Share and Fellowship in His Plight - And Then in His Glory

Arthur Pink

3/28/2001

“So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet”….“and as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.”

Let not those who are really engaged in serving the Lord be surprised when they encounter antagonism; when, so far from their efforts being appreciated by all, there will be some who decry and denounce them and lie to attempt to harm others to them. It was so with the prophets; it was so with Christ’s fore-runner; it was so with the Lord of Glory Himself; it was so with His apostles; and it will continue to be so with all His faithful servants unto the end of time. It cannot be otherwise while satan is of influence to those who will listen to flesh and fear.

Yes, not only is the natural, unregenerate man unable to apprehend the things of the Spirit, but that of which He is the Author appears as “foolishness” unto him. When the Lord Jesus was so occupied in helping the needy multitude that He and His disciples “could not so much as eat bread,” we are told that His kinsmen “went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself.” When the apostles began to “speak with other tongues,” the wondrous works of God, some mocked and said, “These men are full of new wine.” When Paul reasoned so earnestly with Agrippa, he answered “you are beside yourself; much learning has made you mad.” And, there is something seriously lacking in us if similar charges are not made against us today!

The world will tolerate religion so long as its carnal repose is not disturbed; yes, while it provides a garb to hide its shame, the world approves. But let the high claims of God be pressed, let it be insisted on that He demands the first place in our affections, thoughts, and lives, and such a message is at once distasteful.

The real Christian who lives in the fear of the Lord all the day long, and who conducts himself as a stranger and pilgrim in this scene, is condemned as idealistic, or a cultic, or worse. Let the saint weep over the dishonoring of Jesus by many that bear His name, or let him leap for joy in His service as David did, and like David, and his great-grandson, Jesus, and all of His true-hearted Children of the same Faith…he will be dubbed a fanatic, and his whole-heartedness will be similarly accused.