Cameos of Our
LordRobert Lee
Cameos of Our
LordPart I. His Face
A ship was drifting upon a rock-bound coast one stormy night. All on board could hear the waves pounding on the rocks, and every man thought that all would soon be over. Restless and anxious, Mr. Stevenson, the father of the great writer, Robert Louis Stevenson, went on deck. There was the pilot, erect and firm, fighting, inch by inch, wind and current, to turn the vessel away from the dreaded rocks. As Mr. Stevenson managed, in spite of the rolling of the ship, and at great peril, to creep towards him, the pilot looked up and smiled. Though not a word was spoken, that look was quite enough--it spoke more eloquently than words of victory and safety. Going down below to the frightened passengers paralyzed with fear, he exclaimed, "It is all right. I have seen the pilot's face, and he smiled." "Thank God!" was the reply; they wanted no further assurance that all would soon be well.
Have you never wondered how it is that some people, in spite of surging sorrows, stormy contrary winds of circumstances, howling tempests of trouble, and the frowns of friends, have light hearts, gladsome minds, and smiling faces? It is because they have a Pilot—Christ—whose hand is on the helm of their life, and they have seen, and do daily see, the Pilot's face, and His smile.
"But this I know,
I have the smiling of His face,
And all the refuge of His grace,
While here below."
All is well midst the storms of life if we are but sure of the smiling of His face. This is the secret of composure.
Like Moses, the Lord's people can endure because they see "Him who is invisible" (Heb. 11. 27). This is indeed a remarkable expression. His own eyes beheld now and again wondrous things. He communed with God face to face. But note the present and continuous sense-- "He endured as seeing Him." And this is the constant privilege of the believer.
"Lord, I was blind! I could not see
In Thy marred visage any grace;
But now the beauty of Thy face
In radiant vision dawns on me."
When F. W. Robertson's biographer was gathering material for the Life, he came into contact with a Brighten shop-keeper, and asked him if he could give him any information relating to the great preacher whose portrait was hanging on the wall of his house. Said he, "If ever in the shop I am tempted to meanness or baseness or trickery, I come back here and look in that man's face, and, sir, I cannot do it." If the sight of Robertson's face had such a restraining effect upon the tradesman, how much more effectual should be a daily sight of the Lord's face! Verily, temptations lose their power when He is recognised as near and gazing upon the tempted one.
"When Thou saidst, Seek ye My Face my heart said, Note Thee, Thy Face, Lord, will I seek " (Psa. 27:8). It is a Lost Face we are to seek. "Seek"—we only seek for what we have lost. What a sad loss! It was then man became a lost creature. When a child loses sight of father and mother, the little one is soon lost. But when and where does this happen? "And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face (literally) of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden" (Gen. 3:8). It was sin which caused man to flee from the face of the Lord.
But that face has not lost sight of us. David knew this (see Psa. 139:7, reading "face" for "presence"). One of the most diabolical methods of torture by the Inquisition was imprisonment in a room called "the place of the eyes" —a chamber with nothing but eyes painted on the ceiling and walls, with lights behind. So terrible was the punishment that reason often was dethroned as a speedy result of incarceration there. To many, the thought that His eyes are ever upon them is a terror and a dread (Job 23:15). But that is a fact: "Thou God seest me." If that fact creates or rouses fear, it is unconfessed and unforgiven sin that is the cause. This is illustrated by the following. In a Revival at Taning in Shansi, China, whilst Deacon Ts'ao was praying, an overwhelming sense of God's presence was given. Suddenly while he prayed, a young man began to pray, confessing sin, and as suddenly started back, crying out in agony, "O God, I dare not see Thy Face," and then fell right down on the floor. "My sin! My sin!" was the cry of others. Presently they sought the cleansing of the Precious Blood. Are you troubled? Flee to the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, and the fear that hath torment will depart, leaving in its place filial reverence.
For, remember, there was the "clouded Face" that "strikes deeper than an angry blow" for our Saviour when, as our Substitute, He hung on the Cross. Who can ever fathom the mysteries of the three hours' darkness, and the wail, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani." That was the price paid that we might have the Smiling Face. By and by the cloud was gone, for God was well-pleased with Him who had stood condemned in our place.
