Filth and Blood Purged by the Spirit 2
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A. The first thing that the Lord will do, will be to create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion a cloud and smoke by day. This cloud represents the presence of God in the midst of his people. It was first given when the Lord took his people out of Egypt– "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night– he took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before his people." (Exodus 13:21, 22.) When the tabernacle was set up in the wilderness, this cloudy pillar descended and rested upon it, and according as it moved so did the children of Israel, as we read– "Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." (Exodus 40:34.) And again, "For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys." (Exodus 40:38.)
So when Solomon dedicated the house of the Lord which he had built, this same cloudy pillar entered into and filled the house; for at the voice of song and praise the house was filled with the cloud– "So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud– for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God." (2 Chron. 5:14.) From these testimonies we gather that the cloud of old represented two things, which ever go together– the glory and presence of the Lord. There is a peculiar significancy in this cloud, as representing to us that 'God can only be seen as in a cloud'. No man can see him and live. His uncreated glory, the eyes of flesh could not bear to look upon. In this he resembles that glorious orb of day which he himself has set in the sky. The eye of man cannot bear to look upon the sun in the full blaze of its meridian splendor; but we can look upon it as veiled by a cloud.
The cloud also represents, as it did in the tabernacle of old, the presence of God, and that he dwells in the heart of the contrite as of old he dwelt between the Cherubim.
B. But now let us see the connection between this cloud and the washing away of the filth of the daughters of Zion, and the purging of the blood of Jerusalem by the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning. While the spirit of judgment is going on in a way of condemnation under a holy law, the presence of the Lord is not known or felt, for there is little else made manifest but guilt and filth. But when this work is done; when the filth is seen, acknowledged, repented of, mourned over, and confessed; and the filth is brought out and cast into the brook Kidron, then the cloud comes of the sensible presence of God upon the soul in the manifestations of his mercy and love.
So it is also with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, which I have spoken of as made known in the gospel. If we backslide, get entangled in the spirit and love of the world, fall into any evil, or in any way bring guilt upon our conscience, until sin is repented of, confessed, and forsaken, there is no sensible presence of the Lord. It is so in individuals, it is so in churches. In individuals, if there be indulged sin, filth accumulating, not seen, not confessed, not bewailed, not burnt up, not put away, there is no cloud of glory resting upon the soul. And so in churches. If filth is allowed to accumulate from lack of faithfulness in the minister to take forth the precious from the vile, and from his not being instant in season and out of season, rebuking, reproving, exhorting, with all long suffering and doctrine, and unless it is purged away by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, as following the words of his mouth, there will be no sensible approbation of God found in the ministry of the word, no visible manifestation of his presence in Zion's assemblies, or any marked blessings upon the word preached in his name. But when the spirit of judgment has gone before to condemn, and the spirit of burning has followed upon it, with a holy zeal and indignation against all filth, to consume it; then the Lord comes in a cloud to manifest his presence and give tokens and evidences of his sensible approbation.
It is hard work to have the filth burnt, and often takes a long time to effect, and that, perhaps, amid much opposition and rebellion against such humbling dealings. But we shall be made, sooner or later, to pine after the Lord's sensible presence both in our own soul and in our assemblies, and then we shall feel, that before we can realize it, privately or publicly, there must be a solemn repenting and honest confession of sin; and that we must fall down before God as poor guilty sinners, condemned in our own conscience by the spirit of judgment. We stand as long as we can upon our own legs; we rest as long as we can upon something in self. But all this self-dependence and self-righteousness, sooner or later, must come down, must give way, though it may take years to do it, with trial upon trial, affliction after affliction, and temptation after temptation. This, indeed, is the chief reason why the Lord acts so much as a Spirit of judgment and a Spirit of burning, that he may leave nothing in the soul to which we can look, and bring us to fall flat before him in the dust of self-abasement, having no hope but in him. But when he has purged away the filth of pride, self-righteousness, and creature strength, with all other evils, by this spirit of judgment and spirit of burning, and there is nothing left in the soul but the ashes of self, burnt by the fire of indignation, and we can fall flat before God, putting our mouth in the dust; then he will come, gently and sweetly come over all the hills and mountains of our sin and shame, and manifest his sensible presence to our souls. This is the cloud and smoke by day which he creates upon every dwelling-place upon Mount Zion.
And it will be in churches as in individuals. As long as a party-spirit is indulged; as long as divisions, jealousies, and surmises prevail unpurged by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, there will be no sensible presence of God in the midst of Zion's assemblies. For you will observe there is a two-fold promise, one as regards individuals, and the other as regards churches. The cloud resting by day upon "every dwelling-place upon Mount Zion," represents the presence and glory of God resting upon individuals; and the cloud resting upon her "assemblies," represents the presence and blessing of God upon the churches, as assembling themselves together in his name.
