THE CONTINUANCE OF THE WILL AND SERVICE OF GOD
[p. 390] THE CONTINUANCE OF THE WILL AND SERVICE OF GOD
Ezekiel 11:16; Nehemiah 8:9 - 12; Acts 16:25 - 32
The object in reading these scriptures is to bring out how the will of God and the service of God may be carried on in spite of the most difficult circumstances in which the Lord’s people may be found. In 2 Timothy we are told from the outset the difficult character of our days. “Difficult times shall be there”, 2 Timothy 3:1 not ‘are here’, but “shall be there”, and they have come, so difficult that many hesitate to go on on account of them. Whereas these scriptures among others show that this attitude should never, and must never, be taken up by us. Not only the will of God, in the ordinary sense of the word, but the service of God must be carried on. Of course the service is included in His will, but the expression ‘will of God’ may be used, and rightly used, as less extensive than the service of God. The will of God is made much of by itself: “The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever”, 1 John 2:17. Can we assume that there are those who will abide for ever who do not in a practical sense do the will of God? It would be very precarious to labour under such an assumption. Normally a christian seeks, yea loves, the will of God. As he develops in the truth he discovers the difficulties, not only externally, but internally. Many suffer from the latter more than the former, and hence the necessity for that wonderful analysis of Romans 7, so that we may see how our internal difficulties are dealt with by God so that they should not hinder us in our progress.
As we master the analysis of Romans 7 (not only the verbal description of it, but what corresponds [p. 391] with it inwardly) we say with thanksgiving, “I myself with the mind serve God’s law”. That is the point reached; and no one is worthy of the name of christian who has not reached that point. “I myself” — a peculiarly individual experience. It is a resolve as before God, having mastery over the mind, that great faculty which God has given to us, and the resolve is to use it for the doing of the will of God, the serving of God’s law, whatever that may be. Thus one sets out on his career as a christian in the full sense of the word; he is in accord with Christ, who said that He delighted in the law of God — delighted in it: it was in His heart. And so one proceeds; it is not an irksome path, if you delight in it; there is nothing irksome in what you delight in. And all the divine Persons are available to help, so that there can be no slackening or complaint.
We have, further, the renewal of the mind; it is kept fresh. So that the path, the outlook, is inviting as thus viewed, and we prove that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. There is nothing at all in these statements to discourage, but all is inviting, normally. So that the believer’s path shines, as we read in Proverbs, more and more “until the day be fully come”. Proverbs 4:18. It is not far off.
It is a most attractive path, that is the path of the will of God. Nothing really, dear brethren, is more to be coveted than the sense of being pleasing to God. We can understand that such a path as is indicated in Romans would not entail impossibilities. Our scriptures show that the will of God may be carried through in the midst of the greatest difficulties, what the Spirit of God speaks of as “difficult times shall be there”. 2 Timothy 3:1. We say, Difficult times are here. There never was a day, I believe, of more difficult circumstances than ours.
First, in Ezekiel we get what God is to one in the path of His will — “a little sanctuary”. God can be [p. 392] that. A big sanctuary too, of course, but He comes down to what is common with us, our littleness. We constantly hear such expressions, sometimes perhaps not too sincere; but however little we may regard ourselves to be, God says, I can be just as little. The power of compression in divine Persons is one of the most interesting things in Scripture. Time would fail to enter into that subject, but the ark of the covenant suffices to remind us of the power of compression in divine Persons. One would hesitate to use the language of Christ, that the Spirit uses in the psalms as to Him. They are written for us, for the spiritual mind to feed upon, and no one can really be little according to the will of God save as nourished by that food. As one of the greatest servants, Paul, said: “Less than the least of all saints”. Ephesians 3:8. I confess I can hardly understand Paul saying that, nor do I profess to understand the Lord Jesus saying prophetically in Psalm 22:6, “I am a worm, and no man”. I speak with the greatest reverence in quoting that passage, but think of Him saying that, think of the power of compression to feel such smallness and yet God over all abstractly!
So that this passage in Ezekiel is intelligible, as God says, “Yet will I be to them”, those who were scattered abroad in all countries, “as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come”. The suggestion is most touching, as indicating what God can be to us. Time would fail, again I say, to touch on what God can be to His people, whether individual saints or many together. It is a great thing to have in mind day by day what God can be and proposes to be and promises to be to His people, and this is one of the most interesting touches, that He can be “a little sanctuary” to us. How many of God’s people are scattered and have no thought of a sanctuary at all, perhaps excusing themselves that they are too far away from the meeting places of the saints [p. 393] where God is worshipped, and they content themselves in distance. But God says, I will be something to you if you cannot get to where the saints are, as is contemplated here, “scattered ... among the countries”, away from God’s sanctuary so loved by Ezekiel, and all the saints. God says, Wherever you are, I scattered you, I know where you are; wherever you are, I will be that, a little sanctuary. So that you will never fail to have means of worshipping Me. I can come down to your littleness and be a little sanctuary to you.
