We ought not to turn from this fruitful section of our book without a reference to 1 Cor. x, in which we have an allusion to "the cloud and the sea."--"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were _under the cloud_, and all pa.s.sed _through the sea_; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea." (Ver. 1, 2.) There is much deep and precious instruction for the Christian in this pa.s.sage. The apostle goes on to say, "Now these things were our types," thus furnishing us with a divine warrant for interpreting Israel's baptism "in the cloud and in the sea" in a typical way; and, a.s.suredly, nothing could be more deeply significant or practical. It was as a people thus baptized that they entered upon their wilderness journey, for which provision was made in "the spiritual meat" and "spiritual drink" provided by the hand of love. In other words, they were typically a people dead to Egypt and all pertaining thereto. The cloud and the sea were to them what the cross and grave of Christ are to us. The cloud secured them from their enemies; the sea separated them from Egypt: the cross, in like manner, shields us from all that could be against us, and we stand at heaven's side of the empty tomb of Jesus. Here we commence our wilderness journey,--here we begin to taste the heavenly Manna, and to drink of the streams which emanate from "that spiritual Rock,"

while, as a pilgrim people, we make our way onward to that land of rest of the which G.o.d has spoken to us.

I would further add here, that my reader should seek to understand the difference between the Red Sea and Jordan. They both have their ant.i.type in the death of Christ; but in the former we see separation from Egypt; in the latter, introduction into the land of Canaan. The believer is not merely separated from this present evil world by the cross of Christ, but he is quickened out of the grave of Christ, raised up together, and made to sit together in Christ, in the heavenlies. (Eph. ii. 5, 6.) Hence, though surrounded by the things of Egypt, he is, as to his actual experience, in the wilderness; while, at the same time, he is borne upward, by the energy of faith, to that place where Jesus sits, at the right hand of G.o.d. Thus, the believer is not merely "forgiven all trespa.s.ses," but actually a.s.sociated _with_ a risen Christ in heaven;--he is not merely saved _by_ Christ, but linked _with_ Him forever. Nothing short of this could either satisfy G.o.d's affections or actualize His purposes in reference to the Church.

Reader, do we understand these things? do we believe them? are we realizing them? do we manifest the power of them? Blessed be the grace that has made them unalterably true with respect to every member of the body of Christ, whether it be an eye or an eye-lash, a hand or a foot. Their truth, therefore, does not depend upon our manifestation, our realization, or our understanding, but upon "THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST," which has canceled all our guilt and laid the foundation of all G.o.d's counsels respecting us. Here is true rest for every broken heart and every burdened conscience.

CHAPTER XV.

This chapter opens with Israel's magnificent song of triumph on the sh.o.r.e of the Red Sea, when they had seen "that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians." They had seen G.o.d's salvation, and they therefore sing His praise and recount His mighty acts. "_Then_ sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord." Up to this moment, we have not heard so much as a single note of praise. We have heard their cry of deep sorrow as they toiled amid the brick-kilns of Egypt, we have hearkened to their cry of unbelief when surrounded by what they deemed insuperable difficulties, but, until now, we have heard no song of praise. It was not until, as a saved people, they found themselves surrounded by the fruits of G.o.d's salvation, that the triumphal hymn burst forth from the whole redeemed a.s.sembly. It was when they emerged from their significant baptism "in the cloud and in the sea," and were able to gaze upon the rich spoils of victory which lay scattered around them, that six hundred thousand voices were heard chanting the song of victory. The waters of the Red Sea rolled between them and Egypt, and they stood on the sh.o.r.e as a fully delivered people, and therefore they were able to praise Jehovah.

