a happy man; and the deeper he drinks into the Spirit of Christ, the
happier will he become. That religion which teaches misery to be a duty
is false upon the very face of it, for God, when He made the world,
studied the happiness of His creatures. You cannot help thinking, as you
see everything around you, that God has sedulously, with the most strict
attention, sought ways of pleasing man. He has not merely given us
absolute necessaries, He has given us more; not simply the useful, but
even the ornamental. The flowers in the hedgerow, the stars in the sky,
the beauties of nature, the hill and the valley--all these things were
intended not merely because we needed them, but because God would show
how He loved us, and how anxious he was that we should be happy. Now, it
is not likely that the God who made a happy world would send a miserable
salvation. He who is a happy Creator will be a happy Redeemer; and those
who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, can bear witness that the
ways of religion "are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are
peace." And if this life were all, if death were the burial of all our
life, and if the shroud were the winding-sheet of eternity, still to be
a Christian would be a bright and happy thing, for it lights up this
valley of tears, and fills the wells in the valley of Baca to the brim
with streams of love and joy.
_Unchangeable._
There is one place where change cannot put its finger; there is one
name on which mutability can never be written; there is one heart which
can never alter--that place is the Most Holy--that heart is God's--that
name is Love.
_Increase of Faith._
The way in which most men get their faith increased is by great
trouble. We do not grow strong in faith in sunshiny days. It is in
stormy weather that faith grows stronger. Faith is not an attainment
that droppeth like the gentle dew from heaven; it generally comes in the
whirlwind and the storm. Look at the old oaks; how is it that they have
become so deeply-rooted in the earth? Ask the March winds, and they will
tell you. It was not the April shower that did it, or the sweet May
sunshine, but the rough wind shaking the tree to and fro, causing its
roots to strike deeper and to take a firmer hold. And so must it be with
us. We cannot make great soldiers in the barracks at home; they must be
made amidst flying shot and thundering cannon. We cannot expect to make
good sailors on the Serpentine; they must be trained far away on the
deep sea, where the wild winds howl, and the thunders roll like drums in
the march of the God of armies. Storms and tempests are the things that
make men tough and hardy mariners. They see the works of the Lord, and
His wonders in the deep. It is thus with Christians. Great-faith must
have great trials. Mr. Great-heart would never have been Mr. Great-heart
if he had not once been Mr. Great-trouble. Valiant-for-truth would never
have put to flight those foes, and have been so valiant, if the foes had
not first attacked him. We must expect great troubles before we shall
attain to much faith.
_Communion with Christ._
One hour with Christ is worth an eternity of all earth's joys; and
communion with Him is the best, the surest, and the most ecstatic
foretaste of the bliss of heaven.
_The Soul Satisfied in Christ._
He who delights in the possession of the Lord Jesus hath all that heart
can wish. As for created things, they are like shallow and deceitful
brooks; they fail to supply our wants, much less our wishes. "The bed"
of earthly enjoyment "is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on
it, and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it;" but
in Jesus there is room for imagination's utmost stretch and widest
range. When Jesus is enjoyed, He puts a fulness into all other mercies;
His house is full when He is there; His throne of grace is full when He
sits on it; and His guest-chamber is full when He is master of the
feast. "The creature without Christ is an empty thing, a lamp without
oil, a bone without marrow;" but when Christ is present our cup runneth
over, and we eat bread to the full. A dinner of herbs, when we have
communion with Him, is as rich a feast as a stalled ox; and our narrow
cot is as noble a mansion as the great house of the wealthy. Go not
abroad, ye hungry wishes of my soul--stay ye at home, and feast on
Jesus; for abroad ye must starve, since all other beloveds are empty and
undesirable. Stay with Christ, and eat ye that which is good, and
delight yourself in fatness.
_The Lord's Jewels._
Goldsmiths make exquisite forms from precious material: they fashion
the bracelet and the ring from gold. God maketh His precious things out
of base material; and from the black pebbles of the defiling brooks He
hath taken up stones, which He hath set in the golden ring of His
immutable love, to make them gems to sparkle on His finger forever.
