Holy Song From Happy Saints
(No. 3476)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1915.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, MARCH
5, 1871.
"Now will I sing to my Well-Beloved a song of my Beloved." Isaiah 5:1.
IT was a Prophet who wrote this, a Prophet inspired of God. An ordinary
Believer might suffice to sing, but he counts it no stoop for a
Prophet, and no waste of his important time, to occupy himself with
song. There is no engagement under Heaven that is more exalting than
praising God–and however great may be the work which is committed to
the charge of any of us, we shall always do well if we pause awhile to
spend a time in sacred praise. I would not wish to prefer one spiritual
exercise before another, else I think I would endorse the saying of an
old Divine who said that a line of praise was better than even a leaf
of prayer–that praise was the highest, noblest, best, most satisfying
and most healthful occupation in which a Christian could be found! If
these may be regarded as the words of the Church, the Church of old did
well to turn all her thoughts in the direction of praising her God.
Though the winning of souls is a great thing, though the edifying of
Believers is an important matter, though the reclamation of backsliders
calls for earnest attention, yet never, never, never may we cease from
praising and magnifying the name of the Well-Beloved! This is to be our
occupation in Heaven–let us begin the music here and make a Heaven of
the Church! The words of the text are, "Now will I sing," and that
seems to give us a starting word.
I. THE STRAINS OF THE SOUL'S SONG.
"Now will I sing." Does not that imply that there were times when he
who spoke these words could not sing? "Now," he said, "will I sing to
my Well-Beloved." There were times, then, when his voice, his heart and
his circumstances were not in such order that he could praise God. My
Brothers and Sisters, a little while ago we could not sing to our
Well-Beloved, for we did not love Him–we did not know Him–we were
dead in trespasses and sins! Perhaps we joined in sacred song, but we
mocked the Lord. We stood up with His people and we uttered the same
sounds as they did, but our hearts were far from Him. Let us blush for
those mock Psalms! Let us shed many a tear of repentance that we could
so insincerely have come before the Lord Most High! After that, we were
led to feel our state by nature and our guilt lay heavy upon us. We
could not sing to our Well-Beloved then. Our music was set to the deep
bass and in the minor key. We could only bring forth sighs and groans.
Well do I remember when my nights were spent in grief and my days in
bitterness. It was a perpetual prayer, a confession of sin and a
bemoaning of myself which occupied all my time. I could not sing, then,
and if any of you are in that condition, tonight, I know you cannot
sing just now. What a mercy you can pray! Bring forth the fruit which
is seasonable and in your case the most seasonable fruit will be a
humble acknowledgment of your sin and an earnest seeking for mercy
through Christ Jesus. Attend to that, and by-and-by, you, too, shall
sing to your Well-Beloved a song!
Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, it is now some years ago since we
believed in Christ, but since then there have been times when we could
not sing. Alas, for us there was a time when we watched not our steps,
but went astray–when the flatterer led us from the strait road that
leads to Heaven and brought us into sin! And then the chastisements of
God came upon us–our heart was broken until we cried out in anguish,
as David did in the 51st Psalm. Then if we did sing, we could only
bring out penitential odes, but no songs. We laid aside all parts of
the Book of Psalms that had to do with Hallelujah and we could only
groan forth the notes of repentance. There were no songs for us, then,
till at last Emmanuel smiled upon us once more and we were reconciled
again, brought back from our wanderings and restored to a sense of
the Divine favor! Besides that, we have had–occasionally had to sorrow
through the loss of the Light of God's Countenance. It is not always
summer weather with the best of us. Though for the most part–
"We can read our title clear
To mansions in the skies,"
yet we have our fasting time when the Bridegroom is not with us. Then
do we fast. He does not intend that this world should be so much like
Heaven that we should be willing to stay in it–He, therefore,
sometimes passes a cloud before the sun, that we in darkness may cry
out, "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him! I would come, even to His
seat." Even the means of Grace at such times will bring us no comfort.
We may go to the Throne of Mercy in private prayer, but we shall
perceive but little Light even there! If the Lord withdraws Himself,
there is no merry-making in the soul, but sadness, darkness and gloom
that covers all. Then we hang our harps upon the willows and if any
require of us a song, we tell them we are in a strange land, and the
King has gone–how can we sing? Our heart is heavy and our sorrows are
multiplied!
