are in heaviness." And can a Christian "greatly rejoice" while he is "in
heaviness?" Yes, most assuredly he can. Mariners tell us that there are
some parts of the sea where there is a strong current upon the surface
going one way, while, down in the depths there is a strong current
running the other way. Two seas also do not meet and interfere with one
another, but one stream of water on the surface is running in one
direction, and another below in an opposite direction. Now, the
Christian is like that. On the surface there is a stream of heaviness
rolling in dark waves, but down in the depths there is a strong
under-current of great rejoicing which is always flowing there. Do you
ask what is the cause of this great rejoicing? The apostle tells us,
"_Wherein_ ye greatly rejoice." What does he mean? Refer to his epistle,
and you will see. He is writing "to the strangers scattered throughout
Pontus, etc." And the first thing which He says to them is, that they
are "elect according to the foreknowledge of God." This is an assurance
"wherein ye greatly rejoice." Ah! even when the Christian is most "in
heaviness through manifold temptations," what a mercy it is that he can
know that he is still elect of God! Any man who is assured that God "has
chosen him from before the foundation of the world," may well say,
"Wherein I greatly rejoice." Let us reflect on this. Before God made the
heavens and the earth, or laid the pillars of the firmament in their
golden sockets, He set His love upon me; upon the breast of the great
High Priest He wrote my name; and in His everlasting book it stands,
never to be erased--"elect according to the foreknowledge of God." Why,
this may make a man's soul leap within him, and all the heaviness which
the infirmities of the flesh may lay upon him shall be but as nothing;
for this tremendous current of His overflowing joy shall sweep away the
mill-dam of his grief. Bursting and overleaping every obstacle, it shall
overflood all his sorrows till they are drowned and covered up, and
shall not be mentioned any more forever. "Wherein ye greatly rejoice."
Come, Christian! thou art depressed and cast down. Think for a moment:
thou art chosen of God and precious. Let the bell of election ring in
thine ear--that ancient Sabbath-bell of the covenant; and let thy name
be heard in its notes, and say, I beseech thee, say, doth not this make
thee "greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, thou art in
heaviness through manifold temptations?"
Again, you will see another reason. The apostle says that we are "elect
through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus Christ"--"wherein we greatly rejoice." Is the
obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ girt about my loins, to be my beauty
and my glorious dress? and is the blood of Jesus sprinkled upon me, to
take away all my guilt and all my sin? and shall I not in this greatly
rejoice? What shall there be in all the depressions of spirit which can
possibly come upon me which shall make me break my harp, even though I
should for a moment hang it upon the willows? Do I not expect that yet
again my songs shall mount to heaven; and even now, through the thick
darkness, do not the sparks of my joy appear, when I remember that I
have still upon me the blood of Jesus, and still about me the glorious
righteousness of the Messiah?
But the great and cheering comfort of the apostle is, that we are elect
unto "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for us," even as we are reserved for it. Well
may this indeed make him greatly rejoice. He is drawing near the gates
of death, and his spirit is in heaviness, for he has to leave behind him
all that life holds dear. Besides, sickness brings upon him naturally a
depression of spirits. But you sit by him in his chamber, and you begin
to talk to him of the
"Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood,
Arrayed in living green."
You tell him of Canaan on the other side the Jordan--of the land which
floweth with milk and honey--of the Lamb in the midst of the throne, and
of all the glories which God hath prepared for them who love Him; and
you see his dull eye light up with seraphic brightness, "his heaviness"
is all gone, and the language of his heart is--
"On Jordan's stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan's fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie."
The anticipation of the coming glory and happiness fills him with "joy
unspeakable."
_Changefulness._
How varied is the experience of the believer in his spiritual life!
