There never lived the person who travelled in that path, and missed the
object that he sought to attain.
It is a path open to all. It needs neither wealth, nor rank, nor
learning in order to walk in it. It is for the servant as well as for
the master: it is for the poor as well as for the rich. None are
excluded but those who exclude themselves.
It is the one only path. All that have ever been happy, since the days
of Adam, have journeyed on it. There is no royal road to happiness.
Kings must be content to go side by side with their humblest subjects,
if they would be happy.
Where is this path? Where is this road? Listen, and you shall hear.
The way to be happy is _to be a real, thorough-going, true-hearted
Christian_. Scripture declares it: experience proves it. The converted
man, the believer in Christ, the child of God,--he, and he alone, is the
happy man.
It sounds too simple to be true: it seems at first sight so plain a
receipt that it is not believed. But the greatest truths are often the
simplest. The secret which many of the wisest on earth have utterly
failed to discover, is revealed to the humblest believer in Christ. I
repeat it deliberately, and defy the world to disprove it: the true
Christian is the only happy man.
What do I mean when I speak of a true Christian? Do I mean everybody who
goes to church or chapel? Do I mean everybody who professes an orthodox
creed, and bows his head at the belief? Do I mean everybody who
professes to love the Gospel? No: indeed! I mean something very
different. All are not Christians who are called Christians. The man I
have in view is _the Christian in heart and life_. He who has been
taught by the Spirit really to feel his sins,--he who really rests all
his hopes on the Lord Jesus Christ, and His atonement,--he who has been
born again and really lives a spiritual, holy life,--he whose religion
is not a mere Sunday coat, but a mighty constraining principle governing
every day of his life,--he is the man I mean, when I speak of a true
Christian.
What do I mean when I say the true Christian is happy? Has he no doubts
and no fears? Has he no anxieties and no troubles? Has he no sorrows and
no cares? Does he never feel pain, and shed no tears? Far be it from me
to say anything of the kind. He has a body weak and frail like other
men; he has affections and passions like every one born of woman: he
lives in a changeful world. But deep down in his heart he has a mine of
solid peace and substantial joy which is never exhausted. This is true
happiness.
Do I say that all true Christians are equally happy? No: not for a
moment! There are babes in Christ's family as well as old men; there are
weak members of the mystical body as well as strong ones; there are
tender lambs as well as sheep. There are not only the cedars of Lebanon
but the hyssop that grows on the wall. There are degrees of grace and
degrees of faith. Those who have most faith and grace will have most
happiness. But all, more or less, compared to the children of the world,
are happy men.
Do I say that real true Christians are equally happy at all times? No:
not for a moment! All have their ebbs and flows of comfort: some, like
the Mediterranean sea, almost insensibly; some, like the tide at
Chepstow, fifty or sixty feet at a time. Their bodily health is not
always the same; their earthly circumstances are not always the same;
the souls of those they love fill them at seasons with special anxiety:
they themselves are sometimes overtaken by a fault, and walk in
darkness. They sometimes give way to inconsistencies and besetting sins,
and lose their sense of pardon. But, as a general rule, the true
Christian has a deep pool of peace within him, which even at the lowest
is never entirely dry.[8]
8: I use the words, "as a general rule," advisedly. When a believer
falls into such a horrible sin as that of David, it would be monstrous
to talk of his feeling inward peace. If a man professing to be a true
Christian talked to me of being happy in such a case,--before giving any
evidence of the deepest, most heart-abasing repentance,--I should feel
great doubts whether he ever had any grace at all.
The true Christian is the only happy man, because _his conscience is at
peace_. That mysterious witness for God, which is so mercifully placed
within us, is fully satisfied and at rest. It sees in the blood of
Christ a complete cleansing away of all its guilt. It sees in the
priesthood and mediation of Christ a complete answer to all its fears.
