2.-the Failure of the Church

Israel ought, by its obedience, and the blessings which would thereupon have manifestly resulted, to have shown to all the peoples of the earth, how " Happy is that people, that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord" (Psa. 144.15).
That which God will look for from Israel and the nations of the age to come, is that, in contemplating the glory, then manifested, of the son of David, they shall gladly yield themselves to the true Melchizedek, who will guide them in the path of holiness and peace-and that they abide therein.
The Church, in its walk here below, during the time of the absence of the Lord Jesus, is called to witness to the world, by its spiritual and heavenly walk, that the Jesus of Nazareth whom the world has rejected, yet lives as Son of God on High in heaven, since 'tis He - the Son of man upon the Father's throne - who, by His Spirit, produces and sustains in her spiritual and heavenly affections; and that consequently the world should turn to Him during the time of His long-suffering patience.
If, faithful to its call, the Church had presented the astonishing sight of one united body, gathered from the midst of all nations, by a power till then unknown, kept thus in the unity, love and expectation of its Mead from heaven, doubtless a far greater number would have believed. But it must, to have done that, have waited upon God in spirit, for so only would He have acted. Instead of this, what do we see in Christendom? Romanism refusing to the believer the privilege of being guided by the Spirit, and making a monopoly of it for the clergy. Among Protestants, the Holy Spirit is, for the greater part, little more than a notion and sterile doctrine. Even those who have proved His effectual power in regeneration, and who seek the Spirit for their walk as individuals, oft seem to forget that there is but one Holy Spirit, when the walk of the body collectively, or of the Church, is in question. They ignore the principle, in itself so simple, that as the Church as a whole is the body of Christ, animated by His Spirit, so the Church, in each place, is but the gathering, under the Holy Spirit, of the members of Christ who are in that place; and that, consequently, all that they have to do, is to unite as such in the name of the Lord, to worship in Spirit and in truth; and that such is the Church and her worship.
Instead of this, the liberty to make churches, there where we, according to our own wisdom, may think well that there should be such, is contended for. Schools, indeed, are set up where, with a little learning, a little toil, and, perhaps, what is called the orthodox faith, pastors and doctors, and, in short, ministers for these churches are made; but all this in the entire forgetfulness, that it is the Spirit who, in the church, distributes His gifts to each as He will (1 Cor. 12:4-12).
In Rubrics and Confessions, etc., there is drawn up an order of walk which the Spirit Himself ought rather to produce by His own free and mighty action; for it is not real, and has little value before God, save as it is the fruit of the Spirit. How could the world be won over to the faith, when it sees those who make profession of faith as to the Spirit, to be in reality dependent as much as itself, not upon that Spirit, but upon the wisdom of its rules, on the talent and eloquence of its teachers? And how can it be but that the Spirit should be grieved and quenched by such a proceeding? 'Tis like Israel despising its privilege of having God as king, and saying: Nay, but make us a king like the other nations.
The Church should have been a witness to the life of its Head, risen from the dead, - by a constant waiting for Him from heaven; and this was the case at the beginning. It is utterly impossible, if we read with simplicity of heart, the letters of the apostles, not to see that the early Christians looked for the Lord in quite another way from what the greater part of Christians do, in our days. They really, and without any figure of speech, waited for Him as if He might come at any moment. This coming was, for them, one of the ends of their conversion, a motive for the fulfillment of every duty, and a consolation under every affliction.
"For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even, Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess. 1:9,10). "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For ye are our glory and joy" (Ib. 2:19, 20). See also 4:18; Titus 2.13; Heb. 10:36, 37; James 5:7, 8, etc.
But sentiments now reign which are so far removed from those of the first disciples, that, no longer understanding their language, many of our day have given to the simplest expressions of that day a strange and forced meaning. The coming of the Lord is for many only the destruction of Jerusalem, or death, or perhaps that which is called a spiritual coming, to set up a pretended spiritual reign of which the word knows nothing.
By far the greater part know nothing of the future coming of the Lord, more than that He is coming to judge the world; thus confounding the day of the wrath of the Lamb with the day, peaceful and happy, of His meeting His beloved Bride. And if you call their attention to the instructions of the Word upon this truth, they will tell you, as Festus did Paul, that too much learning has made you mad.
