Every Human Being.

'The very thing that we are studying is that Christ has allied Himself with every soul on the earth. He has linked Himself with every human being, with every one in sinful flesh, and we are not to hide ourselves from Him who is our flesh…

 

…What is our profession in the world? We profess the name of Christ, which in the nature of things, demands that we respect the investment that He has made in every human soul and that we minister to all in need.

 

… "Search heaven and earth and there is no truth revealed more powerful" in Christian work and in teaching the truth as it is in Jesus. In heaven and earth there is nothing like it.

 

Just in this time, when such a fast as that is needed everywhere and among us especially, how blessed a thing it is that the Lord brings us right to that point and reveals the whole subject to us, giving us the Spirit and the secret that will do the whole of it in Christ's name, for His sake, with His Spirit, and to every man, because every soul is the purchase of Christ. Wherever we meet a human being, Christ has allied Himself with that man.  Whoever He is, the Lord is interested in Him; He has invested all that He has in that man.

 

This truth draws us to the point where we shall always be doing everything possible to put forth the attractions of Christ, the graces of Christ and the goodness of Christ to men who know Him not but in whom He has invested all so that they may be drawn to where they, too, will respect the goodness of Christ and the wondrous investment that He has made in them.

 

If you are doing it for the man's sake or for your own credit, you may be taken in, of course. But if you do it as unto Christ and because of Christ's interest in the man, it is literally impossible for you ever to be "taken in, for Christ ever liveth and doth not forget. "Give to Him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."

 

Here is the principle: It is to Christ that we are doing it. And as stated in the previous lesson, though the man may despise Christ and never believe on Him as long as the world lasts and may sink into perdition at the last,  Christ in that great day when I stand on His right hand yonder will not have forgotten it. And in remembrance of it He will then say: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

 

You remember the place where He says: "Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." Matt. 10:42.  And this being so, when done only in the name of a disciple, how much more when it is done always in the name of the Lord himself! "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which ye have showed toward His name in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister." Heb. 6:10. Do you minister? That is the question.

 

This is the true fellowship of man, the true brotherhood of man. A great deal is said nowadays about "the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man." But it is just the brotherhood of such men as they approve all the time. If you belong to our order, then that is the brotherhood of man, but if you do not, we have nothing to do with you. Even churches also act the same way: If you belong to our church, then that is the brotherhood of man, but if you do not belong to our church, why, we have no particular interest in you, as we have nothing to do, properly, with caring for those who are outside of our church. This is our brotherhood of man.

 

All this is not the brotherhood of man at all. The true fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man is the brotherhood of man in Jesus Christ. It is to see Jesus Christ as He has allied Himself to every man, and as He has invested all He has in every man. He has broken down the middle wall of partition. In His flesh, which was our flesh, He has broken down the middle wall of partition that was between us, for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace indeed. And in Him there is neither Greek nor Jew, black nor white, barbarian, Cythian,  bond, nor free; nothing of the kind. All are one in Christ Jesus, and there is no respect of persons with God.

 

In Jesus Christ alone is the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, and in Jesus Christ we find the brotherhood of man only when we find Christ the Brother of every man.

 

It is written, "For which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." Not ashamed to call who brethren?  Every one that is of flesh and blood--Christ is not ashamed to call him brother. He is not ashamed to go and take him by the hand, even though his breath does smell of liquor and say, "Come with me, and let us go a better way." That is the brotherhood of man.

 

It has been Satan's work always to get men to think that God is far away as possible. But it is the Lord's everlasting effort to get men to find out that He is as near to every one as possible. So it is written: He is not far from every one of us.

 

The great trouble with heathenism was to think that God was so far away--not only far away but full of wrath at them all, and only waiting to get a chance to pick them up and savagely shake them and plunge them into perdition. So viewing Him, they made offerings to get Him in a good humor and to keep Him from hurting them.  But He was not far from every one of them all the time. "Not far." That is near--so near that all they had to do was to "feel after him." Although they were blind and in the dark too, all they had to do was to feel after Him and they would "find him." Acts 17:21-28.

 

Then the papacy came in, the very incarnation of that enmity between man and God. This incarnation of evil entered under the name of Christianity, and it again puts God and Christ so far away that nobody can come near to them. Everybody else comes in before God.

 

Then in addition to all this, He is so far away that Mary and her mother and her father--and then all the rest of the Catholic saints clear down to Joan of Arc and Christopher Columbus pretty soon--all these have to come in between God and men so as to make such a connection that all can be sure that they are noticed by Him.

 

But this is all of Satan's invention. Christ is not so far away as that. He is not far enough away to get a single relation in between Him and me or between Him and you. And this is just where God wants us to view Him--so near that it is impossible for anything or anybody to get between. But to how many people has He come so near?  He is not far from every one of us, even the heathen.

The incarnation of that enmity that is against God and that separates between man and God--the papacy built up this, and now here is this same thought that we mentioned a moment ago, the false idea that He is so holy that it would be entirely unbecoming in Him to come near to us and be possessed of such a nature as we have--sinful,  depraved, fallen human nature. Therefore Mary must be born immaculate, perfect, sinless, and higher than the cherubim and seraphim and then Christ must be so born of her as to take His human nature in absolute sinlessness from her. But that puts Him farther away from us than the cherubim and the seraphim are and in a sinless nature.

 

But if He comes no nearer to us than in a sinless nature, that is a long way off, because I need somebody that is nearer to me than that. I need someone to help me who knows something about sinful nature, for that is the nature that I have, and such the Lord did take. He became one of us. Thus, you see, this is present truth in every respect, now that the papacy is taking possession of the world and the image of it is going on in the wrong way,  forgetting all that God is in Jesus Christ and all that Christ is in the world--having the form of godliness without the reality, without the power. In this day is it not just the thing that is needed in the world, that God should proclaim the real merits of Jesus Christ once more and His holiness?

 

It is true He is holy; He is altogether holy. But His holiness is not that kind that makes Him afraid to be in company with people who are not holy for fear He will get His holiness spoiled. Anybody who has such a kind of holiness that they cannot be found in the company--in the name of Jesus Christ--of people who are fallen and lost and degraded, without spoiling it would better get rid of it as quickly as possible and get the right kind,  because that kind of holiness is not worth having. It is already spoiled.

 

[Question: What about the reputation?

Answer: The Christian has no reputation. He has character. The Christian asks no questions about reputation.  Character, character is all that the Christian cares for and that the character of God, revealed in Jesus Christ.]

 

But there is a great amount of just that kind of holiness among professed Christians in these days… It is that kind of "holiness" which leads many to be ready to exclaim if a brother or sister--a sister especially--should go among the fallen,  unfortunate ones and begin to work for them and sympathize with them and help them up: "O, well, if you are going with such people as that, I cannot associate with you any more. Indeed, I am not sure that I want to belong to the church any more, if you are going to work for such people and bring them into the church."

