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 If you only buy one HR textbook, make it Torrington’s.

HUMAN RESOURCE
He is clear, precise and highly readable, as a generation of students will happily attest.
Ninth ‘The ultimate HR bookshelf ’, People Management Magazine, 26 May 2013
EDition
MANAGEMENT Ninth EDition
Derek Torrington • Laura Hall HUMAN
RESOURCE
Stephen Taylor • Carol Atkinson

MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCE
For three decades, this text has been the leading introduction to HRM for students at all levels,

MANAGEMENT
including those on CIPD-accredited courses. Comprehensively covering all major areas of the field, it
is renowned for its readable and engaging style. This thoroughly updated ninth edition is specifically
designed to be relevant to the issues and debates facing HRM today. Its key features include:

●● ‘Theory into Practice’ case studies that contextualise theory through discussions of HR issues
in such organisations as Rolls Royce, McDonald’s and the BBC World Service.
●● A new, consolidated structure and design that ensure the book is as direct and relevant as Derek Torrington • Laura Hall
possible.
●● Activity and discussion boxes integrated into the text to help encourage deeper thinking and
Stephen Taylor • Carol Atkinson
understanding of each chapter.
●● Skills content to help you develop the specific employability characteristics that will set you Ninth EDition
apart as an HR practitioner.

Derek Torrington is Emeritus Professor of Management, University of Manchester.

Laura Hall has been a senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University and a national
examiner for the CIPD. She is now a freelance academic carrying out work for a range of bodies
including the CIPD.
Stephen Taylor is a senior lecturer in HRM at the University of Exeter Business School, and a Chief
Examiner for the CIPD.
Carol Atkinson is Professor of HRM, and Director of the Centre for People and Performance, at

Torrington • Hall
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, and a member of the CIPD Manchester

Taylor • Atkinson
Branch Committee.

www.pearson-books.com

Cover: (front and back) © Michael Blann, Stone,

(spine) ©Trevor Clifford, Pearson Education Ltd.

CVR_TORR6634_09_SE_CVR.indd 1 21/01/2014 11:30

 Contents

Guided tour xiv Theoretical perspectives of strategic HRM 50

Preface xvii Summary propositions 60
Publisher’s acknowledgements xix General discussion topics 61
Theory into practice 61
Part 1 Human resource Further reading 62
management in changing times 2
Web link 62
1 The nature of human resource References 62
management 4
4 Workforce planning and metrics 65
Defining HRM 6
The contribution and feasibility of
The evolution of modern HRM 10
workforce planning 66
HRM and the achievement of
organisational effectiveness 15 The scope of workforce planning 68

Summary propositions 19 Analysing the environment 70

General discussion topics 20 Forecasting future HR needs 72

Theory into practice 20 Analysing the current situation and
Further reading 21 projecting forward 74

References 22 Reconciliation, decisions and plans 76

Workforce metrics 80
2 The global context for human
Summary propositions 82
resource management 24
General discussion topics 83
Globalisation 25
Theory into practice 83
The causes of globalisation 28
Further reading 84
The impact of globalisation 29
Conclusions 38 Web links 85

Summary propositions 39 References 85

General discussion topics 39

Theory into practice 39
Part 2 Resourcing: getting
people in the right places to
Further reading 41
do the right things 88
References 41
5 Organisation design and flexibility 90
3 Strategic human resource
management 43 Organisation design 91

Strategic HRM 44 Organisation structures 94

The relationship between business strategy Organisational flexibility 97

and HR strategy 46 Employer flexibility 98

vii

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 Contents

Employee flexibility (or work–life balance) 103 The impact of staff turnover 159
Summary propositions 106 Analysing staff turnover 160
General discussion topics 107 Engagement and retention strategies 163
Theory into practice 107 Summary propositions 168
Further reading 108 General discussion topics 168
References 108 Theory into practice 169
Further reading 170
6 Recruitment 111
References 171
Determining requirements 112
Rational versus processual approaches to 9 Ending the contract 173
recruitment 116 Unfair dismissal 174
Internal recruitment 118 Constructive dismissal 184
External recruitment 119 Compensation for dismissal 185
Recruitment advertising 121
Wrongful dismissal 187
E-recruitment 123
Notice 187
Evaluation of recruitment activity 126
Summary propositions 188
Summary propositions 127
General discussion topics 188
General discussion topics 127
Theory into practice 189
Theory into practice 128
Further reading 190
Further reading 130
References 190
References 130
Legal cases 191
7 Selection methods and decisions 132
Rational versus processual approaches to Part 3 Performance: success
selection 133 through individual and
Selection criteria 134 collective achievement 192
Shortlisting 135 10 Employee performance
Selection methods 136 management 194
Advanced methods of selection 140 Performance management or performance
Final selection decision making 147 appraisal? 195

Validation of selection procedures 148 Theoretical bases of performance

management 198
Summary propositions 148
Performance management across national
General discussion topics 149
contexts 198
Theory into practice 149
Stages in a performance management
Further reading 150
system 199
References 151
Performance management: does it improve
8 Engaging and retaining people 153 performance? 207

Defining engagement 154 Summary propositions 209

The benefits of employee General discussion topics 210

engagement 157 Theory into practice 210

viii

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 Contents

Further reading 211 Reconceptualising change 263

References 212 Organisational development as a specific
approach to change 265
11 Leadership 214
The evolution and future of OD 267
Leadership and management 216
Summary of the HR role in change 269
What are the traits of (effective) leaders? 216
Summary propositions 269
What is the ‘best way to lead’? Leadership
General discussion topics 270
styles and behaviours 218
Theory into practice 270
Do leaders need different styles for
different situations? 219 Further reading 271

Transformational leadership: do we References 271

really need heroes? 221
14 The context of employee
Followership 226 learning and development 274
Summary propositions 227 The UK national picture and strategy 275
General discussion topics 228 UK skills policy and framework 278
Theory into practice 228 Behavioural competencies 284
Further reading 229 The nature of learning: theories 287
References 230 The nature of learning: learning
from experience 289
12 Managing attendance and
absence 232 Summary propositions 290

The national context 233 General discussion topics 290

The organisational context 235 Theory into practice 291

Process and causes of absence 235 Further reading 292

Managing for attendance 237 References 292

Ongoing contact during absence 243 15 Learning and development 294

Summary propositions 248 Identifying learning and development
General discussion topics 248 needs 295
Theory into practice 249 Methods of learning and development 297
Further reading 249 Evaluation of training and development 309
References 250 Summary propositions 311
General discussion topics 311
Part 4 Development 252 Theory into practice 311

13 Organisational change and Further reading 312

development 254 References 313
The nature of change and the role of
16 Talent and career development 315
planned change 255
What is talent? 316
How can organisations be responsive
to change? 257 Identification of talent 318

Addressing the employee experience Strategic talent and career development 319
of change 259 Developing talent and careers 323

ix

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 Contents

How organisations evaluate talent Implications for organisations 383

management 325 Summary propositions 385
Summary propositions 327 General discussion topics 385
General discussion topics 328 Theory into practice 386
Theory into practice 328 Further reading 387
Further reading 329
Web links 387
References 330
References 387

Part 5 Employee relations 332 20 Grievance and discipline 390

The Milgram experiments with
17 Employee voice 334
obedience 391
Terminology 335
What do we mean by discipline? 394
Information sharing 337
What do we mean by grievance? 396
Consultation 341
The framework of organisational justice 397
Co-determination 343
Grievance procedure 401
Summary propositions 345
Disciplinary procedure 403
General discussion topics 345
Are grievance and discipline processes
Theory into practice 346
equitable? 404
Further reading 347
Summary propositions 405
References 348
General discussion topics 406
18 The legal framework of work 350 Theory into practice 406
A regulatory revolution 351 Further reading 408
The contract of employment 352 References 408
Discrimination law 354
Equal pay law 359 Part 6 Reward: the contract
Health and safety law 360 for payment 410
Family-friendly employment law 363 21 Setting pay 412
The National Minimum Wage 364 Introducing reward management 413
Is employment law a benefit or The elements of payment 414
a burden for businesses? 365
Setting base pay 416
Summary propositions 368
The importance of equity 422
General discussion topics 368
International diversity in reward
Theory into practice 369
management 423
Further reading 371
Total reward 425
References 371
Summary propositions 428
Legal cases 371
General discussion topics 428
19 Equal opportunities and diversity 372 Theory into practice 429
How ‘equal’ is the workforce? 373 Further reading 430
Different approaches to equality 376 References 431

A01_TORR6634_09_SE_FM.indd 10 1/15/14 9:41 AM

 Contents

22 Incentives 432 25 Managing the human resource

Basic choices 433 function 490

The extent to which incentives are paid 436 Purpose and roles of the HR function 491

PBR schemes 437 Structure of the HR function 493

PRP 438 HR strategic contribution 495

Self-service HR 497
Skills-based pay 443
HR shared services 498
Profit sharing 444
Outsourcing HR 500
Summary propositions 447
The role of line managers in HR 503
General discussion topics 447
Critique of changes in the management
Theory into practice 448 of the HR function 504
Further reading 449 Summary propositions 506
References 450 General discussion topics 507

23 Pensions and benefits 452 Theory into practice 507

Further reading 508
Pensions 454
References 508
Occupational pensions and HRM 460
Sick pay 462 26 Health and well-being 511
Company cars 464 The nature of health and well-being 512
Flexible benefits 465 Health and well-being initiatives 514
Summary propositions 467 Job design 516
General discussion topics 467 The impact of health and well-being
Theory into practice 468 initiatives on individuals and organisations 520
Further reading 468 Criticisms of health and well-being
References 469 initiatives 522
Summary propositions 525
Part 7 Contemporary issues 470 General discussion topics 525
Theory into practice 526
24 Ethics and corporate social
Further reading 526
responsibility 472
Web links 527
The ethical dimension 473
References 527
Early management concern with ethics 475
Renewed interest in business ethics 476 27 The international dimension 529
Ethics and HRM 479 Cultural variations 531
Ethics across national boundaries 480 Institutional variations 534
Some current and developing ethical HRM in international organisations 536
dilemmas 481 Managing expatriates 541
Summary propositions 487 Summary propositions 546
General discussion topics 487 General discussion topics 546
Theory into practice 488 Theory into practice 547
Further reading 488 Further reading 548
References 489 References 548

xi

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 Contents

Part 8 Selected human General discussion topics 602

resource skills 550 Theory into practice 602
Further reading 603
28 Skills set 1: Face-to-face and other
References 603
communication skills 552
VIII Report writing 603
I Being good with people 553
Summary propositions 606
Summary propositions 558
Theory into practice 607
General discussion topics 558
Further reading 607
Further reading 559
Reference 607
II The selection interview 559
IX Presentation at tribunal 608
Summary propositions 569
Theory into practice 611
General discussion topics 569
Further reading 612
Theory into practice 569
References 612
Further reading 570
X Dealing with bullying and harassment
Web links 570
at work 612
References 571
Summary propositions 617
III The appraisal interview 571
General discussion topics 617
Summary propositions 579
Theory into practice 618
General discussion topics 579
Further reading 618
Theory into practice 579
References 619
Further reading 580
References 580 29 Skills set 2: Skills for analysis and
IV Coaching 581 decision making 620

