Holy in Christ Part 2

3. G.o.d rests only in what is restful, wholly at His disposal. It is in the restfulness of faith that we must look to G.o.d the Sanctifier; He will come in and keep His holy Sabbath in the restful soul. We rest in G.o.d's rest; G.o.d rests in our rest.

4. The G.o.d that rests in man whom He made, and in resting sanctifies, and in sanctifying blesses: this is our G.o.d; praise and worship Him. _And trust Him to do His work._

5. Rest! what a simple word. The Rest of G.o.d! what an inconceivable fulness of Life and Love in that word. Let us meditate on it and worship before Him, until it overshadow us and we enter into it--the Rest of G.o.d. _Rest_ belongeth unto G.o.d: He alone can give it, by making us share His own.

Fourth Day.

HOLY IN CHRIST.

Holiness and Revelation.

'And when the Lord saw that Moses turned aside to see, He called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And He said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou standest is _holy_ ground. And Moses hid his face, for He was afraid to look upon G.o.d.'--Ex. iii. 4-6.

And why was it holy ground? Because G.o.d had come there and occupied it.

Where G.o.d is, there is holiness; it is the presence of G.o.d makes holy.

This is the truth we met with in Paradise when man was just created; here, where Scripture uses the word _Holy_ for the second time, it is repeated and enforced. A careful study of the word in the light of the burning bush will further open its deep significance. Let us see what the sacred history, what the revelation of G.o.d, and what Moses teaches us of this holy ground.

1. Note the place this first direct revelation of G.o.d to man as the Holy One takes in sacred history. In Paradise we found the word _Holy_ used of the seventh day. Since that time twenty-five centuries have elapsed.

We found in G.o.d's sanctifying the day of rest a promise of a new dispensation--the revelation of the Almighty Creator to be followed by that of the Holy One making holy. And yet throughout the book of Genesis the word never occurs again; it is as if G.o.d's Holiness is in abeyance; only in Exodus, with the calling of Moses, does it make its appearance again. This is a fact of deep import. Just as a parent or teacher seeks, in early childhood, to impress one lesson at a time, so G.o.d deals in the education of the human race. After having in the flood exhibited His righteous judgment against sin, He calls Abraham to be the father of a chosen people. And as the foundation of all His dealings with that people, He teaches him and his seed first of all the lesson of _childlike trust_--trust in Him as the Almighty, with whom nothing is too wonderful, and trust in Him as the Faithful One, whose oath could not be broken. With the growth of Israel to a people we see the revelation advancing to a new stage. The simplicity of childhood gives way to the waywardness of youth, and G.o.d must now interfere with the discipline and restriction of law. Having gained a right to a place in their confidence as the G.o.d of their fathers, He prepares them for a further revelation. Of the G.o.d of Abraham the chief attribute was that He was the Almighty One; of the G.o.d of Israel, Jehovah, that He is the Holy One.

And what is to be the special mark of the new period that is now about to be inaugurated, and which is introduced by the word holy? G.o.d tells Moses that He is now about to reveal Himself in a new character. He had been known to Abraham as G.o.d Almighty, the G.o.d of Promise (Ex. vi. 3).

He would now manifest Himself as Jehovah, the G.o.d of Fulfilment, especially in the redemption and deliverance of His people from the oppression He had foretold to Abraham. G.o.d Almighty is the G.o.d of Creation: Abraham believed in G.o.d, 'who quickeneth the dead, and calleth the things that are not as though they were.' Jehovah is the G.o.d of Redemption and of Holiness. With Abraham there was not a word of sin or guilt, and therefore not of redemption or holiness. To Israel the law is to be given, to convince of sin and prepare the way for holiness; it is Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, the Redeemer, who now appears. And it is the presence of this Holy One that makes the holy ground.

2. And how does this Presence reveal itself? In the burning bush G.o.d makes Himself known as dwelling in the midst of the fire. Elsewhere in Holy Scripture the connection between fire and the Holiness of G.o.d is clearly expressed: 'The light of Israel shall be for a fire, and the Holy One for a flame.' The nature of fire may be either beneficent or destructive. The sun, the great central fire, may give life and fruitfulness, or may scorch to death. All depends upon occupying the right position, upon the relation in which we stand to it. And so wherever G.o.d the Holy One reveals Himself, we shall find the two sides together: G.o.d's Holiness as judgment against sin, destroying the sinner who remains in it, and as Mercy freeing His people from it. Judgment and Mercy ever go together. Of the elements of nature there is none of such spiritual and mighty energy as Fire: what it consumes it takes and changes into its own spiritual nature, rejecting as smoke and ashes what cannot be a.s.similated. And so the Holiness of G.o.d is that infinite Perfection by which He keeps Himself free from all that is not Divine, and yet has fellowship with the creature, and takes it up into union with Himself, destroying and casting out all that will not yield itself to Him.

