, I am”. Not, Before Abraham is I am, but, “Before Abraham was, I am”. That implies Deity. So that we must have the Lord before us in a worshipful way, in a reverential way. Like the magi that came from the east; they came to worship Him as born; as a Babe they came to worship Him. “Where is the king of the Jews that has been born?” (Matthew 2:2). Let us get that worshipful thought into our hearts. Keep it all the time; always ready to bow down and worship the Lord. Jesus is to be honoured as the Father is to be honoured. That is what He says Himself. Well, you say, what about the eternal Son — I have always believed that. Putting sonship, beloved friends, into pre-incarnate Deity is not right. It is not scriptural. The creed says, ‘ Begotten of the Father before all worlds ‘. Now analyse that statement. He is not begotten at all before all worlds. He is God before all worlds. He is begotten in time. “Thou art my [p. 216] Son: I this day have begotten thee” (Psalm 2:7). That is time, not eternity. You will pardon me for a little digression, but I see the importance of having the deity of Jesus before us. “For in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Everything attributed to the Father, every honour accorded the Father, must be accorded to the Son, or we have not the truth of the Person of the Son in our hearts. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father)” (John 1:14). Why does it not say that in the earlier verses? Scripture is infinitely accurate. It is as having become flesh that it is said of Him that He was contemplated and seen as an only-begotten with a father.
As we come to Peter, we have this confirmed. He speaks to us about things to be added, which give us long sight. “But for this very reason also, using therewith all diligence, in your faith have also virtue, in virtue knowledge, in knowledge temperance, in temperance endurance, in endurance godliness, in godliness brotherly love, in brotherly love love” (2 Peter 1:5-7). Notice these additions to faith, to add to your faith. You begin with faith, then virtue, knowledge, temperance, endurance, godliness, brotherly love, and then love. Then he says, “for these things existing and abounding in you make you to be neither idle nor unfruitful as regards the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; for he with whom these things are not present is blind, short-sighted, and has forgotten the purging of his former sins” (verses 8,9). This is the word for us in a practical way, possibly involving a rebuke to our souls. We cannot see afar off. A young man or a young woman may be unable to see beyond his or her local matters, perhaps only immediate temporal matters. You may say, Things are dark. Well, lift up your eyes; it is bright beyond. If you are a believer your great property is beyond. Your life is not in the temporal things you possess; it is not even in your [p. 217] business or family or acquaintances. It is beyond; it is above; therefore lift up your eyes. Learn to do it. You may inquire, What shall I see? Well, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews would say, “we see Jesus” (Hebrews 2:8). That is what faith can see. The writer of the Hebrews says that; he says it about himself and others. Where do we see Jesus? “Crowned with glory and honour” (verse 9). Stephen saw Him there. If Stephen were looking around only at the immediate environment, what would he see? Stones flying at him from here and there, and those who cast them. Terrible! But he did not look that way at all. He found a place for kneeling and knelt down. He says, The heavens are opened to me. “Lo, I behold the heavens opened” (Acts 7:56). Oh, you say, that is Stephen. Of course it is, but is there not some little way in which I can see what he saw? What do I see inside the heavens? Stephen says, “Lo, I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God”. What else would I see? The glory of God. Is the glory of God in those stones? Not a bit. The devil was in those stones, forcing the precious life out of the martyr’s body. “And they stoned Stephen” — and what was he doing? “Praying, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (verse 59). What were they doing? Servants of the devil, they were forcing his life out of his body. What was he saying? “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (verse 60). How glorious! That was Stephen. Was he just looking at the stones? No. He was looking up; he had a long outlook, looking into glory. He said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. Perhaps the Lord never received one with more delight. That spirit was received by the Lord Jesus. Stephen was His martyr. Paul, that great servant, later said, “And when the blood of thy witness Stephen was shed, I also myself was standing by and consenting, and kept the clothes of them who killed him” (Acts 22:20). I am speaking of Stephen’s outlook. I would say, think of that — [p. 218] what you may see up there; what I see on the principle of hope. Hope is based on promises and on counsels of God. “Hope does not make ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). What is there to be hoped for? We are hoping for sonship. That is what you get in Romans 8. We are hoping for the resurrection. Paul says, “To which our whole twelve tribes serving incessantly day and night hope to arrive” (Acts 26:7). And they will come to it; and so ourselves. What a hope! The hope of the resurrection. The Lord Jesus will come from heaven with archangel’s voice, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, and then we shall be changed and caught up to be for ever with the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17). That is hope, is it not? Hope is an immense thing to have; hope of the resurrection. It is victory, as the Lord Jesus says, “Behold, the devil is about to cast of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give to thee the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
As things seem to be dark, look out at the great circumstances of hope, the great circumstances of love. Find out the centre of love. The centre is in heaven. The love of God is made good down here, shed abroad in the hearts of the saints by the Holy Spirit. Love is the greatest of all, says the apostle. If we have that in our hearts, the radius becomes greater and greater. The radius of love is eternal; the radius of hope, of course, has a limit, because when the hope is realised there is no more need for it, but love realised is eternal. It is the greatest of all qualities. I am speaking now of the radius of hope. If my circumstances are dark today or tomorrow, look out into the distance, into the realm of promise, into the realm of counsel. It is hope that makes not ashamed, because of the love of God in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
[p. 219] Over against all that there is the solemn fact of which Peter speaks, “he with whom these things are not present is blind, short-sighted, and has forgotten the purging of his former sins”. That is to say, if we are lacking those things, we have a short outlook, so short that we even forget that our sins are forgiven us. How terrible that plight would be! A man who once rejoiced in the forgiveness of sins has forgotten it and is plunged back into the darkness of unbelief. That really is the end of those who separate themselves from the realm of faith, hope, and love, the principles of fellowship. Such become short-sighted, whereas in the Spirit we shall never have dark days. We always have relief in looking outward, to the east, west, north or south, of the great realm of divine purpose in the heavens. There are three mentioned, but there are countless heights beyond the numbered heavens. The uncreated realm of God cannot be measured. Let us look off in that direction.
Pages 220-407 — “The Second Established”. Readings on Job and other Ministry, Canada, 1941 (Volume 155).