The Arm Of The Lord~The Principles Of The Revealing Of His Arm

Now we come back to our initial question: What are the principles upon which the Arm of the Lord will be revealed?

As I have said, we think we are very familiar with the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah.

But when we read it, we are usually so taken up with those vividly descriptive words concerning the sorrows and the sufferings and the sin-bearing of the One who is in view...With the Person and the experiences of this suffering Servant of Jehovah...

That we almost entirely lose sight of the tremendous significance of that fundamental opening question: "To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"

And yet the whole chapter would have very little value and meaning but for that question.

Think about it again: Supposing all that is described there - His sufferings, His sorrows, and His sin-bearing - had taken place, and then the Arm of the Lord had not been revealed on His behalf, what were the value of it all?

It has happened - but where is the vindication?

What is the verdict of God upon it?

For, although the content of the chapter is so tremendous, and so overwhelmingly moving in its tragedy, it all relates to this one thing: "To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"

The answer is: To that very One who is described here in such vivid detail.

The Arm of the Lord is revealed to the One who, with such fulness and such pathos, is here brought into view, as the object of all this tragedy, affliction, misunderstanding and misrepresentation.

It is to that One that the Arm of the Lord is revealed.

The prophet is viewing the reaction of the whole world, Israel and Gentile alike, to the report, the proclamation.

Who has believed our report? he asks.

Who has believed the message that we have proclaimed?

It is all looking on to the day of the Son of Man.

The messengers have gone out; the proclamation has been made - and what a proclamation it was!

It was made on the Day of Pentecost; it went out from Jerusalem into all the regions round about.

But - who believed it?

What was the reaction to it, from Israel and the Gentiles?

The prophet, in his wonderfully vivid, inspired foreknowledge of, and insight into, the reactions of the world to the message of the Gospel, asks the question, and answers it in the whole chapter.

But he asks also: "To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"

The world has so reacted the vast majority have refused and rejected the message...

They have put a totally false construction upon the afflictions of the Suffering One.

Nevertheless, it is to this One that the Arm of the Lord is revealed;

It is alongside of this One that Jehovah stands.

 ~T. Austin Sparks~

In God's Time

Hab 2:3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 

Mercy may seem slow, but it is sure. 

The LORD in unfailing wisdom has appointed a time for the outgoings of His gracious power...

And God's time is the best time. 

We are in a hurry; the vision of the blessings excites our desire and hastens our longings...

But the LORD will keep His appointments. 

He never is before His time...

He never is behind...

God's word is here spoken of as a living thing which will speak and will come.

It is never a dead letter, as we are tempted to fear when we have long watched for its fulfillment. 

The living word is on the way from the living God, and though it may seem to linger, it is not in reality doing so. 

God's train is not behind time.

It is only a matter of patience, and we shall soon see for ourselves the faithfulness of the LORD.

No promise of His shall fail; "it will not lie." 

No promise of His will be lost in silence; "it shall speak." 

What comfort it will speak to the believing ear! 

No promise of His shall need to be renewed like a bill which could not be paid on the day in which it fell due - "it will not tarry."

Come, my soul, canst thou not wait for thy God?

Rest in Him and be still in unutterable peacefulness.

~Charles Spurgeon~

At The Feet Of Jesus!

As we know Martha wherever we see her - by her diligent, eager serving...

So we know Mary by her posture at the feet of Jesus.

Only three times she is seen in the Gospel story...and each time she is at her usual place.

First, we find her sitting at Christ's feet as a learner, eagerly listening to His words.

And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.  Luke 10:39

At the feet of Jesus is the place of discipleship...

Where one learns the lessons the Master has to teach...

Where one's soul receives the blessings He has to give.

Every believer should learn the lesson that there can be no beautiful Christian character for him...

No sweet influence pouring out from his life...

No blessed ministry giving comfort and joy to others...

Unless he first sits at Christ's feet as a learner.

He must receive before he can give.

This is a vital principle in Christian life.

We can give out to others only what God has first given to us.

You see a beautiful rose bathed in the summer sunshine and pouring forth its sweetness...

I would have my life like the rose! you say. Yes, but where did the rose get its loveliness and its fragrance?

Down out of the sky, did it not?

It looked up and opened its heart and the sun poured his warm beams into the flower's bosom.

