---

Quick Return Home Page

"For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. THEY SHALL COME WITH WEEPING, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn." [Jeremiah 31:7-9].

         With what tender mercies the Lord draws men onward, and we marvel again and again at His love, His faithfulness in dealing with us, and the things He uses in the processing. His judgments are marvellous evidences of His love for man. The natural man is of an exceedingly rebellious nature, and there are times when God must of necessity arrange the circumstances in such a manner that we are softened and mellowed, made pliable by our tears, before He can do a further work in us. In this processing there is often that unique phase of even hardening us for a moment, so that when we finally fall on the Rock it will break us, rather than our just "bending" a little. The breaking is essential, to break up the fountains of the deep, so that the stream might flow out, to work in us, and then to work in others. Insomuch as His judgments bring us to this point of weeping, we shall note first a few negative aspects, and then on into the positive.
        Malachi 2:13, "And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that He regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand."
        How often have men brought their offerings to the Lord, and covered the altar with their tears─ beseeching God to BLESS THEM, to prosper them, to answer all their wants and desires, but it was a selfish motive, it was to further their own interests, not with a yearning for His will alone to be done. Oftentimes such weeping is but a cover-up, an outward form of piety, while inwardly there is a stubborn insistence for their own will─ "God, You must do it my way." And while, using even this to teach us further lessons, God has betimes answered such prayers, it has not always been for our good. "He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." [Psalm 106:15]. And we learn by the emptiness of it all that this is not what we really want, for it does not satisfy. Yet there is mercy even in all of this. How? Because God knows that often the only way to bring us to the end of ourselves, and then into HIS LIFE, is to give us what we ask for, to teach us that these things do not satisfy, and then in due time we will COME WITH WEEPING in an honest heart, to seek for His reality.
        "Ye─ rebelled against the commandment of the Lord and went presumptuously up into the hill. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. And ye returned AND WEPT before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you." [Deuteronomy 1:43-45].
      Ah, many of us can relate to this, from our own past experience. There are times when man will PRESUMPTUOUSLY determine to do a thing, not because he knows it is the will of God for him, but because he wants it that way, it is his own will demanding fulfillment. And then the "bees" come out─ ministrations of His judgment─ those little situations with a sting in them, one vexing thing after another. And so you return to weep before the Lord, tears of disappointment because things went against you. This was followed by tears of entreaty for God to help salvage our program. And we wonder why such tears do not avail. But God is not going to salvage the programs of the flesh, nor serve the will of man. And so it has to die, be destroyed. "He taketh away the first (that which is of the flesh), that He might establish the second (that which is of His Spirit)." [Hebrews 10:9]. Then we learn to praise God for His wisdom, and the blessed reality of His will.
        There is another aspect of the negative part of weeping, Jeremiah 31:15, "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not."
        Children─ symbolic of that which is begotten or brought forth. We still hear folk crying for the good old days, for those revivals which were birthed, and then taken away. Oh, if only we could have times of blessing like we had back in "latter rain days," or like they did at "early Pentecost," or like when I was a child and folk came for miles to the meetings and wept and prayed and fasted, and God sent revivals which blessed us so much─ wish I could have that feeling again. So they weep for that which was, and is no more.
        Dare we say that there were a lot of such "movings" which we birthed, they were not wrong, they were good "children," they had the seed of life in them. You laboured and travailed before God for them, in fasting and praying, only to have it slain a short time later. Some soldier of the flesh, preacher, elder, or what have you, but they became an instrument of death, and that move ended, while you joined the ranks of the "Rachels, weeping for her children." All you can do is let the thing be buried, and wait for a resurrection morning.
        But, Jeremiah 31:17, goes on─ "There is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again into their own border."
        The travail, the labour, all that was used to birth spiritual blessings and new life, and then, before one was aware of it, all was taken away, seemingly dissipated into form and lifeless ritual, and those for whom one travailed seem to have been taken to the land of the enemy, swallowed back up into the world. BUT GOD NEVER LOSES! There is hope in thine end, all the children shall come back into their own land again. Let God wipe away all tears for past "children," and give you a vision, yes, a revelation of the day of restoration, when HIS KINGDOM shall come, and HIS WILL shall be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. When all that was sown in tears shall be reaped with joy. God has a purpose in taking away all of our family, that which we travailed and birthed, because He desires that our total life, be FOUND IN HIM, not in the blessings, not in the gifts and graces, not in the fellowship of all those we "led to the Lord." Yes, not even in the many remembrances of the glory of yesterday's revival. It is IN HIM, in the fulness of His life which is to be revealed in the ages to come, that we shall be satisfied. In order for us to be able to GO ON, He has to strip us down for the race, and there is no need to cry for that which He takes away─ IN THINE END all will be restored.
