_Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God_, _that He may exalt
you in due time_.
THERE is nothing, which more peculiarly marks the character of the
faithful Christian, than the manner in which he submits himself to the
appointments and dispensations of his God. The worldly and carnal spirit
either frets and repines under the visitations of misfortune, or is
disconsolate and cast down; or, at the best, bears up with a mere animal
fortitude against them: it finds no comfort to flee unto, but such as is
afforded by the vain world, in which it has already met with vexation und
disappointment; and if the world is unable to secure a continuance in
prosperity, still less is it able to provide a refuge in the dismal days
of sorrow.
So lamentably indeed has this truth been experienced by many, that they
have been driven to the fallacious and fatal expedient of attempting at
once to drown their cares in intemperance; they have found nothing in the
world sufficient to satisfy their reason, or to soothe their irritated
feelings; and therefore have destroyed their faculties, that they might
not reflect; and cut short the thread of that life, which they imagined
themselves unequal to support: and some indeed have had recourse to a
more speedy and awful means of delivering themselves from the burden of
mortification and grief; ill prepared as they were, their own hand of
violence has hurried them into the presence of their Judge. And even
they, who have been preserved from these most miserable extremities, have
sufficiently testified by their conduct, that the world has nothing
satisfactory to offer, for the healing of a wounded spirit, or the
removal of a load of sorrow.
Religion, the religion of the gospel, is the only source from which true
comfort or support can possibly be drawn; and we see her triumphs
manifested in the most blessed and remarkable manner when the faithful
servant of God is overwhelmed with trouble; we perceive his mind in a
state of tranquillity, under a conviction, that the Lord “doeth all
things well;” and remembereth mercy, no less in chastisement, than in the
time of prosperity; his unquiet emotions are subdued into holy subjection
to the divine will; his affections are set the more earnestly on things
above; the vanities of earth have lost their hold; and there ariseth in
the heart that “peace of God, which passeth all understanding.”
They who have been much conversant with scenes of sickness or of sorrow,
cannot fail to have observed the truth of these remarks, to have been
struck with the vast difference in the behaviour of men, in proportion as
they have imbibed the true spirit and principle of the gospel. Some we
have seen dismayed, disturbed, and restless; with nothing in their
countenance, but vexation or anguish; others, cheerfully bearing up under
the evils which have befallen them; and, by their expressions of joyful
resignation, delighting and comforting the friends, who were shedding
over them the tears of sympathy; the power of the word of God, the “joy
of the Holy Ghost” has been visible in their very features. Those
persons, who have beheld such an example, have been favoured with an
instructive lesson, which they should “grave on the tablet of their
heart;” a lesson teaching them, faithfully and forcibly, where to look
for aid in the reverses and afflictions of life.
Yet, in order to lead us more effectually to cultivate, and to reap the
benefit of, this heavenly frame of mind, let us now consider the bearing
of the apostolic charge in the text, “Humble yourselves under the mighty
hand of God.” Here we may discover powerful reasons intimated, why we
should bring ourselves into a state of entire submission to the divine
will, and rest satisfied and resigned under every dispensation. The hand
of God is mighty: He is the sovereign Lord of all; has an absolute right
to dispose of His creatures, according to His good pleasure; and is alone
able both to know and to do, what their several necessities require.
They, therefore, who profess themselves His people, are bound, by that
very profession, unreservedly to submit to His sovereign disposal: “Shall
the clay say to him that fashioneth it, what makest thou? O Lord, Thou
art our Father, we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and we all are the
work of Thy hand.” {158} He who created, He who redeemed us, He to whom
alone we can look for sanctification and life, should and will maintain
the dominion over us: He that gave us our being, must be able, and cannot
be unwilling, to “give us all things needful both for our souls and
bodies.” We understand not how He formed us from the dust of the earth;
so neither can we understand the methods of His providence; but, as “the
life is more than meat,” so may we trust His goodness and His power, to
preserve, in the best and wisest manner, the being of those, who seek His
protection and submit to His government. A wise son yields to an
affectionate father, even in points where he cannot comprehend the entire
wisdom of his discipline and correction; yields, not only because
experience has taught him the benefit of subjection, but also for the
sake of obedience to a father, who is entrusted with the guidance of him,
and has a right to be obeyed; much more should we, the adopted children
of the Most High, bow with meekness and reverence before an Almighty and
heavenly Father, though we altogether comprehend not the purpose of the
trials, which He bringeth upon us: they are chastisements of mercy, of
whatever kind they be, and moreover are ordained by Him, who has the
entire undisputed right of dominion over us.
