<BrethrenVoice> <GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> <10 August 2002> Contents: --------- (1) <Meditational> "His icy hand?" - Author unknown (2) <Testimonial> "The story of Ujagar Singh" - Charles E. Wigg (3) <Doctrinal> "Scriptural principles of gathering" (Part-7) - A.P. Gibbs (4) <Prophetical> "The Redeemer's Return" - Intro (Part-2) - A.W.Pink (5) <Poem> "Apples of Gold" (Part-4) - Charles E. Wigg (1) <Meditational> HIS ICY HAND? Author Unknown "Generations come and generations go...." Ecc. 1:4 We are all standing on the shores of time, and before us stretches the unfathomable ocean of eternity. To this vast abyss the millions of earth's inhabitants are fast hastening. Every day that closes, every hour that passes, every moment that flies, is bringing us nearer to it. On its mighty surface every human being must soon embark. The grave is the home appointed for all living. Everything passes away. A great and mighty river, for ages and centuries, has been rolling on, and sweeping away all that ever lived, to the vast abyss of eternity. From that unknown country none return. On that devouring ocean, which has swallowed up everything, no vestige appears of the things that were. Death is the messenger that conducts us into the invisible world; and this messenger may be very near us. One step more, and his icy hand may be laid upon us.... to remove us from our dearest friends on earth, to dissolve all the attachments of life, to hide from us all earthly scenes, and to open to our view the solemn realities of an eternal world. Standing on the Rock of Ages, the believer can look down into the 'gloomy mansion of the grave' with composure and even with triumph. How blessed then to have the arms of Jesus, the Conqueror of death, upholding our shrinking souls, shielding us from all alarm, sweetening our passage through the dark valley, and conducting us safely through every tempest, and through every billow, into the promised rest above! To the Christian, death is an unspeakable advantage, as it is the passage from the wilderness of this world, to the heavenly Canaan. Death is the entrance to our Father's house, in which are the 'many mansions' of glory. Death delivers him from all the evils incident to humanity. Death terminates his period of discipline, toil, trial, and conflict. Death brings him into a state of perfect holiness and happiness before the throne of God in the highest heavens. Death is numbered among the treasures of a Christian. Death is his great gain. The last day of his life is to him the opening of immortality. As soon as death terminates the believer's existence on earth, he enters upon the inheritance of all those exceeding great and precious promises which the Word of God holds forth to him. He passes at once from the darkness of earth to the light and glory of the celestial world. He puts off the mortal body, for the home of God, that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. He exchanges this valley of tears and death, for a world from whose blissful mansions all sorrow flees away, and where there shall be no more death. "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down; when we die and leave these bodies; we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands." 2 Cor. 5:1 He departs to be with Christ; and oh, what sincere follower of the adorable Redeemer, who is now enthroned amid heaven's ineffable glories, would not rather be absent from the body, to be present with Him! In the hour of death Christ will be your refuge. His everlasting arms will be underneath you. His rod and staff will comfort you. He will be with you until the last; and you shall awake amid the unutterable splendors of heaven, to be forever with the Savior in mansions of light and felicity. It is the glory of the Christian religion thus to raise the soul above the fear of death. With him all is calm and serene; for his sins are forgiven. He has peace within; joy beams in his countenance. His soul is delighted with joyful prospects beyond the grave. He is filled with strong consolation. The sweet thought of going to his heavenly home now occupies his mind, elevating his views, and cheering his spirit. He thinks of the glories of his final rest; its fullness of joy; its blessed inhabitants; its delightful employments; its never ending pleasures. He feels, that while earth is passing from his view, the portals of those blessed mansions of light are opening for his entrance, and he knows, that in yonder home of the redeemed he will die no more. My heavenly home is bright and fair; Nor pain, nor death can enter there. Its glittering towers the sun outshine, That heavenly mansion shall be mine! My Father's house is built on high, Far, far above the starry sky, When from this earthly prison free, That heavenly mansion mine shall be! While here a stranger far from home, Affliction's waves may round me foam; And though like Lazarus, sick and poor, My heavenly mansion is secure! Let others seek a home below, Which flames devour, or waves o'erflow, Be mine the happier lot to own, A heavenly mansion near the throne! Then fail this earth, let stars decline, And sun and moon refuse to shine; All nature sink and cease to be, This heavenly mansion stands for me! _______________________________________________________________________ (2) <Testimonial> THE STORY OF UJAGAR SINGH OF KAPURI VILLAGE, HARYANA, INDIA (PART-1) Charles E. Wigg In a small village named Kapuri in Haryana State, North India, lived a Sikh gentleman named Ujagar Singh. His home was inside the walls of an old fort which was more than eight hundred years old. It was like a cave inside, it had very small windows which