WHAT IS LITTLE

E.M.Walkinshaw

Proverbs 30: 24-28; 2 Kings 5: 1,2, 14; Luke 12: 29-32

I expect you will have noticed that I desire to speak of what is little. I suppose it is becoming to God's testimony; there is nothing large or spectacular about it but it is held in secret in smallness. Men like what is spectacular but God works in His testimony in smallness, and I think He would have us in our character to correspond with that. So that I read from the book of Proverbs because it speaks of four things little upon the earth, and they are exceeding wise. How much we need this, dear brethren, today; wisdom is said elsewhere to be the principal thing. These four things little upon the earth are like the saints, and the characteristics that they have are to mark the saints. "The ants, a people not strong" - we tread on them and use the various means that man has placed at our disposal to destroy them. But Scripture speaks well of them: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise" (Prov 6: 6) might be a word for us, how in regard of divine things we tend to be sluggish and casual, the things of God rather than our life becoming a kind of side line or incidental occupation. The ants are not like that; they are busy, occupied and wise, they provide their food in the summer. How necessary it is that we should be engaged in this way at the time of harvest. God has visited His people to give them bread, and that word applied frequently of recent days is I think true. Are you as diligent as the ants to provide your food in the summer? Or will it be, if the winter comes, there is none provided? We should in wisdom be taking up what the Lord has placed at our disposal at the present moment, energetically pursuing it to be built up in our souls. So the ants are very little; another man, presumably wise, said that if they were as big as men, and their wisdom increased proportionately, then they would destroy the human race. Think of God in His word drawing our attention to such little creature s, not only to indicate to us the characteristics that are proper to His people on the earth but to encourage us to be marked by such characteristics. We learn from nature: "Does not even nature itself teach you?" 1 Cor 11: 14. The Lord Jesus said, Look at the birds, consider the lilies. We are to learn from these simple scriptural illustrations, and I think the ants indicate to us those that are energetic in obscurity with a view to providing their food. Now this word 'little' is applied to Jesus; in Matthew 2 He is called 'the little child' some eight times. Think of the Person and who He was, dear brethren, the One that created the universe, the One that stretched forth the constellations in their courses, brought every thing into being and upholds everything by His power, yet content to be here in the limitations that manhood imposed upon Him and be called 'a little child'. How wonderfully He sets out the example of being hid! Granted it says in one place that He could not be hid; but the Lord Jesus as a lowly servant-prophet here never courted publicity. He was always content to be in obscurity and in littleness here. So God's testimony, I believe, is enshrined in the heart of those that love Him in the presence of opposing forces, and yet held and cherished in littleness and obscurity. Would you like to be in that? Man is ambitious, always seeking the first place, always looking for something spectacular, always wanting, to use common parlance, to make a splash; that is right out of accord with God's testimony at any time, and especially when it is in ruins publicly. It is for us, dear brethren, to be content to go on in littleness. Jesus says to Philadelphia "thou hast a little power", although, as another has said, He would lay the emphasis on the word 'power' and not on the word 'little'.

Then "the rock-badgers are but a feeble folk, yet they make their house in the cliff". What a resource we have in Christ! Is your resource there? Do we lean upon Him or do we turn to other resources? The Spirit of God would direct us to Him, as Moses the man of God said, "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations", Ps 90: 1. No matter what the generation is, sometimes apparently outwardly prosperous, sometimes everything adverse, but nevertheless "thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations". And it is so with our generation, dear brethren; whatever the difficulties that may confront us in seeking to maintain what is due to the Lord, He is our resource. Let us ever turn to Him and, as the man of God said, "number our days, that we may acquire a wise heart", Ps 90: 12.

"The locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands". We know that this has been applied to the saints as under the control of One who is absent; they have no king outwardly and yet they go forth by bands. Who controls them and how? It is a simple illustration of the influence of Christ though absent, but they go forth all of them by bands. Looking for His coming to take them to be for ever with Him - is that your outlook? Is that the outlook of every young man and young woman here? They go forth all of them by bands.

Then the lizard: "thou takest hold of the lizard with the hands, yet is she in kings' palaces". How simple to think of that, so available, so easily found if needed and yet in kings' palaces, marked by the dignity and royalty becoming to the saints, little things and yet things exceeding wise. Beloved, let us take our pattern from them.