Pray notice, it is His Face and not merely His Hand we are to seek, that is to say, not what He gives so much as Himself. If we were asked to express in one sentence wherein man differs from the brute beasts, we would say that whilst the latter are fully satisfied with the open hand, the former can only be satisfied by the unveiled face accompanying the open hand. And we have Scripture in support of this statement: "The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine Hand, and satisfiest the desires of every living thing" (Psa. 145:15, 16). Thank God for the opened hand of mercy and grace; praise Him for all the benefits and bounties He bestows; yet they alone do not meet the situation, because only He Himself can satisfy the deepest longings of the soul. Turn to 2 Samuel 14:28 to 33 for an illustration of this. The fratricide, Absalom, had been pardoned and was restored to his property and beloved land, yet his heart was not satisfied: "So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem and saw not the king's face." The fatherly forgiveness did not fully meet the cravings of that son—he wanted access to the throne and fellowship with his father. Again, here is a son in a foreign land. Though the parents may regularly receive epistles and presents from him, yet whilst gratefully acknowledging these things they add, "But, oh! how we long to see your face!;" Again, we are pleased to receive gifts from friends; but should the gifts be handed to us with a frown, however costly they might be, and however much we may need them, we return them, for the face is of more value than the mere gift.
"The Bride eyes not her garments,
But her dear Bridegroom's face;
I will not gaze on glory,
But on the King of Grace."
We fear this is where many Christians come short. Surely it is one great mark of spiritual maturity to be able to say:
"Once it was the blessing, now it is the
Lord;
Once it was the feeling, now it is His Word;
Once His gifts I wanted, now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing, now Himself alone."
We can learn a very great deal by contrast. "Hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne " (Rev. 6:16). "My heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek" (Psa. 27:8). What a startling contrast have we here in these two Scriptures! The first depicts a scene of unparalleled horror. There is nothing more awful in Holy Writ, or in any other literature. Men and women crying but in terror for nature to hide them "from the face of Him that sitteth on the Throne" and crying in vain. But the second introduces us to a scene of peace and bliss. The blackness and the darkness have given way to the light of a bright summer morn. Instead of the anguished cry of fear and dread there are the wooing and soothing notes of worship. The same Face to one company an unspeakable horror, but to the other an exquisite delight; the one fleeing from that holy countenance, the other seeking the same with wholehearted and earnest endeavour. What a contrast! How is it? "No man can see Me (My Face) and live" (Exod. 33:20). Such was the Lord's word to Moses. This certainly does not mean that He desires to hide Himself from us. Away with such a thought. Why, He bids us seek His face! It simply means that the face of Jehovah, as involving the full blare of His manifested glory, no mortal could bear, as the sight would overpower and shatter his frame. We have known instances of sudden and unexpected sight of the long-lost face of son or daughter to so fill with joy the invalid parent that the transport shattered the feeble frame and death intervened. For this reason in cases of this nature we speak of the wisdom of "breaking the news." Such a preparatory work is needed concerning the sight of the Lord's face. This is forcibly illustrated in the two Scriptures before us. The fact that "They shall see His face" (Rev. 22:4), by and by, is counted by believers as an inexpressible privilege because they are passing through the preparatory stages down here; whereas the mass of the mere worldlings is terrified at the prospect of beholding Him, because they are consciously unfit and unprepared. The best preparation for beholding His face by and by is to gaze into it here and now. How is this possible? The first and most important preparatory step is the one Moses took, viz., the step to the Cleft Rock (Exod. 33:22). Near where Moses stood was a riven rock, cleft by some mighty upheaval. It was there, hiding in the cleft rock that he gained a wonderful vision of Jehovah. There is another rock, riven by a more awful storm, a Rock cleft by a thunderbolt of Divine justice—it is the Rock of Ages, that Rock which is Christ.
"The tempest's awful voice was heard;
O Christ, it broke on Thee."
