1.04.01. Book 4: Numbers 1-20

1 LEAVE THAT BOOK His thoughts said, I have been reading a spiritual book and I am confused and tired with trying to understand. His Father said, Leave that book and read the Book that thou lovest best; thou wilt find it much simpler.

2 FLIES His thoughts said, When I would seek Him whom my soul loveth, confusions like flies buzz about me. His Father said, Press through these con­fusions as thou wouldest press through a swarm of gnats. Take no notice of them. Be not stayed by them. Be not occupied with them. Be not entangled by them.

3 THE QUARRY His thoughts said, The time of prepara­tion for service is longer than I had imagined it would be, and this kind of preparation is difficult to understand. His Father said, Think of the quarry whence came the stone for My house in Jerusalem.

4 THE TOOLS His thoughts said, I wonder why these special tools are used? His Father said, The house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

If thou knewest the disappointment it is to the builders when the stone cannot be used for the house, because it was not made ready before it was brought thither, if thou knewest My purpose for thee, thou wouldest welcome any tool if only it prepared thee quietly and perfectly to fit into thy place in the house.

5 YE SHALL BE TRUSTED The son knew that if he came to serve the Lord he must prepare his soul for temptation; but he had never expected the particular temptation that confronted him now. His Father asked him if he had expected to choose his temptations. The son said, No; but he longed to have done with temptation for ever. His Father said, One day it shall be so. As a dream when one awaketh, so it will be. That dream will never come again. But thou must learn to endure and to conquer. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation. And He told him of the hidden manna prepared for the overcomer. Watch for the hidden manna, He said, it will come in hidden ways. Then to the son it was given to taste of the manna hidden in a word he had not found before: "Put your trust in the Lord God, and ye shall be trusted." The son was greatly delighted with that word, and he prayed that he might be made worthy of so great a thing as the trust of his Father.

6 PRESS ON, PRESS ON TO THE SUMMIT His thoughts said, The coil of circum­stances is beyond anything I ever experi­enced before. His Father said, All this assemblage of complicated circumstances is the massif of the mountains thou must climb. There is a way among the boulders of the moraine, between the seracs of the glaciers, over the snow-bridges that cross the crevasses, round the overhanging snow-fields and up the precipices and long aretes. There is a way through the deep shadows that will seem to bar thy path at times. Press on, press on to the summit.

7 IS THINE HEART SET ON ASCENTS? His thoughts said, The rocks are far too steep for me. I cannot climb. His Father said, "With Me as thy Guide, thou canst. I have not given thee the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of discipline. Whence then this spirit of fear? His thoughts said, But who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord or who shall rise up in His holy Place? Shall I ever pass the foothills? His Father said, Is thine heart set on ascents? The son answered, 0 Lord, Thou knowest. And the Father comforted him, Commit thy way-thy way to the summit-to thy Lord. Only let thine heart be set on ascents. And the Father added, Dear son, I will keep thine heart set on ascents.

8 THE SECRET PLACE OF THE STORM

After a time of tension his thoughts said, It is written of David, David was dispirited. I am dispirited. I cannot speak to anyone of the cause. It is private. His Father said, I heard thee in the secret place of the storm. In the secret place among the unspoken things, there am I. The son answered. When I am poor and in heaviness, Thy help, 0 Lord, doth lift me up. And his Father said, Cast not away therefore thy confidence which hath great recompense of reward.

9 BITTER WATER His thoughts said, As I journey, some­times the water is bitter. His Father said, Let My loving Spirit lead thee forth into the land of righteous­ness. Do not ask Him whether He will lead thee to Marah or to Elim. Do not ask for the Elims of life. If thou must pass through Marah, fear not, for He will show thee a Tree, which, when thou shalt cast it into the waters, shall make the bitter waters sweet. One thought of Calvary will make any water sweet.

10 DURING SLEEP The son wished to continue his journey while he was asleep, and to be as near to his Lord during sleep as when he was awake; and he wished to awaken into the love of his Lord. His Father showed him a mother who all through a long journey had carried her little child in her arms, whether it were asleep or awake, so that it travelled on in sleep. And He said, I have made and I will bear, even I will carry. His Father told him also that if he fell asleep peacefully resting upon some word of peace, he would awaken into love.

