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We have seen how all the ingredients of the incense include and signify both the person and work of the Lord Jesus — His divinity mingled with humanity, and His all-inclusive death and resurrection. We have also seen that the incense is mainly of four ingredients but that there is another fifth ingredient, salt, added in. So we may say that it is of four fragrances, and we may also say that it is of five elements. We must realize that the number five signifies ability for responsibility. On our hand we have four fingers plus one thumb, which together take the responsibility for doing things. Thus, in the incense we have four kinds of fragrance plus one additional element, the salt. With the person of the Lord Jesus there is everlasting ability to bear responsibility.
We have also noticed that no weight is mentioned regarding any of the ingredients. The person and work of the Lord Jesus as a kind of incense is immeasurable, yet so balanced and equal in every direction. This is the incense we must put into all our prayers and praises and burn before God. The content of our praises must be Christ with all that He has accomplished. For this we need daily practice — privately, publicly, individually, and corporately. We need practice to be delivered from praising in the old, traditional way and to learn to praise God with the incense. May I suggest that four or five brothers and sisters come together periodically just to learn how to praise with Christ as the incense. This means that our praises must have Christ as their content, that we must praise God with Christ, with all that He is and all He has accomplished.
In Psalm 84 we have a psalm full of praises for the dwelling place of God. In verse 1 we read, “How lovely are Your tabernacles, / O Jehovah of hosts!” Why are the tabernacles of God so lovely? In verse 3 we have the answer. It is due to the two altars: “At Your two altars even the sparrow has found a home; / And the swallow, a nest for herself, / Where she may lay her young, / O Jehovah of hosts, my King and my God.” The tabernacles are lovable because of the two altars. In the tabernacle, the type of God’s house in the Old Testament, there were two altars, the outer altar and the inner altar. The outer altar was in the outer court; it was the altar for offering all kinds of sacrifices. The inner altar was in the Holy Place, just before the Ark of the Testimony with the separating veil between; it was the place for burning the incense. On one side of this altar was the table of the bread of the Presence, while on the other side was the lampstand. The central position was occupied by this inner altar, the altar of incense.
By referring to a diagram of the tabernacle, you will see that the outer altar is positioned in the center of the outer court, in a direct line with the Holy Place. You will notice also that the inner altar is in the center of the Holy Place, in a direct line with the Ark of the Testimony, the place where God meets with man. If you consider the diagram of the entire situation according to the arrangement of all these utensils, you will see the figure of a cross. From the outer altar you go in a direct line to the inner altar, and from the inner altar on to the Ark of the Testimony — these three components of the tabernacle are in one direct line. On the two sides are the table of the bread of the Presence and the lampstand, both in one line, which forms with the other line a cross. The two altars are on the main line, first the offering altar and second the incense altar. The offering altar was wrought of bronze, and the incense altar was overlaid with gold; so in the Bible they are sometimes called the bronze altar and the golden altar. These are the two altars in the dwelling place of God by which God’s house was made lovely. The psalmist could say that even the sparrows and the swallows find a resting place at these altars, not only for themselves but for their young. This is figurative language. We are the sparrows and the swallows, small and helpless. But in the house of God, at the altars of God, we find our home. There is no other place for us to take refuge. Only at the offering altar and at the incense altar can we find our shelter and rest, not only for ourselves but also for our young. The tabernacle of God is lovely just because of these two altars.
Between these altars there is a close and real relationship. We may say that they are one thing with two ends: at one end in the outer court is the offering altar, and at the other end in the Holy Place is the incense altar. We should never separate these two altars. The first is for the second, and the second is based upon the first.
The first thing which connects these two altars is the redeeming blood. The atoning, redeeming blood was shed as a sin offering at the outer altar to accomplish redemption. After the blood was shed, it was brought into the Holy Place and put upon the horns of the incense altar (Lev. 4:3-7). The horns signify power and authority. Without the application of the blood to the incense altar, there is no basis for the burning of the incense, and without the blood the incense has no effectiveness. It is the redeeming blood that joins the two altars as one. Redemption could never be effected with only the outer altar. It requires the two altars at the two ends of the house of God — the offering altar, where it may be shed, and the incense altar before the Ark of the Testimony, where it may be applied. The offering altar and the incense altar are united by the blood.