What changes there are in the weather of his soul! What bright sunlight
days! What dark, cloudy nights! What calms, as though his life were a
sea of glass! What terrible trials, as though his life were a
tempestuous ocean! One time we find him crying, "My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me," and anon he sings, "Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me bless His holy name." One hour we hear him
sigh forth, "I sink in deep mire where there is no standing," and then
we find him exulting, "The Lord is my light, and my salvation, whom
shall I fear: the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be
afraid." How wondrously he rises to heaven, and how awfully he dives
into the deeps! Surely we who have known anything of the spiritual and
inner life do not marvel at this, for we have felt these changes. Alas!
what a contrast between the sin which doth so easily beset us, and the
grace which gives us to reign in heavenly places. How different the
sorrow of an abject distrust which breaketh us in pieces as with a
strong east wind, and the joy of a holy confidence which bears us on to
heaven as a propitious gale! What changes between walking with God
to-day, and falling into the mire to-morrow, triumphing over sin, death,
and hell yesterday, and to-day led captive by the lusts of the flesh and
of the mind. Verily, we cannot understand ourselves, and a description
which would suit us at one time, would be ill-adapted at another time.
Changeable, indeed, is our experience; but oh, what a mercy that
_Christ_ does not change! Varied as our experience may be, His grace is
varied to meet it, for He has grace to help us in every time of need,
and with infinite and unfailing good-will supplies us in the strength
proportioned to our day.
_Thoughts of Christ._
Jesus! what infinite sweets in His name! Our impressions on surveying
Him may be compared to some of those lenses you have seen, which you may
take up and hold one way, and you see one light, and another way, and
you see another light, and whichever way you turn them you will always
see some precious sparkling of light, and some new colors starting up to
your view. Ah! take Jesus for your theme; consider Him; think of His
relation to your own soul, and you will never get through that one
subject. Think of His eternal relationship to you; and also of your
known and manifest relationship to Him since you have been called by His
grace. Think how He has become your brother; how His heart has beaten in
sympathy with yours; how He has kissed you with the kisses of His love,
and His love has been sweeter to you than wine. Look back upon some
happy, sunny spots in your history, where Jesus has whispered, "I am
yours," and you have said "My beloved is mine." Think of some choice
moments, when an angel has stooped from heaven, and taken you up on his
wings, and carried you aloft, to sit in heavenly places where Jesus
sits, that you might commune with Him. Or think of some moments, when
you have had what Paul sets so much store by--fellowship with Christ in
His sufferings--when you have felt that you could die _for_ Christ, even
as you have in the rich experience of your baptism, died _with_ Him, and
risen _with_ Him. Think of your relationship to Christ which is to be
developed in heaven. Imagine the hour to have come when you shall "greet
the blood-besprinkled hand on the eternal shore," and when the Lord
Jesus shall salute you as "more than a conqueror," and put a crown upon
your head more glittering than the stars. Oh! take _Jesus_ for your
constant theme, and you will every day find fresh thoughts arise out of
His grace, His beauty, His glory. In Him you have an unfailing subject
of delight, object of attraction, and centre of love.
_A Lesson of Humility._
When Jesus sent forth His seventy disciples, endowed with miraculous
powers, they performed great wonders, and naturally enough were somewhat
elated. In their words, "Behold, even devils were subject to us," Jesus
marked their tendency to pride and self-congratulation. And what was the
sacred lesson He taught to prevent their being exalted above measure?
"Nevertheless," said He, "rejoice not in this, but rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven." The assurance of our interest
in Christ will tend to keep us humble in the day of our prosperity; it
will act as a secret ballast to us to know that we have something better
than these earthly blessings, therefore we must not set our affections
upon the things of earth, but let our hearts be where our greatest
treasure is. Better than any lancet to spill the superfluous blood of
our boasting--better than any bitter medicine to chase the burning fever
of our pride, is this most precious and hallowed wine of the covenant--a
remembrance of our safety in Christ. This, opened up to us by the
Spirit, will suffice to keep us in that happy lowliness which is our
true position. But when at any time we are cast down with multiplied
troubles, the very same fact which kept us humble in prosperity will
preserve us from despair in adversity. For the apostle Paul was
surrounded by a great fight of affliction; and yet he could say,
"Nevertheless I am not ashamed." But what is it which preserves him from
sinking? It is the same truth which kept the ancient disciples from
overweening pride. It is the sweet persuasion of his interest in Christ.