It sees that through the sacrifice and death of Christ, God can now be
just, and yet be the justifier of the ungodly. It no longer bites and
stings, and makes its possessor afraid of himself. The Lord Jesus Christ
has amply met all its requirements. Conscience is no longer the enemy of
the true Christian, but his friend and adviser. Therefore he is happy.
The true Christian is the only happy man, because he can _sit down
quietly and think about his soul_. He can look behind him and before
him, he can look within him and around him, and feel, "All is well."--He
can think calmly on his past life, and however many and great his sins,
take comfort in the thought that they are all forgiven. The
righteousness of Christ covers all, as Noah's flood overtopped the
highest hills.--He can think calmly about things to come, and yet not be
afraid. Sickness is painful; death is solemn; the judgment day is an
awful thing: but having Christ for him, he has nothing to fear.--He can
think calmly about the Holy God, whose eyes are on all his ways, and
feel, "He is my Father, my reconciled Father in Christ Jesus. I am weak;
I am unprofitable: yet in Christ He regards me as His dear child, and is
well-pleased." Oh, what a blessed privilege it is to be able to _think_,
and not be afraid! I can well understand the mournful complaint of the
prisoner in solitary confinement. He had warmth, and food, and clothing,
and work, but he was not happy. And why? He said, "He was obliged to
think."
The true Christian is the only happy man, because _he has sources of
happiness entirely independent of this world_. He has something which
cannot be affected by sickness and by deaths, by private losses and by
public calamities, the "peace of God, which passeth all understanding."
He has a hope laid up for him in heaven; he has a treasure which moth
and rust cannot corrupt; he has a house which can never be taken down.
His loving wife may die, and his heart feel rent in twain; his darling
children may be taken from him, and he may be left alone in this cold
world; his earthly plans may be crossed; his health may fail: but all
this time he has a portion which nothing can hurt. He has one Friend who
never dies; he has possessions beyond the grave, of which nothing can
deprive him: his nether springs may fail, but his upper springs are
never dry. This is real happiness.
The true Christian is happy, because he is _in his right position_. All
the powers of his being are directed to right ends. His affections are
not set on things below, but on things above; his will is not bent on
self-indulgence, but is submissive to the will of God; his mind is not
absorbed in wretched perishable trifles. He desires useful employment:
he enjoys the luxury of doing good. Who does not know the misery of
disorder? Who has not tasted the discomfort of a house where everything
and everybody are in their wrong places,--the last things first and the
first things last? The heart of an unconverted man is just such a house.
Grace puts everything in that heart in its right position. The things of
the soul come first, and the things of the world come second. Anarchy
and confusion cease: unruly passions no longer do each one what is right
in his eyes. Christ reigns over the whole man, and each part of him does
his proper work. The new heart is the only really light heart, for it is
the only heart that is in order.--The true Christian has found out his
place. He has laid aside his pride and self-will; he sits at the feet of
Jesus, and is in his right mind: he loves God and loves man, and so he
is happy. In heaven all are happy because all do God's will perfectly.
The nearer a man gets to this standard the happier he will be.
The plain truth is that without Christ there is no happiness in this
world. He alone can give the Comforter who abideth for ever. He is the
sun; without Him men never feel warm. He is the light; without Him men
are always in the dark. He is the bread; without Him men are always
starving. He is the living water; without Him men are always athirst.
Give them what you like,--place them where you please,--surround them
with all the comforts you can imagine,--it makes no difference. Separate
from Christ, the Prince of Peace, a man cannot be happy.
Give a man a sensible interest in Christ, and he will be happy _in spite
of poverty_. He will tell you that he wants nothing that is really good.
He is provided for: he has riches in possession, and riches in
reversion; he has meat to eat that the world knows not of; he has
friends who never leave him nor forsake him. The Father and the Son come
to him, and make their abode with him: the Lord Jesus Christ sups with
him, and he with Christ. (Rev. iii. 20.)