Once more, we cannot very well sing the praises of our Well-Beloved
when the Church of God is under a cloud. I trust we are such true
patriots, such real citizens of the New Jerusalem, that when Christ's
Kingdom does not advance, our hearts are full of anguish. My Brothers
and Sisters, if you happen to be members of a church divided against
itself, where the ministry appears to be without power, where there are
no additions, no conversions, no spiritual life–then, indeed, will you
feel that whatever the state of your own heart, you must sigh and cry
for the desolations of the Church of God. "If I forget you, O
Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her cunning." This is the view of
every true citizen of Zion–and however our own hearts may flourish,
and our souls be like a well-watered garden–yet if we see the place of
worship neglected, the Lord's House dishonored, the Church diminished
and brought low, the Gospel held in contempt, infidelity rampant,
superstition stalking through the land, the old doctrines denied and
the Cross of Christ made to be of none effect–then, again, we feel we
cannot sing–our hearts are not in tune, our fingers forget the
accustomed strings, and we cannot, then, sing a song to our
Well-Beloved!
With these exceptions, however, I turn to a very different strain, and
say that the whole life of the Christian ought to be describable by the
text, "Now will I sing to my Well-Beloved a song." From the first
moment in which sin is pardoned, to the last moment in which we are
here on earth, it should always be our delight to sing to our
Well-Beloved a song. "How can we do that?" you ask. Well, we can do it
in three or four ways. There is such a thing as thanks-feeling–
feeling thankful–and this ought to be the general, universal spirit of
the Christian. Suppose, my dear Brother, you are not rich–be thankful
that you have enough to eat and to drink, and wherewithal you may be
clothed. Suppose, even, that you had not a hope of Heaven, I might say
to a man, "Be thankful that you are not in Hell." But to you,
Christian, I would add, "Be thankful that you never will be there and
that, if just now your present joys do not overflow, yet there remains
a rest for the people of God"–let that console you! Is there ever a
day in the year, or ever a moment in the day, in which the Christian
ought not to be grateful? Our answer is not slow to give–there is
never such a day, there is never such a moment! Always receiving
blessings untold and incalculably precious, let us always be magnifying
the hand that gives them. Always, Beloved, as we have been before the
foundations of the world with our names engraved on the Savior's hands,
always redeemed by the precious blood, always preserved by the Power of
God which dwells in the Mediator, always secure of the heritage which
is given to us in Covenant by oath, by the blood of Christ–let us
always be grateful and, if not always singing with our lips, let us
always be singing with our hearts!
Then, Brothers and Sisters, we ought to always be thanks-living. I
think that is a better thing than thanksgiving– thanks-living. How is
this to be done? By a general cheerfulness of manner, by an obedience
to the command of Him by whose mercy we live, by a perpetual, constant,
delighting ourselves in the Lord and submission of our desires to His
mind. Oh, I wish that our whole life might be a Psalm–that every day
might be a stanza of a mighty poem! That so from the day of our
spiritual birth until we enter Heaven we might be pouring forth sacred
minstrelsy in every thought, word and action of our lives. Let us give
Him thankfulness and thanks-living.
But then let us add thanks-speakingwith the tongue. We don't sing
enough, my Brothers and Sisters! How often do I stir you up about the
matter of prayer, but perhaps I might be just as earnest about the
matter of praise! Do we sing as much as the birds do? Yet what have
birds to sing about, compared with us? Do you think we sing as much as
the angels do? Yet they were never redeemed by the blood of Christ!
Birds of the air, shall you excel me? Angels of Heaven, shall you
exceed me? You have done so, but I intend to emulate you henceforth
and, day by day, and night by night, pour forth my soul in sacred song!
We may sometimes thank God not only by feeling thankfulness and living
thankfulness, and speaking our thanks, but by that silent blessing of
Him which consists in patient suffering and accepting the evil as well
as the good from Jehovah's hand. That is often better thanksgiving than
the noblest Psalm that the tongue could utter. To bow down before Him
and say, "Not my will, but Yours be done" is to render Him a homage
equal to the hallelujahs of cherubim and seraphim. To feel not only
resigned, but acquiescent–willing to be anything or nothing according
as the Lord would have it–this is in truth to sing to our Well-Beloved
a song!