Out of the air at night came the gentle dew and crept into the flower's folds, and the beauty burst out and the sweetness flowed forth.

Would you have your life like the rose?

You must commune with Christ.

Your heart must receive the warmth of His love.

You must take His words into your soul.

He must fill you with His own blessed life.

All you can bring to Christ is your own emptiness...

The emptiness of penitence, of humility, of a thirsty soul.

A poet speaks of Mary's eyes as "homes of silent prayer."

Her eyes of prayer told of a great heart-hunger.

She did not talk in Christ's presence.

She had nothing to say.

She wanted Him to speak to her.

And any word He spoke went down deep into her heart and became a blessing there, pouring its sweet influence through all her life.

Here we get the first lesson from Mary.

You must sit at Christ's feet as a learner, as a receiver.

Let Him teach you.

Let Him pour His own life and love into your heart.

The first thing is, not what you shall do for Christ but what Christ shall do for you...

Not what you shall give to Him but what you shall receive from Him.

Keep all the windows of your soul open toward Him, that the light from His face may shine into the very depths of your being.

Take His words into your heart and ponder them with love and prayer...until they fill you with their own life and spirit.

Says Henry Drummond: "Ten minutes spent in Christ's presence every day, yes, two minutes, if it is face to face and heart to heart...Will make all things different.

Throughout the whole day, your actions, down to the last detail, will do homage to that early vision." 

~J. R. Miller~

 

Catch The Little Foxes!

Son 2:15  Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

Resolve at once, by God's help, to break off every known sin, however small. 

Look within, each one of you.

Examine your own hearts.

Do you see there any habit which you know is wrong in the sight of God?

If you do, resolve at once to cast it off!

Nothing darkens the eyes of the mind so much, and deadens the conscience so surely as an allowed sin. 

It may be a little one...but it is not any less dangerous.

A small leak will sink a great ship.

A small spark will kindle a great fire.

In the same way, a little allowed sin will ruin an immortal soul.

Take my advice, and never spare a little sin!

Israel was commanded to kill every Canaanite, both great and small.

Act on the same principle and show no mercy to little sins.

You can be sure that no wicked man ever meant to be so wicked at his first beginnings.

But he began with allowing himself some little sins, and that led on to something greater...

And that in time produced something greater still...

And thus he became the miserable being that he now is.

Brethren, resist sin in its beginnings.

Some sins may look small and insignificant, but mind what I say - resist them, make no compromise...

Let no sin lodge quietly and undisturbed in your heart.

Remember the Apostle's words, "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough!" 1 Corinthians 5:6.

Many a man could tell you with sorrow and shame, that he traces his ruin to the point I speak of - to giving way to sin in its beginnings.

He began habits of deception and dishonesty in little things and they grew on him.

Step by step, he has gone on from bad to worse - until he has done things that at one time he would have thought impossible.

At last he has lost his character...

Lost his peace...

And almost lost his soul...

He allowed a gap in the wall of his conscience, because it seemed a little one...

And once allowed, that gap grew larger every day, until in time the whole wall came down!

Whatever the world may like to think there are no little sins! 

All habits are formed by a succession of little acts, and the first little act is of mighty consequence.

The ax in the fable, only begged the trees to let him have one little piece of wood to make a handle and he would never trouble them any more.

He got it, and then he soon cut them all down! 

The devil only wants to get the wedge of a little allowed sin into your heart...and you will soon be all his own.

It is a wise saying, "There is nothing small between us and God...for God is an infinite God." 

There are two ways of coming down from the top of a ladder...

One is to jump down and the other is to come down by the steps.

Both will lead you to the bottom.

Just so, there are two ways of going to Hell. 

One is to walk into it with your eyes open...few people do that.

The other is to go down by the steps of little sins...and that way is only too common.

Put up with a few little sins and you will soon tolerate a few more.

Even a heathen could say, "Who was ever content with only one sin?" 

If you put up with little sins, then your path in life will be worse and worse every year.

Jeremy Taylor very clearly described the progress of sin in a man: 

First sin startles him...

Then it becomes pleasing...

Then it becomes easy...

Then it becomes delightful...

Then it becomes frequent,,,

Then it becomes habitual...

Then it becomes a way of life...

