CHAPTER 6
[p. 176] CHAPTER 6
Here it is a question of the glory of Christ, as we see by comparing John 12: 40 with verse 10 of our chapter. The prophet sees here Christ as Jehovah of hosts who is manifested in the temple; the Spirit of God, putting together His glory and the state of His people, judges this state in reference to that glory. This is the Spirit of prophecy and of faith.
The unity and the condition of the church, do they answer to the heart of the Bridegroom? Everything for us is to be in accordance with God. The state of His people, was it according to the glory of Christ which it is my privilege to share?
“Woe is me for I am undone.” He judges the state of the people, his own conscience being touched. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me,+ etc. God establishes the prophet. The witness of prophecy consists in the setting forth of the holiness of God in the midst of His people. The live coal from off the altar had touched his lips, and his iniquity was taken away and sin purged.
There is a moment when the people of God become, as happened to the land of Pharaoh, the occasion of the outward manifestation of God’s judgments: a serious and terrible thought, yet suitable. For where ought God to execute His righteous judgments if not where His light has been diffused and disobeyed? There must fall most stripes (Luke 12). It is Christendom which is now charged with this responsibility. It is for these times the vine of the earth, the grapes of which shall be trodden in the winepress of His indignation (Revelation 14). God will send them strong delusion (2 Thessalonians 2: 11). It is just so here for the Jews of that day. “Make fat the heart of this people,” not the Gentiles (verse 10). Christendom which received not the love of the truth that they might be saved shall be judged in the same way. God will send them the working of delusion that they may believe the lie.
The judgment must go on to an entire desolation (verse 11, 12). There is a manifestation of glory, the prophetic testimony of purged lips, judgment on the people and land; but there is also the spirit of intercession, along with and by the Spirit of prophecy. Only we must remember that the Jews are to be restored on earth, the church will be glorified in heaven.
+Seraphim in itself means burners that fly, and is found combined with serpents in Numbers 21: 6, 8; Deuteronomy 8: 15.
[p. 177] The spirit of faith knows that it is impossible for God to abandon His people for ever. He subjects them to judgment up to desolation; but says the prophet, “Lord, how long?” He knows that there is a term and that finally grace abounds for the people. There will be a tenth (verse 13); then it is over again cropped down; but the holy seed, that is, the remnant, will be manifested. During winter the tree seems dead; but in spring, when the grace of God renews its shining on the people, the tree recovers.
This prophecy was given in the year that Uzziah died, and iniquity began to draw near under Jotham. The spirit of faith is pre-occupied with the glory of God, does not hide sin, but counts on grace in spite of sin. The principles which apply here are found again also for the church, though the details of application may not be the same. The church cannot say, Lord, how long? for the earth; but the responsibility of the vineyard, cultivated yet bearing bad fruit, abides. We may desire for our souls intelligence in God’s ways toward His people, and the application to ourselves and to the church of these great principles.
Nothing is more important for our souls than the church as an order of things here below for manifesting the glory of Christ during His absence. Our judgment on the state of the church should have as its rule the manifestation of Christ’s glory as the Head in heaven. I cannot have a deep feeling of the benefits conferred by any one without having the sense of the responsibility that results from the relationship. If we have unclean lips, and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, we shall gain nothing by hiding from us the glory of Christ.