Exaltation and Revelation
Acts ii. 33 v.
“Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted... He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.’’
Christ’s influence came after His exaltation; His Spirit was shed when He was raised on high. Is it not ever so? It is gladness that makes us diffusive. When the burden presses upon us we cannot radiate the good that is in us. We may send out our thought, but it is a weighted thought; it has no wings. Our exalted moments are our revealing moments. We never shed so much light on ourselves as when transfigured by joy. Calvary is the time for bearing; Olivet is the time for revealing. We open not our mouth in the world’s judgment -hall; when oppressed and afflicted, we are dumb. But when the oppression is lifted, when the affliction is vindicated, when the spirit is exalted, then the gates are unbarred and the procession of thought comes forth. Grief itself is only revealed when it touches the sunbeam. It has no expression in its utmost depth. There is needed a gleam of hope to wake it into tears. “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning “is true of all revealings. It is from the morning of my heart that my power of utterance comes; I am only made vocal by the dawn. ec Being exalted, He hath shed forth this.”
How shall I shed forth Thy Spirit, oh, Son of Man? Only when I have reached Thy joy. Thy Cross is not attractive to men unless Thou art lifted up on it. The world is not naturally drawn to scenes of gloom. The contagious presence is the joyous presence. It is not Thy sorrow that I worship; it is Thy peace in sorrow — not Thy night, but Thy star. Forbid that I should show Thy night without Thy star.
Forbid that I should magnify depression, or extol the path of tears. Forbid that my brother should see my faith as a thing that makes me sad. Thou makest the clouds Thy chariot; but I love not Thy chariot, but Thee. Let me pass behind the veil, that I may radiate Thy light. Let me enter into Thy joy, that Thy Spirit may have wings. Let me tread the green pastures, that Thy footprints may be beautiful. Let me scan the still waters, that Thy rest may be revealed. Give me Thy songs in the night, that the night- watchers may come to hear. Give me Thy bow in the cloud, that the cloud-bearers may come to see. Give me Thy uplifting in my cross, that they who are crushed by their cross may learn to hope. I shall have power to shed Thy influence when I am myself exalted.