EXTRACTS

After the wall was built he gave his brother Hanani with Hananiah charge over Jerusalem. Hanani is commended as a faithful man, he was a man who loved. That is the kind of thing, a faithful man set over the city by his brother. The government of the city is thus provided for in faithfulness, and however few the inhabitants now, it is yet to be fully inhabited. A great thought, dear brethren, it stimulates one to think of it. Even in the days of Hezekiah, when the Assyrians came up to attack the Israelites, and asked how many riders he could put on horses, it was only a few. But however few I cannot afford to be other than an inhabitant of Jerusalem; we cannot afford to be anything less than that, but according to this book the people preferred the country. In Nehemiah 11, verse 1, we read, “And the princes of the people dwelt in Jerusalem; and the rest of the people cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine parts in the cities”. This is an appeal as to who will avail himself of the opportunity to dwell in Jerusalem instead of living in the country. I am not intimating, beloved brethren, that those in the suburbs round Belfast or any other city are in view here, but it may be taken as an illustration. The Lord, we are told, after He rose from the dead, went after two persons who were going away from Jerusalem. Jerusalem was indeed the wicked city that I have spoken of, but still God had not given it up—in the mind of God it was still Jerusalem, and the apostles were enjoined to stay there until they were endued with power from on high. And here were two persons moving away from it. Mark tells us they were going into the country; generally speaking living in the country is not conducive to spirituality. The city is the place of exercise, where God specially sets His testimony, however wicked the city is. It is what we see in Elisha, after all his experiences he comes to Samaria, he goes to Carmel, then to Samaria where the evil was concentrated. That is the principle, that is how the assembly is set here.

J. Taylor (Vol. 38, p.284)

Christianity consists, I think, in two things—on the one hand man’s complete deliverance from all that to which he is in bondage by reason of sin, and on the other hand the formation of new relationships and of the affections which are suited to those relationships. I have no doubt at all that there is many a believer in Christ, as Lord, who knows very little indeed about the true power of Christianity. I want to bring before you these two things—first, the emancipation of the man (who is very much in the position naturally of a bond slave, whom grace comes in to set free), and then the formation of new relationships and of the affections suited to them.

F. E. Raven (Vol. 20, p.3)

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