“THE LIVING ... HE SHALL PRAISE THEE”

A. C. Clapham

Luke 20: 34–38; Isaiah 38: 1–3, 17–22

God has peculiar delight in what is living. He is not the God of the dead but of the living. He has operated in Christ and given His Spirit in order that believers might be in life. Morally dead persons yield no fruit for God, but His people are viewed as sons of the resurrection; they are sons of God. The Lord makes a comparison here between the sons of this world and the sons of that world. It is quite clear that there are two worlds in mind. There is this world that is all around us, governed by what is material and natural. The Lord says they, “marry and are given in marriage”, not that there is anything wrong in marriage, but that is their horizon, as far as they go in their outlook. But then the Lord speaks of those “who are counted worthy to have part in that world”. So, beloved brethren, we want to qualify morally to have part in God’s world. The world that is beyond death is marked by life and is related to the living God, to the Lord Jesus, as Son of the living God, while the Holy Spirit is life, the Spirit of life, and the saints are living stones. I would like to be more characteristically a living stone, because God delights in what is living. So the Lord says there are those that morally qualify. They are “counted worthy”, that is on moral grounds.

From one aspect it is all sovereign grace that we have a place with Christ above, pure grace. But there is another side, of which the Lord is speaking here, that of being morally qualified.

Our place in the kingdom is according to our faithfulness here. And the last years of our life are very important. We want to finish like Jacob, a worshipper, leaning on his staff. He would be counted worthy. He had a chequered career, like some of us, but he had a good finish. We who are older want a good finish.

So how wonderful it is to be sons of the resurrection. That means that we belong to the world of resurrection. This world and all that is in it is marked by vanity and moral death; man is so corrupt and such a sinner. So the Lord here speaks of all living to God; “all live for him”. Is it not wonderful that, for example, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are all living to God? They died hundreds of years ago, yet in their spirits they live to God. All the saints that have died live for God. So we want to be in a real way sons of the resurrection, walking in the power of resurrection life, going against the stream, going against what is down here, against what is defiling. So it is quite clear what the Lord says, “He is not God of the dead but of the living”.

I read these verses in Isaiah to show how we are brought into life by discipline, through experience with God. What is christianity if it does not result in christian experience? It is not theory, and it is not just to be a picture on the wall, we are to experience these things. We are to experience communion with the Father and with the Son and with the Holy Spirit. Now Hezekiah received a very solemn word—God told him that he was going to die

and he must set his house in order. I wonder what we would do if we were told we were to die tomorrow. We would think, ‘Well, now, is there anything I have to put right? Is there anything between myself and any brother or sister that I need to put right? Any unrighteousness with any man in the world?’. Because we want all things to be clear; we want to go out with everything clear. Well, this king, when he received this message, prayed and wept, and he was repentant. I know he reminded God of his works, but God did not answer him because of that. God says, “I have seen thy tears”. He looks at our hearts and if we are real in our prayers He will come in and give us an answer. This was a life-and-death matter and, beloved brethren, our christian life is a life-and-death matter; we must not be careless and easy going, we must have exercise and prayer every day. We must draw near to God every day, because the flesh is very strong within us and the devil tries to hinder us from going on. We know how the devil tries to depress us. Perhaps you do not feel well in your health, then the devil may try to depress your mind. Then you may feel you have not the joy you should have. What must we do? Pray! Just turn to the Lord; even though you may cry and weep, turn to the Lord and pray for deliverance. Have we not proved, beloved brethren, that He answers prayer? That is what Hezekiah proved.

The turning point came in his exercises when he stopped talking about himself. There was a lot of ‘I’ with him, you know. And there is a lot of ‘I’ with some of us. He speaks of mourning like the dove—and ‘I’ this and ‘I’ that. Then he gets his eye off himself and speaks of God in love casting his sins behind His back. He got into the love of God. He was getting out of the dull weather into the sunshine of divine love. Divine love is very

liberating, and he got free. Oh let us get free! We need it every day, as having Christ, that glorious Man, before us. And now what does Hezekiah say? “The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I this day”. You see, it was experience. There is no substitute for experience with God. You look back on your history and you remember when you proved God. You want through deep exercises and the Lord helped you; you came through the dark tunnel and you got free to sing, “The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I this day”. Let us be more among this living company, for God takes great delight in the responses of His people.

Hezekiah says in Isaiah 38: 20, “Jehovah was purposed to save me”. He is always purposed to save us. He is the God of all encouragement. Mr. Darby remarked that God does not discourage, He always encourages. It is circumstances, the devil, and ourselves that discourage. Then Hezekiah says, “We will play upon my stringed instruments all the days of our life”. He wanted to share his experience with the saints. He is becoming typically now an assembly man, blending in with the brethren in the service of praise. Is it not wonderful to have part in the service of God in praise and worship? It is the fruit of what you have learned in the wilderness with God. “My stringed instruments” would refer to the harp. It involves our affections and feelings. What you learn of God yourself in soul experience should be for the good and encouragement of the brethren.

So may the God of the living encourage every one of us, young and old, even if we are only small, like those gnats in Exodus 8. You will remember that the magicians of Egypt could not bring life in. The gnats are only little creatures, but they are

in life. The magicians could not bring life in. So the way to confound the devil, to confound the enemy, is to be in life. May it be so with us, for His name’s sake.

Word in meeting for ministry, Endbach
13 July 1976