Crowned With Glory And Honor

Crowned  With  Glory

And  Honor

from  Angels Incarnate

Martin Cecil   October 29, 1972

The oldest book in the Bible is the Book of Job. It contains a very complete outline, in allegorical form, of the history of this unfortunate interlude of man's self-centeredness. The fall of man is there described at the beginning of the book, and then the seemingly long history through which man has been moving in the false world of his own making, and finally the restoration of man to his true position once again. Most of the book is rather boring; it is, in this regard, an accurate portrayal of man's experience down through the ages! However, this book can be examined in a little different way, seeing it in the light of the individual and the processes of the incarnation of the angel in human form.

I mentioned reincarnation this morning. The only kind of reincarnation there is, from the standpoint of human progress, is that which occurs in what we call a lifetime. We do have a number of bodies during the course of this lifetime, so there is reincarnation in this sense. There is a consciousness of the whole unfolding process in this regard, whereas the usual idea of human reincarnation relative to many so-called lifetimes has never brought a consciousness of one life to the next. This is not surprising, because it never happened. There is no such thing as reincarnation according to the usual human concept of it. From the Divine standpoint there has been reincarnation, yes—the angel has incarnated many times on earth. But the human being had a beginning and has an ending. The beginning was at the point of conception; the ending is either related to the experience that is called death or it comes as the human false self passes away in favor of the experience of the Divine true self while life remains in the physical form. It is this ending in which we are interested. We would let it occur now, perhaps not complete in a moment, but allow it to unfold during this present incarnation in the human pattern.

The process is clearly outlined in the Book of Job, and while this evening we couldn't of course read the whole book (and I wouldn't wish to even if we had many evenings), we can consider certain pertinent parts, for the moment at the beginning of the book. Let me read the verses: “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.” Here may be seen a portrayal of the beginning point of incarnation. The one called Job, a true angel of the Lord, is coming into the world, incarnating, and may represent the truth of being for each one. A change in the state of consciousness that is needful brings you, each one, into a restored awareness of the fact that you willingly, voluntarily, delightedly, accepted the responsibility of incarnating on earth in human form—to be specific, in the human form which is your present experience. In order to permit this to occur you had to be on hand at the beginning point, not yet clothed in form of course, but present nevertheless in spirit.

Here we have a picture of Job, who had seven sons and three daughters. The seven sons indicate the male aspect, or the positive aspect of Being relative to the spirit of God; we might say the seven spirits which are before the throne of God, the character of Divine Being, but very specific in nature: seven vibratory levels in spirit which are to manifest in human form rightly, to reproduce the heavenly state on earth. So when the individual Divine Being incarnates he brings his character with him. The character is the spirit of God, the particular differentiation of it for which that individual is responsible. And it is sevenfold in nature. It is interesting, this morning we were considering the various levels of the capacity of consciousness in man, and I think if you count up the particular aspects that we considered you will find that there were seven, reaching from the level of the atom to the level of the consciousness of identity. It is through these capacities of consciousness that the spirit of God rightly manifests. There were seven sons—the positive expression of the spirit of God is present with respect to each one, ready to come forth in spiritual expression through body and mind. But there were three daughters, and here we have body, mind and spiritual expression—the female or negative aspect composing the channel, the means of manifestation on earth, through which the character of God, the glory of God, the honor of true Being, may reveal itself—the point of incarnation.

“His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.” If we are looking at this from the individual standpoint, we begin to see the vast resources that are present from the standpoint of Divine incarnation—your angelic incarnation. The numbers and the types of creatures that are named here have a significance. We could examine it in more detail, but will not do so, apart from recognizing that seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels have a relatedness to the fact that there were seven sons and three daughters; in other words here is the provision in the external sense by which the manifest form can appear, containing the facility through which the spirit of God manifests. I am sure those who have been in Class have touched into the fact of the seven planes of being and the seven endocrine glands—the seven related to the endocrine system, which provides the facility in the physical sense by which the spirit of God in its sevenfold application activates the various levels of consciousness in the physical form. We have an outline here of what actually occurs, described in symbol.

