The Believer Established
The Nazarite's Vow
Numbers 6
Before entering upon the subject of
the Nazarite's Vow I should like to say very plainly that the salvation of a
sinner depends altogether upon Christ and His perfect work on the cross, and it
is received only by faith. The prayers, works, self-denial, and devotedness of
the believer add nothing whatever to his salvation. To suppose that our
salvation depends in any way upon ourselves, is to be "fallen from grace" and
to be in darkness and uncertainty as to the whole matter. But when we see that
CHRIST is the Alpha and Omega of our salvation, that His atoning work has
settled every question that sin had raised between God and our souls, that His
blood cleanseth us from all sin, and that we are on the shoulders of the Good
Shepherd who has pledged His word that we "shall never perish," we find
ourselves upon solid ground, and divine assurance takes the place of
alternating hope and fear.
An important fact is sometimes overlooked;
viz., that salvation is linked with the recognition of the rights of the Lord
Jesus. It is written, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth THE LORD JESUS, and
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved," Rom. 10: 9. In a coming day every knee will be made to bow to Him,
and every tongue will have to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, but the
believer does it now. By and by the rightful but now rejected King will have
dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth; but
today His authority is only acknowledged and confessed by those who believe on
His name. A little millennium is set up in the heart of the believer, and he
confesses Jesus as Lord.
But sometimes Jesus is trusted as the Saviour
without being fully recognised as Lord. He is taken on board more as a
Passenger than as Captain of the ship. The captain has authority from stem to
stern; the ship sails withersoever he "listeth" ; everything about the vessel
and her voyage is under his control. Now let each of us ask himself the
question, "Have I Christ on board as a Passenger or as Captain of the ship"?
Some - Jacob-like - will give Christ the tenth part; others will offer
Him a larger proportion; but giving Him one-tenth or nine-tenths is not really
owning His rights. The inhabitants of a besieged city wanted to make terms with
their enemies, but the answer was, "No terms: unconditional surrender." That is
what we must have if we want to be Christians worthy of the name. No terms with
Christ, but unconditional surrender to Him; the loyal and unreserved
recognition of His rights as Lord!
And is He not worthy? Think of His
unconditional surrender for us! See the Lord of glory stooping down into the
dust of death! He sacrificed everything and laid down His life to make us His
own. The love of Christ, expressed in death, has a constraining power over
every heart that really knows it; and it argues with a cogency which nothing
but the hardness of unbelief can resist, that we should not henceforth live
unto ourselves but unto Him. Do we believe that He gave Himself. Then how can
we make reserves in our surrender to Him? Shall we not fervently exclaim:
"Higher than the highest heavens,
Deeper
than the deepest sea,
Lord, Thy love at last hath conquered,
Grant me
now my spirit's longing,
'None of self and all of Thee.' "
May all bargaining, and compromise and reserve, cease from our hearts here and
now, and may that short but all-comprehensive prayer of a surrendered and
subject heart - "Lord, what wilt THOU have me to do?" - be our soul's utterance
tonight and evermore!
Surely none of us could be content to quietly
assume that because our sins are forgiven we need not concern ourselves whether
we are devoted to Christ or not! Let us not forget the judgment seat! Let us
remember that there is such a thing as being "saved, yet so as by fire!" My
brother, your present happiness and your future place in the kingdom of glory
depend on your loyalty to Christ here on earth. May God touch us with a little
of the fire that burned in the soul of a true Nazarite!
No one was
compelled to be a Nazarite. The Lord wants a willing people now. The Nazarite
was one who voluntarily devoted himself to the Lord - not of necessity but of a
willing mind. Grace wrought in his heart the desire to be wholly for the Lord,
and then grace provided a way in which that devotedness could be expressed. The
great need of the Israel of God to-day is more Nazarites - more thoroughly
devoted men and women. Spiritual young men are a great testimony for Christ in
these days of secularised Christianity, and I should love every young man here
to have it impressed upon his heart that God has committed to him a stewardship
of the interests and glory of CHRIST. If we have not an intense longing to be
really for Christ may God give it to us now!
Notice the three words -
eight times repeated in this chapter:
"UNTO THE
LORD."