Another consideration here suggested is, that all resistance is vain;
“the mighty hand of God” is uncontrollable. Utterly weak and fruitless
were all the assembled powers of the universe, combined against His wall:
what can a frail creature do, child of the dust, akin to the worm? If
God strikes, who shall stay or avoid the blow? Whatever visitation He is
pleased to send, to a family or to an individual—of sickness, of
calamity, of death—there is no keeping it out of the dwelling; it may be
softened by resignation, it may be removed, and even blessed, by prayer;
but we cannot hinder the accomplishment of God’s will. In the language
of the pious Hannah, “The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down
to the grave and bringeth up—He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and
lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and
to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth
are the Lord’s, and He hath set the world upon them. He will keep the
feet of His saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by
strength shall no man prevail.” {161a}
Yes truly; the afflicting hand of God is mighty in operation, both to the
wicked and the good; the former are constrained to feel, though they will
not heartily or practically acknowledge, that there is no dependence to
be placed on the schemes or exertions of man; no trusting, that
“to-morrow will be as this day and much more abundant.” {161b} When
“riches shall have made themselves wings and have flown away;” {161c}
when the favourite or the friend have been cut off; when the bodily frame
is under the influence of alarming disease; then the sinner, if he be not
spiritually humbled, will, at least be made sensible, that there is a
power which can lay him low; the conviction is forced on his mind, though
he may refuse to act upon it; his conscience is smitten, though he will
not obey its emotions; it assures him of the vanity of human devices, of
human dependencies and strength, though it fail to incline him to his
God.
How blessedly different the effect of the mighty hand of God upon the
sincere Christian! Even the heaviest affliction, the most untoward or
adverse occurrence, produces, when he comes to reflect, a salutary
influence on his mind and heart. Perceiving that it is the natural
tendency of a smooth uninterrupted course, to make him rest satisfied
with earthly enjoyments, and draw aside his attention from the sublimer
delights and the more substantial interest of heavenly things, he
acknowledges, not only with acquiescence, but with gratitude, the severer
dispensations of providence; he knows, that his faith must be tried and
his patience made perfect; it is the very object for which he is placed
in this transitory state of existence; he therefore implores his gracious
Father, to sanctify to him the crosses and disappointments below, and
make them minister to the completion of his happiness above; whatever
they are, they are less than his transgressions deserve; whatever they
are, they are “of God’s sending,” to lead him to reflection and
repentance; and very efficacious are they for the fulfilment of this
merciful purpose; perhaps the only means by which he could have been
preserved from falling, amidst the snares and temptations that surround
him. The Christian is ready to confess, and many we have heard with
thankfulness confessing, that of all the mercies received from the hands
of God, the most distinguished, because the most effectual for his
salvation, are the vicissitudes and troubles of life: how many a sincere
believer, by the discomfiture of his earthly prospects, has been led to
fix his heart more intently and stedfastly, upon the unchangeable
felicity of heaven; how many, at the death of a friend, have sought more
earnestly and experienced more abundantly, “the power of the spirit of
consolation;” and have thereby been led to transfer their affections to
that blessed world, where christian friends shall meet, and never
separate again. How many, by the infirmities of the body, have been
admonished and persuaded to make a better provision for the health and
well-being of the soul! The hand of God has been mightily laid upon
them, to rescue them from the tyranny of sin and Satan, to place them in
the enjoyment of “the perfect law of liberty,” manifested in the gospel;
to save their souls alive.
Let us not regard the various calamities that befal us, of whatever
nature they may be, as the mere result of human design or contingency;
for whether they be occasioned by our own imprudence and neglect, or by
the instrumentality of an evil world, they are permitted and ordained by
a wise and merciful God, to draw us nearer to Himself; to teach us the
utter insufficiency of all earthly interests and possessions; and to
raise our thoughts to the glory of an eternal kingdom. And if we receive
them in a christian spirit, they will never fail to answer their high and
holy purpose. Let us therefore watch and pray, that we may duly consider
every calamitous day as a sacred opportunity, as a season of grace, as
the rod of our Almighty Father to chastise us from sin: let it call us to
deep meditation and contrition, to serious examination of heart; for it
is only by the religious and spiritual observance of such seasons, that
we can ever hope to derive from them improvement and comfort.
