1.04.02. Book 4: Numbers 21-41

21 TOO WONDERFUL FOR ME His thoughts said, There are days when little things go wrong, one after another, and, like poor Martha, I am distracted by much serving. Such days are very trying. His Father said, On such days take to thyself the words of thy Saviour which thou hast so often given to others. Let them be thy solace and thy tranquillity. But tell Me, when thou art under pressure, dost thou turn first to thy companions or to Me? Thy companions hearken to thy voice: cause Me to hear it. Let Me see thy countenance, let Me hear thy voice. And the son said, Such love as Thine is too wonderful for me: it is high, I cannot attain unto it, but I stretch forth my hands unto Thee.

22 JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING His thoughts said, The way is rough. His Father said, But every step bringeth thee nearer to thy Home. His thoughts said, The fight is fierce. His Father said, He who is near to his Captain is sure to be a target for the archers. His thoughts said, The night is long. His Father said, But joy cometh in the morning.

23 AS IN A DAY OF FEASTING The son prayed, Let them that love Thee be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. Let all tediousness of spirit pass from me. But he felt tedious in spirit.

Then upon his listening ear quiet words distilled as the dew: "He shall bring joy upon thee, and shall refresh thee with His love; and He shall rejoice over thee with delight as in a day of feasting."

24 ALL WEATHERS NOURISH SOULS The son remembered how when he was a very little child he had sympathized with the grey sea. The blue sea was a happy sea. The green sea, when the waves thereof tossed themselves and roared, was a triumphant sea. But the grey sea looked anxious. So the child was sorry for the grey sea. Grey weather he ab­horred.

Something of this feeling was with him still. Grey weather was not among the things for which he gave thanks, His Father said to him, All weathers nourish souls.

25 TRAVELLER’S JOY The son asked that he and his fellow­-travellers might find the plant called Traveller’s Joy. But did it grow alongside every road? His Father told him that it did; for by every road where His travellers walked He had sown some seeds of light, and those seeds springing up became Traveller’s Joy. His Father also showed him that every­thing he touched was meant to be a source of joy: Ye shall rejoice in all the things on which ye shall lay your hand.

26 AS A CORIANDER SEED His thoughts said, I feel famished. His Father said, This need never be. The Lord will not suffer the soul of His servant to famish. Art thou early enough upon the ground when I rain bread from heaven? In the morning the dew lay round about the host, and when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as hoar-frost on the ground. Are thine eyes open to see just a little thing, as little as a coriander seed?

27 WHEN THE DEW FELL IN THE NIGHT The son said, Thinking of manna I feel reproached. So many hours are spent merely in sleep. His Father said, When the dew fell in the night, the manna fell upon it. While thou sleepest I prepare heavenly food for thee. But it is written, "The people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day;" and one who watched the birds and beasts and fishes said, "That Thou givest them, they gather." Thou hast thy part to do. Go out, then, and gather thy portion for to-day. Thou canst not live upon yesterday’s portion.

28 HEM IT WITH QUIETNESS His thoughts said, What if I have not much time to gather my portion? His Father said, Hast thou only one minute? Hem it with quietness. Do not spend it in thinking how little time thou hast. I can give thee much in one minute.

Then the son remembered the Jewish tradition about the manna and the dew. The manna fell on the dew, they said, then more dew fell on the manna so that it was found between two layers of dew. And he thought of the quietness of dew and of how far it was removed from bustle of any kind. And he understood the word that his Father had spoken to him.

29 LITTLE SIPS The son wondered how it would be if because of press of business or illness he could not go out early in the morning to gather his portion. His Father understood, and he caused him to know that if the business concerned the Kingdom, or if illness or any such real hindrance interrupted, he should be at rest. Only he was warned to be careful lest the interruption should slide into a custom. He was not meant to be easy with himself. But he was reminded that the living water was never out of reach. If he had not time to drink long in the morning, he could take little sips now and then through the day from the Brook that is always flowing in the way.

30 A SONG OF LOVELY THINGS The son greatly wished to make a Song of Lovely Things to sing to his Beloved, but he could not find singing-words. Then he heard a Voice saying, Thou art walking in the road where all My lovers walked, and some of them walked singing. They have left their songs behind them. Find them. Sing them. They will be thine to Me. But the lover was grieved because he found no words, neither his own nor those of others; and yet his mind did truly desire to ascend. While feeling so, he read, On Thee praise waiteth all hushed, O God, in Zion; and He who is Love Eternal said, I will be silent in My love. And he entered into Silence and met Love Eternal there.

After a while there was a sound of gentle stillness and it said, Thy silence is to Me a Song of Lovely Things.

31 I WILL REMEMBER His thoughts said, The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped, and yet at times the waves sweep up and almost overwhelm me and I feel like Job, Thou dissolvest my substance. His Father said, At such times say to thyself, "I will remember the years of the Right hand of the Most High, I will re­member the days of old." Have the waves ever covered thee? Hast thou ever sunk as lead in the mighty waters? As it was, so it is; as it hath been, so it shall be. And in the end, with Mine own hands, I will bring thee unto thy desired haven.