In this, as in everything else, they were our types. We, too, must know ourselves as saved, in the power of death and resurrection, before ever we can present clear and intelligent worship. There will always be reserve and hesitancy in the soul, proceeding, no doubt, from positive inability to enter into the accomplished redemption which is in Christ Jesus. There may be the acknowledgment of the fact that there is salvation in Christ, and in none other; but this is a very different thing from apprehending, by faith, the true character and ground of that salvation, and realizing it as _ours_. The Spirit of G.o.d reveals, with unmistakable clearness, in the Word, that the Church is united to Christ in death and resurrection; and, moreover, that a risen Christ, at G.o.d's right hand, is the measure and pledge of the Church's acceptance. When this is believed, it conducts the soul entirely beyond the region of doubt and uncertainty. How can the Christian doubt when he knows that he is continually represented before the throne of G.o.d by an Advocate, even "Jesus Christ the righteous"? It is the privilege of the very feeblest member of the Church of G.o.d to know that he was represented by Christ on the cross,--that _all_ his sins were confessed, borne, judged, and atoned for there. This is a divine reality, and, when laid hold of by faith, must give peace; but nothing short of it ever can give peace. There may be earnest, anxious, and most sincere desires after G.o.d,--there may be the most pious and devout attendance upon all the ordinances, offices, and forms of religion; but there is no other possible way in which to get the sense of sin entirely removed from the conscience, but seeing it judged in the Person of Christ, as a sin-offering, on the cursed tree. If it was judged there once for all, it is now by the believer to be regarded as a divinely, and therefore eternally, settled question; and that it was so judged is proved by the resurrection of the Surety. "I know that whatsoever G.o.d doeth it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it nor anything taken from it: and G.o.d doeth it that men should fear before Him." (Ecc. iii. 14.)

However, while it is generally admitted that all this is true in reference to the Church collectively, many find considerable difficulty in making a personal application thereof. They are ready to say, with the Psalmist, "Truly, G.o.d is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. _But as for me_," etc. (Ps. lxxiii. 1, 2.) They are looking at themselves instead of at Christ in death and Christ in resurrection; they are occupied rather with their appropriation of Christ than with Christ Himself; they are thinking of their capacity rather than their t.i.tle. Thus they are kept in a state of the most distressing uncertainty, and, as a consequence, they are never able to take the place of happy, intelligent worshipers. They are praying for salvation instead of rejoicing in the conscious possession of it; they are looking at their imperfect fruits instead of Christ's perfect atonement.

Now in looking through the various notes of this song in Exodus xv, we do not find a single note about _self_, its doings, its sayings, its feelings, or its fruits; it is all about Jehovah, from beginning to end. It begins with, "I will sing unto the Lord, for _He_ hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath _He_ thrown into the Sea." This is a specimen of the entire song. It is a simple record of the attributes and actings of Jehovah. In chapter xiv, the hearts of the people had, as it were, been pent up by the excessive pressure of their circ.u.mstances; but in chapter xv, the pressure is removed, and their hearts find full vent in a sweet song of praise. Self is forgotten; circ.u.mstances are lost sight of; one object, and but one, fills their vision, and that object is the Lord Himself, in His character and ways. They were able to say, "Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work; I will triumph in the works of Thy hands." (Ps.

xcii. 4.) This is true worship. It is when poor, worthless self, with all its belongings, is lost sight of, and Christ alone fills the heart, that we present proper worship. There is no need for the efforts of a fleshly pietism to awaken in the soul feelings of devotion; nor is there any demand whatever for the advent.i.tious appliances of religion, so called, to kindle in the soul the flame of acceptable worship. Oh, no! Let but the heart be occupied with the Person of Christ, and "songs of praise" will be the natural result. It is impossible for the eye to rest on Him and the spirit not be bowed in holy worship. If we contemplate the worship of the hosts which surround the throne of G.o.d and the Lamb, we shall find that it is ever evoked by the presentation of some special feature of divine excellence or divine acting. Thus should it be with the Church on earth; and when it is not so, it is because we allow things to intrude upon us which have no place in the regions of unclouded light and unalloyed blessedness. In all true worship, G.o.d Himself is at once the object of worship, the subject of worship, and the power of worship.

Hence Exodus xv. is a fine specimen of a song of praise. It is the language of a redeemed people celebrating the worthy praise of Him who had redeemed them. "The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my G.o.d, and I will prepare Him a habitation; my father's G.o.d, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is His name.... Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.... Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the G.o.ds? who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?... Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation.... The Lord shall reign forever and ever." How comprehensive is the range of this song! It begins with redemption and ends with the glory. It begins with the cross and ends with the kingdom. It is like a beauteous rainbow, of which one end dips in "the sufferings," and the other in "the glory that should follow." It is all about Jehovah. It is an outpouring of soul produced by a view of G.o.d and His gracious and glorious actings.

