THE KING AND THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN (GOSPEL PREACHING)
[p. 277] THE KING AND THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN (GOSPEL PREACHING)
I desire to say a few words in regard to the King and the virtuous woman. I think I may be able to show that they go together; that is, God’s King, who is Christ, and the virtuous woman, who is the assembly, are bound up together. The book of Proverbs, as we know, is the book of wisdom, and it is a very fitting conclusion that we should find in the last chapter an expression of wisdom in the virtuous woman. The chapter to my mind agrees in a sense with the teaching of 1 Corinthians and Ephesians. In 1 Corinthians you get Christ as wisdom. He is said to be the wisdom of God and the power of God. Whereas in the epistle to the Ephesians we are told that the all-various wisdom of God is now witnessed in the assembly by the angels. So in the ending of God’s ways, all of which set forth wisdom, you get wisdom expressed livingly. First of all in Christ, and, secondly, in the assembly.
Now to my mind it is a most interesting chapter in that way; for king Lemuel undoubtedly alludes to Solomon. Solomon is, in a sense, the ideal king in Scripture, and it is imperative that every one should become acquainted with the king. So I feel it proper to call attention to Lemuel, taking him as alluding to Solomon, who is a figure of Christ. You will never understand Christianity until you know the King, and I think what is said in regard to this personage would convey to us who the King is. We cannot fail to see Christ in what marked this king. It says in the eighth verse, “Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction”. Now I think that this passage answers to Christ exactly. And another [p. 278] thing I would say in regard to the King is that salvation stands connected with Him.
I refer for a moment to the gospel of Luke: a gospel which, as we all know, presents Christ in relation to man. There can be no question that man in his natural state is deprived of speech, and, moreover, he is appointed to destruction. The gospel of Luke presents to us Christ as intervening on the part of man. You get that in Zacharias in the first chapter of Luke. He, by the way, was dumb; he had been stricken dumb, as you will remember, because of his unbelief; but directly his mouth is opened he speaks of Christ. As able to speak again he calls attention to this, that God had raised up a horn of deliverance in the house of His servant David; that is to say, salvation for man is connected with the King. He did not say that God had raised up a horn of salvation in the house of Abraham, nor in the house of Jacob, but in the house of David. Now that gives you a clue as to the mode by which God has effected salvation. The horn in Scripture is symbolical of power, and in this instance it refers to Christ. Christ was God’s Horn of salvation, and He was raised up in the house of the king. David was the king and God intervened in the house of David and raised up a Horn of salvation. I refer to that to show that in order to know salvation you have to become acquainted with the King. Zacharias in Luke 1 goes on to say, “that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him ... all the days of our life”. As obtaining salvation from our enemies at the hand of Christ, we should serve God without fear, all the days of our life.
I want, therefore, to call your attention to the King, and I am greatly encouraged in what is stated here of Lemuel. He was to open his mouth for the dumb in the cause of those who were appointed for destruction. Now here we get a class of persons [p. 279] that the Lord Jesus Christ intervenes for. He intervenes for those who are dumb. Can He not speak? I know of nothing that is more intensely interesting for man than the gospel of Luke, which is Christ here upon earth in manhood in relation to man before God, and I want you to place yourself, as it were, in the midst of humanity and regard yourself in that light as related to Christ. You have One that can speak. He has taken up a place in relation to man Godward and He can speak. Man is dumb. He cannot articulate naturally a single syllable Godward. He is utterly incapable of pleading his cause in the presence of God. The Lord Jesus Christ became Man, and He is perfectly capable to take up the cause of man here upon earth and plead it in the presence of God.
