RESTFULNESS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF CHRIST
[p. 167] RESTFULNESS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF CHRIST
Luke 10:39 - 42; John 11:20; John 11:28-35; Song of Songs 2:3 - 7
What I wish to bring out from these scriptures on this occasion is the importance of restfulness, as being under the influence of Christ. The idea of influence is very wide in its bearings. There are, of course, bad influences. In the book of Revelation we find one of the vials of wrath poured out upon the rivers and fountains of waters. These refer to influences that are pernicious. To-day there are many such influences, diverse to a great extent, but all bearing against what is right and true, and pure, and holy. There are the theatres, the cinemas, the novels, and the magazines, the secret societies, and I may say, alas! the schools and universities; and again, alas! alas! the pulpits — not all, however, thank God. All these exercise pernicious influences, some directed against God and against Christ in the way of blasphemous teaching, others directed against morals — the evil woman, the strange woman who flattereth with her tongue, as in Proverbs 6:24. These features of the world are under God’s eye for judgment, so that the vial will be poured out on the rivers and springs of water; but over against all these, beloved friends, are good influences — pre-eminently the influence, the direct influence of Christ.
Now, in the physical system we have this principle of influence. It pervades, as I may say, everything in the physical creation. Without it, indeed, we could not have what we have; we could not have the system as it is, for it is held together on that principle. And then, too, in regard to this earth on which we live, we are dependent in every respect physically on [p. 168] influence, so that what I intend to present to you in a spiritual way should be simple, should be intelligible. We have the sun, the greatest influence physically. Without it there could be nothing in the way of vegetable life or animal life, and then, besides, it affords guidance, direction and rule, so that as an influence it is for good. And then we have the moon and stars. It is said in the Psalms, “the moon and stars to rule by night; for his mercy endureth for ever”. Psalm 136:9. The moon is thus taken account of as an evidence of divine mercy, and its presence in the heavens occasions praise to God. And then we have the stars also. In the book of Job all these things — “the ordinances of heaven” Job 38:33 — are appealed to by God Himself, as a witness of His bounty, of His goodness to man, of His resource. They all have their influence for good. “Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades?” Job 38:31. Even what may appear against us, we find is in our favour. The variations of the seasons are attributed, in Scripture, to the great objects set in the heavens. Indeed the variations of the seasons in themselves are beneficial. And then take mountainous districts — you will bear with me, because I want to work out what is spiritual — if you take the mountainous districts, which seem to be waste and unprolific, yet when we consider them and know their influences, we see we cannot do without them, for water and other effects coming from them are essential to our well-being physically. And so with trees, and rivers, and lakes, and the ocean itself, which is, notwithstanding its covering, such an enormous amount of space — more than half of the globe — yet a proof of the goodness of God to man.
We are born into and brought up in an environment that speaks on every hand of divine goodness for man. What we need most is most plentiful. Take air, for instance, without which we cannot survive, and yet it is in infinite supply; and then again, water,
[p. 169] see the plentifulness of it! We are therefore introduced physically, as born into this world, into an environment that speaks of divine goodness and bounty. All these things influence us. We may not be observant of it, we may not be conscious of it intelligently, yet we are conscious to a certain extent, but if we read the Scriptures they remind us of it. In the book of Job we are reminded of these things, see chapters 38 and 39. They all witness to God. But I confine myself to the idea of influence, we are born into an environment that has influences for good, that act and re-act upon us, and are all intended as witnesses to us on the part of God of His goodness.
But I pass on to speak of spiritual influence. Now the Lord Jesus, who came into this world, is necessarily the great divine influence in it. If we take His advent, even in an external way — that is the birth of Jesus — nothing in the history of the world has made such an impression as that has. It has involved a greater change, a greater attention in the course of this world than any other event. But then, if you take it spiritually, beloved friends, and it is from that point of view of course that I desire to speak, there is no other influence like the influence of Christ. As gone up into heaven, as seated at the right hand of God, He exercises an influence on the earth that but few understand. It is an influence that is really miraculous in the true sense of the word; He is unseen by the eyes of men, and yet you find men and women, in every part of the world, influenced directly by Him, so influenced that no other influence can divert them. It is to this I believe He alludes when He says, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto me. This he said signifying what death he should die”. John 12:33. It means that in spite of the ignominious character of His death He would become an irresistible centre of attraction for all, and that attraction is operating and has been operating all [p. 170] these centuries, and men and women have been held by it, and no amount of other attractions can move them, for they are held to Christ by the power of the influence of which I have spoken.