These words are the key to the chapter. It is not "under
the law," but "UNTO THE LORD." There was no servile constraint - no legal
bondage - about the Nazarite's vow. He was one whose heart burned with a desire
to be wholly devoted "unto the Lord." Now I confess I know no arguments, and I
am acquainted with no power, that will move the heart to devotedness except the
knowledge of the Lord Himself and of His love. It is possible to read books by
the score, and to listen to the most faithful and blessed ministry for years
together, and yet never know the Lord as a present living Object in heavenly
glory. I venture to say that it is impossible to see and know Him there by
faith without having an intense desire to be wholly devoted to Him here. Do you
think that we could gaze upon the glory-crowned Person to whom angels and
principalities are subject, and yet withold the allegiance of our poor hearts?
Do you suppose for a moment that we could ponder the hands, the feet, the side,
that bore the sufferings of His love to us, and remain in a state of passive
indifference to His glory here? Could we see Him there the exalted Object of
the worship of delighted heaven - and at the same time be content to compromise
His glory and dishonour His Name by conformity to the world which still sets
Him at naught.
A sight of that MAN in the glory takes the glitter from
this corrupt and Godless world. Its charms attract, and its shams deceive no
more. The heart says, "What have I to do any more with idols?" The ONE in glory
becomes the "Object bright and fair, to fill and satisfy the heart," and the
one who thus knows Him begins a new life. Instead of the affections and
energies finding their home and object in the world and self, they begin to
flow in the current of Numbers 6 "unto the Lord." It is not that we deny
ourselves for an indefinite reason, or to improve our spiritual standing or
reputation, but there is a positive Object - a Person of infinite worth -
before our souls, and for the sake, and for the love, of that Person what would
otherwise be painful self-denial becomes a source of deepest happiness to our
souls. I am bold to say that the Nazarite who really devoted himself "unto the
Lord " got overwhelmingly repaid for his self-denial in the blessing and joy of
his soul. Now, my brethren, are you prepared to be true Nazarites! Does the
Person of the Lord and His love so command you, that the deepest and most
cherished desire of your heart is to be devoted entirely to Him.
There
were three things the Nazarite was not to do; these three negatives being
simply the fruit and the expression of the positive fact that he was a man
devoted "UNTO THE LORD."
He was not to eat or drink any part, or
product, of the vine.
He was not to cut his hair.
He was not to come
in contact with a dead body.
The Nazarite willingly devoted himself to a
life of
SELF-DENIAL
and for
the Lord's sake he abstained from that which would have been naturally pleasant
to him. The testimony of Scripture is that "wine maketh merry" (Eccles. 10:
19). and "maketh glad the heart of man" (Psa. 104: 15), and hence wine becomes
the type of those earthly and worldly things that elevate and give pleasure to
the heart and mind of man. The ordinary Israelite might indulge in wine and
keep a good conscience; not so the Nazarite. The one who desired to be wholly
for the Lord must abstain so totally that "from the kernels even to the husk"
not a particle nor a drop that came from the vine of the earth must pass his
lips.
Alas! my friends, there are thousands in the spiritual Israel
to-day who are not Nazarites; professing Christians to-day are ready to drink
every drop of the wine of earthly pleasure that they can get. They are ready to
eat the whole vine and husks, and all. The strait-laced legality of Puritan
times has given place to a corrupt taste for pleasure and amusement, which is
being gratified to the full by an unfaithful church, so that there is hardly
any form of earthly or worldly pleasure which is not indulged in by professed
people of God. My brethren, if you are set for the Lord, you will very soon
find out that you cannot go to a cricket or football match, to a dramatic or
musical entertainment, or to a worldly party, and that you cannot read light or
fictitious literature, without defiling the head of your consecration. If you
indulge in things you will find that they destroy your interest in the of God,
they take away your liberty in prayer, they bring a shade upon your spiritual
joy, and very soon - unless you repent - they will deprive you of all power to
be a living witness for Christ.