The five hundred oxen and five hundred she asses also have a relationship to the fact that our awareness of the world around us comes through the senses—one could say five, in the primary sense. You know, these senses which bring us an awareness of the world are positive and negative in nature. There are two aspects, in other words: there is the incoming aspect and the outgoing aspect. Human beings, self-centeredly, usually only recognize the incoming aspect—what we see, for instance, coming from out of the environment to us through our eyes, through this mechanism, or what we hear, what we smell, or taste, or touch—something coming to us. But it is through these same facilities that something may proceed from us. Did it ever strike you that something proceeds through the eyes? not just something coming into you but something going out from you? You have maybe observed it in relationship to others. There is always the outgoing aspect as well as the incoming aspect; there is a balance here. That's why there are five hundred oxen and five hundred she asses. “And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.” Here we have a very unified pattern: the spirit of God working closely in relationship to the three aspects of your external being—body, mind and spiritual expression. “And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.”

Here we see a point of responsibility that centers in your true identity, and as you begin to assume that identity you assume this responsibility, the responsibility to make sure that everything is right in your own expression through the external form in the external sense. We noted we curse God when we curse the environment. We need to check on this, to make sure that none of the spirits which are true of our own character have been distorted in such a way that we have cursed the environment. Judging the environment adversely, condemning it, objecting to it and consequently being governed by it—if this at any point is the case, then there has been sin; there has been, in other words, subjection to the external environment. That is sin, by the way; that's why all men are sinners, because they are all subject to the external environment, not because they do this thing or that thing that is classified as a sin. They do do this thing and that thing wrongly, it is true, but they do it wrongly because they have given the dominion to the environment. So whether they do what is deemed to be good or whether they do what is deemed to be bad, it is all the same thing. It is all consequent upon the government of the prince of this world, the satanic government.

Now when we begin to recognize the responsibility we have as Divine beings, without yet an adequate consciousness of it, of what it really is, we may begin to assume the responsibilities that are natural to Divine Being. One of these responsibilities relates very particularly to this matter of sanctifying our sons in case they have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. What sort of spirits have been manifesting through us? The spirit of resentment, maybe? Or the spirit of fear? There are all kinds of ill spirits, which are simply distortions of the true spirit, the true spirit which is caused to become distorted under the dominion of the environment. So we need to check, rising up early in the morning perhaps to do it, as Job did. We need to be ahead of the game, aware of what is going on, aware of where it may be that some sort of a break could occur if we were not alert. So Job did this continually, and as we return to true identity we do likewise. We can begin to do these things, even though we do not yet have a consciousness, adequately at least, of what the truth of our own identity is. We have to be aligned with it, begin to move with it, so that there is the means by which the greater expression can appear and we can know what it is.

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.” We have our heredity along. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” That's Satan. That's a very excellent definition of the nature of our capacity of consciousness at all its levels: up and down, to and fro, through all our physical bodies. It's all there—Satan is wandering up and down and to and fro. That distorted state is present in our flesh. “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” Here the attention of the self-centered consciousness is being directed toward the reality of Divine Being. The self-centered consciousness is somewhat cynical with respect to that reality and not too interested in paying much attention. “Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?” The reality of Divine Being cannot be touched by anything that the self-centered, unreal consciousness of man can do. The self-centered consciousness of man is always trying to bring down the truth of Being to its own level. “Doth Job fear God for nought?” The implication is here, of course, that the Lord has Job bought and paid for, so of course Job is serving Him. The self-centered consciousness of man always sees its own nature reflected to it, and the self-centered consciousness of man is bought and paid for, so Job is judged on the same basis. Now, of course, this relates to something that is happening in the experience of the person as the cycles of life are unfolding in human form. How very rapidly the individual is brought into subjection to externals. In the initial stages of experience as a child there is a close awareness, limited though it may be because the facility hasn't been developed adequately yet, of the reality of Divine Being. That becomes obscured rather quickly. Sometimes a person may be able to recall something of that reality touched in early years, before the weight of the external pattern of things began to descend.