Now having put this before you, that there are some times when we
cannot sing, but that, as a rule, our life should be praise, let me
come again to the text by saying that sometimes, on choice occasions
appointed by Providence and Grace, our soul will be compelled to say,
"Now, nowif never before, nowbeyond all other occasions, I will sing to
my Well-Beloved a song." I only hope that some–that all Christians
here–will feel that tonight is one of those occasions! And as you sit
here in the presence of this table, upon which will soon appear the
emblems of your Savior's passion, I trust you will be saying, "Now
tonightI feel I must sing to my Well-Beloved a song, for if ever I
loved Him, I love Him tonight." Let us ponder now–
II. SOME OF THE OCCASIONS IN WHICH WE MUST SING TO HIS NAME.
The first is when our soul first perceives the Infinite Love of Jesus
to us, when we receive the pardon of sin, when we enter into the
marriage relationship with Christ as our Bridegroom and our Lord. The
song becomes the wedding feast. How could it be a marriage without
joyfulness? Oh, do you remember, even years ago, do you not remember
now that day when you first looked to Him and were lightened, and when
your soul clasped His hands, and you and He were one? Other days I have
forgotten, but that day I can never forget! Other days have mingled
with their fellows, and, like coins which have been in circulation, the
image and superscription have departed from them. That day when first I
saw the Savior is as fresh and distinct in all its outlines as though
it were but yesterday coined in the mint of time! How can I forget
it–that first moment when Jesus told me I was His and my Beloved was
mine? Were any of you saved last week? Did any of you find Jesus Christ
at any of the meetings last week? Have you found Him this morning? Did
a blessing come to you this afternoon? Then hallow the occasion, pour
out your soul before the Most High! Now, if never before, let your
Well-Beloved have your choicest music! "Awake, my glory! Awake,
psaltery and harp! I myself will awake right early. I will praise You,
for though You were angry with me, Your anger is taken away and You
comfort me." Other occasions, however, come after our first day, for
with Christ it is not all joy the first few weeks. No, blessed be His
name! Sometimes, however, we have our high days and holidays, when the
King entertains us at a feast. It is often so with my soul at this
Table. Coming to the Communion Supper every Lord's-Day, I don't find it
grows stale and flat with me. On the contrary, I think every time I
come, I love better than I did before, to commemorate my Lord's
sufferings in the breaking of bread! And usually when we do come round
the Table, we, who know what it means, feel, "Now will I sing to my
Well-Beloved a song." 'Twas well that after supper they sang a hymn. We
want some such expression for the sacred joy that rises in our soul at
this feast. But not only when the emblems are before us, but when you
hear a sermon that feeds your soul–when you read a Chapter and the
promises are very precious–when you are in private prayer, and are
able to get very near to Jesus, I know your hearts then say, "Now will
I sing to my Well-Beloved a song. He has visited me and I will praise
Him. He has made my soul like the chariots of Ammi-nadib, and where
shall my strength and rapture be spent but at His dear feet, adoring
and magnifying His ever blessed name?" Oh, I wish we often had broken
through order and decorum, even, to give to our Lord a song! He well
deserves it. Let not cold ingratitude freeze our praises on our lips.
We ought to praise our Lord Jesus Christ and sing to our Well-Beloved a
song, particularly when we have had a remarkable deliverance. "You
shall compass me about," says David, "with songs of deliverance." Were
you raised from a bed of sickness? Have you passed through a great
pecuniary difficulty? Through God's help, has your character been
cleared from slander? Have you been helped in some enterprise and
prospered in the world? Have you seen a child restored from sickness,
or a beloved wife once more given back to you from the gates of the
grave? Have you just experienced the Light of Christ's Countenance in
your own soul? Has a snare been broken? Has a temptation been removed?
Are you in a joyous frame of mind? "Is any merry? Let him sing Psalms."