I speak plainly because I do not
believe that any of you want to be merely theoretical Christians. The things
which I have mentioned carry so evidently the stamp of the world upon them that
you have probably shunned them ever since you were converted. Perhaps the
girdle of truth needs to be a little tighter than this around the loins of our
minds. There are many things, which could not be pronounced sinful, from which
a thorougly devoted heart would hold itself aloof. Each of us has natural
tastes and tendencies of thought which, if we had remained unconverted, would
have dominated and coloured our lives. With one it is a love for the society of
friends, with another a taste for music, a third is held spellbound under the
magician's wand of the poet, the mind of a fourth is absorbed by mechanical or
scientific ideas, and so on. Remember, I am not now speaking of what a man is
engaged in as his business or profession, but of the source to which he turns
for the pleasure of his heart when the claims of duty are discharged. Each of
us, perhaps, could tell what he was naturally fond of, and each could perhaps
also say that he had found by experience that the gratification of these
natural tastes was not helpful to his spiritual life. All such things are
products of the earthly vine, not always evil in themselves, but when the
heart's affections are entwined round them, and the heart looks for its solace
and joy in them, they have diverted us from the true source of our joy; they
have moved the Lord from His true place as our heart's absorbing One, and the
Nazarite is defiled.
A widow passing through a place where her husband
had been murdered a few years before would hardly find much to gratify her
heart there, however interesting the occupations, and however innocent and
entertaining the amusements of the place might be! Now do we look upon this
world as the place where the One we love best was murdered ? The earth did not
yield Him wine, but vinegar and gall, and He - the true Nazarite - has. turned
His back upon all earthly joys, saying, "I will not drink of the fruit of the
vine, until the kingdom of God shall come," Luke 22:18. His joys are with the
Father and in heaven, and He would have us so to know and to share them that we
might count it a gain to turn aside from the vine of the earth.
"Thy
love is better than wine...we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will
remember thy love more than wine," is the language of a heart truly attached to
the Lord (Song of Sol. 1:2-4); and David could say, "Thou hast put gladness in
my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased,"
Psalm 4:7. Bear witness, every Christian heart! Have you not had seasons of joy
in the Lord which have infinitely surpassed everything that the vines of earth
can afford. Would you willingly and deliberately sacrifice the former for the
sake of the latter? I think not. Then take heed that you are not beguiled by
the serpent, who ever seeks to rob us of our true joys by turning us aside to
things which promise fair but which yield no real satisfaction to the heart! It
is a real loss to us when we turn aside to these things, and we have to prove
it so in the end; even as it is said of Israel, "My people have committed two
evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out
cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." Jer. 2: 13.
Deuteronomy 29: 6 has been instructive to me in connection with this subject.
"Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye
might know that I am the Lord your God." In the wilderness the Lord would make
Himself the only Source, whether of sustenance or of joy, to His people. In the
true spirit of this the altogether Perfect One refused both the bread (Luke
4:4) and the wine (Mark 15:23). He would only accept support from God. He would
only have the solace and joy ministered by His God and Father. He was the true
Nazarite. Even so He would have us to prove that He can carry us through this
wilderness world without either its support or its solace. He would make
Himself our bread and our wine, and, instead of being worse off, we should be
infinitely better of, like Daniel's band, who were "fairer and fatter in flesh
than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat." The devil
is always ready to suggest that an out-and-out Christian is a melancholy
creature, who does not enjoy life at all. Every thread of that suggestion, warp
and woof, is a lie. I will show you directly what it is that makes the long
faces and the sad hearts, but you may take it for granted in the meantime that
it is not whole-hearted separation to the Lord that makes a man unhappy.
Leviticus 10: 9, 10, is another suggestive scripture as to this
matter. "Do not drink wine nor strong drink...that ye may put difference
between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean." A man cannot indulge
in earthborn joys without having his spiritual perceptions blunted. If he goes
on with them he will presently tolerate what he would have once judged to be
evil. Then godly watchfulness as to the little details of everyday life gives
place to carelessness and laxity. Week by week the line of separation from the
world becomes less distinct. Solidity and force of spiritual character is lost.
The holy is not sought, not the unholy shunned, with that intensity of purpose
which once burned brightly in the soul; and ere long the once devoted saint
drifts along with the circumstances by which he is surrounded, with little
exercise and less joy, and completely shorn of the beauty of his Nazariteship.