Then the man feels no guilt...

Then he becomes obstinate...

And then he is damned! 

Friends, if you don't want to come to this, remember the rule I give you this day... 

Resolve at once to break off every known sin. 

~J. C. Ryle~

Delayed

Gen 15:12  And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
 
Gen 15:13  And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
 
Gen 15:14  And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.  

An assured part of God's pledged blessing to us is delay and suffering. 

A delay in Abram's own lifetime that seemed to put God's pledge beyond fulfillment was followed by seemingly unendurable delay of Abram's descendants. 

But it was only a delay: they "came out with great substance." The pledge was redeemed.

God is going to test me with delays; and with the delays will come suffering...

But through it all stands God's pledge: His new covenant with me in Christ, and His inviolable promise of every lesser blessing that I need. 

The delay and the suffering are part of the promised blessing; 

Let me praise Him for them today...

And let me wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen my heart.

~C. G. Trumbull~

Unanswered yet the prayer your lips have pleaded In agony of heart these many years?
      
Does faith begin to fail?

Is hope departing?

And think you all in vain those falling tears?

Say not the Father hath not heard your prayer...
 
You shall have your desire sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Nay do not say ungranted;

Perhaps your work is not yet wholly done.

The work began when first your prayer was uttered,

And God will finish what He has begun.

If you will keep the incense burning there, His glory you shall see sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet?

Faith cannot be unanswered, Her feet are firmly planted on the Rock; 

Amid the wildest storms she stands undaunted...
 
Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock.
      
She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer...
 
And cries, "It shall be done"sometime, somewhere.

~Miss Ophelia G. Browning~

Drifting Caused By The Rising Of The Tide Or Change Of Circumstances

Act 27:15  And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.
     
Again, we must not forget that boats may drift because of the rising of the tide. 

One has had that experience on summer holidays. 

You draw the rowboat high up on the shore, and you leave it there, thinking it is safe. 

But the night is the night of a spring tide, and concurring with the tide there blows a gale. 

And in the morning you go to get the boat, only to find that it is gone...

The spring tide has come and set it drifting. 

That is often how young people go drifting. 

Youth is the spring tide of life. 

Passions awake, tempestuous and turbulent...

New thought and knowledge lap around the gunwale. 

And lives that once were safe, beached in the securities of childhood, go drifting like ships upon the sea. 

That often happens when a lad goes to college out of an orthodox and godly home. 

He enters a new world of thought and gains a new conception of the universe. 

And the ship that was so safe once amid the unquestioning pieties of home, finds itself drifting on the deeps. 

Spring tide has come, and spring tide is of God. 

God is in the flow as in the ebb. 

Lives that drift like that can be recaptured. 

There is One who is out to seek and save.

I find a perennial and profound significance in a Savior who could walk upon the sea. 

Drifting stops when He is taken aboard.

~George H. Morrison~
     

Causes of Drifting: Internal Breakdown

Act 27:15  And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. 

It is interesting to remember some of the causes that make vessels drift. 

Often it is a breakdown in the engine room.

So long as the engines are in perfect order the vessel holds to its appointed course. 

But let the shaft snap, as sometimes happens, and immediately the ship begins to drift. 

And as it is with ships, so is it not infrequently with lives...

They drift because of interior breakdown.

It may be a breakdown in morality, though no one knows anything about it yet. 

It may be a breakdown in the will, for the will is the shaft of life. 

It may be a breakdown in some sweet and simple piety like that of prayer in the secret place - and the ship goes drifting on the sea. 

There is a story of an officer in the Great War who went drifting and was finally cashiered. 

He came back again to his old home and entered the little bedroom of his boyhood. 

Then, turning to his mother, "Mother," he said, "the whole thing began when I stopped praying as a lad beside that bed."

~George H. Morrison~


     

Wait Quietly

                                                     

Heb 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.  

Abraham was long tried, but he was richly rewarded. 

The Lord tried him by delaying to fulfill His promise. 

Satan tried him by temptation...

Men tried him by jealousy, distrust, and opposition; 

Sarah tried him by her peevishness. 

But he patiently endured. 

He did not question God's veracity...

Nor limit His power...

Nor doubt His faithfulness...

Nor grieve His love...