Moreover, it does not stop short of the actual accomplishment of the divine purpose, as we read, "Thou _hast guided_ them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation." The people were able to say this, though they had but just planted their foot on the margin of the desert. It was not the expression of a vague hope,--it was not feeding upon poor, blind chance. Oh, no! When the soul is wholly occupied with G.o.d, it is enabled to launch out into all the fullness of His grace, to bask in the sunshine of His countenance, and delight itself in the rich abundance of His mercy and loving-kindness. There is not a cloud upon the prospect when the believing soul, taking its stand upon the eternal rock on which redeeming love has set it in a.s.sociation with a risen Christ, looks up into the s.p.a.cious vault of G.o.d's infinite plans and purposes, and dwells upon the effulgence of that glory which G.o.d has prepared for all those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

This will account for the peculiarly brilliant, elevated, and unqualified character of all those bursts of praise which we find throughout sacred Scripture. The creature is set aside: G.o.d is the object. He fills the entire sphere of the soul's vision. There is nothing of man, his feelings, or his experiences, and therefore the stream of praise flows copiously and uninterruptedly forth. How different is this from some of the hymns we so often hear sung in Christian a.s.semblies, so full of our failings, our feebleness, our shortcomings. The fact is, we can never sing with real, spiritual intelligence and power when we are looking at ourselves. We shall ever be discovering something within which will act as a drawback to our worship. Indeed, with many, it seems to be accounted a Christian grace to be in a continual state of doubt and hesitation; and, as a consequence, their hymns are quite in character with their condition.

Such persons, however sincere and pious, have never yet, in the actual experience of their souls, entered upon the proper ground of worship.

They have not yet got done with themselves,--they have not pa.s.sed through the sea, and, as a spiritually baptized people, taken their stand on the sh.o.r.e, in the power of resurrection. They are still, in some way or another, occupied with self: they do not regard self as a crucified thing, with which G.o.d is forever done.

May the Holy Ghost lead all G.o.d's people into fuller, clearer, and worthier apprehensions of their place and privilege as those who, being washed from their sins in the blood of Christ, are presented before G.o.d in all that infinite and unclouded acceptance in which He stands, as the risen and glorified Head of His Church. Doubts and fears do not become them, for their divine Surety has not left a shadow of a foundation on which to build a doubt or a fear. Their place is within the vail. They "have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus." (Heb. x. 19.) Are there any doubts or fears in the holiest? Is it not evident that a doubting spirit virtually calls in question the perfectness of Christ's work--a work which has been attested, in the view of all created intelligence, by the resurrection of Christ from the dead? That blessed One could not have left the tomb unless all ground of doubting and fearing had been perfectly removed on behalf of His people. Wherefore it is the Christian's sweet privilege ever to triumph in a full salvation. The Lord Himself has become his salvation; and he has only to enjoy the fruits of that which G.o.d has wrought for him, and to walk to His praise while waiting for that time when "Jehovah shall reign forever and ever."

But there is one note in this song to which I shall just invite my reader's attention.--"He is my G.o.d, and I will prepare Him a habitation." It is worthy of note that when the heart was full to overflowing with the joy of redemption, it gives expression to its devoted purpose in reference to "a habitation for G.o.d." Let the Christian reader ponder this. G.o.d dwelling with man is a grand thought pervading Scripture from Exodus xv. to Revelation. Hearken to the following utterance of a devoted heart: "Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, _a habitation_ for the mighty G.o.d of Jacob." (Ps.

cx.x.xii. 3-5.) Again, "For the zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up."

(Ps. lxix. 9; John ii. 17.) I do not attempt to pursue this subject here; but I would fain awaken such an interest concerning it in the breast of my reader as shall lead him to pursue it, prayerfully, for himself, from the very earliest notice of it in the Word until he arrives at that soul-stirring announcement, "Behold, the tabernacle of G.o.d is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and G.o.d Himself shall be with them, and be their G.o.d. And G.o.d shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." (Rev. xxi. 3, 4.)