Oh, give your Well-Beloved a song, now that the sun shines and the
flowers bloom! When the year begins to turn and fair weather comes, the
birds seem to feel it and they renew their music. Do so, oh, Believer!
When the winter is past, and the rain is over and gone, fill the earth
with your songs of gratitude. But remember, O Believer, that you should
sing your Well-Beloved a song chiefly when it is not so with you, when
sorrows befall. He gives songs in the night. Perhaps there is no music
so sweet as that which comes from the lips and heart of a tried
Believer. Then it is real. When Job blessed God on the dunghill, even
the devil, himself, could not insinuate that Job was a hypocrite! When
Job prospered, then the devil said, "Does Job serve God for naught?"
But when he lost his all and yet said, "Blessed is the name of the
Lord," then the good man shone like a star when the clouds are gone!
Oh, let us be sure to praise God when things go ill with us! Make
certain that you sing then! A holy man, walking one night with a
companion, listened to the nightingale and he said, "Brother, that bird
in the darkness is praising her Maker. Sing, I pray you, and let your
Lord have a song in the night." But the other replied, "My voice is
hoarse and little used to sing." "Then," said the other, "I will sing."
And he sang, and the bird seemed to hear him and to sing louder, still,
and he sang on, and other birds joined, and the night seemed sweet with
song. But by-and-by the good man said, "My voice fails me, but this
bird's throat holds out longer than mine. Would God," said he, "I could
even fly away where I could sing on forever and forever."
Oh, it is blessed when we can praise God when the sun is gone down,
when darkness lowers and trials multiply. Then let us say, "I will sing
to my Well-Beloved a song." I will tell you exactly what I mean by
that. One of you has just passed through a very terrible trouble and
you are almost brokenhearted–you are inclined to say, "I will ask the
prayers of the Church that I may be sustained." It is quite right, my
dear Brother, to do that, but suppose you could be a little stronger
and say, "Now will I sing to my Well-Beloved a song"? Oh, it would be
grand work! It would glorify God! It would strengthen you! "Yes, the
dear child is dead–I cannot bring him back, again, but the Lord has
done it and He must do right. I will give Him a song, even now." "Yes,
the property has gone and I shall be brought from wealth to poverty,
but now, instead of fretfulness, I will give to my Well-Beloved extra
music from my heart. He shall be praised by me now. Though He slay me,
yet will I praise Him." This is the part of a Christian–God help us to
always act it!
Beloved Friends, we may well sing to our Beloved a song when it shall
be near the time of our departure. It draws near, and as it draws near
we must not dread it, but rather thank God for it. The swan is said to
sing her dying song–a myth, I doubt not, but the Christian is God's
swan, and he sings sweetest at the last. Like old Simeon, he becomes a
poet at the last and pours out his soul before God! And I would we each
desired, if we are spared to old age, to let our last days be perfumed
with thanksgiving, and to bless and magnify the Lord, while yet we
linger where mortal ears may hear the strain! Break, O fetters, and
divide, you clouds! Be rolled up, O veil that hides the place of
mystery from the world. Let our spirits pass into eternity singing!
What a song to our Well-Beloved will we pour out from amidst ten
thousand times ten thousand choristers! We will take our part–every
note for Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood!
Each note undefiled with sin. Each note undistracted and undivided by
worldly thoughts. Each note full of perfection and acceptable to Him to
whom it shall be presented! O long-expected day, begin! Our hearts are
ready to cry out, "Open, you two-leaved gates, and let my spirit pass
through, that I may give to my Well-Beloved a song."