 

The answer to all such expressions as those is: Very good. If you do not want to belong to the church with such people as that, you would better get out of the church as quickly as possible, for very soon the church of Jesus Christ is going to have just that kind of people in it. "The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom before you."

 

The church of Jesus Christ, in a little while, is going to be so molded upon the grace of Jesus Christ and so filled with His holy character that its members will not be afraid to go, as did He, to the lowest depths to pick up the fallen. They will have such measure of the holiness of Jesus Christ that they will not be afraid of becoming defiled by going in His name down to the lowest.

 

But that kind of holiness which says: "Come not near to me, for I am holier than thou"--stand aloof or you will defile my holy garments--O, that is the holiness of the devil! Away with it!

 

God's holiness is pure, that is true; it is such holiness that sin cannot bear the presence of it. It is holiness of such transcendent purity and power as to be a consuming fire to sin. Its consuming power upon sin is because of its wondrous purity, and therefore because of the wondrous purity, and the power of that wondrous purity of the holiness of God in Jesus Christ, He longs to come in contact with those who are laden with sins, who are permeated through and through with sins in order that this holiness, finding an entrance, shall consume the sin and save the soul. That is Christ's holiness.

 

It is one of the most blessed truths in the Bible, that our God is a consuming fire because of His holiness. For then in Jesus Christ we meet Him whose holiness is a consuming fire to sin, and that is the pledge of our salvation in perfection from every stain of sin. The brightness, the glory, the all consuming purity of that holiness will take every vestige of sin and sinfulness out of the man who will meet God in Jesus Christ.

 

Thus in His true holiness, Christ could come and did come to sinful men in sinful flesh, where sinful men are.  Thus in Christ and in Christ alone is found the brotherhood of man. All indeed are one in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Some have found and all may find in the Testimonies the statement that Christ has not "like passions" as we have. The statement is there; every one may find it there, of course.

 

Now there will be no difficulty in any of these studies from beginning to end. If you will stick precisely to what is said and not go beyond what is said nor put into it what is not said, whether it be touching Church and State,  separation from the world or this of Christ in our flesh. Stick strictly to what is said. Do not go to drawing curious conclusions. Some have drawn the conclusion some time ago--and you can see what a fearful conclusion it is--that "Christ became ourselves; He is our flesh. Therefore, I am Christ." They say Christ forgave sins; I can forgive sins; He wrought miracles; I must work miracles. That is a fearful argument. There are no two ways about that.

 

Christ became ourselves, in our place, weak as we, and in all points like as we are, in order that he might be that forever and never that we should be Himself. No. It is God who is to be manifested always and not ourselves. In order that this might be, Christ emptied Himself and took ourselves in order that God Himself might come to us,  appear in us, and be revealed in us and through us in all things. It is always God and never ourselves. That which ruined us at the start was the exaltation of ourselves, the setting forth of ourselves and the putting of ourselves above God. In order that we might get rid of our wicked selves, Christ emptied His righteous self and stood in the place of our wicked selves and crucified ourselves, putting ourselves under foot always, in order that God might be all in all. How much? All. All in how many? All. It was done that God might be all that there is in me and all there is in you and all there is in Christ. Assuredly that is what this was done for. We are not to exalt ourselves. Christ is to increase. I am to decrease. He is to live. I am to die. He is to be exalted. I am to be emptied.'

 

1895 G.C. Sermon #16  by A.T. Jones

A Fast Not of Food- But of Self-Serving.

Isa 58:1  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 

Isa 58:2  Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. 

Isa 58:3  Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. 

Isa 58:4  Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 

Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? 

Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 

Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 

Isa 58:8  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 

Isa 58:9  Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 

Isa 58:10  And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: 

Isa 58:11  And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 

Isa 58:12  And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 

Isa 58:13  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 

Isa 58:14  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 

'Turn to the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. Let us read a portion of that chapter to begin with this evening, as connecting with the close of the lesson we had last night:

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways as a nation that did righteousness and forsook not the ordinance of their God.

Just as though they were in harmony with all the ordinances of the Lord.

"They ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Wherefore have we fasted,  say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul and thou takest no knowledge?

[Here is the answer.] 

Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure and exact all your labors. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen?

The text asks, 

"Is it...a day for a man to afflict his soul?" 

The margin is the better reading: "Is it... for a man to afflict his soul for a day?"

A man proposes to fast; he goes without vituals, perhaps from breakfast to supper--and afflicts his soul by thus going hungry and calls that a fast. He has afflicted his soul for a day.

Is it such a fast that I have chosen? for a man to afflict his soul for a day? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?

Here is the fast that the Lord has appointed:

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

That is the point at which the lesson closed last night. That is the fast that God has chosen for His people; that is an acceptable fast unto the Lord. But that fast never can be observed until those who would observe it have come to the place where they shall see Jesus Christ allied, as He is, to every soul on this earth and shall treat him according to the alliance that Christ has made with him. When we reach that place--and we reach it in Jesus Christ, for it is there--then that will be the fast that we will observe right along.'

1895 G.C. Sermon #16  by A.T. Jones (EXCERPT)

Not Until They Are Sealed.

After John saw so much, he was shown more. Jesus had opened six seals which reached all the way down through history to the 'great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?'  Seriously, our Savior's return will be a GREAT day of wrath for many, we can't ignore that truth in favor of wanting to believe the lies that Satan weaves all about us. Too many want to believe that they will face no wrath, that there isn't even a God to exact any wrath other than the god portrayed in movies. That great day will arrive and John was witness to that day in the visions given to him.

 

Ask yourself a question… after the great day of wrath, after the return of our Savior then strife no longer matters- it's over- for all those who are Christ's are now redeemed and all those who are not Christ's are destroyed.

 

What John sees next isn't the seventh seal being opened, so he is still being shown things of the sixth seal. Perhaps in greater detail. We understand how we can be shown something and then we zoom in so we can see more detail. This has to be what is happening, because the angels work is finished after our Savior returns. So, having said that, let's look in greater detail at what John is being shown under the sixth seal.

 

Next, John saw four angels… 

 

Rev 7:1  And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 

 

Four angels standing on the four corners of the earth- North, South, East and West. These angels were holding the four winds of the earth. We all know how destructive wind can be in a literal sense, and we know that if there are four angels HOLDING the wind they are holding the four winds for a reason. This wind is being kept from blowing on earth, sea, and trees. The power of the angels needed to keep things from being destroyed is tremendous. Yet things need to be kept from being destroyed because God will have His way. God will keep things in check only allowing them to have their way according to His plans.

