VOL. I. ZION'S WITNESS. JULY, 1859. No. 10. COMMUNION WITH THE LORD. 'Thou shalt see greater things than these." JNO. 1. 50. WELL might the Holy Ghost say by the great Apostle Paul, "Are ye not carnal ?" for truly 66 man in his best estate is altogether vanity." How true it is that "we can receive nothing except it be given us from above;" and, "every good and every perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights in whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning." It is no matter of wonder or astonishment to the spiritually minded that the Apostle Paul should break forth in such heart language as this, "That I may know Him;" as though his attained knowledge was but as a drop of the ocean of Christ's fulness, or as a spark of that immense fire which perpetually dwells in Him. "Who by searching can find out God? Who can find out the Almighty to perfection ?" When He became incarnate He hid Himself in a garment of flesh, so that the Princes of this world did not know the Lord of life and glory, for had they known Him, they would not—yea, could not-have crucified Him. He, then, hid Himself from their eyes, not intending they should know Him; as He in love and much mercy said to His disciples, "Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but unto them it is not given." Why given to the poor ignorant fishermen, and hidden from the wise and prudent PRIESTS, SCRIBES, and PHARISEES?" Even so Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." They, therefore, could not understand Christ the mystery of God, the secret of God, and the word of God; for they had not the Spirit of God in a way of love, mercy, light, life, and revelation, being none of His; but rather vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. Nathanael was astonished When he came to Christ to find that the Lord knew him previously; not as yet knowing Christ to be the invisible God, the self-existing Jehovah. No, he did not as yet know that that man of sorrows, tabernackling in a tent of flesh, was the author of that faith, and inspirer of that prayer, which he had had under the fig tree. When, therefore, the Lord saluted him, with a royal salute, of his real dignity, high, and holy standing before God, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile," he answered, naturally-not spiritually, Whence knowest thou me ?" "Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast-(" dost know the place, the spot of ground, where Jesus did thee meet?)—under the fig tree, I saw thee." At once a ray of Christ's glorious light beams upon him, breaks through all gloom and darkness, eliciting the noble confession, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these." "It hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive the thing swhich God hath prepared for them that love Him; but God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His." Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit ;" "and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty." "Thou shalt see greater things than these." Precious promise! Faithful promiser ! Thine is love infinite and eternal, sovereign, rich, and free: scanless in its height, unfathomable in its depths, and immeasurable in its lengths and breadths! O heights, depths, lengths, and breadths, what do we know of thy immensity! What can we say of thy eternity! What of thy omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence! Thou, O Lord God, art indeed immeasurable, inscrutable, and all-wise! What can a drop know of Thee, the ocean! What a spark, of Thee, the endless fire! Thou art an endless fire of love to thy body, but an eternal fire of destruction to thine enemies. Thou art an immensity of grace to thine elect Head and members, while an ocean of wrath and fury to those who know thee not. Thou art a kind, indulgent, compassionate, tender-hearted Father to thine own beloved children, though an angry judge of all those whose names are not written in heaven. Thou, indeed, art a friend possessing the deepest and finest sympathy toward the friends of thy bosom, while thou art the greatest enemy the wicked will ever know. Thou, O Lord, our ONE Lord, art the most noble, mighty, and glorious King to thine own loyal, loving subjects; though all those who desire thee not to reign over them shall find thee determined to rule over them with a rod of iron. Indeed, Lord, thou art a faithful High Priest upon thy throne, who art Priest, Altar, and Sacrifice; whose atonement satisfied all lawful claims, silenced all opposing voices, and removed every impediment that was in the way; so that thy people are privileged to come boldly to a throne of grace, not having an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like unto His brethren. We, therefore, bless and adore thee that thou art still and ever the same faithful High Priest, who canst have compassion on the ignorant and those who, being such fools in and of themselves, are out of the way; and that, though thousands trample thy blood under their feet, it is very precious unto us, yea, the very life of our souls. Thou hast said, dear and precious Lord, "Thou shalt see greater things than these." O, then, verify