Many other things, as I said, might be added. I only touch on this to show how God provides for us in the maintenance of His will and service in these difficult days in which we are, and I read in Nehemiah just to point out how this principle was realised and carried out in his day, for instance. In Daniel, too, it was carried out in Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, Daniel’s contemporaries. How a saint like Daniel, separated from his people, “scattered ... among the countries” as it says in Ezekiel, opens his window three times in the day, not once or twice, but three times, showing the thoroughness of the matter in his mind: “His windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime”. Daniel 6:10 He did the will of God. He served God, and we are told that he continued until the days of Cyrus, which is a suggestion of continuing for ever.
Daniel would suggest to us how we may go through. The point is to get through, not in any way, but in a divine way according to the will of God. So we find in the book of Ezra that they set up the altar because of the enemies; that is, the enemies afforded difficulty, great difficulty, but instead of hiding in the dens and caves of the earth as others had to do they set up the altar of God! You might [p. 394] say that altar would not stand a cannon ball. Of course not. But faith is not reckoning on those lines at all. What faith is reckoning on, as the will of God is done, is the protection of God that is there. That is the thing. Let it be armies and navies unparalleled, dear brethren, the will of God is going through. And the example here is that in spite of the enemies, these returning saints in Ezra set up the altar. Where? Anywhere? No, on its base, according to the will of God. Not anywhere. They are not now scattered in the countries, they are in Jerusalem, they are where the altar base is, and the altar is to be set up. And that is what it is today, meaning that we sacrifice. The will of God requires sacrifice, and that is the idea of the altar.
And then they proceed to carry out the requirements of the months of the ecclesiastical year, the spiritual year, for that goes with the will of God. Not the lunar or ordinary conditions here, but the spiritual year. That belongs to God; He has His own year, and they betake themselves to that year, and they hold the feast, the set feast of the Lord. They might have said, The time is not yet for these things, we have not got a house, the house is not yet built, or even the foundations of it laid. But the altar is there, the sacrifice is there, the hearts of the saints are manifestly in the thing. And hence the feast of tabernacles is held. The feast of tabernacles means, among many other things, that we love one another, we want to be near each other, in our houses, wherever we may be. Distance is abhorrent to love. The feast of tabernacles affords the opportunity for the exercise of love. And they had that feast, and all that entered into that feast, and the sacrifices; and the new moons, too. The new moon is not determined by man or his laws down here; it comes round in its time; as the sun rises, so the new moon comes in its time.
[p. 395] Well now, further, the building of the wall was another matter of great importance. The angel Gabriel tells Daniel that at a certain time in seventy weeks the street of the city and the moat or trench (or whatever it was that protected the city — possibly something more suitable for protection than a wall) should be built again, “even in troublous times”. Daniel 9:25. In troublous times. We discern what these things mean, dear brethren, as we are in the circumstances ourselves. How much have I built in troublous times? How often one might excuse oneself and say things are so difficult with me. God says the defence of Jerusalem, the moat or whatever it was, and the street of the city would be built in troublous times. The thing must be done.
And so Nehemiah has his part in all this, in the days when they had a sword and the implement for building at the same time, the enemy ridiculing them, ready to pounce on them at any moment without notice, but the building went on and went on, and it was completed! It was a question of the will of God, whatever the difficulties.
And then as to the passage read in Nehemiah I also wanted to point out the importance of brethren fulfilling the will of God and maintaining spiritual cheerfulness. Continual depression is no testimony to God. And so the ministry of the word is another thing that comes into these meetings that we have in different parts of the world. These meetings are seen in principle in this chapter. Ezra is the leading brother, and there are a certain number of brothers on his right hand and on his left hand. He is supported, which is a very important matter in these meetings. They are not a one-man affair. God is pleased to give a lead, and He is also pleased to give support. So you have two groups of brothers supporting the minister, supporting Ezra. And then the governor himself, Nehemiah, is joining in, not assuming [p. 396] to be a leader, but just a helper. A very happy thing when a distinguished man does that as God so orders it.
Well, that is what we get here. We read in verse 9 that Nehemiah and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites, said unto all the people, “This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep”. And it goes on to say, “For the joy of the Lord is your strength”. This is an important passage for holy convocations such as the present. It is not a time for depression or sadness. There are times for these things. There is a time for everything. But what is in mind now is the positive side of our position, what God affords us in the way of joy. He says, I am full of joy. “The joy of the Lord is your strength”. See what He does for us! He imparts that spirit to furnish us inwardly, to strengthen us and fit us to face the chilly blast of the north wind. We need it. It is not simply that we get instruction in these meetings. The point is that they are holy convocations in which God has pleasure and He imparts His own joy, the positive side of our position.