John watched the four angels protecting the earth and then he saw ANOTHER angel. This angel came from the east and he had the SEAL of the living God.

 

Rev 7:2  And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 

Rev 7:3  Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 

 

This angel cried with a LOUD voice to those four angels. The four angels who were by God's command in control of allowing things loosed, the winds released, and those things, those winds, would be allowed to HURT the earth and sea once they were loosed. This angel cried loudly to those other angels in control saying, HURT NOT the earth, neither the sea nor the trees.  DO NOT HURT anything yet! Do not let go of the winds, do not release the power that will hurt. Why? Because the other angel has to SEAL the servants of God in their forehead first. God's servants need to be protected, and they are protected by being sealed as belonging to God.

 

Now, I want to go to the writings we've been following- Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith, and I want to read what he has to say about the above.

 

I am not a Biblical scholar by any means. I seek God's truth only and I pray to God that He will open my understanding, helping me discern between truth and lies. Too many would have me believe that what I believe are just lies, but when I look at the very big picture of history hand in hand with God's word I can't help but believe that God has opened my eyes by the Holy Spirit to His Truth. Prayerfully all who seek God will know only His truth and nothing else. I'm not asking anyone to believe what I believe- they need to believe what God would have them believe- which prayerfully is His truth.

 

Excerpt-

 

'The chronology of the work here introduced is established beyond mistake. The sixth chapter closed with the events of the sixth seal, and the seventh seal is not mentioned until we reach the opening of chapter 8.

 

The whole of chapter is therefore thrown in here parenthetically. Why is it thus thrown in at this point? - Evidently for the purpose of stating additional particulars concerning the sixth seal.

 

The expression, "after these things," does not mean after the fulfilment of all the events previously described; but after the prophet had been carried down in vision to the close of the sixth seal, in order not to break the consecutive order of events as given in chapter 6, his mind is called to what is mentioned in chapter 7, as further particulars to transpire in connection with that seal.

 

Then we inquire, Between what events in that seal does this work come in?

 

It must transpire before the departing of the heavens as a scroll; for after that event there is no place for such a work as this. And it must take place subsequently to the signs in the sun, moon, and stars; for

p 459 -- these signs have been fulfilled, and such a work has not yet been accomplished. It comes in, therefore, between the 13th and 14th verses of Revelation 6; but there, as already shown, is just where we now stand. Hence the first part of Revelation 7 relates to a work the accomplishment of which may be looked for at the present time.

 

Four Angels. - Angels are ever-present agents in the affairs of the earth; and why may not these be four of those heavenly beings into whose hands God has committed the work here described; namely, holding the winds while it is God's purpose that they should not blow, and hurting the earth with them when the time comes that they should be loosed? For it will be noticed (verse 3) that the "hurting" is a work committed to their hands equally with the "holding;" so that they do not merely let the winds go when they are to blow, but they cause them to blow; they impel forward the work of destruction with their own supernatural energy. But the hurting process here brought to view does not include the seven last plagues. That work is given into the hands of seven special angels; this, into the hands of four. Or, it may be that when the time comes for the pouring out of the plagues, the seven angels who have specific charge of these judgments, unite with the four whose mission it is to cause the winds to blow, and all together bring on that pre-eminent exhibition of divine vengeance against a generation which is pre-eminent in guilt.

 

Four Corners of the Earth. - An expression denoting the four quarters, or the four points of the compass, and signifying that these angels, in their particular sphere, had charge of the whole earth.

 

The Four Winds. - Winds, in the Bible, symbolize political commotion, strife, and war. Dan. 7:2; Jer. 25:32. The four winds, held by four angels standing in the four quarters of the earth, must denote all the elements of strife and commotion that exist in the world; and when they are all loosed, and all blow together, it will constitute the great whirlwind just referred to in the prophecy of Jeremiah.

 

p 460 -- The Angel Ascending From the East. - Another literal angel, having charge of another specific work, is here introduced. Instead of the words "ascending from the east," some translations read, "Ascending from the sun rising," which is a more literal translation. The expression evidently refers to manner rather than locality; for as the sun arises with rays at first oblique and comparatively powerless, but increases in strength until it shines in all its meridian power and splendor, so the work of this angel commences in weakness, moves onward with ever-accumulating influence, and closes in strength and power.

 

The Seal of the Living God. - This is the distinguishing characteristic of the ascending angel; he bears with him the seal of the living God.

 

From this fact, and the chronology of his work, we are to determine, if possible, what movement is symbolized by his mission. The nature of his work is evidently embraced in his having the seal of the living God; and to ascertain what his work is, the inquiry must be answered what this seal of the living God is, which he bears with him.

 

1. The Term Seal Defined. - A seal is defined to be an instrument of sealing; that which "is used by individuals, corporate bodies, and states, for making impressions on wax, upon instruments of writing, as an evidence of their authenticity." The original word in this passage is defined, "A seal, i. e., a signet ring; a mark, stamp, badge; a token, a pledge." Among the significations of the verb are the following: "To secure to any one, to make sure; to set a seal or mark upon anything in token of its being genuine or approved; to attest, to confirm, to establish, to distinguish by a mark." By a comparison of Gen. 17:11 with Rom. 4:11, and Rev.7:3 with Eze. 9:4, in connection with the above definition, the reader will see that the words token, sign, seal, and mark are used in the Bible as synonymous terms.

 

The seal of God, as brought to view in our text, is to be applied to the servants of God.

 

We are not, of course, to suppose that in this case it is some literal mark to be made in the flesh, but that it is some institution or observance having special reference to God, which will serve

p 461 -- as a "mark of distinction" between the worshipers of God and those who are not in truth his servants, though they may profess to follow him.

 

2. The Use of a Seal. - A seal is used to render valid or authentic any enactments, or laws, which a person or power may promulgate. Frequent instances of its use occur in the Scriptures. In 1 Kings 21:8, we read that Jezebel "wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal." These letters then had all the authority of King Ahab. Again, in Esther 3:12: "In the name of King Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring." So also in chapter 8:8: "The writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse."

 

3. Where a Seal is Used. - Always in connection with some law or enactment that demands obedience, or upon documents that are to be made legal, or subject to the provisions of law. The idea of law is inseparable from a seal.

 

4. As Applied to God. - We are not to suppose that to the enactments and laws of God binding upon men, there must be attached a literal seal, made with literal instruments; but from the definition of the term, and the purpose for which a seal is used, as shown above, we must understand a seal to be strictly that which gives validity and authenticity to enactments and laws.

 

This is found, though a literal seal may not be used, in the name or signature of the law-making power, expressed in such terms as to show what the power is, and its right to make laws and demand obedience. Even with a literal seal, the name must always be used. (See the references above given.) An instance of the use of the name alone seems to occur in Dan. 6:8: "Now, 0 king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not;" that is, affix the sigmature of royalty, showing who it is that demands obedience, and his right to demand it.