I want now to show from the scriptures read how Mary is a model of what I have spoken of. The Lord is seen in Luke as visiting the cities and villages and places in order, one by one. You will see that it is a feature of Luke that when they would have detained Him in one of the cities He says “I must needs announce the glad tidings … to the other cities also, for for this I have been sent forth”, Luke 4:43. He would leave none out, and so He is seen visiting them. It was a combing-out process, as it were. Every city, and town, and hamlet must come under His influence. We read that in sending out the seventy, two and two, that He sent them “into every city and place where he himself was about to come”, Luke 10:1. It was to convey grace, so that grace might shine in all these cities and places in Palestine. And so in His blessed path on His way to Jerusalem He arrives at a “certain village” — at Bethany. In Luke, you will observe, it was a question of a “certain village”. In His service He could come to the smallest village. He could preach in Jerusalem, preach in the temple, but He could enter into and preach in the most insignificant village in the country; for the point was “To preach” the gospel to the poor. He was here for the good of the poor, of the despised; He belonged to a despised town Himself. And so reaching this village, “A certain woman named Martha received him into her house, and she had a sister called Mary”. Luke 10:38,39. She was well off to have such a sister, and so is any company of Christians who have such an one. Such a sister as Mary is a model. ‘Well’, you say, ‘she was not doing much, Martha was doing all the work’, but Scripture says, “She had a sister called Mary who also, having sat down at the feet of Jesus, was listening to his word”.
[p. 171] If Martha is wise, she will take account of Mary. She has in her a very spiritual sister; possibly there was not a house in Palestine that had a sister like her; she sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to what He was saying. I wonder how many are like her in this company. How many sisters are there like that? I may say here that my impression is that sisters are greatly undervalued. The Holy Spirit emphasises the spirituality, the devotedness, the intelligence, and the service of sisters; He emphasises it to the disadvantage often of the brothers, even the most distinguished of them. Now the secret of her spirituality largely was that she knew how to be restful under the influence of Christ; she was restful. She sat, but she did not sit lazily. There is such a thing as sitting lazily and Scripture takes account of it. We read, indeed, of people who “sit in darkness”, Isaiah 42:7 which is a serious matter — sitting down in darkness. And then we read of Eli the priest, who was rejected, sitting by a post of the temple. Now there is nothing said about seats in the temple or the tabernacle. The priests had to stand, their business was to serve, hence we read, “Ye servants of the Lord which by night stand in the house of the Lord”. Psalm 134:1. They are distinguished as devoted, as spiritual in that they stand, when other people are lying down, not only sitting down, but lying down. They stand by night, and that refers to the energy — the spiritual energy — that belongs to us as priests for God. And so we find that Eli, as accustomed to sit, developed fatness — heaviness. He was a fat man, and fatness in that case indicates that God has not had His portion, for the fat belongs to God, whereas Eli was clothed with it. Although there was good in him and he had concern for the ark, he had a very sorrowful end, for he was old and heavy, and he fell from off his seat backwards and his neck brake and he died — a very sorrowful end to a priest,
[p. 172] as I said. He was evidently accustomed to laziness in the things of God. But now we see it is not so here. In Mary’s case it is not that; she sat, but it denoted restfulness. Such an attitude denotes that I am able, through spiritual power in my soul, to withdraw myself from what would keep me, and occupy me, and interest me, and perhaps agitate me, in a natural way; I have such power in my soul that I can withdraw from all these things, and I can even dismiss them, so as to be perfectly restful under the influence of Christ. How many of us know what that is? How many of us know, especially sisters, what it is to sit down with the Scripture and read for oneself, and meditate, and pray, and gather up thus in a spiritual way in one’s soul the thoughts of God presented in Christ. You see restlessness marks us naturally, and Martha is but the illustration of it. She is the type of most sisters. Mary is a rare exception. Martha would have passed muster in her own estimate, and I suppose she would include all those like her. Coming to Jesus, she said, “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” All like her would have said the same had they been there. There would have been a chorus of ‘Amens’ if there had been any other sisters like her in the house at that time. But the Lord says, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things; but one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her”. Her soul appropriated the light that was there for others also. The Lord Himself says, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places, yea I have a goodly heritage”. Psalm 16:6. Mary chose one. He was her light; she chose that. There was that territory, so to speak, available and she chose it. It was a good part. She chose something that was good, and the Lord said that it would not be taken away from her. She was [p. 173] so restful under the influence of Christ, so free from care that she could listen to what He was saying. Such a state would save us from gossip; we should have no time for it; it does not belong to that “good part”. There she is listening to what Jesus is saying. There are wonderful things going on in heaven every day. Do we believe it? Do we not believe that there are wonderful things going on in heaven? There are, beloved friends, and here is One come down from heaven, knowing everything that is in heaven, knowing every thought of God; is it not worth while listening to Him instead of to all the things that are going on in the world at the present time? What is called ‘The Press’ is the most influential thing in the world at the present time. Do you think that is going to last? No, that is all going to be wiped out. The fullest expression of it is in Athens, on Mars Hill, where it says they “spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing”. Acts 17:21. It was the news exchange of the world. So when Paul comes to Athens some said, “He seems to be an announcer of foreign demons”, others said, “What would this chatterer say?” Acts 17:18. Had he been challenged, they would have seen he had no human credentials. But when Paul writes to the Ephesians he says, “Whereby when ye read ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery”. Ephesians 3:9. What a knowledge he had! he was full of heavenly things; there was no room there for chattering.