Another element which unites these two altars is the heavenly fire. Every kind of sacrifice upon the offering altar is consumed not by any fire of earth but by fire from heaven. In Leviticus 9:24 we read, “Then fire came forth from before Jehovah and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar.” At the beginning, the fire came down from heaven and consumed all the offering. This fire, we are told, should never be extinguished or allowed to cease. The burning power is from heaven. It is this very fire which burns the incense. Leviticus 16:12-13 says, “He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before Jehovah, with his hands full of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. And he shall put the incense upon the fire before Jehovah, that the cloud of the incense may cover the expiation cover that is over the Testimony.” There is one blood and one fire that join these two altars together. It is the same blood and the same fire that make them one. Whatever is accomplished on the altar in the outer court must be brought in to the altar in the Holy Place. By this we see that these two altars are simply two ends of one thing. This is the reason, I believe, why both are called altars. They are of one name with two ends.
The main significance of the offering altar is redemption, while the main significance of the incense altar is acceptance, or, in other words, fragrance to God through redemption. Without redemption we could never be accepted by God; we could never be fragrant to God. We are redeemed at one end and accepted at the other. Christ is our redemption at the outer altar, and Christ is our acceptance at the inner altar.
All these matters are exceedingly deep and profound. We do not have much understanding or adequate utterance to define all these things. The best we can do is to see the picture. A picture is better than a thousand words. Thank the Lord, we do have a picture.
At the offering altar we have all been redeemed. Now we need to come to the altar of incense to be so acceptable and fragrant to God. The way we come is through the blood, and what we must do when we come is burn the incense. To burn the incense simply means to pray and to praise God with Christ and all He has accomplished as the content of our prayer and praise. This is the real acceptance and fragrance to God. We all must realize that whenever we come to praise God at the incense altar, we must certainly have contacted the offering altar. In other words, when we come to the matter of acceptance, we must surely have passed through redemption. Now at the incense altar, what we need is not to kneel or prostrate ourselves to worship in a natural or religious way; we need to burn the incense. Outward worship means nothing to God — God does not desire or require that. What God desires is the burning of the incense, the praises full of Christ and all He has accomplished. The burning is our part; we must burn the incense.
There is no problem with the matter of redemption; we have all been redeemed — we are exceedingly clear about that. Today’s problem is the matter of acceptance, the matter of the fragrant incense offered continually to God. You are redeemed, and you are satisfied. You can shout, “Hallelujah, I am redeemed!” You have the hallelujahs, but God is waiting for some hallelujahs. You are satisfied, but He has not yet been satisfied. He is waiting for the burning of the incense. At the offering altar, of course, there is also a kind of fragrant odor. The burning of the sacrifices affords a sweet savor to God. Undoubtedly God is satisfied with that, yet that is outward; that is something which is only in the outer court. What God requires is inner and deeper, not just in the outer court but in the Holy Place near to the Ark of the Testimony. God desires this kind of satisfaction, and He can only be fully satisfied by the burning of the incense. We have nothing to offer to God, and we can do nothing, but we can burn incense. We can offer in our praises all that Christ is and all that Christ has done. I hope that you may even compose something in your praises about the incense — the fragrant spices, the stacte, the onycha, and the galbanum, the pure frankincense, and the seasoning salt. We do need some living praises, not according to the human and religious concept but according to the living reality of Christ’s person and work. Try to do it. We all must try to do it. We all must praise the Lord in a new way.
When we burn the incense, however, we should not offer strange incense. Anything strange is an insult to God. What is strange incense? Anything which is not Christ is strange incense. You may be an exceedingly fine person — humble, patient, and gentle, etc. If we are such, there is always within us a kind of subconscious concept that in ourselves we are fairly good. Sometimes, of course, our estimation is not so correct. You may think you are good, but really you are not so good. You may think you are humble, but really you are not so humble. If you come to God with anything of your supposed inherent goodness, you are burning strange incense. Do not bring anything other than Christ, no matter how good it may be. Anything but Christ is strange and is an insult to God.
