SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT
SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT
JT I had in my mind particularly the words in the 11th verse: “Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he come hither”. I suggested the whole passage because I believe the Lord may help us to see the bearing of the anointing; only I desire that there should be exercise about those words in connection with our coming together on the first day of the week; we are not to sit down, so to speak, until He comes.
Perhaps a feature of the general declension is seen in professed Christians sitting down in an outward order of things which does not admit of spiritual movement. People come and go without any thought of spiritual movement; whereas, the thought in coming together week after week is that there should be an exercise in waiting on the Lord, so that he is apprehended as with us. I think that is what marks those who know the Lord in the assembly, and those who do not; the former are marked by spiritual movement; the latter are not. There is a ready-made system of things in which people sit down and that is the end of it. Whereas the position of the assembly here in the absence of the Lord implies that there is to be movement. It is a significant fact that the Lord Himself coming in among the disciples after He arose, is not seen as sitting, but standing.
Ques What do you mean when you say that we are not to sit down until He comes?
JT That there would be an exercise, a waiting, an expectancy.
WK I was wondering if you meant that [p. 69] there would be the power of recognition when He does come in.
JT Exactly so. The passage here shows that David was recognised when he came in. The prophet had the right thought in this respect; they were not to sit down until he had come in.
Ques Would you say this company was sanctified?
JT They were outwardly sanctified, but in spite of that, there was the recognition of natural features, even by the prophet, for he took account of the firstborn first, as if the anointing was to be on the line of nature.
Ques You spoke of the Lord being presented in the Gospel as not sitting down. What do you mean by that?
JT It suggests that there was something beyond, into which He would lead them. Viewed from the divine side, as in Hebrews 10:12, He is set down, but it does not follow that we have come to that in our souls.
WH We are led in there by Him; and this involves exercise and waiting on the Lord.
JT The Lord leads us in. After Samuel had anointed David, he went to Ramah; that is, his work was done. The firstborn may be a man goodly to look at; you have to find out that you are judging according to nature.
Rem When we sit down our expectancy is met.
JT Yes, when things are in the Lord’s hands. The point is, to bring Him in, to let Him in. His thought would be to lead us. There were no seats in the tabernacle. The principle is that we rest in the complete fulfilment of the mind of God. Ephesians 2 presents this side of the truth.
Ques Would you suggest what form the exercise would take previous to the Lord’s coming in?
JT Well, I think we are very apt to be governed by natural principles and feelings. Even Samuel [p. 70] the prophet was governed by natural principles, whereas the Lord had said to him as to Saul, “I have rejected him”. That should have been a reminder to Samuel when Eliab came before him, for Saul was head and shoulders above his brethren, and if the Lord rejected him, He was not going to accept a man because of his outward appearance.
SL I take it that we ought to be free for anyone who may be used to bring out what is of God.
JT “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him; for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart”. That is the principle that should govern us in regard to what may come before us in relation to the things of God. Then Jesse called Abinadab, one I suppose more in keeping with the divine thought, but Samuel says, “Neither hath the Lord chosen this”. The various sects in Christendom are all on the principle of nature, but this one word applies to every one of them, “Neither hath the Lord chosen this”. And so it works out in the assembly; if you come in from your own affairs the tendency is to be governed by natural principles, and the word holds good; “Neither hath the Lord chosen this”.
WK I was thinking while you were speaking that it was Eliab’s personal greatness that was presented, but that would not do. The Lord had refused it. Nature, no matter how much toned down, will not do.
JT The Lord is not going to accept what He has not chosen. He always reserves what He Himself chooses. It is not what I can present, it is what He chooses.
Ques Do you mean for a centre of gathering?
JT He chose Zion, the centre round which His people can gather. All so-called churches are built [p. 71] on the principles of nature, or what is acceptable to man’s eye; what they have chosen, not what God has chosen.
Rem Eliab would have been a remarkable man, no doubt.