Summary propositions 585 XI Using and interpreting statistics 621

General discussion topic 585 XII Job analysis 628
Theory into practice 585 XIII Designing procedures 631
Further reading 586 Summary propositions 634
References 586 Further reading 634
V Presentation 586 XIV Designing questionnaires 635
Summary propositions 590 Further reading 638
General discussion topics 590 XV Using consultants 639
Theory into practice 590 Summary propositions 641
Further reading 591 General discussion topics 641
Reference 591 Theory into practice 642
VI Mediation 591 Further reading 644
Summary propositions 593 Web links 644
General discussion topics 593 Reference 644
Further reading 593
VII The disciplinary or grievance interview 594 Glossary 645
Summary propositions 601 Index 653

xii

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A01_TORR6634_09_SE_FM.indd 13 1/15/14 9:41 AM
 Guided tour Chapter
7
Learning Objectives work in conjunction with the SELECTION METHODS
chapter-ending Summary Propositions to quickly show AND DECISIONS
you what you will learn about in the chapter and help you THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS CHAPTER ARE TO:

compare how well you have understood the learning you 1 Explain the importance of viewing selection as a two-way process
2 Examine the development and use of selection criteria
undertake. 3 Evaluate the range of selection methods that are available (interviewing
will be dealt with in detail later (see Part 8 on selected HR skills)) and
consider the criteria for choosing different methods
4 Review approaches to selection decision making
5 Explain how selection procedures can be validated

Window on practice boxes provide you with examples of

real organisational practice, survey results, anecdotes and
quotations and court cases, helping you to build up your
knowledge of real-World practice and prepare you for life
after study.

Chapter 7 Selection methods and decisions

Activity boxes encourage you to regularly review and
WINDOW ON PRACTICE more traditional selection methods such as interviews,
role plays and report writing. Group exercises have,
critically apply your learning, either as an individual or
within a group. These have been developed for both
however, been removed from the process as KPMG
‘Hi-tech’ assessment centres believes that they do not accurately represent how
KPMG has launched what it describes as a ‘hi-tech’ candidates really behave. The interactive technological
experience is designed to generate greater insight into
students with little or no business experience, as well as
assessment centre for graduate recruitment. It contains
a one-hour ‘virtual office’ exercise which is designed to candidate behaviour and reduce the number of
simulate closely the working environment in which candidates who are rejected at a late stage in the
candidates complete an assigned task while dealing selection process.
with emails and telephone calls. This is combined with Source: Summarised from Brockett (2011).
though with more practical knowledge.

ACTIVITY 7.4
Design an assessment centre for the anti-rape detective job as described in Case 7.1 on the
Companion Website www.pearsoned.co.uk/torrington.
Web icons indicate where more information and
EB

support is available on the complementary website

EB

W (www.pearsoned.co.uk/torrington).
Final selection decision making
The selection decision involves measuring the candidates individually against the selec-
tion criteria defined, often in the person or competency specification, and not against
each other. A useful tool to achieve this is the matrix in Table 7.3. This is a good method
of ensuring that every candidate is assessed against each selection criterion and in each
box in the matrix the key details can be completed. The box can be used whether a single
Part 3 Performance: success through individual and collective achievement
selection method was used or multiple methods. If multiple methods were used and
contradictory information is found against any criterion, this can be noted in the deci-
sion-making process. Performance management systems
When more than one selector is involved there is some debate about how to gather and
While many appraisal systems are still in existence and continue to be updated, per-
use the information and about the judgement of each selector. One way is for each selec-
formance management systems are increasingly seen as the way to manage employee
tor to assess the information collected separately, and then for all selectors to meet to
performance. An appraisal/review process is incorporated into this but is distinct from a
discuss assessments. When this approach is used, there may be some very different
traditional appraisal system. We consider the performance appraisal interview later in
Table 7.3 the context of either an appraisal or a performance management system (see Part 8).
Selection criteria Candidate 1 Candidate 2 Candidate 3 Candidate 4 Aguinis and Pierce (2008: 139) provide a useful definition of performance manage-
Criterion a
ment, stating that its essence is:
Criterion b
a continuous process of identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams and
Criterion c
aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organisation.
Criterion d
Criterion e
A strategic approach is thus adopted in which there is an attempt to ensure that employee efforts
General comments
are directed to the achievement of organisational goals. Attention is paid to both task and
contextual performance. Contextual performance is often addressed via the use of com-
147 petencies (Fletcher 2001) so that how something is achieved is as important as the results
themselves. In this way, organisations seek to ensure long-term sustainable performance rather
than quick wins which may damage ongoing business relationships. Employee development
also becomes recognised as a key element of performance management and the emphasis
is on an ongoing cycle of performance development. The system is line manager driven.
Many organisations now claim to operate performance management systems. CIPD (2005)
reports that 87% of the organisations it surveyed operated a formal process to measure
and manage performance. Of these 37% were new systems, demonstrating the increasing
focus on the issue of performance. Originally a private-sector phenomenon, performance
management has now spread to the public sector in many countries (Tuytens and Devos
2012; Decramer et al. 2012) in support of neo-liberal agendas which seek to operate sectors
such as health and education using business principles. It is also a global phenomenon.
Aguinis and Pierce (2008), for example, suggest that over 90% of the multinational com-
panies surveyed across fifteen countries implemented a performance management system
and that this figure also reflects practice in Australian companies. Emerging economies, such
as India (Gupta and Kumar 2013), are also recognising its importance. Almost all research
into performance management emanates, however, from a western context (Briscoe and
Claus 2008) and there is limited understanding of how effective these systems might be
in other national contexts. We consider the implications of this throughout the chapter.

Regular quotes throughout help to enliven and sources (360-degree feedback) and to emphasise a
WINDOW ON PRACTICE developmental focus. Feedback was also provided on
contextualise the subject. Merrill Lynch moved away from its traditional performance
the contribution that employee performance made to
the achievement of organisational goals. Managers
appraisal system to implement a performance were trained in how to set objectives, coach and carry
management system. Rather than a once-a-year out appraisals. They are also supported by an intranet
conversation about performance, an ongoing dialogue that provides information on the performance
between manager and employee was developed which management system. The aim is to ensure that all
was based around managers coaching their subordinates. employees knows what is expected of them, what
Employees received regular feedback on progress against development they will receive and how their
goals and personal development plans were established performance will be judged and rewarded.
to support improved performance. The end-of-year review
was changed to include feedback from a number of Source: Adapted from Aguinis and Pierce (2008).

196

A01_TORR6634_09_SE_FM.indd 14 1/15/14 9:41 AM

 Guided tour

Chapter 15 Learning and development

Summary Propositions provide a useful revision tool Summary propoSitionS

enabling you to recap and check your understanding of the 15.1 The emphasis has moved from training to learning, with individuals taking ownership of
identifying and addressing their own learning needs, or at least contributing to this. To be

chapter. In conjunction with the chapter-opening Learning effective learners we need to understand the nature of learning and our own strengths and
weaknesses.

15.2 The emphasis on formal development programmes is declining in favour of greater interest
Objectives, you can quickly determine whether you are in approaches to on-the-job development, such as coaching, mentoring, peer relationships
and self-development.

prepared enough to move on, or need further study. 15.3 The interest in e-learning continues; however, the extent to which employees take advantage
of such opportunities will be affected by the context and the support available. E-learning is
increasingly being blended with other forms of learning.

15.4 Evaluation of development is critical but difficult. It is most effective when built into the
design of the development activity rather than tagged on at the end.

General Discussion Topics are useful both as a basis for

group discussion within tutorials or study groups, as well as General diScuSSion topicS
1 If learning is an individual process, why is so much training done in groups? What are the
activities to help develop your better understanding of the implications of moving towards more individualised learning?

2 Discuss the view that the role of the trainer/facilitator is critically important in the effective-

topics covered within the chapter. ness of a training programme.

theory into practice

Theory into Practice case studies or learning activities that Micropower

enable you to put your learning into practice within a realistic Micropower is a rapidly growing computer software firm, specialising in tailor-made solutions
for business. Increasingly, training for other businesses in its own and other software packages
has occupied the time of the consultants. Micropower sees this as a profitable route for the

scenario. Improve your employability by answering the future and such training is now actively sold to clients. Consultants both sell and carry out the
training. As an interim measure, to cope with increasing demand, the firm is now recruiting
some specialist trainers, but the selling of the training is considered to be an integral part of

associated questions and developing a better understanding the consultant’s role.

311

of business practice.

Part 2 Resourcing: getting people in the right places to do the right things

Questions
1 This research is based in Australia. To what extent can its findings be applied to other
countries where substantial numbers of prospective employees, often migrant or poorly
educated workers, do not have the language in which selection tests are constructed as
a first language? What are the implications of this?
2 How applicable are these selection techniques across a wide range of jobs?
3 What difficulties might you face in using these selection techniques?

Adapted from: Pearson, C. and Daff, S. (2011) ‘Extending boundaries of human resource concepts and practices: An innovative
recruitment method for Indigenous Australians in remote regions’, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 325–43.

