James Hudson Taylor

“ Because the Spirit of God makes real things real to us, and enables us practically to enjoy the blessings procured for us by the death and resurrection and priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus. Many a believer to whom Christ has left peace, knows little of it; but those who are filled with the Spirit are filled with peace. They have peace with God; they have also heart-peace in the midst of conflict and turmoil; and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, guards their hearts and thoughts. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. ”

“ Blessing is the moving of the heart towards an object of affection and complacency. The out-going of the heart is naturally accompanied by gift or ascription, as the case may be. When our hearts bless the Lord, we sing a song of praise to Him for the great love wherewith He hath loved us; but the blessing is not the song—it is the feeling that prompts it. When the Lord blesses His people with peace and plenty, it is His open Heart that moves His loving Hand.
Again, blessing is always accompanied with joy; it is a joy, and it gives joy, both to the giver and the receiver. ”

“ THE BLESSING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. "Jehovah, the Spirit, lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."
The blessing of the Spirit is essential to the completeness of the benediction. We are struck, however, with the similarity of this blessing to that which precedes it; nor is the similarity surprising. For, as the Son came to reveal the Father, so the Spirit has come to reveal the Son. Christ was a true Comforter; but His personal work on earth being finished, He ascended on high to minister for His people as their High Priest in the presence of God. ”

“ Flowing from God's heart of love first came the privilege of Nazarite consecration; and then, by the act of consecration, His loving heart is so gladdened that it further overflows in these rich benedictions.
Looking, on the other hand, at the human side, we may learn that the soul which is fully consecrated always receives the blessing of God. Where that blessing is not enjoyed, there is always something unreal or defective in the consecration. ”

“ And not only is He able, but He has already "blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ," and He wants us, His children, to know and to enjoy the love that is the source of all blessing: the love that can never by finite words express its fulness: the love that eternal ages will never exhaust!
B When we speak of God as a Father we must not forget that He is only such in its full meaning to those who have become His children by faith in Christ Jesus; and that the sad and solemn words of the loving Saviour to the unconverted were, "Ye are of your father, the devil." ”

“ The shining of the face of Jehovah, the Son, dispels the darkness and the gloom, manifests the presence of the Friend in need, and shows us the Redeemer, who not only [Pg 65] delivers, but becomes the Bridegroom of the soul.
"Make His face shine upon thee." The face is perhaps the most wonderful part of the wonderful human body. Of all the faces that God has made no two are exactly alike, even when quiescent; and though we do occasionally meet with those that bear a very close resemblance, intimate friends, who know the play of the countenance, never mistake. ”

“ He is indeed a wonderful Saviour! What light the incarnate Word of God (Who is Light) has thrown on the written Word of God! The law in its legal requirements He has fulfilled, bringing in everlasting righteousness, which is imputed to all those who are indeed in Him. He has also fulfilled the Law in its manifold typical aspects—Himself the Temple, the Priest, and the Sacrifice; Himself the Altar, the Offerer, and the Victim ”

“ Now, as we think of the blessing of the Lord, the Spirit, may He reveal Himself to us through these holy Words, which were written by His inspiration and which can never be fully understood and enjoyed save by His own illumination. The Bible is a supernatural book, a divine revelation: the Holy Spirit is the supernatural, the divine Guide to its meaning. ”

“ We frequently use the word so vaguely as to lose much of its preciousness, and to overlook the primary meaning in some of its secondary significations. For instance, we use it frequently as a synonym of praise, and in speaking of blessing God, we think of praising Him. But blessing does not merely mean praise, for God blesses us. Again, sometimes we use it for some gracious gift, as when we speak of the blessing of peace or of plenty. But blessing does not only signify gift, for when we bless God we do not give to Him peace [Pg 50] or plenty. ”