But he bowed to Divine Sovereignty...

Submitted to Infinite Wisdom...

And was silent under delays, waiting the Lord's time. 

And so, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

God's promises cannot fail of their accomplishment. 

Patient waiters cannot be disappointed.

Believing expectation shall be realized.

Beloved, Abraham's conduct condemns a hasty spirit...

Reproves a murmuring one...

Commends a patient one...

And encourages quiet submission to God's will and way. 

Remember, Abraham was tried...

He patiently waited...

He received the promise...

And was satisfied. 

Imitate his example, and you will share the same blessing.

~Selected~

The Diamonds Of Heaven!

Act 9:11  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven. 

The moment Saul began to pray - the Lord heard him. 

Here is comfort for the distressed, but praying soul. 

Oftentimes a poor broken-hearted one bends his knee...but can only utter his wailing in the language of sighs and tears. 

Yet that groan has made all the harps of heaven thrill with music; that tear has been caught by God and treasured in the lachrymatory of heaven. 

You put all my tears into Your bottle, implies that they are caught as they flow!

The suppliant, who can only groan out his words, will be well understood by the Most High God.

He may only look up with misty eye; but prayer is the falling of a tear! 

Tears are the diamonds of heaven !

Sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah's court, and are numbered with the most sublime strains which reach the majesty on high! 

Do not think that your prayer, however weak or trembling will be unregarded. 

Our God not only hears prayer but also loves to hear it. 

He does not forget the cry of the humble.

True, He does not regard proud looks and lofty words. 

He has no concern for the pomp and pageantry of kings. 

He does not listen to the swell of martial music. 

He has no regard for the triumph and pride of man. 

But wherever there is a heart full with godly sorrow...
 

Or a lip quivering with agony... 

Or a deep groan...
 

Or a penitential sigh...

The heart of Jehovah is open! 

He marks that prayer down in the registry of His memory! 

He puts our prayers, like rose leaves - between the pages of His book of remembrance...

And when the volume is opened at last, there shall be a precious fragrance springing up therefrom!

~Charles Spurgeon~

One Of The Secrets Of A Happy And Beautiful Life!

                                      
Deu 33:25  Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

One of the secrets of happy and beautiful life, is to Live One Day At A Time. 

Really, we never have anything to do any day-but the bit of God's will for that day. 

If we do that well-we have absolutely nothing else to do.

Time is given to us in days. It was so from the beginning. 

This breaking up of time into little daily portions means a great deal more than we are accustomed to think. 

For one thing, it illustrates the gentleness and goodness of God.

It would have made life intolerably burdensome if a year, instead of a day had been the unit of division. 

It would have been hard to carry a heavy load, to endure a great sorrow, or to keep on at a hard duty-for such a long stretch of time. 

How dreary our common task-work would be if there were no breaks in it, if we had to keep our hand to the plough for a whole year! 

We never could go on with our struggles, our battles, our suffering-if night did not mercifully settle down with its darkness, and bid us rest and renew our strength.

We do not understand how great a mercy there is for us in the briefness of our short days. 

If they were even twice as long as they are-life would be intolerable! 

Many a time when the sun goes down-we feel that we could scarcely have gone another step. 

We would have fainted in defeat-if the summons to rest had not come just when it did.

We see the graciousness of the divine thoughtfulness in giving us time in periods of little days, which we can easily get through with...

And not in great years, in which we would faint and fall by the way. 

It makes it possible for us to go on through all the long years and not to be overwrought, for we never have given to us at any one time-more than we can do between the morning and the evening.

If we learn well the lesson of living just one day at a time, without anxiety for either yesterday or tomorrow, we shall have found one of the great secrets of Christian peace. 

That is the way God teaches us to live. 

That is the lesson both of the Bible and of nature.

If we learn it, it will cure us of all anxiety...

It will save us from all feverish haste...

It will enable us to live sweetly in any experience.

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 

~J. R. Miller~

The Development of Consecration~"Let Us Go On"

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

The real value of this exhortation is found in the implication of the Greek word used.

It is the same word as in Acts 2:2 ("rushing") and II Peter 1:21 ("moved").
 
It really means to be borne along by another.
 
This would indicate that God is moving on, the Spirit of God is going forward.

He is not tarrying or delaying, but with great energy is pursuing His goal.