 

In a gospel prophecy found in Isaiah 8, we read: "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." This must refer to a work of reviving in the minds of the disciples some of the claims of the law which had been overlooked,

p 462 -- or perverted from their true meaning, and this, in the prophecy, is called sealing the law, or restoring to it its seal, which had been taken from it.

 

Again, the 144,000, who in the chapter before us are said to be sealed with the seal of God in their foreheads, are again brought to view in Rev. 14:1, where they are said to have the Father's name written in their foreheads.

 

From the foregoing reasoning, facts, and declarations of Scripture, two conclusions inevitably follow: -

 

1. The seal of God is found in connection with the law of God.

2. The seal of God is that part of his law which contains his name, or descriptive title, showing who he is, the extent of his dominion, and his right to rule.

 

The law of God is admitted by all the leading evangelical denominations to be summarily contained in the decalogue, or ten commandments. We have, then, but to examine these commandments to see which one it is that constitutes the seal of the law, or, in other words, makes known the true God, the law-making power. The first three commandments mention the word God; but we cannot tell from these who is meant, for there are multitudes of objects to which this name is applied. There are "gods many and lords many," as the apostle says. 1 Cor. 8:5. Passing over the fourth commandment for the time being, the fifth contains the words Lord and God, but does not define them; and the remaining five precepts do not contain the name of God at all. Now what shall be done? With that portion of the law which we have examined, it would be impossible to convict the grossest idolater of sin. The worshiper of images could say, This idol before me is my god; his name is god, and these are his precepts. The worshiper of the heavenly bodies could also say, The sun is my god, and I worship him according to this law. Thus, without the fourth commandment, the decalogue is null and void, so far as it pertains to enforcing the worship of the true God. But let us now add the fourth commandment, restore to the law this precept, which many are ready to contend has been expunged, and see how the case will then

p 463 -- stand. As we examine this commandment, which contains the declaration, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is," etc., we see at once that we are reading the requirements of Him who created all things.

 

The sun, then, is not the God of the decalogue; the true God is he who made the sun. No object in heaven or earth is the being who here demands obedience; for the God of this law is the one who made all created things. Now we have a weapon against idolatry. Now this law can no longer be applied to false gods, who "have not made the heavens and the earth." Jer. 10:11. Now the author of this law has declared who he is, the extent of his dominion, and his right to rule; for every created intelligence must at once assent that He who is the Creator of all, has a right to demand obedience from all his creatures. Thus with the fourth commandment in its place, this wonderful document, the decalogue, the only document among men which God ever wrote with his own finger, has a signature; it has that which renders it intelligible and authentic; it has a seal. But without the fourth commandment, it lacks all these things.

 

From the foregoing reasoning, it is evident that the fourth commandment constitutes the seal of the law of God, or the seal of God. But the Scriptures do not leave us without direct testimony on this point.

 

We have seen above that in Scripture usage, sign, seal, token, and mark are synonymous terms. Now, the Lord expressly says that the Sabbath is a sign between him and his people. "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." Ex. 31:13.

 

The same fact is again stated by the prophet Ezekiel, chapter 20:12, 20. Here the Lord told his people that the very object of their keeping the Sabbath, that is, observing the fourth commandment, was that they might know that he was the true God. This is the same as if the Lord had said, "The Sabbath is a seal. On my part it is the seal of my authority, the sign that I have the right to command obedience; on your part it is a token that you take me to be your God."

 

p 464 -- Should it be said that this principle can have no application to Christians at the present time, as the Sabbath was a sign between God and the Jews only, it would be sufficient to reply that the terms Jew and Israel, in a true Scriptural sense, are not confined, to the literal seed of Abraham. Abraham was chosen at first because he was the friend of God while his fathers were idolaters; and his seed were chosen to be God's people, the guardians of his law and the depositaries of his truth, because all others had apostatized from him; and it is true that these words respecting the Sabbath were spoken to them while they enjoyed the honor of being thus set apart from all others. But when the middle wall of partition was broken down, and the Gentiles were called in to be partakers of the blessings of Abraham, all God's people, both Jews and Gentiles, were brought into a new and more intimate relation to God through his Son, and they are now called "Jews inwardly" and "Israelites indeed."

 

And now the declaration applies to all such; for they have as much occasion to know the Lord as had his people of old.

 

Thus the fourth commandment, or the Sabbath, is taken by the Lord as a sign between him and his people, or the seal of his law in both dispensations; the people by that commandment signifying that they are the worshipers of the true God, and God, by the same commandment, making himself known as their rightful ruler, inasmuch as he is their Creator.

 

In harmony with this idea, the significant fact is to be noticed that whenever the sacred writers wish to point out the true God in distinction from false gods of every description, an appeal is made to the great facts of creation, upon which the fourth commandment is based. (See 2 Kings 19:15; 2 Chron. 2:12; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 115:4-7,15; 121:2; 124:8; 134:3; 146:6; Isa. 37:16; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; Job 9:8; Isa 51:13; Jer. 10:10-12; Ps. 96:5; Jer. 32:17; 51:15; Acts 4:24; 14:15; 17:23, 24, etc.)

 

We refer again to the fact that the same company who in Revelation 7 have the seal of the living God in their foreheads, are brought to view again in Rev. 14:1, having the Father's name in their foreheads. This is good proof that the "seal of

p 465 -- the living God" and the "Father's name" are used synonymously. The chain of evidence on this point is rendered complete, when it is ascertained that the fourth commandment, which has been shown to be the seal of the law, is spoken of by the Lord as that which contains his name. The proof of this will be seen by referring to Deut. 16:6: "But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there shalt thou sacrifice the passover," etc. What was there where they sacrificed the passover? - There was the sanctuary, having in its holiest apartment the ark with the ten commandments, the fourth of which declared the true God, and contained his name. Wherever this fourth commandant was, there God's name was placed; and this was the only object to which the language could be applied. (See Deut. 12:5, 11, 21; 14:23, 24, etc.)

 

Having now ascertained that the seal of God is his holy Sabbath, having his name, we are prepared to proceed with the application.

 

By the scenes introduced in the verses before us, namely, the four winds apparently about to blow, bringing war and trouble upon the land, and this work restrained till the servants of God should be sealed, as though a preparatory work must be done for them to save them from this trouble, we are reminded of the houses of the Israelites marked with the blood of the paschal lamb, and spared as the destroying angel passed over to slay the first-born of the Egyptians (Exodus 12); also of the mark made by the man with a writer's ink-horn (Ezekiel 9) upon all those who were to be spared by the men with the slaughtering weapons who followed after; and we conclude that the seal of God, here placed upon his servants, is some distinguishing mark, or religious characteristic, through which they will be exempted from the judgments of God that fall on the wicked around them.