It is thus as One who dwells in the fire, who is a fire, that G.o.d reveals Himself at the opening of this new redemption period. With Abraham and the patriarchs, as we have said, there had been little teaching about sin or redemption; the nearness and friendship of G.o.d had been revealed. Now the law will be given, sin will be made manifest, the distance from G.o.d will be felt, that man, in learning to know himself and his sinfulness, may learn to know and long for G.o.d to make him holy.

In all G.o.d's revelation of Himself we shall find the combination of the two elements, the one repelling, the other attracting. In His house He will dwell in the midst of Israel, and yet it will be in the awful unapproachable solitude and darkness of the holiest of all within the veil. He will come near to them, and yet keep them at a distance. As we study the Holiness of G.o.d, we shall see in increasing clearness how, like fire, it repels and attracts, how it combines into one His infinite distance and His infinite nearness.

3. But the distance will be that which comes out first and most strongly. This we see in Moses: he hid his face, for He feared to look upon G.o.d. The first impression which G.o.d's Holiness produces is that of fear and awe. Until man, both as a creature and a sinner, learns how high G.o.d is above him, how different and distant he is from G.o.d, the Holiness of G.o.d will have little real value or attraction. Moses hiding his face shows us the effect of the drawing nigh of the Holy One, and the path to His further revelation.

How distinctly this comes out in G.o.d's own words: 'Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet.' Yes, G.o.d had drawn nigh, but Moses may not. G.o.d comes near: man must stand back. In the same breath G.o.d says, Draw nigh, and, Draw not nigh. There can be no knowledge of G.o.d or nearness to Him, where we have not first heard His, Draw not nigh. The sense of sin, of unfitness for G.o.d's presence, is the groundwork of true knowledge or worship of Him as the Holy One. 'Put off thy shoes from off thy feet.' The shoes are the means of intercourse with the world, the aids through which the flesh or nature does its will, moves about and does its work. In standing upon holy ground, all this must be put away.

It is with naked feet, naked and stript of every covering, that man must bow before a holy G.o.d. Our utter unfitness to draw nigh or have any dealings with the Holy One, is the very first lesson we have to learn, if ever we are to partic.i.p.ate in His Holiness. That _Put off!_ must exercise its condemning power through our whole being, until we come to realize the full extent of its meaning in the great, '_Put off_ the old man; put on the Lord Jesus,' and what 'the _putting off_ of the body of the flesh, in the circ.u.mcision of Christ,' is. Yes, all that is of nature and the flesh, all that is of our own doing or willing or working--our very life, must be put off and given unto the death, if G.o.d, as the Holy One, is to make Himself known to us.

We have seen before that Holiness is more than goodness or freedom from sin: even unfallen nature is not holy. Holiness is that awful glory by which Divinity is separated from all that is created. Therefore even the seraphs veil their faces with their wings when they sing the Thrice Holy. But oh! when the distance and the difference is not that of the creature only, but of the sinner, who can express, who can realize, the humiliation, the fear, the shame with which we ought to bow before the voice of the Holy One? Alas! this is one of the most terrible effects of sin, that it blinds us. We know not how unholy, how abominable, sin and the sinful nature are in G.o.d's sight. We have lost the power of recognising the Holiness of G.o.d: heathen philosophy had not even the idea of using the word as expressive of the moral character of its G.o.ds.

In losing the light of the glory of G.o.d, we have lost the power of knowing what sin is. And now G.o.d's first work in drawing nigh to us is to make us feel that we may not draw nigh as we are; that there will have to be a very real and a very solemn putting off, and even giving up to the death, of all that appears most lawful and most needful. Not only our shoes are soiled with contact with this unholy earth; even our face must be covered and our eyes closed, in token that the eyes of our heart, all our human wisdom and understanding, are incapable of beholding the Holy One. The first lesson in the school of personal holiness is, to fear and hide our face before the Holiness of G.o.d. 'Thus saith the High and Lofty One, whose name is holy, I dwell in the High and Holy Place, and with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit.'

Contrition, brokenness of spirit, fear and trembling are G.o.d's first demand of those who would see His Holiness.