Let me illustrate. The marriage life is really a problem. Suppose, however, that you are a brother who has never given your dear wife a difficult time. You have always been patient, humble, and kind toward her, and as a result, she has spread your praise abroad. If, when you come to the Lord, you bring just a little of this goodness of yours before Him, you are burning strange incense. Regardless of how good you are, that kind of goodness can never be offered to God. Instead of a fragrance, it will be a blasphemy.
What we can offer to God is nothing but Christ. We must say, “O Father God, I have nothing to offer You, nothing which You can accept, but Christ, only Christ. Regardless of whether I am sinful or good, all I bring to You is Your dear Son, Christ.” No strange incense should ever be offered to God.
But the problem today is not so much with strange incense but with strange fire. The fire that consumes the incense must be from the heavens, from God. What is the significance of strange fire? Strange fire is natural enthusiasm. When you are natural in your fervency, you are offering strange fire before the Lord. Sometimes we need to be emotional. To be emotional is right, but to be naturally emotional is wrong. When you come to burn the incense, you must use the fire from the offering altar. The offering altar simply means the cross. We must pass through the cross so that we may offer Christ as the incense to God. Now the problem is not with the incense but with our burning. By what kind of fire do we burn the incense? With what kind of fervency do we offer the praise of Christ to God?
The enemy is exceedingly subtle. In so many matters he would keep us either at one extreme or push us to the other. In this matter of praising the Lord, many dear Christians have been retained by the enemy in the extreme of silence, and not only silence but something much worse — death. They really believe, however, that they are right. When they come to a meeting which is full of praising and singing, of shouting and joyful noise, they are offended and extremely critical. They like to be kept in that extreme. They have their human concept. This is the subtlety of the enemy to keep them from the incense altar. If you would not open your mouth to pray and praise the Lord, you can never minister at the incense altar. Whether those who make noise are right or wrong is another matter, but to be dumb and silent is undoubtedly wrong. Those who shout and make a joyful noise may be fifty percent wrong, but it is certain that those who shut their mouths are one hundred percent wrong. No one should be a dumb worshipper. We must make some noise. Christians are praying ones, Christians are praising ones, and Christians are preaching ones. If you never open your mouth, how can you preach? You may say that you preach not by what you say but by what you are. Then you are just a dumb preacher. If so, God must be wrong, for He created you with an organ for speaking. You may say that your mouth is for eating. But eating is just for yourself; preaching is for God, and speaking is for others. We all must say something. I do not believe that Christians should cease from speaking. They should speak all the day long, either to God, to human beings, to the angels, to the demons and Satan, or sometimes to the creation (Mark 16:15). Every one must know that Jesus is my Lord and your Lord.
When we come to the meetings, we must be speaking members. In the last one and a half centuries the Lord has recovered the universal priesthood. If we would minister in our priestly office, we must open our mouths to speak something, to pray, to praise, or to sing. I am more than sure that you are wrong if you would not open your mouth.
Now we come to the other extreme. If the devil could not hold us at one extreme, he will push us to the other. He will cause us to burn the incense with a strange fire, with something natural which has never been dealt with. So we need to be balanced. On one hand, we need to be released, and on the other hand, we need a certain amount of restraint. These two laws are always in operation to maintain anything in existence. Every one of us must be released, and after being released, every one of us must be restricted. The fire with which the incense is burned on the incense altar must be taken from the offering altar. Our fervency must originate in the spirit through the dealing of the cross.
