"Also the
foreigners that join themselves to the Lord, to minister
unto Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His
servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from
profaning it, and holdeth fast My covenant; even them
will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in
My house of prayer: their burnt-offerings and their
sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar; for My
house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
The Lord God, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel,
saith, 'Yet will I gather others to him, besides his own
that are gathered.'" (Isaiah 56:6-8 A.S.V.).
In the latter part of
his prophecies Isaiah concentrates on the return from
captivity and the restoration of the Lord's testimony in
Zion. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of
this recovery, for at its heart, the goal and explanation
of it all, we find the house of God. It is God Himself
Who is most concerned about re-gathering His people, for
this is essential to His own will and glory.
Scattered
Ones Gathered into Fellowship in God's House
The Lord's declaration
that His house "shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples" does not primarily mean that it
shall be a place from which prayer shall go out on behalf
of men everywhere. It is true that the house does become
a centre from which there radiates a ministry of life and
blessing in answer to believing prayer, but the context
shows clearly that the first thought is of that house as
a centre of gathering, a rallying point to which all who
will may come. The Spirit's work is to unite in practical
fellowship those who have been delivered from the kingdom
of darkness, and to unite them under His own authority in
His own house. It is, of course, a blessed privilege for
those concerned. They have trusted and proved the Lord in
their scattered state, but they have known that they were
not experiencing the fullness. There is always something
lacking when believers know the Lord in isolation only or
in sectional groups.
The Word of God had set
before the "outcasts of Israel" prospects which
were far beyond their present experience - promises of
the glory of God in the midst and of feasts of fat things
in the mountain of the Lord. All this was to be
accomplished by a great Divine gathering of those who had
hitherto been scattered and in limitation. God would make
them joyful in His house of prayer. The greatest values,
however, were not to be personal and local, but universal
and Divine.
It is God's great desire
to manifest Himself in and through His people: "that
now... might be made known through the church the
manifold wisdom of God" (Eph. 3:10).
When God's scattered people are freed from every
bondage and brought together in true oneness, the impact
of His presence and kingdom will be tremendous in its
range. This gathering is of supreme importance to the
Lord, for it provides Him with His house and ministers to
His satisfaction. Who can calculate the effect of the
unrestricted and ungrieved presence of God in a people?
The house of God is no hollow pretence; it is not a relic
of what used to be, nor a vain ideal of what ought to be;
it is meant to be a present, spiritual reality. "For
where two or three are gathered together in My name,
there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20).
They are not gathered
together for their own name, nor for any other earthly
name; not for any personal interests, nor even for the
furtherance of a cause. They have been drawn by the
Spirit into the house of God where all things are of Him
and all things are for Him. In that house God is given
His rightful place in everything.
During the captivity
there was no place on earth where the Lord could truly
reign among His people. There were individuals like
Ezekiel, or those of whom we read in Daniel, who
faithfully represented Him and maintained the testimony
to His universal sovereignty. These, however, did not
cease to long and pray for the day of recovery, when the
house of God would once again come into being. They knew
that the Lord's purposes required a re-gathering of His
scattered people, with their establishing in a united
fellowship in Him. This is the spiritual meaning of the
house of God. For us it is not a building or a locality,
nor must we be content to regard it merely as something
doctrinal into which we enter when we become the Lord's.
It is a practical life together in the fellowship of the
Spirit.
Gathered
on the Basis of Grace Alone
Isaiah's ministry was
one of comfort, or perhaps better, of encouragement. The
purposes of God are so often hindered by timidity or lack
of inspiration among His people. There are so many
objections, so many arguments and questions, that we tend
to accept the low level of things as they are, instead of
responding to the heavenly vision and call. The house of
God seems to be a dream or a vision; we gaze upon it but
take no active steps to enter it in a practical sense and
to enjoy the blessings that are to be found therein. From
the words of Isaiah we gather there were two groups
particularly susceptible to a spirit of discouragement,
the eunuchs and the foreigners. The prophet's message is
to assure them that they are to share in God's gathering.
He speaks to those who are ineligible on natural grounds,
assuring them of the abundant grace of God. His house is
not concerned with what we are in ourselves; admittance
cannot be governed by human considerations; grace has
made it a house of prayer for all peoples.
But there must be some
qualification, for God's house is holy. Why are these
outcasts received, and given so warm a welcome? How is it
that God says, "Even them will I bring... and
make them joyful in My house of prayer?" There
are three statements which seem to give the answer to
this question. They love the name of the Lord, they keep
the Sabbath and they hold fast His covenant.
Gathered
in Virtue of Christ's Finished Work
The second and central
feature really includes the other two. They are true
keepers of the Sabbath. This stress upon Sabbath
observance is the more remarkable since the prophet is
particularly strong in expressing God's indifference to
mere ritual. Nobody could be more emphatic than Isaiah in
assuring the people of God that the whole realm of
religious observance, even though prescribed by the
Scriptures, is in itself of no value to the Lord and
rejected by Him. His message to the people was often in
such terms as, "Your new moons and your appointed
feasts My soul hateth; they are a trouble unto Me; I am
weary of bearing them" (Isa. 1:14; A.S.V.). In
spite of this, Isaiah lays great stress on the need for
keeping the Sabbath. This is surely because of the
spiritual meaning attached to that day.