"For 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 let us
seek earnestly to obtain this full assurance of faith, for it will help
us in all states of experience. Let us not rest content till we can say
with Paul, "I know whom I have believed."
_Promises and Precepts._
If thou wouldst have the promises fulfilled to thee, look to it that
thou dost comply with _the precept annexed to the promise_. Follow the
example of Moses. Moses knew that there was a promise given to the
people of Israel, that they should be the world's blessing; but in order
to obtain it, it was necessary that he should practise self-denial,
therefore he "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." If the promise commands thee
to deny thyself, thou canst not obtain it without. Do it, and thou shalt
have its fulfilment. Or suppose that the promise requires courage--_use
courage_. Or does the promise require obedience--_be obedient_. Remember
how Rahab hung out from her window the scarlet line, because that was
the test of her faith. So do thou. Whatsoever Christ hath said unto
thee, do it. Neglect no command, however trivial it may seem. Do what
thy Master tells thee, asking no questions, for he is an ill servant who
questions his Lord's command. Doubtless thou too, like the Ethiopian
eunuch, shalt go on thy way rejoicing when thou hast been obedient. Or
is the promise made to those who bear "a good report" of the land?
Remember, Caleb and Joshua were the only two who obtained the promise,
because they alone honored God. So do thou honor God. Let a scoffing
world hear thine unvarying testimony that thy God is good and true. Let
not thy groanings and thy murmurings make men suspect that thou hast a
hard master, and that His servants have no joys, no comforts, no
delights. Let it be known that He whom thou servest is no Egyptian
task-master; His yoke is easy; His service pleasure, His reward
unspeakable. "Them that honor Me, I will honor." Be thou careful to obey
the precepts, and God will fulfil to thee the promises.
_Sweetness in Sorrow._
Do you not feel, in looking back upon seasons of affliction, that they
have been times when, notwithstanding the trials, you have had unusual
peace and happiness in your heart? There is a sweet joy which comes to
us through sorrow. The bitter wine of sorrow acts with a tonic influence
upon the whole system. The sweet cup of prosperity often leaves a
bitterness in the taste; but the bitter cup of affliction, when
sanctified, always leaves a sweet flavor in the mouth. There is joy in
sorrow. There is music in this harp with its strings all unstrung and
broken. There are a few notes we hear from this mournful lute which we
never get from the loud-sounding trumpet. We obtain a softness and
melody from the wail of sorrow, which we never get from the song of joy.
Must we not account for this by the fact, that in our troubles we live
nearer to God? Our joy is like the wave as it dashes upon the shore--it
throws us on the earth. But our sorrows are like that receding wave
which sucks us back again into the great depth of Godhead. We should
have been stranded and left high and dry upon the shore, if it had not
been for that receding wave, that ebbing of our prosperity, which
carried us back to our Father and to our God again. Blessed affliction!
it has brought us to the mercy-seat; given life to prayer; enkindled
love; strengthened faith; brought Christ into the furnace with us, and
then brought us out of the furnace to live with Christ more joyously
than before.
_Little-faith._
One inconvenience of "little-faith" is, that _while it is always sure
of heaven, it very seldom thinks so_. Little-faith is quite as secure
for heaven as Great-faith. When Jesus Christ counts up His jewels at the
last day, He will take to Himself the little pearls as well as the great
ones. If a diamond be never so small, yet it is precious because it is a
diamond. So faith, be it never so little, if it be true faith, is "like
precious" with that which apostles obtained. Christ will never lose even
the smallest jewel of His crown. Little-faith is always secure of
heaven, because the name of Little-faith is in the book of eternal life.
Little-faith was chosen of God before the foundation of the world.