Satan continues: “Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.” Here we have a recognition of the fact that Divine Being cannot be touched. This is something of which human beings in the self-centered sense are very much aware. They are always looking for God and trying to get God to do what they want Him to do, trying to bring God into subjection to themselves, rubbing the magic lamp with prayer and by other means, that the genie may appear and give the human being all that he thinks he wants. But it doesn't work—nobody has been able to get hold of God, nobody has been able to bring the reality of Divine Being into subjection to human self-centeredness. The suggestion is made here by Satan: “But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.” In other words, Satan cannot touch the reality of Divine Being; all that can be done is to affect what is present in the external sense. And you may recall something of the events that occurred thereafter: Job lost his flocks and herds, and finally the house fell in on his seven sons. This describes rather accurately what happens to a human being moving in the cycles of unfolding life in human form. The external pattern of things dominates. The vast facility that is present by reason of Divine Being is obscured and, insofar as the human awareness is concerned, is lost. The positive expression of the spirit of God, where did that go? The house fell in. Man becomes an unreal self; the individual loses sight of the strength and the beauty and the wonder and the reality of Divine Being. Most people become thoroughly embedded in the human state.

Most people become thoroughly embedded in the human state

In this instance: “Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” Now here is the evidence of integrity still present in the individual, so that he is not entirely overwhelmed, because there is integrity, because there is the reality of a point of honor in the individual experience. If that goes, what has a person left? All he has is a disaster area and no way out. If that point finally goes, the individual has committed the unpardonable sin, because there is no means by which he can be recalled to the experience of the reality. There must be a starting point; there must be the point of integrity present. This is more precious than anything that an individual knows: his or her own personal integrity and honor; so that there is something present always which does not allow him, in the ultimate sense, to feel justified in condemning what occurs in experience, in bogging down in a pattern of self-centeredness and self-pity. Honor must be preserved at all costs. I use this word to describe something that is perhaps in a sense indescribable—if you have it you know what it is.

Then the next step was that things were brought even closer home to Job, to his physical body. His troubles were in the nature of boils apparently—very uncomfortable. “And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.” [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2017/11/he-sat-down-among-ashes-from-new.html] He was in the most miserable state conceivable. “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” Now here is being emphasized the most vital aspect of individual experience. What is the attitude going to be when troubles abound? So many people pay attention to spiritual things because they are hoping for an insurance policy to fend off the troubles. What was it that Job said? “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” Aren't there going to be both kinds of experience? What is our attitude going to be? How are we going to meet these things? With Job, we need to keep our integrity so that we do not curse God and die.

What is the expectation with respect to what is occurring in the world? What do you think is going to happen? Is anyone going to be exempt from what occurs? Here is the means by which, one might say, the sheep are separated from the goats, in the actual experience—not in imagination, in a hopeful attitude that if one serves God, well He is going to look after things and everything is going to be fine in the external sense. If such is the case, then that person is certainly serving God for something; he thinks he is going to get something out of it. Is it so impossible to imagine that one could live and function, maintaining one's honor, without any expectation of getting anything? This is inconceivable to self-centered man. In the general pattern of things, of course, the attitude is, “Well what's in it for me?” But this is carried over, too, into the spiritual area, when human beings begin to pay attention to spiritual things, as they think of it. “What's in it for me? What am I going to get out of it? Am I going to be saved in some way? Am I going to have everything nice in my life on earth, just the way I would like to have it?” Or if we have to suffer here, then is there an expectation that maybe later on “I am going to have a good time? What am I going to get out of it?” Here is self-centeredness, isn't it, because who is the “I” who is going to get anything out of it? The unreal self, the one who needs to pass away. If there is integrity one is not in the least interested in what self-centeredness is going to get out of it, because one is not in the least interested in self-centeredness.

