It is not easy to resume meditation in so large a matter without reviewing the way that we have already taken. And I shall limit myself in that matter to very few words, for the sake of those who were not with us this morning.
You will have the first chapter of the prophecies of Ezekiel open before you. We will not read the chapter again, but with a glance you will see its main features.
The general issue is this: whenever the Lord has taken a further step, or made a new movement in relation to the fullness of His purpose, He has almost invariably prefaced that movement, or that step, by bringing someone, or some instrument, to a fresh apprehension of His glory.
He has brought forth His glory, and shown that, in every movement of His, in every step that He takes, He is governed by the end—the one full end. That is glory. God’s end is glory, and in all things glory is the governing matter.
The God of glory appeared to Abraham, as one of the early further movements in His programme. In glory He appeared to Moses on the mount, when He was about to take a further step in that plan.
So on and on through the Old Testament. In the great movement at the beginning of the New Testament—the bringing in of His Son—the governing word and idea, the outstanding feature, is glory: “Glory to God.”
The new movement of Pentecost was a manifestation of the glory of Christ—Christ exalted.
And so, in order to be able to move with God toward His full end, it is very necessary that those concerned, and instrumental people and ministry, should have the glory of the Lord fully, clearly, and mightily in view.
Everything—everything that is under the government of God—is related to His glory: His means and His methods, His permissive and His executive will. All have glory in view.
In this first chapter of Ezekiel’s prophecies, we have very much that is instructive and helpful in this very connection, as to the movements and ways of God in relation to glory.
As we found out this morning, the inclusive phrase—not only of the chapter, but of the whole book—is in the second half of Ezekiel 1:28:
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
And when I saw it, I fell upon my face.
“The appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” And when I saw it, I fell upon my face.
That phrase applies, as I have said, to all the rest of the chapter; but it especially applies and relates to the vision—the throne in heaven, and the likeness as of a man upon it above.
It is the glory of the throne of the exalted Man—the God-Man. And from that, from that, everything else proceeds.
All that is here, and all that comes later, right to the end of this very full book, is the expression of that government—the meaning of that Man being there and where He is.
That is the point at which we take things up this afternoon.
In our summary of the visions which came to Ezekiel—when he said, “I saw visions of God”—we noted, among the many visions, that under the throne there was a twofold symbolic medium of this expression.
That twofold medium is the four living ones, or the cherubim. A quite considerable section is devoted to these. You notice that they are not just mentioned and passed over; they are very minutely described. You have got to stop with this. You have got to take time and give attention.
The prophet is giving us every detail. It is very difficult to understand. I suppose none of you would claim to understand it; I certainly do not. But I do say something which I think is almost on the face of it.
Nevertheless, these things are brought here in very clear definition and in very full presentation, showing that something right at the beginning of all these prophecies and movements and visions must be taken account of. They must have a place, and a very serious place.
So we come to look at this twofold medium, the expression of that glory. Firstly, then, the cherubim.
We need not describe them; the description is here. We need say very little about the details of their composition or construction—the features. All that would be familiar to you, and we are not thinking of covering all that ground again. We want, quite simply and directly, to get at their function: the real function of these living ones.
Of course, I do underline that this is Oriental symbolism. It is a symbolic representation of something spiritual. People to whom these things belonged would have a more ready understanding and apprehension of this way of presenting truth than perhaps we have.
But God has chosen to convey His great truth in this symbolic and illustrative way. We get through the symbolism and the illustration to what it is that is being said to us. We can, if you like, forget the forms, project the characteristics described, and just get right at the heart of it.
What is the message? What is it that they are intended to convey?
From a reflection upon the many appearances in the Bible of the cherubim, you can see that invariably, on every occasion, they stand related to one thing. Their function is ever and always to proclaim that the throne and government of God is that of holiness.
His throne is a holy throne. His government is a government of holiness.
You can see how vital and appropriate that is, standing right at the beginning of this history of judgment contained in this book of prophecies. A large section concerns judgment, both in Israel and in the nations, under this supreme throne. It is in relation to an unholy state, and a demand that that shall be judged and put away.
Glory waits for that and waits upon that. Glory ever and always waits upon holiness, because it is a glory which is the glory of holiness.
The government of that holiness is represented here in this throne and in the Man upon it. But that is not all.
These cherubim are called living ones—living creatures, if you like, but better, living ones. The idea of life, of livingness, is always associated with them. It comes up again and again in that connection. You will see this as we go on.