Little-faith was bought with the blood of Christ; ay, and he cost as
much as Great-faith. "For every man a shekel," was the price of
redemption. Every man, whether great or small, prince or peasant, had to
redeem himself with a shekel. Christ has bought all, both little and
great, with the same most precious blood. Little-faith is always secure
of heaven, for God has begun the work in him, and He will carry it on.
God loves him, and He will love him unto the end. God has provided a
crown for him, and He will not allow the crown to hang there useless; He
has erected for him a mansion in heaven, and He will not allow the
mansion to stand untenanted forever. Little-faith is always safe, but he
very seldom knows it. If you meet him he is sometimes afraid of hell;
very often afraid that the wrath of God abideth on him. He will tell you
that the country on the other side the flood can never belong to one so
base as he. Sometimes it is because he feels himself so unworthy;
another time it is because the things of God are too good to be true, he
says; or he cannot think they can be true to such a one as he. Sometimes
he is afraid he is not elect; another time he fears that he has not been
called aright, or that he has not come to Christ aright; anon, his fears
are that he will not hold on to the end, that he shall not be able to
persevere; and if you kill a thousand of his fears, he is sure to have
another host by to-morrow; for unbelief is one of those things which you
cannot destroy; you may kill it over and over again, but still it lives.
It is one of those ill weeds which sleep in the soil even after it has
been burned, and it only needs a little encouragement, or a little
negligence, and it will sprout up again. Now, Great-faith is sure of
heaven, and he knows it. He climbs Pisgah's top, and views the landscape
o'er; he tastes of the sweetness of paradise even before he enters
within the pearly gates; he sees the streets which are paved with gold;
he beholds the walls of the city, the foundations whereof are of
precious stones; he hears the mystic music of the glorified, and begins
to smell on earth the perfumes of heaven. But poor Little-faith can
scarcely look at the sun; he very seldom sees the light; he gropes in
the valley, and while all is safe, he always thinks himself unsafe.
"_To be with Christ._"
"_To be with Christ_." Who can comprehend this but the Christian? It
is a heaven which worldlings care not for. They know not what a mass of
glory is crowded into that one sentence: "To be with Christ." But to the
believer the words are a concentration of bliss. Take only one of the
many precious thoughts the words suggest--_the sight of Christ_. "Thine
eye shall see the King in His beauty." We have heard of Him, and can
say, "Whom having not seen we love." But then we "_shall see Him_." Yes,
we shall actually gaze upon the exalted Redeemer. Realize the thought.
Is there not a heaven within it? Thou shalt see the hands which were
nailed to the cross for thee; thou shalt see the thorn-crowned head, and
with all the blood-washed throng, shalt thou bow with lowly reverence
before Him, who bowed in lowly abasement for thee. Faith is precious,
but what must sight be? To view Jesus as the Lamb of God through the
glass of faith, makes the soul rejoice with joy unspeakable; but oh! to
see Him face to face, to look into those eyes, to hear that
voice--rapture begins at the very mention of it! If even to _think_ of
it is so sweet, what must the _vision_ be when we shall talk with Him,
"even as a man talketh with his friend"--for the vision of Christ
implies _communion_. All that which the spouse desired in Solomon's
Song, we shall have, and ten thousand times more. Then will the prayer
be fulfilled, "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth: for Thy
love is better than wine." Then we shall be able to say, "His left hand
is under my head, and His right hand doth embrace me." Then shall we
experience the promise, "They shall walk with me in white, for they are
worthy." And then we will pour out the song of gratitude, a song such as
we have never sung on earth, tuneful, dulcet, pure, full of serenity and
joy, no discord to mar its melody; a song rapt and seraphic. Happy day,
when vision and communion shall be ours in fulness--when we shall know
even as we are known!
INDEX.