Together with the daily waiting for the Lord has disappeared the union of disciples as such, their separation from the world, and the spiritual and heavenly life which distinguished them at first. When the servant says in his heart, "My Lord delayeth His coming," we know the result. "But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth His coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken" (Matt. 24:48, 49). When the Church ceased to look up and wait for the Lord from heaven, she began to look down, and to seek around her for rest, ease, wealth and honor; she has become earthly, and inimical to the cross; joining herself to the world, even so far as to give to it the rights of her citizenship, and to corrupt for it her worship and the supper. She has put her glory in that which is her shame, and has a recognized position, peaceful and honored, in the midst of that world which crucified her Lord.
And not only have Christians united themselves to the world, but they have also sanctioned divisions among themselves. Instead of being a witness of the unity of the Spirit which animated it as one body, the Church is divided into sections innumerable, distinguished by the names of men, of nations, and of various doctrines. Ah, this is not what the Lord asked for, when He said: " That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me" (John 17.21). Neither is it the sight which the early disciples presented when-
" All that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:44-47). "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold. And laid them down at the apostle's feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need" (Ib. 4:32--35).
Great grace was upon them all, and many believed: it is true, that this blessed union had already received some violent shocks at Corinth, when one said: " For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ. divided? Was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul" (1 Cor. 11-13). It was the mystery of iniquity which did already work (2 Thess. 2:3-8). Yet the evil was far from having the extent which it now has. With the exception, perhaps, of the Church of Diotrephes (3rd John), I know not that in any one place in the days of the apostles, more than one flock was to be seen. They, doubtless, little thought that the time would come, in which, even in the same city, or the same village, would be seen three, four, five, or six differing congregations, each having its own peculiar faith, organization, supper, and ministry. It is said, notwithstanding these separations, there is at the bottom unity between all these assemblies, if they all rest upon the true foundation; and that it is of that fundamental invisible unity that the Lord meant to speak, when He asked that His disciples might be one. But this invisible unity cannot suffice to lead the world to believe - it needs something which is manifest and visible. And, moreover, if this union really exists, why then all this disunion, and why these separations, which are the occasion of so much sin, and the abiding cause of weakness in the Church? For the gifts bestowed upon the Christians of the various congregations, and which, increased if there were union, would provide them abundance of edification and consolation, subdivided as they are, suffice but to sustain a feeble and languid state of life, even if they are not employed (as is, alas! too oft the case) one against the other. It is like Israel and Judah, whom sin had separated; and who, instead of uniting their forces against common enemies, used them to make war one against the other, who even leant upon Egypt and Assyria.
Thus, to perceive the failure of the Church, it only needs to recall what it is in the intention of God, and then to cast a glance upon that which it is become in Christendom; but, besides this, we have upon this subject declarations of the very clearest and most precise character. Paul, in addressing the Church of Rome, says: " Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off" (Rom. 11.22). He here then establishes the possibility of the fall; and in such case it is not a restoration, but a cutting off of which he speaks; not, indeed, an immediate cutting off, because, according to the faithfulness of God, it cannot be that one of His sheep should perish, though they may have to suffer the consequences of that fall. And this fall, of which Paul warned the Christians when he was addressing the Church of Rome, he announces in a manner most positive, in his address to the elders of Ephesus: " For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them" (Acts 20:29, 30). See also 2 Peter 1:12-15, compared with the whole of the second chapter, and more especially with the first verse: " But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." And what, after this, is the apostolic succession and the antiquity of doctrine, upon which so many assemblies lean? Ah! there is no doctrine of necessity true, but that of the Word - and of ministry none worth, according to God, but that of the Spirit.
Moreover, false teachers and damnable heresies did not wait even for the departure of the apostles, ere they insinuated themselves into the churches. There are few of the apostolic churches in which one cannot recognize, in some respects, their presence, from that Church of Ephesus just named, to that of Diotrephes, whence they drove out the apostle John, and those who wish to receive him. See, for instance, 1 Cor. 3:1-4; 5:6; 11:17-22; 15:12, 33; Gal. 1:6, 7; 2:4, 5; 3:1; 5:7-15; 6:12, 13; Col. 2:8,16-23, etc. And far from its being the case, that these disorders were to disappear afterward, the apostles teach us that the corruption will rather go on increasing even to the end.
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth" (1 Tim. 4:1-3).
" This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (2 Tim. 3.1-5). "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" (ver. 12, 13).
"But there were false prophets among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them; and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not" (2 Peter 2.1-3). " Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" (lb. 3:3, 4).