thine own truth, thy word is truth, and upon thy word thou hast caused us to hope; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; even within that covering which thou didst assume for the manifestation of thine own eternal, uncreated glories, and for the redemption of thine own purchased possession. We can but adore thee, thou glorious and ever dear and precious Lord Jesus, that thou shouldest in any measure have taken knowledge of us in a way of love and mercy; for we richly deserve eternal banishment from thy presence; but adored and for ever blessed be thy great and glorious name, thy love is thyself, thy will is no less thyself, thy purpose is all concentrated in Christ Jesus, where thou hast in love placed and for ever fixed thy ONE CHURCH, even upon that great and stable Rock against which the gates of hell cannot prevail. Yea, the Rock must be moved out of its place, that is, thy Deity out of thy manhood, ere one member of thine eternally loved and cared-for Church can perish. Thou didst say, O most glorious and precious Lord Jesus, to thy Divine Father and our Father, "Thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me." We do, then, verily believe thy words to be faithful and true. O pardon and check, if it be thy pleasure, every rise of that cursed unbelief, which is ever a traitor to thy love, a disputer of thy blood, a questioner of thy eternal excellencies, a denier of thy Godhead, and a vile usurper of thy just and rightful throne. We confess before thee, O our God, that we are carnal, sold under sin, and that we now carry about with us a corruptible body of death; but thou hast in love to our souls said, "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace ;" also, thou hast delivered us from the pit of corruption, and cast all our sins behind thy back. We, therefore, as feeling witnesses of the verity of thy word, say, from the bottom of our ONE heart, "Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth !" 'Thou shalt see greater things than these." As thou hast promised, Lord, and art ever faithful and true, do thou also perform in us to will and to do of thine own good pleasure. Raise us above, and carry us beyond, all carnal reasoning, which is a production of the flesh, and only the wisdom of this world, which is foolishness with thee. Have compassion on, and take advantage of, our ignorance, by making us light in thee the Lord, causing us to see light in thy light. Thou alone art that true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. May thy light so shine in us that we may walk as the children of light; yea, walk in thee, the light, as thou art in the light, even while below. And when thou shalt in love and mercy say, "Come up higher," we will, in the full blaze of thy eternal refulgence, bask our ransomed souls and bodies for ever and ever. We shall then " see greater things than these" that we already know; for now we know but in part, but then we shall know even as we are known. Though thy children below are so little acquainted with thee, thou infinite Jehovah-Jesus, thou knowest each of them perfectly, and ever holdest them in an endless perfection, saying, "Thou art all fair my love, there is no spot in thee." Oh! what can we render unto thee for thy boundless love! What sacrifice can we offer as a memento of thy faithfulness! Thou art indeed infinitely glorious, ten thousand times ten thousand above all praise; and yet, notwithstanding the height of thy dwelling-place, thou art pleased to receive blessing, praise, honour, and adoration from thy blood-bought family. Yea, more, thou art pleased to dwell in the midst of thy people, even in the midst of their very nature, and claim them as thy portion, inheritance, and delight. Lord, thou hast said, "Thou shalt see greater things than these.' The desire of our ONE heart, the language of our ONE mouth is, We, with thine own likeness, would see Jesus! While here tossed about on the billows of time, the confession of our soul is, "We have no continuing city (but thee) but seek one to come, even one which hath foundations. Hasten, O hasten, the time when thy bride, thy fair one, thy eternal delight, shall share thy crown with thee for ever and ever. Then, and not till then, can she be perfectly satisfied. It is true, Lord, we know something of thee, even now; but we are looking and expecting to see greater things than we have ever yet seen. Not that we expect another object for our eye in heaven, another subject to fill our thoughts, or another note to swell our praise. No, that be far from our desire, seeing heaven would be no heaven without thee. We anticipate no glory but what thou art, no joy but thyself, and no happiness but in thine eternal fond embrace. And now, Lord, our ONE Lord, while we tarry thy pleasure below, give us, in much love and mercy, to remember that, as new creatures in thee, we cannot live our own life, or seek our own glory; but that we are eternally united to thee, the Resurrection and the Life, and that thou art ever interested in all thy living family's welfare, continually saying, “He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of my eye.” THE EDITOR. THE SPIRIT OF LIFE. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit."-1 JOHN iv. 13. "For if any THE test of our discipleship is, " Have I the Spirit of Christ ?" man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." Without His indwelling, all is vanity and delusion. Every living soul is brought, in God's time, to realize the truth of these words, "He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given us the earnest of the Spirit ;" and a blessed earnest it is, so blessed that, if once enjoyed, it can never be forgotten. The holy delight, the sacred peace, and heavenly rest of the immortal soul is indeed an earnest of that inheritance which is "incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." When the Holy Spirit breaketh the bread of life to a poor soul, he eateth and is satisfied with the abundance of goodness and mercy. That same Spirit openeth the eyes to see wondrous things in God's law; and as the eye sees, the heart feels, and the sinner feeds on eternal love and mercy, he realizes his adoption into the Lord's family, and rejoices in Christ Jesus, and has no confidence in the flesh. In order to demonstrate to the renewed mind that it is God's work, He sometimes opens up a portion of divine truth in the soul that we previously never saw any beauty in; but when the Holy Spirit shines in and through the Word, what a fulness! what a richness! what a blessedness is realized! filling the soul with ecstacy and delight, carrying the mind above and beyond the bounds of time into the glories of a blissful eternity. Then "we tread the world beneath our feet, and all that earth calls good or great." Paul and the beloved John dwell largely and richly on the Holy Spirit's work in the heart as an evidence and a witness in the redeemed, and the quickened soul cannot be satisfied without it, nor with that ministry where the work of the Holy Spirit is not set forth. A mere judgmental knowledge will not satisfy; the soul desires to be able to say, with John, "We write unto you of the things we have handled and tasted of the good Word of Life." Thy "words were found, and I did eat them, and thy Word was the joy and rejoicing of my heart." When hearing the word preached, how blessed if the Holy Spirit confirms what the man says by other portions of the Word, sealing the soul to the day of eternal redemption, and melting it like wax, to receive the heavenly seal. Say, poor soul, has the Holy Spirit brought that sweet portion into thy heart, "This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell?" If so, thou hast entered into gospel rest here, and soon will be transplanted into that glorious rest that remains for the children of God, where sorrow and sighing shall for ever flee away. "For weary saints a rest remains, A rest from all the infernal strife The question is asked by the Lord, "Where is the place of my rest ? Blessed Lord, thou hast opened our eyes to see that Christ, our Great High Priest and Head of the mystical body, is the place of thy rest. Here thou commandest the blessing, even life for evermore; and the holy anointing oil runneth down from the Head, even to the feeblest member of thy body, and enriches the soul with covenant love. "The feeblest lamb in Jesu's fold Was blest in Jesus there." The apostle Paul's desire and prayer was that he might apprehend that for which also he was apprehended of God.-O, for this healthy state of soul!— Seeing God had called him to glory and immortality, he laboured to comprehend the heights and depths of that love which, as he says, passeth knowledge; seeing in Jesus a fulness of grace suited to fill his empty vessel for ever and ever, Christ was all in all to him. to Oh! may we be enabled, by the blessed Spirit witnessing with our spirit, say, "The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death;" and, "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory." "Like wind the Spirit gently blows His sweet celestial breath; And when, by faith, we feel the breeze, Lambeth. We rise from sin and death." J. TAYLOR. SATAN ONCE MORE DEFEATED. MY DEAR SIR,-A short time ago I was induced, by seeing your very valuable and truth-bearing periodical spoken against, to send for it, that I might read for myself, Berean-like, when, to my great surprise-which was very agreeable, too-I found it to be one of the most truthful and consoling publications I ever read in my life. In vain did I look for what was called errors." The errors mentioned were what I have long held to be the truth; and have, by the grace of God, long lived in the enjoyment of them; consequently I was delighted, consoled, refreshed, and strengthened, and my soul knit to yours, which, I have no doubt, you will allow was an effect of our being ONE in the eternal and unalterable covenant, which is sure and certain to all the seed royal, and to those only; for none others have any part or lot All those who are in the covenant will remain there for ever. In this blessed covenant none can be added, and, blessed be Jehovah, none can be taken out. in the matter. The object, my dear Sir, of my writing now is to bid you God speed; to urge you to keep your little work pure; keep it from useless controversies; |