Another solemn voice reaches us from Lamentations 4:7-8, "Her
Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more
ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: their visage is
blacker than a coal ; they are not known in the streets; their skin cleaveth to
their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick." How sad to think that
the once lovely Nazarite may be reduced to such a condition as this! Have you
never seen a blighted and withered Nazarite ? - a man who has lost the
simplicity that is in Christ, and the beauty of holiness, and all the
devotedness and heavenly mind that once shone so brightly in him? Now nobody
can read Christ in him. His name may be on a church-roll somewhere; he attends
meetings perhaps; but he is not known in the streets! The men where he works do
not know that he is a Christian, and it is as well they do not, for he is now
more like a spiritual scarecrow than anything else. A man in that condition,
instead of attracting souls to Christ only scares them away. Let that man be a
beacon-light to warn you from the rock on which he has made shipwreck! In
ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the Nazarite's decline and fall begins by
his turning aside to find pleasure in some joy that is of earth and not of
heaven. The Lord loses for the moment His all-commanding and unrivalled place
as the Object of the heart. This opens a crack-very small, probably, at first -
but the devil has got wedges which are small enough at one end to get into the
smallest crack; and when they are once in he knows how to drive them home,
unless divine grace works repentance and restoration. Then you get a man like
one of Jeremiah's Nazarites - worldly, conscience-smitten, and unhappy - a man
who, sooner or later, will feel his thorough wretchedness; for if he is a
converted man the Holy Spirit can neither give him the joys of heaven nor
suffer him to be happy with the joys of earth. Thus, in seeking to enjoy two
worlds he for the present loses both. Alas, poor man may God make thee a
warning to us all!
But the fearful results of a defiled Nazariteship
have also another voice to us! We should be not only constrained thereby to
keep ourselves pure, but we should be also reminded of our responsibilities in
regard to others. "I raised up...of your young men for Nazarites...but ye gave
the Nazarites wine to drink," Amos 2:11, 12. I believe I am right in saying
that the temptations which prevail most easily with the young in Christ are
those which come from professing Christians. I have seen many a promising
spiritual life blighted by the company and examples of professed believers. In
this respect, "woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink!" Remember the
Saviour's solemn words about an offence (or cause of stumbling) given to one of
His little ones!
2. I think we may find a key to the significance of
the unshorn locks of the Nazarite in a sentence from the apostle Paul - "Doth
not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame
unto him," 1 Cor. 11: 14. The Nazarite was found in a condition which,
according to the thoughts of nature, was one of reproach and shame. In
connection with this I should like to read Hebrews 11:24-26. "By faith Moses,
when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming THE REPROACH OF CHRIST greater riches
than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the
reward." Here was a man most singularly favoured by Providence as to his
position in this world, who deliberately turned his back upon wealth, power,
and honours, when all these things were within his grasp, and threw in his lot
with people who were in circumstances of the lowest degradation! No doubt he
made himself a laughing stock for Egypt, but the laughing did not last very
long, while the gain on the other side can never be calculated. To use the
figure, Moses presented himself to Egypt with the unshorn locks of a true
Nazariteship. He did not shrink from shame and reproach.
To " refuse "
and to "choose" as Moses did, requires uncompromising decision, or what the New
Testament calls "PURPOSE OF THE HEART." Jonathan's armour-bearer presents a
fine example of a decided and devoted servant. " Do all that is in thine
heart," said he to his master, " behold, I am with thee according to thine
heart," I Sam. 14:7. He was thoroughly one with his master, regardless of
consequences. It looked like tempting Providence, as people say, for two men to
attack an army. Common sense would say, they will certainly be defeated,
perhaps slain, or at any rate taken captive. The odds were fearful. The field
of battle was a precipitous and unlikely place. Everything was against them.
Nevertheless he says, " I am with thee according to thy heart."
This
is the spirit in which Moses acted. He recognised in the toiling brickmakers
the chosen people of the Lord. If God's heart was with these poor toilers,
Moses' heart would be with them too - not simply to pity and patronise them,
but to suffer affliction, and bear reproach, along with them. No doubt people
thought he was carrying things to extremes, and making a fool of himself. So he
was, from Egypt's point of view, but he does not regret it to-day. We were
singing just now
"Saviour, I long to follow
Thee,
Daily the cross to bear!"