"So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; and they went out into the wilderness of Shur: and they went three days into the wilderness and found no water." (Ver. 22.) It is when we get into wilderness experience that we are put to the test as to the real measure of our acquaintance with G.o.d and with our own hearts. There is a freshness and an exuberance of joy connected with the opening of our Christian career, which very soon receives a check from the keen blast of the desert; and then, unless there is a deep sense of what G.o.d is to us, above and beyond everything else, we are apt to break down, and, "in our hearts, turn back again into Egypt." The discipline of the wilderness is needful, not to furnish us with a t.i.tle to Canaan, but to make us acquainted with G.o.d and with our own hearts; to enable us to enter into the power of our relationship, and to enlarge our capacity for the enjoyment of Canaan when we actually get there. (See Deut. viii. 2-5.)

The greenness, freshness, and luxuriance of spring have peculiar charms, which all pa.s.s away before the scorching heat of summer; but then, with proper care, that very heat which removes the fair traces of spring, produces the mellowed and matured fruits of autumn. Thus it is also in the Christian life; for there is, as we know, a striking and deeply instructive a.n.a.logy between the principles which obtain in the kingdom of nature and those which characterize the kingdom of grace, seeing it is the same G.o.d whose handiwork meets our view in both.

There are three distinct positions in which we may contemplate Israel, namely, in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in the land of Canaan. In all these, they are "our types;" but we are in all three together. This may seem paradoxical, but it is true. As a matter of actual fact, we are in Egypt, surrounded by natural things, which are entirely adapted to the natural heart. But, inasmuch as we have been called by G.o.d's grace into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ, we, according to the affections and desires of the new nature, necessarily find our place outside of all that which belongs to Egypt[8] (_i.e._, the world in its natural state), and this causes us to taste of wilderness experience, or, in other words, it places us, as a matter of experience, in the wilderness. The divine nature earnestly breathes after a different order of things--after a purer atmosphere than that with which we find ourselves surrounded, and thus it causes us to feel Egypt to be a moral desert.

[8] There is a wide moral difference between Egypt and Babylon, which it is important to understand. Egypt was that out of which Israel came; Babylon was that into which they were afterwards carried. (Comp.

Amos v. 25-27 with Acts vii. 42, 43.) Egypt expresses what man has made of the world; Babylon expresses what Satan has made, is making, or will make, of the professing church. Hence, we are not only surrounded with the _circ.u.mstances_ of Egypt, but also by the moral _principles_ of Babylon.

This renders our "days" what the Holy Ghost has termed "perilous"

(?a?ep??--"difficult"). It demands a special energy of the Spirit of G.o.d, and complete subjection to the authority of the Word, to enable one to meet the combined influence of the realities of Egypt and the spirit and principles of Babylon. The former meet the natural desires of the heart; while the latter connect themselves with, and address themselves to, the _religiousness_ of nature, which gives them a peculiar hold upon the heart. Man is a religious being, and peculiarly susceptible of the influences which arise from music, sculpture, painting, and pompous rites and ceremonies. When these things stand connected with the full supply of all his natural wants--yea, with all the ease and luxury of life, nothing but the mighty power of G.o.d's Word and Spirit can keep one true to Christ.

We should also remark that there is a vast difference between the destinies of Egypt and those of Babylon. The nineteenth of Isaiah sets before us the blessings that are in store for Egypt. It concludes thus: "And the Lord shall smite Egypt; He shall smite and heal it; and they shall return even to the Lord, and He shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them.... In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with a.s.syria, even a blessing in the midst of the land; whom the Lord of Hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and a.s.syria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance." (Ver.

22-25.)

Very different is the close of Babylon's history, whether viewed as a literal city or a spiritual system.--"I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of Hosts." (Isaiah xiv. 23.) "It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation." (Isaiah xiii. 20.) So much for Babylon literally; and looking at it from a mystic or spiritual point of view, we read its destiny in Rev. xviii. The entire chapter is a description of Babylon, and it concludes thus: "A strong angel took up a stone, like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, 'Thus, with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.'" (Ver. 21.)

With what immense solemnity should those words fall upon the ears of all who are in any wise connected with Babylon--that is to say, with the false, professing church,--"Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues"!

(Rev. xviii. 5.) The "power" of the Holy Ghost will necessarily produce, or express itself in, a certain "form," and the enemy's aim has ever been to rob the professing church of the power, while he leads her to cling to and perpetuate the form--to stereotype the form when all the spirit and life has pa.s.sed away. Thus he builds the spiritual Babylon. The stones of which this city is built are lifeless professors; and the slime or mortar which binds these stones together is "a form of G.o.dliness without the power."