Now you will never understand the gospel until you see Christ in relation to man before God. Directly you do see it your heart is relieved and unbounded confidence fills it. You have a Man as Head who is qualified to speak to God in regard to you. That was what marked Christ. He can speak to man, but He also can speak to God. Everybody else is dumb. It is not that people do not endeavour to speak, but if you do, God shuts your mouth, and if you really know yourself in the presence of God, you put your hand upon your mouth. You have nothing to say; you are perfectly unqualified to speak to God. You have no footing before Him; and even if you had you could not speak. Christ can speak. The Lord Jesus Christ has taken up the cause of humanity, and in the presence of God He speaks on behalf of humanity. He speaks to God. He opens His mouth for the dumb. Have you arrived at the stage where you feel you are utterly without a word? You have nothing to say to God? The Lord takes your place. He opens His mouth for the dumb. He takes up man’s cause in the presence of God and [p. 280] pleads it; so that man is perfectly represented before God and man’s cause is taken up by One perfectly qualified to deal with it. I repeat that you will never understand the gospel, neither will you understand your place before God, if you do not see that Christ as Man has taken up man’s cause and glorified God in every respect in regard to it. So in that sense God is indebted to man for glory; that is, to Christ.
Then it says, “in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction”. I need not say that that refers to man. It may be that you are not aware of the fact, but it is true that you are appointed to destruction; this is what Lemuel was to do. And, moreover, it says, “Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy”. I cannot enlarge upon these things, but I commend them to you that you might understand how these things are seen perfectly in Christ. He takes up the cause of those who are appointed to destruction. Has He not taken up our cause? The Lord Jesus Christ took man’s place as appointed to destruction. He took up your cause and mine before God. He went to Calvary. He went to the cross, and there He exhausted the judgment. The judgment that was duly ours He took upon Himself vicariously as man. The judgment that lay upon us who were appointed to destruction, the Lord Jesus Christ has borne. And now our place, the place of the believer, is assured by His place in the presence of God. I do wish I might be able to convey to every heart here the position that Christ occupies at the present moment before God in relation to humanity. Directly it enters into your heart you have light, you have confidence. Peter tells us that God “has raised him from the dead and given him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God”. Directly you see that the One who took your place on the cross has been taken up by God, and placed in heaven in [p. 281] glory, your heart is filled with confidence in God. Your faith is in God. You say, ‘If He has taken that One and put Him in highest glory, what doubt can I have henceforth, what difficulty can I have henceforth? The place He has given Christ is my place, the favour towards Christ is the favour of God toward me’. It is so magnificent, so transcendent, that our hearts are slow to take it in; but the place that Christ has in heaven now is the measure of the believer’s place in the presence of God. You all remember what David said as to Mephibosheth, “that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake”. Jonathan was related to Mephibosheth. Now I repeat that you will never rightly understand the gospel until you see there is a link between Christ and man. There was a link between Jonathan and Mephibosheth, a link of relationship; so the position of Mephibosheth in the house of David depended upon David’s thoughts of Jonathan. And what is your position before God? What does it depend upon? It depends upon God’s thought of Christ. There is a link between Christ and you. There is no link between Christ and us on the ground of the flesh, but there is a link between Christ and us in this respect, that Christ is a Man. He is not an angel, He is a Man. The Lord Jesus Christ is a Man, and you have a claim upon Christ because you are a man. You are entitled to Him. He is available for you; not for angels, but for man. He is a Man, and hence there is a link between Him and you, for He is Head of every man. Directly it enters into your soul it gives you confidence because you think of that Man who heads humanity in the presence of God and every one has title to Him. So your footing in the presence of God is based upon Christ as Man in His presence, as having died and risen.
So David said, “that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake”. The point was, there was a [p. 282] link between Jonathan and Mephibosheth, and so God would impress upon men everywhere that He takes account of them in relation to Christ. You may depend upon it, the condition of the world today would be very different were it not that God has raised up a Head for man. God is patient and forbearing; He is waiting upon man because of Christ. Now He is available for you. Be you who you may, be your history what it may, you are related to Christ in that sense. You belong to humanity and Christ partook of the same; He is a Man. But this involves that, as having partaken of flesh and blood He has given Himself for all. He gave Himself a ransom for all, not for believers alone, but for all. He gave Himself for all; so every one has a claim on Christ.
