SPIRITUAL MEASUREMENT
[p. 416] SPIRITUAL MEASUREMENT
My thought is spiritual measurement. It is applied to many things in Scripture. It is a leading thought, a leading word in the divine language. There could not be proportion and balance without measure, and without proportion and balance creation could not exist; so it is in the spiritual realm, as in the passage in Ephesians, “Until we all arrive ... at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ”, Ephesians 4: 13.
I have selected these two passages not as giving us the acme of the thought of measurement but as presenting the measurement of what is; whether in a full-grown man, or a babe, or one who is a young man spiritually, for we have each measured in Scripture. We read of eight days, a month, a year, twelve years, thirty years, fifty years, and a widow not to be put on the list at less than sixty. So here, whatever the measure may be, the point is that it should be itself. We are apt in divine things to go beyond our spiritual measure in our words and expressions. This is not wholly unacceptable because, as in natural things, children must acquire the use of language. They use words beyond themselves and grow up to them in time. One wonders what a child would do if left to itself. How did language begin? All must have been objective at first. So the believer must take on words and phrases objectively and he may use what is beyond his spiritual measure. Then, unless he checks himself accurately by the Spirit’s power, he is sure to err by going beyond himself. Paul says, “I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offence”, Acts 24: 16. The conscience is the subjective side and unless a man has a good conscience in this matter, he will do damage to [p. 417] himself and to others. So the pace of the objective must be commensurate with that of the subjective; otherwise, we shall be exposed as stunted in our growth. I believe the present great pressure on the saints is to bring out our measure, whether the things we have been receiving through others have been formative in us so that we can stand the test and the strain. Our position is right. It has been arrived at by the Scriptures of truth, but the prophets themselves were formed by the things they uttered. They were exemplary of these things. We are told that no prophecy was ever uttered by man’s will. You may say, ‘What about Balaam?’ but this is peculiarly true of Balaam’s prophecy. Though a wicked man, so firmly was he held by God that he uttered a most wonderful prophecy. It was not his own will, but God put words into his mouth. He was not exemplary of what he prophesied. Indeed, he admitted that what he said did not apply to himself at all, “I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh”, Numbers 24: 17. What a terrible thing to confess, that in the day of Christ he would see Him but not nigh. Every christian will see Him near by. We shall be with Him. He says to us now, “Come near to me, I pray you”. It is a precious thought, but not so with Balaam. There are those to whom Christ has to say, “I know you not”, Luke 13: 25. He knows everyone in one sense, but to some He says, “Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity”, Luke 13: 27. The Lord did not allow Judas to await the judgment-seat before acquainting him with the knowledge that he was a devil. It was while he was still an apostle that this was said.
Characteristically the prophets were exemplary of what they spoke, of the truth they ministered. Daniel is particularly exemplary. He is called “greatly beloved”. I should not like to be out of that. Gabriel says, “O man greatly beloved”, (Daniel 10: 19), and again, “Go thou thy way ... thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days”, Daniel 12: 13. Where shall I appear in my lot? Daniel lived to be an old man and all those years he would have it in his soul that he would be in his lot at the end of days. I want to have that in mind. I do not want to be tossed like a cork on the ocean. We want to stand in our lot. Think of Daniel’s terrible experience in the den of lions, but there was in him the power of spiritual personality. It is a question of what we are in this storm that is upon us, tossed about or standing firm, not alone, but as in the body. It is a mighty thing. It is the mystery really. There is no greater thing in the universe. It is a cube, a six-sided solid (Revelation 21). It is constructed of persons all able to stand against the storm.
