him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." This was a most affecting reply to Joshua; for he fell on his face and worshipped, and said, "What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And he did so." And what is this but the Lord appearing to His servant as the Commander and strength of His people? How forcibly it reminds us of the divine injunction by the apostle: "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." And besides these points, do we not see what exercise of soul we need in order to fully place ourselves in the hands of the Lord, and realize that He is for us and with us? Thus we should encourage ourselves in Him, and lean not on fleshly energy, but on His almighty arm, and faithfulness and love. It cannot, I believe, be too strongly impressed upon our souls, that we need divine energy to take possession of, and to enjoy our blessings in heavenly places in Christ—that Satan's chief aim is to keep us from being inside the veil, the true ground of worship and communion, and the true power for all service. Severed from Christ, we are perfect weakness; we can do nothing. Abiding in Him, we can do all things through His strength; so that to be "strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might," we must have to do with the Lord Himself, as those who "reckon ourselves to have died indeed unto sin, and to be alive unto God in our Lord Jesus Christ." Then we look to the Lord for all, trust in Him about all, see Him in all, and lean on Him concerning all. True Christian life is, therefore, living a life of

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considered the enjoyment and ward in those who had crossed the and taken possession of the land. Of feelings and experiences are different from in Egypt, or in the wilderness.

were

But

traced a little their exercises and ways Godward the fifth chapter, let us now look at their ways man

wward as set forth in the sixth chapter.

Firstly, notice the distinct place of separation they necessarily took before men, because of their having been separated unto God.

The two will doubtless

always go together, for the sense of nearness to God I will throw us off from that which we know to be contrary to God. They were outside the Jericho-world, for it was doomed; it was exposed to judgment, and only waited for the time of execution. This the men of Jericho did not believe; but it did not alter the fact, any more than people saying the world is getting better does not alter the verdict passed upon it-" Now is the judgment of this world." But, observe, this is not all; they were outside with the ark-type of Christ. A Pharisee

35

- world, for they have rejected Him, -lf,

~C. The answer was, and still is, "We will not .nis man to reign over us." No marvel, therefore, that the Holy Ghost enjoins us, when speaking of unbelievers, to come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord. Almighty." (2 Cor vi. 17, 18.)

Secondly, they took the place of obedience. And how can it be otherwise with us, if we realize the fact that we are united to Him in the heavenlies? When Paul, going up to Damascus, unexpectedly caught a sight of Jesus in the glory, and heard from His own precious lips, 'Why persecutest thou ME," was not the immediate response of His deeply-moved heart, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" for he surely felt at once, that nothing less than full surrender to the Lord's claims would be consistent with the exceeding grace that He had manifested. If we then are really conscious of our nothingness in the flesh, as having died with Christ, and enter into and possess the blessing and enjoyment of being one with Him who is in the glory, how can we have lower thoughts than that

36

faith upon the Son of God, abiding in Him, having all
our resources in Him. Then, like in Israel's history,
the victory will be ours; and when fleshly confidence is
relied on, instead of the strength of the Lord, we
shall bitterly feel that the enemy will triumph. May
we know, beloved, day by day, more the constant
practical reality of being strong in the Lord; for it is
written, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee."
"Though numerous hosts of mighty foes,
Though earth and hell our way oppose,
He safely leads His saints along:

His loving-kindness, oh how strong!"

Thus far we have considered the enjoyment and exercise of soul Godward in those who had crossed the dried-up Jordan and taken possession of the land. Of necessity their feelings and experiences are different from what they were in Egypt, or in the wilderness. But having traced a little their exercises and ways Godward in the fifth chapter, let us now look at their ways manward as set forth in the sixth chapter.

Firstly, notice the distinct place of separation they necessarily took before men, because of their having The two will doubtless been separated unto God. always go together, for the sense of nearness to God will throw us off from that which we know to be contrary to God. They were outside the Jericho-world, for it was doomed; it was exposed to judgment, and only waited for the time of execution. This the men of Jericho did not believe; but it did not alter the fact, any more than people saying the world is getting better does not alter the verdict passed upon it-" Now is the judgment of this world." But, observe, this is not all; they were outside with the ark-type of Christ. A Pharisee

or a monk can separate himself from society; but to look at this world as a great system reared up by men and Satan, and see people too (unbelievers) exposed to the judgment of God, having rejected Christ, and to take a place with Christ, outside of it politically, religiously, socially, is the true path. It is because we are in Christ up there, and for ever united to Him by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, that we are necessarily linked with Christ down here, and that must be in separation from the world, for they have rejected Him, and still reject. The answer was, and still is, “We will not have this man to reign over us." No marvel, therefore, that the Holy Ghost enjoins us, when speaking of unbelievers, to "come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Cor vi. 17, 18.)

Secondly, they took the place of obedience. And how can it be otherwise with us, if we realize the fact that we are united to Him in the heavenlies? When Paul, going up to Damascus, unexpectedly caught a sight of Jesus in the glory, and heard from His own precious lips, "Why persecutest thou ME," was not the immediate response of His deeply-moved heart, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" for he surely felt at once, that nothing less than full surrender to the Lord's claims would be consistent with the exceeding grace that He had manifested. If we then are really conscious of our nothingness in the flesh, as having died with Christ, and enter into and possess the blessing and enjoyment of being one with Him who is in the glory, how can we have lower thoughts than that