(iii) A NAIL IN A SURE PLACE

David Scougal

isaiah 22L 23,24; Luke 22: 20; Revelation 22: 16,17 ("Come")

Our brother says we can be sure. We certainly can be sure of Christ "And I will fasten him" it speaks of Christ. The prophet of old, Isaiah, saw His glory and spoke of Him. He spoke of Christ because he saw His glory. It is a wonderful thing that the prophet Isaiah, these hundred and hundreds of years before, has his eyes filled with Christ, the glory of Christ, God's Christ, God's anointed One "And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place." That fastening in a sure place will never be altered save under the hand of God. How sure we can be as to the divine system. Our brother has been speaking of it, the wonder of it, the glory of it. It goes on to say, "and he shall be for a throne of glory to his father's house; and they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house." Many sons brought to glory, oh what glory there is in the Father's house and the sons hanging on Christ, holding on to Him, never letting go! "The offspring and the issue, all the small vessels, as well the vessels of cups as all the vessels of flagons." I think that in a day of small things, of which our brother's scripture spoke, the small vessels are there too. This is not the day of the vessels of cups and the vessels of flagons. There have been these days, perhaps there still are. We know the smallness but all is hanging on Christ - vessels to be poured out, occupied, filled with Christ, ready to be poured out; we learn how to be poured out by our contact with Christ. He Himself, as we read in Luke, speaks about being poured out. It says somewhere 'learn from me' (Matt 11: 29) - that is persons who are near to Christ, persons who are holding fast the Head, learn from Him. Our brother spoke of the headship of Christ. Paul exhorts us to hold fast the Head. He does it in a different setting of the word, "And not holding fast the head" Col 2: 19, assembly persons are to be in the gain of it, enjoying the peace and the perfection of holding fast the Head and learning everything from Him, learning from Christ, not learning from the things of the world, or from all that we pass through in our occupations, but learning from Christ in these circumstances as those who belong to Him, those who form part of the assembly. All these cups and vessels of flagons suggest the individual members of the assembly, this great vessel which is for the pouring out of the praise of God. But we have to learn these things. They do not come to us naturally or just by the receipt of the gift of the Spirit, but we do receive the Spirit - and by His service we learn from Christ. Surely we get help from one another, we have ministry in many ways and through that we learn from Christ. He uses human vessels in order that we might learn from Him.

These vessels, as I said, in Isaiah 22 are for pouring out, and here is the great example in the Lord Himself in Luke 22. He says, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." We had this in the gospel on Lord's Day, the glory of what the blood can do. "Poured out for you" every issue settled in the pouring out of the blood of Christ, not an unsettled issue. We have to take this to heart, issues in our lives whatever they are, can be settled, every one because of the pouring out of the blood.

We need to learn to pour ourselves out. We need to serve one another in love. It means pouring out, giving of ourselves, of our energies, of what we are endued with. In 2 Corinthians the apostle speaks about spending and being "utterly spent", chap 12: 15. I think that gives some idea of the way in which the apostle Paul poured himself out in the care of all the assemblies, not one assembly, but all the assemblies, and all the individuals in them. How he loved these Corinthians, he knew everyone he was writing to. He had been into their houses he had been the means of their conversion. Oh the teaching there had been in the local company here! He poured himself out for it. We have had brethren amongst us who have poured themselves out to the very last days of their lives, pouring themselves out in service amongst us so that every issue can be settled and the beauties of Christ be shining amongst us to the great end that there will be a response from Christ's leading in assembly, praise and worship to God.

I suggest that in Revelation 22 we get some idea of the Lord's work complete. I read verse 16 just for the connection, it is a great thing to see "the root and offspring of David", the glory of the way the divine plan was worked out. Then he goes on to say, "the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come." Think of what that is - human vessels like you and me, sons of God, our divine calling, every spiritual blessing given to us in the heavenlies in Christ, wonderful gifts have been given to us in the heavenlies and here we are saying exactly the same thing as the Spirit. That is wonderful that we should be so wrought upon by Christ and our knowledge of Christ as holding on to Him and receiving from Him and pouring out from Him, that we are saying the same things as the Spirit would say.

May the Lord encourage us. These things are within our range. They are not glorious impossibilities. They are wonderful possibilities to be enjoyed and to be in the good of in these days, the last days. Our brother spoke about the very last days, bringing forth the headstone with shoutings. Surely that would be the concerted voice of the bride and the Spirit. The bride, the assembly, coming into its fulness here, glorious answer to the heavenly bridegroom. Beloved brethren, we are strangers and sojourners in this scene. We are a heavenly people, heavenly in origin, heavenly in destiny. The test is in between are we heavenly in our walk and our talk in our lives and in our outlooks? Well, the suggestion is here we are "the Spirit and the bride" - that is you and I, beloved brethren, we belong to the bride – “the Spirit and the bride say, Come." May the Lord bless the word!

EDINBURGH

9 May 1995