FEATURES OF MAGNIFICENCE (2)
FEATURES OF MAGNIFICENCE (2)
WJH Some of us have been looking at the features of magnificence that were manifested in Luke 1, in view of the approaching coming of the Lord, and again in Acts 1, in view of His return to heaven, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Along with the thought of magnificence there is also the thought of elevation, as exemplified in Luke 1 by the “hill country,” and in Acts 1 by the “upper room.” It says that Mary went “with haste” to the hill country, and found Elisabeth already there, and then it speaks of all those who dwelt in the hill country, as if there had been an exodus there. I thought that this morning we might see that where these conditions of magnificence and elevation are present, room is found for every part of the work of God. In the upper room there were Peter and John, and the other apostles, several women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brethren — all representing various features of the work of God.
Ques Do you feel that, in view of the imminent return of the Lord, these features of magnificence should be more in evidence amongst His people?
WJH Yes. It is a principle with God that the close of a dispensation should correspond with its beginning. In view of the return of the Lord, we should be exercised like David to find a suitable place for the ark. He says of the place that was to be built entirely for the housing of that cherished object that it was to be “exceeding magnifical” (1 Chronicles 22: 5).
Ques Were the features of magnificence seen in David himself, when God chose him from following the sheep?
WJH What commended David to God was his desire that the ark should be suitably housed. He says in Psalm 132 “We heard of it at Ephratah, we found it in the fields of the wood,” showing that in Saul’s time there was not the slightest regard for it; it was in the fields of the wood. He spent his lifetime gathering materials, the value of which, if you try to compute it, is an enormous sum — materials for a “magnifical” abode for the ark.
Ques Where did David get the materials from?
WJH He got a great deal — not all — but a great deal in conflict. He fought with Moab, Edom, Syria, and returned with spoil of gold,
silver — and brass, which he dedicated to the Lord. So every conflict amongst God’s people should yield spoil and magnificent material for the abode of the true ark.
Then in David himself there was seen a feature of magnificence — he was small, so small that even Jesse, his father, overlooked him when Samuel was there. But he was ruddy and, withal, of a beautiful countenance — the eye of the Spirit could discern in him what was suited to God.
Ques What is the thought of elevation?
WJH We must move above the level of things around us; the desire to be great, envyings, strife, evil speaking — all these things are the reverse of magnifical — they are contemptible in God’s sight. They do not belong to the upper room. The Lord Jesus, when questioned about His doctrine, replied, “Ask them which heard Me. I spoke openly to the world, and in secret have I said nothing.” How many of us could say that? “In secret have I said nothing.” How much we say in secret that we will not say openly. If we cannot say a thing to a brother’s face, we should not say it at all.
Ques Is the judgment of Judas ’ case in Acts 1 in keeping with the thought of elevation?
WJH Yes, and it is noticeable that they recognise what their own hearts were capable of; they say “he was numbered amongst us.” It was one of “us” who was guide to them that took Jesus. The description of Judas ’ end as given here is very instructive. “He burst asunder, and all his bowels gushed out.” It was a complete exposure of the kind of man that he was, for which there is no room in the “upper room.” But there is room for every feature of the work of God.
Ques What are those features?
WJH Well, first there is Peter. He (and the others) was staying in the upper room — not just visiting. We may visit it in the morning meeting or the prayer meeting for instance, but do we stay there? We should live in an atmosphere of elevation. It has been pointed out recently that Peter is always first. The feature he represents must be first. You cannot have the rest unless it is first. He represents the great feature of subjection. He speaks much of it in his writings. He has the keys of the kingdom. Subjection is magnificent, and is suitable material for the abode of the ark. It really goes into eternity. We must have the subjection side as seen in Peter before you can have the love side as seen in John.
Then in James and John you have the brotherly element — they were brothers. There is room for that feature in the “upper room.” Also for the evangelists as seen in Andrew and Philip. Andrew brought people to Jesus, and Philip is with him.
Then, in men such as Bartholomew, for example, you get those who are less prominent; but there is room for them. One has detected the tendency to discount that which is not prominent; but that is not in accordance with the “upper room.” You may search through the Gospels and the Acts for anything that Bartholomew did, and you will not find it; but he has a place amongst all the rest. The sisters cannot be prominent, but they are necessary for that which is “exceeding magnifical.”
Then there is Judas (not Iscariot). What marks him is a spirit of enquiry. He hears something which is new to him (John 14: 22), something which does not fit in with what he had previously learnt; but instead of saying, “I cannot go with that,” he asks. The Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8: 31) is another fine example of this feature of magnificence. “How can I,” he says, “except some man should guide me?” We should be ready to ask about things that we do not understand, and not just reject them because they are new to us. “If anyone thinks he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know it” (1 Corinthians 8: 2).
Then another feature of the work of God for which there is ample room in the conditions we have been speaking about, comes to light at the close of chapter 1. That is, the acceptance of sovereignty. In choosing an apostle to replace Judas two men are found who each fulfil every requirement; that is, they have companied with the apostles all the time the Lord Jesus went in and out amongst them, beginning from the baptism of John till the day He was taken up from them. They were both men of repute, and outwardly there was no difference. The matter is then referred to the Lord, on the ground that He alone knows the hearts, and He makes known His sovereign choice. What is to be noted is that there is the most complete acceptance of it, not a word of demur; all are satisfied. Nothing is more testing than the sovereignty of God in giving one a place more than another, and nowhere else in the world is there room for it without demur, except in the “upper room.”
Ques Does not Judas really represent apostasy, and does not the danger of that intruding amongst us make sovereignty more essential than ever? Matthias was to replace Judas.
WJH It is beautiful to see how everyone acquiesces; there is no complaint. In the world it would have aroused all sorts of criticism and bad feeling. But as “upper room” conditions are found amongst us, there is the acceptance of sovereignty and thus a place made for the ark to rest, for the ark is Christ as the expression of the entire will of God.