        But there is another realm of weeping, which is bitter betimes, perhaps, and yet it is positive and with precious results. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves." [Psalm 126:5-6].
        "Weeping may endurefor a night, but joy cometh in the morning." [Psalm 30:5].
        All of this, too, has had its place in the deep inworkings of God, in bringing cleansing to our own heart, and watering the seed in others. We see thus many positive purposes in the judgments of God which bring us to a place of weeping. The ramifications of His inworkings are beyond our comprehension. He works so many things at the same time, for our good, and for the blessing of others. We marvel at His handiwork!
        Psalm 69: 10, Young's Literal translation, brings out another facet, "And I weep in the fasting of my soul, and it is for a reproach to me." Laying aside the mirth, the music, the shouting, the soul is humbled while we weep before the Lord, and this weeping is used for personal cleansing─  washing away the accumulated load of bitterness, hardness, crustiness, until we are sensitive and pliable to the Spirit, for God's moving us onward. We have often pondered some of these times of weeping, wondering if it was an unspoken burden for others, some travail to be used of God, and perhaps in its own way it was, God knows. But we see now how that much of this weeping is for our own INTERNAL WASHING, it works in us for preparation of that which is to come as God would deepen our experience in Him. There is not always an immediate result, not always a manifested purpose, but were our eyes opened to see, we would recognize that the Father was using the weeping in significant ways.
        Words of a prophecy once given, add to this thought: "Art thou worthy to be taught? Hast thou followed the Lamb? Wilt thou be of the first fruits? ─Hast water been prepared, or shall tears be used for the cleansing?"
        We know there is a precious water prepared for our cleansing, "Cleanse it with the washing of water by the  Lord." [Ephesians 5:26]. But in those areas where we have been un-teachable, we find that God softens and uses many TEARS for our preparation and cleansing, and then we  learn to "receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls." [James 1:21].
        How we thank God for those who are giving diligent attention to the ministry of the Word, as the Holy Spirit quickens and illumines, and thus they are cleansed day by day. WATER HAS BEEN PREPARED. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the called-out." [Revelation 3:6]. And yet, we must also admit that in those areas where we have refused to hear, been un-teachable, God has used our tears as apart of the cleansing, and self has borne the reproach while God worked deep in the inner realms.
        "Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? And to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept." [Luke7:31-32].
        What awaits this generation? Only God knows! True, He has drawn out His remnant, His first fruits company, and "My sheep know My voice." But for multitudes, dare we say, we have piped, but they have not danced. There have been great meetings with deliverances, healings, and miracles. There have been conferences with solid teaching and deep devotional emphasis, but the nation remains unmoved. Then we have mourned, warned, challenged─ many a man of God has proclaimed the message, "set your house in order," etc. Yet it is a message that for the most part goes unheard, and by some it is even mocked, and considered to be "from the wrong spirit," and therefore to be trampled underfoot.
        But the time is nigh─ God knows, that having rejected PREPARED WATER FOR CLEANSING, that is, the Word of the Lord whereby they should be washed, now they shall come with weeping. The judgments of God are at hand, and the nation shall be cleansed, though it first be with their own tears, and then, ultimately, returning to Him, to be cleansed with His blood.
        "In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, GOING AND WEEPING: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten." [Jeremiah 50:4-5].
        Words are inadequate to express the depths that move within, the yearnings and the stirrings, and the desire to draw together into one in Christ, and in the truths which He has quickened by His Spirit. With Jeremiah we would weep for Israel, that she might be awakened to who she really is, and her calling in God. But tears are for personal cleansing, and our tears cannot wash another. In his parable of the ten virgins, five wise, and five foolish; the foolish ones could not take from the wise virgins, they had to go and buy for themselves. You cannot give of your personal experience to another. But, praise God, the time comes with Israel, "GOING AND WEEPING," shall ask the way to Zion. God shall yet gather the strayed, wandering, dispersed ones, and bring them to Zion─ even that Zion that has been redeemed with judgment.
        For the "Mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and ALL NATIONS SHALL FLOW UNTO IT." [Isaiah 2:2]. That they shall come with weeping, we know, but being washed and cleansed, they shall be prepared to then receive the Word of the Lord as it comes forth from Jerusalem, and the law as it proceeds from Zion.
          "Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." [Hebrews 12:12-13].
        Truth is many-splendored, as the Spirit of God applies it so many ways to our hearts, yet let us share a thought here, with its personal emphasis. We are to make straight paths FOR OUR OWN FEET, and then when others would follow us, they will not be turned out of the way. Rather than going about trying to straighten out everybody else's path, we need to give diligence to our own, to make sure it is upright. Paul was able to say, Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." [1 Corinthians 11:1].
        "Whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation," (or, considering the final results of their manner of behaviour). [Hebrews 13:7].
        The circuitous route of some folk is hard to follow, they dash off after this man, and that, into this cult and that, wandering here and there. We need to make straight paths for our feet, nor encumbered with devious by-paths which momentarily cater to the flesh. But, "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." [Philippians 3:13-14].