_Memorials of Jesus._
The love of the Church extends beyond the person of the Bridegroom, and
reaches to everything connected with Him. "All _thy garments_ smell of
myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they
have made thee glad." His very vestments are precious in her esteem. She
rejoices to sing of Him in His priestly garments.
"The mitred crown, the embroidered vest,
With graceful dignity He wears;
And in full splendor on His breast
The sacred oracle appears."
Arrayed in His royal robes, He is not less glorious in her eyes: she
loves to see His crown, and own her King. There is not a word which His
lip hath uttered, nor a place whereon His foot hath trodden, nor a
vessel which His hands have handled, which is not wholly consecrated in
her esteem. We are no worshippers of the ragged relics so fondly hoarded
by Rome; but we have other and far better memorials--holy things that
are of inestimable worth. His written Word, over which, we even now see
that loving hand moving as it did when, many a year ago, it wrote each
character; the echo of his departed voice not yet buried in silence; his
wine-cup not yet empty; his blood still flowing, and his benediction
still breathing peace upon us: all these still remain, and are valued
above all price. We esteem His ordinances, and we triumph in His
teaching, however the world-wise may contemn it. His service is our
delight; to stand at His gates is honor, and to run before His chariot
is bliss. As for His people, we greet them as saints, we call them our
brethren, and they are most near and dear to us for _His_ sake. The
meanest beggar in His Church is of more account to us than the proudest
monarch out of it. "Because he belongs to Christ," is always a
sufficient reason for the outflow of our affection; for all that is His
is dear to us.
"_Freely Give._"
O Christian, whenever thou art inclined to an avaricious withholding
from the Church of God, think of thy Saviour giving up all that He had
to serve thee! And canst thou then--when thou beholdest self-denial so
noble--canst thou then be selfish, and regard thy dainties of more
account than their necessities, when the claims of the poor of the flock
are pressed upon thee? Remember Jesus; think thou seest Him looking upon
thee, and saying, "I gave Myself for thee, and dost thou withhold
thyself from me? For if thou dost, thou knowest not my love in all its
heights, and depths, and lengths, and breadths."
_Religion--a Present Enjoyment._
Religion has its present enjoyments. Speak, ye that know them, for ye
can tell; yet ye cannot recount them all. O, would ye give up your
religion for all the joys that earth calls good or great? Say, if your
immortal life could be extinguished, would you give it up, even for all
the kingdoms of this world? O, ye sons of poverty, has not this been a
candle to you in the darkness? Has not this lightened you through the
heavy shades of your tribulation? O, ye sons of toil, has not this been
your rest, your sweet repose? Have not the testimonies of God been your
song in the house of your pilgrimage? O, ye children of sorrow, racked
with pain, has not religion been to you a sweet _quietus_ in your
sufferings? Is not religion worth having in the sick chamber? And ye men
of business, speak for yourselves. You have hard struggles to pass
through life. Sometimes you have been driven to a great extremity, and
whether you would succeed or not seemed to hang upon a thread. Has not
your religion been a joy to you in your difficulties? Has it not calmed
your minds? When you have been fretted and troubled about worldly
things, have you not found it pleasant to enter your closet, and shut to
the door, and tell your Father in secret all your cares? And, O, ye that
are rich, cannot you bear the same testimony, if you have loved the
Master? What had all your riches been to you without a Saviour? Can you
not say that your religion did gild your gold, and make your silver
shine more brightly? For all things that you have are sweetened by this
thought, that you have all these and Christ too. Was there ever a child
of God who could deny this? We have heard of many infidels who grieved
over their infidelity when they came to die: did you ever hear of any
one on his death-bed looking back on a life of holiness with sorrow?
Never, never did we know a Christian who repented of his Christianity.
We have seen Christians so suffering, that we wondered that they lived;
so poor, that we wondered at their misery; we have seen them so full of
doubts, that we pitied their unbelief; but we never heard them say, even
then, "I regret that I gave myself to Christ." No; with the dying clasp,
when heart and flesh were failing, we have seen them hug this treasure
to their breast, and press it to their heart, still feeling that this
was their life, their joy, their all. O! if ye would be happy, if ye
would be saved, if ye would strew your path with sunshine, and dig out
the nettles and blunt the thorns, "Seek first the kingdom of God, and
His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Seek
not happiness first; seek Christ first; and happiness shall come after.