were no more than half a metre square, and a thick earth roof which was supported on wooden poles. The winters in that place can be quite cold, but the thick earth roof insulated the whole place and thus kept it warm in the winter, but also comparatively cool during the very hot summers. The walls on two sides were very thick, made of brick and were the walls of the old Fort. On the other sides they were made of mud bricks, these were then plastered with mud. Ujagar Singh was a comparatively wealthy man, and owned fifteen acres of fields, (a big holding for India). He was a Sikh by religion, a religion that was begun many years ago by a former Hindu Guru, named Nanak. This man studied, thought and planned for many years. He studied Hinduism, Islam, and nominal Christianity, and took from each what he considered to be their good points, and combined them into his new religion. He then went about the North of India proclaiming his new faith, and inviting people to join. He very cunningly put a cut off date, so that if any wanted to join him they must do so before that date, otherwise they would be left outside and have no further chance of becoming a Sikh, unless through marriage. It is a strange religion, in which are enshrined many myths and legends. They have a holy book, which they worship, called the "Granth Sahib", and Ujagar Singh told me that in that book is the fifty third chapter of Isaiah, where the details of the life, rejection, sufferings, death and resurrection of Christ are accurately prophesied. On certain festival days this book, suitably covered with holy cloths is carried in solemn procession through the streets, sheltered by a gorgeous umbrella, and accompanied by the music of bagpipes and other instruments. It will be taken to the homes of Sikh people, and they are expected to make an offering. Also on special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries, Sikh people will hire their priests to come to their home, they will set up an amplifier, and from 4 AM in the morning, until about 4 PM. the priests will read from this book, and also chant prayers. As well they seem to worship violence, their priests are clad in royal blue dress, and each one will carry a weapon of some kind. I remember seeing one priest who had in his hand a kind of cat-of -nine-tails, Its handle was of iron pipe, the "tails" were chains, and on the end of each was a cast iron knob. It is part of their religion that the men and boys are never to cut their hair and all wear a turban which they will never remove for anyone. Recently there was a big court case in Canada, where many Sikhs had joined the Royal Mounted Police. They claimed the right to wear their turbans, not the helmets that were ancient part of the Mounties uniform, and they won their case also. It is claimed by some that they carry a weapon secreted in the folds of that turban, but I cannot vouch for the truth of this claim. [to be continued...] _______________________________________________________________________ (3) <Doctrinal> SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES OF GATHERING or WHY I MEET AMONG THOSE KNOWN AS "BRETHREN" (PART-7) A.P. Gibbs .... SIXTH: THEY OBSERVE THE ORDINANCES, GIVEN TO THE CHURCH BY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, IN A SCRIPTURAL MANNER. These ordinances are two in number, Baptism and the Lord's Supper; the first is administered to the believer once, the second observed by the believer often. BAPTISM is the God-ordained figure, symbol or picture of the believer's death, burial and resurrection with Christ. By his baptism with water the Christian confesses his identification with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, and his determination to walk in newness of life to the glory of Him who went under the waves and billows of God's wrath to deliver him from the penalty and power of sin, and from this present evil world. (Psalm 22: 1-21; 88: 1-18; Rom. 6: 1-14; Gal. 1: 4). The Savior's commission to His disciples was: "Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you ,and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (age). (Matt. 28: 19, 20). In obedience to this commission, those known as "brethren" have gone forth with the gospel. When souls have been won for Christ, the truth of baptism has been placed before them, and the believers have been baptized, or immersed in water, symbol of their burial with Christ. There is no such thing taught in the New Testament as baptism before profession of faith on the part of the individual. The scriptural order of Christian baptism is: "He that believeth and is baptized." (Mark 16: 16). Search the history of the Church as found in the Acts of the Apostles, and you will not find one case of infant baptism recorded. Baptism is conditioned upon believing, which comes through an intelligent hearing of the gospel (Rom. 10:6-17). Surely this cannot be true of a helpless babe in arms! Of the theory of so-called "Household Baptism," (which teaches that each member of the household of a believer, including the infants of the home, should be baptized), we cannot do better than quote C. H. Macintosh, author of the world famed and greatly used C. H. M.'s "Notes on the Pentateuch," who wrote: (Dec. 22, 1871) "I believe the course of some of our friends in urging this question of (household) baptism will, unless God in His mercy interpose, lead to most disastrous results. For my own part, seeing the question has been thus forced upon me, I can only say I have, for thirty-two years, been asking in vain for a single line of Scripture for baptizing any save believers, or those who profess to believe. I have had