It is there, hiding in the wounds of the Lord Jesus, resting in His finished work, that we get our first vision of the Divine Face. It is then we learn, for the first time, that we have His Face with us. How familiar is that promise, "My presence (literally "face") shall go with you." But to whom was the promise made? Only to redeemed ones who, having sheltered beneath blood of the Paschal Lamb, had passed out of Egypt. And who is God's Face but the Lord Jesus? He is called so in Isaiah 63:9, "the angel of His Face." We also discover that His face is towards us. A little boy was very restless in his cot. By and by, on his parents retiring for the night, the light was put out. But the wee laddie was full of fear, and presently cried, "Daddy, is your face toward me?" On being assured that it was, the little one seemed comforted, and fell asleep. The Lord's face is only turned away from those who do evil, but is constantly toward His trusting ones (Psa. 34:15 and 16). Mr. Taylor Innes delineates Samuel Rutherford's mind and heart as a window looking towards one surpassing Face outside. So that what is required is not only His Face towards me, but mine toward Him. It is then we shall begin to enjoy the smiling of His Face. Often the Psalmist prayed that God would make His face to shine upon him (Psa. 31. 16). That blessing is in the enjoyment of His own dear trusting and obedient ones. And His smile means a great deal.
"When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face, my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek." Has there ever been so quick and ready a response on your part, dear reader? Do you ever respond thus to Him? It will make all the difference in life when your heart responds to the gracious invitation of our Lord. Through all the dark days, through the seasons of distress, through the times of sorrow, through the days of difficulty and perplexity, the shining of His Face will cheer you on your way, until that perfect day dawns and faith is forever lost in sight. Make this prayers yours:
"Show me Thy face—one transient gleam
Of loveliness Divine,
And I shall never think or dream
Of other love save Thine;
All lesser light will darken quite,
All lower glories wane,
The beautiful of earth will scarce
Seem beautiful again.
"Show me Thy face—my faith and love
Shall henceforth fixed be,
And nothing here have power to move
My soul's serenity.
My life shall seem a trance, a dream,
And all I feel and see,
Illusive, visionary—Thou
The one reality!
"Show me Thy face—I shall forget
The weary days of yore,
The fretting ghosts of vain regret
Shall haunt my soul no more.
All doubts and fears for future years,
In quiet rest subside,
And naught but blast content and calm,
Within my breast reside.
"Show me Thy face—the heaviest cross
Will then seem light to bear,
There will be gain in every loss,
And peace with every care.
With such light feet the years will fleet.
Life seem as brief as blast,
Till I pays laid my burden down,
And entered into rest."
Amen, and Amen I
Part II. His Head
Can God be measured? There is a remark by Bishop Taylor Smith of real worth on this question: "The Measure of God in print is the Ten Commandments; the measure of God in person is the Lord Jesus Christ." Which amounts to a declaration that God is immeasurable. For who can measure our Saviour? Yet if we want to know what God is like, we have only to behold the Lord Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Word, and as He is made known to the eye of faith by the Holy Spirit. When we try to think of God in an abstract way, we are bewildered; yea, we are lost. When we try to grasp the idea of God our mind reels, and we are glad to fall back upon the revelation of the Godhead we have in the Lord Jesus. Do you wish to measure God? Behold the Lord Jesus!
"Till God in human flesh I see,
My thoughts no comfort find;
The holy, just, and sacred Three,
Are terror to my mind."
Have you ever contrasted the first and last references in the New Testament to the Head of our Lord? "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head" (Matt. 8:20). "And I looked and beheld a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown" (Rev. 14:14). What a striking, startling, and comforting contrast for the lovers of our Lord. But in meditating on this subject we must first go back to the Old Testament, and observe there a picture of which we have in the High Priest of Israel. In Exodus 28:36-38, we have particulars concerning the head-dress of the High Priest. A mitre, made of fine white linen, wound like a turban, was ordered to be made for him. On the front of it, and immediately over the forehead, was a golden plate with Hebrew characters engraved, which signified, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. It is interesting to learn that, according to Josephus the Jewish historian, this original golden plate made by Moses, was preserved and in existence in his day, was taken to Rome amongst the Temple spoils, and Origen says he saw it very many years afterwards.
The significance of this High Priestly head-dress is very simple. It symbolised holiness of mind. But as neither he nor any man enjoyed that possession in his own right, it was put upon Aaron as a type of the absolute purity of the mind and head of our blessed Lord. Our Lord had a pure mind. All His thoughts were holy. This is further pointed out in the description of the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9), and the glorified Lord (Rev. 1:14): "The hair of His head like the pure wool." "His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow." In both cases a symbol of our Lord's Eternity, Deity, and Holiness.