Further Reading sections provide guided access to

Further reading
some key readings in the area, help you to further
Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 19, No. 3, September 2009, ‘Employee selection at the
beginning of the 21st century’, Special Issue. develop your skills and learning.
This is a special edition on selection and presents an up-to-date review of research on important
selection topics, such as the legal environment in which employee selection occurs, how selection
issues should be considered in the context of international and cultural issues, and how the central
focus during the selection process may be on other factors than job relatedness.
Stone, D., Lukaszewski, K., Stone-Romero, E. and Johnson, T. (2012) ‘Factors affecting the effec-
tiveness and acceptance of electronic selection systems’, Human Resource Management Review,
Vol. 23, pp. 50 –70.
The authors argue that e-selection systems are now in widespread use and investigate the factors
that influence their effectiveness and acceptance by candidates. Six stages of the selection process
are considered: job analysis, job applications, pre-employment testing, interviews, selection deci-
sion making and validation of selection decisions. The authors also discuss potential adverse
impacts in respect of applicant privacy and make recommendations in respect of system design
and implementation.
Murphy, N. (2006) ‘Voyages of discovery: Carrying out checks on job applicants’, IRS Employment
Review, No. 850, 7 July, pp. 42–8.
This article reports the results of a survey into employer practices to check the background details
of applicants, and is much broader than seeking references from previous employers. It covers the
type of information that is checked on, together with the mechanisms used.
Noon, M. (2012) ‘Simply the best? The case for using threshold selection in hiring decisions’,
Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 22, pp. 76–88.
This article argues for the use of ‘threshold selection’, a progressive approach to diversity and
inclusion incorporating positive discrimination, in the selection process. It is interesting for this
reason but it is also a very useful article as, in arguing for threshold selection, it presents an insight-
ful critique of selection processes and the influence of expediency, politics and professionalisation
on these.

150

xv

A01_TORR6634_09_SE_FM.indd 15 1/15/14 9:41 AM

 Guided tour

Chapter 26 Health and well-being

Some chapters list relevant Web Links that can help expand
Web links your understanding of the topics covered within the chapter.
www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/employee_well_being_management.shtml (IBM website, section
on corporate social responsibility, accessed 24 March 2013).
www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/employees_global_wellness.shtml (IBM website, section on
international wellness initiatives, accessed 24 March 2013).
www.investorsinpeople.co.uk (website of Investors in People, accessed 24 March 2013).
www.well-being.ac.uk (website of well-being funded by the HEFCE and the Scottish Funding
Council to investigate and promote well-being in higher education, accessed 24 March 2013).
www.workandwell-being.com (website of Work and Well-being Ltd, a consultancy, accessed
24 March 2013).
www.dwp.gov.uk/health-work-and-well-being/about-us/ (accessed 24 March 2013).

Detailed References provide quick and easy access to the

RefeRences
research behind the chapter and additional sources of
Alfes, K., Shantz, A. and Truss, C. (2012) ‘The link between perceived HRM practices, performance
and well-being: The moderating effect of trust in the employer’, Human Resource Management
Journal, Vol. 22, pp. 409 –27.
information to support your learning.
Atkinson, C. and Hall, L. (2011) ‘Flexible working and happiness in the NHS’, Employee
Relations, Vol. 33, pp. 88–105.
CIPD (2007) What’s Happening with Wellbeing at Work? London: CIPD.
CIPD (2008) Smart Working: The impact of work organisation and job design. London: CIPD.
CIPD (2012) Building a Culture of Organisational Well-being. London: CIPD.
CIPD (2013) Health and Well-being at Work: Factsheet. London: CIPD.
Cooney, R. (2004) ‘Empowered self-management and the design of work teams’, Personnel Review,
Vol. 33, pp. 677–92.
Crush, P. (2009) ‘Health and well-being: The science of employee well-being’, Human Resources,
1 July.
De Voorde, K., Paauwe, J. and van Veldhoven, M. (2012) ‘Employee well-being and the HRM–
organisational performance relationship: A review of quantitative studies’, International
Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 14, pp. 391– 407.
DH (2004) Choosing Health: Making healthy choices easier, Cm 6374. London: The Stationery
Office.
Greasley, K., Edwards, P., Baker-McClearn, D. and Dale, J. (2012) ‘Why do organisations engage
in HR initiatives? A test case of a health and well-being intervention’, Employee Relations,
Vol. 34, pp. 443– 62.
Hall, L. and Atkinson, C. (2006) ‘Improving working lives: Flexible working and the role of
employee control’, Employee Relations, Vol. 28, pp. 374–86.
Holman, D. (2002) ‘Employee well-being in call centres’, Human Resource Management Journal,
Vol. 12, pp. 35–50.
HSE (2004) Management Standards for Work-related Stress. London: Health and Safety Executive.
HSE (2009) How to Tackle Work-related Stress: A guide for employers on making the Management
Standards work. London: Health and Safety Executive.
Krasman, J. (2013) ‘Putting feedback-seeking into “context”: Job characteristics and feedback-
seeking behaviour’, Personnel Review, Vol. 42, pp. 50–66.
Marsden, D. and Moriconi, S. (2009) ‘The value of rude health: Employees’ well being, absence
and workplace performance’, CEP Discussion Paper No. 919. London: Centre for Economic
Performance.

527

A detailed Glossary is included at the end of the book, for

Glossary
quick reference to key terms and definitions within each
chapter.
The terms in this glossary have been taken selectively from the text. Rather than repeating definitions we have
already given, we have chosen terms which are neologisms that may not appear in a dictionary, or are invented
words, like presenteeism, which do not yet appear in a dictionary. We also include terms, like bureaucracy, which
can benefit from more interpretation than we have provided in the text.

Absence/attendance. Until quite staff were missing. The drawing half of those pursuing an
recently attendance at work was office manager explained that the apprenticeship were over 25.
universally accepted as a duty and absentees were ‘getting in their sick
absence had to be justified by leave’ before the end of the leave Benchmarking. Originally a
external verification, such as by a year. A management attempt to benchmark was a mark on a work
medical note or a call to undertake make allowance for understandable bench that could be used to measure
jury service. Without such sickness absence had been off a standard size. This idea of
independent evidence, some sort mismanaged in allowing it to comparative measurement is used
of punishment was usual. As social become gradually accepted as an in HRM to describe the process
attitudes have changed and rights additional leave entitlement. In a of checking some aspect of work
to time off have increased, so the different, current situation a school in one’s own business against an
managerial emphasis has changed, teacher has recently shown such external standard, like the average
requiring managers to manage unwillingness to implement new number of days lost through
attendance, by paying attention to professional requirements that there absence across the working
reasons for avoidable absence. This is a risk of the school implementing population as a whole, or in
has a degree of altruistic concern capability procedure with the a particular industry, by age,
for employee well-being, where response, ‘if they do that I will occupation, gender and so forth. It
some aspect of the work required simply go off with stress’. is slightly different from ‘yardstick’,
from employees is a contributory which is literally a measuring stick a
cause of, for instance, an inability Apprenticeship. The typical idea of yard long. This is sometimes used as
to return to work. There is also an apprentice is of a male who left a rough-and-ready measure for some
an emphasis on trying to minimise school as soon as possible and then aspect of management effectiveness,
disruption to working patterns trained on the job in a manual but it lacks the dimension of
and persuading people not to be trade like plumbing or as an external comparison.
unreasonable. Stress has become a electrician, possibly continuing
major absence factor since it has education part time at a local Best fit/fit. In many fields of human
become more socially acceptable. college. Since a university degree endeavour there is an aim to find
Usually it is a perfectly valid feature has gradually become the must- and implement the one best way,
of a person’s working or personal have qualification for many fields or the right way, of doing things.
life and can perhaps be alleviated of employment, the number An alternative is to work out the
by managerial initiatives. In some of apprentices has dwindled: best way of doing things in this or
other situations it is manipulated certainly not a prelude to a ‘nice that situation. There is no single
by people who place their job’. Currently they are seeing a approach or method that is always
own interpretation on a right renaissance, as skills shortages are right.
to sick leave. A recent visit to an seen as an impediment to economic
engineering drawing office in March growth, but not necessarily for Bottom line. A term derived from
was surprising as more than half the young males. In 2013 more than accountancy, where it is the final

645

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 Preface

This book has been evolving through many changes since the very first edition of its predecessor
Personnel Management in 1979. Our objective has always been to track the development of the personnel/
human resource (HR) function and its activities. Our preface to the eighth edition in 2011 opened by
saying: ‘Since the last edition the world has undergone a major recession, triggered by a banking crisis
unprecedented in modern times. This has created great uncertainty about how human resource man-
agement (HRM) will be changed.’ Then, many people still assumed that it would be like other reces-
sions, followed by a steady recovery, renewed growth and we would all feel more secure. Three years
on we can be more certain of some changes that will continue for the foreseeable future:

1 Rather than becoming more secure, for most people their experience of employment will be less
secure. ‘Jobs for life’ had always been rare, but security of employment in terms of an open-ended
contract that would be maintained in most cases for as long as the employee wished has slowly
become less. Some businesses that experience sharp variations in demand for their products, like
some in electronics, are employing certain categories of staff on fixed-term contracts via a con­
sultancy in order to avoid the costs of making people redundant. This is just one example of sub-
contracting instead of directly employing people. Alongside this is the great change in pension
provision. Outside the public sector, final salary schemes have dwindled to a handful and the
contemporary substitutes are more likely to be owned by the employee, with a reduced level of
dependence on the individual employer. Some companies rise and fall with breathtaking speed. In
April 2012 Google bought a British IT company for $1 billion. The company had a single product,
had been in existence for little over a year and employed only thirteen people. How can a company
of that size be worth $1 billion? At the same time we see sudden failures, like HMV, Sea France,
Comet and Hungarian Airlines.
2 The shift towards the ‘disaggregation’ of employment in businesses has increased. In 1984 John
Atkinson published a short paper with a clever illustrative figure that identified a move towards
businesses having a core workforce of vital people who were well paid and built into the busi-
nesses, surrounded by a peripheral workforce, with jobs requiring skills that were not specific to the
business and might be directly employed or employed via an agency or as a sole trader. This
attracted great interest and hundreds of HR lecturers reckoned that they could run at least three
teaching sessions on the paper! Atkinson had described a process that had been going for some
time and gave it a nudge. Subcontracting of staff in catering, office cleaning and security became
commonplace and retail distribution is now normally subcontracted. The development of using
the Internet for marketing has seen a great increase in the number of sole traders or very small
businesses providing specialist services. In the UK in 2012, 74% of private-sector businesses were
sole traders without employees and 3.8 million people were working from home. The general
assumption that a business is a close-knit community of people who spend most of their time in
one location with an organisational culture that generates morale and meets employees’ needs to
belong is no longer quite as universal as organisational studies have suggested.
3 Levels of public-sector employment will remain depressed. Together with most western economies, it
has been an objective of the UK government to reduce the number of people in permanent
employment in the public sector as part of an overall objective to rebalance the economy in favour

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 Preface

of the private sector. This has only partly succeeded, as much of the cost saving has been in reduc-
ing payments to arm’s length organisations and charities providing services, rather than reducing
the number on permanent contracts. Nonetheless growth of public-sector core employment
seems unlikely after sustained growth over the last 60–70 years.