32 NO CONDEMNATION His thoughts said, There is no foundation for hope in anything but Calvary. His Father said, That is true. But Calvary is an eternal fact. Thou hast been redeemed with the precious Blood, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, even the Blood of Christ. Didst thou pray, "Wash me throughly"? Then I did wash thee throughly. I have cast all thy sins into the depths of the sea. Who ever found anything again which was cast into those depths? I have pleaded the cause of thy soul. There is no condem­nation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Now, forgetting the things that are behind, press on.

33 JACOB, JACOB His thoughts said, There are some things that I cannot forget. His Father said, The humbling memory will help thee to walk softly with Me and tenderly with others. But even so there is relief from all distress. 0 thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the Spirit of the Lord straitened? When I spoke unto Israel in the visions of the night, I did not use that glorious name; I used the old name which had so sorrowful a mean­ing. I said, "Jacob, Jacob," and he answered, "Here am I."

Jacob, Jacob, the deceiver, the supplanter, that name is a reminder of thy fall, but also and far more of My mercy. It is to thee I am speaking, to thee, not to another, worthier one, but to thee, My child­ Jacob, Jacob.

34 LET MY LOVE RESTORE His thoughts said, I am not what I meant to be, or what others think I am. His Father said, It is written, "He restoreth my soul. The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul." Let some word of Mine restore thee. Let My love restore thee. Didst thou think thou hadst a Father who did not know that His child would need to be restored? I will restore health unto thee: I will heal thee of thy wounds. I will restore comforts unto thee. I will restore unto thee the joy of My salvation. I will renew a right spirit within thee. I will not cast thee away from My Presence.

Child of My love, trust thy Father. If the Spirit speaketh some word in thy heart, obey that word. And, or ever thou art aware, thou wilt know thyself restored.

35 LOST YEARS His thoughts said, But the lost years, what of them? His Father said, I will restore to thee the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm and the caterpillar and the palmer worm. I know the names of all the insects and worms which have devoured thy beauty and thy power. I will deal with them all, and cause thee to help others in danger of like injury. So shall thy years be restored.

36 BE STILL AND THOU SHALT HEAR The son’s troubled thoughts could not see how one so marred could ever be of use, but he remembered the comforting figure of the potter who did not throwaway the clay that was marred in his hands, but made it again another vessel. And his Father said, Take some promise of Mine, fulfil the condition attached thereto, and thou shalt be astonished at the change that will be wrought in thee. The son asked why he did not hear more clearly and more constantly the pleasant Voice of the Mighty One; to which his Father answered, There was a Voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings. The wings of thy work, the wings of thy will, the wings of thine inmost longing, the wings of thy cherished desire-­let them down. Be still, and thou shalt hear.

37 IN THE LIGHT OF THY COUNTENANCE IS LIFE The son found himself in a barren place. His Father said, In this place will I give peace, and there I will nourish thee. Son, thou art ever with Me, and all that I have is thine. And his Father with great gentleness drew him to Himself, saying, I humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna; that I might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that pro­ceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. Then the son said, Lord, ever­more give me this Bread. When he thirsted his Father said, The Lord will not suffer the soul of His servant to famish. And the son answered, 0 Thou who art the Gladness of my exulta­tion, in the light of Thy countenance is life.

38 EXPERIENCE WORKETH POWER TO HELP The son greatly wondered why one so generously succoured could ever feel poor and needy and thirsty. His Father asked him four questions: Can he who hath never thirsted know the preciousness of water? Can he who hath not found rivers on bare heights lead his fellow to those rivers? Can he who hath not walked in the deep valleys of the spirit help the fainting to find fountains? Can he who hath never seen the glowing sand become a pool bear witness to the marvel of My power?

39 THERE IS NO OTHER WAY His thoughts said, Is there no other way of learning how to help another but by the way of suffering? His Father said, Had there been another way, would I not have found it for the Son of My love, whom no thorn of pain had ever pierced, who was tender as a child to the touch? If it became Me in bringing many sons unto glory, to lead the Captain of their salvation by that way, wouldest thou win souls without a pang? Settle it once for all; there is no other way.

40 NOT EVEN A CUP OF TEA The son said, My heart is disquieted within me. My soul cleaveth to the dust. Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, 0 God. His Father said, In My hand are the deep places of the earth. Is there no blue sky? Have roses forgotten how to blow? Have birds ceased to sing among the branches? Hast thou not the sweetness of the love of a single little child? Hast thou no pleasant food-not even a cup of tea? Have tears been thy meat day and night?

Gather up thy comforts, the greatest, the smallest, and thou wilt be surprised that thou hast so many to gather.

41 WHILE WE LOOK NOT AT... BUT AT... His thoughts said, The affairs of the present press so closely upon me, that I cannot live as one should who is seeking a better Country, that is, an heavenly. I am bound to earth by very many ties. The things I hear fill my ears, the things I see fill my eyes. His Father said, Read again the words thou hast often read before about the things that are seen and the things that are not seen. Ponder the word while. Let the power of this revelation penetrate thy soul.