The vicarious sacrifice of Christ is great enough to include humanity. He has borne all that lay upon man; death, the curse, by dying; and now, as risen, He is available to all. But remember, it is only through faith that you come into the good of what is presented in Him. Apart from His death the headship of Christ could not be practical; for blessing could not be administered to man on the ground of the flesh. Blessing for man is in Christ as having died and risen, hence it is to those who have faith. He pleads the cause of the poor, and judges righteously. Can you not commit yourself unreservedly to that Man who judges righteously? How perfectly all these things shine in Christ the King! A most wonderful thing about Christ is, that, though He has all power in heaven and upon earth, He has the heart of a man; He has a perfectly sympathetic heart; He has a heart which knows what it is to be ill-treated, to be misjudged, to be misrepresented; therefore, He is qualified to enter into all that you may be going through. He is qualified to enter into all the exercises and sorrows [p. 283] to which we are subject. I take it that Christ in that sense is the expression of wisdom. You could not think of divine wisdom finding an expression for itself except in Christ. How could you find it expressed otherwise? In all the intricacies of humanity, sin having been introduced into it, how could you find wisdom expressed except in a divine Person coming into manhood and taking up the cause of humanity, removing to God’s glory, all that lay upon man, and entering into all the sorrows a man’s heart passes through? All that was seen in Christ upon earth, and it is embodied in Him in heaven.
We may now turn to the other feature of the chapter — the virtuous woman. The virtuous woman is one of the most interesting subjects in Scripture. There is only one in the whole universe, according to this passage. Others have done virtuously, but she excels them all. Her price is far above rubies. Now what I see in this virtuous woman is this: that she is a perfect transcript of the King. He expressed divine wisdom perfectly upon earth, and she is a reflex of Him; so you have divine wisdom perpetuated on earth in the virtuous woman. I do not intend to preach the virtuous woman, for she cannot be your Saviour, she cannot take up the cause of humanity, she cannot remove the liabilities which lie upon man; with Christ alone these things can be connected. But she can be the reflex of Christ. It says, “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies”. The Lord when here was in search of something precious. He found the pearl of great price, alluding undoubtedly to the exceeding value of the assembly in His estimation. Here is a virtuous woman, her price is above rubies. What I understand by virtue in a woman is that she is able to keep herself in the absence of her husband. Virtue really means you have power to say “Yes” to what is good and “No” to what is evil. And this woman in the absence of her husband is wholly taken up with Him. She is so absorbed in Him that she is a perfect reflex of Him, and none but the assembly can answer to this picture. Others may have done virtuously, but she excels them all. Our day excels all other days. We have not only the King, we have also the virtuous woman today. When the Lord Jesus Christ was here they had the King, but they did not have the virtuous woman. Virtue is the result of the presence of the Holy Spirit here upon earth. Jude, writing to the Christians, said, “Praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God”. That is what I understand to be virtue. When the Holy Spirit came down to earth He took possession of believers in the character of cloven tongues as of fire. The fire, as I understand it, involved the complete refusal of all fleshly propensities. The hearts of the believers were taken up by the Spirit and controlled by the Spirit for Christ, and hence you get the virtuous woman. The virtuous woman could only be found here in the presence of the Holy Spirit; but, thank God, she is here today.
It says, moreover, “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil”. I call your attention to her only in that way, briefly, to show how there is a complete reflex of the King in the virtuous woman. There is the exclusion of all evil propensities. She holds herself absolutely for Christ, and the heart of her Husband doth safely trust in her. Christ trusts in the assembly. If there is one thing that is morally beautiful in the whole universe it is the virtuous woman. Christ being removed, the virtuous woman takes His place, and she is here and the heart of her Husband doth safely trust in her. You get great activity: “She will do him good, and not evil, all the days of her life”. While the Holy Spirit remains [p. 285] here upon earth the virtuous woman will do her Husband good, and not evil, all the days of her life. There is continued activity by the Holy Spirit here in this world in the absence of Christ.