Seek ye first the Lord, and then He will provide for you in this life,
and He will crown it with everything that is glorious in the life to
come.
"_Our Lord Jesus._"
Whatever blissful consequences flow from the perfect obedience, the
finished atonement, the resurrection, ascension, or intercession of the
Lord Jesus, all are ours by His own gift. Upon His breastplate He is now
wearing our names; and in His authoritative pleadings at the throne He
remembers us and pleads our cause. The advantages of His high position,
His dominion over principalities and powers, and His absolute majesty in
heaven, He employs for the benefit of them that trust in Him. His high
estate is as much at our service as was His condition of abasement. He
who gave Himself for us in the depths of woe and death, doth not
withdraw the grant now that He is enthroned in the highest heavens.
Christ hath no dignity which He will not employ for our exaltation, and
no prerogative which He will not exercise for our defence. Christ
everywhere and in every way is our portion, forever and ever most richly
to enjoy.
_Providence._
The boundless stores of Providence are engaged for the support of the
believer. Christ is our Joseph, who has granaries full of wheat; but He
does not treat us as Joseph did the Egyptians, for He opens the door of
his storehouse, and bids us call all the good thereof our own. He has
entailed upon His estate of Providence a perpetual charge of a daily
portion for us; and He has promised that one day we shall clearly
perceive that the estate itself has been well-farmed on our behalf, and
has been always ours. The axle of the wheels of the chariot of
Providence is Infinite Love, and Gracious Wisdom is the perpetual
charioteer.
_The Intercession of Christ._
The Lord Jesus has led captivity captive, and now sits at the right
hand of God, forever making intercession for us. Can your faith picture
Him? Like a Levitical high priest of old He stands with outstretched
arms: there is majesty in His mien, and with authority He pleads. On His
head is the bright shining mitre of His priesthood, and on His breast
are glittering the precious stones whereon the names of His people are
everlastingly engraven. Hear Him as he pleads--hear you not what it is?
Is that your prayer which He is mentioning before the throne? The prayer
that this morning you offered, Christ is now offering before His
Father's throne. The vow which just now you uttered, He is now uttering
there. He is the Altar and Priest, and with His own sacrifice He
perfumes our prayers. And yet, mayhap, you have been praying long, and
had no answer. Poor, weeping suppliant! thou hast sought the Lord and He
hath not seemed to hear thee, or at least not answered thee to thy
soul's delight, and thou art full of darkness and heaviness on account
of this. "Look to Him, and be lightened." If thou dost not succeed, He
will; if thy intercession be unnoticed, His cannot be passed away; if
thy prayers can be like water spilt on the ground, which cannot be
gathered up, yet His prayers are not like that; He is God's Son--He
pleads and must prevail. God cannot refuse His own Son what He now
asks--He who once bought mercies with His blood. O, be of good cheer,
continue still thy supplication, for Jesus "ever liveth to make
intercession" for thee.
_Holiness._
Holiness is the architectural plan upon which God buildeth up His
living temple.
_The New Heart._
God does not promise that He will improve our nature, or that He will
mend our broken hearts. No; the promise is, that He will give us new
hearts and right spirits. Human nature is too far gone ever to be
mended. It is not a house which is a little out of repair, with here and
there a slate blown from the roof, and here and there a piece of plaster
broken down from the ceiling. No; it is rotten throughout; the very
foundations have been sapped; there is not a single timber in it which
is sound; it is all rottenness from its uppermost roof to its lowest
foundation, and ready to fall. God doth not attempt to mend; He does not
shore up the walls, and re-paint the door; He does not garnish and
beautify, but He determines that the old house shall be entirely swept
away, and that He will build a new one. It is too far gone to be mended.
