God's Way and How to Find It
Job 28 and Luke 11:34-36
"There is 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." What an unspeakable mercy for one who really desires
to walk with God, to know that there is a way for him to walk in! God has
prepared a pathway for His redeemed in which they may walk with all possible
certainty, calmness and fixedness. It is the priveledge of every child of God,
and every servant of Christ, to be as sure that he is in God's way as that his
soul is saved. This may seem a strong statement; but the question is, Is it
true? If it be true, it cannot be too strong. No doubt it may, in the judgement
of some, savour a little of self-confidence and dogmatism to assert, in such a
day as that in which we live, and in the midst of such a scene as that through
which we are passing, that we are sure of being in God's path. But what saith
the Scripture?
It declares "there is a way," and it also tells us how
to find and how to walk in that way. Yes; the self-same voice that tells us of
God's salvation for our souls, tells us also of God's pathway for our feet;-
the very same authority that assures us that "he that believeth on the Son of
God hath everlasting life," assures us also that there is a way so plain that
"the wayfaring men though fools shall not err therein."
This, we
repeat, is a signal mercy- a mercy at all times, but especially in a day of
confusion and perplexity like the present. It is deeply affecting to notice the
state of uncertainty in which many of God's dear people are found at the
present moment. We do not refer now to the question of salvation, of this we
have spoken largely everywhere; but that which we have now before us is the
path of the Christian - what he ought to do, where he should be found, how he
ought to carry himself in the midst of the professing Church. Is it not too
true that multitudes of the Lord's people are at sea as to these things? Are
there not many who, were they to tell out the real feelings of their hearts,
would have to own themselves in a thoroughly unsettled state- to confess that
they know not what to do, or where to go, or what to believe? Now, the question
is, Would God leave His children, would Christ leave His servants, in such
darkness and confusion?
"No; my dear Lord, in following Thee,
And
not in dark uncertainty,
This foot obedient moves."
May not a child
know the will of his father? May not a servant know the will of his master? And
if this be so in our earthly relationships, how much more fully may we count
oupon it in reference to our Father and Master in heaven.
When Israel
of old emerged from the Red Sea, and stood upon the margin of that great and
terrible wilderness which lay between them and the land of promise, how were
they to know their way? The trackless sand of the desert lay all around them.
It was in vain to look for any footprint there. It was a dreary waste in which
the vulture's eye could not discern a pathway. Moses felt this when he said to
Hobab, "Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to
encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes." (Numb.
10:31)
How well our poor unbelieving hearts can understand this
touching appeal! How one craves a human guide in the midst of a scene of
perplexity! How fondly the heart clings to one whom we deem competent to give
us guidance in moments of darkness and difficulty!
And yet, we may ask,
what did Moses want with Hobab's eyes? Had not Jehovah graciously undertaken to
be their guide? Yes, truly; for we are told that" on the day that the
tabernacle was reared up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of
testimony; and at even, there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance
of fire, until the morning. So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and
the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the
tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed; and in the place
where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.
END OF THIS EXTRACT