Now I just linger here a minute to put it all round to every Christian
here. Brother, haven't you a song for the Well-Beloved? Sister, haven't
you a song for the Well-Beloved? Aged Friend, will you not give Him a
note? Young Brother full of vigor, haven't you a verse full of praise
for Him? Oh, if we might all come to the Communion Table in the spirit
of praise! Perhaps some can dance before the ark like David. Others,
perhaps, are like Ready-to-Halt, on their crutches, but even he laid
them down, according to John Bunyan, once upon a time when he heard the
sweet music of praise! Let us bless the name of the Lord! The day has
passed and been full of mercy, and eventide has come, and as the sun
goes down let us magnify Him whose mercy lasts to us through the night
and will come again upon us in the morning, and will be with us till
nights and days shall no more change the scene. Lift up your hearts, my
Brothers and Sisters! Let every one of you lift up your hands unto the
name of the Most High and magnify Him that lives forever! "Oh, that men
would praise the Lord for His goodness–for His wonderful works to the
children of men!" Now I have just a few observations to make about–
III. THE QUALITY OF THE SONG.
I will suppose that every Christian here singing has found that he has
got one of the Lord's songs to sing. "Now will I sing to my
Well-Beloved a song." Dear Brothers and Sisters, the Lord's music has
one thing about it–that it is always new. How very frequently we find
in the New Testament that saints and angels sing "a newsong." Very
different from
the songs we used to sing–very different from the songs the world
still delights in–ours is heart-music, soul-music. Ours is real
joy–no fiction–no mere crackling of thorns under a pot. Solid joys
and lasting pleasures make up the new song of the Christian! New
mercies make the song always new. There is a freshness in it of which
we never weary. Some of you have heard the Gospel now for 50 years–has
it gotten flat to you? The name of Jesus Christ was known to you as the
most precious of all sounds 50 or 60 years ago–has it become stale
now? Those of us who have known and loved Him 20 years can only say,
"The more we know Him, the more sweet He is. And the more we enjoy His
Gospel, the more resolved we are to keep to the old-fashioned Gospel as
long as we live." We could, indeed, sing a new song, though we have
sung the same praises these 20 years. All the saints' praises have this
about them–that they are all harmonious. I do not say that their
voicesare. Here and there, there is a Brother who sings very earnestly
through his nose and very often puts out the rest that are round about
him! But it does not matter about the sound of the voice to the ear of
man–it is the sound of the heartto the ear of God! If you were in a
forest and there were 50 sorts of birds, and they were all singing at
once, you would not notice any discord. The little songsters seem to
pitch their songs in keys very different from each other, but yet,
somehow or other, all are in harmony. Now the saints, when they
pray–it is very strange–they all pray in harmony. So when they praise
God. I have frequently attended Prayer Meetings where there were
Brothers and Sisters of all sorts of Christian denominations–and I
would have defied the angel Gabriel to have told what they were when
they were on their knees! So is it with praise. I may say, "The saints
in praise appear as one"–
"In word, and deed, and mind,
While with the Father and the Son,
Sweet fellowship they find."
Though our words are broken and our notes fall short of melody, yet if
our hearts are right, our words are acceptable and our music is harmony
in the ears of the Most High. Beloved, be it noticed about the
saints'music that it always seems very poor to them. They feel that
they must break out. There are some of David's Psalms in which in the
Hebrew the words are very much disconnected and broken, as though the
poet had strained himself beyond the power of language. And how
constantly do you find him calling upon others to help him praise
God–not only to other saints, but as if he felt there were not enough
saints–he calls on all creatures that have breath to praise God! How
frequently do you find holy men invoking the dwellers above the skies,
and earth, and air, and sea to help them lift high the praise of God
and, as if they were not content with all animated beings, you will
hear them bidding the trees of the forests break out and clap their
hands, while they invite the sea to roar and the fullness thereof to
magnify the Most High! Devout minds feel as though the whole Creation
were like a great organ with ten thousand times ten thousand pipes, and
we little men, who have God within us, come and put our little hands to
the keys and make the whole universe echo with thunders of praise to
the Most High, for man is the world's priest–and the man that is
blood-washed makes the whole earth his tabernacle and his temple–and
in that temple does everyone speak of God's Glory! He lights up the
stars like lamps to burn before the Throne of the Most High and bids
all creatures here below become servants in the temple of the Infinite
Majesty. Oh, Brothers and Sisters, may God give us to feel this state
of mind, tonight! And though we should think our praises are like to
break down, and feel how mean they are compared with the majesty of
Jehovah and His boundless love, yet shall we have praised Him
acceptably!
I would be very earnest in the next minute or two to stir up my
Brothers and Sisters here to sing to their Well-Beloved a song, because
I am quite sure the exercise wiil be most fitting and most beneficial.
