_The Lord is at hand_. _Be careful for nothing_; _but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto_ God.
“THE Lord is at hand.” It is doubtful whether this admonition is
designed to recommend the foregoing precept, “Let your moderation be
known unto all men,” or whether it introduces and enforces the
injunction, “Be careful for nothing.” It may well do both: on the one
hand, exhorting the disciples to lead (and that manifestly) an unworldly
life, seeing they were so shortly to be taken out of the world; and, on
the other hand, cheering them in their sorrows, suppressing their
anxieties and quickening their faith, by the remembrance, that comfort,
and peace, and perfect bliss would soon be theirs—“The LORD is at hand.”
The second advent of our LORD was always in the mind of the apostles. It
is thought that they even counted upon its literal occurrence in their
lifetime, as though the prophecies of it were among the things to be
fulfilled before that generation passed away. Without subscribing to
this view, against which many objections may be taken, it may be readily
admitted that, as they were uncertain how soon it might happen, as they
had no ground for concluding that it would _not_ be in their time, so
they rightly laboured to impress upon the disciples its _possible_, if
you will its _probable_ nearness. Besides, they knew that, virtually, it
would be soon: for if CHRIST came not speedily in the flesh, speedily
they would be called out of the flesh to Him, and then would cease the
pleasures and cares of this world, and then would begin the possession
and enjoyment of things eternal. How necessary then, that they who were
but pilgrims and strangers here, living a life that was soon to be ended
and accounted for, should be warned against excess of worldliness,
against building houses where they were but permitted to pitch tents,
against turning aside out of the path of pilgrimage, and wasting or
abusing the time for journeying! How cheering, too, for those who were
perplexed, or burthened, or afflicted, to be reminded that perplexity,
and toil, and grief were only passing clouds, and mere inconveniences by
the way—that soon they should be rid of them altogether, and should only
be allowed to remember them to magnify their appreciation of attained
rest and glory! And here let me observe, that the admonition “Be careful
for nothing,” is not in this place a reproof of the worldling, coming
across him in the path of mammon worship, of earthly aggrandisement, of
forgetfulness of eternity, of GOD, of heaven, but is rather a
consolation, an encouragement, for those, who while walking, or
endeavouring to walk, in the right way, are depressed and hindered by
trials, and perplexities, and afflictions. There are cares which man
makes for himself, for which he is to be blamed, whereof he deserves to
eat the bitter fruit. There are other cares which he suffers
involuntarily, which GOD imposes upon him as discipline, which Satan
thrusts upon him as temptations. With regard to the last, the
Christian’s cares, St. Paul offers advice and consolation, saying in
effect—Sink not beneath them, poor pilgrim; groan not on account of them;
let them not distract your aims and desires from the right object of
solicitude and hope. Weigh them in the right scales against the glories
that are coming, and they will surely be found light. Measure them
beside the joys of eternity, and they will be seen to be brief and
transitory. “The LORD is at hand” to relieve you of them all, at His
second advent, by the unclothing of death, by carrying you to Paradise.
Be comforted, rejoice, rouse ye, and, without distraction, pursue your
hopeful course. “Be careful for nothing.”
We know the force of such an exhortation in earthly things. We know by
experience how light is the labour which leads to rest, how possible it
is to smile through present tears at the prospect of coming joy; what
pains, and self-denials, and dangers, and encounters, are readily
embraced by those whom ambition prompts, and approval cheers, and reward
awaits. Nothing is too hard to bear, nothing too dear to relinquish,
nothing too formidable to meet, nothing too much to do; the hands that
hung down are lifted up, the sorrow is banished, the toil becomes
pleasure, we rush to the fight, we delight in the race, forgetting the
past, disregarding the present, hastening onward to the future, the rest,
the victory, the prize, the glory. It is easy, then—not altogether, but
comparatively—to obey the precept, “Be careful for nothing” in view of
the prospect, “The LORD is at hand.”
But, after all, I cannot but think that something better than a prospect
is hinted at in the text. The apostle goes on to urge, “In everything by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto GOD.” He does not say, “Make light of present cases, on account of
coming consolation.” He does not bid the downcast lift up their eyes to
the hills, whence by and by cometh their help. It is not “Bear, endure,
encounter in hope,” but, “Get rid of what burthens you, by laying it upon
Him, Who is near, by your side now, to take it. Be careful for nothing;
put every care upon GOD (the LORD who is at hand to take it), by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving.” I say this is something better than
a prospect; better, because of its superior influence, and better,
because of the immediate relief. The teaching of Advent, all important
as it is, too often affects but little such poor creatures of the present
as we are. We are exhorted to look back to the first coming of CHRIST,
to see what He suffered and did for us, what a foundation He laid for us
to build on. We are exhorted to look forward to the second advent, to
consider what CHRIST will do, to anticipate the glorious completion of us
in Him as the building of GOD. We obey, and we are moved to faint
gratitude for the one, to faint hope of the other. The retrospect and
the prospect considered, we both see from what rock we were hewn, and
into how beautiful a fabric we shall be fashioned; and, unless we are
very incapable of feeling, in the view of past and future, we strive to
accept thankfully and to sanctify duly the present. But, oh! how little
constraining is the influence of a Saviour who _once_ visited the earth,
of a Judge who shall _by and by_ visit it! How dim is the remembrance of
long past mercies! how distant is the prospect of heavenly consolations!