PAGE
The Preciousness of the Promises. 5
Sorrow's Discipline. 7
The Christian Warfare. 8
The Privileges of Trial. 10
The Joy of Victory. 11
Light in the Cloud. 13
Good Works. 16
The Knowledge of Christ's Love. 18
Clear Shining after Rain. 21
A Quiet Heart. 23
A Rich Life. 24
"He hath Said." 27
Safety in Conflict. 30
To-morrow. 32
A Full Heart. 34
Persevering Prayer. 37
Humility. 39
Look Upwards. 41
The Use of Trial. 41
Faith Necessary. 42
Christ "Altogether Lovely." 44
The Remedy for Doubts. 47
All Things Working for Good. 48
The Triumph of Grace. 49
Religion a Personal Matter. 51
Strength through Weakness. 53
Begin Well. 54
The Robe of Righteousness. 56
Cross-Bearers. 57
The Happiness of Religion. 58
Unchangeable. 59
Increase of Faith. 60
Communion with Christ. 61
The Soul satisfied in Christ. 62
The Lord's Jewels. 63
Memorials of Jesus. 64
"Freely give." 66
Religion--a Present Enjoyment. 67
"Our Lord Jesus." 70
Providence. 71
The Intercession of Christ. 72
Holiness. 73
The New Heart. 74
The Christian's Daily Cross. 75
Joy over the Repenting. 76
God's Tender Care. 77
The Christian's Crown. 78
Obedience to God's Will. 79
The Gospel. 80
Believing Prayer. 81
Warfare for Sin. 82
How to read the Bible. 83
A View of Christ. 84
The Author and Finisher of Faith. 85
The Glad Command. 86
Untiring Delight. 87
Divine Teaching. 89
Seeking Christ. 91
"Christ in You." 92
Consolation. 93
Self-Examination. 94
Heaven an Inheritance. 95
The Sleep of Death. 97
Foretastes of Heaven. 99
The Work of the Spirit. 101
Peace. 103
Earth's Seasons. 104
Love Undeserved. 106
The Infallible Commentary. 106
A Place of Trust. 107
"Consider Him." 108
The Joy Of Pardon. 109
Inexhaustible Promises. 110
The Fulness of Christ. 111
True Blessing. 111
Faith and Feeling. 112
Near Home. 113
Beauty in Christ. 114
The Savior's Legacy. 115
Needless Poverty. 116
The Sin of Unbelief. 117
The One Family. 118
The Spirit of Praise. 120
Love to Christ. 122
The First Lesson. 123
Danger of Prosperity. 123
Idleness. 124
Grace. 124
Obtaining Promises. 125
Sympathy. 127
"Endure Hardness." 128
Usefulness. 129
The Church and the World. 130
The Fight of Faith. 132
Life's Great Object. 134
Love's Circumference. 136
The Way to Heaven. 137
Religion Exemplified. 139
The Right Estimate. 139
"Vessels of Mercy." 140
Christian Diligence. 141
"Comfort ye my People." 142
Self. 145
Strength through Joy. 145
The Refiner's Fire. 146
Heart-Learning. 146
The Hope of Heaven. 147
Rejoice Always. 149
Religion a Present Concern. 150
Trouble Lightened. 152
The Gospel Requirement. 153
"Ye are not your own." 155
"Continue in Prayer." 156
The Holy Savior. 157
Christ our Example. 158
God's Government. 160
The Secret of Strength. 162
Nature and Grace. 165
Look to Christ. 166
Love in Chastening. 167
Enduring the Cross. 169
Christian Gravity. 172
Short-Sightedness. 173
Steadfastness. 174
"Be not high-minded, but fear." 176
Evidence of the New Life. 177
"A few Names even in Sardis." 178
Increase of Strength. 181
The Triumphant Deliverance. 182
A Complete Savior. 184
Home-Mercies. 185
"Grace doth much more abound." 187
Unsubmissive Prayers. 190
"More than Conquerors." 192
Christian Gladness. 194
The Condescension of Christ. 196
All of Grace. 197
"This man receiveth sinners." 199
"Wherein ye greatly rejoice." 202
Changefulness. 207
Thoughts of Christ. 209
A Lesson of Humility. 212
Promises and Precepts. 214
Sweetness in Sorrow. 216
Little-Faith. 218
"To be with Christ." 221