inferences, conclusions and deductions; but of direct Scripture authority, not a tittle." Many Christians seem to regard water baptism as a "non-essential," and treat it with indifference by saying: "Well, it doesn't affect one's salvation, so why worry?" But surely the distinct command of the Lord Jesus is not a non-essential for a believer. It is true that baptism does not secure the soul's eternal salvation and acceptance before God, but surely it is necessary to complete obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ if He declared it should be done. Though the Lord puts the responsibility to carry out His command to baptize directly upon those who preach the gospel (Matt. 28: 18; Mark 16: 15, 16), it is fitting that the believer should be prayerfully exercised about having this Divinely-appointed ordinance carried out in the way that Scripture teaches, especially in view of the deep spiritual significance attached to it by the apostle Paul. Read carefully Romans 6: 1-14. While maintaining firmly that baptism by immersion, subsequent to profession of faith in Christ, is the plain teaching of the New Testament, we should be careful not to make this ordinance the door of admittance to and participation in the Lord's supper. Nor should we make it the basis of our fellowship with other Christians, who have not yet been brought to see, from God's word, the distinctive truths of believer's baptism, or the privilege of gathering in scriptural simplicity. We must ever keep in mind the fact that we are living today in the midst of something the New Testament does not contemplate: namely, a baptized mass of humanity. Practically every genuine Christian we meet has passed through some form of baptism, so-called. In a great number of cases he was sprinkled with water as an infant. When, in later years, he was saved by the grace of God, he imagined that this christening was the equivalent of believer's baptism, and his denomination encourages him in this belief. By all means, let us place before such, in a kindly, courteous and Christian way, the teaching of God's word as to these things; but, at the same time, let us never forget that every believer is a child of God and a fellow member of the body of Christ. May it be ours to extend to all those who "belong to Christ" (Mark 9:41) that Christian love, care and forbearance that the Head of the body declared were the marks of true discipleship (John 13: 34, 35; cp. I John 3: 14, 16; 4: 20; 5: 1) . Many a godly Christian has been stumbled because of the harsh, hyper-critical, uncharitable and contemptuous attitude adopted towards him by a better taught believer, or company of believers, who failed utterly to take into consideration his spiritual environment. Let us ponder carefully and prayerfully the words of the inspired apostle: "Owe no man anything, but to love one another" (Rom. 13: 8) , and: "Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us, to the glory of God" (Rom. 15: 7) . THE LORD'S SUPPER, as we have already seen, is for all the Lord's people who are sound in life and doctrine. An examination of the practice of the early Church, as seen in the book of Acts, seems to indicate that brethren of a given community came together each Lord's day to show forth the Lord's death in the breaking of bread (Acts 20:7). They came primarily, not to hear preaching, but to break the bread, symbolic of the body of their Lord and Savior; and drink the cup, symbolic of His precious blood. For this ordinance also we have abundant Scripture testimony. The very night in which Christ was betrayed, He gathered His disciples together and instituted this feast of remembrance. (See Luke 221 19, 20; Matt. 26:2628; Mark 14: 22-25). From John 13, It seems certain that .Judas left after the Passover feast, and before the Lord's supper was instituted. In I Cor. 11:23-34 this ordinance of the Lord's supper is given, by the glorified Lord, as a distinct revelation to Paul the apostle. It is introduced because the brethren in Corinth had abused the privilege of the Lord's supper by turning it into a feast in which every man satisfied his own appetite for food and drink. The purpose and propriety of this blessed ordinance is there stated as a direct revelation from the ascended Lord in glory, and every Christian should read and re-read this whole passage carefully and prayerfully. Some think that in the primitive Church this feast was celebrated each day (Acts 2:46); but by the time assemblies were spread throughout Asia it became the established custom for the disciples to come together the first day of the week to break bread. (Acts 20:7). Notice the expression used. It was not the first Sunday of the month, or the first Sunday of the quarter, or the first Sunday of the half-year, or the year; but the first day of the week. The same term is used again in I Cor. 16: 1, 2 where Paul, speaking of the collection for the saints says: "Upon the first day of the week, let each of you lay by him in store as the Lord has prospered him." The primary purpose of these believers, in assembling themselves together on the first day of the week, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, was to remember Him in His own Divinely appointed way, and thus "proclaim the Lord's death until He come." This is what those called "brethren" still seek to do. Throughout the world, at a time most convenient to the majority of the believers, Christians, and Christians only, gather together in the Lord's name alone. In their midst is a table upon which is placed a loaf of bread and a cup containing the fruit of the vine. Inasmuch as it is the Lord's supper, there is no one present who attempts to