Earth is now present with all its attractions and rewards. The world,
the flesh, and the devil are now assailing and afflicting us with their
many temptations. How can we resist the seen, and heard, and felt
fascinations? How can we fill up the present void, and lull the present
pain, and endure the pressing trial, by proposing to ourselves the hopes
of the future? Does the promise of food to-morrow fill the hungry
to-day? Does the sight of the physician’s prescription on the instant
stay the pain and progress of inflammation? Will a drowning man float
till by and by a rope is brought and thrown to him? Will a discomfited
army rally and conquer, because reinforcements at some future time will
reach the field? In each of these cases, the prospect will have _some_
influence, but will it be adequate to the occasion? Must not the present
be met by the present? Do we not need, besides a Saviour of the past,
and a Judge of the future, a LORD of the present? Yes, verily, and we
are assured that we have Him in the words, “The LORD is at hand,” and
advised how to avail ourselves of Him in what follows, “Be careful for
nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto GOD.”
We are too apt to have but a religion of the future; to forget that there
is _at hand_ a LORD and Helper; to act as though the first opportunity of
serving GOD were in the hour of death, as though the blessings of reward
and favour were only to be had in heaven; to treat GOD, in short, as if
He were only the GOD of a future world. Such teaching as that of the
text reproves and corrects us. As other passages of Holy Writ instruct
us to make GOD the aim of this present life, using life as an
apprentice-time to the profession of Christianity, as a season wherein to
prove ourselves and be proved, and to set forth His glory; “Whether we
live, we live unto the LORD.” “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of
GOD;” so the text bids us make GOD the guide and supporter of this life.
“In everything by prayer, with supplication, and thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known as to GOD. And the peace of GOD, which passeth
all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through CHRIST
JESUS.”
This is what we want to feel and act upon, that GOD is a GOD at hand, and
not a GOD afar off; that we may _now_ cast all our care upon Him, knowing
that He careth for us; that if we lay our burthen upon the LORD, He will
_now_ sustain us: that if we commit our way unto Him, He will bring it to
pass; that He waits to be gracious, not till this life is over, but only
till we make known our requests, till we pray and supplicate, and give
thanks. In proportion as we do not realise and act upon these
assurances, we are blind to many of the charms, and insensible to many of
the helps and comforts of our holy religion: we frustrate, too, the
fulfilment in ourselves of the truth, that godliness has the promise of
the life that now is: we run the risk of becoming earthly-minded, of
being swallowed up of overmuch sorrow, of being cumbered with many cares,
of being snared away and taken captive by the devil, of making shipwreck
of our faith.
O brethren, do not suppose that GOD only dwells on the margin of the
haven, that we are left to steer our course, to buffet with the waves, to
struggle against the storm, to repair the shivered mast, to stop the
leakages, to sail into the harbour, and let down the anchor, and
disembark upon the shore before He meets us. With Him as our Captain we
are to set out. He as our pilot must guide us. He must rule the waves
and bring us through them. The way is His, as the haven is His; unless
He is with us throughout the first, we shall never reach the last. Grace
is no reserved blessing. Heaven is no distant home. Grace is ever to be
had if we will seek it. Heaven is everywhere, if we will but realise it,
for where GOD is, is heaven.
But GOD is not manifest to all. His help is not given unsought. The eye
of faith alone can see Him, the cry of faith alone be heard. As He will
be served for reward, so will He be asked for grace: we must be alert to
see what help we want; we must be prompt to seek it. We must acknowledge
Him, or He will not guide us. We must cast our care upon Him, or He will
not take it. Unless we are careful for nothing, because we have
committed our cares to Him, we must be full of cares, harassed by them,
troubled, afflicted, distressed; or, being careless, we shall be deemed
worthless, and left to drift upon shoals and into quicksands, and to sink
in the gulf of destruction.
Do I speak to those who are careful for many things? I do not mean those
who are concerning themselves about worldly schemes, who would increase
their wealth, their power, or their pleasure, who, regarding earth as
their home, and resolving to make the most of it, are laying themselves
out for many days, proposing to pull down their barns and build greater,
to make to themselves a name, who are intent upon what they shall eat and
drink, and wherewithal they shall be clothed, how they shall get their
full of pleasure, how they shall cull all the advantages, and avoid all
the disagreeables of life. As the minister of GOD, I have nothing to do
with these, further than to cry out upon their folly and their sin, and
to warn them that unless they repent and relinquish their cares, they
shall be consumed by them. But do I speak to those who setting before
them as the business of life, the service of GOD, as the end of life, the
glory of heaven, are yet, by personal infirmity, by peculiar exigencies,
and difficulties, and anxieties, by a frowning or fascinating world, by
the wiles of Satan or by any other means, so troubled, so distracted, so
drawn off from the pursuit of their object, and the entertaining of their
hopes, that they find themselves carnal when they would be spiritual,
standing still when they would be moving on, clinging to earth when they
would be rising to heaven, waging war when they would be enjoying peace?