In Exodus 15 we have Miriam introduced in a remarkable way, not just as a woman, but “Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron”. The whole history is there at once. She must have been about ninety years old. Some must wait a long time to be specially singularised; others come into it early like Timothy. She comes in at the end of a wonderful composition, the first great contribution to the service of God. Singing is a great part of the service of God. It comes in here. It is a song of redemption. One is hardly in the good of redemption if one does not sing. It says, “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel”. They are over the Red Sea. The blood had been sprinkled. They are a redeemed people, and it is a precious thought at this time that we are redeemed. The hand of violence has been stretched out to claim us, but it is interfering with the rights of Christ in redemption. The song runs on beyond the subjective state in which the people were; it runs into Canaan though they were only just out of [p. 419] the land of Egypt. So it is with our hymns. Some of them are beyond us all, but we would not be without them. This song speaks of the dukes of Edom, of the inhabitants of Philistia and of other matters. Who are all these? They had not met these people yet, but as we lay hold of the song we shall not be so much afraid of them when we get near them. It is objective truth, but it will stand us in good stead presently. We should not sing it unless we have honest hearts, but we intend going that way. I purpose in my heart to go that way. The song sung by Miriam does not add one word to what the people sing. Indeed she only sings the opening strains but she uses an instrument and we read nothing of an instrument until we come to this. We do not talk about instruments when we are on objective lines. It is subjective when I have an instrument. Even Moses does not speak of an instrument. They are typical of the persons themselves. My point is how far on are you in this service of God? Are you still in the objective stage or are you considering yourself as a formed vessel in this storm and that you can go on and sing to God despite it? It is a question of your measure. Miriam had a timbrel, rather a noisy instrument but an instrument all the same. It has not the strains of a harp, but you, can make music with it, music that is really from the heart. Paul says, “I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also”, 1 Corinthians 14: 15. When you come to David’s time, you get other instruments, but this one is not cast aside. When you begin to sing with real feeling you are an instrument, not something to be thrown aside, but you are it. Miriam was not alone; all the women went out after her with instruments and with dances. It was real and genuine. It was only the first verse of the hymn, but they sang it with real feeling. If there is real feeling in the service of God,
[p. 420] all the brethren are affected. You may not have gone very far but it is real.
With Mary of Bethany it is no question of singing. In Jerusalem they had been singing after the Supper, but this is not the Lord’s supper here. This is a supper made for Him. We do not make the Lord’s supper. It is already made. It belongs to the assembly system. It is an integral part of it and cannot be separated from it, but here they made Him a supper and they are morally entitled to do it. He came to Bethany six days before the passover, “where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead”. In this section of John there are two parts to the glory. One part of the glory of Christ is here. Mary was essential to it. The Lord did not send for her or find her. She was there already. He did not find any one of the three. He knew they were there. You are already in your local setting. The Lord expects you to be there. He would not have come to Bethany if they were not there. I would like to be in my place when the Lord comes. Localities have a great place in the assembly economy. But in the second part of the Lord’s glory in this section He found an ass. He was going to Jerusalem and He needed an ass to make up the glory position. Mary was an essential part of it but when He was about to enter Jerusalem, His own capital, an ass was needed. Perhaps some brother or sister is needed in this room. Will you be intreated in vain? He found it and rode on it. Young people may think themselves of little account, but if you belong to the assembly you are of very great account. The Lord is here to find you. We should all be concerned as to our local position. Are we all ready for Christ to come? So in Bethany it speaks of the dead man Lazarus. It was a wonderful position. He was dead still from the Colossian standpoint. You could not find him in the usual haunts of men. He [p. 421] sat at the table in dignity. Martha was there too, serving, and Mary was there, outstandingly there. “Then took Mary a pound of ointment”; that is the idea of spirituality. It is not a low measure. She could sing the whole hymn. I have no doubt she could sing any hymn extant at that time. She could sing as an instrument. In Luke it speaks of a box, but in John she herself is the container. What a measure! The alabaster box means that I have kept myself from contamination, but that is not present here. She herself is the container. It is a full measure, a pound. It must have been in something, but God tells us that she is the vessel. She could sing any hymn, speaking spiritually. There are 150 Psalms, divided into five books, and whatever you want to express you can find it there. The Lord Himself added the word “psalms” in Luke 24 to “Moses and prophets”. If I am interested in the Psalms, I am a singer. So Mary of Bethany could sing any hymn in our book. She could sing them all through. Many can sing only one verse, but let us sing it well. Mary’s pound is the full thought of spirituality. This is a great spiritual scene. God is looking for that today in the midst of the pressure and He would have us all singing together.