To be a faithful servant to the Lord in the ministry of the word is not easy. We would all like to please all men. I realize that among those reading this book there are two kinds of persons: some who would never open their mouth, and some who would never close their mouth. I must be faithful in speaking to both. Those who never open their mouth are one hundred percent wrong. I condemn this. I do not condemn you, but I condemn the dumbness. As a little servant of the Lord, I must speak the truth. Some of you, however, are so bold. You must take heed: is that kind of boldness natural or spiritual? Does that kind of boldness originate in your natural disposition or in your spirit? You see, we need to be balanced; we need an equal proportion on each side. This is something of the Lord Jesus. I hope that we all may be equally balanced to open our mouths and at the same time to utter something with heavenly fire. We must burn the incense and burn it with fire from God. Those who would not open their mouths must obtain mercy and find grace to be delivered from their dumbness. We speak much about the Lord Jesus as our life and salvation, and in this very matter of dumbness we need Him as our life and our salvation. We need to be utterly delivered from this kind of silence. Then, on the other hand, once we are set free, we need a certain amount of restriction, a certain amount of balance and checking within, that we may burn the incense with fire from God, not with anything natural. We must offer our praises from the spirit.
Let us be clear about the matter of our emotions. We need to be emotional. Some say that we are too emotional. But no one can be like the apostle Paul if he is not emotional. Paul was very emotional: many times he spoke and wrote to the saints with tears. Once he said, “What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod or in love and a spirit of meekness?” (1 Cor. 4:21). Paul could be very emotional. At another time he said, “What is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at His coming? Are not even you?” (1 Thes. 2:19). It is good to be emotional. If you can never be emotional, you can never be spiritual. But listen, not naturally emotional but emotional in the spirit; not emotional with strange fire but with heavenly fire. Our natural emotion must be consumed on the burnt offering altar. All the natural things must be consumed there. We need to offer praises, we need to be released, yet we still need to be dealt with; we need many dealings through the cross.
Do not think that to be noisy is emotional. If we can never weep publicly while preaching the gospel, I do not think we can bring many people to the Lord. I have read the biography of a brother who had no eloquence whatever. He was able to speak very little, but whenever he stood to speak for the Lord Jesus, his tears flowed down. Just by that kind of weeping, many persons were converted to Christ. All spiritual people are emotional. Learn to be emotional; then you will know how to be spiritual. Learn to laugh; learn to weep. Do not learn so much teaching, but learn the things that will help you turn to the spirit. If you exercise yourself overmuch in your mentality, you will lose the laughing spirit. Do not think you are so smart. Turn from your mentality to the spirit and praise the Lord. Learn to exercise your spirit and be happy and joyful. Rejoice in the presence of the Lord, and you will be much in the spirit.
We must never forget that on the incense altar is the redeeming blood. Whenever we offer praise to God, we must realize that we need the blood. In ourselves we have no merit upon which to stand. The only merit, the only ground, is the redeeming blood of the Lamb. We have to say to the Lord Jesus continually, “We offer our praises to God under the covering of Your precious blood.” The redeeming blood must always be applied to the horns of the incense altar. Without the blood, all manner of praises, no matter how rich and high, can never be effective.
In Numbers 16 we see that the expiation is accomplished at the offering altar. We also see in verse 46 a kind of burning of the incense which is in the power and effectiveness of the expiation. “Moses said to Aaron, Take the censer and put fire in it from the altar, and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the assembly, and make expiation for them. For wrath has gone forth from Jehovah; the plague has begun.” At that time the people of Israel sinned against God, and God judged them by sending among them a deadly plague. The remedy was fire from the offering altar with incense put therein — this could make expiation for the people. What does this signify? It is a practical, instant experience of the redemption of Christ. If you offer praises to God under the covering of the Lord’s precious blood and with heavenly fire in the spirit, it is not only an acceptance and fragrant odor to God but also a kind of redemption. The problem between you and God will be solved, the death will be removed, and the plague will be gone. You may have no intention, in a sense, to receive such redemption, but as long as you burn the incense in this way, an amount of redemption is included. You will not only be accepted by God, you will not only satisfy God, but there will be an amount of redemption that will solve all the problems between you and God. All the plague of death will be removed; all the barriers between you and God will spontaneously be dissolved. You will be fully at peace with God, and God will grant you sweet acceptance.
Note finally that the center of all that which we have been speaking is the Tent of Meeting. Learn to praise God, learn to burn the incense in this way, not just in your homes but in the meetings. Then our meetings will be enriched, strengthened, and uplifted.