What is this spiritual
meaning? It is simplicity and utterness of faith as to
the finished work of Christ. This is a term which we make
much of in relation to the salvation of sinful men; we
rejoice that redemption is secured by the finished work
of Christ upon the Cross. But what is true as to the
justification of the ungodly is equally true in regard to
every phase of spiritual life and experience. The whole
work is completed in Christ. Human effort can provide
nothing at all, for God's rest is based upon the fact
that in Christ and by His Cross all the work is finished.
We are called on to find all our life and energy on this
basis - that we keep God's Sabbath. Some people, of
course, talk a lot about the finished work of Christ and
yet live lives which are not glorifying to Him. This is
as though they were approving of the idea of the Sabbath
- marking it, as it were, upon their calendars - and yet
failing to be governed by it in a practical way. God is
calling for those who are true keepers of His Sabbath,
those who by faith are proving in ever new ways and ever
greater fullness the glorious perfection of the new
creation in Christ.
We can profane the
Sabbath in two ways. The first is by trying to do
something, or thinking that we can do something, to add
to God's work in Christ. It is the intrusion of
self-wisdom or self-effort into the spiritual life. The
second is by failing to count on the Lord's sufficiency.
If we are governed by some lack or weakness of ours, or
succumb to our own sense of unworthiness, the purposes of
God in our life are hindered and we are in effect denying
the finished work of Christ, profaning the Sabbath.
Gathered
into Fellowship with God Himself
There is an indication
in verse 3 of the doubts and fears of the stranger who
has joined himself to the Lord. To him the house of God
seems so high and holy that he is inclined to despair of
having a place in it. Seeing that he has no nature
standing, no virtues or abilities of his own, he is
worried as to whether he can claim admittance. He begins
timidly to enter in, conscious all the time of his
strangeness, and half expecting that before long someone
will come up to him and tell him that he is an outsider
who has no right to be there. It is as though while he is
thus troubled, fearing that any moment he will surely be
separated from God's people and turned away from His
house, the High Priest himself comes forward and gives
him a cordial welcome. He is taken by the hand and led,
stranger though he is, not just into the outer court nor
only into the holy place of priestly ministry - which he
never expected to see - but taken right through into the
very presence of the Lord. Far from being rejected, he
finds that God Himself gives him a warm welcome, giving
him full right of access to His holy mountain. No wonder
that his heart overflows with joy! "I will...
make them joyful in My house of prayer".
God comes out to the man
who approaches Him on the grounds of grace. He had been
forced to reject many who claimed a place of prominence,
because they sought to be something in themselves, and to
deal with Him on purely natural grounds. They felt that
their name, their education, their orthodoxy or their
experience gave them the right to demand God's approval.
It was these men and this spirit which really caused the
destruction of God's house. The greatest enemy to God's
house has never been the enemy from without, but
religious pride within. Uncrucified flesh spells the
destruction of true spiritual fellowship. There is a
spiritual significance in the fact that the foreigner,
timid and diffident, and the eunuch, weak and despised,
are particularly singled out as being welcomed to
fellowship; in the restoration God bases His acceptance
on pure grace.
This entrance into the
house of prayer is described as being taken up into God's
holy mountain. A mountain is a place of vision. The
Lord's mountain is where everything is seen in its right
proportions in relation to Him. When we are in the valley
even small things seem to tower over us, and we are
easily governed by petty and personal considerations.
True fellowship in the Spirit will raise us into heavenly
realms, not away from practical realities but into the
clarity and breadth of things as God sees them - to
spiritual ascendency, and to fellowship with God in His
great universal purposes of grace and glory.
Gathered
to Enjoy God's Full Approval in Christ
The second reason for
rejoicing is that "their burnt-offerings and
their sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar".
What an amazing experience this stranger is having!
He feared that he would not be permitted to enter at all,
but now he finds not only that he is welcome, but that
all his offerings are brought to the altar and receive
the seal of God's approval. No wonder that he is glad!
Somehow nothing else seems to matter if we know that the
Lord is pleased with us. This is the meaning of the burnt
offering - that God is well pleased with the offerer. It
is a blessing indeed to know that our sin offering is
accepted, for that means that God has nothing against us.
Those who have known deep conviction and concern about
their own guilt will know the value of the sin offering
and the blessed relief of being sure that God has nothing
against them. But when heaven's verdict was given upon
the Lord Jesus the voice did not say, 'This is My Son and
I have nothing against Him'. God affirmed, "This
is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt.
3:17). The burnt offering identifies us with this good
pleasure, in Christ.
Many Christians who are
rejoicing in the sacrifice of Christ as taking away all
their sin, know very little of the deeper joy of being
assured that in Christ God is satisfied with them. Does
this sound presumptuous? What about Enoch? The whole
secret of Enoch's walk of holy and happy fellowship with
God was that he had the witness that he was bringing
pleasure to the heart of the Lord. In ourselves we can
never do this, but on the basis of Christ we can and we
ought.