Give a man a sensible interest in Christ, and he will be happy _in
spite of sickness_. His flesh may groan, and his body be worn out with
pain, but his heart will rest and be at peace. One of the happiest
people I ever saw was a young woman who had been hopelessly ill for many
years with disease of the spine. She lay in a garret without a fire; the
straw thatch was not two feet above her face. She had not the slightest
hope of recovery. But she was always rejoicing in the Lord Jesus. The
spirit triumphed mightily over the flesh. She was happy, because Christ
was with her.[9]
9: John Howard, the famous Christian philanthropist, in his last
journey said, "I hope I have sources of enjoyment that depend not on
the particular spot I inhabit. A rightly cultivated mind, under the
power of religion and the exercises of beneficent dispositions,
affords a ground of satisfaction little affected by _heres and
theres_."
Give a man a sensible interest in Christ, and he will be happy _in spite
of abounding public calamities_. The government of his country may be
thrown into confusion, rebellion and disorder may turn everything upside
down, laws may be trampled under foot; justice and equity may be
outraged; liberty may be cast down to the ground; might may prevail over
right: but still his heart will not fail. He will remember that the
kingdom of Christ will one day be set up. He will say, like the old
Scotch minister who lived unmoved throughout the turmoil of the first
French revolution: "It is all right: it shall be well with the
righteous."
I know well that Satan hates the doctrine which I am endeavouring to
press upon you. I have no doubt he is filling your mind with objections
and reasonings, and persuading you that I am wrong. I am not afraid to
meet these objections face to face. Let us bring them forward and see
what they are.
You may tell me that "_you know many very religious people who are not
happy at all_." You see them diligent in attending public worship. You
know that they are never missing at the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
But you see in them no marks of the peace which I have been describing.
But are you sure that these people you speak of are true believers in
Christ? Are you sure that, with all their appearance of religion, they
are born again and converted to God? Is it not very likely that they
have nothing but the name of Christianity, without the reality; and a
form of godliness, without the power? Alas! you have yet to learn that
people may do many religious acts, and yet possess no saving religion!
It is not a mere formal, ceremonial Christianity that will ever make
people happy. We want something more than going to Church, and going to
sacraments, to give us peace. There must be real, vital union with
Christ. It is not the formal Christian, but the true Christian, that is
the happy man.
You may tell me that "_you know really spiritually-minded and converted
people who do not seem happy_." You have heard them frequently
complaining of their own hearts, and groaning over their own corruption.
They seem to you all doubts, and anxieties, and fears; and you want to
know where is the happiness in these people of which I have been saying
so much.
I do not deny that there are many saints of God such as these whom you
describe, and I am sorry for it. I allow that there are many believers
who live far below their privileges, and seem to know nothing of joy and
peace in believing. But did you ever ask any of these people whether
they would give up the position in religion they have reached, and go
back to the world? Did you ever ask them, after all their groanings, and
doubtings, and fearings, whether they think they would be happier if
they ceased to follow hard after Christ? _Did you ever ask those
questions?_ I am certain if you did, that the weakest and lowest
believers would all give you one answer. I am certain they would tell
you that they would rather cling to their little scrap of hope in
Christ, than possess the world. I am sure they would all answer, "Our
faith is weak, if we have any; our grace is small, if we have any; our
joy in Christ is next to nothing at all: but we cannot give up what we
have got. Though the Lord slay us, we must cling to Him." The root of
happiness lies deep in many a poor weak believer's heart, when neither
leaves nor blossoms are to be seen!
But you will tell me, in the last place, that "_you cannot think most
believers are happy, because they are so grave and serious_." You think
that they do not really possess this happiness I have been describing,
because their countenances do not show it. You doubt the reality of
their joy, because it is so little seen.
I might easily repeat what I told you at the beginning of this
paper,--that a merry face is no sure proof of a happy heart. But I will
not do so. I will rather ask you whether you yourself may not be the
cause why believers look grave and serious when you meet them? If you
are not converted yourself, you surely cannot expect them to look at you
without sorrow. They see you on the high road to destruction, and that
alone is enough to give them pain: they see thousands like you, hurrying
on to weeping and wailing and endless woe. Now, is it possible that such
a daily sight should not give them grief? Your company, very likely, is
one cause why they are grave. Wait till you are a converted man
yourself, before you pass judgment on the gravity of converted people.