 

As we have found the seal of God in the fourth commandment, the inquiry follows, Does the observance of that commandment involve any peculiarity in religious practice? - Yes, a very marked and striking one. It is one of the most singular facts to be met with in religious history that, in an age of such boasted gospel light as the present, when the influence of Christianity

p 466 -- is so powerful and wide-spread, one of the most striking peculiarities in practice which a person can adopt, and one of the greatest crosses he can take up, even in the most enlightened and Christian lands, is the simple observance of the law of God. For the fourth commandment requires the observance of the seventh day of each week as the Sabbath of the Lord; but almost all Christendom, through the combined influences of paganism and the papacy, have been beguiled into the keeping of the first day. A person has but to commence the observance of the day enjoined in the commandment and a mark of peculiarity is upon him at once. He is distinct alike from the professedly religious world and the unconverted world.

 

We conclude, then, that the angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, is a divine messenger in charge of a work of reform to be carried on among men in reference to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The agents of this work on the earth are of course ministers of Christ; for to men is given the commission of instructing their fellow men in Bible truth; but as there is order in the execution of all the divine counsels, it seems not improbable that a literal angel may have the charge and oversight of this work.

 

We have already noticed the chronology of this work as locating it in our own time. This is further evident from the fact that, as the next event after the sealing of these servants of God, we behold them before the throne, with palms of victory in their hands. The sealing is therefore the last work to be accomplished for them prior to their redemption.

 

In Revelation 14 we find the same work again brought to view under the symbol of an angel flying in the midst of heaven with the most terrific warning that ever fell upon the ears of men. We shall speak of this more fully when we reach that chapter. We refer to it now, as it is the last work to be accomplished for the world before the coming of Christ, which is the next event in order in that prophecy, and hence must synchronize with the work here brought to view in Rev. 7:1-3. The angel with the seal of the living God, mentioned in chapter 7, is therefore the same as the third angel of chapter 14.

 

p 467 -- And this view strengthens the foregoing exposition of the seal. For while, as the result of the work in chapter 7, a certain company are sealed with the seal of the living God, as the result of the third message of chapter 14 a company are brought out rendering Scriptural obedience to all the "commandments of God." Verse 12. It is the fourth commandment of the Decalogue and that alone which the Christian world is openly violating and teaching men to violate; and that this is the representative question in this message is evident from the fact that the keeping of the commandments, observing, with all the other moral precepts, the Lord's Sabbath, is what distinguishes the servants of God from those who worship the beast and receive his mark, which is, as will be hereafter shown, the observance of a counterfeit sabbath.

 

Having thus briefly noticed the main points of the subject, we now come to the most striking feature of all. In exact accordance with the foregoing chronological argument, we find this work already in process of fulfilment before our eyes. The third angel's message is going forth; the angel ascending from the east is on his mission; the reform on the Sabbath question has commenced; it is surely, though yet in comparative silence, working its way through the land; it is destined to agitate every country entitled to the light of the gospel; and it will result in bringing out a people prepared for the soon coming of the Saviour, and sealed for his everlasting kingdom.

With one more question we leave these verses, upon which we have so lengthily dwelt. Have we seen among the nations any movements which would indicate that the cry of the ascending angel, "Hurt not," etc., by the blowing of the winds, "till we have sealed the servants of our God," has in any manner been answered? The time during which the winds are held could not, from the nature of the case, be a time of profound peace. This would not answer to the prophecy. For in order to make it manifest that the winds are being held, there must be disturbance, agitation, anger, and jealousy among the nations, with an occasional outburst of strife, like a fitful gust breaking away from the imprisoned and struggling tempest; and these outbursts must be suddenly and

p 468 -- unexpectedly checked. Then, but not otherwise, would it be evident to him who looked at events in the light of prophecy, that for some good purpose the restraining hand of Omnipotence was laid upon the surging elements of strife and war. And such has been the aspect of our times for nearly half a century. Commencing with the great revolution of 1848, when so many European thrones pled into the dust, what a state of anger and political unrest has existed among all the nations of the earth! New and unlooked-for complications have suddenly sprung up, throwing matters into apparently inextricable confusion, and threatening immediate and direful war. And now and then the conflict has burst forth in fury, and a thousand voices have been raised to predict that the great crisis had come, that universal war must result, and the termination no man could foretell, when suddenly and unaccountably it has been extinguished, and all subsided into quiet again.

 

In our own land the terrible civil war of 1861 to 1865 is a notable instance. By the spring of the latter year, so great had become the pressure upon the nation for men and means to continue the war that it began seriously to impede the progress of the work symbolized by the ascending angel, even threatening to arrest it entirely. Those interested in these truths, believing that the time had come for the application of the prophecy, and that the words of the angel, "Hurt not," etc., indicated a movement on the part of the church, accordingly raised their petitions to the Ruler of nations to restrain the cruel work of tumult and war. Days of fasting and prayer were set apart for this purpose. The time at which this occurred was a dark and gloomy period of the war; and not a few high in political life predicted its indefinite continuance, and an appalling intensity of all its evils. But suddenly a change came; and not three months had elapsed from the time of which we speak, ere the last army of the Southern Confederacy had surrendered, and all its soldiers had laid down their arms. So sudden and entire was the collapse, and so grateful were all hearts for relief from the pressure of the terrible strife, that the nation broke forth into a song of jubilee,

p 469 -- and these words were conspicuously displayed at the national capital: "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." There are those who believe there was a definite cause for this sudden cessation of the strife, of which, of course, the world is but little aware. The sudden conclusion of the Franco-German war of 1870, of the war between Turkey and Russia in 1877-78, the Spanish-American war in 1896, and the recent war between Russia and Japan, may be cited as still later examples.'

 

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Clearly, living in the year 2020, we've a lot more history than Uriah Smith had. Our God is LONGSUFFERING, make no mistake. While our God is longsuffering He will not be mocked, and He will not be denied the ultimate ending. When the cup is filled, when all who will be His are His, then it will be over. Sealed… God's people will be sealed as His. May WE be sealed at His, keeping all His truth, now and always!

 

More soon. All by the will of our LORD by HIS MERCY and GRACE, HIS LOVE!

 

The Iniquity of Us All - On Jesus.

Isa_53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

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'We are still studying the name of Christ, which is "God with us." And as stated before, He could not be God with us without becoming ourselves, because it is not Himself that is manifest in the world. We do not see Jesus in this world, as He was in heaven; He did not come into this world as He was in heaven, nor was that personality manifested in the world which was in heaven before He came. He emptied Himself and became ourselves. Then putting His trust in God, God dwelt with Him. And He being ourselves and God being with Him, He is "God with us." That is His name.