“ All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord."
Here we have a most solemn and important prohibition—to refrain from all uncleanness caused by contact with death. Death is the wages of sin: the consecrated one was alike to keep aloof from sin and from its consequences.
No requirement of God's Word is more clear than the command to honour and obey our earthly parents; but even for his father or mother a Nazarite might not defile himself: "he that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me." ”

“ The Bible is a wonderful book; it not only gives the history of the past, and guidance for the present, but in prophecy we have the history of ages yet to come—the course of events until the grand climax when God shall be all in all. ”

“ The burnt-offering tells us of the perfect and accepted righteousness of Christ, in virtue of which the imperfect believer and his imperfect service are accepted by God. But it also reminds the believer of his privilege to surrender himself as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is to be the reasonable (intelligent) service (that is, ritual or worship) of each day and hour. ”

“ So, in the present day, God is willing to give to His people fulness of blessing, but it must be on [Pg 13] His own lines. Though we are not our own, it is, alas! possible to live as though we were; devotion to God is still a voluntary thing; hence the differences of attainment among Christians. While salvation is a free gift, the "winning Christ" can only be through unreserved consecration and unquestioning obedience. Nor is this a hardship, but the highest privilege.
Let us now look into the law of the Nazarite. ”

“ We have often walked in the fields in the early morning, and have noticed how the rising sun has turned each dewdrop into a glittering gem; one ray of its own bright light makes a little sun of each of the million drops that hang from the pendent leaflets and sparkle everywhere. ”

“ But God makes no mistakes; according to their service He divides the help, and those who are called to the holiest service are those who can have least assistance. ”

“ Himself the great Source of all that is noble and true, of all that ever has been loving and trust-worthy—each beautiful trait of each beautiful character is but the dim reflection of some ray of His own great perfection. ”

“ Instead of this many practically know very little of peace "which passeth all understanding," of joy that is literally "unspeakable"; adjectives far more moderate would be found strong enough to express all they know of oft-troubled peace and intermittent satisfaction and happiness. Many there are who fail to see that there can be but one lord, and that those who do not make God Lord of all do not make Him Lord at all. The slightest reservation in our consecration shows that we hold ourselves as our own, and consequently at liberty to give Him as much or as little as we think fit. ”

“ He wants our sympathy; He wants the gifts and offerings that are prompted by love. Shall He look to us in vain? Our David still thirsts, not for the waters of the well of Bethlehem, but for the souls for which He died. ”

“ A most important truth is here taught—that even unwitting contact with death might bring sin upon the Nazarite. Sometimes we are tempted [Pg 23] to excuse ourselves, and to forget the absolute sinfulness of sin, apart altogether from the question of premeditation, or even of consciousness, at the time, on our part. The one who became defiled, was defiled, whether intentionally or not; God's requirement was absolute, and where not fulfilled the vow was broken; the sin-offering had to be offered, and the service recommenced. ”

“ He only, who is the source of mother-love, does that! And shall not we, who are not our own, but bought with a price, gladly render to Him all we are and have—every member of our body, every fibre of our being, every faculty of our mind, all our will-power, and all our love?
HOLINESS TO THE LORD: verses 6-8. "All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his [Pg 20] father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die; because the consecration of his God is upon his head. ”

“ The Son of God is the Kinsman who has the right to redeem, the Friend who sticketh closer than a brother, the One who has come, not only to be the Light of the world, but in an especial sense to be the Light of His own redeemed ones. ”

“ While, however, the best services of the believer can neither give full satisfaction to his own enlightened conscience, nor be acceptable to God save through Jesus Christ, it is very blessed to know how fully all his needs are met in Christ, and how truly he is accepted in Him, and enabled to give very real joy to God our Father, which issues in the bestowal of His richest blessings. ”

“ For instance, the atoning sacrifices of the seventh month had to be repeated every year; but Christ, in offering Himself once for all, perfected for ever them that are sanctified. The Psalmist needed to pray, "Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me;" but Christ has given us the Comforter to abide with us for ever. In like manner the Israelite might vow the vow of a Nazarite and separate himself unto God for a season; but it is the privilege of the Christian believer to know himself as always separated to God. ”