What a sad picture of the last days of the age! and yet some think that, in spite of this, they can therein trace the progress of the gospel, and the advancement of the kingdom of God! Ah! that which characterized the latter days in the eyes of the apostles, was not the triumph of the gospel, but the presence of antichrist: " Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time" (1 John 2.18). Paul also declares to the Thessalonians, that the day of Christ will not come until.... What? that truth shall have triumphed over error, and the earth be filled with the knowledge of the Lord - as so many Christians think? No: but " except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." " And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming" (2 Thess. 2.3, 8). Jude also teaches us that the corruption which he saw had already glided into the churches, so far from disappearing, would go on increasing until the coming of the Lord; for after having drawn an awful picture of the corruption of his time, he adds:
" For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (ver. 4). He sees, then, the wicked of whom he speaks on the increase, and an uninterrupted chain down to the moment when, the evil being come to the full, the Lord will come to destroy it by His personal presence.
So also the Lord had previously taught, in the parables of Matt. 13, which contain the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
In the first, the Lord shows us the sowing of the kingdom, and even there we see three parts of the seed lost, as to fruit-bearing, for every one that springs up and brings fruit to perfection.
The second shows us the good grain gathered into the garner; but previously to this, it shows us tares sown by the enemy, where the householder had sown good seed; that is to say, in Christendom. The servants express a wish, indeed, as do certain Christians, to pull up the tares and to clear the field; "But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn" (Matt. 13:29,30). Now, " the harvest is the end of the world" (ver. 39); that is, the end of the present age, of the existing period, and by no means the end of the world in the sense of the globe which we inhabit, which is the field where the seed is cast. "The field is the world" (ver. 39). " The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear let him hear" (ver. 41-43). Thus we see, that in this world the evil will remain mixed up with the good until the harvest; that is to say, until the end of the age, and till the judgment executed by the Lord, personally present (Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:15,16).
Further be it remarked, that the question here is not about the Church and the discipline by which it puts away the wicked. To use this parable as an argument against discipline, is to set Paul in opposition to the Lord. For the Lord says," Let both grow together until the harvest " (ver. 30); " children of the kingdom and children of the wicked one" (ver. 39); but Paul, or rather the Holy Spirit by Paul, on the contrary, says, " Put away from among yourselves that wicked person " (1 Cor. 5:13, read the chapter). If the question in the two cases is about the same persons in similar circumstances, there is a manifest contradiction; but one simple remark explains this, and disperses every appearance of contradiction. The Lord, speaking of the kingdom, says, the wicked are not to be put out of the world or earth, for " the field is the world" (ver. 39). Paul, speaking to members of the Church, says, "put away from among yourselves," that is, put outside the Church the wicked. The two things are both equally true, and perfectly accord one with the other. Paul, indeed, confirms the doctrine of the parable, when he says, "For what have I to do to judge them also that are without?" (ver. 12). "But them that are without God judgeth" (ver. 13). But he also says, " Do not ye judge them that are within... therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person." Of the last two verses of the chapter, the two first clauses confirm what the Lord had said, and the two last contain the additional doctrine for the new circum stances.
To the Lord alone does it pertain to take out of the world the evil and the wicked, and He will do it when He appears at the end of the age; but till then the Church must exercise discipline in its own precinct and put away the evil.
Matt. 13:31,32. The Church, which should have been a little flock, pilgrims and strangers here below, in the midst of reproach and poverty, like its Master, is become an establishment of this world, a great tree, just like Nebuchadnezzar -" The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth " (Dan. 4:11). In the Church, enriched with wealth and goods, and the glory of this world, one could, as in any other system of the world, satisfy the heart's desire for titles, revenues, etc. There is food and shelter for all who desire to avail
themselves of it. " The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it" (Dan. 4:12). But then it is also said, " Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches" (ver. 14). " Otherwise (if thou continue not in God's goodness) thou shalt be cut off" (Rom. 11:22).
Such is the judgment passed upon the glory and the worldly greatness to which the Church has allied itself in its blindness; and it is only when the Lord shall have brought down the high tree and have dried up the green tree, that He will make the dry tree to flourish, and make it to become a goodly cedar on the mountains of Israel.
"Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent: In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it" (Ezek. 17:22-24),
" Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened" (Matt. 13:33). Many think they see here, as in the parable that precedes it, a picture of the progress of the Gospel in the world, that is, to them the meal represents the world, or the children of this world, and the leaven the Gospel. But the Word gives to these figures quite an opposite rendering. The good seed, or the wheat, is the children of the kingdom, and leaven in Scripture always stands for an evil influence. Jesus said to His disciples, " Take heed, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees " (Matt. 16:6,11, 12); "the leaven of Herod" (Mark 8:15). Paul said to the Corinthians, in connection with the incestuous person among them,-
"Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:6-8).