And so, as I said, Mary came to hear what Jesus was saying, she was listening to His word, and what He was saying will yet fill the whole moral universe, and what anyone else says is of no value, if it is not in regard to, or expressive of what Jesus says. Well, Mary sat there, restful in spirit; Martha had a wonderful sister in such an one as Mary, and any sister like that in a meeting would be a great asset [p. 174] to the saints. Mary is a model; she was not a gossiper, she was not a busybody. She is occupied and engaged in listening to the word of Jesus. He would give her directions in regard to everything, in regard to every sphere of responsibility in which she is set. The part is there, and it is for us, as it was for Mary, to choose that good part which shall not be taken away from the one who has chosen it. Now when you come to John’s gospel Mary of Bethany is still a model. John the evangelist gives John the baptist as a model in the beginning of his gospel, and Mary of Bethany is later given as a model of spirituality. She was that. So when the Lord comes into the district she hears about Him but she does not leave the house. Martha did. It is a very touching passage. Martha left the house immediately when she heard the Lord had come. You may say: ‘She appeared more interested in the Lord than Mary was, for it says “Mary sat still in the house”’. The truth is she had learned how to sit, that is, she had learned how to be restful even in the existing circumstances which occasioned great sorrow. Martha left the house and went to the Lord and spoke to Him, but almost every word she said showed her ignorance. She was a true believer, but almost every word she uttered indicated her unspirituality. The Lord regarded her and spoke to her, but she was not spiritual, notwithstanding her readiness to run and meet Him. However, she had a sister. After expressing to the Lord what was just a bit of orthodoxy, she went to Mary and said to her, “The Master is come, and calleth for thee”. The Lord knew Martha and He knew Mary; even as now He knows every spiritual one in the meeting. He did not over-estimate Martha’s activities; He did not underestimate her, He valued her. He values every one of us. He died for Martha as He died for Mary, but He knew Mary’s measure; He knew them both well, but [p. 175] He called for Mary, and Martha is gracious enough to bring the message. As soon as the Lord calls Mary she arises quickly and goes to Jesus.
What I want you to note, beloved, is the influence of a spiritual person. Martha left the house and went to the Lord but nobody followed her, no one was specially interested in her movements, but as soon as Mary arose quickly and left the house, the Jews took note of what she did and followed her. If you are spiritual, you will be sure to be influential; you will be a leader. A leader is not some ‘great man’ who governs; a leader is simply one who goes before and shows the way; he knows the way, he sees the path, he does not need to be a gifted man; the point is he knows the way, and having the confidence of others, they follow him in it. So as soon as Mary left the house, the Jews — those who were with her in the house — took note of it. If a person is spiritual every one in the locality will note it, they will all know about it, and even those who are not Christians will be influenced by it. So the Jews followed Mary when she arose to go to Jesus; they did not leave when Martha left, they remained still in the house and consoled Mary; they knew the difference between Martha and Mary, they knew how deeply Mary felt the loss of her brother. She was spiritual, so they left and followed her, and all this culminates, as you would expect, in her falling down at His feet. He answered Martha’s questions. He valued her in His answers, but when Mary saw Him it was not only that she came to Him but she fell at His feet. She was moved when she saw Him, and this brings in the Lord’s action, for He respects those who are spiritual. He cares for every one of us, spiritual or unspiritual, but He takes account of the spiritual. And so when He saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in His spirit. The Lord had respect for the Jews because they had respect for [p. 176] Mary — He noted Mary weeping and them weeping, and then we read, “Jesus wept”. I think we are entitled to count upon the sympathy of Christ in the same way in regard of any real difficulty in a locality. It is felt by the spiritual ones and the Lord knows that, and in proportion to their movements, and their feelings, He moves, He feels, and He groans in His spirit. Death had come in, in the circle at Bethany, and these sisters were suffering from that; they had been robbed of their brother by death. We — all of us — may be robbed of a brother by death; we have to love our brother, and if we love him the Lord will take note of it. If we are spiritual, the more will the Lord take account of it. “He groaned in the spirit”, we read. ‘Groan’ is a most remarkable word; it means the deep inward resentment of the thing that causes the suffering; and so it is in every case. The Lord deeply resents whatever it is that causes the suffering amongst His people, and doing so, you may depend upon it He will deal with it; He has power to deal with every adverse thing. The Holy Spirit gives us in one sentence the extent to which the Lord felt the cause of their suffering: “Jesus wept”, and it is to be noted that it is in connection with the movements of a spiritual woman — Mary of Bethany — that He did so.
