Divine Influences — by J. Taylor, Sr.

DIVINE INFLUENCE

2 Genesis 2:8-10; Ezekiel 47:1-5; Revelation 22:1

My desire is to show the various phases of the source whence divine influence flows, and I take up the figure of a river as representing this influence in Scripture. A river represents a source of influence. In some instances it is found to be a bad influence. As a matter of fact, whatever you find of God in the Scriptures is sure to have, in some sense, a counterpart on man's side; that is, God would influence man, but Satan would also influence man. Satan would have his river; but one is encouraged in taking up the figure, because Satan did not introduce the first river.

In the first Scripture I read the source of the river is Eden, the sphere of delights, or pleasure. In the second Scripture, the source of the river is the house of God. In the third Scripture the source of the river is the throne of God. I want to speak of these different phases of the influence that God proposed to exert over man.

We are all under some influence; it is quite impossible that any of us should stand alone. It is quite impossible that any one could stand in this world without coming under some influence. And the question is, what influence are we under? That is a serious question, especially for young people. And I do not mean simply the promptings of your own heart; they are never right, but I do not refer to them now. I refer to what is outside you. You are under some influence, and that influence may have gained on you according to your natural proclivities. It may be the influence of the world of pleasure and this counteracts the sphere of delights; or it maybe an influence from the religion of the world, that would counteract the house of God; or it may be an influence from the political world, the side connected with rule and government, and that is opposed to the throne of God. I am not calling in question the rulers of the different nations; they are not to be set aside; we are told to respect them; I look on them as a divine provision for the moment, and the worst kind of government is better than none. But what I refer to is the moral influence that issues from the political world. Think of the dark counsels that lie behind the governments of this world, the sinister motives of those who pretend to govern men.

What you find in the river that flows from God's throne is that it is "clear as crystal". Can you see through what is going on in the different governments of the world? Are they transparent? No, there are dark counsels behind them, and they permeate down to the lowest strata of the political world. Their influence is not like that of the water of life. It, is not life-giving, but death-giving.

Then look at the world of pleasure: Go down the main streets of the towns and cities or anywhere where there are houses of amusement. What an influence over the young, and over the old, too. There is a deadly stream issuing from that source.

Is it life-giving, clear as crystal? No, it is dark and death-giving.

Take the religious world, which assumes to be the house of God. Organised earthly religion is opposed to God. God has abandoned it. "Ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father ... But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth". Organised religion is, in that sense, abandoned by God. And to go back to what God has given up is apostasy. I am not using strong words, but mild ones. Scripture uses stronger ones. To go back to what God has abandoned is apostasy, and from that apostate system issues a death influence.

I have classified the influences under three heads: firstly, the world of pleasure; secondly, the world of religion; and thirdly, the world of politics. You are under some of these influences if you have not bowed to the Lord Jesus.

I take the last one, mentioned in Revelation, that is, the throne. God has set Christ in heaven. God hath made "that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ", says Peter. If God has done that, He requires you to respect what He has done. He has placed Christ on the throne, and He looks to man for submission. And how wonderful the result of Peter's address! Three thousand were convicted of sin, saying, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 'You crucified him', says Peter, and 'God has made him Lord and Christ'. They were pricked in their hearts. It is a wonderful thing to be pricked in your heart. "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks", the Lord says to Saul. It is a terrible thing to resist God. I have seen it, and it ever ends in disaster. You cannot do it with impunity.

Instead of reproving Saul of Tarsus with bitter taunts, as He might have done, the Lord said, "It is hard for thee". What grace in this! And is it not hard for you? You have to resist your praying mother and father, and your, perhaps, Christian friends; and your conscience has no rest at all. You may assume a very composed exterior, but your conscience has no rest. "It is hard for thee". Those words were fraught with grace. The Jews were pricked in their hearts. They did not say so, but there is better evidence; the Spirit says so. They asked what they should do. They were told what to do. They were told to repent, and that not in bands, but "every one of you"; and what were they to receive? The gift of the Holy Spirit. By bowing to the throne you get the Spirit. What an influence the gift of the Holy Spirit is! See the effect it had on them. Was there ever such a power for good in the world as was evidenced on the day of Pentecost? There was a mighty power for good introduced, and it was there for those who bowed to the throne. I love the description the Spirit gives, "clear as crystal". It is divinely described.

In Genesis 2 the influence proceeds from a source of pleasure. The river did not have its rise in the garden, but in Eden; and it was intended to influence the garden. Flowing into the garden as a river, it becomes universal in its influence. It becomes four. When the Spirit of God came into the world to the Lord's people they became evangelical. They said virtually, 'All must come under the influence of this'. This river was parted and became four. Four in Scripture usually refers to what is universal. It refers to the geography of the spiritual world.

