Sympathy and Song
(No. 3517)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY JUNE 22, 1916.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
JANUARY 7, 1872.
"Rejoice with them who rejoice." Romans 12:15.
SYMPATHY is a duty of manhood. We are all brethren sprung from the same
stock and that which is a good to any man ought to be a joy to me. That
any man should be sick or sorry should, in a measure, make me sad, but
that any man should rejoice with a worthy joy–worthy of a creature
made by God–should make other men thankful! But what is thus a natural
duty is elevated into a yet higher duty and a more sacred privilege
among the regenerate among the family of God, for over and above the
ties of manhood in the first Adam, there are the ties of our new
manhood in the Second Adam–and there are bonds which arise out of our
being quickened by the same life! We have "one Lord, one faith, one
baptism." We are members of one body, having only one Head–and one
life throbs through all the members of that body. Hence, for us to
strive with one another in joy and in sorrow would be to act contrary
to the sacred instincts which arise out of Christian unity! If, indeed,
we are one with Christ, we are also one with each other, and we must
participate in the common joys and common sorrows of all the elect
family. This, again, gathers yet higher force when the joys in question
shall be spiritual joys. I am bound as a Christian to be thankful when
my Brother prospers in business, but I may not be quite sure that that
will be a real blessing to him. But if I know that his sou/prospers,
then I may safely rejoice to the very fullest, for that must be a
blessing to him and will bring honor to God! If I hear that any
community prospers, I am bound to be glad of it, yet I cannot be sure,
if the prosperity deals with wealth, that it is, on the whole, the best
thing in the world. But when I hear that a Church is growing, that its
zeal abounds, that the Spirit of God is at work in it, that God is
glorified there, then I am bound to rejoice, for this is a joy which no
man takes away–a joy about which there can be no question–a joy which
brings glory to God and, therefore, must bring happiness to all those
who find happiness in God's Glory!
Now I desire at this time to talk to you, beloved Friends at home,
about a joy which God has recently given to us. If all those shall be
present tonight who are to receive the right hand of fellowship, they
will make up no less than 118 that God has added to our number! Some of
them are friends who have joined us from other Churches. Some few are
those who have long known the Savior–but the great majority are those
who have lately been brought out of the world– lately been made to
taste the new life! They have, we trust, washed their robes in the
blood of Christ and are come here to say, "We belong to the people of
God." Now if this was not a joy to us, it ought to be! And my objective
tonight is to make you merry–to make Believers' hearts merry with
it–merry after the good old Gospel sort of which we read just now.
"They began to be merry," because the lost ones were found, the
wanderers were restored. May God grant that a feeling of holy joy may
go through the midst of this room! And if there are any in sorrow who
cannot rejoice in their own joy, yet at least may their hearts be large
enough to joy in other people's joy! And if tonight they would be bowed
down if they only looked within, may they rejoice in the prosperity of
Zion and be glad in the glory which is brought to God! Keeping entirely
to this one point, we shall begin by saying, "Rejoice with them who
rejoice"–that is, rejoice with those who are the converts–who have
themselves been brought to Jesus! If there are any persons in the world
who must of necessity be happy, they are those who have newly found
"peace through believing." They may forget some of that happiness,
by-and-by–all that arises from novelty will certainly depart–but now
the love of their espousals is upon them, their heart rejoices in a
new-found Savior! All their spirits are alive towards Him, their faith
is in active exercise, their love is plain and, therefore, they are
happy men and women! Find me those who have discovered Christ today,
and I
am certain I shall not find eyes full of tears, unless they are tears
of joy! In looking back, I cannot remember any day in my whole life
that was at all comparable to the day in which I looked to Him and was
lightened. There have been joys since then–joys of all sorts have
fallen to our lot, in a measure, but ah, that one day is still the
great bright star in the skies, the red-letter day of all, the
spiritual birthday, the day in which the soul came out of bondage and
entered into its liberty! All those today, then, who are new converts
and have come to cast in their lot among us–rejoice! And, my Brothers
and Sisters, rejoice with them! You can enter into their joy, for you
have tasted the same! Let the old memories be awakened, and the old
love, and the old ardor. As you see them, think of the time when Jesus
called you, and when you answered to His voice, sweetly compelled by
His Divine Spirit. Let us now ponder together– I. THE REASONS FOR OUR
SYMPATHIZING JOY.
In the case of some who will be added to us tonight, their joy is the
greater, and ours with them, because their convictions of sin were
painful It was my lot in some cases to see them when the hand of the
Lord was heavy upon them– when their sin haunted them day and night
and they found no rest. And I thank God I had the privilege in some
cases of speaking the word that God had ordained should turn their
darkness into day–and I saw the change, the strange and marvelous
change–which indicated itself upon their countenances when they said,
"We understand it now. We trust the Savior, and our hearts are glad."
Oh, you that ever felt the shackles and fetters of sin and Satan, do
you remember how you leaped when they fell to the ground? Oh,
participate, then, in the joy of those who have gained deliverance from
their cruel sin and from the bondage of their many fears!
In some cases, too, some of those converted to God have, since their
conversion, been partakers of very remarkable peace. I now have in my
memory the stories of one or two of them of the exceeding joy they have
felt. They have not lost it, I trust, but it was, indeed, a peace of
God which passed all understanding which filled their hearts and minds!
