KEEPING AND PONDERING
Michael T Holland
Luke 2: 19
2 Corinthians 12: 1-5
Matthew 13: 51-52
I have a simple impression and was encouraged by what our brother has said from Proverbs as to wisdom. Mr Coates called Proverbs “Wisdom’s Guidebook”, The Paths of Life p22.
These scriptures may not immediately connect in our minds; I need help to say a brief word about what is before me. It is something that has been a challenge and a test to me, and it has come before me in different ways. I was encouraged as to this verse in Luke 2, and we will not go into the detail of these things: the impression I have is about this thought that “Mary kept all these things in her mind, pondering them in her heart”. There is something very attractive, very simple, in that comment: “kept all these things in her mind, pondering them in her heart”. I think this is something for all of us, young and old; it certainly has been a word to me recently. I read that if you read too much, of anything - even Scripture - it may become a mere intellectual exercise, and so I think what we have here instead is perfect balance between the mind and the heart. I am not saying that Mary was perfect, and there is not that thought here; but rather there is perfect balance in that she kept all these things in her mind, pondering them in her heart. I think both are absolutely necessary; that was really the word to me. It would have been good in one way if she kept all these things in her mind - I think that would be attractive to us, that she held all these things there; but I think the danger of merely keeping all these things in one’s mind, is exactly what that reference led me to consider, and that is that it might become merely an intellectual matter.
Of course, there were certain things she was keeping - wonderful things, great things. The apostle we have read from had heard wondrous things too, and they could have been kept in his mind, but there is a perfect balance with pondering them in our hearts. It is not pondering them in our minds: again that they should be developed into some mental, doctrinal thing alone. There would probably be a doctrinal character in some respect, but she was “pondering them in her heart”; so the affections come into that. The mind is there, and how great it is that we have the mind of Christ. We have the Spirit, and I am always glad when we sing to the Spirit at the outset of an occasion of this kind, and I am specially thankful for how He would take the things of Christ and show them to us. Hymn 211 refers to Him unfolding things - ‘heights of glory’ - , but all of that is to come to us in our minds and in our hearts. You might ask what we are to do with them then. Do we keep things in our minds? That would be good, but do we balance that by pondering in our hearts? Do we have the balance between the affections and our minds? I will not say much more about it, again I have been very tested by that recently.
The reason I read in Corinthians - these passages may not on the surface necessarily immediately link together -- is that Paul heard things “which it is not allowed to man to utter”. He says, “I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago”; so I would suggest, and I do not think it is going too far to suggest this, that what he writes is the product of keeping impressions for fourteen years. Think about how long Mary kept those things in her mind and pondered them in her heart; think about how long the apostle kept what he heard in his mind and pondered it in his heart. I would venture that that would be the case; and it would also colour his ministry from then on. What he heard were unspeakable things, not allowed for man to utter; so he would not be specifically uttering those things; but they would colour his ministry as he kept these things in his mind, pondering them in his heart. We do not know exactly what those things were, because it was not allowed to man to utter them, but I think we can see the character of those things in that he was caught up to the third heaven. If he was in heavenly places then they would have that elevated, heavenly character. We know the character of those things by what he writes in these two epistles. We can see clearly that his mind and his affections are involved as he writes to the Corinthians, and all the other epistles; there is balance between the mind and the affections. I might even say that the mind-matter is seen in the first epistle and the balance of the affectionate side is seen in the second epistle. How he handles the things he received, and then conveys them to those to whom he writes. So even when these things are kept and not spoken, they can have this effect, if they are held in a right way, kept in the mind and pondered in the heart. Paul writes to Timothy about keeping that which is entrusted, and that is very attractive. He was entrusted with such a wonderful deposit and the Spirit is involved in keeping that; that would bring these thoughts together once again.
The passage in Matthew led me to consider that although the apostle in Corinthians does not utter those things which are not for man to utter, here we have one who, using wisdom by the Spirit, brings out of his treasure things new and old. There is something very attractive in this: that that which is kept in the mind, and pondered in the heart, can by the Spirit be brought out of that treasury, and be put into circulation. It can be in a reading meeting, a meeting like this, whatever it may be; it can be, by the Spirit. It can be brought out of that treasury in the morning meeting, in the service of God, as the Spirit would bring those fresh unfoldings of the heights of glory as the hymn refers to it. Something might impress anyone here, and something that is kept in your mind and pondered in your heart may be brought out fourteen years later maybe, as with Paul. That might be things old, and things new. The Spirit has access to all those wonderful things of God. He searches the depths of God; so it is really limitless those things which He can bring before you.
So these scriptures might not immediately tie together, but the thought that impressed me that I would seek to encourage the brethren with, is that this is something that all of us can do - have this balance between receiving something, keeping it in our minds, not merely in our minds, also not merely in our hearts, so that it does not become exceedingly intellectual and it does not become exceedingly sentimental; it is perfectly balanced. It might colour how we handle one another, how we deal with one another, how we are towards one another as the apostle is clearly affected in that way. It may be a long time that something is treasured there, kept there, pondered there, but it can be brought out. That is the work of the Spirit; that is the wonderful thing that the Spirit can do.
This householder is a scribe, and we may just pass over that, but a scribe is one who, I would suggest, with wisdom and care and method, would take the right thing - new or old - out of the treasury that it might yield the greatest glory to God. I think we can know something of this in the service of God. I think it is a wonderful encouragement that those things which we keep in our minds and ponder in our hearts can be brought out and used in this way. Treasures, if they are kept rightly, held rightly, pondered rightly, can be things new, things old, but they can be brought out: “brings out of his treasure”; I think that is something very attractive. They can be held, as we have read with the apostle, but they can be brought out, and so that is something that can be an encouragement to us all. It is so simple to keep things in that way, but then they can be brought out with the touch of the Spirit.
May we be encouraged, for His Name’s sake.
Word in a Ministry Meeting, Calgary
9th January 2019