Moses was to be the first preacher of the Holiness of G.o.d. Of the full communication of G.o.d's Holiness to us in Christ, His first revelation to Moses was the type and the pledge. From Moses' lips the people of Israel, from his pen the Church of Christ, was to receive the message, 'Be holy: I am holy: I make holy.' His preparation for being the messenger of the Holy One was here, where he hid his face, because he was afraid to look upon G.o.d. It is with the face in the dust, it is in the putting off not only of the shoes, but of all that has been in contact with the world and self and sin, that the soul draws nigh to the fire, in which G.o.d dwells, and which burns, but does not consume. Oh that every believer, who seeks to witness for G.o.d as the Holy One, might thus learn how the fulfilment of the type of the Burning Bush is the Crucified Christ, and how, as we die with Him, we receive that Baptism of Fire, which reveals in each of us what it means: the Holy One dwelling in a Burning Bush. Only so can we learn what it is to be holy, as He is holy.

BE YE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.

Most Holy G.o.d! I have seen Thee, who dwellest in the fire. I have heard Thy voice, Draw not nigh hither; put thy shoes off from thy feet. And my soul has feared to look upon G.o.d, the Holy One.

And yet, O my G.o.d! I must see Thee. Thou didst create me for Thy likeness. Thou hast taught that this likeness is Thy Holiness: 'Be holy, as I am holy.' O my G.o.d! how shall I know to be holy, unless I may see Thee, the Holy One? To be holy, I must look upon G.o.d.

I bless Thee for the revelation of Thyself in the flames of the thorn-bush, in the fire of the accursed tree. I bow in amazement and deep abas.e.m.e.nt at the great sight: Thy Son in the weakness of His human nature, in the fire, burning but not consumed. O my G.o.d! in fear and trembling I have yielded myself as a sinner to die like Him. Oh, let the fire consume all that is unholy in me! Let me too know Thee as the G.o.d that dwelleth in the fire, to melt down and purge out and destroy what is not of Thee, to save and take up into Thine own Holiness what is Thine own.

O Holy Lord G.o.d! I bow in the dust before this great mystery. Reveal to me Thy Holiness, that I too may be its witness and its messenger on earth. Amen.

1. _Holiness as the fire of G.o.d._ Praise G.o.d that there is a Power that can consume the vile and the dross, a Power that will not leave it undisturbed. 'The bush burning but not consumed' is not only the motto of the Church in time of persecution; it is the watchword of every soul in G.o.d's sanctifying work.

2. There is a new Theology, which only speaks of the love of G.o.d as seen in the cross. It sees not the glory of His Righteousness, and His righteous judgment. This is not the G.o.d of Scripture. 'Our G.o.d is a consuming fire,' is New Testament Theology. To 'offer service with reverence and awe,' is New Testament religion. In Holiness, Judgment and Mercy meet.

3. _Holiness as the fear of G.o.d._ Hiding the face before G.o.d for fear, not daring to look or speak,--this is the beginning of rest in G.o.d. It is not yet the true rest, but on the way to it. May G.o.d give us a deep fear of whatever could grieve or anger Him. May we have a deep fear of ourselves, and all that is of the old, the condemned nature, lest it rise again. 'The spirit of the fear of the Lord' is the first manifestation of the spirit of holiness, and prepares the way for the joy of holiness. 'Walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost;' these are the two sides of the Christian life.

4. The Holiness of G.o.d was revealed to Moses that he might be its messenger. The Church needs nothing so much to-day as men and women who can testify for the Holiness of G.o.d. Will you be one?

NOTE.

The connection between the fear of G.o.d and holiness is most intimate.

There are some who seek most earnestly for holiness, and yet never exhibit it in a light that will attract the world or even believers, because this element is wanting. It is the fear of the Lord that works that meekness and gentleness, that deliverance from self-confidence and self-consciousness, which form the true groundwork of a saintly character. The pa.s.sages of G.o.d's Word in which the two words are linked together are well worthy of a careful study. 'Who is like unto Thee, glorious in _holiness_, _fearful_ in praises?' 'In Thy _fear_ will I worship towards Thy _holy_ temple.' 'O _fear_ the Lord, ye His _holy ones_.' 'O worship the Lord, in the beauty of _holiness_; _fear_ before Him, all the earth.' 'Let them praise Thy great and _terrible_ name; _holy_ is He.' 'The _fear_ of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the _Holy One_ is understanding.' 'The Lord of hosts, Him shall ye _sanctify_; let Him be your _fear_, and let Him be your dread.' 'Perfecting _holiness_ in the _fear_ of the Lord.' 'Like as He which _called you_ is holy, be ye yourselves also _holy_; and if ye _call on Him_ as father, pa.s.s the time of your sojourning in _fear_.'

