fully to our lives. The Cross of our Lord may be approached along three lines: First, as an historic fact; second, as a release from guilt; and third, as an abiding experience and law of life. Anyone who reads the Bible can make the first approach. The penitent sinner makes the second when he finds forgiveness and salvation. But it remains for the Christian who loves the Lord to make the third approach. He makes it when he enters the Gethsemane of brokenness and mounts the Calvary of utter abandonment. There he submits to the death of that ego which he has pitied, petted and pampered. In that moment of death, the be lieving soul becomes identified with the crucified Lord in a deep union of love. Then he can say with Paul, “ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh-1 live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20). That is casting the tree into the bitter waters. THE BEAUTIFUL WATERS “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and three-score and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.” (v. 27) This is a beautiful, picture because it stands in vivid contrast with the three hard days in the wilderness with out water, and later the bitter experience at Marah. The old adage, “ Every cloud has its silver lining,” comes to us here. In the midst of the testing experiences of life, there are Elims where we find comfort, satisfaction and joy. No one could think of Elim as Canaan. It was only one of the bright spots on the journey to Canaan. Now Eiim not only refreshed the people of Israel, but also in spired them to go forward on their journey and tackle the hard march ahead, under a burning sun, over hot sands. Did you ever think of the church as a modem Elim, an oasis in the wilderness? And would I be amiss to speak of the home as a modem Elim? Our homes ought to be a place of refreshment and inspiration. Thank God for every home that is Christ-centered where the family altar is observed. And every Christian ought to be a modem Elim. When we read of the twelve wells of wa ter and the 70 palm trees in Elim, we are reminded of the twelve apostles and the 70 who were sent out two- by-two to minister to the hearts of people. If in our hearts the tree has been cast into the wa ters, our lives will be an inspiration to all those with whom we come in contact. Have you ever said in regard to certain Christians you know, “My, he is a refreshing person. He really inspires me” ? That person is a modern Elim. There is a vivid contrast between the way in which sorrow is borne by the Christian and the non-Christian. In the Pitti Palace at Florence, Italy, two pictures hang side by side. One represents a stormy sea with wild waves, black clouds and fierce lightnings. The second also represents a sea, tossed by a fierce storm, with clouds as dark; but out of the midst of the waves rises a rock against which the waters dash in vain. In the cleft of the rock there are some tufts of grass and green branches with sweet flowers, and amid these a dove is seen sitting on her nest, undisturbed by the wild fury of the storm. The first picture represents the sorrow of the world when all is helpless; and the other, the sorrow of the Christian, no less severe, but in which he is kept in perfect peace because he is nestled in the bosom of God’s un changing love.
were made sweet: there he made for them a sta tute and an ordinance, and there he proved them” (v. 25). All that was bitter and distasteful was made sweet, all because a tree was cast into the water. Everything was sweetened. Have you found something that sweetens everything in your life? Is it a tree? My mind is drawn to a tree shaped like a cross and all crimson with blood. Have you ever read these words, “ Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree” (Gala tians 3:13)? The tree is the cross. “ He bore our sins in his own body on the tree.” Have ypu ever murmured against the hardness of the way and then thought of the tree? Try it! No matter what you suffer, no matter what you pass through, even if God lets you go for weeks of testing, remember Cal vary. God has given us something that will sweeten every thing. There is power in the blood that brings sweetness to all adverse situations of life. Have you found blessings in adversity? Dear old Dr. A. T. Pierson used to say: “The blessing of the Old Testament is prosperity. The blessing of the New Test ament is adversity.” Most people find that difficult to understand, but I believe if opportunity were given for testimony, any number of people, young and old, would be able to say that they have known the blessing of God in the midst of adversity. The bitterness is ours oft-times in order that the tree might become more precious. God said to Moses, “ I have a tree. You cast it in and the waters will be sweet.” Perhaps you are discouraged and think that even God is against you. Why not try the tree? It will sweeten all your life. It will bring with it all the goodness of God. The tree of sweetness was very close to the waters of bitterness. Close to the suffering pilgrim is the suffering Son of God. Look at Paul and Silas in the prison at Philippi: first, cruelly treated, then made fast in the stocks. This was Marah, but the tree was in the waters. Praises rang through the prison at midnight and we know what fol lowed. The Marah waters were made sweet. See the three Hebrew young men cast into the raging furnace of Babylon. But they were not made to walk in the furnace alone. For they had a companion whose form was like the Son of God. It is not the Lord’s way to remove the prison, or to extinguish the fires, but to be very near to us while we endure them. He does not promise to exempt us from trial, but He has promised to be with us in it, and “ with the temptation also to make a way of escape that we might be able to bear it.” Thus it is possible to “ glory” in our tribulations. Now look at verse 26. “ And (Moses) said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.” How often after some high spiritual experience we are tempted to become fretful, impatient, and perhaps even have a murmuring spirit. Our greatest temptations and moments of carelessness follow swiftly on the moments of spiritual blessings and mountain-top experiences. Many a mqn toboggans down from the mountain-top to the val ley of spiritual despondency. In this verse God gives a remedy for such a spiritual experience. It is simply this — keeping our eyes steadily fixed on the Lord. Instead of complaining over our circumstances, we should make them an occasion for drawing afresh upon Him, and thus the message of the cross is applied more
FEBRUARY, 1963
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