SPIRITUAL CONTEMPLATION
SPIRITUAL CONTEMPLATION
Exodus 3: 1 - 6; John 1: 14; 1 John 1: 1 - 3
I wish to speak at this time, dear brethren, about spiritual contemplation, believing that it is a real need among us; especially among young believers, the ability to sit down as illustrated in Mary of Bethany, is comparatively rare. In the Canticles the female speaker says, “In his shadow have I rapture and sit down”. Song of Songs 2:3. Sitting down from this point of view, is a posture in which we can contemplate to advantage. Unless we acquire the habit we shall not shine for Christ, for we shall not take in nor absorb the glory that is presented objectively in Christ. We all know the influence of atmosphere, how it affects us and how particularly in inanimate things, the influence of environment gives character to them, as for instance, a flower. “Consider the lilies how they grow”, says the Lord. They grow in an environment provided — “they toil not, they spin not, and yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these”. Matthew 6:29. Yet they have to be nourished from the earth, and so it is, dear brethren, that we receive from earth, for we are to take root downward and bear fruit upward. “The king himself is dependent upon the field”, Ecclesiastes 5: 9. That emphasises that we eat, for in that wonderful description of creation in Psalm 104, one of the many wonderful things we eat is bread to strengthen man’s heart and drink wine to gladden it. These have to be assimilated so that in taking in the word, as Jeremiah did, he said, “Thy words were found and I did eat them”, Jeremiah 15: 16. Ezekiel, too, ate the roll. In eating the word thus, it becomes, as it were, ourselves. When the Lord was challenged by the Jews saying, “Who art thou?” He answered, “altogether that which I also say to you”, John 8: 25. There is that which we take in by our own act, and also the effect of the external environment which is prepared of God resulting from Christ being in heaven.
Now for these things we require to sit down; we require, too, the habit of sitting down in a special sense, and so I refer to the passage in Exodus, not that Moses sat down there, for the Old Testament was not the time of sitting down, but rather standing. Our Lord Jesus Christ has led the way in sitting as in all else, but Moses turned aside to contemplate. I want the young ones to take notice of this particularly. We come to meetings, and it is wonderful the provision God makes for us; they are a divine provision, but after the meeting is over we are tested. In many instances that which came into the soul and mind is lost ere we leave the room, but the Lord’s mind is that we should retain it for an opportunity to sit down and contemplate. Moses came to Horeb, the Mount of God, an excellent position. It is well to come to hear from God; it is well to be there. It is to Moses’ credit that he led the sheep, and came to the Mount of God, as it is to ours as we draw near to [p. 365] hear the word of God, for ministry is intended to convey the mind of God, and it is well to hear it, Yet though the angel came, if he had not turned aside, how much he would have missed. He might have recorded what a wonderful thing he saw in the bush burning but not consumed. I might say to Moses, Was that all? If he had not turned aside that would have been all. Moses said, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt”. Exodus 3:3. He had determination to see the thing to the end. It was not a mere apparition but a sight, and the Lord saw that he turned aside. God takes notice of the resolve of our hearts, and there should be resolution with us as the mind of God is brought to us. We are not worthy if we do not make resolutions.
The work of God proceeded in Moses’ soul, so God says, “Moses, Moses”. Exodus 3:4. In other words Moses is distinguished in this act. He could no doubt have occupied curious ears with it if he had not turned aside. When one’s name is mentioned twice one has distinguished oneself in the eyes of God, not of men, for no one was present when God said, “Moses, Moses”. There are several instances of this sort of distinction, as for instance Abraham when he offered up Isaac; Jacob when he sacrificed to the God of his fathers; Samuel, and above all Saul of Tarsus, and may it be said of each of us as we turn aside through special interest to take account of what God says to us, for we want it all. Think of God disclosing His mind to us! Do we not want it all? Let us stop, dear brethren, to consider the wonder of it. Is it not worth thinking ever, taking bit by bit, as it were; so that as God says, “let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me”, Jeremiah 9: 24.