If it were only a little out of repair, it might be restored. If only a
wheel or two of that great thing called "Manhood" were out of repair,
then He who made man might put the whole to rights; He might put a new
cog where it had been broken off, and another wheel where it had gone to
ruin, and the machine might work anew. But no; the whole of it is out of
repair; there is not one lever which is not broken; not one axle which
is not disturbed. "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint.
From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head, it is wounds, and
bruises, and putrefying sores." The Lord, therefore, does not attempt
the repairing of this thing, but He says, "A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you."
_The Christian's Daily Cross._
Believer, Christ Jesus presents thee with thy crosses, and they are no
mean gifts.
_Joy Over the Repenting._
The angels know what the joys of heaven are, and therefore they rejoice
over one sinner that repenteth. We talk about pearly gates, and golden
streets, and white robes, and harps of gold, and crowns of amaranth; but
if an angel could speak to us of heaven, he would smile and say, "All
these fine things are but child's talk, and ye are little children, and
ye cannot understand the greatness of eternal bliss; and therefore God
has given you a child's horn-book, and an alphabet, in which you may
learn the first rough letters of what heaven is, but _what it is_ thou
dost not know. O mortal, thine eye hath never yet beheld its splendors;
thine ear hath never yet been ravished with its melodies; thy heart has
never been transported with its peerless joys." Yes, we may talk, and
think, and guess, and dream, but we can never measure the infinite
heaven which God has provided for His children. But the angels know its
glory; hence a reason that they rejoice over the repenting sinner who
has thus become heir to such an inheritance.
_God's Tender Care._
How careful God is of His people; how anxious He is concerning them,
not only for their life, but for their comfort. Does He say, "Strengthen
ye, strengthen ye my people?" Does He say to the angel, "Protect my
people?" Does He not say to the heavens, "Drop down manna to feed my
people?" all that, and more also. His tender regard secures to them. But
to show us that He is not only regardful of our interests, but also of
our superfluities, He says, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people." He would
have us not only His living people, and His preserved people, but He
would have us His happy people too. He likes His people to be fed; but
what is more, He likes to give them "Wines on the lees well refined," to
make glad their hearts. He will not only give them "bread," but He will
give them "honey" too; He will not simply give them "milk," but He will
give them "wine and milk." "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people:" it is the
Father's yearning heart, careful even for the little things of His
people. "Comfort ye" that one with a tearful eye; "Comfort ye" yon child
of mine with an aching heart; "Comfort ye" that poor bemoaning one;
"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God."
_The Christian's Crown._
Have Christians a crown? O, yes; but they do not wear it every day.
They have a crown, but their coronation-day is not yet arrived; they
have been anointed monarchs; they have some of the authority and dignity
of monarchs, only they are not crowned monarchs yet. But the crown is
made. God will not have to order heaven's goldsmiths to fashion it in
after-time: it is made already, hanging up in glory. God hath "laid up
for me a crown of righteousness."
_Obedience to God's Will._
To the Christian there is no argument so potent as God's will. God's
will is the believer's law. He doth not ask what shall it profit
him--what shall be the good effect of it upon others, but he simply
says, "Doth my Father command it?" And his prayer is, "O Holy Spirit,
help me to obey, not because I see how it shall be good for me, but
simply because thou commandest." It is the Christian's privilege to do
God's commandments, "Hearkening to the voice of His Word."
_The Gospel._
There is everything in the gospel that you want. Do you want something
to bear you up in trouble? It is in the gospel: "As thy days, so shall
thy strength be." Do you need something to nerve you for duty? There is
grace all-sufficient for everything which God calls you to undergo or to
accomplish. Do you need something to light up the eye of your hope? O!
there are joy-flashes in the gospel which make your eye flash back again
the immortal fires of bliss. Do you want something to make you stand
steadfast in the midst of temptation? In the gospel there is that which
can make you immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. There
is no passion, no affection, no thought, no wish, no power which the
gospel has not filled to the very brim. The gospel was evidently meant
for manhood: it is adapted to it in its every part. There is knowledge
for the head; there is love for the heart; there is guidance for the
foot.
_Believing Prayer._
Prayers are heard in heaven very much in proportion to our faith.
Little faith will get very great mercies, but great faith still greater.