Well now, having said so much, I just for a moment refer to the Song of Solomon to show you how, in spirit, we may see Mary before her time, as it were, in the feminine speaker in the Canticles, for she is the embodiment of feminine exercises, so that every woman of faith in the New Testament may be taken as corresponding with her. The speaker says, “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons”. She had come to make comparisons. The tree spoken of indicated a certain feature of Christ. “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood”. She had had to do with the [p. 177] apple tree. She was brought up under it. As I said, by natural birth into this world we are brought into an environment of influence. In chapter 8 we read, “I raised thee up under the apple tree; there thy mother brought thee forth”, Song of Songs 8:5 which means being brought into this world spiritually, and raised up under the influence of Christ. As brought up under it, she was well acquainted with the apple tree. It was her existence spiritually, as it is in every one of us; we are all dependent on Christ. She knew something of Christ. If you confessed the Lord two or three years ago, and know but little about Him now, you have not made progress. The Lord said to the disciples, “Who say ye that I am?” Matthew 16:15, Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20. So you have to come to that, you have to give an answer as to what is your estimate of Christ. Is He not superior to all the other men you have ever met? Is He not superior to all the men you have ever heard of? You say Scripture says so, but that is not the point. The question is what do you say? It is what you say. You have to come into contact with Him and to be raised up under Him. This book is to show you how the believer is brought into acquaintance with Christ, and as knowing Him loving Him; so that the point is not what Scripture says, not what others say, but what you say. What do you say? What do you say now? Peter answers, “Thou art the Christ”. Peter meant that there is no other like Him in the whole universe of God; He is the Man — the only Man — by whom God is going to do everything. In Mark’s gospel this point was raised by the Lord Jesus following on the account of the man who had his eyes opened and saw men as trees walking; chapter 8. That is the way many of us look at men. They are very large in our eyes, but we have to come to see that they are not trees. Peter’s answer, “Thou art the Christ”, meant that he saw One who is God’s anointed, who is everything to God, and who carries [p. 178] out all His will. There is no other man in the whole universe like that. We have to be brought to see Him as that; so the bride in Canticles says, “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons”. There are other sons, all Christians are sons, but there is no one equal to Christ; He is supreme, excelling them all. She says, “In his shadow have I rapture and sit down”. In the Authorised Version it reads, “I sat down under his shadow with great delight”. It is not that she sat down and became delighted; she became enraptured under His influence as knowing Him; and being brought up under Him for years, she sat down to enjoy it. She had been brought up under His presence and became so enraptured that she sat down under it. That is the idea.
Then you see how there was sustenance, for we need sustenance. She speaks of being “sick of love”, which means that if I am not sustained by suitable food, I give way to natural weaknesses, so I need spiritual sustenance to maintain me here, hence she says, “He brought me to the banqueting house”, “to the house of wine” as the New Translation puts it. I need that to strengthen me spiritually. Then, too, it says, “Sustain ye me with raisin-cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am sick of love”. There you see you have the sustaining food, refreshing food, and then you have His own sympathy. He supports you — His left hand under your head, and His right hand embracing you. Our heads need to be rightly balanced in dealing with divine things, so that we lean not to our own understanding but on the Spirit. We need the Lord’s support, and then the affections are kept by His right hand, so that we are rightly balanced as a result of the suitableness of His blessed influence. Beloved friends, that is where we have restfulness — under the love of Christ. So she finishes in this paragraph as you will observe by saying, “I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up nor awake my love till he please”.
The word ‘he’ is, I believe, the neuter gender, and should read ‘Till it please’. “Hereby we have known love, because he has laid down his life for us; and we ought for the brethren to lay down our lives”. 1 John 3:16. Love must be supreme. Love must act for itself. You are not to stir it up nor awaken it. In having the sense of it, you do not do anything, you just leave it, as in Christ, to itself, to act for itself in grace. It is wonderful. We do not stir it up till it please. You are restful, for you know love under His influence. It will bring out all the wealth of heaven, for everything is at the disposal of love and you are restful there.