 

If He had come into the world as He was in heaven, being God, manifesting Himself as He was there and God being with Him, His name would not have been "God with us," for He would not then have been ourselves. But He emptied Himself. He Himself was not manifested in the world.

 

Mat_11:27  .. no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

 

For it is written: "No man knoweth the Son but the Father"--not simply no man, but no one. No one knoweth the Son but the Father. "Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him."

 

It is not written, No man knoweth the Son but the Father and he to whom the Father will reveal Him. No. No man knoweth the Son at all, but the Father.  And the Father does not reveal the Son in the world, but the Son reveals the Father. Christ is not the revelation of Himself. He is the revelation of the Father to the world and in the world and to men.

 

Therefore, He says, "No man knoweth the Father but the Son and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal the Father." So it is the Father that is revealed in the world and revealed to us and revealed in us in Christ. This is the one thing that we are studying all the time. This is the center around which everything else circles. And Christ having taken our human nature in all things in the flesh and so having become ourselves, when we read of Him and the Father's dealings with Him, we are reading of ourselves and of the Father's dealings with us.

 

What God did to Him was to us; what God did for Him was for us.

 

And therefore, again it is written: "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor. 5:21.

 

In all points it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, and He is our brother in the nearest blood relationship. We are now to study another phase of this great subject: First in the Psalms--Christ in the Psalms--that we may see how entirely the Psalms mean Christ and that the one whose experience is recorded there is Christ.

 

It is impossible to touch the whole 150 Psalms in detail in one lesson or in a dozen lessons; yet in a sense we can touch the whole 150 by so touching a few as to show the one great secret of the whole number and that secret is Christ.

 

We shall take some of the Psalms of which God Himself has made the application to Christ so that there can be no possible doubt that that Psalm refers to Christ. Then when we read these Psalms, we know that we are reading of Jesus Christ and of God's dealings with Him--He too being ourselves all the time, weak as we are,  sinful as are we in the flesh, made to be sinners just as we are, all our guilt and our sins being laid upon Him and He feeling the guilt and the condemnation of it in all things as ourselves.

 

Take the fortieth Psalm, which refers to Christ at His coming into the world. Turn to the fortieth Psalm and the tenth of Hebrews both at once.

 

Beginning with Psalm 40:6: "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened." The margin reads, "Mine ears hast thou digged."

 

The secret of the reference there is to that passage in the twenty-first chapter of Exodus, 1-6, where if a man be a Hebrew servant, he shall serve his master a certain number of years and the year of release he shall go out free. But if he say: "I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out free," then the master shall bring him to the doorpost and bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his servant forever. That hole bored through his ear with an awl was an outward sign that that man's ears were always opened to the word of the master, ready to obey.

 

Now as Christ came into the world as man, He said to the Father: "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire;  mine ears hast thou opened." Mine ears are opened to thy word, ready for thy commands; I will not go out; I love my Master and my children. I will not go out. I am thy servant forever.

 

"Burnt offering and sin offering has thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God."

 

Now see Heb. 10:5-9:

Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me; in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God.

 

Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

 

There is the Lord's application of the fortieth Psalm to Christ, and He said this when He came into the world. Let us read on, then, in the fortieth Psalm:

I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy loving kindness and thy truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have compassed me about [Who? Christ.]; mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head:  therefore my heart faileth me.

 

Who? Christ. Where did He get iniquity? Oh, "the Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all."

 

Were they not more than the hairs of His head? And when He would look at Himself and consider Himself, where would He appear in His own sight? Oh, "my heart faileth me," because of the enormity of the guilt and the condemnation of the sin--our sins that were laid upon Him.

 

But in His divine faith and trust in the Father, He continues:

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha. [Didn't they say that to Him on the cross?] Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee; let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified.

Who said so? He who was conscious of iniquities in such number that they were more than the hairs of His head. He who was so bowed down and so burdened with these--He was praising and rejoicing in the Lord!

 

But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and deliverer; make no tarrying O my God.

 

Now turn to the first verse of the fortieth Psalm:

I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

 

Who? Christ, and He was ourselves. Shall we, then, say the word: "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry?" Assuredly. What, laden with sin as I am? sinner as I am? sinful flesh as I have? How do I know that He hears my cry? Ah, He has demonstrated it for a whole lifetime in my nearest of kin.  He has demonstrated it in my flesh that He inclines--leans over--to listen to my cry. O, there are times, you know,  when our sins seem to be so mountain high. We are so discouraged by them. And Satan is right there ready to say, "Yes, you ought to be discouraged by them. There is no use of your praying to the Lord; He will not have anything to do with such as you are. You are too bad." And we begin to think that the Lord will not hear our prayers at all. Away with such thoughts! Not only will He hear but He is listening to hear. Remember the statement in Malachi, "The Lord hearkened and heard." To hearken is to listen, then the Lord is listening to hear the prayers of people laden with sin.

 

But there are times in our discouragement when the waters go over our souls, when we can hardly muster up the courage of faith to speak our prayers aloud. O, at such times as that, if they are too faint in our faith to reach him as He listens, then He leans over and listens; He inclines His ear and hears. That is the Lord. That is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lover and Saviour of sinners. Then if He should lead you and me through the deep waters and they go over our souls as they did over His, O, we can wait patiently for the Lord. He will incline unto us. He will lean over and hear our cry!

 

He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it and fear and shall trust in the Lord. [Who said so? Jesus.] Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust and respecteth not the proud nor such as turn aside to lies.

 

Now turn to the twenty-second Psalm. There is so much in that that is familiar to everybody, that all know where it applies. First verse:

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [Who said so? Jesus on the cross.] Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime but thou hearest not: and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee [He came in the line of the fathers.] They trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee and were not confounded. But I am a worm and no man; a reproach of man and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head,  saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him, let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

You know that is the record of his crucifixion; this is the crucifixion Psalm.

 

But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me; strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.  They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them; and cast lots upon my vesture  [Here is his experience on the cross.] But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.  Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling [Margin, "my only one." Septuagint, "my only begotten."] from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord,  praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him: but when he cried unto him, he heard.

 

Who says so? Who says that from the cry of the afflicted one, from the sinner who is burdened and laden with sin, more than the hairs of his head? Who says that God the Father will not turn away from such a one? Christ says so. And he knows it. Who says that the Father will not hide His face from such as I, and such as you?  Christ says so, and He has demonstrated it; for is He not now alive and in glory at the right hand of God? And in that it is demonstrated before the universe that God will not hide His face from the man whose iniquities are gone over His head and are more than the hairs of His head. Then be of good cheer; be of good courage. He is our salvation; he has wrought it out. He has demonstrated to all men that God is Saviour of sinner.