There is such a thing as divine geography. The four streams or "heads" flowing out of Eden allude to it. The source of the river is a sphere of delights. The Spirit of God has come out from the Father and the Son. It has come from that source; it flowed in here, and coming in here it became parted so to speak. You all remember the character in which the Holy Spirit came, as "parted tongues, as of fire, and it sat upon each of them". And thus the testimony was, "We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God". What an influence that was, carried north, south, east and west! It was a wonderful and blessed influence, coming out from the Father and the Son. Has it not flowed in a westerly direction? It has flowed in all directions. The saints of early days became evangelistic; the river flowed in four distinct streams. The question, as I said before is, whether your heart has come under the influence? It is the source of real pleasure; there is no other. There is a verse in the Psalms which says, "There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God", Psalm 46:4. The mind is directed from the singular to the plural, the streams. The influence became diversified, and what is the effect? The streams make glad the city of God. Think of the infinite joy that exists between the Father and the Son. The Spirit of God has come out from that holy sphere. Is it not a gladdening power? A joyous influence? The happy faces of many Christians are a testimony to that, but, alas, there are many whose hearts are not glad; they are true believers, but they are not glad. "There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God". I would transfer the figure to those who believe. Why are you not glad? There is that mighty source issuing from that sphere of delights to make your heart glad. Are you seeking gladness in man's world of pleasure? "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again". The gift of the Holy Spirit, viewed in the light of what I read from Genesis, is a gladdening influence. You ought to get into touch with the streams that make glad the city of God. I would emphasise the universal influence of it.

In Ezekiel it is not the universal influence. What you get there is the infiniteness of it. You cannot compass it. It was measured to four thousand cubits, and then it was a river, impassable, a river to swim in. That is what you want. It is a wonderful thing to get your thirst quenched and your heart made glad, but look, a river to swim in! That is a wonderful thing, and that is what I call deliverance.

You are free of the world and the flesh there. From whence does the river come? From beneath the house, beside the altar of God. Jesus suffered for that. The altar was the place of suffering: the offerings were sacrificed there. Think of the Lord Jesus Christ delivering Himself up in love for us!

"He offered himself by the eternal Spirit, without spot to God;" and so this wonderful influence, the Spirit of grace, has flowed out. It is impassable, but you can swim in it. Many, alas! are only up to the ankles, maybe up to the knees, or the loins, but you want waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. Whilst the river is the Holy Spirit, unquestionably, it is the Spirit of grace. It is the Spirit adapted to human needs, and meeting man down here, and having the water of life. It flows from beside the altar, and everything touched by it lives. You see in the verses below that fishers were there. That type of death (the Dead Sea) is rendered living. From the north to the south there are fishers. There were no fish there, but the river changes the whole scene, and so "their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many".

In the last scripture I read, you have the waters described. It is not the extent, nor the breadth; it is not the universal character of the river for there are no streams. What we are engaged with is the kind of water. It is "clear as crystal". It is wonderful to look into that. You come in among the Lord's people, and you find there transparency. Go into the world, and you find double dealing everywhere. The world is marked by deception, but among the Lord's people normally there is respect for the authority of Christ, and for His commandments. You find there love for one another; the saints are free with one another. Practically, you can see how important it is, if we are to be here in testimony for the good of others, to be transparent. The river is clear as crystal. "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour", Ephesians 4:25. If you have stolen, steal no more, but labour and give to others. What transparency! How good and how beneficial! The river of the water of life is clear as crystal. There is a street in the city, and you can walk there. Can you walk in the world? There is not a single road morally. But you can walk in the city of God alongside the river. It is accessible on either side. Do, you think that any sect in the world is placed there? Every sect is one-sided, but there is no one-sidedness, no partiality in connection with the river of God. And what is there? There is the tree of life, and no longer guarded by the cherubims; but on either side of the river; and even the leaves, what you see in the most casual way, they have healing in them for the nations. Such is the source of influence that issues from God's throne.

Then you get the great issue of God's dealings from the outset, when all that sin has brought in is removed. Then we shall see His face. You cannot fail to see that there is at the present time an influence for good, and the question for your soul to answer is, are you under it? If not, you are under one of the other three influences, the world of pleasure, or of religion, or of politics. May the Lord draw you from each by bringing you under the influence of the Spirit!

J. Taylor, Sr. — new series — vol 6