ENSAMPLES TO THE FLOCK
ENSAMPLES TO THE FLOCK
The Apostle Paul constantly gives himself as the model of the truth which he inculcates. “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4: 9), is the language of a true ensample to the flock. To be an ensample is not confined to a gifted teacher, but it refers to every one interested in the welfare of the people of God. All who, from love to the Lord, addict themselves to the ministry of the saints are required to be ensamples, or types, in order that their services may be effectual. The guide or type must be in advance of those whom he desires to lead, otherwise there is no value or advantage in the leading, for there is no true leading. In this world of misery the greatest [p. 124] among you is he that serveth, but I cannot serve when I am practically contrary to what I advocate.
It is important to see that it is only as one is brought practically under the power of the word that one can insist on its reality. Thus the unbelieving husband can be won by the effect of the word on his wife, without the word. How else can its reality be proved? It is quite different from angelic ministry. The angels delivered a message which related to man, another and different class of being to themselves. The guide or type now is of identically the same order; and hence if he does not represent the truth he avows and desires others to accept and maintain, he would not only fail in being a type of it, but he would contradict it. He would convey this the more vigorously he advocates it, that it is not effectual, simply because it has not an effect on himself.
Let us admit our responsibility. We are called to be lights in this world, holding forth the word of life. This is general, but the moment we, by act or word, take any place of prominence, most blessed when in true interest for the well-being of the flock, it is ineffectual or worse if not supported, and our title to it assured, by moral weight. By moral weight I mean the effect of the word of God on me, and how I am governed by it. If it does not govern myself, who avow that I have accepted it, how can I expect it to sway those whom I desire to accept it?
The real thing which constitutes a leader or type is that he is more practically under the power of the word than the rest. If this be wanting in a guide, then he is not a type or ensample, and he has assumed a position which misrepresents the truth, and those who attach themselves to him declare very plainly that he is the type they value; like priest like people. Alas, very often the congregation too plainly indicate the character of their chosen guides, but then the guides suit them naturally. There are the guides or leaders for the most part in all the denominations. Once you know the leader, you can describe the tenets and general practice of his followers.
[p. 125] There is this tendency everywhere. But when the Lord is working, He raises up here and there guides who are types or ensamples, men so under the power of the word of God that their manner of life is the real corroboration of the truth which they advocate, and who can really say practically to their brethren around them, “As I do, so shall ye do”. In 2 Timothy 3, Paul adds to his “doctrine” his “manner of life”. As I have said, to be a guide, a man should be morally in advance. The man of the greatest surrender in the company, and the one most ready to suffer for his brethren is the leader, or ensample, in the true sense of the word.
It is interesting to notice how one can become a type or example. The only way is, that the least shall be greatest. Many have sought it in other ways, and consequently have failed. Some, like Ananias and Sapphira, have sought prominence by untrue representations of their sacrifices for the Lord. Others again, like Simon, hoped to obtain it by paying for it. These in their varied modifications are the springs of all the natural leaders in christendom. The one who can bear to be reduced most, to be the servant of all, is the real type, and this man will not be accepted and followed by any who have no taste for the heavenly path. How did the apostle when he suffered from the false guides in his day confound and supersede them? By showing that he suffered in every way more than they had done. It is the very opposite way in christendom. The more a man advances among men, and the more approved he is because of his natural gifts, the more he is placed in the front, for honour, not for suffering. The leader can never lead beyond himself. A man may press his idea very vigorously, but in his own mind he is not beyond it, and he cannot lead any one beyond it. Hence the leader according to God is only so in proportion to his separation from the world which suits man, while seeking and cultivating what suits God according to His word. The body is not light unless there be no dark part (see Luke 11). If there be a dark part,
[p. 126] it is a refracting medium to the fullest truth, most fervently received, at once baulking and diverting it, as when Isaac, because he loved venison, would have diverted the blessing from Jacob to Esau. Hence the apostle says in 1 Corinthians 13, that though he had everything, and had not charity — self-government according to Christ, it would profit him nothing. It is only thus that one is “as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light”. No one can really be a type or ensample in this scene of darkness, but as he is a body of light. The great evidence or proof of grace is that it has mastered me, and has routed the dark part, the particular hold or citadel of my nature, where my idol is; and if that has not been conquered, and its place occupied by the stronger man, there is a lack of moral weight about me. I am not governed by grace where I most need it; how then can I guide others when I am not ruled myself?
Here Noah betrayed his inability to rule others, when he was overcome by wine. If I am strong in the Lord, I can say, “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any”. The way leaders or guides are tolerated and followed while marked by some glaring inconsistency only declares the sort of leader that suits their followers. The terrible anomaly is that men are recognised as leaders because of natural power, and hence truly they are the type of those who follow them, but are not guides according to God. It is easy to discover the lack in a congregation or company by acquaintance with those who lead them. In critical times especially, great responsibility rests on those who assume to lead. See how Timothy was exhorted to be an example. “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine”. And Titus, “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity,
[p. 127] sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you” (chapter 2: 7, 8).
Some will ask what is to be done when saints are led wrongly. How can you prevent it, or how can you help them? The answer is plain. The man of real self-sacrifice, like David’s mighty men, will come to the rescue; or the solitary one, like Moses, who confides in God, will arrest the apostasy; or, like Phinehas, a priest with a javelin, zealous for his God, will stay the plague. No man can really help the church in a day of difficulty who is not a man of self-sacrifice and abnegation of the world. A man who cannot refuse the king’s meat when within his reach will never be able to face the burning fiery furnace. It is simply impossible for the man advancing in the world, or retaining his status in it, to be an ensample to the flock. Is it not plain that if he be accepted as one, and alas such often are, he is imitated in that which mostly characterises himself, and the judgment of the Lord must overtake him? “Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened”, Zechariah 11: 17. In the day of battle, and surely this is one, the enemies are many, every soldier is called to the front, and the true ensample, the one who counts not his life dear to himself, is the safest and most useful. But the great moral abnegation necessary for this is not the growth of a moment. “There separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains”, 1 Chronicles 12: 8. May every man in the front be thus in heart and purpose for the Lord in this day, for His name’s sake!