Comment By Torchlight

Trusting in Chariots

The 25th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel was celebrated in Jerusalem last- month with an unprecedented display of military strength. A five-mile long procession took one and a half hours to pass through the old city. Among the celebrities at the saluting base was 87-year-old David BenGurion, Israel's first Premier, who proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Some 300,000 people lined the route which was heavily guarded by troops and police. Apparently the display was intended as a warning to her Arab neighbours that Israel is ready to meet any threat of war.

One could not but reflect on many episodes in Israel's long history which proved the fallacy of trusting in military strength. Whatever safeguard this may prove in the present crisis it will fail her in the crucial battle for survival at the end-time. Deliverance will then come not by armed might but from her once-rejected King who wept over Jerusalem as He rode from Olivet on the ass's colt. Then He shall come forth and fight for the beleaguered city:

"And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east" (Zech. 14:4).

And then they shall say, not "Away with Him", but "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the-Lord" (Matt. 23:39).

Help Lord!

The psalmist's prayer comes readily to our lips as we, like him, look out on a deceitful world. "The wicked", he wrote, "walk on every side, when-vileness is exalted among the sons of men" (Psa. 12:8). Our situation is no new one. It is the more oppressive to the spiritually-minded because its influence seems to be more widespread. Modern communication media is geared to "the vain glory of life". The vanity, the double talk, the arrogance and the injustice which troubled the psalmist stalk unashamedly in our "enlightened" age. David was the more concerned because there were few he could trust, few to share with him his delight in God and -in His word. Hence his plea,

"Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men" (Psa. 12:1).

Relevant to our theme are two questions: What identifies "the godly man"? and, Can he thrive in such adverse conditions?

Every virtue has its counterfeits, and this one is no exception. There are many subtle imitations of godliness. It is not mere conformity to a code of rules; it is a living, vital thing. It is not an exaggerated solemnity, nor the sanctimonious, "I am holier than thou" pose. Neither does it demand withdrawal from the mundane affairs of life.

Godliness is a plant of heavenly growth; it is the character of God blossoming in a human personality. Where can I see its full expression? Only in "the Man, Christ Jesus"; in Him the character of God is expressed in terms of human life and conduct. The godly person will resemble Christ in character and ways. There will be about him an unselfconscious tranquillity a "calm and settled peace that nothing can destroy". This does not mean that he will be complacent or indolent. There will be an outgoing Christlike compassion, a practical awareness of human problems, and an exercise to alleviate them.

There are numerous examples in Scripture of men and women whose godly lives flourished in adverse circumstances. In every case these lives were touched by personal encounter with God. We can recall, among others, the wrestling Jacob at Peniel, the reluctant Moses at the burning bush, Isaiah's vision of the heavenly King, and the meeting between Saul of Tarsus and the risen Christ on the Damascus road. The course of life for each of the examples quoted took its direction and character from that overpowering sense of God which only-personal encounter can bring. Many such experiences, unrecorded on earth but registered in heaven, have been the secret of godly lives in all ages. Only in God's presence can we form a true estimate of ourselves.

One of the terms used in Scripture to describe secret encounter with God is, "walking with God". Enoch, the seventh from Adam, is a striking example of this. He "walked with God" three hundred years. What an adventure! His example is most relevant to our situation because his surroundings were, possibly, much worse than ours. He lived when "the wickedness of man was great in the earth" (Gen. 6:5). And Enoch was no recluse. He not only bore the cares of a growing family in a climate of violence and ungodliness; he was also a public witness against daring wickedness of his generation.

Let it not be said, then, that godliness is extinct in our generation. The jewel is exceedingly rare and precious; there is a price to be paid for it. While "divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:4) we must fulfil the essential conditions. There is no other way but that enjoined by Paul to his child Timothy, "Exercise thyself unto godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7).

unknown | Jun 1973
Comment By Torchlight