I have said that, judged by the standard of the Exchange, or by any of
the standards which men usually apply to success in life, this life of
the Apostle was a failure. We know, without my dwelling more largely
upon it, what he gave up. We know what, to outward appearance, he
gained by his Christianity. You remember, perhaps, how he himself
speaks about the external aspects of his life in one place, where he
says 'Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are
naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place, and
labour, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being
persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the
filth of the world, and as the offscouring of all things unto this day.'
That was one side of it. Was that all? This man had that within him
which enabled him to triumph over all trials. There is nothing more
remarkable about him than the undaunted courage, the unimpaired
elasticity of spirit, the buoyancy of gladness, which bore him high
upon the waves of the troubled sea in which he had to swim. If ever
there was a man that had a bright light burning within him, in the
deepest darkness, it was that little weather-beaten Jew, whose 'bodily
presence was weak, and his speech contemptible.' And what was it that
made him master of circumstances, and enabled him to keep sunshine in
his heart when winter bound all the world around him? What made this
bird sing in a darkened cage? One thing--the continual presence,
consciously with Him by faith, of that Christ who had revolutionised
his life, and who continued to bless and to gladden it. I have quoted
his description of his external condition. Let me quote two or three
words that indicate how he took all that sea of troubles and of sorrows
that poured its waves and its billows over him. 'In all these things we
are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.' 'As the sufferings
of Christ abound in us, so our consolation aboundeth also by Christ.'
'For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet
our inward man is renewed day by day.' 'Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon
me.' 'I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.'
'As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as
having nothing, yet possessing all things.'
There is the secret of blessedness, my friends; there is the fountain
of perpetual joy. Cling to Christ, set His will on the throne of your
hearts, give the reins of your life and of your character into His
keeping, and nothing 'that is at enmity with joy' can either 'abolish
or destroy' the calm blessedness of your spirits.
You will have much to suffer; you will have something to give up. Your
life may look, to men whose tastes have been vulgarised by the glaring
brightnesses of this vulgar world, but grey and sombre, but it will
have in it the calm abiding blessedness which is more than joy, and is
diviner and more precious than the tumultuous transports of gratified
sense or successful ambition. Christ is peace, and He gives His peace
to us; and then He gives a joy which does not break but enhances peace.
We are all tempted to look for our gladness in creatures, each of which
satisfies but a part of our desire. But no man can be truly blessed who
has to find many contributories to make up his blessedness. That which
makes us rich must be, not a multitude of precious stones, howsoever
precious they may be, but one Pearl of great price; the one Christ who
is our only joy. And He says to us that He gives us Himself, if we
behold Him and bow to Him, that His joy might remain in us, and that
our joy might be full, while all other gladnesses are partial and
transitory. Faith in Christ makes life blessed. The writer of
Ecclesiastes asked the question which the world has been asking ever
since: 'Who knoweth what is good for a man in this life, all the days
of this vain life which he passeth as a shadow?' You young people are
asking, 'Who will show us any good?' Here is the answer--Faith in
Christ and obedience to Him; that is the good part which no man taketh
from us. Dear young friend, have you made it yours?