usurp the Lordship and authority of Christ by attempting to take His place, or arrange its program. One after another of the brethren arise as the Spirit leads--one with a hymn, another voicing the worship of the assembly, another with some Scripture exposition in keeping with the feast of remembrance. One rises to give thanks for the bread, and it is broken and passed so that all may break it and eat. Perhaps another rises to give thanks for the cup and it, in turn, is passed from one to the other. Thus, in scriptural simplicity, this feast, instituted by the Savior, is kept. There is no visible head at this feast of remembrance, for none such is contemplated in Scripture. Christ, however, is there according to His promise: "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them," and who would dare to take His place? This is what clerisy has done and, whether consciously or unconsciously, Christ's place of preeminence in the assembly of His saints for worship has been superseded by the so-called "minister," who has been humanly ordained, who "dispenses the elements" and, apart from whose presence, the Lord's supper cannot be partaken and enjoyed! From such a travesty of the pattern given in the New Testament we turn with abhorrence. Scripture makes clear that Christ is the Host at His own table, and each believer is His greatly privileged and highly honored guest. There is no greener spot on the face of this wilderness of a world in which the believer's lot is cast, than when believers meet around the Lord, each Lord's day, to remember the Lord Jesus Christ in the Lord's own appointed way, proclaiming the Lord's death until the Lord comes back again. Is this your happy privilege, fellow believer? Rest not until it is, and you can truthfully sing: "Lord Jesus, in Thy precious name, And, in that name alone; At Thy request we gladly meet, Thy Lordship here would own. As on that dark betrayal night, Thou didst this feast ordain; We too, the bread and cup would take, Thy death, Lord, thus proclaim. The bread, Thy body doth portray; The cup, Thy precious blood; By which our sin was put away. Our peace was made with God. The Host art Thou, O blessed Lord, Thy honored guests are we; With grateful and adoring hearts, We would remember Thee! Lord Jesus, Whom, unseen we love, As thus we muse on Thee; We none would see, save Thee alone, Thou Man of Calvary!" [To be continued...] _______________________________________________________________________ (4) <Prophetical> "THE REDEEMER'S RETURN" - INTRODUCTION (PART-2) Arthur W. Pink .... The Redeemer's Return! This was the great hope of the early Christians. In the first century of the Christian era it was the normal and regular thing to find that the expectation of the returning Saviour filled the vision and hearts of His followers. The apostles themselves taught their converts to look for the appearing of Christ. Writing to the Thessalonian saints the apostle Paul reminded them how they had "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven" (1 Thess. 1:9, 10). Writing to the twelve tribes scattered abroad, the apostle James bade them be patient and establish their hearts, basing his exhortation on the fact that "The Coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (Jas. 5:8). Writing to "the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia "who were in heaviness through manifold temptations," the apostle Peter expressed the wish that the trial of their faith "might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ"(1 Pet. 1:7). Writing to his "little children" (a term of endearment) the apostle John lovingly exhorted them to abide in Christ so that when He should appear they might have confidence and "not be ashamed before Him at His coming" (1 John 2:28). Writing of the apostasy which was to come, the apostle Jude quoted the prophecy of Enoch, who declared, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all" (Jude 1:14, 15). Thus we find that it was the uniform practice of the apostles to hold up a returning Saviour before the children of God. Right at the close of the first century A. D. when the time had come for the Sacred Canon to be completed, our Lord Himself sent His angel to communicate a special message to each of the seven Churches which were in Asia, and in five of them, namely, in the Epistles addressed to the Churches in Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis and Philadelphia (see Rev. 2:5, 16, 25; 3:3, 11) Christ makes distinct reference to His imminent appearing, while His last words to His loved disciple were, "Surely I come quickly" (Rev. 22:20). We have thus shown that this Age began with a ringing testimony to the truth of our Lord's Return. Each of the apostles, of whose writings we have any inspired record, taught their converts to look for their Saviour's appearing. Alas! that this testimony was not maintained. Alas! that this Blessed Hope should ever have become dim. Alas! that it should, for more than a thousand years, have been almost totally lost to the Lord's people. Yet so it was. The immediate successors of the apostles turned their attention to other things: as it was with the Pharisees in the days of our Lord, so these tithed anise and mint but "omitted the weightier matters." Instead of expounding the Prophetic Scriptures and setting before the Church its one great Hope, the early "Church Fathers," for the most part, spent their time in wrangling among themselves. Even before the apostles themselves had left the earth, false teachers crept in and began to devour the flock, and within three centuries the whole professing Church had become Paganized. Then followed the Dark Ages--aptly named, for the lamp of Prophecy had ceased to shine and the prospect of the speedy return of the Morning Star had completely disappeared. As our Lord Himself had foretold, the virgins all slumbered and slept: no longer were His people looking for the Coming of the Bridegroom. 