Remark and remember the language of the text, “Humble _yourselves_ under
the mighty hand of God;” it is not enough that we be humbled, in a
worldly sense, by the stroke of misfortune; that is a consequence, which
may of necessity ensue: the loss of possession may drive us into needy
solitude; the loss of health destroy our energy and activity; the loss of
reputation bring us to shame; the loss of friends oblige us to mourn,
from the very feelings of nature; but all this while, there may be no
humility of heart, no self-abasement, no voluntary humiliation under “any
of the dispensations of heaven:” the “hand of God hath touched us;” but
we may not, nevertheless, be vitally touched ourselves, with a proper
sense of the trials, which He has called us to endure: we must fall low
before His footstool; we must bend our knees in humble fervent prayer; we
must implore the aid of His Holy Spirit, to open our understandings, that
we may perceive the graciousness of His dealings with us; and to enlarge
our hearts, that we may take the full benefit of His “loving correction;”
we must unfeignedly and fully confess, on our own part, that unworthiness
and iniquity, which excited God’s displeasure, and required His
afflicting visitation; and that mercy, on God’s part, which seeketh to
reclaim us from error; to “purge our conscience from dead works;” to make
us more alive to the “things which belong unto our peace;” to lead us
from the vanities of time to the momentous realities of eternity.
If we thus improve the sorrowful events that await us, we shall find a
happy deliverance from them all; and it is the only possible means, by
which we can be happily delivered: this the text implies; “Humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, _that He may exalt you_;” that
you may thus be rendered meet to partake of His mercy; that He may visit
and comfort you in your low estate; and make it instrumental to your
spiritual exaltation. If you murmur or complain, or do but naturally
mourn; if you manifest only the frettings of a worldly disposition and
temper, your case thereby becomes still more grievous and intolerable;
the heart is vexed by its vain and rebellious strivings; “the sorrow of
the world worketh misery and death.” You are thus preventing the
benediction of heaven from descending upon you; you are closing up the
avenues, through which the grace of God may find its way into the heart;
you are neglecting that remedy, by which alone the stricken soul can be
healed, by which your trouble may be converted into a blessing. Embrace
the proffered means; humble yourself beneath the burden, with “a godly
sorrow,” for the sin that has brought it; bend yourself beneath the storm
of heaven, and the Sun of righteousness will soon shine forth, and cheer
you with His brightest beam; “the God of consolation,” your Redeemer,
your unchangeable friend, “the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever,”
will turn your darkness into light; your “weeping will endure but for a
night, and joy will come in the morning.” {168}
Or, if it be not literally so; if deliverance come not so speedily as you
desire or expect, it will assuredly come in God’s “due time;” He may
wait, to try the strength of your patience and your faith; may seem for a
season, as though He heareth not your prayer; but rest assured, He does
hear, and the answer is preparing: the wise and benevolent author of four
blessings knows best when to bestow them; depend upon His mercy, and
trust Him for the time: the delay will be nothing, as compared with the
comfort when it arrives: the very delay will minister to the fulness of
your joy: you will perceive the truth of the divine character, as drawn
by the pencil of the prophet; you may apply the prophetic description to
yourself; “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great
mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee
for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee,
saith the Lord thy Redeemer.” {169}
God will exalt every humble and faithful servant, in due time, even in
this world; not perhaps to earthly greatness and honour; but, what is
infinitely more important, to the height of His own blessed favour; to
the delight of a peaceful reconciliation with Himself; to the happiness
of an approving conscience; to a “hope full of immortality:” and, after
death, He will crown that hope with a glorious consummation; will exalt
that servant to the skies; far beyond the reach of change, of trouble, or
of fear. The Christian, like the Captain of his Salvation, “will be made
perfect through sufferings;” like Him, when the combat is over, will
receive the crown of glory, and sit down for ever at the right hand of
his Father and his God.
He will then more fully see and admire the gracious dealings of his
merciful God and Saviour; will see, what reason he had to be thankful for
the chastisements of heaven; how they have trained and prepared his soul
for the happiness of the blest; how wonderfully they have ministered to
the fulness of his joy. Bear then patiently; bear, I ought to say,
thankfully, what the Lord layeth upon thee; it is His hand that “worketh
all in all,” His hand of might and mercy. Thou canst not always trace
His designs and operations; if thou couldst, where would be the exercise
of thy faith? But if thou wilt believe and trust Him, if thou wilt bow
and submit, He will thus exalt thee in due time, when thou art ready,
when thy trial is completed, when thy appointed work is done. This is
the seed-time; sow, and thou shalt see it spring up; labour, and wait for
the harvest; “they that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” {171}
SERMON X.
THOU ART THE MAN.