Then we have a little maid taken captive. What an exploit! I remember during the war reading of the victory of certain armies. Taken captive was Field Marshal this and Lieutenant Colonel that and Brigadier somebody else. I never saw in all the list of their accomplishments any reference to a 'little maid'. The status of these great men is of no interest to heaven; the men are because they are men but their state means nothing; but the little captive maid is recorded by heaven as having been taken prisoner, and she waited on her mistress. What an example for us, dear brethren, appearing on the page of Scripture and then being left off never again appearing. What a spirit to mark the testimony, no vindictiveness! Had I been in that position I would have been tempted to say, He has taken me from my home and my family, I know not where they are, he has only got what he deserves as a leper, why should I give him the remedy? But the spirit that marks the little maid: "would that my lord were before the prophet that is in Samaria". She knew the secret of the link of the people of God with their God, and although in a distant land she showed the spirit of it in obscurity. I say heaven records the captivity of such a person, 'a little maid', and the result was that this great man who was a leper had his flesh again like the flesh of a little child. It reminds us of the little child Jesus - how wonderful! In God's ways the things that we think are great, the things that we would write down, the things that historians would record, are never recorded by heaven; heaven has respect for moral greatness, and this little captive maid was marked by moral greatness, the spirit of the testimony in captivity. Mr Raven said that in a certain sense we have all been carried into captivity; we have to accept the humbling fact of the breakdown, but in that captivity, dear brethren, we can be marked by the spirit of this girl. Are you marked by it? A little child was taken by Jesus to indicate the character that should mark His disciples (see Luke 9: 47). So this person is that, she is never again mentioned in Scripture but she will assuredly have her place with Christ in the kingdom, without any question, as will all such. Others appear like that; in the next chapter there is a young man with the prophet and he is rather frightened at the enemy; the prophet prays "Lord open his eyes”. He opened his eyes and he saw the mountain full of chariots and horses. They protected the little captive maid as well as the prophet - those that are with us are more than those that are against us - God is with us where there is lowliness and simplicity and acceptance of the situation in which we are and in which in littleness and obscurity we are prepared to bear testimony. May our hearts be encouraged like this, dear brethren. I think in God's ways we shall see something of the extension of the little child; I believe there are many that are held up by a pride like the pride of Naaman, unwilling to go down. Have we not all been like that? I have, unwilling to go down. Naaman the great captain of the host' In a simple appeal his servants say, "My father" (evidently he was on good terms with them and they with him) "if the prophet had bidden thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he says to thee, Wash". If you are dirty you wash, you do not indulge in some great exploit, the power to wash is there. Then went he down; that is the hardest possible thing I have found in my experience. I believe, dear brethren, that many who have seen that they were in error, in the 1972 issue in particular, are unwilling to go down. If we are to come into God's testimony each of us must go down, and we must become in our flesh (that is in substance, not the wicked flesh) like the flesh of a little child. May God give us the grace to come to that, dear brethren, and to see that it is proper and comely to God's testimony at all times and specially at the present moment.

Now the Lord in Luke is speaking to His own in the context of not being anxious: "And ye, seek not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, and be not in anxiety". This is very testing, it tests our confidence in God, because most of us find that anxiety gets in the way, pressures of modern life, business becoming more difficult. Even an occupation under a master is becoming increasingly difficult and I think we shall find that for most the days are becoming more difficult; even those who might appear to have an easy time in retirement find things in the way, there is no doubt about it, because we do not escape God's discipline. So the Lord says be not in anxiety; it hinders our part in the service of God, it hinders our committal to and freedom for His testimony; and yet I find many things pressing on my mind that cause anxiety. Do you find that? When we are younger it is not so noticeable but as we get a little older, I suppose with more responsibility, we are liable to become more anxious. The Lord says "be not in anxiety; for all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that ye have need of these things; but seek his kingdom, and all these things shall be added to you". Your Father: seek His kingdom. We have already had reference today to the word 'seek': "ye seek Jesus", Matt. 28: 5. Do you seek Jesus? Do you young people find Him attractive? One says in the Song of Songs: "On my bed, in the nights, I sought him whom my soul loveth", chap 3: 1. Later is says "I found him". Would the Lord disappoint any soul, especially a young soul, that is seeking Him? The angel, you might say in the eyes of men something spectacular, descending from heaven looked like lightning and his garments white as snow; he was sitting, I suppose in contempt at the pride of the Roman empire, yet approving those two women there - “ye seek Jesus".

O beloved, let us seek Jesus the crucified One, let our affection go out to Him, spend more time with Him so that we might be formed in our affection for Him. It has often been noted that in Christianity in a certain sense you get everything for nothing; in another sense you get nothing for nothing. So seek the things that are above where the Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. He is the centre of a wonderful spiritual order of things, the centre of it and the life of it. So your life is hid with Christ in God. Presently the day of display will come; today is not the day of display, today is the day of obscurity where things are hidden and cherished in secret, available of course, and the glad tidings goes out, but nevertheless the testimony in its power and intrinsic worth is held in secret; but "When the Christ is manifested who is our life, then shall ye also be manifested with him in glory", Col 3: 4. What a prospect, dear brethren! The little captive maid will be there, and Naaman will be there, I have no doubt about it, and so will many others who have been content to be here in the testimony of Jesus in obscurity; they will have their place there, accurately placed by the King in that day.

These scriptures are brought forward for our encouragement, not just as history, not just to tell us about one little person who did exist as recorded in the Scriptures, but to give us an impression of the kind of person that God approves - a person's moral worth. The Lord would encourage us to take account of these four things little upon the earth, then of the little captive maid, and then of the little flock, for that is what we are, dear brethren; our hymn book is 'for the little flock'. We would like to be at any rate in that character - a little flock. "Fear not little flock, for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom". In due time we shall be there shining in our Father's kingdom, as the Lord says elsewhere as to the saved, but in the meantime let us go on content to be little in the earth and yet exceeding wise as deriving our wisdom from Him who is made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and holiness and redemption. May the Lord encourage every one of us to seek Him as the crucified One, and to seek the things that are above and to come in some greater power into His testimony and into His praise for His glory.

EDINBURGH

14 June 1975