Now the word is to Moses, “put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground”. Exodus 3:5. In the time of the Old Testament the way into the holiest was not yet manifest, but not so with us. We are, however, apt to tread easily on holy ground with our shoes on, but if we are to apprehend things aright we must see them in relation to Christ as He is before God. We are enjoined to draw near now by the new and living way; there is no more room for the flesh now than then, but there is a wonderful provision for us to leave the flesh outside. God enjoins us to draw near, for love is intolerant of distance. I doubt much whether anyone enjoys relationship to God save him who enters the holiest. It is right to follow others, but a time comes when you have to go in yourself ‘Take off thy shoes for the place is holy’; let us never forget; we are exhorted to be sober. Then the voice goes on, “I am the God of thy father” Exodus 3:6; you see, God would impress you, as you draw near, with His relationship to you, “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Ephesians 1:3. The very lispings of the babe in Christianity are in the full light of the revelation of God, so that by the Spirit you cry, “Abba, Father”. You are in conscious relationship with God. You may say, my experience belies that, but I would say light goes before experience. The Spirit following light gives experience; be on your guard about placing experience before light. “I am the God of thy father”. Exodus 3:6. The Lord commenting on this passage makes it refer to resurrection, saying that, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. That relationship can never he taken away; it stands for ever. In the opening of John’s gospel we see one who contemplates Jesus. It was not now a burning bush. He says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. Many of us refer to that and rightly, but we overlook the next part, “and we contemplated his glory”. John 1:14. It is one thing to have the service, but [p. 367] another to contemplate how He dwelt among men. John was one of them, and he says, “we contemplated his glory”. It corresponds with what we call the holiest. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. John 1:14. They were intent to see. You see if the Lord raised the dead, you say there must be something underneath that, and I want to see it; see what is behind that power. Nicodemus says, “none can do these signs that thou doest, unless God be with him” John 3: 3. You reason backward, it is not of nature, so God is behind it.
They say, “we contemplated his glory, the glory as of an only-begotten with a father”. John 3:14. King James’ translators missed the point a bit, they say the Father, but it is not that quite. It is to bring it within the range of the youngest child, for everyone knows what an only-one with a father is. The apostles saw behind the scenes, as it were, into the shrine. What reciprocated affections there are in such relationship as that. They saw how He spoke to God, His emotion, and the effect of the relationship. How much greater this was than the signs which everybody saw! The grace of relationship — the grace of reciprocated affections — and he adds, “full of grace and truth” John 1:14. So that while He is in relationship to God, yet He is full of what man needs, and no one can serve unless he sees that in Christ. John had received of His fulness, and we must receive of it, “of his fulness have all we received”, John 1:16, the same grace and truth that is of Christ. Witness John’s epistle and gospel as a proof of it.
Now I just want to bring out the thought of life. John in his epistle says, “That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we contemplated, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life”. 1 John 1:1. “Concerning the word of life”. Now Christianity begins with absolute perfection, and all else is to come to [p. 368] that; hence, in the Word becoming flesh all is in perfection, and everything has to come to that. In the Acts, the Lord presents Himself living; that is, He placed Himself before their eyes, making it evident that He was alive; and John says, our eyes have seen it and we report to you. He is qualified to be a witness. So the Beloved develops in John’s contemplation, he is filled and can bear witness. One of the greatest things in Scripture is the thought of witness, not only what one says, but what one is. Stephen is a striking witness; his address is a witness, and he lays down himself as a witness; he was a witness. So John says, “we have seen, and testify, that the Father has sent the Son” and “we have seen, and bear witness, and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has been manifested to us ... that ye also may have fellowship with us”. 1 John 1:3. So you see how by contemplating we are able to bear witness to what we have seen, for we cannot do anything more. The thought is to bear witness to what we have seen. The need is great for quiet prayerful contemplation of what is presented, and is coming out, so that we may be extending the things, on the principle of witness, “that your joy may be full”. 1 John 1:4.