God does not merely
tolerate the foreigner, but finds great pleasure in his
company; and this, not because of anything inherently
good in the man, but only on the basis of the altar.
Christ is our burnt offering, to be daily appropriated as
our sufficiency to bring pleasure to God. Even while we
are seeking to walk nearer to the Lord, to be disciplined
by His Cross and transformed by His Spirit, the very
secret of our holy living is to rejoice in fullest
acceptance in Christ. Thus the burnt offering will
exercise a mighty sanctifying power in our lives.
And we are to do this in
the house of God. Nothing must discourage or divert us
from finding our place there. In active association with
God's people we are to be rejoiced at the privilege of
setting forth something of the perfection and glory of
His Son. If we come by way of the altar God will welcome
us and God will accept us - even the weaklings and the
outcasts.
Gathered
into the Fellowship of Christ's Sufferings
This sacrifice has cost
the stranger something. When Scripture speaks of God's
acceptance of our offerings it refers primarily to the
acceptance of Christ's offering on our behalf, but it
also includes our sharing in the sufferings of Christ and
the sacrifice of the altar. Those who are pledged to walk
in faithfulness with the Lord will find that this is a
costly way. That cost may be ignored or despised by
others, be treated as the stranger's sacrifice would
probably be treated by those who resented his intrusion.
How few know the real nature of what we are bearing for
the Lord! Men do not appreciate; perhaps some even
misunderstand and despise; but God takes full note of the
value of the offering. The house of God is not for human
glory. Our offerings are not made for men, to be approved
or praised by them. When in some solemn hour we joined
ourselves to the Lord to minister to His pleasure, we
were given a place in His house, not that men might
praise us but that our sacrifices, through Christ might
bring joy to the heart of God. He is dealing with us on
this basis. So often we are tempted to discouragement; it
is as we come nigh to God in His house that we know our
sacrifice is precious to Him, and we hear His promise
anew "I will... make them joyful in My house of
prayer".
Blessing
for Others Because of the Gathered Ones
This will be bound to
bring life and blessing to the scattered multitudes. True
fellowship with God always provides a centre from which
blessing is ministered. If God truly has the first place,
if people live a life together in which Christ is
supremely honoured, then this provides an expression of
the house of God which is a house of prayer for all
peoples. "The Lord God, who gathereth the
outcasts of Israel, saith, 'Yet will I gather others to
him, besides his own that are gathered'". When
God's own people are scattered, wandering in unbelief and
profaning His Sabbath, instead of being strong and united
in loving communion in and with Him, there is little
prospect of blessing for the outsiders. The gathering
work must begin with the Lord's people. The house of God
must be the place of joyful worship and communion before
it can become a centre of life and light. When the
outcasts of Israel are gathered, then the Lord can gather
in more, for there is a family and a home into which they
can be welcomed. What the world needs is not merely a
proclamation going out into all the nations, but a
setting in the midst of them, however small and weak in
itself, of a true representation of God's house of
prayer, whose doors are wide open with a welcome for the
lonely and outcast. What a need there is for a gathering
into true oneness of the scattered people of God, and so
of a further adding to Christ of others besides!
***
Publisher's note:
Brethren,
As we were reading in
the 1968 magazine of "A Witness and A
Testimony", we came across an announcement by
Brother Sparks. He wrote of two fellow-prayer warriors
who were a true representation for God's House of prayer
for all peoples. These testimonies were such a blessing
to us that we would like to share them with you.
Gathering
Home
"From time to time
in the course of the years we have had, with regret, to
tell of the home-call of friends and fellow-workers who
have been our partners in this ministry. A third such one
in recent times is our beloved sister, Madame Ducommun.
We first met her when we used to go to Paris to minister
in conferences of the 'white Russian' refugees. A link of
fellowship was then formed which has borne much fruit.
Our sister had made it her main ministry to translate the
printed ministry into French, and these translations have
gone from her little room in Paris, not only all over
France, but to many other French-speaking areas. A
number of friends have met regularly in
her room every week for prayer. She has truly been a
'Mother in Israel' to them and to others. We shall miss
her at our conferences in Switzerland.
"This is one of
whom it can be truly said: 'Her works do follow her.'
Will you pray for those who will miss her most in Paris,
and that guidance may be given as to the carrying on of
that ministry.
"Madame Ducommun
passed into the presence of the Lord quite peacefully on
Sunday, May 26th."
"We have now to
report the home-call of another of those who have been so
valuable a help in the work. Many of our friends in many
parts of the world have known our sister Lady Ogle. For
over forty years she has been very closely bound up with
this ministry and has been a "helper of many". Her
prayer ministry has been such a great strength, and
she will be one for whom we shall give thanks on all
remembrance. She was called Home on Monday, 27th
November, in the late evening. After a short illness and
no suffering she opened her eyes, smiled, and was gone. May
the Lord fill the gap made by this loss with others who
will take up her ministry of prayer in - at least - as
strong a way."
Beloved, when two or
three are gathered together in any place, and they pray
in the Holy Spirit, they represent the whole Church, and
become the House of prayer, functioning for all peoples -
a universal ministry.
Harry Foster