And in writing to the Galatians, on the subject of those who trouble them by another Gospel, which was not another, the apostle says -
" Ye did run well: who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Gal. 5:7-9).
Thus, it is always, under one form or another, evil which is represented by leaven,. How, then, should the Lord have used it in this parable to represent, on the contrary, that which of all things is the most excellent. Moreover, the very act of HIDING the leaven might alone suffice to show that by leaven something evil is intended. He who preaches the Gospel does not seek to hide it. Oh, it is but too clearly of the leaven of modern Pharisees and Sadducees, of the formality, incredulity, the old leaven of malice and wickedness, of the unconverted heart, that the Lord speaks in this parable. It is this leaven which has leavened the Church, which at first was a new and unleavened lump, and has turned it into Christendom with all its corruptions. 'Tis the mystery of iniquity, which, even in Paul's days, did already work (2 Thess. 2:7), and which we eventually find in full development in the harlot who has written on her forehead - " MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (Rev. 17:5).
Thus the mysteries of the kingdom, presented in these parables, seem to us the mysteries of the corruption of the kingdom by man; or, if you please, the destinies of that kingdom, such as man has made it, by confounding it, contrary to the intention of God, with the Church. These parables are, in some sort, to the kingdom, that which the seven addresses to the seven churches of Asia are to the Church. In these parables we have, as we have just seen, the destinies of the kingdom corrupted by the sin of man, and which will remain so until the King come in person to set all to rights. In the seven addresses, we have the destinies of the Church, not such as it was in the thought and intention of God, but such as the sin of man has made it; till the Lord come to gather together His own out of the midst of disorder and then to judge the people.
Doubtless, the addresses to the seven churches of Asia (Rev. 2:3) were written to as many churches really existing at that time, and had in them a first accomplishment; but one cannot question but that, like the whole of the book, they have a prophetic character, and thus present us with a picture of the various phases of the history of the Church here below. Now, looked at in this point of view, what do they show us, if not a gradually increasing declension, accompanied by partial and passing renewals, from Ephesus, which had lost its first love, to Pergamos, the church of this world's splendor, dwelling where Satan's seat was; and from Thyatira, where a lie was openly taught, and which has only a little remnant left, down to Laodicea, the Church of the people's judgment which is spued out of the Lord's mouth. If thou continue not in His goodness " thou shalt be cut off," says Paul (Rom. 11) " I will spue thee out of my mouth," says the Lord to that which bears still at the end the name of Church upon earth.
And the rest of the Revelation down to chap. 19, what is it but a sad picture of the terrible judgment which falls in the end upon apostate Christendom? There is no longer anything seen upon earth which wears the character of the Bride of Christ. We see, indeed, in the book, saints who render witness to the coming kingdom, and themselves smite the earth with various plagues (Rev. 11:5,6). But that is scarcely the characteristic of the members of Christ -
"And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village" (Luke 9:52-56).
'Tis in heaven that the Church's song is heard (Rev. 5) 'Tis from heaven we see her come forth to form the procession of the Lord, when He comes to take possession of His kingdom. The Church, then, has been previously gathered in. In very deed, the faithfulness of God cannot fail. He has said of His elect -" Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1.5). And, before He left the earth, the Lord said to His disciples-" In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2,3). In spite of the fall and ruin of the Church here below, through the sin of man, the word of the Lord must needs stand good; just as, spite of the loss of the vessel in which he sailed, Paul must needs stand before Caesar.
But when will this reunion of the Church and its Head take place? Is it not traced in Philadelphia, that -Church which has only a little strength, yet does not deny the name of its Lord, but keeps the word of His patience? " Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth " (Rev. 3:10). And what is that hour of temptation, if not the great tribulation described Isa. 2:10-19; Jer. 30: 6-9, 23, 24; Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:14-22; Mark 13:19-24; Rev. 6-19? Doubtless Philadelphia could be kept in the midst of the temptation, as Noah was kept in the midst of the waters of the flood. So will it be with the saints who will then be on the earth, but in that case, Philadelphia would not be kept "from the hour of temptation," but rather brought through it. To make good the promise, it must not only be in a place inaccessible to the temptation, but also in a place where time is not reckoned. It must be in the heaven, as was Enoch, who, taken away to heaven, was thus kept from the deluge. And is not such the open door which is set before her? If it be so-what is that Church-to-come, dreamed of by so many, as about to realize here below the pattern of a Church? Alas! it is all an illusion-the tendency and effect of which is to attach thoughts and hopes to the earth which ought to be on high. Yes, if you please, there is a Church yet to be; there are, indeed, two; Philadelphia which is now gathering, and to-morrow may be caught up to meet the Lord, and Laodicea, which will then be spued out of his mouth and judged together with those with whom she has committed fornication; but other Church-to-come is there none in this present age.