Oh! my beloved reader, let us see to it that we fully, clearly, and influentially understand these things.

But then, inasmuch as we are, in G.o.d's view, eternally a.s.sociated with Him who has pa.s.sed right through into the heavenlies, and taken His seat there in triumph and majesty, it is our happy privilege to know ourselves, by faith, as "sitting together in Him" there. (Eph. ii.) So that although we are, as to our bodies, in Egypt, we are, as to our experience, in the wilderness, while, at the same time, faith conducts us, in spirit, into Canaan, and enables us to feed upon "the old corn of the land," _i.e._, upon Christ, not as One come down to earth merely, but as One gone back to heaven and seated there in glory.

The concluding verses of this fifteenth chapter show us Israel in the wilderness. Up to this point, it seemed to them to be all fair sailing. Heavy judgments poured upon Egypt, but Israel perfectly exempt,--the army of Egypt dead upon the sea sh.o.r.e, but Israel in triumph. All this was well enough; but, alas! the aspect of things speedily changed. The notes of praise were soon exchanged for the accents of discontent. "When they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, 'What shall we drink?'" Again, "The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness; and the children of Israel said unto them, 'Would to G.o.d we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full! for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole a.s.sembly with hunger.'"

Here were the trials of the wilderness.--"What shall we eat?" and "What shall we drink?" The waters of Marah tested the heart of Israel and developed their murmuring spirit; but the Lord showed them that there was no bitterness which He could not sweeten with the provision of His own grace. "And the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet; there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them." Beauteous figure this of Him who was, in infinite grace, cast into the bitter waters of death, in order that those waters might yield naught but sweetness to us forever! We can truly say, "The bitterness of death is past," and nothing remains for us but the eternal sweets of resurrection.

Verse 26 sets before us the momentous character of this first stage of G.o.d's redeemed in the wilderness. We are in great danger, at this point, of falling into a fretful, impatient, murmuring spirit. The only remedy for this is to keep the eye steadily fixed on Jesus--"looking unto Jesus." He, blessed be His name, ever unfolds Himself according to the need of His people; and they, instead of complaining of their circ.u.mstances, should only make their circ.u.mstances an occasion of drawing afresh upon Him. Thus it is that the wilderness ministers to our experience of what G.o.d is. It is a school, in which we learn His patient grace and ample resources.

"Forty years suffered He their manners in the wilderness." (Acts xiii.

18.) The spiritual mind will ever own that it is worth having bitter waters for G.o.d to sweeten. "We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of G.o.d is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Rom. v. 3-5.)

However, the wilderness has its Elims as well as its Marahs,--its wells and palm trees, as well as its bitter waters. "And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they encamped there by the waters." (Ver. 27.) The Lord graciously and tenderly provides green spots in the desert for His journeying people; and though they are, at best, but oases, yet are they refreshing to the spirit and encouraging to the heart. The sojourn at Elim was eminently calculated to soothe the hearts of the people, and hush their murmurings. The grateful shade of its palm trees, and the refreshing of its wells, came in sweetly and seasonably after the trial of Marah, and significantly set forth, in our view, the precious virtues of that spiritual ministry which G.o.d provides for His people down here. "The twelve" and "the seventy" are numbers intimately a.s.sociated with ministry.

But Elim was not Canaan. Its wells and palm trees were but foretastes of that happy land which lay beyond the bounds of the sterile desert on which the redeemed had just entered. It furnished refreshment, no doubt, but it was wilderness refreshment. It was but for a pa.s.sing moment, designed, in grace, to encourage their depressed spirits, and nerve them for their onward march to Canaan. Thus it is, as we know, with ministry in the Church. It is a gracious provision for our need, designed to refresh, strengthen, and encourage our hearts, "until we all come to the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ."

(Eph. iv.)

CHAPTER XVI.