        Make straight paths─ "And thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." [Isaiah 58:12]. So clear the path, so very straight the way, that the lame, the halt, the blind shall be able to walk therein, and while their eyes are blurred with tears, and they shall come with weeping, yet they shall be able to find their way to Zion.
        Dare we become "a way IN THE WAY" so that men, beholding the uprightness of our lives, our state-of-being, will be able to follow us and find that we lead them into Christ, Who is the fulness of our life and victory? This is the challenge that is set before us.
        "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called THE WAY OF HOLINESS:.....and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." [Isaiah 35.8,10].
        The whole joy and ministry of the first fruits is to help and save and bless those who shall be born hereafter. They become apart of that causeway which leads back to the Father, and it is indeed a WAY OF HOLINESS. There will be no extra weeping caused by our becoming a stumbleingblock, because we have offended or caused a weak conscience to be wounded. Enough that they come with weepings of His inworkings, without our adding any bruising or cause for distress. So it must be a way of holiness, of love, joy, peace, that we might minister comfort and strength to those returned to the Lord. Hence, again, we see the essential need for "judgment to begin at the house of God." When those who become apart of the way of holiness have been thoroughly dealt with by His judgments, they will be ready for the next rank and order to follow in their steps to the Father.
        "How happy are the men whose strength is in Thee; the highways are in the minds! Those who pass through the valley of Baca make it a region of springs; the winter rain covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength; The God of gods is seen in Zion." [Psalm 84:5- 7, Smith-Goodspeed translation].
        Young's Literal translation gives, "Highways are in their heart." IN THEIR MINDS, AND IN THEIR HEARTS, what a place for the highway. And this is in line with the new covenant promise, "I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people: and they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest." [Hebrews 8:10-11].
        How do we know the way to Zion? He writes it in our heart and mind! And while our eyes are filled with tears, as the song writer once expressed it, "He washed mine eyes with tears, that I might see"," yes, while we do come with weeping, we have WITHIN us the directions, the set course back to the Father.
        "Passing through the valley of Baca...." Baca, meaning: WEEPING, was a valley just below Zion, I dare say, we'll never partake of the glories on top of the mountain without first passing through this valley of weeping, for it is here that we are washed and cleansed of the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and then we go on from strength to strength, from glory to glory, winding ever upward until at last we are with the Lamb on mount Zion, to follow Him whithersoever He goeth.
        "Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." [Habakkuk 2:2]. We need a straight path, a plain gospel. Far too long there has been the confusion of Babylon, with all its traditions and creeds. "Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know." [Proverbs 5:6]. Yes, there are tremendous depths of truth that yet remain unplumbed, and there are heights which stagger the imagination, but by His grace we shall follow on to know Him more and more. Yet for all this, there is a simplicity, a singleness to the path. "The wayfaring men (the travellers going and weeping), though fools, shall not ere therein." [Isaiah 35:7].
        The ascent, the upward climb brings us into HIS KINGDOM. "And in this mountain He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will WIPE AWAY TEARS FROM OFF ALL FACES." [Isaiah 25:8].
        There have been tears covering the altar with our offerings, pious forms of religion without any personal commitment behind them. These tears God has rejected. There have been tears over our presumptuous acts, when we went out and were failures in our self-willed programs, and we cried to God to help us save face, and salvage our efforts. But again He let it all be washed away with our flood of tears. There have been tears for all the things we have birthed and lost-all the blessings that came and went. There have been copious tears to water the seed we have sown (and we almost drowned some of it), while we waited for God to give the increase. There were tears shed for our own cleansing and mellowing that we might yield the more readily to His will and purpose. There have been tears shed because of compassion as we "weep with those that weep." But there shall come a time, when, having entered into the fulness of His Kingdom, He shall wipe away all tears from off all faces.
        Wiping away tears is a ministry of love and forgiveness. As long as there is one particle of carnality in us which causes us to want to see them cry a little longer, to make sure they are really repentant, etc., it is obvious that we are not qualified for this ministry of wiping away the tears. TOTAL LOVE, TOTAL MERCY, TOTAL FORGIVENESS, TOTAL COMPASSION is essential for this ministry in Christ. "Not imputing their trespasses unto them," as Paul so beautifully stated in 2 Corinthians 5: 19.
        The weeping is to be done in the valley, for there shall be no weeping in Zion, this is where He wipes away all tears. If you are still weeping, it is also self-evident that you have not yet fully arrived in Zion. Weeping was with us doing the dark night of the soul, but joy comes in the morning when we partake of His kingdom in righteousness, peace, and joy.
        There are many who can make us weep, but there are few who are able to wipe away tears from off all faces. Nevertheless, "It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." [Isaiah 25:9].
        "And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; and the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying." [Isaiah 65:19]. Here is the triumphant realization of God's purpose for our time of judgment in this "vale of tears," when all redounds to His praise, and our total satisfaction is in Him.