The ruins which sin had wrought in Israel were not to be completely removed but by the Lord at His coming. An attentive student of the prophets would see this on every page; so those whom the Holy Spirit taught would never have sought themselves to re-establish the kingdom of Israel, or to make an ark to replace that which was lost; but in the feeling of what the real want of their people was, they would humbly wait for " the consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25 - 28), the times spoken of by the prophets in which " the Lord" Himself shall act. " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness" (Jer. 23:5,6). And Jerusalem itself shall be called the throne of the Lord (Jer. 3:16, 17).
Well, it is, in some respects, the same as to the church. Every hope of restoring it to what it was at first is chimerical and baseless, for there is no foundation for hope save a promise of the Lord, and promise to this effect there is none; on the contrary -
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, skewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming" (2 Thess. 2:1 - 8).
stands before us. How could any such hope exist in the presence of so positive and distinct a declaration? This need not discourage in the work of edifying the saints; for who shall set limits to the blessing which the Lord is ready to give to the scattered ones, who, amid the general ruin, wait on him in sincerity. We have the word and the Spirit of God to guide and direct us safely to the end of our calling. That, it appears, was what Paul desired to recall to the Elders of Ephesus, when, after having announced to them the terrible fall of their church, he adds, " And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified" (Acts 20:32).
We have the blessed promise that " Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). Well, let us beware of attempting to do, in our own strength, that to which the Lord does not call us, and for which he has not given us any promise; let us not seek to restore, by organization and rules, which are but barriers raised up between the sheep of Christ, that which cannot be restored. Let us be united together as disciples, as brethren, in the name of the Lord, and in dependence upon His Spirit; let our church-to-come be that of heaven, and I again repeat, Who shall set limits to the blessings which the Lord may yet give to those that wait upon Him? But the first means of obtaining these blessings, is humility, for God abases that which exalts itself, and lifts up that which humbles itself. We have found this in our individual salvation; we found lifting up, peace and assurance, only as being worthless, condemned, and nothing in ourselves. Why should God depart from this principle, when His church is the question. If any one, satisfied with his own church, his own life, and his own progress, were to say, " Why humble myself for unfaithfulnesses which are not mine?" it would be greatly to be feared that he had somewhat of the Pharisee of the Parable, or at least, of those Jews who said, " The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are these" (Jer. 7:4); glorying in a temple in which God had ceased to take pleasure, and in a temple which He was about to abandon. In all such cases, there is defectiveness of sight and great narrowness of heart; great short-sightedness if one cannot see, save in a church of his own, in one's own sect, the members of Christ; and great narrowness of heart if any one does not feel the need of humbling himself for the wretchedness in which the scattered members of the body of Christ groan.
I need not say that Christendom is not the body of Christ; but if, as we cannot question, there are in all the various portions of Christendom, believers, that is to say, fellow members, of our own flesh and blood; we have need to humble ourselves for the scattered, dispersed state of self in which we are; it is contrary to the intentions and the glory of the Lord; we have to humble ourselves for unfaithfulnesses of various kinds, in which our brethren are entangled, and from which they suffer; for when one member suffers, all the rest suffer with it (1 Cor. 12:26,27). When Daniel made intercession for his people in Babylon, he did not hesitate to say, " We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, we have rebelled" (Dan. 9:5.)
And the communion and integral unity of the members of the church - is it to be less strict than that which was found in the people of Israel? Moreover, we carry, each in his own bosom, that which has led to the failure of the church. In this view, we all of us have connection with it; and above all, we all suffer from it; we all suffer from the feebleness of the spiritual gifts, from the little energy of heavenly affections, the result of the Spirit, who produces these fruits, having been grieved in so many ways; we suffer from the divisions; from the weakness, the prejudices, and the waxing cold of the love of many which have followed. The Lord's name has been dishonored in the place in which we are set; His testimony turned to His dishonor. Let those that see the evil, bear it in confession before the Lord. Let us, then, all join in a common act of humiliation, and then let us take comfort and encouragement from the hope of the Lord's speedy return, to deliver us from every evil work, and to introduce us into his heavenly kingdom.