I will speak only for myself, but I will say this–if I did not praise
and bless Christ, my Lord, I would deserve to have my tongue torn out
by its roots from my mouth, and I will add–if I did not bless and
magnify His name, I would deserve that every stone I tread on in the
streets should rise up to curse my ingratitude, for I am a drowned
debtor to the mercy of God–over head and ears– to Infinite Love and
boundless compassion I am a debtor! Are you not the same? Then I charge
you by the love of Christ–awake, awake your hearts, now, to magnify
His glorious name! It will do you much good, my Brothers and Sisters.
There is, perhaps, no exercise that, on the whole, strengthens us so
much as praising God. Sometimes, even when prayer fails, praise will do
it. It seems to gird up the loins. It pours a holy anointing oil upon
the head and upon the spirit. It gives us a joy of the Lord which is
always our strength. Sometimes, if you begin to sing in a dull frame,
you can sing yourself up the ladder. Singing will often make the heart
rise. The song, though at first it is a drag, will, by-and-by, come to
be wings with which to lift the spirit. Oh, sing more, my Brothers and
Sisters, and you will sing still more, for
the more you sing, the more you will be able to sing the praises of
God! It will glorify God! It will comfort you! It will also prove an
attraction to those who are lingering around the churches. The
melancholy of some Christians tends to repel seekers, but the holy joy
of others tends to attract them! More flies will always be caught with
honey than with vi-negar–and more souls will be brought to Christ by
your cheerfulness than by your moroseness–more by your consecrated joy
than by your selfish dolor! God grant us to sing the praises of God
with heart and life until we sing them in Heaven! And I doubt not that,
as a Church, we should thus become more useful and more would be led to
cast in their lot with us, for they would perceive that God blessed us.
If God should make you feel that you must praise Him tonight, the
purpose that I desire to fulfill will have been accomplished!
Oh, I wish I could bid you all say, "I will sing to my Beloved a song!"
But there are some of you who don't love Him, and cannot, therefore,
sing to Him. In Exeter Hall, some years ago, at one of our services, I
gave out the hymn–
"Jesus, lover of my soul Let me to Your bosom fly."
There was one present who was a total stranger to the Gospel, but that
touching expression, "Jesus, lover of my soul," touched his heart and
he said, "Is Jesus the lover of my soul? Then I will love Him, too,"
and he gave his heart to Jesus and cast in his lot with His people. I
would that some here would say the same! Then shall they also sing to
their Beloved a song. But now their fittest duty will be prayer and
penitent trust. God help them to seek and find the Savior–even Jesus
Christ the Lord! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALM 116:1-11.
It begins well.
Verse 1. I love the Lord.Can you say that? "Yes, Lord, You know all
things. You know that I love You." "I love the Lord." Love is said to
be blind, but not love to God! Love to God can see and it can give a
reason for its own existence–and a good substantial reason, too. "I
love the Lord."
1. Because He has heard my voice and my supplications. A good reason
for love will be found in the closet where prayer is answered. If you
have ever been in trouble and that Divine Friend has listened to your
feeble cries, you do love Him, and you cannot help loving Him!. You
wonder why others do not love Him too.
2. Because He has inclined His ear unto me, therefore will Icall upon
Him as long as Ilive. "Because." He harps on that string. It is so
sweet a note that he touches it again, "Because He has inclined His ear
unto me." He stooped out of Heaven. He has laid His ear down to my
lips. He has caught my wandering utterances. He has inclined His ear.
My sin had pushed His ear away, but He has brought His head back,
again, and inclined His ear unto me. "Therefore." You see this was
given as a reason, but the Psalmist is so full that what was a reason
for love now becomes a reason for something else! The flowers in the
garden of Believers bloom double! Here is a second flower on this
stalk. I love Him because He has inclined His ear unto me. "Therefore
will I call upon Him as long as I live." I speed so well in prayer that
I will keep on in that blessed business! God heard me once. He will
hear me again–
"Long as we live should Christians pray,
For only while we pray we live." And as long as we live we shall find
out the best way of living–to live from hand to mouth–from God's hand
to our mouth–by continual prayer! Now the Psalmist tells about this
wonderful instance in which God heard his cry.