See them in companies where all are of one heart, and all love Christ,
and so far as my own experience goes, you will find no people so truly
happy as true Christians.[10]
10: When the infidel Hume asked Bishop Horne why religious people
always looked melancholy, the learned prelate replied, "The sight of
you, Mr. Hume, would make any Christian melancholy."--_Sinclair's
Aphorisms._ Page 13.
I repeat my assertion in this part of my subject. I repeat it boldly,
confidently, deliberately. I say that there is no happiness among men
that will at all compare with that of the true Christian. All other
happiness by the side of his is moonlight compared to sunshine, and
brass by the side of gold. Boast, if you will, of the laughter and
merriment of irreligious men; sneer, if you will, at the gravity and
seriousness, which appear in the demeanour of many Christians. I have
looked the whole subject in the face, and am not moved. I say that the
true Christian alone is the truly happy man, and the way to be happy is
to be a true Christian.
And now I am going to close this paper by a few words of plain
application. I have endeavoured to show what is essential to true
happiness. I have endeavoured to expose the fallacy of many views which
prevail upon the subject. I have endeavoured to point out, in plain and
unmistakable words, where true happiness alone can be found. Suffer me
to wind up all by an affectionate appeal to the consciences of all into
whose hands this volume may fall.
(1) In the first place, _let me entreat every reader of this paper to
apply to his own heart the solemn inquiry, Are you happy_?
High or low, rich or poor, master or servant, farmer or labourer, young
or old, here is a question that deserves an answer,--_Are you really
happy_?
Man of the world, who art caring for nothing but the things of time,
neglecting the Bible, making a god of business or money, providing for
everything but the day of judgment, scheming and planning about
everything but eternity: are you happy? _You know you are not._
Foolish woman, who art trifling life away in levity and frivolity,
spending hours after hours on that poor frail body which must soon feed
the worms, making an idol of dress and fashion, and excitement, and
human praise, as if this world was all: are you happy? _You know you are
not._
Young man, who art bent on pleasure and self-indulgence, fluttering from
one idle pastime to another, like the moth about the candle,--fancying
yourself clever and knowing, and too wise to be led by parsons, and
ignorant that the devil is leading you captive, like the ox that is led
to the slaughter: are you happy? _You know you are not._
Yes: each and all of you, you are not happy! and in your own consciences
you know it well. You may not allow it, but it is sadly true. There is a
great empty place in each of your hearts, and nothing will fill it. Pour
into it money, learning, rank, and pleasure, and it will be empty still.
There is a sore place in each of your consciences, and nothing will heal
it. Infidelity cannot; free-thinking cannot; Romanism cannot: they are
all quack medicines. Nothing can heal it, but that which at present you
have not used,--the simple Gospel of Christ. Yes: you are indeed a
miserable people!
Take warning this day, that you never will be happy till you are
converted. You might as well expect to feel the sun shine on your face
when you turn your back to it, as to feel happy when you turn your back
on God and on Christ.
(2) In the next place, _let me warn all who are not true Christians of
the folly of living a life which cannot make them happy_.
I pity you from the bottom of my heart, and would fain persuade you to
open your eyes and be wise. I stand as a watchman on the tower of the
everlasting Gospel. I see you sowing misery for yourselves, and I call
upon you to stop and think, before it is too late. Oh, that God may show
you your folly!
You are hewing out for yourselves cisterns, broken cisterns, which can
hold no water. You are spending your time, and strength, and affections
on that which will give you no return for your labour,--"spending your
money on that which is not bread, and your labour for that which
satisfieth not." (Isa. lv. 2.) You are building up Babels of your own
contriving, and ignorant that God will pour contempt on your schemes for
procuring happiness, because you attempt to be happy without Him.