"And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure out of the land of Egypt." (Chap. xvi. 1.) Here we find Israel in a very marked and interesting position. It is still the wilderness, no doubt, but it is a most important and significant stage thereof, namely, "between Elim and Sinai." The former was the place where they had so recently experienced the refreshing springs of divine ministry; the latter was the place where they entirely got off the ground of free and sovereign grace, and placed themselves under a covenant of works. These facts render "the wilderness of Sin" a singularly interesting portion of Israel's journey. Its features and influences are as strongly marked as those of any point in their whole career. They are here seen as the subjects of the same grace which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, and therefore all their murmurings are instantly met by divine supplies. When G.o.d acts in the display of His grace, there is no hindrance. The streams of blessing which emanate from Him, flow onward without interruption. It is only when man puts himself under law that he forfeits everything; for then G.o.d must allow him to prove how much he can claim on the ground of his own works.

When G.o.d visited and redeemed His people, and brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, it a.s.suredly was not for the purpose of suffering them to die of hunger and thirst in the wilderness. They should have known this. They ought to have trusted Him, and walked in the confidence of that love which had so gloriously delivered them from the horrors of Egyptian bondage. They should have remembered that it was infinitely better to be in the desert with G.o.d than in the brick-kilns with Pharaoh. But no; the human heart finds it immensely difficult to give G.o.d credit for pure and perfect love. It has far more confidence in Satan than G.o.d. Look, for a moment, at all the sorrow and suffering, the misery and degradation, which man has endured by reason of his having hearkened to the voice of Satan; and yet he never gives utterance to a word of complaint of his service, or of desire to escape from under his hand. He is not discontented with Satan, or weary of serving him. Again and again he reaps bitter fruits in those fields which Satan has thrown open to him, and yet again and again he may be seen sowing the self-same seed, and undergoing the self-same labors.

How different it is in reference to G.o.d! When we have set out to walk in His ways, we are ready, at the earliest appearance of pressure or trial, to murmur and rebel. Indeed, there is nothing in which we so signally fail as in the cultivation of a confiding and thankful spirit. Ten thousand mercies are forgotten in the presence of a single trifling privation. We have been frankly forgiven all our sins, "accepted in the Beloved," made heirs of G.o.d and joint-heirs with Christ, the expectants of eternal glory, and, in addition to all, our path through the desert is strewed with countless mercies; and yet let but a cloud the size of a man's hand appear on the horizon, and we at once forget the rich mercies of the past in view of this single cloud, which, after all, may only "break in blessings on our head." The thought of this should humble us deeply in the presence of G.o.d. How unlike we are in this, as in every other respect, to our blessed Exemplar! Look at Him--the true Israel in the wilderness--surrounded by wild beasts, and fasting forty days. How did He carry Himself? Did He murmur? did He complain of His lot? did He wish Himself in other circ.u.mstances? Ah, no. G.o.d was the portion of His cup and the lot of His inheritance (Ps. xvi.); and, therefore, when the tempter approached and offered Him the necessaries, the glories, the distinctions, and the honors of this life, He refused them all, and tenaciously held fast the position of absolute dependence upon G.o.d and implicit obedience to His word. He would only take bread from G.o.d, and glory from Him likewise.

Very different was it with Israel after the flesh! No sooner did they feel the pressure of hunger than "they murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness." They seemed to have actually lost the sense of having been delivered by the hand of Jehovah, for they said, "_Ye_ have brought us forth into this wilderness." And again, in chapter xvii, "the people murmured against Moses, and said, 'Wherefore is this that _thou_ hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?'" Thus did they, on every occasion, evince a fretful, murmuring spirit, and prove how little they realized the presence and the hand of their almighty and infinitely gracious Deliverer.

Now, nothing is more dishonoring to G.o.d than the manifestation of a complaining spirit on the part of those that belong to Him. The apostle gives it as a special mark of Gentile corruption that, "when they knew G.o.d, they glorified Him not as G.o.d, _neither were thankful_." Then follows the practical result of this unthankful spirit,--"They became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." (Rom. i. 21.) The heart that ceases to retain a thankful sense of G.o.d's goodness will speedily become "dark." Thus Israel lost the sense of being in G.o.d's hands; and this led, as might be expected, to still thicker darkness, for we find them, further on in their history, saying, "Wherefore hath the Lord brought us into this land, _to fall by the sword_, that our wives and our children shall be a prey?" (Numb. xiv. 3.) Such is the line along which a soul out of communion will travel. It first loses the sense of being in G.o.d's hands for good, and finally begins to deem itself in His hands for evil. Melancholy progress this!