C. But observe this point, that where there is the cloud, there will be the smoke; for as the cloud represents the presence of God, so the smoke represents the aspirations, prayers, desires, sighs, cries, and petitions of the soul in which the Spirit of God dwells. And this, you will observe, is promised to be the case upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion. Thus, wherever there is a believing soul, in that dwelling place of God in Zion, there will be both a cloud and a smoke; there will be the sensible presence of God in it, and there will be the aspirations which rise up before the Lord as so much incense perfumed by the incense of our great Mediator.
Now this is what I call a private religion, carried on between God and the soul, manifested by the presence of God in the cloud, and manifested also by the smoke that rises up out of a broken, contrite, and believing heart, that ascends into the nostrils of the Lord almighty. O what a mercy it would be for this town if in every dwelling-place there were a cloud and smoke by day. But this we cannot expect. It will be so, however, in every dwelling-place where there is a living soul.
If you are the master of a family and know anything spiritually of the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, there will be in your dwelling-place a cloud and a smoke by day, for you will have at times the Lord's presence in the cloud, and the smoke of your desires, petitions, and aspirations will be going up before the Lord continually. If you are not the master or the mistress of a family, but a son, or a daughter, or a servant, there is still your bedroom, or your secret place of retirement, in which you may have a private religion carried on between God and your soul. And in that secret retirement, as you find, from time to time, an inward spirit of judgment condemn you for what is guilty, and a holy spirit of zeal against all sin, there will, from time to time, come over you something of the presence of the Lord in the cloud; and as this comes, there will rise up with it the smoke of desires, petitions, sighs, and cries to the God of all your mercies. Thus you will have in your own bosom and in your own room, your little bedroom to which you resort to get away from all intrusion– you will have that private religion which consists in the dealings of God with your soul, and the going up of your heart toward the Lord in secret acts of adoration, prayer, and thanksgiving.
And not only so– the same gracious promise is given to Zion's "assemblies," where the sons and daughters of Zion meet together, as now in this place, to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, to hear his word, and to sing his praise. There, if there be in the ministry the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, the detection of the filth, the judging of it and the burning of it up, there will be, from time to tune, the manifested presence of God as a cloud in the midst. And there will be also the smoke, as well as the cloud, in the prayers that will go up both from the minister and people, in the earnest petitions of the godly men who are called upon to pray in public, and from you too, who, on account of your sex or other reasons, are not called upon to pray publicly. As you sit in your seat, there will be the going up of inward desires to the Lord to come down in blessing upon your soul and the soul of the minister and people; there will be the inward confession, the inward supplication, the inward desire rising up, which the Lord alone can see and hear. And thus there will be the cloud and the smoke in the assemblies of Zion, as well as the cloud and the smoke in your private room, where, as favored by the Lord's presence, or strengthened and helped by the blessed Spirit as a Spirit of grace and supplications, your heart mounts upward in prayer and praise.
D. But there is also a gracious promise of the shining of a flaming fire by night. There is an allusion here to the cloudy pillar which rested upon the tabernacle. It was as a cloud by day, but as a pillar of fire by night. The reason of this is evident. By day, the cloud and the smoke were sufficiently visible; but not so in the night season. In the night, therefore, it was a pillar of fire, that the presence of the Lord might be distinctly seen. Spiritually viewed, this night may signify dark seasons in the soul; for there is night as well as day in the experience of God's saints. Now when they are in these dark seasons, they need clearer and brighter manifestations of the Lord's presence than when they are walking in the light of day. Thus this "shining of a flaming fire by night" may represent the shining in of the Lord's clearer, fuller, and more manifested presence, the livelier and more powerful application of his word to the heart; the brighter evidences and clearer marks that he gives of his favor, which, compared with the cloud, are as the shining of a flaming fire. It is the same presence of God, and the same glory, as was the case with the cloudy pillar; but that presence and that glory are seen in a more conspicuous manner as giving light in seasons of darkness.
The shining of a flaming fire by night may also represent the shining light of the word of truth which is spoken of as "a light that shines in a dark place." (2 Pet. 1:19.) How often when the mind is dark, and evidences obscured, there is little else seen but the clear shining of the word of truth to which the soul turns its eyes as its only guiding light. "Your word," says David, "is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm. 119:105.) We often get into spots where we have to look out of ourselves to the clear shining of truth in the word of God; for there is darkness everywhere else; and to that light we have to look and wait, and sometimes at a great distance and for a long season, until that word comes near and begins to shine into the heart. But with that shining light, as it draws near and gives forth its comforting rays and beams, comes in due time the presence and glory of God. So to fix our heart upon the word of promise, and wait for its fulfillment, is to walk by faith and not by sight. Thus to Abraham the word of promise was by day a cloud; but when "a horror of great darkness fell upon him," the same word of promise, as the word of a covenant God, was as a burning lamp that passed between the pieces of the offered sacrifices. (Gen. 15:17.)
III. But I must pass on to my third point, in which I said I would show how the Lord guards and defends his own gracious work– "Upon all the glory shall be a defense."
The glory of the Lord is his presence in the soul, for that we have seen is represented by the cloud, as it was when his glory filled the house of God, which Solomon built. Now this glory of the Lord in the cloud and smoke by day, and in the shining of a flaming fire by night, is to be a defense, both upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion and upon their assemblies. A defense against what? Chiefly against four things.