When a man was seen bearing
his cross, everybody knew that he had done with the world, and as long as he
remained in it he was an object of contempt. Now is that what we covet and
expect? It is all very well to talk and sing about it here in barracks, but how
do we feel on the battlefield ? We can all be very valiant for the truth when
it costs us nothing. But a soldier must be prepared to stand fire, as well as
to shine on the parade ground. It is at home, in the office, behind the
counter, in the workshop, and on the street, in ten thousand details of
everyday life, that the test comes. Are we prepared to face the Egyptians, and
the Philistines, and all the foes of our Lord, ever saying to Him in loyalty of
spirit, I am with thee according to thy heart?
Do we really look upon
the sneers and scorn of the world as our greatest treasure upon earth? We are
not told that Moses "submitted" to the reproach, or bore it well when it came,
but that he chose it and esteemed it "greater riches than the treasures in
Egypt." The spiritual millionaires are the men and women who have most of the
reproach of Christ. In the coming day of kingdom glory I have no doubt many of
the brightest crowns will be found upon the brows of People unknown to fame.
Many an obscure saint has to face from morning to night the full, fierce tide
of "the reproach of Christ." I have no doubt theirs will be a rich reward,
while many a bit of showy service will be found in that day to have yielded
"nothing but leaves."
There is another scripture which I dare say has
already occurred to your minds in connection with this subject. " Let us go
forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing his reproach," Heb. 13:13.
This scripture appeals directly to the true Nazarite by the introduction of
these two central words-"UNTO HIM" But here a much narrower circle is in
question. It is not now "Egypt," but "the camp"; i.e., the professed people of
God. I cannot enter upon the subject now, but it would be easy to prove to you
that the great religious bodies of Christendom occupy a position almost
identical with the Jewish "camp" referred to here. In fact, much of the
Christianity of today is only Judaism with Christian terms introduced into it;
and there is as little true subjection to Christ and obedience to the will of
God as there was in Israel when Moses pitched the tabernacle outside "the
camp." The Nazarite would not be true to his consecration "unto the Lord" if he
were to acquiesce in this kind of thing. Hence he is called to "go forth
therefore unto him without the camp." But let him not suppose that his action
will be either understood, or commended, by the " thousands of Israel! " He
will be roundly abused by many; Pharisee and Bigot, will be the names hurled at
him by some; while others will say that he is Peculiar, Narrow-minded and a man
of very extreme views. In short, he must be prepared to carry his locks
unshorn, and to bear "the reproach of Christ."
It is an evil day for
the Nazarite when the questions begin to rise in his heart, Whatever will they
think? What will Mr. - say? When he begins to consider the opinions of others,
and to shape his course to please men, whether they be friends, or foes, the
locks of his Nazariteship will soon be shorn. His spiritual strength will
depart from him, and then woe be unto him when the Philistines come upon him!
A devoted Christian must be a fool in the eyes of the world and of
carnal believers. He is impelled by unknown motives; he suffers loss with no
visible compensation in any form; he goes calmly and steadily in the opposite
direction to everybody else; he despises the advantages which all others are
eager to pursue; he spends his time, his talents, and his means in the service
and for the glory of One who is only a myth to men of the world. In a word, he
lives "UNTO THE LORD," and he is glad to be a fool "for Christ's sake."
3. Finally the Nazarite was not, under any circumstances, to touch a
dead body. In connection with this let us read Romans 8:12, 13. "Therefore,
brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye
live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the
deeds of the body, ye shall live." Nothing could be more solemn than this
scripture and its context, for it shows the absolute impossibility of living to
God as men in the flesh. The lesson learned by the painful exercises of Romans
7 is that "in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing," and the soul
cries bitterly, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body
of death?" The figure present to the writer's mind was that of the dreadful
punishment of lashing a criminal to a dead body in such a way that it was
impossible for him to free himself, and then leaving him to die. What was the
dead body from which Paul had sought to be delivered? Was it not himself, and
all that he was as a man in the flesh? Nor did he look for deliverance in vain!