11 MIST His thoughts said, I would not seek for deliciousness and yet I fear lest a mist come between me and the Face whose light is my life. His Father said, If the mist be the deadly mist of sin, hasten thee to the Cleanser; confess and be forgiven. Then as the mist of the morning flieth before the light of day so shall that mist disappear. But if it be a mist of weariness, be patient. Ye have need of patience. Let patience have her perfect work. Do not mar that work by impatience. Be patient through the dim days. They will pass.

12 SUNBEAM AND RAINBOW The son remembered how straightly a ray of sunlight will cleave through dusty air, and he knew that the dust could never forbid the sunbeam; it could only serve to make visible the straight path of that ray. And he thought of the words, The bow shall be seen in the cloud, and he knew that always in past times when mistiness had perplexed action, sooner or later a rainbow had appeared.

Pondering this he found strong consola­tion.

13 DARKNESS His thoughts said, A sudden darkness descendeth. His Father said, On which side of the Cloud of My Providence art thou living? The cloud that was darkness to the Egyptians gave light by night to My people. Is it night with thee? Doth the shadow of fear that thou wilt give way begin to creep over thy spirit? Look up. The Cloud of My Presence is made known by the Cloud of My Providence, and for thee in any darkness that cloud will be light.

14 A POWER THAT WAS NOT OF EARTH His thoughts said, My heart is over­whelmed. His Father said, Thou art not the first to feel so. Here is a word for thee, "When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path." And his Father poured comfort into him saying, 0 man greatly beloved, Fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong; yea, be strong. And when He had spoken unto him, the son was strengthened.

Then he remembered how often at mid­night, or in the small hours of the morning when all life’s mole-hills become mountains, some familiar Scripture flowing through the mind had renewed his strength. And he knew that in those words was a power that was not of earth.

15 WHEN THOU PASSEST. WHEN THOU WALKEST As the son went on he had to cross rough waters, but before he stepped into the swirl his Father said to him, When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. Later, when fiery trials came, When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee, was the word on which he lived. And in grateful wonder the son said, O Father of spirits, Thou dost wonderfully shine forth from the everlasting mountains. The inward thought of man shall give thanks to Thee; and the memorial of his inward thought shall keep a feast to Thee.

16 KNOWING ONLY TO FOLLOW His thoughts said, How can I know that it is the time to move? His Father said, And it shall be when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle. Thou shalt certainly hear that sound. There will be a quiet sense of sureness and a sense of peace. The son said, If another also heard that sound it would be easier. His Father said, That may not always be. The sound of going is like the voice of the shepherd that the sheep know, but how they know they could not tell, knowing only to follow.

17 THE TOKEN The son said, But how be sure? His Father said, When He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him; for they know His Voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers. Therein lies the token. Thou wilt recognize the Voice of the Shepherd. The voice of the stranger will be nothing to thee.

18 NO POWER CAN BAR THE WAY His thoughts said, I wish that the sea might be made into dry land and the waters divide-then all would understand that Thou art leading me. His Father said, That crossing of the sea was the first and the easier obedience. The crossing of the river later on asked for a more daring faith. The way did not open in Jordan till the feet of the priests were dipped in the water. But it did open then. Rivers turn to roads, mountains become valleys, when He who is named the Remover of Hindrances goeth before. Then no one can forbid. No power can bar the way.

19 NOT OF DOUBLE HEART But the son still wondered what he should do if he did not hear a Voice directing him, till he came to understand that, as he waited, his Father would work and would so shape the events of common life that they would become indications of His will. He was shown also that they would be in accord with some word of Scripture which would be laid upon his heart. This Scrip­ture in the light of these events, and these events in the light of that Scripture, would work together under the hand of his Father, and point in the same direction. And as he followed step by step the way would open before him. Only he was warned to be careful that his eye be single. He must be like David’s soldiers, who were not of double heart.

20 LOVE AND THOU SEEST The son thought of Absalom, who dwelt two full years in Jerusalem and saw not the King’s face. What if he be like Absalom? And he remembered Bartimaeus, and how, casting away his garment, he sprang up and came to the Lord Jesus. Was there a garment that he had not cast away? His Father said, 0 foolish one and blind, if there be any hindering thing known to thee, cast it away now; if such there be and thou dost not know it, I will discover it to thee. Be not anxious even about that. Dost thou not love? I know that thou lovest. Love and thou comest. Love and thou seest.