The point is this: holiness and life are combined in them. The life waits on the holiness; the holiness gives rise to the life. And you cannot separate these two things. You cannot have the life without the holiness. You cannot have the holiness without it leading to life.
Always working like that, to and fro: more holiness, more life; more life, more holiness.
These living ones, in representation, are the custodians of the divine holiness for and unto the divine life.
The thing that is in the balance all the way through is life and death—life and death through this book. That is where the battle is being fought out: in that realm of life and death. It is a question of life and death, a desperate one, for the nations.
But the deciding thing is this matter of holiness. Holiness.
Now, if you briefly pass your eye over some of the instances where the cherubim are in view, you will see that that is the connection every time.
When things went wrong in the garden, when sin and disobedience through pride came in and operated, when things went wrong, man was expelled from the place of life, where the tree of life was.
And at the gate—at the gate to guard it—were the cherubim with the flaming sword. Their presence there said that holy life, and that which is corrupt, polluted, tainted, and unholy, cannot have it, cannot touch it, cannot come near it; it is expelled from it.
The cherubim would say, “We are the custodians not only of that life, but of the essential holiness unto it.”
Then there are the figures of the cherubim interwoven on the screen, the veil between the holy place and the most holy place. Man would pass that veil at the peril of his life. It would be death.
They were there, described again, in testimony to the fact that they were the guardians of what is holy. And as such, anything unholy would perish if it passed their way.
They on the veil declared, “Things are wrong with man. Things are wrong; they have gone wrong.” They are a testimony against the wrong state of man, and because of that he cannot come into the presence of the glory and the presence of the life.
Here, of course, it is quite obvious. It is Ezekiel, is it not? But then we remember Isaiah. Features connected with Isaiah are impressive in this connection.
When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, and seated upon a throne, the seraphim—only another name for these, I think—were heard crying:
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts.
Who was it? King Uzziah had forced his way into the temple to serve unlawfully at the altar. He took the censer in his hand—man pressing in to the presence of the holy God and touching holy things.
The priests beside him pleaded with him, “Go out; it pertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah.” Uzziah asserted himself there, and he was smitten with leprosy. He went out a leper to the day of his death, and he died a leper.
And in the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord and heard the seraphim saying, “Holy, holy, holy.” The throne, you see, is the throne of holiness and of life.
But that means death where there is not holiness—death where there is not holiness. Life is on the ground of holiness.
Jerusalem had become grievously and terribly defiled. Read Jeremiah—a terrible, terrible book as to a spiritual condition. Terrible: the corruption and defilement.
The resultant judgment followed: people carried away into captivity. Then we have Ezekiel there with the captives of the southern kingdom of Judah by the river Chebar.
This is a scene of desolation, a scene of death. This is the scene of judgment. They literally stand in the place of defilement. Judgment has come upon them.
If you have any question about that, or if you want that particularly emphasized, you come to the great chapter in these prophecies about the valley of dry bones. That is God’s conception of this people at that time: very, very, very scattered. That is Israel’s condition, as in Babylon, as in captivity.
Are these people going to be saved from death, from judgment? How will it be?
The Lord says that He will have to take away the unclean, polluted, stony heart:
A new heart also will I give you.
In other words, they will have to be cleansed from their iniquity, washed from their sin, and made again God’s holy people. And they will live—and they will live.
The cherubim are very active in relation to that matter, tremendously busy about it. See them on the wing.
They are characterized by a deep concern over this matter of this people being saved from death by being delivered from the bondage of corruption.
Need I say any more about the occasions when they appear? Perhaps one glance to the end will give us a much happier, more cheerful picture.
We come over to the book of Revelation, chapters 4 and 5. Here the heavens are opened again. John says the heavens were opened; he saw visions of God. And what did he see?
Here is the great multitude—a great multitude which no man can number, a very great multitude—before the throne of God and of the Lamb. Here are those who have come up, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Here they are round the throne, singing their song of redemption. And the four living ones are there, but not feverishly, restlessly hurrying hither and thither, concerned with this matter of getting a people saved and right.
Their wings are let down, and they are joining in the worship. The work is done; their work is finished. And now they can worship, joining in praise with all the redeemed.
That is how it ends. It is the picture of glory through holiness—glory and life through holiness.