In the angelic consciousness there is the awareness that you incarnated on earth not to get anything out of it but to bring something into it. Your incarnation on earth was to bring the reality of being into the world through your particular form, and this you chose to do. Perhaps you may say, “Well, I don't remember. I don't remember any such thing.” How would you remember? If it is the truth of the matter, how would you remember? By denying that it is the truth of the matter, or agreeing with it?—in other words, assuming the attitude that would be true of you if this actually were the truth. Assuming the attitude in this fashion, then you begin to experience whether it is true or not. But if the attitude is taken, “I didn't ask to be born on earth, I didn't have any desire to come into the world or into these circumstances or into this particular physical body; I don't like it here much,” how could you ever experience the truth of yourself?—if it is true that you actually were delighted to come into the world and you chose to do it. The only way you can find out is by aligning yourself with that attitude. By disagreeing and saying “No”, you can't experience anything, of course; but if there is something in you which realizes that maybe it is a possibility, then you can accept the right attitude and the responsibility that it involves. You begin to find that then, being aligned with the truth, the truth comes through you and you know what it is. But if you are at cross-purposes with the truth, it can't come through you and you never know what it is. So while I make a more or less arbitrary statement here and say, “You did choose to come the way you have come,” that doesn't cause you to know that it is true. The only thing that will cause you to know that it is true is to assume the attitude yourself and then discover that it permits the experience of yourself in reality to emerge. You are in alignment then; you are not anymore frustrating the reality of yourself and consequently feeling frustrated. People feel frustrated all the time, and in that frustrated state they look for ways and means of becoming unfrustrated. But it's quite impossible. The only way to emerge out of that condition is to realign oneself with the truth of Being.

Now, certainly it requires someone to come around and remind a person of the truth of Being. I have accepted that responsibility, and others have accepted it with me, and presumably you are moving into position to accept it, that you may know the truth—emerging out of the disaster area, refusing to curse God and die. Agree with God and live, that's the point. Agree with the truth and live. Don't take the attitude, either, that you need all kinds of explanations to convince you that the truth is true. No explanations that may be given can convince you that the truth is true. The only way you can be genuinely convinced is by your own experience of it, because you agree with it, you agree to be honorable. That means that you don't put off any of your seeming problems, what you classify as problems perhaps at the moment, onto anybody else. You don't say that it is somebody else's fault. You don't blame your heredity. You don't blame anyone. You don't curse God. You agree with God that you accepted a commission to come into the world in your present physical body in relationship to all the circumstances that you have known, with all the hereditary background that is present. This was deliberately done. The situation was recognized as it is. You ate the little book, as it is put in Revelation [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2017/09/sweet-from-mystery-of-god-uranda-april.html] the little book of your life incarnation now, and in your mouth it was sweet as honey because it is your delight to serve the Lord whom you love. Because of your love for Him you accepted with willingness this particular stint on earth at a very vital moment in the history of the world. This makes it exciting; this makes it a particular adventure. You may have accepted the same responsibility back along the way when things were kind of humdrum, not going anywhere very fast; but now, this is the day toward which the prophets of old looked with longing! They saw it was far off insofar as they were concerned, but it's right here insofar as we are concerned. This should make it that much easier, that much more delightful. We came here to do what we came to do, and our doing relates to the external pattern of things in our own physical forms, all that is brought to focus in these forms. There is a reason for it, and we can use all things to advantage. We are here to do that.

When we begin to touch or catch the beginnings of a vision in this regard, then our attitude is totally new. This vision came within the range of the consciousness of the One called Jesus when He was twelve years old: “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?” People imagine that that just referred to Him—He was a particular person; He was the Son of God; He came on earth to do this particular thing; it's not true of anybody else. It is true of every last one of us! We come to the awareness that we are here to be about our Father's business, if that is the way you want to put it, to get a job done. All the experiences in getting that job done are not necessarily the ones we would choose if we were self-centered, but we are not self-centered, so anything that comes is welcome, because that is what we are here for. It wouldn't come unless we were in position to do something about it, to handle it, to assume our responsibility in the matter.