 
 
It's not the tears of self-remorse
That speaks repentance true,
Nor yet the tears of empty shame
When dreams fail to come through.
 
It's not the tears of bitter fare
When we presumptuous ran,
And faced defeat because we sought
The vaunted will of man.
 
It's not the tears that oft' are shed
For things of yesterday,
Though we travailed and brought to birth
A life He took away.
 
All these we've cried, ah, yes, 'tis so,
And other tears beside.
We've wept for joy, we've wept for pain,
We've wept when loved ones died.
But there's a weeping that doth cleanse
The heart, and God doth know,
That by these waters He can lead,
And in His life we grow.
 
And when we come to Zion's mount,
Within His kingdom stand,
He'll wipe away the tears from all,──  
His tender, loving hand.
 
Ah, yes, all tears to wipe away,
And joy to overflow,
For by His judgments He hath planned
In righteousness we'd grow.
 
And who can tell the wonder of
The ending of all strife,
When in His kingdom we shall stand,
In more abundant life?
 
Thus, bow we low to worship Him,
Our Life, our Truth, our Way,
Redemption truly draweth nigh,
No tears in that new day!

^{__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(1)  Prinzing, Ray and Doris. WHISPERS OF HIS JUDGMENTS. (now out of print), Boise, Idaho 83705}

---

Back to Top of Page  Back to Whispers Of His Judgments Exit to Introduction Menu  Back to Library  List
  Back to Prinzing Book List  Back to All Things Menu  Back to Reconciliation