JT Apparently the prophet was looking at his natural appearance; he was not thinking of God’s choice. Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. The point is the exercise that took place; they had come to a deadlock; the secret was that they were not on right lines. Samuel did not try to cover it over, he halted. Jesse’s resources are at an end, for he thought only of those seven, and the word was, “the Lord hath not chosen these”.
JM They did not take David into account.
JT He was left out in Jesse’s reckoning.
Rem It is a serious thing in the different religious systems.
JT Yes; ordinary religious procedure is on natural principles, there is no thought of waiting on the Lord, or looking for Him to come, and so after the congregation has dispersed there is not the sense that the Lord had not been there.
Ques Does not the Lord intend the memorials of His death to affect our hearts in regard to His coming in, so that we might be free from human conditions in every way?
JT One who truly loves the Lord is exercised on the line of divine choice, what God has chosen. There can be nothing according to God except what is on that line.
Ques Would it not give the meetings a living character instead of what is merely systematic?
JT It keeps us from sitting down, so to speak, too soon. You are not going to allow your spiritual senses to settle down until the One whom God chose comes in. A spiritually exercised brother would be governed by Him. You might have nice hymns [p. 72] and an outwardly correct service, and yet not a thought about what God chooses, and what is pleasurable to Him. The principle of the assembly is spiritual movement. The gospel of John is very interesting in this respect. I think the pool of Bethesda, being stagnant, and only moved when an angel comes, is the opposite of what this gospel would produce. The principle throughout is spiritual movement. The disciples inquire, “Where dwellest thou?” He says, “Come and see”, (John 1:38,39). The woman in the fourth chapter says, “Come see a man”. It is all on that line.
SL If we were exercised and expecting the Lord there would be a response to it, and we should have a wonderful time.
JT I think there is something very suggestive in Samuel’s declaration that they should not sit down until David came. In keeping with this, we are to “tarry one for another” (1 Corinthians 11:33); thus one is always exercised. The principle in Hebrews is that there “remaineth a rest” “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest”. (Hebrews 4:9,11) In Hebrews Christ is said to have sat down on the right hand of God; in Ephesians the saints are said to have been made to “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. (Ephesians 2:6)
Ques Do we anoint Him, so to speak, when He comes in?
JT We recognise Him, and accord Him His place as Head.
Rem . He is pre-eminent. We know Him by His “beautiful countenance”.
JT You can understand that Eliab would feel reproached, and then the others in succession, as Samuel said, “The Lord hath not chosen these”. Jesse was in confusion, and then Samuel says, “Are here all thy children?” And Jesse said, “There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold he keepeth the sheep”. And Samuel said unto Jesse, “Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he come hither”. It was a scene of humiliating exercise, all of which might have been avoided.
Rem They should not have left David out.
JT No. God hath said He had provided a king among Jesse’s sons, and they all should have been present. Perhaps Samuel should have enquired if all were there at the beginning.
JM We might assume the Lord’s presence without the necessary exercise; that would bring about the result we see here. The fact of our coming together does not warrant that the Lord is going to be with us, but He answers to right exercises.
WK If the Lord has presented to us His thought that we should come together to remember Him, I think we ought to count upon His presence.
JT We are entitled to reckon that He will come to us. We reckon on the Lord’s fulfilment of His promise, but that involves that there should be an exercise suitable to that promise.
Rem We ought to have it as a fundamental thing in our minds, and unless there is some positive hindrance on our part, the Lord will be there.
JT The thing is to avoid a ready-made state of things in which there is a certain religious procedure, and no waiting on the Lord in order that He might manifest Himself to us, and be with us. The pool of Bethesda was stagnant until the angel came. John’s gospel is intended to prevent such a state of things among the saints.
Rem The coming together in itself will not furnish material to go on, apart from the recognition of the Lord.