Now we didn't come on earth particularly to have a good time. Those who imagine that they are here on earth to have a good time don't usually have a very good time. We didn't come here on earth to have a good time, but we did come here on earth in the current of the spirit of our true character, and the expression of that is a delightful experience, so we are quite joyful in this regard. Jesus said something about His joy. We have the joy, and yet in the external sense it is not always particularly pleasing—in the belly it's sometimes bitter. But we don't live in our bellies. We have experience of ourselves by reason of what finds expression, and in the mouth it's sweet as honey. So, having this attitude, we can be most thankful and delighted, and incidentally we do have quite a good time, but that's incidental. It isn't necessary insofar as we are concerned. It's a bonus, fringe benefit; we can do without it. We take whatever comes because we know why we are here.

As we begin to be aligned with the reality of Being, we begin to discover what that reality of being is. We know what we express; that's all we know. We know about many other things; but we only know what we express, and when we express the truth, we know the truth. When we know the truth we are free. We occupy these physical forms in the recognition of their value, the value they have because of the particular vibrational state and pattern that they have. How many people find their bodies need adjustment? How many of you think that your body should be some other way? Most everyone does—maybe not all the time, but from time to time. “I wish it was some other way.” Wishful thinking. It isn't some other way; it is the way it is. That's the way it is, so why not accept the way it is, and in that particular pattern reveal the glory and the honor with which you are crowned? We are all crowned with glory and honor. This is the reality of Being, the truth of what we are. How delightful, then, not only to become aware in relationship to ourselves that we are here because we chose to be here, and have a very particular task while we are here, but to begin to recognize so many others who are the same, who have the same outlook, the same view, the same awareness, the increasing experience of the reality of Being, and to share this.

So we move together, and no matter what may be brought to pass because satan is on the rampage, so to speak—that's all right too. He doesn't have dominion over us. We are not governed by that. We don't object. We are quite capable of handling ourselves under the dominion of the spirit of God, in the expression of the truth of our own Being. As we do this we find the experience of restoration, as Job did. His three friends had a lot to say, but when the chips were down it wasn't the three friends who were acceptable. They had all the know-how, but Job had the integrity, and that is the one thing that is required. In that restored experience he found that he had seven sons and three daughters again; in other words the spirit of God was emerging again into expression. This is the aspect of our own experience which is coming. And he had twice as much as he had before. Here we have the indication of the vastly greater expression of Being through the mature state. In the earlier years there wasn't much to express through yet. Then, not sinking down into subjection to the unreal but emerging out of it, we come again to the realization of the seven sons and three daughters, and of the vast provision that is made by which we may handle all that needs to be handled. And we get the job done. I thank God this evening that we are privileged to share this time together in an awareness of these things, and in the opportunity that is ours as we begin to align ourselves with the truth.

There is a hedge about Divine Being, on every hand. That hedge, of course, is present where Divine Being is in expression. It has receded from the surface of the earth because human beings have not been allowing the expression of Divine Being, but it has remained about Divine Being; no one has been able to get to God. One of the most futile undertakings is to try to get to God. But when the reality of God begins to find expression on earth, then the hedge begins to appear on earth. It properly enfolds the whole earth and everything in it, but it can only do this when man lets it happen. From the standpoint of our own experience, it begins to emerge as a hedge for which we are responsible here on earth, a hedge which includes those who are allowing the expression of Divine Being to appear. The more there are on earth who are permitting this to happen, the more widespread the hedge. When it is true of all those who live on earth, then the whole earth is enfolded. We have absolute confidence that nothing can touch Divine Being, and when we are identified with the truth of ourselves nothing can touch us. This is not to say that something may not happen to our physical bodies, but who are you? The angel of the Lord incarnate on earth. Let us stand with integrity and honor in that position.

© emissaries of divine light