Well, that is a message not for the days of Ezekiel only. It is an abiding message, truth to a principle which runs from beginning to end of time.
If the throne is to be on our side, dear friends, it demands that something is done to cleanse us from our sin, to deliver us from our way of wickedness, to bring us into the right realm of His divine righteousness—sanctified.
It is to those who are thus walking with Him in fellowship, and who are found—as can be said—repudiating all iniquity, having no truck with iniquity, not dabbling or compromising in any way, and not condoning what is evil or wrong.
I know that the whole matter of holiness can become very oppressive, and it can become very legal and bring us into bondage. But the fact remains that God’s throne, the Lord’s throne, is a throne of holiness. His government is a government of holiness and life.
His life is holy life. We know quite well in practical experience that if we do, voluntarily or even involuntarily, touch something that is evil, touch something that is corrupt, touch this world in spirit, the glory fades. The glory fades; we know within ourselves.
If we even say something that is wrong, the glory fades. We know by the fading glory in our heart: a shadow comes over, a cloud passes over our spirit. It stays there until we have gone and got that cleaned up in the presence of the Lord. It is like that.
Now, we must pass immediately to the other side of this symbolic medium—the throne, the wheels—because, as you notice, they are quite definitely in union with the living ones, or the cherubim. They move together.
They are really only two aspects of one thing, but the wheels contain their own particular emphasis and message. What do they signify?
Well, just read again. What is the impression that is left with you after reading Ezekiel 1:15-21? You just sit back after reading. How do you feel? How do you feel?
Sometimes it is a good thing to put yourself into the word and take its temper, take its atmosphere. I venture to suggest that if you read these verses in that way and then stand back, you will feel, “No word—they are moving. Something is doing here.”
In any case, you will not feel a quiet, passive feeling when you have read that. It is the impression, is it not, of tremendous energy—of motion with purpose. That is the atmosphere, I believe.
The wheels symbolize movement, motion, going. And here the spirit of the living ones is in the wheels—the energy, the energy of the Spirit, is here. It is energy and movement with purpose that characterizes them, or that of which they speak.
They say to us, fairly and simply, that this throne is a very energetic and active throne in relation to the end which God is seeking.
All the energies and activities contained in these purposes are the expression of that throne and are, as it were, the carrying out of the meaning of the throne. The throne is on the move. The throne is not passive. The throne is governed by a tremendous energy.
God is deeply and greatly concerned about this great end of His: to have everything glorious, and for His glory, and filled with His glory. It is no light thing, no easy-going thing, with the Lord to have that end.
If we did know it, friends—if you and I knew it, if we could only see it and understand it—we should be able to see that so many things in our lives which the Lord permits to come in, and which the Lord sometimes sends into our lives, are the workings of His energy to make a way for His glory.
John—the Apostle John—tells us that the whole of his Gospel, which he wrote, the twenty-one chapters as we have it, was written with one object. What is that object? The glory of the Lord Jesus. That is all: the glory of the Lord Jesus.
You can see that all the way through, from beginning to end. And one fragment only: Lazarus.
This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God.
Strange events of providence, strange ways of God—painful, causing deep sorrow, distress, perplexity—it is all a strange thing for those concerned, but quite deliberate.
There is the element of deliberateness about the Lord Jesus’ attitude toward that matter and His handling of it. He tarries when He has received the news. He has got this thing in hand, and He says:
It is for the glory of God, that the Son of God should be glorified thereby.
The end of this strange thing in human life, this painful thing in human life, is the glory of God. Oh, that you and I could always look at our sufferings and our sorrows like that.
Every time some perplexing, bewildering, heartbreaking thing comes into our lives, if only we could say, and believe, and stand to it: “God is going to get some glory out of this. There is some glory somewhere bound up with this.”
He is working to His end in all things—in all things. And Paul says:
God worketh all things together for good to them that love Him, to them who are called according to His purpose.
He means by that word “good,” glory—glory to God.
Now, I can say these things from a platform, and I have a very real battle, I know, over them when they arise. But they are the truth we have to face.
But they are the truth we have to face. And so the point is that there is an energy of God, as a throne, in things—all sorts of things—an energy of God toward glory, and to glory through holiness. Through holiness.
Another feature of the wheels, as you notice, is that they were full of eyes round about—full of eyes round about.
Another symbolic representation, just surely meaning that this throne is operating with perfect intelligence, with complete knowledge of everything—an apprehension and grasp of all the elements, all the features, everything that has to be dealt with.