“ We have already seen the grace of God making provision that His people, who had lost the privilege of priestly service, might draw near to Him by Nazarite separation and consecration. And not as the offence was the free gift: those who had forfeited the privilege of priestly service were the males only, but women and even children might be Nazarites; whosoever desired was free to come, and thus draw near to God. ”

“ It is very important to have clear thoughts about the third person of the Trinity. Many Christians fail in this respect, and lose much in consequence. He has as distinct personality as has the Son of God; and we must not think or speak of Him vaguely, as though He were an influence merely and not a person. Our Saviour teaches us that we should know Him, "for He abideth with you, and shall be in you." But are there not many of the Lord's people to whom He is not yet "a living, bright Reality"? ”

“ And in the presence of human want or suffering how impotent has the strongest human love oft proved to be! Not so the love of our heavenly Father: His resources and His power are as inexhaustible as His love ”

“ What conclusions do our brothers, sisters, children, friends draw from our lives? Our true self-denial, self-emptying, and giving for Christ's cause practically show our real estimate of the value of the Cross of Christ, our real love for the Christ who was crucified for us. ”

“ But when we think of all the pain that men and women have endured since the Creation, of all the miseries of which this world has been witness, of all the sufferings of the animal creation, and of the eternal as well as temporal consequences of sin, we must see that that which has brought such a harvest of misery into the world is far more awful than sin-blinded men have thought it to be. ”

“ The fruit of the vine is a type of earth-born pleasures; those who would enjoy Nazarite nearness to God must count His love "better than wine." To win Christ, the Apostle Paul gladly suffered the loss of all things, and counted them as dross and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord. ”

“ In like manner in all life and work, individual or organised, only let God have His right place, and let there be the anointing of the Holy Ghost, received by faith, as well as consecration to Him, and everything will follow, as needful, for the carrying out of God's plan in the life or work. ”

“ ACCORDING TO HIS SERVICE: verses 5-9. "Thou shall give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service, and four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none; because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders." ”

“ If we become conscious of the slightest failure, even through inadvertence, let us not excuse it, but at once humble ourselves before God, and confess it, seeking forgiveness and cleansing on the ground of the accepted sacrifice of Christ. ”

“ Young Christians are sometimes distressed because their desire to preach the Gospel to the heathen has been opposed by parents: such should be encouraged to thank God for the obstacle; and to seek by prayer its removal. When they have learnt to move man through God at home, they will be the better prepared to do the same thing in the mission-field. Where there is fitness for the work, the way will probably be made plain after a time of patient waiting. ”

“ It may be that we have separated ourselves to carry out our own will, or thought, or plan of service, instead of surrendering our [Pg 45] selves and our will, to learn and to do His will. But it is real consecration to GOD that puts us into the position in which He can pour out His richest blessings upon us. ”

“ Man seeks to adorn death; the pageantry of the funeral, the attractiveness of the cemetery, all show this. The Egyptian sought in vain to make the mortal body incorruptible by embalming it. But we have to bury our dead out of our sight, and the believer is taught to look forward to the resurrection.
CLEANSING ONLY THROUGH SACRIFICE.
Let us not lose sight of the fact that the accidental death of any one near the Nazarite—that the thoughtless putting forth of the hand even—might violate his vow of consecration as truly, if not as guiltily, as an act of deliberate transgression ”

“ Is there not a lesson to be learnt here? Let the work only be one of God's planning, and executed according to His mind, and the hearts that are in sympathy with Him will gladly respond with suitable and abundant offerings. ”

“ Having seen the character of the vow of the Nazarite, and of the ordinances to be observed should the vow be violated, the case of a Nazarite who has duly fulfilled his vow is next dealt with. He has carried out all God's requirements, and his conscience is void of offence: before God and man he is blameless. ”