1. First, it is a defense against ERROR. No person can embrace error who knows anything of the presence and power of God in his soul, or has ever seen anything of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; for all error is opposed not only to God's truth, as revealed in the word, but to God's presence, as revealed in the heart. And this is true both as regards individuals and churches. God will never sanction error as held by either. He will never bless with his manifested presence any erroneous man, be he minister or private individual, for he never honors or blesses anything but his own truth, and those only who believe and hold it. "Those who honor me I will honor." This is a very important point, for you will often hear erroneous men speak as if they knew spiritual things by divine teaching and by divine testimony, and will often boast confidently of their comforts and enjoyments, as if they had got their views from God himself, though they turn the truth of God into a lie.
But be not deceived by these men or their false pretensions. They have only kindled a fire to compass themselves about with sparks, that they may walk in the light of their fire, and in the sparks which they have kindled. The spirit of truth guides into all truth, and cannot and will not countenance or bless error. The Lord's own prayer to his heavenly Father for his disciples was– "Sanctify them through your truth– your word is truth." (John 17:17.) The soul never was divinely sanctified by a lie, nor the heart truly comforted by error.
2. But this glory will also be a defense against all EVIL;for nothing makes sin so to be seen and abhorred as sin as the presence of the Lord. He is known and felt at such moments to be infinitely pure and holy, and a holy God must needs hate sin. If, then, his presence be felt in the soul as a cloud in which he manifests his glory in the face of Jesus Christ, it will be a defense against all the sins in which you might be entangled, when there is no such sensible presence to make you revere and adore his great and glorious Majesty.
3. It is, therefore, also a defense against all TEMPTATIONS, which would lead us into anything contrary to God and godliness. It is when the soul contracts and accumulates, through neglect, the filth of which I spoke in the beginning of my discourse, and when there is no spirit of judgment in lively exercise to detect and condemn it, or spirit of burning to consume it; or when there is no cloud of God's presence resting on the soul, and little or no smoke going up of prayer or praise, that temptation gets the better of us. Temptation comes in, almost without resistance, when we are at ease in Zion, or living carelessly and negligently, given up for a time to slothfulness and self-indulgence, and backsliding in heart from the living God. It is in these seasons that temptation gains strength; and every indulgence of the sin to which we are tempted adds to its power, until, but for the grace of God breaking the snare, giving us repentance, and restoring our soul, we might be swallowed up altogether in open evil, and disgrace both ourselves and the cause of God and truth.
4. It will be also a defense against all ENEMIES.You may have many enemies, both without and within; but all their attempts to injure you will be unsuccessful if you have the cloud of the Lord's presence in your soul, and his glory in your midst. No enemy can hurt you if the Lord is your defense. They may bring you into bondage and often cause great trouble of mind; but none can effectually hurt you, because the glory of the Lord in the cloud will be your defense against every tongue that may rise against you in judgment, and will bring you off more than conqueror through him who loved you. The Lord will take care of his own work upon the heart. He will not allow his people to be tempted more than they are able to bear, nor allow their adversaries to triumph in their downfall. He will watch very jealously over what he himself has communicated by his Spirit and grace to your heart, and his presence will be your best defense against every foe and against every fear.
Now do you do you think see in the light of life the connection of these things as brought before you this morning? and have you any personal experience of there? Do you see how by nature we harbor filth? Have you ever experimentally known how this filth is purged by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit burning? Have you any reason to hope or believe there has been a washing away of it in the blood of the Lamb, so as not only to purge you from its dominion and power by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, but to wash it away from the sight of God, and by a sweet testimony of his mercy and love, to have your conscience also cleansed from its guilt and filth? Have you a testimony in your own soul that all this work is more or less needful before there is any sweet enjoyment of the presence of the Lord in the cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of the flaming fire by night?
In all the Lord's work upon the soul, there is a certain connection of link with link in the spiritual chain. As, then, we are enabled by his Spirit and grace to trace out these marks of his secret teaching upon the soul in its various links, it strengthens our faith, confirms a good hope, and gives us to see more plainly and clearly our spiritual standing. But unless we can trace out in some measure the dealings of God with our soul in this way, we have little evidence to give, either to ourselves or others of being among the manifested people of God.
And see the consequence of not knowing or experiencing these things. Filth indulged within, will soon show itself in filth indulged without. If there is no daily purging by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, there will be a breaking forth of the leprosy– it may be in the face! And if sin is not continually judged, condemned, confessed, mourned over, and forsaken, it will break out in some open word or action, and perhaps disgrace the cause with which we are connected.
To prevent, therefore, his people from harboring all this secret filth, and getting entangled in the spirit of the world, and being guilty of things that might sadly wound conscience and disgrace the cause of God and truth, he sends mercifully into their heart the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning; he gives the cloud of his presence; he draws up the smoke of their desires and affections; and upon all this glory he gives a defense, so as to preserve them unto the end harmless and blameless in his dear Son, and eventually to present them before the throne of his glory having no spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.
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