HUMILITY AND FAITH
N. T. Meek
Ezekiel 1: 24, 25; Judges 6: 36–40; John 2: 6; Acts 4: 33
I fear my thoughts may be a little fragmentary, dear brethren, but I have been thinking of how humility becomes us at the present time because of the recognition of the public breakdown, and yet how we are nevertheless to go on in faith without being discouraged. I thought of this scripture in Ezekiel in reference to these powerful, mighty wings that the living creatures had.
It says in verse 24, “when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, a tumultuous noise, as the noise of a host”. I think this has been linked with the early days of the church, perhaps especially Pentecost, when divine power was so manifest; it was displayed, unquestionably displayed. Think of that day when Peter spoke. We could righteously connect this scripture with it. It was powerful, it was unquestionable, it was the beginning of the dispensation and there was that remarkable sound that was heard in Jerusalem. It was the setting up of the dispensation in power and the power was unquestionable. It affected Jerusalem, the whole city no doubt was affected by it. It must have been a very exhilarating time to be in. I suppose even the apostles themselves were surprised at the remarkable power; it was in away a fresh experience for them. When they had companied with Jesus here the results were generally apparently small, one here and one there, but at Pentecost there was a great exhibition of divine power. It was like the power of these wings, the voice of the Almighty and the noise of a host. It must have been a very confirming day for the apostles and for the brethren in the upper room to see the power of God demonstrated so publicly and unquestionably.
But then this scripture goes on to say that there came the time when the living creatures let down their wings, and that corresponds more to our own day; whilst the power is there it is not demonstrated in the same way. We must not think, beloved, that the power has gone—we must not think that—but we have to accept that the demonstration of it is not what it was. I suppose we would all understand that. The public demonstration of it, the power of signs and wonders that were extant in those early days, does not mark this day, and I think we would understand that it is appropriate that it does not mark this day because of the breakdown. We could hardly expect that where there has been moral and spiritual breakdown there should be a great exhibition of public power. Therefore we would all feel a sense of the humiliation of the present time when the outward power is
so limited, but we must not forget that the power latently is still the same. And if there were all these converted then, three thousand persons converted in Peter’s preaching, in principle it is the same if just one is converted at the present time. The outward result is smaller, but in the principle of it it is the same. I think that is to encourage us that we do not lose heart therefore, we do not lose our faith in the power of God, and in the power of the testimony of the name of Jesus. We are not to lose faith in that. We do not hear of conversions every day, we certainly do not hear of three thousand converted, but if God’s work is going on in any sense it is by the same power, only the wings are let down. It is in keeping with the position of breakdown, which came in so early in the church and remains to the present day.
I read the next scripture in Judges because with Gideon we have a day which somewhat corresponds to our own. Gideon is one who felt the smallness of things, he recognised that in the principle of it the wings were let down. The manifest power that had been seen with Moses, the dividing of the Red Sea, the triumphal going over Jordan, was not evident in Gideon’s day, but nevertheless he was going on in faith, going on in obscurity. And that is something that the Lord would encourage us to do, beloved, to go along steadily in faith. It is not a day of great enthusiasm where there is much to stimulate us in the public sense, but we can go on quietly in faith and in trust in divine power which still operates, only, as Habakkuk says, there is the hiding of His power (Habakkuk 3: 4). Habakkuk uses that word, “there was the hiding of his power”. I suppose it is appropriate at the present day that it should be so.
The millennium will manifest the great display of divine power; we can wait for it; when it comes it will be magnificent, but meanwhile, like Gideon, it is intended that we should go on
quietly, steadily, week in, week out. That is where we are tested, when there is nothing spectacular, so to speak, to urge us on but where there is some reflection of that steady, patient tread that Jesus had. Think of how He walked here! How unfruitful the ground was, how difficult it was; persons here and there came under His touch and came into blessing, but the work, though morally glorious and unique, was not marked by great public glory. It was rather the steady work, the steady, sober, constant work that never flagged, that went on day in and day out, some days encouraging, some days discouraging; some days the disciples understanding, some days the disciples not understanding, some days even quarrelling among themselves; yet Jesus went on. What food He is for our souls, that blessed Man with that patient, steady tread.
I think the Lord would encourage us in our localities. It is this week in, week out, day in, day out experience that tests us. We have meetings together and we rejoice in them, we have fellowship, we have maybe an extended time and we rejoice in it, but what tests us is not that, it is the steady tread, the wending of our way to the meeting room steadily. It is this unostentatious side of the believer’s life in which he goes on walking up the same street, going to the same place and nothing outwardly spectacular about it. Well, we are always tested in this side of things.
Gideon speaks to God about this fleece. It has often been spoken of and it can be applied in many ways but I want to give it perhaps a more unusual application. We can regard the fleece as Gideon himself. God is giving him a commission here and he is somewhat reticent, somewhat diffident, but in principle he says, ‘Well, wilt Thou make plain to me that Thou wantest me to do this thing?’ He says first of all, “I put a fleece of
wool on the threshing-floor; if dew shall be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand”. It is as if the fleece represented himself, and he asked God to signify to him that He wanted him to take on this commission. I do not think he is exactly evidencing unbelief, it is rather that he wanted assurance, he wanted God to make it quite clear that he was to do it. Now that was not a bad thing in principle, to seek to have an understanding, to seek to get God’s word that he was the one to be sent. But if one got that word distinctly and directly that I was the one to be sent—
of course one might be elated by it. If you think of Paul and Barnabas when the Spirit indicated in Acts 13 that they were to be separated for the work to which they were called, the flesh would tend to have been elated by that. In principle the Spirit related Barnabas and Saul to the fleece, if you understand what I mean. They were singularly marked out for the service, for a specific service, in fact an unknown kind of service in that day, service that was going to spread out widely beyond the pale of Israel to the Gentiles; and in that meeting, which was a meeting of some numbers evidently, these two men were singularly marked out and they needed preserving, they would need humility. Though the call was so clear, the flesh will always take advantage, will always seek to glory in itself.
