1885 Watch Tower - A2Z.org
1885 Watch Tower - A2Z.org 1885 Watch Tower - A2Z.org
and mire of sin; and last to be lifted up are the feet, and truly thefeet have been placed upon the rock of truth.While the whole body has had truth as a basis of faith and trust, yetundoubtedly the feet are more firmly establishedR757 : page 8by it than any previous part of the body, because we live in the timewhere the light of all past ages centers and the mystery of God isfinished."How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord,Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word."Again, while it is true that all members of the body sung a newsong of praise to God when lifted from the depths of confusion andmire of sin, yet it is especially true of the feet--the song of praisebreaks forth as soon as the feet touch the solid rock of truth andrealize that--There's a wideness in God's mercy,Like the wideness of the sea."They can now sing with double joy the restitution song--"All nations which thou hast madeShall come and worship before thee."Again, we find a striking reference to the feet of the Christ in Psa.91:11-12: "He [Jehovah] shall give his angels charge over thee tokeep thee in all thy ways: They shall bear thee up in their hands,lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."This prophecy by David refers to the Christ as a whole; its personalapplication by Satan was rejected by Jesus as a misapplication ofScripture (Luke 4:12), but when we apply the reference to "foot" tothe feet or last part of the body of Christ, all is harmonious. Thestone referred to we understand to be the same as that of Isa. 8:14,viz.: That Jesus is the stone of stumbling.Jesus at the first advent was a stone of stumbling before the feet ofthe nominal Jewish Church, and they stumbled over him because,being out of harmony with God, they could not see in him theMessiah. In their pride of heart they, especially the Pharisees andDoctors of Divinity, were sure that Messiah would come in theirway, and own and accept of them as a people. They stumbledR758 : page 8and were broken as an institution. But the real feet of the realJewish Church-- the Israelites "indeed"--these received the thenpresent Messiah and were blessed and lifted up by that "stone" tothe higher plane of the Gospel church. "To as many as receivedhim, to them gave he liberty to become sons of God." (The Jewishhouse was the house of servants --the Gospel house a house ofSons.)
As there was a stone and stumbling there, in their "harvest," or endof their age, so the parallelism which we find associating theChristian age with its shadow, the Jewish age, demands that thestone should be present in the path of the Gospel church, to beeither accepted or rejected; and if the parallelism continue (as wesee it has), then we should expect that here the feet of the nominalchurch would stumble as its shadow did, and for the same reasons.And so we find it, the living generation of the nominal church--thefeet, have failed to discern the presence of the Lord--"they knownot the time of their visitation"-- and all but the true feet of the truebody have stumbled; as it is written: He shall be for a stone ofstumbling and rock of offence to both the houses of Israel. To"Israel after the flesh" he presented himself in the flesh, and to thespiritual Israel he presents himself a spiritual being--to each on theirown plane.But we cannot for a moment doubt, that as Jesus at the first adventtook special care to make himself known to every "Israeliteindeed," and gave such clear evidences (while to others he spoke inparables and dark sayings) (Psa. 78:2), so here at the second advent,every one wholly consecrated to God (not to churches and creeds),and as such a part of the true feet, are to be made aware of thatpresence, and consequently do not stumble over it. This special carefor all such is what is referred to by the text considered--"He shallgive his angels charge, etc., lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."Only the feet could stumble over such a stone. The stone ofstumbling was not in the path of the members of the body whichpreceded us. And when we look back and see how closely "thelamp" has been put "to the feet" and how it has been kept trimmedand burning brightly, revealing to us the stone which nominal Zionis stumbling over and being shipwrecked upon, but which to us is atried stone, elect, precious, the head of the corner, or the chief stoneof all in the glorious spiritual Temple, we thank God for His careover us, and rejoice that we are counted worthy to be members ofthat company, which in the eyes of the world has no beauty thatthey should desire it, but which is a root out of dry ground--the feetof Him that bringeth glad tidings, that saith unto Zion, Thy Godreigneth.R758 : page 8====================JEHOVAH'S FEET."Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool."Isa. 66:1. [Literal.]The word feet is sometimes used in Scripture, as in this text, torepresent permanent establishment, or rest. Stephen after quotingthe above (Acts 7:49), adds the words: "What is the place of myrest"--residence?
- Page 181 and 182: glorified with Him and made fully l
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- Page 201 and 202: of Christ's presence] is a day of t
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- Page 205 and 206: R750 : page 2the race. When I first
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- Page 219 and 220: hath light with darkness? And what
- Page 221 and 222: This may be regarded as the express
- Page 223 and 224: had intimacy with a spirit to inqui
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- Page 227 and 228: expression, for it is embodied in t
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- Page 231: consequently, not many are now able
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- Page 239 and 240: narrow is the way." You remember he
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- Page 243 and 244: equally subserved. But shall we who
- Page 245 and 246: his commandments are not grievous"
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- Page 249 and 250: this light how forcible his argumen
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- Page 259 and 260: flourish and "evil doers shall be c
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- Page 265 and 266: Again, we see that in this relation
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- Page 277 and 278: came upon the entire race through A
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- Page 281 and 282: us suppose that only one thousand w
As there was a stone and stumbling there, in their "harvest," or endof their age, so the parallelism which we find associating theChristian age with its shadow, the Jewish age, demands that thestone should be present in the path of the Gospel church, to beeither accepted or rejected; and if the parallelism continue (as wesee it has), then we should expect that here the feet of the nominalchurch would stumble as its shadow did, and for the same reasons.And so we find it, the living generation of the nominal church--thefeet, have failed to discern the presence of the Lord--"they knownot the time of their visitation"-- and all but the true feet of the truebody have stumbled; as it is written: He shall be for a stone ofstumbling and rock of offence to both the houses of Israel. To"Israel after the flesh" he presented himself in the flesh, and to thespiritual Israel he presents himself a spiritual being--to each on theirown plane.But we cannot for a moment doubt, that as Jesus at the first adventtook special care to make himself known to every "Israeliteindeed," and gave such clear evidences (while to others he spoke inparables and dark sayings) (Psa. 78:2), so here at the second advent,every one wholly consecrated to God (not to churches and creeds),and as such a part of the true feet, are to be made aware of thatpresence, and consequently do not stumble over it. This special carefor all such is what is referred to by the text considered--"He shallgive his angels charge, etc., lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."Only the feet could stumble over such a stone. The stone ofstumbling was not in the path of the members of the body whichpreceded us. And when we look back and see how closely "thelamp" has been put "to the feet" and how it has been kept trimmedand burning brightly, revealing to us the stone which nominal Zionis stumbling over and being shipwrecked upon, but which to us is atried stone, elect, precious, the head of the corner, or the chief stoneof all in the glorious spiritual Temple, we thank God for His careover us, and rejoice that we are counted worthy to be members ofthat company, which in the eyes of the world has no beauty thatthey should desire it, but which is a root out of dry ground--the feetof Him that bringeth glad tidings, that saith unto Zion, Thy Godreigneth.R758 : page 8====================JEHOVAH'S FEET."Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool."Isa. 66:1. [Literal.]The word feet is sometimes used in Scripture, as in this text, torepresent permanent establishment, or rest. Stephen after quotingthe above (Acts 7:49), adds the words: "What is the place of myrest"--residence?
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