Let us fall in with Him.
 
Let us be caught in His goings.

Let us yield to His energies.

Let us not be left behind by the Lord.

"Full-growth" is His goal;

Let us not remain infants or immature.

~T. Austin Sparks~ 

Mark Of Divine Approval

                                                     

Yes, he is blessed while he is enduring the trial. 

No eye can see this till he has been anointed with heavenly eye salve. 

But he must endure it and neither rebel against God nor turn aside from his integrity. 

He is blessed who has gone through the fire and has not been consumed as a counterfeit. 

When the test is over, then comes the hallmark of divine approval..."the crown of life." 

As if the LORD said, "Let him live; he has been weighed in the balances, and he is not found wanting." 

Life is the reward: not mere being, but holy, happy, true existence, the realization of the divine purpose concerning us. 

Already a higher form of spiritual life and enjoyment crowns those who have safely passed through fiercest trials of faith and love. 

The LORD hath promised the crown of life to those who love Him. 

Only lovers of the LORD will hold out in the hour of trial; the rest will either sink or sulk, or slink back to the world. 

Come, my heart, dost thou love thy LORD?

Truly?

Deeply? 

Wholly? 

Then that love will be tried; but many waters will not quench it, neither will the Roods drown it...

LORD, let Thy love nourish mine to the end.

~Charles Spurgeon~

What Cannot Be Uttered

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
 
Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
     
This is the deep mystery of prayer. 

This is the delicate divine mechanism which words cannot interpret, and which theology cannot explain, but which the humblest believer knows even when he does not understand.
      
Oh, the burdens that we love to bear and cannot understand! 

Oh, the inarticulate out-reachings of our hearts for things we cannot comprehend!

And yet we know they are an echo from the throne and a whisper from the heart of God. 

It is often a groan rather than a song, a burden rather than a buoyant wing. 

But it is a blessed burden, and it is a groan whose undertone is praise and unutterable joy. 

It is "a groaning which cannot be uttered." 

We could not ourselves express it always, and sometimes we do not understand any more than that God is praying in us, for something that needs His touch and that He understands.

And so we can just pour out the fullness of our heart, the burden of our spirit, the sorrow that crushes us, and know that He hears, He loves, He understands, He receives; 

And He separates from our prayer all that is imperfect, ignorant and wrong, and presents the rest, with the incense of the great High Priest, before the throne on high; 

And our prayer is heard, accepted and answered in His name.

~A. B. Simpson~

It is not necessary to be always speaking to God or always hearing from God, to have communion with Him; there is an inarticulate fellowship more sweet than words. 

The little child can sit all day long beside its busy mother and, although few words are spoken on either side, and both are busy, the one at his absorbing play, the other at her engrossing work, yet both are in perfect fellowship. 

He knows that she is there, and she knows that he is all right. 

So the saint and the Saviour can go on for hours in the silent fellowship of love, and he be busy about the most common things, and yet conscious that every little thing he does is touched with the complexion of His presence, and the sense of His approval and blessing.

And then, when pressed with burdens and troubles too complicated to put into words and too mysterious to tell or understand, how sweet it is to fall back into His blessed arms, and just sob out the sorrow that we cannot speak!

~Selected~
     

A Strong Heart

Wait! Wait! Let your waiting be on the LORD! 

He is worth waiting for.

He never disappoints the waiting soul. 

While waiting keep up your spirits, Expect a great deliverance, and be ready to praise God for it.

The promise which should cheer you is in the middle of the verse..."He shall strengthen thine heart." 

This goes at once to the place where you need help. 

If the heart be sound, all the rest of the system will work well. 

The heart wants calming and cheering, and both of these will come if it be strengthened. 

A forceful heart rests and rejoices and throbs force into the whole man. 

No one else can get at that secret urn of life, the heart, so as to pour strength into it.

He alone who made it can make it strong. 

God is full of strength, and, therefore, He can impart it to those who need it. 

Oh, be brave; for the LORD will impart His strength to you, and you shall be calm in tempest and glad in sorrow.

He who penned these lines can write as David did..."Wait, I say, on the LORD."

I do, indeed, say it.

I know by long and deep experience that it is good for me to wait upon the LORD.

~Charles Spurgeon~