3. The sorrows of death compassed me. They were all round me. They made
a circle. I could not find a break. They compassed me. Sorrows, deadly
sorrows, the very sorrows of death!
3. And the pains of Hell had hold upon me. They came inside the circle
and they gripped me. I was like one that did lie under the lion. He
seemed to bite and tear me. "The pains of Hell had hold upon me." Did
you ever know that? I did. Oh, I can never forget, for the scars are in
my mind to this day when the pains of Hell had hold upon me! They say
that there is no Hell. He will never say that who has ever felt the
pains of a guilty conscience–the pangs of unforgiven sin to a soul
that is made alive by the Spirit of God! "The pains of Hell had hold
upon me."
3. I found trouble and sorrow.An unexpected find. They were hidden
away–these double enemies–hidden away beneath my pleasures, beneath
my sins, beneath my self-righteousness. "I found trouble and sorrow."
4. Then I called upon the name of the LORD. The best hour for prayer is
the time of our greatest distress. When you can do nothing else but
pray, then is the very best time to pray! When you seem shut up to
prayer, what a blessed shutting up it is! "Then I called upon the name
of the Lord." And what was his prayer? Very short. Very full–a sort of
soldier's
prayer.
4. O Lord, I beseech You, deliver my soul There, dear Hearer, if you
need to begin to pray to God, there is a good beginning for you. "Oh,
Lord, I beseech You, deliver my soul."
5. Gracious is the LORD, and righteous. A curious mixture. You will
never understand it until you stand at the foot of the Cross.
5. Yes, our God is merciful That is the practical outcome of the holy
conjunction of Grace and righteousness in the atoning Sacrifice of
Christ. "Our God is merciful." Sometimes when people cannot read well,
they spell the words and one, I remember, spelled God in this
way–"Yes, our God is merciful." That will do–full of mercy–merciful.
6. The LORD preserves the simple. You clever men take heed of this.
"The Lord preserves the simple"–the plain, hearty, honest, sincere,
sometimes ridiculed for their lack of cunning. God takes care of them.
6. I was brought low, and He helped me.What a sweet thing it is when
you have studied a general Doctrine to be able to give yourself as a
particular instance of it. "The Lord preserves the simple." That is a
grand Truth of God. "But I was brought low, and He helped me." That is
an emphatic proof! That is the enjoyable illustration of the grand
Truth! Can you say that, dear Friends? Can you put that in your diary?
"I was brought low, and He helped me."
7. Return unto your rest, O my soul; for the LORD has dealt bountifully
with you. Come back. He is a good God. Why wander? Return unto your
first Husband, for it was better with you than now. He has been
bountiful. My soul again lives on His bounty.
8. For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and
my feet from falling. As I read these words, they seem as if they were
written for me. Do they seem, dear Hearer, as if they were written for
you? Have you undergone this trinity of salvation–your soul from
death, your eyes from tears, your feet from falling? If so, then make
this resolve tonight.
9. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living That is to
say, as He has dealt so well with me, I will always deal well with Him.
I will not care to look to men–to their hope, to their help, to their
judgment, to their censure– but I will set the Lord always before me.
He shall be everything to me. Beloved, it is one of the best day's work
a man ever does when he turns clean away from everything but God! Oh,
when you have given up all reliance upon the creature and throw
yourself upon the bare arm of the Creator, now you have got at it! Now
you have come to real life. All the rest is mere play-acting, but this
is reality, for God alone Is, And all else is but a dream!
10. 11. I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: I
said in my haste, All men are liars. And uncommonly near the truth he
came, even though he was in a hurry in saying it, for if you trust in
any men, they must be liars to you. They will fail you either from lack
of faithfulness, or else from lack of power. There are pinches where
the kindest hand cannot succor. There are times of sorrow when she who
is the partner of your bosom cannot find you comfort. Then you will
have to go to God, and God alone, and you will never find Him fail you!
The brooks of the earth are dry in summer, and frozen in winter. All my
fresh springs are in You, my God, and there neither frost nor drought
can come. Happy man who has got right away from everything to his God!