The worst species of leprosy (Levit. 13:42-44) was when the fearful plague made its appearance in the forehead. But that is the kind of leprosy we all, by nature, are suffering from. "From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds and bruises, and putrefying sores" (Isa. 1:6). A dreadful picture of our sinful condition. Yet there is a remedy. Blood flowed from our Saviour's head to atone for our sins of thought, and to make possible the cleansing and the captivity of the thoughts of our minds.
The radical difference between a good man and a man lies in what they think. In Zechariah 3:5 we find prophet not satisfied with the bodily purity of Joshua the High Priest, but also describing for him purity of mind. Therefore he was not only clothed, but also crowned with righteousness.
His Anointed Head.
In rebuking Simon the Pharisee with neglect of common Eastern courtesy, our Lord said: "My head with oil thou didst not anoint." But Heaven had not neglected that important inaugural rite. Who can forget the scene in Jordan when, as our Saviour rose from the waters of baptism, "The Heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him" (Luke 3:21, 22). Thus was He divinely prepared for His great redemptive work. If His holy and pure head required anointing, what about ours? Our need is far, far greater. But He has given us an example that we should follow in His steps. If we have accepted His invitation: "Come!" we become His guests, and our Heavenly Host will not deny the holy anointing. Ask Him for the blessing! No true penitent can ever say to Him, "My head with oil Thou didst not anoint." Instead, with the shepherd Psalmist they can exclaim:
"Thou anointest my head with oil,
My cup runneth over."
His Homeless Head.
What a heart-moving picture of homelessness our Lord gave us in the searching test of discipleship to a would-be follower who had not counted the cost: "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head" (Matt. 8:20). These are the words of One who felt the pangs of home-sickness ; this was the statement of a true lover of home. "Not where to lay His head!"
Intensely pathetic is the record by Nansen in the journals of his famous Arctic expedition. He and his mates conquered every obstacle the frozen North had to offer, except one. The one enemy that proved itself superior to all their plans was "heimweh," the home-pain. To get rid of that, those hardy Norsemen worked and played. They gave concerts, they invented all sorts of games, they celebrated every birthday they could think of—the King's, their own, the ship's, even the dogs'. And these big-limbed, stout-hearted fellows confess that there were long evenings when, had they relaxed for a moment their boisterous efforts to cheer each other up by drowning memory, they would have burst into tears, and, like some neuralgia clutching at the vital organs, the pangs of homesickness might have crushed out life itself.
Our Lord began His earthly life homeless. "There was no room for them in the inn." And for two years He and His mother and foster-father lived as strangers in Egypt. Then began His home life at Nazareth. He was probably much alone during the hidden years, as His fellow inmates failed to understand Him. Then at the age of 30 He entered upon His life's work, and for three years was practically homeless. This must have been a sore trial to a lover of home. Let us count the cost of discipleship. God must come first before home, and kindred, and earthly loves.
His Thorn-Crowned Head.
When the coarse Roman soldiers "plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on His head" (John 19:2), they unwittingly proclaimed a great truth. Thorns are the sign and symbol of the curse that fell upon nature as a result of Adam's fall. So in dying He bore the sign of sin's dread curse. For that death was official. "Christ died for our sins." He became a curse for us, and nature shares in the benefits of that death, for by and by there will be a new earth in consequence. But so far as we are concerned, we must appropriate that death in order to share the benefits. In the language of the poet:
"My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of Thine,
While like a penitent I stand,
And there confess my sin."
His Crowned Head.
What wonderful visions John had, in his exile on Patmos, of the glories of the Saviour, and how grateful we are for the record of the one in Revelation 14:14, for there He had "on His head a golden crown." The head no longer homeless or crowned with thorns.
"The Head that once was crowned with
thorns,
Is crowned with glory now:
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty Victor's brow."
Let us remember the Scriptures speak not only of His sufferings, but also of His glory. Joseph commissioned his brethren on their return home to tell his father of his glory. Should we not do likewise. Let us declare the whole counsel of God—the sufferings—and oh, how important is this aspect of truth—AND also His glory.
Dr. Johnson had a friend of whom he said: "He has not been in the inside of a church for years, but he never passes a church without pulling off his hat."
It is something to have the respect shown by a doffed hat, but our Saviour cannot be content with that! He seeks longingly and eagerly for the bowed head in penitence, which He can lift up by the word of forgiveness, cleanse by His precious Blood, and illuminate by His Holy Spirit.
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