We were speaking recently about the silver trumpets in Numbers, how certain alarm blasts were to move the camps forward towards the east and the south; that is the positive side of things, the bright, cheerful, expectant side of things. Why should we not revel in it; God would have it so. God disengages Himself in these meetings to have part with us in joy. He loves His people; He loves them near Him and has positive joy in them, and He says, I want you to be in this. And that is what Ezra preached in Nehemiah 8. They were weeping and mourning, but it was not the time for it. There was positive blessing, and they needed to be furnished to go out into the chilly atmosphere. The passage goes on to say, “So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them” (verses 11,12).
[p. 397] They were positively enjoying the thing — God Himself embracing the occasion and imparting His own joy in His people to them! And the day was holy; there was no lightness, no natural lightness, which often marks these occasions, but holiness. These occasions are holy, and light talking and jesting are not convenient, to say the least.
Well, this important occasion in Nehemiah 8 might be called a Bible reading; that is what it was. Ezra read aloud, supported by other brethren, and they all heard; the Levites and Nehemiah, the governor, coming into it to enjoin the people to be heartily glad. These are positive things. The blast of the trumpets in the wilderness says, Move towards the east; that is hope, that is joy, the prospect of the coming in of God. And presently in that movement room is made for the tabernacle. And what does it mean? It means that there are conditions for God. That is not in weeping and sadness, but in gladness, in the hope of His coming and all that is involved in that. God says, I can come in there, it suits Me. And hence the next movement brings the sanctuary. So that we have God’s dwelling place in the sanctuary, where He is approached under these circumstances. It is a question of the testimony moving out and the saints moving out in a positive way towards the east and towards the south, enjoying God’s gladness of heart in His people.
Now I would speak of the two men in the scripture in Acts 16. Here are two men in the jail at Philippi, and in that position — perhaps the most trying circumstances, almost comparable with that of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, they carry [p. 398] on first of all prayer, the prayer meeting; that is not allowed to slip; secondly, the praise meeting, and that is not allowed to slip; thirdly, the gospel meeting, and fourthly, the Bible reading. All these (the latter, of course, is in the house of the jailor) are maintained in the most difficult circumstances. That is what I especially wish that the dear brethren here would have in mind, so that our hands should not hang down and we should not say, The time is not yet. One often hears such things. Only lately one has heard the remark, Too many meetings. Well, of course that is a possibility. But I have not experienced any such thing as too many holy convocations. If I say that, what does it mean? It means that I want to stay at home, perhaps, or maybe it is an outing. Understand, dear brethren, I am not whipping anyone, but see how readily we slip into these things and allow prayer to lapse. Maybe I am in a hurry to get to business in the morning and I neglect the reading with my family and the prayer. It is allowed to lapse without a conscience. Various excuses, of course; I must be there, or complaint will be the penalty. But then where God is working there is always a getting up early. Energy is needed. Get up half an hour earlier to have Scripture reading and prayer with your family. It may be we have a heavy Monday and do not go to the meeting for prayer! Well, they had a heavy day here, you know, but they prayed. And in prayer, they praised. That is, they had a worship meeting, a praising meeting. Heaven was not robbed. The jail did not rob heaven of its due. Why should I allow something to deny heaven of its due, to deny God of His due? These men are examples.
And then again, here is a man convicted of sin, and he says, “What must I do to be saved?” Never was a more concise and striking answer given to a repentant soul than was uttered by this voice in prison, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou” (second time) “and thy house”. The man was in Paul’s heart and Silas’ heart. “Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou” (again) “and thy house”. That second “thou” is the basis really of all these things in the household. “Thou” — the man is saved first, and then the household is brought in, showing how these men were superior to their circumstances and said just what that man needed. He had a house, and he was to be saved by himself first and then saved in relation to his house, and so he was. “He ... rejoiced with all his house, having believed in God”.
And then fourthly, as I said, the word of the Lord, the Bible reading. It is the same thing. It is the Scriptures. “The word of the Lord” is to bring in from the Scriptures ministry conveying the authority of the Lord in the house, for that is what was needed. They knew exactly. So that heaven was not robbed, and the man was saved and his house instructed in spite of the difficulties.
There is no time to say more, but we are living in difficult times, but urgent. The more the difficulties, the greater the urgency to be up and doing. The will of God must go though, and His service must go through, and we must go through, for “he that does the will of God abides for eternity”. 1 John 2:17.