In verse 23 it says, “Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land”. Now all that refers to what is going on down here. What goes on up there is what you see in Lemuel, and I do wish that every believer might understand that Christ has taken up the cause of those appointed to destruction and that He judges righteously, He pleads for the poor and the needy. But there is more than that for you, there is the continued great activity of the virtuous woman. Will you suffer need? You belong to God’s household. As I said, I have no intention of replacing Christ in your heart by the assembly, but I do wish to impress this upon you, that the virtuous woman is interested in you: what I mean is, the activities of the Holy Spirit here upon the earth in the absence of Christ are in your favour. See what she does. “She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands”, verse 13. You have no idea how much is being done for you. It is a poor gospel that does not bring forward the present activity of the Holy Spirit here upon earth in favour of man. There is activity here. It says, “She is like the merchants’ ships, she bringeth her food from afar”. Is that not something of interest for you? You know there is famine everywhere. Here is activity: “She is like the merchants’ ships, she bringeth her food from afar”. It does not say from what place, but the suggestion is that it is from heaven. The virtuous woman brings it. “She is like the merchants’ ships, she bringeth her food from afar”; but brings it, and it is there for you. Then it goes on to say, “She riseth also while it is yet night”. Look at the interest! And what does she do? “Giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens”. Is it not a matter of interest to believers that all this activity is going on, and that it is in their favour? The household really is God’s; but she is, as it were, responsible, and she is caring for it. It is really the activity of service. You will remember how the Lord spoke of the servant who ministered the portion of meat to his household in due season. And the wife is the responsible person in the absence of the husband, and as a virtuous woman she is caring for the household. You may depend upon it, if you are a believer in Christ you will get something of the food. It has been brought from afar. She not only brings it to you, she rises up early while it is night and gives it to you. That is the present activity that is going on in the behalf of believers. One might speak of other things, but you can look them up at your leisure. It says in verse 23, “Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land”. Her husband is known through the virtuous woman. The excellent qualities of Christ shine through the assembly and in this way He is known.
It says in verse 25, “Strength and honour are her clothing”; nothing poor about these things. These are found in the assembly by the power of the Spirit. And now note: “She shall rejoice in time to come”. She has no fear. She is virtuous now in the absence of Christ, she has no fear in the day of His glory. Are you in the spirit of the virtuous woman? It really should mark every Christian. It says, “She shall rejoice in time to come”. That is real Christian state. Who rejoices in time to come? It is the virtuous person now. You have nothing to fear if you are virtuous now. It will be all glory then. But I go on. “She openeth her mouth with wisdom”; she is like Christ: that is just what He did. “And in her tongue is the law of kindness”. It is wonderful that there is such a thing as “the law of kindness”, Kindness is regulated by a law, and what marks the assembly is that she has the law in her tongue.
“She looketh well to the ways of her household”. She keeps order. It is a mercy that there is such a thing as that amongst us. There is nothing slipshod about her house. She looks well to it. There is no disorder there. Many of us here have had very serious exercise about these things. There must be divine order maintained, and if you go in among God’s people remember that, while everything is provided for you, she looks well to the ways of her household. She maintains order.
Then it says, “Her children arise up and call her blessed”; that is to say, you appreciate the gracious activity of the Holy Spirit among God’s people as the evidence of what Christ is. “Her children arise up and call her blessed”. And now what about her husband? “Her husband also, and he praiseth her”. He has a word to say about her. You may be sure that the Lord in the future will not forget to pay attention to all your virtue — “He praiseth her”. Then it says, “Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all”. Finally it says, “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates”. These things will all be manifested in the future. I take the gates to be the public place. In the future, as indeed at present, her own works praise her in the gates.
May God grant we may not only see what is in Christ, but what marks the assembly in His absence. And, moreover, as believers we may see to it that these things mark us for His name’s sake.
Pages 288 to 342 “The Spirit of the. New Covenant”, 1911 (Volume 14).