So Gideon asks for a second sign. He said, Well, now let it now be dry on the fleece and let the dew be all around, as much as saying, ‘Now show me, Lord, that Thou couldst have passed me and taken up anybody else’. In a way, God is not short of means and He could take up anybody, and if anyone is used in any sense in service we always need to remember that the Lord could have taken up someone else. It is good for us always to take that view; it is this second sign. Both are right, both are confirming;
one is an assurance, such as Isaiah had that he was sent, and the other is the lowliness that understands that if I am not available the Lord has plenty more. We need to be preserved in these two lines, beloved. The day is one where there is room for everybody; there is room for every one of us to be this damp fleece with the dew on it, some tender, precious thoughts that have come down from heaven, some thoughts of Christ, fresh and new. How wonderful that is! If we came to the ministry meeting like that we would have a good time, would we not? I suppose as the ministry meeting comes round, I use that just as an example, we should all seek to be a damp fleece. And yet we must understand that whatever we have, whatever we have received, makes nothing of us personally because the Lord could take up any. John the baptist said at one time, “God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham”, Matthew 3: 9. How small it makes us feel, and yet it is appropriate that we should feel small, not only so that divine light and divine power might shine out the more but because it is in keeping with the breakdown and the dispensation.
Now in reading in John I just wanted to speak about these water-vessels. “Now there were standing there six stone water-vessels, according to the purification of the Jews, holding two or three measures each”; it seems that John leaves the capacity open somewhat, “holding two or three measures each”. The measure is left open. Now it is a very fine thing if, whilst we may only claim two measures, when it comes to the test it is proved to be three. That is to say we must always leave room for some addition from God, we must always look in faith for some increase. Sometimes we come to a meeting and we have a good time; it is like two measures. It does not say it is one; it is two. There is a witness to something in the
meeting; the meeting proceeds and we have a good time, a profitable time; it is like the two measures. It is never intended to be less than that, but John says it may be three. John writes, as we have often heard, in view of the fact that there was public breakdown, but the three is still open to us. I think John would say that we may make it three; that is an excess. We experience a time in which there is more than we thought there might be; that is to be proved, beloved, in our readings and in our meetings together. Sometimes we have a meeting and, as I say, it is profitable; we have the Scriptures, and edifying remarks come in, we have a time which is good and helpful and in any case there is the washing of the water by the word; these things are for our gain. But sometimes there is this additional measure. It is somewhat indefinable but it is when you carry something away in your spirit over and above what you may have expected.
I think we should covet that, beloved brethren, because that really indicates that we are in touch with a living system; it is when the two measures become three. We are always to look in faith for something more. If you have an ear for it, the Lord will give you more; I am sure He will. If you have a taste for it, the Lord will give you more. So how we come to the meeting, how we come to a gathering, is a great factor as to what we take home. It has been said, has it not, that we should always come with a sack, an empty sack, and the Lord will fill it; He will fill that sack. And the more diligent we are the more we shall pick up things to put in the sack. That is how a meeting proceeds effectively, when we all work at the thing. In our minds and affections we work at the truth and we find that instead of having had a good meeting we have had a very good meeting; it is this extra measure. The Lord would encourage us in
these days when perhaps we cannot expect great public things. He would encourage us in faith to look for this extra measure and to prove it. It may be in the spirit of the meeting, it may be in the atmosphere of the meeting—I think it sometimes is; you say, Well, I enjoyed that. It may be the impressions were not outstanding, there was nothing outstandingly fresh or new, and yet you go away and you feel there was something living in that meeting, the way that meeting went. The way it hinged together indicated that the Lord was moving among His people. I think we have known that, beloved, have we not?
The last scripture I read, in Acts, says, “and with great power did the apostles give witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all”. There are two things here that are great, there is great power and great grace. We can understand it, I think; it is the power that was appropriate for the establishment of the church in a scene of hostility and difficulty; there was apostolic power—there was great power, and great grace. That is how the dispensation began. They would have needed great grace, would they not, especially at Pentecost when they had to embrace three thousand souls. Think of what that would have been practically when the meeting became three thousand more; one hundred and twenty in the upper room and then three thousand added. It is almost certain it would mean a meeting in practically every house of the hundred and twenty to encompass the brethren. That would need a lot of grace, perhaps especially for the housewives. I do not know how it worked, but you can see what sort of an upheaval that would be; they would have needed a lot of grace, would they not? But there was great power and there was great grace in that day.
Well, when we come to Revelation the Lord speaks about “a little power” (Revelation 3: 8) but, beloved, He does not speak about a little grace. I think in the principle of it the grace remains; that is, the supply remains. Grace is like a supply, it comes down to meet every call and every exigency; grace is like that. But you will not find any suggestion that at the end of the dispensation the supply of grace is low. The power may be small, publicly it is certainly, though inwardly in the principle of it it is the same, but grace remains, and it is full.
I feel these thoughts may be a little disjointed but I would like to encourage us. We are in a day of public breakdown, public sorrow, when I have no doubt the enemy would seek to exterminate entirely what is left, but the Lord will give us grace, dear brethren; He will give us grace to go on. He will give us grace to meet every call, and may we be in the way of it, proving His blessing, proving what He can be in a day of small things. We shall see soon what He is going to be in a day of great things; we shall see it publicly; we shall rejoice in it.
‘Ah’, we shall say, ‘but we also proved Him in a day of small things’. May the Lord help us for His name’s sake.
Address in Brooklyn, N.Y.
1 April 1986