This is not to suggest that there has been a fundamental and complete change in employment
practice; rather there is a change in the mix of factors to which HRM has to adapt and this will be a
continuing feature in our approach to the subject in this edition. In preparing this edition we have
analysed trends, reviewed the changes, examined all the novelties before discussing these among our-
selves and taken account of the comments that many people using the book have suggested. This is to
ensure that the book continues to reflect the reality of working life as it is evolving rather than how we
would like it to be. We also have to ensure that the book makes sense to readers in different parts of
the world, although the book remains the work of four Britons, whose work and understanding are
inevitably informed by experience, research and scholarship mainly in the western world.
Apart from general updating, the main changes since the last edition are that we include a new
pedagogical feature called ‘Theory into practice’ at the end of most chapters. These features are case
studies or some other learning aid, as suggested by our publisher; we have removed the cases that
previously closed each of the eight parts of the book. There are three fewer chapters overall through
consolidation in some areas. Skills now include a section on job analysis, which had been unforgivably
not featured in the last edition, despite its fundamental importance in so many aspects of HR practice.
As before, there is a range of assessment material and illustrations, as well as several design features
to assist readers further in using and learning from the text, as follows:

(a) Integrated Window on practice boxes provide a range of illustrative material throughout the text,
including examples of real company practice, survey results, anecdotes and quotations, and court
cases.
(b) Integrated Activity boxes encourage readers to review and critically apply their understanding at
regular intervals throughout the text, either by responding to a question or by undertaking a small
practical assignment, individually or as part of a group. In recognising that this text is used on both
professional and academic courses, most of the exercises reflect the fact that many students will
have little or no business experience. Other exercises may appear to exclude students who are not
in employment by asking readers to consider an aspect in their own organisation; however, the
organisation could be a college or university, the students’ union, a political body or sports team.
(c) Discussion topics: at the end of each chapter there are two or three short questions intended for
general discussion in a tutorial or study group.
(d) Theory into practice features appear at the end of chapters to enable readers to review, link and
apply their understanding of the previous chapters to a business scenario.
(e) Web links are given as appropriate at various points in the text. These are either to the text’s
Companion Website, where there is a great deal of further material, or to other websites containing
useful information relating to the topics covered.
(f) Further reading sections for each chapter suggest further relevant readings, with guidance on their value.
(g) Each part of the text includes a brief introduction to its scope and purpose.
(h) Chapter objectives open and Summary propositions conclude each chapter to set up the readers’
expectations and review their understanding progressively.
(i) References are given in full at the end of each chapter to aid further exploration of the chapter
material, as required.
(j) The Companion Website, www.pearsoned.co.uk/torrington, has more material, including further
EB

W
case studies or exercises for each chapter and support for both tutor and student.
(k) Glossary: the book closes with a short glossary of terms taken selectively from the text.

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 Publisher’s
acknowledgements

Figures
Figure 3.2 from Strategic human resource management (Fombrun, C., Tichy, N.M. and Devanna, M.A. 1984)
p. 41, John Wiley, New York, Reproduced with permission of John Wiley & Sons Inc.; Figure 3.3 from
‘Front-line managers as agents in the HRM performance causal chain: theory, analysis and evidence’,
Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 3–20 (Purcell, J. and Hutchinson, S. 2007),
p. 7, Figure 1, reproduced with permission of Wiley-Blackwell, Reproduced with permission of Wiley-
Blackwell; Figure 3.4 adapted from Purcell, J., Kinnie, N., Hutchinson, S., Rayton, B. and Swart, J. (2003)
Understanding the People Performance Link: Unlocking the black box. Research Report. London: CIPD,
Model developed by Bath University for the CIPD. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher,
the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London (www.cipd.co.uk); Figure 3.5 from
‘Human resources and sustained competitive advantage: a resource-based perspective’, International
Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 5, No. 2, p. 318 (Wright, P.M., McMaham, G.C., and
A. McWilliams), reprinted with the permission of Taylor and Francis Ltd, www.tandf.co.uk/journals;
Figure 4.5 adapted from ‘The balanced scorecard: measures that drive performance’, Harvard Business
Review, January/February, pp. 71–9 (Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. 1992); Figure 5.1 from Smart Working:
The impact of work organisation and job design, CIPD (2008), p. 11, Figure 2. With permission of the
publisher, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London (www.cipd.co.uk), Reproduced
with the permission of the publisher, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London
(www.cipd.co.uk); Figure 5.2 from ‘Manpower strategies for flexible organisation’, Personnel Management,
August, 28–9 (Atkinson, J. 1984); Figure 13.1 from Binney, G. and Williams, C. (2005) ‘The myth of manag-
ing change’, in G. Salaman, J. Storey and J. Billsberry (eds), Strategic Human Resource Management: Theory
and practice. A reader. London: Sage, Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications www.sagepub.
co.uk; Figure 17.1 from Marchington, M. and Cox, A. (2007) ‘Employee involvement and participation’,
in: Storey, J. (ed.) Human Resource Management: A Critical Text. 3rd edn. London: Thomson Learning,
Figure 10.1, p. 179, Copyright (2007) Thomson Learning. Reproduced by permission of Cengage
Learning EMEA Ltd; Figure 26.1 from Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2008) Smart
working: the impact of work organisation and job design, London: CIPD.

Tables
Table 3.1 from ‘Linking competitive strategies with human resource management practices’, No. 3, August
(Schuler, R.S. and Jackson, S.E. 1987), reproduced with permission of the Academy of Management;
Table 5.1 from ‘Organisational learning and organisational design’, The Learning Organisation, Vol. 13,
No. 1, pp. 25–48 (Curado, C. 2006), The Learning Organisation, p. 38, © Emerald Group Publishing
Limited all rights reserved; Table 6.1 from ‘What is (or should be) the difference between competency
modelling and traditional job analysis?’ Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 53–63
(Sanchez, J. and Levine, E. 2009); Table 6.2 from Table compiled from data in CIPD (2012) Resourcing

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 Publisher’s acknowledgements

and Talent Planning: Annual Survey Report 2012. London: CIPD, Reproduced with the permission of the
publisher, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London (www.cipd.co.uk); Table 7.1
from Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2011) Resourcing and Talent Planning: Annual
Survey Report 2011, Table 13. With permission of the publisher, the Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development, London (www.cipd.co.uk); Table 11.1 from The Managerial Grid. Houston, Texas: Gulf
Publishing (Blake, R.R. and Mouton, J.S. 1964); Table 11.3 from ‘Leadership that gets results’, Harvard
Business Review, March–April, pp. 80 & 82–3 (Goleman, D. 2000), reprinted by permission of by the
Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved; Table 15.1 after Major learning
trends and indicators for 2013 and beyond within the Asia Pacific Region, Singapore: Cegos (Blain, J. 2013)
Figure 18, p. 27; Table 15.2 adapted from ‘Planned and emergent learning: a framework and a method’,
Executive Development, Vol. 7, No. 6, pp. 29–32 (Megginson, D. 1994), © Emerald Group Publishing
Limited all rights reserved; Table 15.3 after Major learning trends and indicators for 2013 and beyond
within the Asia Pacific Region, Singapore: Cegos (Blain, J. 2013) Figure 22, p. 32; Table 26.1 from From
What’s Happening with Wellbeing at Work? (CIPD, 2007), Table 2. With permission of the publisher,
the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London (www.cipd.co.uk), Reproduced
with the permission of the publisher, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London
(www.cipd.co.uk); Table 27.1 from Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related
Values, 2nd, California: Sage Publications (Hofstede, G. 2001), Reproduced by permission of Geert
Hofstede.

Text
Case Study on page 46 adapted from Build a better brand, People Management, Vol. 14, No. 15,
pp. 24–5 (Chubb, L.), Reproduced with the permission of the publisher, the Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development, London (www.cipd.co.uk); Case Study on page 54 adapted from ‘Human
resource management strategies under uncertainty’, Cross Cultural Management: An International
Journal, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 171–86 (Fields, D., Chan, A., Aktar, S. and Blum, T. 2006), © Emerald Group
Publishing Limited all rights reserved; Case Study on page 68 adapted from ‘Who does workforce
planning well?: Workforce Rapid Review Team Summary’, International Journal of Health Care Quality
Assurance Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 110–19 (Curson, J., Dell, M., Wilson, R., Bosworth, D. and Baldauf, B. 2010),
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited all rights reserved; Case Study on pages 81–82 after ‘Human
capital measurement: an approach that works’, Strategic HR Review, Vol. 8, No. 6, pp. 5–11 (Robinson,
D. 2009), © Emerald Group Publishing Limited all rights reserved; Case Study on pages 128–129 after
‘Globalisation of HR at function level: 4 UK-based case studies of the international recruitment and
selection process’ International Journal of Human Resource Management Vol. 8, No. 5, pp. 845–867
(Sparrow, P. 2007), reprinted by permission of the publisher (Taylor & Francis Ltd, http://www.tandf.
co.uk/journals); Case Study on page 223 after The Lizard Kings, People Management, Vol. 12(2),
pp. 32–34 (Goffee, R. and Jones, G. 2006), Reproduced with the permission of the publisher, the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London (www.cipd.co.uk); Case Study on page 226
adapted from Ford, J. and Harding, N. (2009) ‘Telling an untold story: on being a follower rather than a
leader’. Presented at the 25th EGOS Colloquium in Barcelona, Spain, July 2–4, 2009, By permission of
Professor Jackie Ford and Professor Nancy Harding; Case Study on page 320 after ‘Bright and Early’,
People Management, Vol. 14, No. 7, pp. 30–2 (Allen, A.), Reproduced with the permission of the
publisher, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London (www.cipd.co.uk); Case
Study on page 322 adapted from ‘Hidden dragons’ People Management, Vol. 14, No. 16, pp. 18–23
(Wilson, B.), Reproduced with the permission of the publisher, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development, London (www.cipd.co.uk); Extract on page 328 from ‘On my agenda’ People Management,
August, pp. 28–31 (Smedley, T. 2012); Quote on page 329 from www.ernstandyoung.com; Box on page 346