1 We need not remind our readers it was during this period known as the Dark Ages that the Roman Catholic Church sprang into prominence and the power, holding sway over all Europe and binding burdens on the souls of men which were grievous to be borne. The Bible was withheld from the laity and the vain traditions of men were substituted for the living Oracles of God. Instead of proclaiming salvation by the finished work of Christ, the multitudes were taught that heaven could only be obtained by penance, legal works, priestly mediation, and purgatorial fires. Instead of teaching her people that the hope of the saints was the appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, Rome taught that the hope of humanity lay in the subjugation of the entire world to the imperial rule of the Pope. Instead of exhorting believers to "look up" (Luke 21:28), the Roman Pontiff sought to dazzle the eyes of his devotees with the gorgeous ceremonialism of an earthly ritual. After a thousand years of spiritual darkness the Sun of Righteousness shone forth over Europe with healing in His beams. During the sixteenth century God raised up a number of mighty men who, by the power of His Spirit, were delivered from the iron shackles of the Papacy and made to rejoice in the freedom into which, the Lord Jesus brings His people. Under God, these men brought about what is known as the great Reformation. During this Reformation the Holy Scriptures were restored to the people and given to them in their own native tongues. The glorious doctrine of Justification by Faith alone, was sounded forth throughout Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the British Isles, and multitudes were "added unto the Lord." Many precious truths, which for long centuries had lain buried beneath the rubbish heap of human traditions, were recovered and given out to the masses. But the Reformation, glorious as it was, witnessed only a partial recovery of long lost truths. The Hope of the Church was not yet restored! The prospect of a soon returning Redeemer was not yet set before God's people again. Three more centuries passed by before the third part of our Lord's prophecy in the Parable of the Virgins received its fulfillment. It was not until the nineteenth century that the midnight cry arose "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him" (Matt. 25:6). Then it was that God raised up another band of witnesses, sent forth by Him to herald the approach of His Son. The result has been that an ever increasing number of the saints have given studious attention to the prophetic portions of the Word, until, to-day, in every section of Christendom, there are companies of believers who are eagerly waiting for the Shout of the Lord which shall call them away from this earth to be for ever with Him. It is our humble desire to unite with these witnesses of God in testifying that the Coming of the Lord "draweth nigh." The Signs of the times speak plainly to those who have ears to hear, and singly and collectively bear witness to the fact that this Dispensation of Grace is now almost ended. The prophecies of the New Testament show clearly that we are living in the "last days" of this Age, and by the help of the Spirit of Truth we would herein call attention to those Scriptures which make known to us the stupendous events which shall surely and shortly come to pass. --------------- No doubt the parable of the Bridegroom in Matthew 25 refers primarily to the Jewish remnant in the tribulation period as its opening word "Then" indicates, but, like all prophecy, this has a double fulfillment and unquestionably applies to the Christian profession. [to be continued...] _______________________________________________________________________ (5) <Poem> APPLES OF GOLD Charles E. Wigg .... "Musings in the Holy Place" - Part 4 31 May each stage of development, Be seen in the assem-bl-ies, Youth's flower, sweet, and fragrant, But also growth, maturity! 32 Thus one in holy fellowship, Showing the nature all divine, And Spirit filled, each almond cup, Maintain the pure and holy flame. 33 Oh Great High Priest, come with Thy tongs, And trim my wick, of burned out self, Make me to shine as Thy heart longs, Reveal to all, Thy golden wealth. 34 From lampstand now I look away, Behind the altar, see the veil, Which is the one, and only way Into the Holiest of all. 35 The same rich colours here I see, As in the veil, through which 1 came, Into this holy sanctuary, Speaking of Him, who is "The Same". 36 But added to those colours see, 'Broidered by wise and loving hands, In threads of gold, so skillfully, Figures of Cherubim there stand. 37 Such as in Eden's garden stood, Wielding the sword of flashing flame, The guardians of the rights of God, ' Guarding the honour of His name. 38 The veil reminds us of God's Son, Whose sinless flesh, He offered there, Upon Golgotha's hill of pain, Ope'ning the way to Glory Fair. 39 Who glorified God, on the cross, E'en in the very place of sin, Maintained God's rights, yet bore the loss, So we may boldly enter in. 40 A scene of beauty fills' my eyes, The golden frames, standing upright, Bound into one, by golden bars. ___________________________<BrethrenVoice>___________________________ [which seeks to be guided solely by the New Testament Biblical pattern, facilitates free flow of Christian information. 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