JT We have to bear in mind that the assembly is on the ground of divine choice. Christ, and all that is of Him, are to be our choice too, and all else is to be refused. If we come together on these lines,
[p. 74] we shall not admit anything but what is of divine choice. In 1 Corinthians 12:12, we learn that the assembly is included in the anointing. “All the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is the Christ”. The assembly is therefore on the ground of God’s sovereign choice. How happy to be on this ground!
Rem The recognition of the Lord’s presence is very precious.
JT I think we reach it on these lines.
Rem The exercise ought all to be on these lines; we have to get rid of natural principles altogether.
Ques Would it be right to say that if those who take the lead are led of the Lord, they will help the whole meeting?
JT I think that is how God works. As to assembly privilege, all depends upon the Lord coming in and being recognised.
Rem It is important to see that our coming together is in order that we might come into the good of the Lord’s presence.
Ques Would it not be well to have that settled before coming together?
JT Be in readiness, always remembering that God rejects what is after nature.
Rem The firstborn was rejected. Many of us would look at the firstborn; that in nature which excels.
JT But that is what God rejects. You do not recognise what He rejects. There is that which He has chosen and you accept it. Colossians helps greatly as to this feature of the truth. Nothing is to be accepted but what is “after Christ”; “Christ is all and in all”. It may be that the giving out of a hymn will lead to the Lord having His full place in the hearts and affections of the saints. When David comes in, the Lord says, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he”. It is also recorded that “he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to”. The suggestion being that there was the energy of life.
Ques How do we distinguish between looking on the countenance of the firstborn, and the One whom God has chosen?
JT Saul was a typical man after the flesh; the Lord says, as it were, ‘I will let you have the man of your choice, and I will help him in every way’. The result was known to Samuel, and yet he looks upon the countenance of the firstborn. The lesson here is to refuse the natural product, however developed it may be. Education and refinement are often deceptive in this respect. Whatever my natural abilities may be, I come to see that “the Lord hath not chosen these”. Thus I record progress in my soul’s history.
JMcF I have thought of Eliab as setting forth the principle in a State Church. They take up the ground that God is a universal Father, whereas God’s thought is that we are taken up in the Beloved. The whole point is that those taken up in the Beloved come together with Him as the centre.
JT We are chosen in Him “before the foundation of the world”, and we are “accepted in the Beloved”. (Ephesians 1:4,6) The principle of God’s choice is somewhat different from the question of acceptance. Choice is a question of God’s sovereignty; acceptance involves intrinsic value. He will not change His mind; we cannot say why He chose us, but the point is, that He did it, and He will not be diverted from it. How precious that He has chosen me!
Rem You must discern between what is natural and what is spiritual in yourself.
JT It is a thing that goes on in the Christian’s soul constantly. I have to be in line with what God chooses.
[p. 76] Rem No matter how many years one has been on the way, that principle abides.
JT When David comes in he is ruddy, that is, instead of a deadness, as in the Jewish system, Christ is known as living; and not only that, David had a beautiful countenance. The Lord showed Himself living amongst them after He arose from the dead.
Ques What is the signification of “goodly to look to” (1 Samuel 16:12).
JT I suppose it would refer to the beauty of Christ, which draws out our affections. The Psalmist spake of beholding the beauty of the Lord. To the Jews He was “without form and comeliness” (Isaiah 53), but this is what He is to those whose eyes have been opened to know Him.
Rem “My beloved is white and ruddy”. “He is altogether lovely”, (Song of Songs 5). Even the remnant in the end recognises this.
Ques What is your thought as to being anointed in the midst of his brethren?
JT It was as a testimony. The Lord Jesus was anointed as a testimony to His Person. The defect lay in the fact that Samuel was judging according to nature, but God would have him anointed in their midst according to sovereign choice. What a lesson for Jesse’s house! The Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. There is nothing recorded as to what happened after. Samuel goes to Ramah. When you come typically to Christ anointed the curtain drops. He is on the scene now as the Anointed. As the Lord has His place among us, we may leave things in His hand; but then we must be in accord with Him, so that He may lead us.