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Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
wide universe of God, or on the page of history. The same blessed
apostle from whose writings we have already so largely quoted, tells
us that "the mystery of iniquity doth already work;" hence it has
been working now for over eighteen centuries. "Only He that now
hindereth will hinder until He be taken out of the way. And then shall
that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the
spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His
coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with
all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness
of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not
the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause
God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thess. ii. 7-12.)
How awful is the doom of christendom! Strong delusion! Dark
damnation! And all this in the face of the dreams of those false
prophets who talk to the people about "the bright side of things."
Thank God, there is a bright side for all those who belong to Christ.
To them, the apostle can speak in bright and cheering accents.—"We
are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to
salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thess. ii. 13, 14.)
Here we have, most surely, the bright side of things—the bright and
blessed hope of the Church of God—the hope of seeing "the bright
and morning Star." All rightly instructed Christians are on the look-
out, not for an improved or a converted world, but for their coming
Lord and Saviour, who has gone to prepare a place for them in the
Father's house, and is coming again to receive them to Himself, that
where He is, there they may be also. This is His own sweet promise,
which may be fulfilled at any moment. He only waits, as Peter tells
us, in long-suffering mercy, not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance. But when the last member shall
be incorporated, by the Holy Ghost, into the blessed body of Christ,
then shall the voice of the archangel and the trump of God summon
all the redeemed, from the beginning, to meet their descending Lord
in the air, to be forever with Him.
This is the true and proper hope of the Church of God—a hope
which He would have ever shining down into the hearts of all His
beloved people, in its purifying and elevating power. Of this blessed
hope the enemy has succeeded in robbing a large number of the
Lord's people. Indeed, for centuries it was well-nigh blotted out from
the Church's horizon; and it has only been partially recovered within
the last fifty years. And, alas! how partially! Where do we hear of it,
throughout the length and breadth of the professing church? Do the
pulpits of christendom ring with the joyful sound, "Behold the
Bridegroom cometh"? Far from it. Even the few beloved servants of
Christ who are looking for His coming, hardly dare to preach it,
because they fear it would be utterly rejected. And so it would. We
are thoroughly persuaded that, in the vast majority of cases, men
who should venture to preach the glorious truth that the Lord is
coming for His Church, would speedily have to vacate their pulpits.
What a solemn and striking proof of Satan's blinding power! He has
robbed the Church of her divinely given hope, and instead thereof,
he has given her a delusion—a lie. Instead of looking out for "the
bright and morning Star," he has set her looking for a converted
world—a millennium without Christ. He has succeeded in casting
such a haze over the future, that the Church has completely lost her
bearings. She does not know where she is. She is like a vessel
tossed on the stormy ocean, having neither compass nor rudder,
seeing neither sun nor stars. All is darkness and confusion.
And how is this? Simply because the Church has lost sight of the
pure and precious word of her Lord, and accepted instead those
bewildering creeds and confessions of men which so mar and
mutilate the truth of God that Christians seem utterly at sea as to
their proper standing and their proper hope.
And yet they have the Bible in their hands. True; but so had the
Jews, and yet they rejected that blessed One who is the great theme
of the Bible from beginning to end. This was the moral inconsistency
with which our Lord charged them in John v.—"Ye search the
Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are
they which testify of Me; and ye will not come to Me, that ye might
have life."[21]
And why was this? Simply because their minds were blinded by
religious prejudice. They were under the influence of the doctrines
and commandments of men. Hence, although they had the
Scriptures, and boasted of having them, they were as ignorant of
them, and as little governed by them, as the poor dark heathen
around them. It is one thing to have the Bible in our hands, in our
homes, and in our assemblies, and quite another thing to have the
truths of the Bible acting on our hearts and consciences, and shining
in our lives.
Take, for instance, the great subject now before us, and which has
led us into this very lengthened digression. Can any thing be more
plainly taught in the New Testament than this, namely, that the end
of the present condition of things will be terrible apostasy from the
truth, and open rebellion against God and the Lamb? The gospels,
the epistles, and the Revelation all agree in setting forth this most
solemn truth, with such distinctness and simplicity that a babe in
Christ may see it.
And yet how few, comparatively, believe it! The vast majority believe
the very reverse. They believe that by means of the various agencies
now in operation all nations shall be converted. In vain we call
attention to our Lord's parables in Matthew xiii.—the tares, the
leaven, and the mustard-seed. How do these agree with the idea of
a converted world? If the whole world is to be converted by a
preached gospel, how is it that tares are found in the field at the end
of the age? how is it that there are as many foolish virgins as wise
ones when the Bridegroom comes? If the whole world is to be
converted by the gospel, then on whom will "the day of the Lord so
come as a thief in the night"? or what mean those awful words, "For
when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they
shall not escape"? In view of a converted world, what would be the
just application, what the moral force, of those most solemn words
in the first of Revelation, "Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every
eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all kindreds
of the earth shall wail because of Him"? Where are all those wailing
kindreds to be found if the whole world is to be converted?
Reader, is it not as clear as a sunbeam that the two things cannot
stand for a moment together? Is it not perfectly plain that the theory
of a world converted by the gospel is diametrically opposed to the
teaching of the entire New Testament? How is it, then, that the vast
majority of professing Christians persist in holding it? There can be
but the one reply, and that is, they do not bow to the authority of
Scripture. It is most sorrowful and solemn to have to say it; but it is,
alas! too true. The Bible is read in christendom, but the truths of the
Bible are not believed—nay, they are persistently rejected; and all
this in view of the oft-repeated boast that "the Bible, and the Bible
alone, is the religion of Protestants."
But we shall not pursue this subject further here, much as we feel its
weight and importance. We trust the reader may be led by the Spirit
of God to feel its deep solemnity. We believe the Lord's people every
where need to be thoroughly roused to a sense of how entirely the
professing church has departed from the authority of Scripture.
Here, we may rest assured, lies the real cause of all the confusion,
all the error, all the evil, in our midst. We have departed from the
Word of the Lord, and from Himself. Until this is seen, felt, and
owned, we cannot be right. The Lord looks for true repentance, real
brokenness of spirit, in His presence. "To this man will I look, even
to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My
Word."
This always holds good. There is no limit to the blessing when the
soul is in this truly blessed attitude. But it must be a reality. It will
not do to talk of being "poor and contrite," we must be in the
condition. It is an individual matter. "To this man will I look."
Oh may the Lord, in His infinite mercy, lead us, every one, into true
self-judgment, under the action of His Word. May our ears be open
to hear His voice. May there be a real turning of our hearts to
Himself and to His Word. May we turn our backs, in holy decision,
once and forever, upon every thing that will not stand the test of
Scripture. This, we are persuaded, is what our Lord Christ looks for
on the part of all who belong to Him, amid the terrible and hopeless
debris of christendom.
 CHAPTER VI.
"Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the
judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that
ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: that thou
mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all His statutes and His
commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy
son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be
prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may
be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord
God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with
milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord."
We have here presented to us that great cardinal truth which the
nation of Israel was specially responsible to hold fast and confess,
namely, the unity of the Godhead. This truth lay at the very
foundation of the Jewish economy. It was the grand centre around
which the people were to rally. So long as they maintained this, they
were a happy, prosperous, fruitful people; but when it was let go, all
was gone. It was their great national bulwark, and that which was to
mark them off from all the nations of the earth. They were called to
confess this glorious truth in the face of an idolatrous world, with "its
gods many, and lords many." It was Israel's high privilege and holy
responsibility to bear a steady witness to the truth contained in that
one weighty sentence, "The Lord our God is one Lord," in marked
opposition to the false gods innumerable of the heathen around.
Their father Abraham had been called out from the very midst of
heathen idolatry, to be a witness to the one true and living God, to
trust Him, to walk with Him, to lean on Him, and to obey Him.
If the reader will turn to the last chapter of Joshua, he will find a
very striking allusion to this fact, and a very important use made of
it, in his closing address to the people.—"And Joshua gathered all
the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel,
and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and
they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said unto all the
people, 'Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the
other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of
Abraham, and the father of Nachor; and they served other gods.
And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and
led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed,
and gave him Isaac.'"
Here Joshua reminds the people of the fact that their fathers had
served other gods—a very solemn and weighty fact most surely, and
one which they ought never to have forgotten, inasmuch as the
remembrance of it would have taught them their deep need of
watchfulness over themselves, lest by any means they should be
drawn back into that gross and terrible evil out of which God, in His
sovereign grace and electing love, had called their father Abraham.
It would have been their wisdom to consider that the self-same evil
in which their fathers had lived, in the olden time, was just the one
into which they themselves were likely to fall.
Having presented this fact to the people, Joshua brings before them,
with uncommon force and vividness, all the leading events of their
history, from the birth of their father Isaac, down to the moment in
which he was addressing them; and then sums up with the following
telling appeal: "Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in
sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers
served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the
Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this
day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served
that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites
in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve
the Lord."
Mark the repeated allusion to the fact that their fathers had
worshiped false gods; and further, that the land into which Jehovah
had brought them had been polluted, from one end to the other, by
the dark abominations of heathen idolatry.
Thus does this faithful servant of the Lord, evidently by the
inspiration of the Holy Ghost, seek to set before the people their
danger of giving up the grand central and foundation truth of the
one true and living God, and falling back into the worship of idols.
He urges upon them the absolute necessity of whole-hearted
decision. "Choose you this day whom ye will serve." There is nothing
like plain, out-and-out decision for God. It is due to Him always. He
had proved Himself to be unmistakably for them in redeeming them
from the bondage of Egypt, bringing them through the wilderness,
and planting them in the land of Canaan; hence, therefore, that they
should be wholly for Him was nothing more than their reasonable
service.
How deeply Joshua felt all this for himself is evident from those very