And so on through the whole of Scripture, from the Song of Moses on to the Song of the Lamb: 'Who shall not _fear_ Thee, O Lord! and glorify Thy name, for Thou only art _holy_.' If we yield ourselves to the impression of such pa.s.sages, we shall feel more deeply that the fear of G.o.d, the tender fear of in any way offending Him, the fear especially of entering into His holy presence with what is human and carnal, with aught of our own wisdom and effort, is of the very essence of the holiness we are to follow after. It is this fear of G.o.d will make us, like Moses, fall down and hide our face in G.o.d's presence, and wait for His own Holy Spirit to open in us the eyes, and breathe in us the thoughts and the worship, with which we draw nigh to Him, the Holy One.

It is in this holy fear that that stillness of soul is wrought which leads it to rest in G.o.d, and opens the way for what we saw in Paradise to be the secret of holiness: G.o.d keeping His Sabbath, and sanctifying the soul in which He rests.

Fifth Day.

HOLY IN CHRIST.

Holiness and Redemption.

'_Sanctify_ unto _me_ all the first-born.'--Ex. xiii. 2.

'All the first-born _are mine_; for on the day I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt _I sanctified_ unto _me_ all the first-born in Israel: _mine_ they shall be: I am the Lord.'--Num.

iii. 13, viii. 17.

'For I am the Lord your G.o.d that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt to be your G.o.d: ye shall therefore _be holy_, for I am _holy_.'--Lev. xi. 45.

'I have redeemed thee; thou art mine.'--Isa. xliii. 1.

At h.o.r.eb we saw how the first mention of the word holy in the history of fallen man was connected with the inauguration of a new period in the revelation of G.o.d, that of Redemption. In the pa.s.sover we have the first manifestation of what Redemption is; and here the more frequent use of the word holy begins. In the feast of unleavened bread we have the symbol of the putting off of the old and the putting on of the new, to which redemption through blood is to lead. Of the seven days we read: 'In the first day there shall be an _holy_ convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an _holy_ convocation;' the meeting of the redeemed people to commemorate its deliverance is a holy gathering; they meet under the covering of their Redeemer, the Holy One. As soon as the people had been redeemed from Egypt, G.o.d's very first word to them was, 'Sanctify--make holy unto me all the first-born: it is mine.' (See Ex.

xiii. 2.) The word reveals how proprietorship is one of the central thoughts both in redemption and in sanctification, the link that binds them together. And though the word is here only used of the first-born, they are regarded as the type of the whole people. We know how all growth and organization commence from a centre, around which in ever-widening circles the life of the organism spreads. If holiness in the human race is to be true and real, free as that of G.o.d, it must be the result of a self-appropriating development. And so the first-born are sanctified, and afterwards the priests in their place, as the type of what the whole people is to be as G.o.d's first-born among the nations, His peculiar treasure, 'an holy nation.' This idea of proprietorship as related to redemption and sanctification comes out with especial clearness when G.o.d speaks of the exchange of the priests for the first-born (Num. iii. 12, 13, viii. 16, 17): 'The Levites are _wholly given unto me_; instead of the first-born have I _taken them unto me_; for all the first-born _are mine_; in the day that I smote every first-born in the land of Egypt _I sanctified them for myself_.'

Let us try and realize the relation existing between redemption and holiness. In Paradise we saw what G.o.d's sanctifying the seventh day was: He took possession of it, He blessed it, He rested in it and refreshed Himself. Where G.o.d enters and rests, there is holiness: the more perfectly the object is fitted for Him to enter and dwell, the more perfect the holiness. The seventh day was sanctified as the period for man's sanctification. At the very first step G.o.d took to lead him to His Holiness--the command not to eat of the tree--man fell. G.o.d did not give up His plan, but had now to pursue a different and slower path. After twenty-five centuries' slow but needful preparation, He now reveals Himself as the Redeemer. A people whom He had chosen and formed for Himself He gives up to oppression and slavery, that their hearts may be prepared to long for and welcome a Deliverer. In a series of mighty wonders He proves Himself the Conqueror of their enemies, and then, in the blood of the Paschal Lamb on their doors, teaches them what redemption is, not only from an unjust oppressor here on earth, but from the righteous judgment their sins had deserved. The Pa.s.sover is to be to them the transition from the seen and temporal to the unseen and spiritual, revealing G.o.d not only as the Mighty but as the Holy One, freeing them not only from the house of bondage but the Destroying Angel.

And having thus redeemed them, He tells them that they are now His own.

During their stay at Sinai and in the wilderness, the thought is continually pressed upon them that they are now the Lord's people, whom He has made His own by the strength of His arm, that He may make them holy for Himself, even as He is holy. The purpose of redemption is Possession, and the purpose of Possession is likeness to Him who is Redeemer and Owner, is Holiness.