Perfect vision. Perfect knowledge. The throne of holiness works. That is a solemn message, as well perhaps as an encouraging one.
The fact is, dear friends, that the One on the throne, whose eyes are as a flame of fire, sees right through and knows all the hidden motives, and acts accordingly—not what we see, and not what we are willing to see, but what He sees.
He sees; He knows. He knows. The eyes of His glory look us right through, and they know all our self-deceptions, all our deceivings of one another. They know us so perfectly, and are acting according to their knowledge.
The Lord is acting with us according to His knowledge, and we are not going to get away with it.
If the Lord takes in hand to deal with us in a form of judgment, if He really does act where we are concerned, it is because He is seeing something. He is seeing something that is injurious to us, something that is limiting or hindering the glory in us personally, individually, or in our company.
He sees something that is against the glory, and so, with energy, He takes it in hand and He will judge it. He will go to great lengths in order to get that eliminated and put right, that the glory may come in and the light may come in, and that we may go on a new and fresh stage with Him in His path.
We perhaps would not have it otherwise. We do not want to be deceived. We do not want to lose something through failure to recognize it. We want everything open.
The end of the Bible shows us a city which is absolutely transparent—absolutely transparent. God is really seeking transparency in His people: no duplicity, no deception, no questionableness.
Oh, how we must judge our motives. How we must keep in the presence of the everlasting burnings. How necessary it is to keep in the light of His countenance, so that nothing is allowed to go on unconsciously with us that is limiting His glory in our life.
Here is a message, a very great concern. Oh, pray, if you will, for a new thing. Pray for revival. Pray for God to move in some great way of power. But remember: all His movements are based upon this—a holiness that corresponds to His throne.
And He cannot—He just cannot—do anything until that holiness has been visited in His people.
It is the principle of unanswered prayer:
If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear me.
A very big principle—that covers so much, does it not? Oh, may the Lord give us understanding.
Perhaps it is what could be a very terrible word, and yet it has glory in view. May He give us understanding.
And His energies—the energies of His throne—are holy energies. He is going; He is going, continuously going, in this very connection, that there shall be consistency with the Man in the glory upon the throne in us and amongst the Lord’s people.
One further glance. These wheels occupy a place between heaven and earth. They are not wholly of the earth. They do not remain earthbound, held by an earth touch. There is a kind of suspendedness.
They touch the earth, but they are not of it. They move along in their energy in relation to heaven, but also in relation to us, as the embodiment of the divine energies.
Now, what that says, amongst other things, is this: that God’s interests, God’s activities, and God’s throne are not remote from things here. He is not just reigning on His throne in remote isolation, away there somewhere in the undefined heaven.
His energies relate to things here. His mighty interests are imminent; they are here. They are concerned with this world, with this earth, and with what is on it. He wants this world, this earth, and all that is here to be holy—to be holy.
As Isaiah’s vision declares:
The whole earth is full of His glory.
That is the conception. That is what the Lord desires, looking to that. And we know from the end description that that is how it will be, when righteousness covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. Holiness will prevail. God is working down here.
Now, for the moment, we cannot say more about that. Perhaps we will say a little further this evening on that very matter of how it is happening.
The operation of this throne in relation to holiness here is the fact. God is intimately, closely, intelligently associated with the state of things here—in the church and in the churches. He is cognizant of everything that we do not see and do not realize. His eyes see it, and He is acting.
Turning things to have them holy, and to be able to bring in—or bring back—the glory. Have you got the message? The throne is not far away after all. It is here, in representation.
Yes, if the first chapters of the book of Revelation mean anything at all, it means that this very God-Man, this Man of the glory, is moving amongst the churches—where the lampstands are—moving amongst them. He is here; He is imminent.
The throne is fully cognizant, intelligent as to everything. It is not blind. It is never deceived by anything at all. The throne is active.
And its activity may be found in many, if not all, of the experiences into which we come. The throne is set upon and determined to have one end everywhere, in all things. That is glory. That is glory.
All this wonderful symbolism—living ones and wheels—is a declaration of this: that the throne is active; that the throne has not given things up because they are so bad. The throne is still pursuing its end, to have a state that can be filled with God.
Lord, interpret that to us and write it deeply in our hearts. May we keep it every day in our consciousness:
This is not intended to be unto death,
But for the glory of God.