Do I speak to those whose weak and carnal nature will not be enlisted in
the hearty pursuit of godliness; whose crying temporal wants distract,
and deafen, and deaden the yearnings of their better nature; whose
occupation in the world seems to contend, and too successfully, for the
best of their thoughts and aims, whose natural losses and deprivations
sadden and absorb them, creating a void which they cannot fill, taking
away a guide whom they used to look to, a support upon which they were
wont to lean; whose patient labours in well-doing have failed of success;
whose good is evil spoken of; whose many cares to train aright the
children whom GOD gave them, have been repaid by waywardness; whose
conscientious well-doing has brought upon them what should rather be the
reward of ungodliness; who, in short, have not found in religion what
they hoped for and honestly sought, and who cannot render to religion
what they would? Do I speak to these? Well! I ask, Have you sought to
get rid of care, by casting it upon the LORD? or have you rather asked
human counsel, and leant upon human support, and hewn out for yourselves
cisterns, and built for yourselves a refuge, instead of running into the
refuge of GOD? Have you animated yourselves only by the thought of
distant help, of future peace? Have you lost sight of the LORD at hand,
the GOD of Providence, knowing, causing or assenting to, and waiting to
guide, as you ask or ask not, the circumstances which try you? Have you
realised that nothing happens but by His consent, and that His consent is
given or withheld, not by what He sees of you, but by what He hears from
you? Do you pray—not simply uttering certain words put into your mouths
in Church formularies, or books of private devotion, not framing acts of
general adoration, of vague acknowledgments of dependence and prayer for
blessings, but presenting yourselves, in the utterance of your own
feelings, as in all things the servants of His will, the dependents and
petitioners of His grace? Do you supplicate? Is each ascertained want
laid before Him in all its detail? Is every hindrance, every difficulty,
every desire made known to Him as soon as perceived by yourselves? Is
your care cast upon Him? Is He besought to take it, to relieve you of
it, to tell you what to do respecting it? Can you say of all that now
tries you, that nothing is uncommunicated to Him, no relief, no guidance
unsought? And do you in everything give thanks. Ah, here, brethren, is
the test! Here doubtless will many of you, who are clear hitherto, be
obliged to plead guilty. You do not give thanks. You recognise GOD as
Him from whom you may seek all. You do not sufficiently acknowledge what
you have received. Of many special gifts, of power to bear with many
trials, of guidance in various difficulties, of blessings continued and
troubles not made worse (an important item), you make no acknowledgment.
You know of many blessings for which you ought to be grateful: you may
guess at many more, and besides there are many which you do not know, and
cannot guess at, which yet doubtless have been poured out upon you, or at
least have not been taken away from you. What of these? What of
everything good in itself, or capable of being made good? What of the
temptations, what of the afflicting providences of which you are the
objects? You do not think, perhaps, that these are things to be grateful
for: but, remember, the command is, “In everything with thanksgiving.”
Yes, the prayer, without the thanksgiving, is not prayer. It is only
part dependence. It asks, it does not acknowledge. It does not rejoice
that GOD is yet operating; that He is chastening if He is not rewarding;
that therefore, you are still the creatures of His providence, and may
hope for blessing if you do not frustrate it.
O mend all that is amiss, quicken all that is slow, revive all that is
ready to perish. The LORD is at hand. Cast all your care upon Him.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not to your own
understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct
your paths. In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to GOD. See Him by faith Who is
invisible to natural eye. Lean on Him Whom the arm of flesh cannot
touch. Speak to Him in all your circumstances of weal or woe, of trial
or blessing. Pray to Him for what you want, and acknowledge all that you
receive, of whatever kind, and ask Him what use to make of it. So rid
yourselves of your cares, and then—I do not say that you shall be left
without trials, for GOD does not promise that, rather does He lead us to
expect trials as the signs and pledges of His love, but I do say that He
will give you nothing, and leave you nothing, but what is good for your
personal happiness and your eternal interest, and that in every trial,
whether sent by Him, or allowed to be inflicted by the agents of evil, He
will give you support, and guidance, and ardent hope, and abundant
consolation; yea, He will bestow on you His peace which passeth
understanding, and which, whatever your circumstances, shall assuredly
keep your hearts and minds through CHRIST JESUS, unto eternal salvation.
SERMON II.
JUDGMENT HERE AND HEREAFTER.