memorable words, "As for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord." Lovely words! Precious decision! National religion might, and,
alas! did, go to ruin; but personal and family religion could, by the
grace of God, be maintained every where and at all times.
Thank God for this! May we never forget it. "Me and my house" is
Faith's clear and delightful response to God's "Thou and thy house."
Let the condition of the ostensible, professed people of God, at any
given time, be what it may, it is the privilege of every true-hearted
man of God to adopt and act upon this immortal decision: "As for
me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
True, it is only by the grace of God, continually supplied, that this
holy resolution can be carried out; but we may rest assured that
where the bent of the heart is to follow the Lord fully, all needed
grace will be ministered, day by day; for those encouraging words
must ever hold good, "My grace is sufficient for thee; for My
strength is made perfect in weakness."
Let us now look for a moment at the apparent effect of Joshua's
soul-stirring appeal to the congregation. It seemed very promising.
"The people answered and said, 'God forbid that we should forsake
the Lord, to serve other gods; for the Lord our God, He it is that
brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the
house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and
preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the
people through whom we passed: and the Lord drave out from
before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land;
therefore will we also serve the Lord, for He is our God."
All this sounded very well, and looked very hopeful. They seemed to
have a clear sense of the moral basis of Jehovah's claim upon them
for implicit obedience. They could accurately recount all His mighty
deeds on their behalf, and make very earnest and no doubt sincere
protestations against idolatry, and promises of obedience to
Jehovah, their God.
But it is very evident that Joshua was not particularly sanguine about
all this profession, for he "said unto the people, 'Ye cannot serve the
Lord: for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive
your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake the Lord, and serve
strange gods, then He will turn and do you hurt, and consume you,
after that He hath done you good.' And the people said unto Joshua,
'Nay; but we will serve the Lord.' And Joshua said unto the people,
'Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the
Lord, to serve Him.' And they said, 'We are witnesses.' 'Now
therefore put away,' said he, 'the strange gods which are among
you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.' And the
people said unto Joshua, 'The Lord our God will we serve, and His
voice will we obey.'"
We do not now stop to contemplate the aspect in which Joshua
presents God to the congregation of Israel, inasmuch as our object
in referring to the passage is to show the prominent place assigned,
in Joshua's address, to the truth of the unity of the Godhead. This
was the truth to which Israel was called to bear witness, in view of
all the nations of the earth, and in which they were to find their
moral safeguard against the ensnaring influences of idolatry.
But, alas! this very truth was the one as to which they most speedily
and signally failed. The promises, vows, and resolutions made under
the powerful influence of Joshua's appeal soon proved to be like the
early dew and the morning cloud, that passeth away. "The people
served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders
that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord,
that He did for Israel. And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the
Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old.... And also all that
generation were gathered unto their fathers; and there arose
another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the
works which He had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did
evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim; and they forsook the
Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of
Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were
round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked
the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and
Ashtaroth." (Judges ii. 7-13.)
Reader, how admonitory is all this! how full of solemn warning to us
all! The grand, all-important, special, and characteristic truth so soon
abandoned! The one only true and living God given up for Baal and
Ashtaroth! So long as Joshua and the elders lived, their presence
and their influence kept Israel from open apostasy; but no sooner
were those moral embankments removed than the dark tide of
idolatry rolled in and swept away the very foundations of the
national faith. Jehovah of Israel was displaced by Baal and
Ashtaroth. Human influence is a poor prop, a feeble barrier. We must
be sustained by the power of God, else we shall, sooner or later,
give way. The faith that stands merely in the wisdom of men, and
not in the power of God, must prove a poor, flimsy, worthless faith.
It will not stand the day of trial; it will not bear the furnace; it will
most assuredly break down.
It is well to remember this. Second-hand faith will never do. There
must be a living link connecting the soul with God. We must have to
do with God for ourselves individually, else we shall give way when
the testing-time comes. Human example and human influence may
be all very good in their place. It was all very well to look at Joshua
and the elders, and see how they followed the Lord. It is quite true
that "as iron sharpeneth iron, so doth the countenance of a man his
friend." It is very encouraging to be surrounded by a number of truly
devoted hearts—very delightful to be borne along upon the bosom
of the tide of collective loyalty to Christ—to His Person and to His
cause. But if this be all,—if there be not the deep spring of personal
faith and personal knowledge,—if there be not the divinely formed
and the divinely sustained link of individual relationship and
communion, then when the human props are removed,—when the
tide of human influence ebbs,—when general declension sets in, we
shall be, in principle, like Israel following the Lord all the days of
Joshua and the elders, and then giving up the confession of His
name and returning to the follies and vanities of this present world—
things no better, in reality, than Baal and Ashtaroth.
But, on the other hand, when the heart is thoroughly established in
the truth and grace of God,—when we can say—as it is the privilege
of each true believer to say—"I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto
Him against that day," then, although all should turn aside from the
public confession of Christ,—although we should find ourselves left
without the help of a human countenance or the support of a human
arm, we shall find "the foundation of God" as sure as ever, and the
path of obedience as plain before us as though thousands were
treading it with holy decision and energy.
We must never lose sight of the fact that it is the divine purpose that
the professing church of God should learn deep and holy lessons
from the history of Israel. "Whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience
and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." Nor is it by any
means necessary, in order to our thus learning from the Old-
Testament scriptures, that we should occupy ourselves in searching
out fanciful analogies, curious theories, or far-fetched illustrations.
Many, alas! have tried these things, and instead of finding "comfort"
in the Scriptures, they have been led away into empty and foolish
conceits, if not into deadly errors.
But our business is with the living facts recorded on the page of
inspired history. These are to be our study; from these we are to
draw our great practical lessons. Take, for example, the weighty and
admonitory fact now before us—a fact standing out in characters
deep and broad on the page of Israel's history from Joshua to Isaiah
—the fact of Israel's lamentable departure from that very truth
which they were specially called to hold and confess—the truth of
the unity of the Godhead. The very first thing they did was to let go
this grand and all-important truth, this key-stone of the arch, the
foundation of the whole edifice, the very heart of their national
existence, the living centre of their national polity. They gave it up,
and turned back to the idolatry of their fathers on the other side of
the flood, and of the heathen nations around them. They abandoned
that most glorious and distinctive truth on the maintenance of which
their very existence as a nation depended. Had they only held fast
this truth, they would have been invincible; but in surrendering it,
they surrendered all, and became much worse than the nations
around them, inasmuch as they sinned against light and knowledge
—sinned with their eyes open—sinned in the face of the most
solemn warnings and earnest entreaties, and, we may add, in the
face of the most vehement and oft-repeated promises and
protestations of obedience.
Yes, reader, Israel gave up the worship of the one true and living
God, Jehovah-Elohim, their covenant-God; not only their Creator, but
their Redeemer—the One who had brought them up out of the land
of Egypt, conducted them through the Red Sea, led them through
the wilderness, brought them across the Jordan, and planted them
in triumph in the inheritance which He had promised to Abraham
their father—"a land flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory
of all lands." They turned their backs upon Him, and gave
themselves up to the worship of false gods; "they provoked Him to
anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their
graven images."
It seems perfectly wonderful that a people who had seen and known
so much of the goodness and loving-kindness of God—His mighty
acts, His faithfulness, His majesty, His glory, could ever bring
themselves to bow down to the stock of a tree; but so it was. Their
whole history, from the days of the calf at the foot of Mount Sinai, to
the day in which Nebuchadnezzar reduced Jerusalem to ruins, is
marked by an unconquerable spirit of idolatry. In vain did Jehovah,
in His long-suffering mercy and abounding goodness, raise up
deliverers for them, to lift them from beneath the terrible
consequences of their sin and folly. Again and again, in His
inexhaustable mercy and patience, He saved them from the hand of
their enemies. He raised up an Othniel, an Ehud, a Barak, a Gideon,
a Jephthah, a Samson—those instruments of His mercy and power—
those witnesses of His deep and tender love and compassion toward
His poor infatuated people. No sooner had each judge passed off the
scene than back the nation plunged into their besetting sin of
idolatry.
So, also, in the days of the kings; it is the same melancholy, heart-
rending story. True, there were bright spots here and there—some
brilliant stars shining out through the deep gloom of the nation's
history; we have a David, an Asa, a Jehoshaphat, a Hezekiah, a
Josiah—refreshing and blessed exceptions to the dark and dismal
rule. But even men like these failed to eradicate from the heart of
the nation the pernicious root of idolatry. Even amid the unexampled
splendors of Solomon's reign, that root sent forth its bitter shoots, in
the monstrous form of high places to Ashtaroth, the goddess of the
Zidonians; Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites; and
Chemosh, the abomination of Moab.
Reader, only think of this. Pause for a moment, and contemplate the
astounding fact of the writer of the Canticles, Ecclesiastes, and
Proverbs bowing at the shrine of Molech! Only conceive, the wisest,
the wealthiest, and the most glorious of Israel's monarchs burning
incense and offering sacrifices upon the altar of Chemosh!
Truly, there is something here for us to ponder. It was written for our
learning. The reign of Solomon affords one of the most striking and
impressive evidences of the fact which is just now engaging our
attention, namely, Israel's complete and hopeless apostasy from the
grand truth of the unity of the Godhead—their unconquerable spirit
of idolatry. The truth which they were specially called out to hold
and confess was the very truth which they first of all and most
persistently abandoned.
We shall not pursue the dark line of evidence further, neither shall
we dwell upon the appalling picture of the nation's judgment in
consequence of their idolatry. They are now in the condition of
which the prophet Hosea speaks—"The children of Israel shall abide
many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a
sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without
teraphim." "The unclean spirit of idolatry has gone out of them,"
during these "many days," to return, by and by, with "seven other
spirits more wicked than himself"—the very perfection of spiritual
wickedness. And then will come days of unparalleled tribulation upon
that long misguided and deeply revolted people—"the time of
Jacob's trouble."
But deliverance will come, blessed be God! Bright days are in store
for the restored nation—"days of heaven upon earth"—as the same
prophet Hosea tells us, "Afterward shall the children of Israel return,
and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the
Lord and His goodness in the latter days." All the promises of God to
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David shall be blessedly accomplished;
all the brilliant predictions of the prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi,
shall be gloriously fulfilled. Yes, both promises and prophecies shall
be literally and gloriously made good to restored Israel, in the land