Awake from your dreams, I entreat you, and show yourselves men. Think of
the uselessness of living a life which you will be ashamed of when you
die, and of having a mere nominal religion, which will just fail you
when it is most wanted.
Open your eyes and look round the world. Tell me who was ever really
happy without God and Christ and the Holy Spirit. Look at the road in
which you are travelling. Mark the footsteps of those who have gone
before you: see how many have turned away from it, and confessed they
were wrong.
I warn you plainly, that if you are not a true Christian you will miss
happiness in the world that now is, as well as in the world to come. Oh,
believe me, the way of happiness, and the way of salvation are one and
the same! He that will have his own way, and refuses to serve Christ,
will never be really happy. But he that serves Christ has the promise of
both lives. He is happy on earth, and will be happier still in heaven.
If you are neither happy in this world nor the next, it will be all your
own fault. Oh, think of this! Do not be guilty of such enormous folly.
Who does not mourn over the folly of the drunkard, the opium eater, and
the suicide? But there is no folly like that of the impenitent child of
the world.
(3) In the next place, _let me entreat all readers of this book, who are
not yet happy, to seek happiness where alone it can be found_.
The keys of the way to happiness are in the hands of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is sealed and appointed by God the Father, to give the bread
of life to them that hunger, and to give the water of life to them that
thirst. The door which riches and rank and learning have so often tried
to open, and tried in vain, is now ready to open to every humble,
praying believer. Oh, if you want to be happy, come to Christ!
Come to Him, confessing that you are weary of your own ways, and want
rest,--that you find you have no power and might to make yourself holy
or happy or fit for heaven, and have no hope but in Him. Tell Him this
unreservedly. This is coming to Christ.
Come to Him, imploring Him to show you His mercy, and grant you His
salvation,--to wash you in His own blood, and take your sins away,--to
speak peace to your conscience, and heal your troubled soul. Tell Him
all this unreservedly. This is coming to Christ.
You have everything to encourage you. The Lord Jesus Himself invites
you. He proclaims to you as well as to others, "Come unto Me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light." (Matt. xi. 28--30.) Wait for nothing. You may feel unworthy. You
may feel as if you did not repent enough. But wait no longer. Come to
Christ.
You have everything to encourage you. Thousands have walked in the way
you are invited to enter, and have found it good. Once, like yourself,
they served the world, and plunged deeply into folly and sin. Once, like
yourself, they became weary of their wickedness, and longed for
deliverance and rest. They heard of Christ, and His willingness to help
and save: they came to Him by faith and prayer, after many a doubt and
hesitation; they found Him a thousand times more gracious than they had
expected. They rested on Him and were happy: they carried His cross and
tasted peace. Oh, walk in their steps!
I beseech you, by the mercies of God, to come to Christ. As ever you
would be happy, I entreat you to come to Christ. Cast off delays. Awake
from your past slumber: arise, and be free! This day come to Christ.
(4) In the last place, _let me offer a few hints to all true Christians
for the increase and promotion of their happiness_.
I offer these hints with diffidence. I desire to apply them to my own
conscience as well as to your's. You have found Christ's service happy.
I have no doubt that you feel such sweetness in Christ's peace that you
would fain know more of it. I am sure that these hints deserve
attention.
Believers, if you would have an increase of happiness in Christ's
service, _labour every year to grow in grace_. Beware of standing still.
The holiest men are always the happiest. Let your aim be every year to
be more holy,--to know more, to feel more, to see more of the fulness of
Christ. Rest not upon old grace: do not be content with the degree of
religion whereunto you have attained. Search the Scriptures more
earnestly; pray more fervently; hate sin more; mortify self-will more;
become more humble the nearer you draw to your end; seek more direct
personal communion with the Lord Jesus; strive to be more like
Enoch,--daily walking with God; keep your conscience clear of little
sins; grieve not the Spirit; avoid wranglings and disputes about the
lesser matters of religion: lay more firm hold upon those great truths,
without which no man can be saved. Remember and practise these things,
and you will be more happy.