Isaiah 4:4-6 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion… In this passage they are presented under three forms: (1) as cleansings, (2) as guidings, (3) as preservings. I. CHRIST IS EVER WORKING WITH A VIEW TO THE CLEANSING AND PURIFYING OF HIS CHURCH, so that it might be presented at last "a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." That work of cleansing demands more constant watchful-fullness, care, and toil than we are wont to imagine. It requires that the Church, as a Church, shall pass again and again under Divine chastenings. We recognize how much the Lord does for us, as individuals, by the perplexities and disappointments and sorrows of our lives, but we do not so readily or so fully admit that such experiences are also needed for our Churches. Uninterrupted prosperities as surely imperil the life of the Christian Church as of the Christian man. Indulgences in sin hurt Churches. The neglect of Church duties, the spirit of idle contentment, growing tendency to self-satisfaction, disregard of holy living, and the encroachments of the worldly spirit, all hurt and spoil the Church. Under the influence of such things the light of the Church will as surely wax dim as the candle in a foul atmosphere; the witness of the Church will become fainter than a whisper; the unity of the Church will be broken up, and its work will lie about it untouched, The descriptions of the seven Churches of Asia given in the Book of Revelation accurately present the conditions into which Churches still fall. Losing their first love. Yielding to the enticements of the world. Weakened by false doctrine. Deadened by the evil influence of unworthy members. Proud of outward prosperities. Lukewarm in Christian service. Surely the hope of the Church lies in this - Christ is willing to be in the midst of her in the power of his cleansing, correcting, and restoring grace, and he is actually dealing with her as a spirit of purifying. He is ever washing away the fast-gathering "filth of the daughters of Jerusalem, and the blood of her sins from the midst thereof." In accomplishing this work of cleansing, it may sometimes be needful that our Lord should deal severely. The operations of his grace will sometimes appear as a "spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning." II. OUR LORD ALSO DEALS WITH HIS CHURCH WITH A VIEW TO ITS GUIDANCE AND INSTRUCTION. He would have his people grow in grace and wisdom and knowledge, reaching ever further into the mysteries of revealed truth, and making ever holier and wiser expressions of their renewed spirit in all the spheres of their life and activity. Journeying through the wilderness of this world, through the wilderness of truths, and through the wilderness of Christian duties Christ is ever near now, as he was in the olden days to wandering Israel. Then a cloud-pillar, looking dark against the bright sky by day, and flashing out like flame against the dark sky by night, kept Israel in mind of its ever-present Guide. [Now, without the help of such outward symbols, in inward manifestations to trustful hearts, Christ reveals his presence as our Shepherd, leading us on, now into scenes of conflict, now up paths that are rough and stony, and sometimes into "the green pastures, and beside the still waters." The power of a Church to hold fast the" truth once delivered unto the saints, "and yet to receive whatever new forms of truth God may be pleased to unfold from his Word, lies in this presence of Christ with his Church, as a Teacher and Guide, as a "spirit of judgment." III. CHRIST DEALS WITH HIS CHURCH WITH A VIEW TO ITS PRESERVATION AND ITS DEFENCE. He not only cleanses and teaches, he also keeps. "Upon all her glory shall be a defense." We may lovingly submit to all his chastenings and corrections, for over all the glory of his cleansing shall be his defense. It shall never be destructive. We shall be kept through it all. We may wait on all Divine teachings, and go forth to all Christian duties; perils may be round about us, but over all the glory of his guiding there shall be a defense. God shall keep us safely. His "mountains are round about Jerusalem from henceforth, and even forevermore." He does not mean by his dealings to remove the candlestick out of his place, only to make the flame burn clearer and brighter. He is but keeping it safe until the great time of removals, when it may take its place, and shine forever among the lamps of the heavenly sanctuary. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. |
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