of Canaan; for "the Scripture cannot be broken." The long, dark,
dreary night shall be followed by the brightest day that has ever
shone upon this earth; the daughter of Zion shall bask in the bright
and blessed beams of "the Sun of Righteousness;" and "the earth
shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover
the sea."
It would indeed be a most delightful exercise to reproduce upon the
pages of this volume those glowing passages from the prophets
which speak of Israel's future; but this we cannot attempt; it is not
needful; and we have a duty to fulfill which, if not so pleasing to us
or so refreshing to the reader, will, we earnestly hope, prove not less
profitable.
The duty is this: to press upon the attention of the reader (and upon
the attention of the whole Church of God) the practical application of
that solemn fact in Israel's history on which we have dwelt at such
length—the fact of their having so speedily and so completely given
up the great truth set forth in Deuteronomy vi. 4, "Hear, O Israel;
the Lord our God is one Lord."
We may perhaps be asked, What bearing can this fact have upon the
Church of God? We believe it has a most solemn bearing; and
further, we believe we should be guilty of a very culpable shirking of
our duty to Christ and to His Church if we failed to point it out. We
know that all the great facts of Israel's history are full of instruction,
full of admonition, full of warning, for us. It is our business, our
bounden duty, to see that we profit by them—to take heed that we
study them aright.
Now, in contemplating the history of the Church of God as a public
witness for Christ on the earth, we find that hardly had it been set
up, in all the fullness of blessing and privilege which marked the
opening of its career, ere it began to slip away from those very
truths which it was specially responsible to maintain and confess.
Like Adam in the garden of Eden; like Noah in the restored earth;
like Israel in Canaan; so the Church, as the responsible steward of
the mysteries of God, was no sooner set in its place than it began to
totter and fall. It almost immediately began to give up those grand
truths which were characteristic of its very existence, and which
were to mark off Christianity from all that had gone before. Even
under the eyes of the apostles of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
errors and evils had begun to work which sapped the very
foundations of the Church's testimony.
Are we asked for proofs? Alas! we have them in melancholy
abundance. Hear the words of that blessed apostle who shed more
tears and heaved more sighs over the ruins of the Church than any
man that ever lived. "I marvel," he says, and well he might, "that ye
are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of
Christ, unto another gospel: which is not another." "O foolish
Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the
truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth,
crucified among you?" "Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did
service to them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye
have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to
the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in
bondage? Ye observe days and months and times and years;"
Christian festivals, so called, very imposing and gratifying to religious
nature; but, in the judgment of the apostle, the judgment of the
Holy Ghost, it was simply giving up Christianity and going back to
the worship of idols. "I am afraid of you"—and no wonder, when
they could thus so speedily turn away from the grand characteristic
truths of a heavenly Christianity, and occupy themselves with
superstitious observances. "I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed
upon you labor in vain." "Ye did run well; who did hinder you, that
ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of Him
that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump."
And all this in the apostle's own day. The departure was even more
rapid than in Israel's case; for they served the Lord all the days of
Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua; but in
the Church's sad and humiliating history, the enemy succeeded
almost immediately in introducing leaven into the meal, tares among
the wheat. Ere the apostles themselves had left the scene, seed was
sown which has been bearing its pernicious fruit ever since, and
shall continue to bear till angelic reapers clear the field.
But we must give further proof from Scripture. Let us hearken to the
same inspired witness, near the close of his ministry, pouring out his
heart to his beloved son Timothy, in accents at once pathetic and
solemn. "This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned
away from me." Again, "Preach the Word; be instant in season, out
of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and
doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears
from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
Here is the testimony of the man who, as a wise master-builder, had
laid the foundation of the Church. And what was his own personal
experience? He was, like his blessed Master, left alone, deserted by
those who had once gathered around him in the freshness, bloom,
and ardor of early days. His large loving heart was broken by
Judaizing teachers, who sought to overturn the very foundations of
Christianity, and to overthrow the faith of God's elect. He wept over
the ways of many who, while they made a profession, were
nevertheless "the enemies of the cross of Christ."
In a word, the apostle Paul, as he looked forth from his prison at
Rome, saw the hopeless wreck and ruin of the professing body. He
saw that it would happen to that body as it had happened to the
ship in which he had made his last voyage—a voyage strikingly
significant and illustrative of the Church's sad history in this world.
But here let us just remind the reader that we are dealing now only
with the question of the Church as a responsible witness for Christ
on the earth. This must be distinctly seen, else we shall greatly err in
our thoughts on the subject. We must accurately distinguish
between the Church as the body of Christ, and as His light-bearer or
witness in the world. In the former character, failure is impossible; in
the latter, the ruin is complete and hopeless.
The Church as the body of Christ, united to her living and glorified
Head in the heavens, by the presence and indwelling of the Holy
Ghost, can never, by any possibility, fail—never be smashed to
pieces, like Paul's ship, by the storms and billows of this hostile
world. It is as safe as Christ Himself. The Head and the body are one
—indissolubly one. No power of earth or hell—men or devils can
ever touch the feeblest and most obscure member of that blessed
body. All stand before God, all are under His gracious eye, in the
fullness, beauty, and acceptability of Christ Himself. As is the Head,
so are the members—all the members together—each member in
particular. All stand in the full eternal results of Christ's finished work
on the cross. There is, there can be, no question of responsibility
here. The Head made Himself responsible for the members. He
perfectly met every claim, and discharged every liability. Nothing
remains but love—love, deep as the heart of Christ, perfect as His
work, unchanging as His throne. Every question that could possibly
be raised against any one or all of the members of the Church of
God was raised, gone into, and definitively settled, between God and
His Christ, on the cross. All the sins, all the iniquities, all the
transgressions, all the guilt, of each member in particular, and all the
members together—yes, all, in the fullest and most absolute way,
was laid on Christ and borne by Him. God, in His inflexible justice, in
His infinite holiness, in His eternal righteousness, dealt with every
thing that could ever, in any possible manner, stand in the way of the
full salvation, perfect blessedness, and everlasting glory of every one
of the members of the body of Christ—the assembly of God. Every
member of the body is permeated by the life of the Head; every
stone in the building is animated by the life of the Chief Corner-
Stone. All are bound together in the power of a bond which can
never—no, never be dissolved.
And furthermore, let it be distinctly understood that the unity of the
body of Christ is absolutely indissoluble. This is a cardinal point
which must be tenaciously held and faithfully confessed. But
obviously it cannot be held and confessed unless it is understood
and believed; and, judging from the expressions which one
sometimes hears in speaking on the subject, it is very questionable
indeed if people so expressing themselves have ever grasped in a
divine way the glorious truth of the unity of the body of Christ—a
unity maintained on earth by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost.
Thus, for example, we sometimes hear people speak of "rending the
body of Christ." It is a complete mistake. Such a thing is utterly
impossible. The Reformers were accused of rending the body of
Christ when they turned their backs upon the Romish system. What
a gross misconception! It simply amounted to the monstrous
assumption that a vast mass of moral evil, doctrinal error,
ecclesiastical corruption, and debasing superstition was to be owned
as the body of Christ! How could any one with the New Testament in
his hand regard the so-called church of Rome, with its numberless
and nameless abominations, as the body of Christ? How could any
one possessing the very faintest idea of the true Church of God ever
think of bestowing that title upon the darkest mass of wickedness,
the greatest masterpiece of Satan the world has ever beheld?
No, reader; we must never confound the ecclesiastical systems of
this world—ancient, medieval, or modern; Greek, Latin, Anglican;
national or popular, established or dissenting—with the true Church
of God, the body of Christ. There is not, beneath the canopy of
heaven, this day, nor ever was, a religious system, call it what you
please, possessing the very smallest claim to be called "the Church
of God," or "the body of Christ." And, as a consequence, it can never
be rightly or intelligently called schism, or rending the body of Christ,
to separate from such systems; nay, on the contrary, it is the
bounden duty of every one who would faithfully maintain and
confess the truth of the unity of the body to separate, with the most
unqualified decision, from every thing falsely calling itself a church.
It can only be viewed as schism to separate from those who are
unmistakably and unquestionably gathered on the ground of the
assembly of God.
No body of Christians can now lay claim to the title of the body of
Christ, or Church of God. The members of that body are scattered
every where; they are to be found in all the various religious
organizations of the day, save such as deny the deity of our Lord
Jesus Christ. We cannot admit the idea that any true Christian could
continue to frequent a place where his Lord is blasphemed. But
although no body of Christians can lay claim to the title of the
assembly of God, all Christians are responsible to be gathered on the
ground of that assembly, and on no other.
And if we be asked, How are we to know—where are we to find this
ground? We reply, "If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be
full of light." "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the
doctrine." "There is a path" (thanks be to God for it!) though "no
fowl knoweth, and the vulture's eye hath not seen it. The lion's
whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it." Nature's
keenest vision cannot see this path, nor its greatest strength tread
it. Where is it, then? Here it is: "Unto man"—to the reader and to
the writer, to each, to all—"He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord,
that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'" (Job
xxviii.)
But there is another expression which we not unfrequently hear from
persons from whom we might expect more intelligence, namely,
"Cutting off the members of the body of Christ."[22] This, too,
blessed be God, is impossible. Not a single member of the body of
Christ can ever be severed from the Head, or ever disturbed from
the place into which he has been incorporated by the Holy Ghost, in
pursuance of the eternal purpose of God, and in virtue of the
accomplished atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. The divine Three
in One are pledged for the eternal security of the very feeblest
member of the body, and for the maintenance of the indissoluble
unity of the whole.
In a word, then, it is as true to-day as it was when the inspired
apostle penned the fourth chapter of his epistle to the Ephesians,
that "there is one body," of which Christ is Head, of which the Holy
Ghost is the formative power, and of which all true believers are
members. This body has been on earth since the day of Pentecost, is
on earth now, and shall continue on earth until that moment, so
rapidly approaching, when Christ shall come and take it to His
Father's house. It is the same body, with a continual succession of
members, just as we speak of a certain regiment of her majesty's
army having been at Waterloo, and now quartered at Aldershot,
though not a man in the regiment of to-day appeared at the
memorable battle of 1815.
Does the reader feel any difficulty as to all this? It may be that he
finds it hard, in the present broken and scattered condition of the
members, to believe and confess the unbroken unity of the whole.
He may feel disposed, perhaps, to limit the application of Ephesians
iv. 4 to the day in which the apostle penned the words, when
Christians were manifestly one, and when there was no such thing
