BEHOLDING THE LORD'S GLORY
BEHOLDING THE LORD’S GLORY
There are two types of Christ in the Old Testament - Jonah and Solomon. Every christian knows Christ in the Jonah character - death, but everyone does not know Him as Solomon - as the One in glory. This is where the Corinthians were lacking. Every christian knows something of the Lord as relief, but every christian does not know Him as the resource of his heart. I first love the Lord because of the service He has rendered me - He died for me and I get relief; He has come to my side of things; but resource is only known as I know Himself, and am made superior to my circumstances by getting to His side of things. I love Him then because I know He cares for me, He loves me, I must know His heart before I can find my resources in Him.
We get an illustration of where a great many christians are, in the case of Joseph’s brethren; Genesis 50. For seventeen years they had been the recipients of Joseph’s bounty; every day they had been receiving from him, and yet they did not know him. When their father was dead they said, “Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him” (verse 15); and so they sent a messenger to Joseph, and when Joseph heard it, he “wept when they spake unto him” (verse 17), as if he would say, And is that all you know of me after all these years? They had got relief from Joseph, but they did not know his heart.
You will say, perhaps, that this is not the subject of the scripture I read. Well, I know, but what I want is to show you the road to it. Turn now to Luke 5. There I see Peter giving of his time and his means to the Lord; he lent his boat to the Lord. So many [p. 142] now are very active in doing and in giving; many are most devoted. The next thing I find is, he is obedient to the Lord; he launches out into the deep and lets down the net at the word of the Lord. This is the first mark of a truly godly man, submission to the word of God, submission to Christ. Peter’s conduct was exemplary, and the next thing we find is that there was such a great multitude of fishes that the net brake, and they had to beckon to their partners to come and help them. Here Peter had the two things proper to a godly Jew, and which a Jew most valued - conduct and favour; and we should expect he would be elated, but what do we find? When he “saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord”. Ah, the secret was he was now near Him; he had never really got near Him till now, and in His presence he was so discovered to himself that he felt he was not fit to be there. Mind, he does not say, I am a sinner, he had done nothing wrong, but, “I am a sinful man, O Lord;” he has the sense when near Him that he is not fit company for Him.
Have you ever seen Him thus? Have you ever so got into His presence that yourself and all that is here is nothing to you? Ah, company is better than property. There is nothing like His company when you get to know Him, having found out His love and His care for you, and His ministry to you from His own resources. In Psalm 23: 2 we read, “He leadeth me beside the still waters”. In natural things no one ever leads an animal beside the water, he leads him to the water to drink; but the idea here is that I am so satisfied, I have such resources that I can survey all that is around me and be superior to it all; I want nothing here. In Psalm 22 we have Christ in death; in Psalm 24, Christ in glory; and Psalm 23 comes in between.
The Corinthians were not enjoying this; they did not know Christ in glory, their minds were the hindrance [p. 143] They were so taken up with their own wisdom that they could not know Christ as wisdom. They did not know Him as Solomon; there is nothing so hinders in the things of God as allowing our minds to work. I find my mind constantly coming in; we have no idea how it interferes with us, and we ought to be constantly watchful against allowing it to have place.
Well, how were the Corinthians to get right? By getting into the presence of the Lord, beholding Him in glory, being transformed into the same image. When I am in His presence, alone with Him, everything else is gone. Then it is that we know resource; it is not now looking for relief from Him as at first, but when I get to His side of things I am taken up with Himself. I am free of myself so that He may make impressions on me. Do you say, I want to be so transformed? Well, then, if you do, you will be. Get into His presence and you will be transformed. But, you say, I have never known Him thus. Then you have never wanted to know Him thus. If you aspire after it you will get it. We always get the thing we value.
I cannot explain to you what this transformation is. No one could make you understand what it is; you must get it for yourself in His presence. If you would know Himself you must be in His company. Service can be known at a distance; love can only be known in nearness to the one that loves.
Turn now to our chapter for a moment. What the queen of Sheba finds out is Solomon’s wisdom. Christ is the wisdom of God; He is made unto us wisdom. “Wisdom is better than rubies”, etc. Proverbs 8: 11. The queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem to Solomon. She had heard a true report of his acts and his wisdom; but she said, I must go and see for myself; long though the journey be, I will take it, I will go. She came to where Solomon was; we must go to our Solomon; we must go if we would know wisdom. She came and communed with [p. 144] him, and Solomon answered all her questions. She saw the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, etc. I am not going into all the details (there are seven things that she saw), or to give the interpretation of them; but you will notice that all that so engrossed her was what concerned himself - what was private to him. Those were the things which impressed her. What I want to call attention to is the result! The effect upon her was that there “was no more spirit in her”! Herself was gone! She says to Solomon, “It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom ... and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants”, etc.; and then she breaks out into praise of the Lord his God.
So with us; it is not effort, but in His presence we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory. There is nothing like it. If you desire it, go to the Lord and tell Him, Lord, I would be entranced in Thy presence, there to learn Thy mind.