The Path of Life and Separation

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Psalm 16

It has been truly said there was no path in the garden of Eden. An innocent man in a garden of delights had only to remain where God had placed him. He needed no path to lead him out of such a scene. Then again there will be no path in heaven. A holy man in a perfect scene will have no desire to leave it. We shall need no path in heaven. In a ruined world there is, and of necessity must be, a path through it, and out of it; for in such a world none can stay. The guilty man cannot stay, the godly man would not if he could. From the gates of Eden man became a wanderer in a fallen world — a sinner who, from the moment he enters the world, treads a path that leads out of the world by death — the path of death.

For the believer, however, there is another path — the path of life. "A path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: the lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it" (Job 28: 7, 8). It lies beyond the range of nature's keenest vision, and nature's greatest strength. The wit of man has never discovered it, and the might of man will never tread it. Like the path of death it passes through a world of sorrow, yea through the valley of the shadow of death, but, unlike the path of death, it leads into the presence of the LORD where there is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore.

This path, which could never be discovered by nature, has been disclosed by grace, and trodden in perfection by a perfect Man — the Man Christ Jesus. There has been One here to whom, by reason of His intrinsic perfection, the path of life could be disclosed. The Lord Jesus can say, "Thou wilt show Me the path of life;" and every step of that path He has trodden in perfection, and reached the goal at the right hand of God. Moreover in treading the path He becomes the perfect example for His people, and sets their feet in the path that He has trodden, for His last words ere He left this scene were "Follow Me." We indeed may tread this path with faltering steps and many a stumble, but, as our pattern, and for our encouragement, Christ has gone before us in the path.

The Lord is Himself gone before;

He has mark'd out the path that we tread;

It's as sure as the love we adore,

We have nothing to fear nor to dread.

It is this path that is so blessedly traced for us in the sixteenth Psalm. Seeing the path trodden by Christ in perfection we cannot but admire it; and what we admire we imitate.

Before we seek to trace the blessedness of this path, let us ask ourselves "What is the life to which the Lord refers when He speaks of the path of life?" There is the common round of life with all its varied duties and relationships — a life which is enacted on earth, bounded by time and ended by death. There is too the life of service and conflict with the enemy; but this again is limited to an earthly sphere. The "life" of which the Lord speaks is not confined to earth, limited to time, or touched by death. It is the inner life lived, with God and before God. A "life" indeed that is lived on earth, that sustains the soul in its passage through time and death, that is enjoyed in fulness at the right hand of God, and endures for evermore. It is this life that is so blessedly set before us in the Sixteenth Psalm. Being the "inner life" of communion with God, it is a life that is independent of circumstances, though sustaining us in circumstances. For this reason adverse circumstances have little place in the Psalm. They are recognised, for a godless world, death and the grave are mentioned, but only as the dark background of a life which can be lived untouched by evil in a world of evil.

Who could overrate the blessedness of such a life: as one has said, "This living relationship with God casts a light, a halo on all; it lights the soul up with such a direct consciousness of divine blessing that nothing is like it, save the full realization of it in the presence of God. A man with God, enjoying Him in a nature capable of doing so with all the necessary result where it shall be fulfilled without a cloud — a man as Christ was in this world with God — is the most perfect joy possible, save the everlasting fulfilment of all known and felt in it."

How true this is and yet how easily we may neglect this "inner life." Assured of our standing before God we may be careful that the outward life shall be correct before men, and maintain activity in service, while little exercised as to the inner life before God. Let us however remember that right walk before men as well as true service for Christ, is the outcome of the life lived before God.

With these introductory remarks let us pass on to consider this "inner life" as set forth in Christ. Twice in the New Testament the Psalm is applied to Christ. The Apostle Peter quotes verses 8-11 to prove the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2: 25-28): and the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews applies the principle of the first verse (if not directly quoting it) to prove the participation of Christ in human nature (Heb. 2: 13). Thus we have the warrant of Scripture for applying the Psalm to Christ personally.

1. CHRIST THE DEPENDENT MAN.

The Psalm opens by presenting Christ as the perfectly dependent Man. "Preserve Me, O God," is the language of dependence. The first great principle of the inner life lived before God is dependence. It is natural for man to be dependent upon his God, nevertheless fallen man would rather be dependent upon anything and anyone but God. In Christ there was found at last upon earth a Man who was wholly dependent upon the power of God to preserve Him at every step of His path. He could indeed have preserved Himself; nevertheless in grace He takes a place as the dependent Man. "We understand dependence on God when we are in a strait, but dependence upon God pure and simple when we have resources in our possession is little known. fill the resources of creation were at His command, all the host of heaven were ready to do His bidding when He said, 'Preserve Me, O God.'"

2. CHRIST THE CONFIDING MAN.

"In Thee do I put my trust" is the language of confidence. Christ's perfect dependence upon God was the outcome of His perfect confidence in God. He had unbounded confidence in boundless love. The storm that the devil raised found Christ in calm sleep with His head on a pillow. The real pillow of His heart was the Father's love. As the perfect Man He can say "In Thee do I put my trust," and sleep in the storm; then as the mighty God He rises up, saying, "Peace be still" and calms the storm. It has been truly said "The storms drive us home, but the storm found Him at home." The storms that send us to the Father found Him with the Father. Nothing ever moved Him from dependence upon the Father's power and confidence in the Father's love. He has gone, but He has left His pillow behind Him, for the Father's love is our portion.

3. CHRIST THE SUBJECT MAN.

A third great characteristic of the inner life comes before us in the second verse. "O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, thou art my Lord." This is the expression of One who takes the place of subjection and obedience to the will of another. A life of absolute subjection to the sovereign will of God at all times is an intolerable thought to the natural man, yet this is the path of life and joy. To do the will of One whose infinite love has purposed me for eternal blessing, and whose divine power and wisdom is carrying out His purposes, must be the way of blessing. This path of subjection to the will of Another has been trodden in perfection by Christ as Man. Coming into the world He could say. "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O my God:" passing through it He could say, "I do always those things that please Him:" passing out of it He could say, "Not my will but Thine be done." There has been One here who in all circumstances, and at all times — moment by moment — did nothing but the will of God.

When the storm of opposition was rising on every hand He can say, "Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight." The clouds that thickened round His path ever found Him confiding in the Father's love and subject to the Father's will. And when that greatest of all storms — the storm that was over our heads — was about to burst on His head, He is still confiding in the Father's love, for He can say, "The cup which my Father hath given Me shall I not drink it:" and still subject to the Father's will, for He adds, "Not my will but shine be done."

In Psalm 2, Christ is the Subjugator who will put down all insubjection with a rod of iron. Blessed it is to know that One is coming who will deal with all the lawlessness of the world and bring all into subjection to the will of God. This however is not wonderful when we remember who He is — God's anointed King.

In Psalm 8, we are carried on to a time when the whole creation is brought into subjection to Christ, as we read, "Thou hast put all things under His feet." Blessed indeed will this be, but again we say hardly wonderful when we remember who He is — the Son of Man crowned with glory and honour.

When, however, we come to Psalm 16, we learn that the One, who will subjugate everything to God, to whom all is to be put into subjection, has Himself been the perfectly subject Man. This indeed is a wonder for our souls to contemplate; and yet, may we not say that His power to subject the whole universe to Himself lies in the fact that He, Himself, was once the perfectly subject Man.

Thus the opening verses of the Psalm present these three great characteristics of the path of life — dependence upon the power of God, confidence in the love of God and subjection to the will of God.

Next Part 4. CHRIST THE LOWLY MAN

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