thought of as being a member of this church or a member of that
church, because all believers were members of the one Church.[23]
In reply, we must protest against the very idea of limiting the Word
of God. What possible right have we to single out one clause from
Ephesians iv. 4-6, and say it only applied to the days of the apostles?
If one clause is to be so limited, why not all? Are there not still "one
Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all"?
Will any question this? Surely not. Well, then, it follows that there is
as surely one body as there is one Spirit, one Lord, one God. All are
intimately bound up together, and you cannot touch one without
touching all. We have no more right to deny the existence of the one
body than we have to deny the existence of God, inasmuch as the
self-same passage that declares to us the one declares to us the
other also.
But some will doubtless inquire, Where is this one body to be seen?
Is it not an absurdity to speak of such a thing, in the face of the
almost numberless denominations of christendom? Our answer is
this: We are not going to surrender the truth of God because man
has so signally failed to carry it out. Did not Israel utterly fail to
maintain, confess, and carry out the truth of the unity of the
Godhead? and was that glorious truth, in the smallest degree,
touched by their failure? Was it not as true that there was one God,
though there were as many idolatrous altars as streets in Jerusalem,
and every housetop sent up a cloud of incense to the queen of
heaven, as when Moses sounded forth, in the ears of the whole
congregation, those sublime words, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God is one Lord"? Blessed be God, His truth does not depend upon
the faithless, foolish ways of men. It stands in its own divine
integrity; it shines in its own heavenly, undimmed lustre, spite of the
grossest human failure. Were it not so, what should we do? whither
should we turn? or what would become of us? In fact, it comes to
this: if we were only to believe the measure of truth which we see
practically carried out in the ways of men, we might give up in
despair, and be of all men most miserable.
But how is the truth of the one body to be practically carried out? By
refusing to own any other principle of Christian fellowship—any other
ground of meeting. All true believers should meet on the simple
ground of membership of the body of Christ, and on no other. They
should assemble, on the first day of the week, around the Lord's
table, and break bread, as members of the one body, as we read in
1 Corinthians x, "For we, being many, are one loaf, one body; for we
are all partakers of that one loaf." This is as true and as practical to-
day as it was when the apostle addressed the assembly at Corinth.
True, there were divisions at Corinth as there are divisions in
christendom; but that did not in any wise touch the truth of God.
The apostle rebuked the divisions—pronounced them carnal. He had
no sympathy with the poor, low idea which one sometimes hears
advocated, that divisions are good things, as superinducing
emulation. He believed they were very bad things—the fruit of the
flesh, the work of Satan.
Neither, we feel persuaded, would the apostle have accepted the
popular illustration that divisions in the Church are like so many
regiments, with different facings, all fighting under the same
commander-in-chief. It would not hold good for a moment; indeed,
it has no application whatever, but rather gives a flat contradiction to
that distinct and emphatic statement, "There is one body."
Reader, this is a most glorious truth. Let us ponder it deeply. Let us
look at christendom in the light of it. Let us judge our own position
and ways by it. Are we acting on it? Do we give expression to it, at
the Lord's table, every Lord's day? Be assured it is our sacred duty
and high privilege so to do. Say not there are difficulties of all sorts,
many stumbling-blocks in the way, much to dishearten us in the
conduct of those who profess to meet on this very ground of which
we speak.
All this is, alas! but too true. We must be quite prepared for it. The
devil will leave no stone unturned to cast dust in our eyes, so that
we may not see God's blessed way for His people. But we must not
give heed to his suggestions or be snared by his devices. There
always have been, and there always will be difficulties in the way of
carrying out the precious truth of God; and perhaps one of the
greatest difficulties is found in the inconsistent conduct of those who
profess to act upon it.
But then we must ever distinguish between the truth and those who
profess it—between the ground and the conduct of those who
occupy it. Of course, they ought to harmonize, but they do not; and
hence we are imperatively called to judge the conduct by the
ground, not the ground by the conduct. If we saw a man farming on
a principle which we knew to be thoroughly sound, but he was a bad
farmer, what should we do? Of course, we should reject his mode of
working, but hold the principle all the same.
Not otherwise is it in reference to the truth now before us. There
were heresies at Corinth, schisms, errors, evils of all sorts. What
then? Was the truth of God to be surrendered as a myth, as
something wholly impracticable? was it all to be given up? Were the
Corinthians to meet on some other principle? were they to organize
themselves on some new ground? were they to gather around some
fresh centre? No, thank God! His truth was not to be surrendered for
a moment, although Corinth was split up into ten thousand sects,
and its horizon darkened by ten thousand heresies. The body of
Christ is one; and the apostle simply displays in their view the
banner with this blessed inscription: "Ye are the body of Christ, and
members in particular."
Now, these words were addressed, not merely "unto the church at
Corinth," but also "to all that in every place call upon the name of
Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." Hence, the truth of the
one body is abiding and universal. Every true Christian is bound to
recognize it and to act on it, and every assembly of Christians,
wherever convened, should be the local expression of this grand and
all-important truth.
Some might perhaps feel disposed to ask how it could be said to any
one assembly, "Ye are the body of Christ." Were there not saints at
Ephesus, Colosse, and Philippi? No doubt; and had the apostle been
addressing them on the same subject, he could have said to them
likewise, "Ye are the body of Christ," inasmuch as they were the
local expression of the body; and not only so, but, in addressing
them, he had before his mind all saints, to the end of the Church's
earthly career.
But we must bear in mind that the apostle could not possibly
address such words to any human organization, ancient or modern.
No; nor if all such organizations, call them what you please, were
amalgamated into one, could he speak of it as "the body of Christ."
That body, let it be distinctly understood, consists of all true
believers on the face of the earth. That they are not gathered on
that only divine ground, is their serious loss and their Lord's
dishonor. The precious truth holds good all the same—"There is one
body," and this is the divine standard by which to measure every
ecclesiastical association and every religious system under the sun.
We deem it needful to go somewhat fully into the divine side of the
question of the Church, in order to guard the truth of God from the
results of misapprehension, and also that the reader may clearly
understand that in speaking of the utter failure and ruin of the
Church, we are looking at the human side of the subject. To this
latter we must return for a moment.
It is impossible to read the New Testament with a calm and
unprejudiced mind and not see that the Church as a responsible
witness for Christ on the earth has most signally and shamefully
failed. To quote all the passages in proof of this statement would
literally fill a small volume; but let us glance at the second and third
chapters of the book of Revelation, where the Church is seen under
judgment. We have, in these solemn chapters, what we may call a
divine Church-history. Seven assemblies are taken up, as illustrative
of the various phases of the Church's history, from the day in which
it was set up, in responsibility, on the earth, until it shall be spued
out of the Lord's mouth, as something utterly intolerable. If we do
not see that these two chapters are prophetic, as well as historic, we
shall deprive ourselves of a vast field of most valuable instruction.
For ourselves, we can only assure the reader that no human
language could adequately set forth what we have gathered from
Revelation ii. and iii., in their prophetic aspect.
However, we are only referring to them now as the last of a series of
Scripture proofs of our present thesis. Take the address to Ephesus,
the self-same church to which the apostle Paul wrote his marvelous
epistle, opening up so blessedly the heavenly side of things, God's
eternal purpose respecting the Church—the position and portion of
the Church, as accepted in Christ and blessed with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenlies in Him. No failure here; no thought of
such a thing; no possibility of it. All is in God's hands here. The
counsel is His; the work His. It is His grace, His glory, His mighty
power, His good pleasure; and all founded upon the blood of Christ.
There is no question of responsibility here. The Church was "dead in
trespasses and sins;" but Christ died for her; He placed Himself
judicially where she was morally; and God, in His sovereign grace,
entered the scene and raised up Christ from the dead, and the
Church in Him. Glorious fact! Here all is sure and settled. It is the
Church in the heavenlies in Christ, not the Church on earth for
Christ,—it is the body "accepted," not the candlestick judged. If we
do not see both sides of this great question, we have much to learn.
But there is the earthly side as well as the heavenly—the human as
well as the divine—the candlestick as well as the body. Hence it is
that in the judicial address in Revelation ii. we read such solemn
words as these: "I have against thee, that thou hast left thy first
love."
How very distinct! Nothing like this in Ephesians; nothing against the
body, nothing against the bride; but there is something against the
candlestick. The light had even already become dim. Hardly had it
been lighted ere the snuffers were needed.
Thus, at the very outset, symptoms of decline showed themselves,
unmistakably, to the penetrating eye of Him who walked amongst
the seven golden candlesticks; and when we reach the close, and
contemplate the last phase of the Church's condition—the last stage
of its earthly history, as illustrated by the assembly at Laodicea—
there is not a single redeeming feature. The case is almost hopeless.
The Lord is outside the door.—"Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock." It is not here as at Ephesus, "I have somewhat against
thee." The whole condition is bad. The whole professing body is
about to be given up.—"I will spue thee out of My mouth." He still
lingers, blessed be His name, for He is ever slow to leave the place
of mercy, or enter the place of judgment. It reminds us of the
departure of the glory, in the opening of Ezekiel. It moved with a
slow and measured pace, loth to leave the house, the people, and
the land. "Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and
stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with
the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's
glory." "Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold
of the house, and stood over the cherubim." And finally, "the glory of
the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the
mountain which is on the east side of the city." (Ezek. x. 4, 18; xi.
23.)
This is deeply affecting. How striking the contrast between this slow
departure of the glory and its speedy entrance, in the day of
Solomon's dedication of the house in 2 Chronicles vii. 1. Jehovah
was quick to enter His abode in the midst of His people; slow to
leave it. He was, to speak after the manner of men, forced away by
the sins and hopeless impenitence of His infatuated people.
So also with the Church. We see in the second of Acts His rapid
entrance into His spiritual house. He came like a rushing mighty
wind to fill the house with His glory. But in the third of Revelation,
see His attitude: He is outside. Yes; but He is knocking. He lingers,
not indeed with any hope of corporate restoration, but if haply "any
man would hear His voice and open the door." The fact of His being
outside shows what the church is. The fact of His knocking shows
what He is.
Christian reader, see that you thoroughly understand this whole
subject: it is of the very last importance that you should. We are
surrounded on all sides with false notions as to the present condition
and future destiny of the professing church. We must fling these all
behind our backs, with holy decision, and listen, with circumcised
ear and reverent mind, to the teaching of holy Scripture. That
teaching is as clear as noonday. The professing church is a hopeless
ruin, and judgment is at the door. Read the epistle of Jude; read 2
Peter ii. and iii.; read 2 Timothy. Just lay aside this volume and look
closely into those solemn scriptures, and we feel persuaded you will
rise from the study with the deep and thorough conviction that there
is nothing whatever before christendom but the unmitigated wrath
of Almighty God. Its doom is set forth in that brief but solemn
sentence in Romans xi., "Thou also shalt be cut off."
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