However, the people, being so far the subjects of grace, are provided for; and our chapter furnishes the marvelous account of this provision,--"Then said the Lord unto Moses, 'Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.'" They, when enveloped in the chilling cloud of their unbelief, had said, "Would to G.o.d we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full." But now the word is, "Bread from heaven."

Blessed contrast! How amazing the difference between the flesh pots, the leeks, onions, and garlic of Egypt, and this heavenly manna--"angels' food"! The former belonged to earth, the latter to heaven.

But then this heavenly food was, of necessity, a test of Israel's condition, as we read, "That I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law or no." It needed a heart weaned from Egypt's influences, to be satisfied with or enjoy "bread from heaven." In point of fact, we know that the people were not satisfied with it, but despised it, p.r.o.nounced it "light food," and l.u.s.ted for flesh. Thus they proved how little their hearts were delivered from Egypt, or disposed to walk in G.o.d's law. "In their hearts they turned back again into Egypt." (Acts vii. 39.) But instead of getting back thither, they were ultimately carried away beyond Babylon. (Acts vii. 43.) This is a solemn and salutary lesson for Christians. If those who are redeemed from this present evil world do not walk with G.o.d in thankfulness of heart, satisfied with His provision for the redeemed in the wilderness, they are in danger of falling into the snare of Babylonish influences. This is a serious consideration. It demands a heavenly taste to feed on bread from heaven. Nature cannot relish such food; it will ever yearn after Egypt, and therefore it must be kept down. It is our privilege, as those who have been baptized unto Christ's death, and "risen again through the faith of the operation of G.o.d," to feed upon Christ as "the bread of life which came down from heaven." This is our wilderness food--Christ as ministered by the Holy Ghost, through the written Word; while, for our spiritual refreshment, the Holy Ghost has come down as the precious fruit of the smitten Rock--Christ, as smitten for us. Such is our rare portion in this desert world.

Now, it is obvious that, in order to enjoy such a portion as this, our hearts must be weaned from everything in this present evil world--from all that would address itself to us as natural men--as men alive in the flesh. A worldly heart--a carnal mind, would neither find Christ in the Word, nor enjoy Him if found. The manna was so pure and delicate that it could not bear contact with earth. It fell upon the dew (see Numb. xi. 9.), and had to be gathered ere the sun was up.

Each one, therefore, had to rise early and seek his daily portion. So it is with the people of G.o.d now. The heavenly Manna must be gathered fresh every morning. Yesterday's Manna will not do for to-day, nor to-day's for to-morrow. We must feed upon Christ every day, with fresh energy of the Spirit, else we shall cease to grow. Moreover, we must make Christ our primary object. We must seek Him "_early_," before "other things" have had time to take possession of our poor susceptible hearts. Many of us, alas! fail in this, We give Christ a secondary place, and the consequence is, we are left feeble and barren. The enemy, ever watchful, takes advantage of our excessive spiritual indolence to rob us of the blessedness and strength which flow from feeding upon Christ. The new life in the believer can _only_ be nourished and sustained by Christ. "As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me." (John vi. 57.)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the One who came down from heaven to be His people's food, is ineffably precious to the renewed soul; but, in order to enjoy Him thus, we need to realize ourselves as in the wilderness, separated to G.o.d in the power of accomplished redemption. If I am walking with G.o.d through the desert, I shall be satisfied with the food which He provides, and that is, Christ as come down from heaven. "The old corn of the land of Canaan" has its ant.i.type in _Christ ascended up_ on high, and seated in the glory. As such, He is the proper food of those who, by faith, know themselves as raised up together, and seated together in Him in the heavenlies. But the Manna, that is, _Christ as come down_ from heaven, is for the people of G.o.d in their wilderness life and experience. As a people journeying down here, we need a Christ who also journeyed down here; as a people seated in spirit up there, we have a Christ who is seated up there. This may help to explain the difference between the manna and the old corn of the land. It is not a question of redemption; that we have in the blood of the cross, and there alone. It is simply the provision which G.o.d has made for His people, according to their varied att.i.tudes, whether as actually toiling in the desert, or in spirit taking possession of the heavenly inheritance.