 

My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation; I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

 

Will you? Now note: Who was He when He was saying this? He was ourselves. Then who shall it be that is saying it still? Will it not count now for us in Him, as well as it did eighteen hundred years ago for us in Him? It counted for us then in Him because He was ourselves, and now in Him is it not the same thing? Now the last two verses of the twenty-second Psalm:

 

A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

 

The twenty-third Psalm comes next after the twenty-second. "The Lord is my shepherd." Whose? Christ's. The twenty-second is the crucifixion hymn, the crucifixion Psalm. Where is the twenty-third, then? Let us see:

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness.

Who? Me, a sinner? one laden with sins? Will He lead me in the paths of righteousness? Yes. How do you know? He did it once. In Christ He led me in the paths of righteousness once, for His name's sake, a whole lifetime. Therefore I know that in Christ He will lead me, a sinful man, again and ever in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. That is faith.

 

Taking these words as we have heard in Brother Prescott's lesson this evening, as being themselves the salvation of God which comes to us, they themselves will work in us the salvation of God itself. That is where Christ got it. When He put Himself where we are, where did He get salvation? He did not save Himself. That was the taunt, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save....Let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe on Him." He could have done it. But if He had saved Himself, it would have ruined us. We would have been lost if He had saved Himself. O, but He saves us! Then what saved Him? This word of salvation saved Him when He was ourselves, and it saves us when we are in Him. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake--me, me! And this in order that every one on the earth can say in him, "He leadeth me."

 

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death."

 

Where was He in the twenty-second Psalm? On the cross, facing death. The twenty-third Psalm comes right in there, in proper order, you see, as He steps into the dark valley. "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Who? Christ and in Him ourselves, and we know it because God did it once for us in Him. And in Him it is done still for us.

 

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Who? Me. Thank the Lord!  How do I know? Because they did follow me once in Him. Goodness and mercy did follow me from birth unto the grave once in this world in Him, and as long as I am in Him, they follow me still. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." How do I know? Ah,  because that in Him it has been done once for me. It has been demonstrated before the universe that it is so, and I take it and am glad.

 

Then the twenty-fourth Psalm comes right on after the twenty-third. The twenty-second is the crucifixion psalm;  the twenty-third takes Him through the valley of the shadow of death; and the twenty-fourth is the ascension psalm.

 

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.  Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

 

He did it once for me in Him; in Him it is done still for me; and in Him I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

 

This is all only illustrative of the truth as to Christ in the Psalms.

 

Look at the sixty-ninth Psalm and we shall see this further. Indeed, where can we look in the Psalms without seeing it? That is the question. Where in the Psalms can we look and not see it? I will read a verse or two in the sixty-ninth Psalm, though, that you may see that this is exactly applicable there.

 

Fourth verse: "They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head." The scripture was fulfilled, "They hate me without a cause," you remember. Seventh verse: "For thy sake I have borne reproach;  shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.  For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." "And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." "The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me." Paul writes in Romans 15:3 "For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me."

 

Now Psalm 69:20, 21:

Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none: and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

 

Then that Psalm applies to Christ.

 

Look at the first verse: "Save me, O, God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in the deep mire, where there is no standing; I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God." Then follows, "They that hate me without a cause." etc.  Then the fifth verse: "O God, thou knowest my foolishness and my sins are not hid from thee." Whose sins?  Christ's--the righteous one, who knew no sin, made to bear sin for us! Our sins were upon Him; the guilt and the condemnation of these were not hid from God.

 

O, it was a terrible thing, that He should undo Himself and become ourselves in all things in order that we might be saved--running the risk, the fearful risk, of losing all--risking all to save all. But what were we of ourselves?  From head to foot nothing but a body of sin. Yet He risked all to save us, it is true. But we were nothing. True,  but in His love and in His pity He did it. Thank the Lord that He had the royal courage to do it. And He won it.  And we are saved in Him.

 

We read here His confession of sin. This was He as ourselves and in our place, confessing our sins and we needed that also. He was baptized in our behalf, because no baptism on our part could be perfect so as to be accepted in righteousness. "It must be perfect to be accepted." No man's confession of sin can, in itself, ever be so perfect as to be accepted of God in righteousness, because man is imperfect. But "it must be perfect to be accepted." Where then, shall perfection of confession be found? Ah! In Him my confession of sin is perfect; for He made the confession. How many times when persons have made confession as thoroughly as they know how, Satan gets the advantage of them by the suggestion: You have not properly confessed your sin. You have not confessed hard enough to get forgiveness. O, of course you have confessed, but you have not done it hard enough. God cannot forgive you on such a confession as that. Hold the word of God up before Him and tell Him:  There is One who is perfect; He bore my sins and He has made the confession, and when He shows me the sin, I confess it according to my power and ability and as God reveals it to me and in Him and by virtue of His confession, mine is accepted in righteousness. His confession is perfect in every respect and God accepts mine in Him.

 

Then in Him we have exemption from Satan's discouragement as to whether we have confessed our sins hard enough, sought them out faithfully enough or repented enough. In Christ we have repentance; in Him we have confession; in Him we have perfection, and in Him we are complete. O, He is the Saviour!

 

Weak as we; sinful as we--simply ourselves--He went through this world and never sinned. He was sinful as we,  weak as we, helpless as we, helpless as the man is who is without God, yet by His trust in God, God so visited Him, so abode with Him, so strengthened Him, that, instead of sin ever being manifested, the righteousness of God was always manifested.

 

But who was He? He was ourselves.

 

Then God has demonstrated once in the world and to the universe that He will so come to me and you and so live with us as we are in the world today and will cause His grace and His power to so abide with us that, in spite of all our sinfulness, in spite of all our weaknesses, the righteousness and the holy influence of God will be manifested to men instead of ourselves and our sinfulness.

 

The mystery of God is not God manifest in sinless flesh. There is mystery about God being manifest in sinless flesh; that is natural enough. Is not God Himself sinless? Is there then any room for wonder that God could manifest Himself through or in sinless flesh? Is there any mystery as to God's manifesting His power and His righteous glory through Gabriel or through the bright seraphim or the cherubim? No. That is natural enough. But the wonder is that God can do that through and in sinful flesh. That is the mystery of God. God manifest in sinful flesh.

 

In Jesus Christ as He was in sinful flesh, God has demonstrated before the universe that He can so take possession of sinful flesh as to manifest His own presence, His power, and His glory, instead of sin manifesting itself. And all that the Son asks of any man in order to accomplish this in Him is that the man will let the Lord have Him as the Lord Jesus did.