Having given himself up - as a man in the flesh - as being a " body of death,"
he looked outside himself for deliverance, and could immediately exclaim, " I
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." He saw that the judgment of death had
passed upon him at the cross, and that grace now gave him a perfect title to
take the new ground that he was " IN CHRIST JESUS." A door of life and liberty
was thus opened to him, for "there is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are IN CHRIST JESUS." and, along with this, power by the Holy Spirit, so
that he could say, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me
free from the law of sin and death."
Do not run away with the idea
that I mean anything mystical or visionary when I say that the true Nazarite
must live
MORALLY APART FROM HIMSELF
as a man in the flesh. In saying this, I am speaking the sober
and practical truth of the Scriptures, " If ye live after the flesh, ye shall
die." " He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption," Gal.
6: 8. You cannot come morally into contact with the flesh without being
defiled. The Holy Spirit wages perpetual warfare against the flesh, and we are
plainly told that if we walk in the Spirit we shall not fulfil the lust of the
flesh (Gal. 5:16). The Holy Spirit is dwelling in us to maintain us in freedom
from that "law of sin and death" to which we were in bondage when we were "in
the flesh." When a Christian thinks, or speaks, or acts, according to the
flesh, he is practically acknowledging the man who is under death-the man who
was set aside at the cross. To use the figure, he touches the dead body and
defiles the head of his consecration. And, inasmuch as he is allowing that upon
which death has passed in the sight of God, he has to reap from it death and
corruption. We have to learn - it takes some of us a long time - that it does
not pay to live after the flesh; to do so brings darkness into the soul, robs
the heart of its divine joys, and entails the misery of an accusing conscience.
Brethren, we cannot afford to embrace or cherish that " dead body" any longer.
"They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and
lusts," Gal. 5:24.
But if we refuse the vileness and wickedness of the
flesh, let us not forget that the flesh has a moral and religious side which is
equally defiling to the true Nazarite. We are often, like Saul (I Sam. 15: 9)
ready to spare "the best" and the "good" of Amalek, while we would destroy
utterly everything that is "vile and refuse." The Galatians, having begun in
the Spirit, were seeking to be made perfect by the flesh. Some were insisting
on the necessity for circumcision and keeping the law; they were observing
days, months, times, and years; and were glorying in the flesh in a religious
way. They were putting themselves again in moral contact with the "dead body "
of the flesh, and Paul could hardly find language strong enough in which to
describe their defilement thereby. He speaks of them as being "troubled,"
"bewitched," "foolish," turned away "to weak and beggarly elements, whereunto
ye desire again to be in bondage...fallen from grace."
The Colossians,
too, needed to be warned against those who would spoil them "through philosophy
and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ"; and they had to be asked, "Wherefore if ye be dead with
Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are
ye subject to ordinances?" Paul had to tell them that spiritual circumcision
was the "putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ."
Christianity is not the flesh educated, or regulated, or decorated, but a new
creation in Christ Jesus. If you see a man setting himself off with a religious
title, or a religious dress, or even a bit of blue ribbon, you may be sure that
he is not clear of the "dead body." He is not walking according to the rule of
the new creation, but according to a rule which can be equally well carried out
by an unconverted man. It seems a most admirable thing for a man to pledge
himself to "Touch not, taste not, handle not" some evil thing; but the very
fact that he puts himself under an ordinance as to it, shows that he is upon
the old ground of a man in the flesh, on which ground he can never live unto
God, or be a true Nazarite. However fair it may promise, the flesh can never
yield anything but defilement - death and corruption.
Then by what
power can the spiritual Nazarite hold himself aloof from the "dead body" of his
former self as a man in the flesh? Only by the Spirit of God. If we have not
the Spirit, or if, having Him, we grieve Him, nothing can preserve us from
living after the flesh. We naturally gravitate in that direction, and it is
only as the counteracting "law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" is in
operation that we are maintained in freedom "from the law of sin and death."
The spiritual Nazarite has no power to hold himself aloof from the "dead body,"
save as he walks in the Spirit. No words of mine can convey the importance and
solemnity of this to your hearts, but I trust God will impress it upon us all.
"Through the Spirit," and only thus, can we "mortify the deeds of the body,"
and keep ourselves morally clear of the flesh both in its carnal and legal
aspects. There seems to be a great difference between flesh that is licentious
and selfindulgent, and flesh that is exemplary, self -controlled, and ascetic.