It was the custom in old times, for all the poor in the parish to call
at every house with bowls for provisions; and whatever size the bowl
was, every generous person would fill it. Faith is our bowl: if we have
got only "little faith," we shall get that filled; but if we have got
"great faith," we shall have that filled also. Little faith getteth
much; but great faith is a noble and princely merchant, and doth a great
trade--it obtaineth millions where little faith only gaineth hundreds.
Great faith getteth hold of God's treasure.
_Warfare for Sin._
O Christian, never take hold of sin, except with a gauntlet on thy
hand; never go to it with the kid-glove of friendship; never talk
delicately of it; but always hate it in every shape. If it comes to thee
as a little fox, take heed of it, for it will spoil the grapes. Whether
it bounds towards thee as a roaring lion, seeking whom it may devour, or
makes advances in an attractive form, with graceful mien, seeking by a
pretended affection to entice thee into sin--beware; for its hug is
death, and its clasp destruction. Sin of every kind thou art to war
with--of lip, of hand, of heart. However gilded with profit; however
varnished with the seemliness of morality; however complimented by the
great, or however popular with the multitude, thou art to hate sin
everywhere, in all its disguises, at every time, and in every place. Not
one sin is to be spared, but against the whole is to be proclaimed an
utter and entire war of extermination.
_How to Read the Bible._
You may read the Bible continuously, and yet never learn anything by
it, unless it is illuminated by the Spirit; and then the words shine
forth like stars. The book seems made of gold leaf; every single letter
glitters like a diamond. O! it is a blessed thing to read an illuminated
Bible lit up by the radiance of the Holy Ghost. Hast thou read the
Bible, and yet have thine eyes been unenlightened? Go and say, "O Lord,
illuminate it; shine upon it; for I cannot read it to profit, unless
Thou enlightenest me." Blind men may read the Bible with their fingers,
but blind souls cannot. We want a light to read the Bible by; there is
no reading it in the dark.
_A View of Christ._
A view of Christ is always beneficial to a Christian--too much of Christ
we cannot have--there can be no tautology where His name is mentioned.
Give us Christ always, Christ ever. The monotony of Christ is sweet
variety; and even the unity of Christ hath in it all the elements of
harmony. Christ on His cross and on His throne, in the manger and in the
tomb--Christ everywhere is sweet to us. We love His name, we adore His
person, we delight to hear of His works--the theme is ever new.
There are some who complain that their love to the Saviour is faint and
cold. But this would not be if they were more with Jesus. The closer you
live to Christ, and the more you know Him, the better you will love Him.
Do not try to produce in yourself a certain degree of love to Christ by
some extraordinary means; but go into His presence, meditate upon Him
continually, picture to yourself His sufferings for you, and then you
will love Him--it will become easy to you, for _He_ will draw your poor
heart closer to himself, as you thus think about Him; and your love to
Him will grow just in proportion as you realize His love to you.
_The Author and Finisher of Faith._
O Lord! of what small account are the best of men apart from Thee! How
high they rise when Thou liftest them up! How low they fall if Thou
withdraw Thy hand! It is our joy, amidst distress, when Thou enablest us
to say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him;" but if Thou take
away Thy Spirit, we cannot even trust Thee in the brightest day. When
storms gather round us we can smile at them, if Thou be with us; but in
the fairest morn which ever shone on human heart, we doubt and we
miscarry if Thou be not with us still, to preserve and strengthen the
faith which Thou hast Thyself bestowed.
_The Glad Command._
"Delight thyself in the Lord." This law of one command is no stony law
to be written upon tablets of granite, but it contains a precept, for
sparkling brightness worthy to be written on amethysts and pearls.
"Delight thyself in the Lord." When delight becomes a duty, duty must
certainly be a delight. When it becomes my duty to be happy, and I have
an express command to be glad, I must indeed be foolish if I refuse my
own joys, and turn aside from my own bliss. O, what a God we have, who
has made it our duty to be happy! What a gracious God, who accounts no
obedience to be so worthy of his acceptance as a gladsome obedience
rendered by a joyous heart. "Delight thyself in the Lord."
_Untiring Delight._