 

Jesus said, "I will put my trust in Him." And in that trust Christ brought to every one the divine faith by which we can put our trust in Him. And when we do so separate from the world and put our sole trust in Him, then God will so take us and so use us that our sinful selves shall not appear to influence or affect anybody, but God will manifest His righteous self, His glory, before men, in spite of all ourselves and our sinfulness. That is the truth.  And that is the mystery of God, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." God manifest in sinful flesh.

 

Upon this point, also, Satan discourages many. To the believing sinner Satan says: You are too sinful to count yourself a Christian. God cannot have anything to do with you. Look at yourself. You know you are good for nothing. Satan has discouraged us thousands of times with that kind of argument.

 

But God has wrought out an argument that puts this plea of Satan all to shame, for Jesus came and became ourselves--sinful as we are, laden with the sins of the world--far more sins than there are upon me. And in Him,  laden with ten thousand times more sins than ever were upon me, God has demonstrated that with one so sinful as that, He will come and live a whole lifetime and manifest Himself and His righteousness in spite of all the sinfulness and in spite of the devil. God laid help upon One who is mighty, and that help reaches us. Thank the Lord.

 

Brethren, that does me good. For I know that if ever anything good is to be manifested in this world where I am,  it must come from some source besides myself. That is settled. But, O! the blessedness of it is, God has demonstrated that He will manifest His righteous self instead of my sinful self when I let Him have me. I cannot manifest righteousness of myself; I cannot manifest His righteousness in myself. No. I let Him have me,  absolutely, overwhelmingly. Then He attends to that. He has demonstrated it so. He has demonstrated a whole lifetime what God is when He is joined with me in sinful flesh. He can do it again as certainly as He

can have me.

 

Will you let Him have you? O, does it call for too full a surrender? No. It is becoming. How full a surrender did He make? He surrendered all Himself. Christ gave up Himself, emptied Himself. The French translation is, "He annihilated Himself." He undid Himself and sank Himself in us in order that God, instead of ourselves and His righteousness, instead of our sinfulness, might be manifested in us in our sinful flesh. Then let us respond and sink ourselves in Him, that God may still be manifest in sinful flesh.

 

Now using that statement that is sometimes used in a jocular way about the man--I use it reverently, and it is a good illustration; it is a right illustration--who said: "I and my wife are one, and I am the one." Christ and the man are one, and the question always is, Which shall be the one? Christ has allied Himself with every man on the earth, but multitudes say, "Yes, that is all right enough, but I am the one." Many arrogantly refuse all, exclaiming:  "I am the one; I am enough." but the Christian, the believer, yielding to Jesus Christ, says, "Yes, thank the Lord!  He and I are one and He is the one."

 

Christ has allied Himself with every human being, on His own part; and if every human being in the world tonight should drop everything and say, "Yes, that is a fact; He and I are one, and He is the one," every soul would be saved tonight, and Christ would appear in every soul tomorrow.

 

Now brethren there is another thing that comes in here in our own practical experience. Christ has allied Himself to every human being. Then when He said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it [or not done it] unto one of the least of these my brethren; ye have done it [or not done it] unto me," how widespread is that truth? Suppose one comes to my door as a tramp; suppose He be ill dressed and perhaps has not had a good chance to wash Himself as clean as He ought to be. Who is allied to Him? Jesus. Who has invested His all in that man? The Lord Jesus.  Then as I treat that man, who is affected? The Lord Jesus, to be sure.

 

Shall I treat that man according to the estimate of Christ's investment or according to my opinions, as the world looks upon the man? That is the question.

 

Suppose here is a man that does not believe in Jesus--a worldly man, a drinking man, a swearing man--and he comes to me in some way--he may come to my door for something to eat or I may meet him as he is walking by the way. Suppose that out of respect to Christ I treat that man as Christ's purchase, as the one in whom Christ has invested all, and suppose that man never believes in Jesus at all and dies an infidel and perishes in perdition,  how does Christ look upon that which I did toward the man? In the judgment, if I shall stand on the right hand,  will He say anything about that which I did? O, He will say, "I was a hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: naked and ye clothed me: I was sick and ye visited me." Why, Lord, I know nothing about that. When did I ever see you hungry and fed you? or sick and helped you? or naked and clothed you? I know nothing about this. Oh, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

 

But suppose a man comes and says, "I am hungry; I would like something to eat." And I respond: "What are you drifting around the country for like this--an able-bodied man, as you are? Why don't you go to work?"  "Well, I can't find work." "O well, I get plenty of work; I can find work; I have not got out of work yet. I think work is not exactly what you want. I don't have anything for such folks as you are." I do not give him anything,  and he goes off.

 

In that day we shall all stand before the throne and I find myself standing on the left hand and I say: "Why,  Lord, Lord, I believe on you; don't you know, I believed the truth? I believed in the Third Angel's Message;  indeed, I was a preacher and preached in the Tabernacle in Battle Creek. I did much for the cause. In thy name I did many wonderful things." But the answer is "I was a hungered and you gave me no meat: I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink: naked and ye clothed me not: sick and in prison and ye visited me not." I wonderingly inquire,  "When did I ever see you hungry or in need or sick? I thought you were in heaven, glorified with all your trials past, and I wanted to get up here to see you. I did not suppose you were on earth where I could ever see you hungry or sick." He replies: "I came to your door one morning and asked for something to eat, after having been almost shelterless through the night": I answer, "You? No. I never saw you there." Well, He might point to such and such a time when a man did come to my door in just such a condition as that. But I say. "O, do you mean that man? surely that was not you." He answers finally; "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these,  ye did it not to me. Depart from me. I never knew you."

 

Whether a man gives Christ the credit for what He has invested in Him or not, as a believer in Jesus I must give to Christ the credit for what He has invested in that man. It is not a question whether that man gives Him credit for what He has invested in Him. It is a question whether those professing to believe in His name will give Him credit. That is where the great lack comes in the profession of Christianity too many times, as well as in those who deny Him and make no pretension to His name. It is not astonishing that a man who does not believe in Christ at all should give Christ no credit for His investment in Him, but here am I, a professor of Jesus. It is astonishing that I should not give Christ the credit for the investment that He has made in that man.

In the fifty-eighth of Isaiah the Lord describes the fast that He has chosen. It is, "That thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh." Who is our own flesh? Jesus Christ is. And Jesus Christ, as He has allied Himself to that man,  is my flesh. See "that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh." This is the fast that the Lord has chosen: Feed the hungry, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plea for the widow and spread abroad the good of His name and the charity of His goodness everywhere. He has allied Himself to human flesh, and in doing it to these,  we are doing it to Him. That is Christianity. 

 

1895 G.C. Sermon #15   by A.T. Jones