But flesh is flesh, and it is always opposed to what is of the Spirit of God.
The better it looks, the more it is to be dreaded. In England the dissenting
bodies have gone in for the cultivation of man's intellect as a chief part of
preparation for the ministry. What is the result? Under cover of Higher
Criticism, infidelity is now sown broadcast from many a pulpit from which a few
years ago the truth of God was faithfully preached. On the other hand, the
Establishment, under the influence of Puseyism, has laid itself out to
cultivate the religious sentiment of the people. With what effect? Popery, in
everything but the name, has spread itself over the land . Both have sown to
the flesh, and of the flesh have they reaped corruption. Rationalism appeals to
man as an intellectual being, and Ritualism appeals to him as a religious
being. But both ignore the fact that "they that are in the flesh cannot please
God"; both are clinging to the "dead body" which can only defile.
What
happens on a large scale in Christendom is just what will happen in the smaller
circle of our own lives if we do not walk in the Spirit, and as those who are
alive unto GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. May God keep us clear alike of the
self-indulgence, the wisdom, and the religiousness of the flesh! May He keep us
by His Spirit morally apart from that defiling "dead body "!
But what
if the Nazarite be defiled? I think everyone present will be profoundly
thankful to know that grace has anticipated the possibility of defilement, and
has made provision for it. Yet let none of us overlook, or think lightly of,
the solemnity of such a thing. Indeed this scripture is one of peculiar
impressiveness, in the solemn light which it throws upon the consequences of
defilement. The brief hints which I can give you in the few moments that remain
will, I trust, be followed up and searched out for yourselves.
The
defiled Nazarite has, so to speak, to begin again. He shaves his head, and he
brings a sin offering, a burnt offering, and a trespass offering to the Lord.
When we defile the head of our consecration there is no restoration until God
brings us back morally to the basis of all our blessing. The only ground,
whether of our clearance from sin and judgment, or of our acceptance with God,
is the death of Christ, and our hearts have to return to a sense of the
infinite cost at which our clearance and acceptance have been secured. While
this is in one way deeply blessed, and calls forth the full praise and worship
of our hearts; it must, on the other hand, inevitably lead to the most profound
self-judgment, as we are brought to see in God's presence that we have allowed
that which Christ died to remove, and from the judgment of which nothing but
His death could save us. Do you think it is a light matter to discover that we
have allowed the very thing which cost the son of God His life?
But
there is another thing ! "The days that were before shall be lost, because his
separation was defiled." Is not this very solemn? The longer a Nazarite
maintained his consecration, the more serious it was for him if he suffered
himself to be defiled. I believe the longer we go on right, the more serious it
is for us if we turn aside. We have to make it up in moral time, which is not
reckoned in days, and months, and years, but in exercise of soul.
I
trust that the Lord will set our hearts very distinctly for Himself, and that
He will use what has come before us to warn us against the things that would
defile the head of our consecration! It is worth our while to be out and out
for Christ. There is not only "the recompense of the reward" by and by, but an
immense return in spiritual blessing even now. It is at the end of this chapter
- descriptive of a devoted man - that we find one of the most glorious
benedictions that the Old Testament affords. "The Lord bless thee, and keep
thee. the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the
Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." A devoted man is
always a prosperous and happy man - of course, I mean spiritually. He honours
the Lord with his substance, and with the first-fruits of all his increase, and
the result is that his barns are filled with plenty, and his presses burst out
with new wine. Your melancholy and long-faced Christians are not the
out-and-out, but the half-and-half men - those who want to fear the Lord and
serve their own graven images, to make the best of both worlds, or to be pious
according to the flesh. They have never learned in their soul's experience the
truth of Luther's definition of a Christian - that he is "a new man in a new
world." At any rate, they are not practically owning that new man and living in
that new world.
Numbers 5 tells us about the bitter water of jealousy
and it ends with a curse upon the unfaithful one; but Numbers 6 describes one
who is loyal to the core, and it ends with a blessing. It is even so with us.
We are reaping governmentally day by day either the curse or the blessing. "Be
not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;
but HE THAT SOWETH TO THE SPIRIT SHALL OF THE SPIRIT REAP LIFE EVERLASTING."
Next: "Stand Fast"