Now you who have drunk of that sweet cup may sip this honey dropping
from the comb! You cannot but rejoice when you think that they should
be so full of joy! There were some aged ones, and they thanked God that
in the sere and yellow leaf they found Him–that though 50 and even 60
years had been spent in the service of sin and Satan, yet they were
delivered from going down into the Pit! Rejoice with them! Some were
young, very, very young–and I may say of some children to whom I
spoke, their conversion and their testimony was as clear–indeed, it
was more clearthan the testimony of many who were in middle life! And
what a blessing when the young heart is wedded to the Savior, when the
dawn of the morning has the dew of Grace upon it–when the soul comes
into the bosom of the Savior while yet it is a lamb! Oh, bless God for
the young and for the old, that they have come to Jesus and are resting
in Him!
Think, dear Friends, in the case of some whom God has converted
here–and I may say in the case of some who will be added to us
tonight–we joy when we remember what they were. I will not enlarge,
but some here present could tell their own story of what Grace has
done. Sitting here tonight, but a few months ago the ale-bench would
have suited them far better! Singing songs of Zion, now, but unchaste
music once would have suited their lips far better! But they are
washed! They are pardoned, sanctified and changed! And as they rejoice
in the change they feel, we cannot but rejoice with them!
And then think of what they would have still been if Grace had not
interposed, yes, and of what every one of us would have been today, and
will be, unless the Grace of God shall keep its hold upon us, as, glory
be to God, we believe it will, for every soul that is saved by Grace,
if it had not been for that salvation, would have been cast away
forever from the Presence of God–another firebrand in the everlasting
flame–another soul that would have gnawed its fire-tormented tongue in
vain, and asked for a drop of water–but to receive no answer of mercy!
O Sirs, if you do not praise God for souls snatched from the jaws of
Hell and, by Divine Grace, taught to walk in the way of Heaven, what
will you praise Him for? If Heaven itself is glad, you who hope to go
to Heaven, will you not participate in the joy? Otherwise, indeed, you
seem to be unfit for that hallowed place and not to have the capacity
which is necessary to enter into the joy of your Lord. They are glad. I
would like you to have heard some of them at the Church Meeting
here–how they gladly told of what the Lord had done for them! If there
were but one, I would be glad. When God gives us scores we will be
glad, and glad, and yet glad again! I went home very weary one day with
seeing so many. The second day there were still more and I was more
weary! I would like to die with such weariness, for it is such blessed
work–this work of bringing in souls that are of the Lord's planting,
and of the Lord's ripening, to the garner of His Church. Rejoice, then!
Rejoice again! Rejoice with the converts!
I hear here and there a faint voice saying, "Ah, I wish I could! I am
glad they are converted, but I wish I were." Oh, Soul, I am glad to
hear you say that, for when a heart longs for Christ, it will soon have
Him! If you desire Him, He is free to you! Oh, when you say, "I would I
were His. I would bow my neck to His gentle yoke. Oh, that He would
forgive me and have mercy on me"–come and welcome! Come and welcome!
You have but to trust and the work is done! You are saved! God grant
that you may do it tonight!
But now advancing a step tonight, dear Friends, we ought to rejoice
with the friends of the converts, for when souls are saved they do not
have the joy all to themselves. There are others concerned in it. There
are parents and, in some cases, they have brought up their children
with much anxiety and godly fear–and they have trembled lest the son
and daughter of their love should depart with an evil heart of unbelief
from the living God! And there are cases here in which parents have
seen all their children coming forward and saying, "We are on the
Lord's side." I do not think any joy– there may be a greater joy, but
I do not think any is sweeter than the joy of parents who see their
children walking in the Truth of God! O you who have the same
anxieties, enter into the joy of those whose anxieties are turned to
confidence! In some cases it was not the parent, alone, but other
friends–brothers and sisters–in some cases a husband–in more cases,
still, a godly wife–in some a Christian nurse. Such have had anxieties
and turned them into prayers and the prayers grew into an agony of
soul–and they have seen the persons that they prayed for saved! They
have heard those who once denied the Savior, confess Him. They have
seen the proud sinew broken and the stout heart bowed down in
repentance, and they are glad, very glad, tonight. Oh, let us
sympathize with them, then, and enter into their joy! I think I hear
one say, "So I would, but ah, it seems to send a pang into my soul to
think I have not been saved." Well, I will not forbid the pang–it is
natural, it is gracious–but at the same time will you not be glad that
another has that which you do so covet? Be not envious! You may be–it
is natural you should–but prevent the envy by entering in holy
sympathy into the joy. It may be that if you can rejoice with their
parents and with all other friends, when you have so done, you will be
driven with greater anxiety to the Savior and, in answer to a more
earnest prayer, the benediction will come to your household, too! Oh,
they are glad houses in London where husband and wife walk together in
the faith! They are not always the rich. They are not always the
healthy. But they are always the happy who unite themselves in the
bands of the Covenant of Grace with each other to the Lord, and walk
hand in hand so! We will rejoice tonight with those who rejoice!
I can only stay a minute where there is plenty of room to enlarge, and
notice, in the next place, that we ought to rejoice with those who were
the means of bringing those who are added to us t o a knowledge of the
Savior. I would not arrogate any honor to myself whatever. Still, I
have a joy, a joy which no man takes from me, that there have been
many, many, many souls who have been brought to see the Savior and put
their trust in Him by a simple testimony of the Word. Sometimes I know,
indeed, that I could reckon up more than ten thousand souls that
profess to have found the Savior through the hearing of the Word of
God. And the world may say what it will, men may condemn as they will,
but while God will seal the Word, we will bate no jot nor tittle of it,
but still preach as we have received commission from the Lord of Hosts.
But I am very thankful to have to add that in the cases of all the
conversions that are worked here, there is a very large number that are
brought to Christ not through the ministry from the platform, but
through the ministry of many of my dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
who are here working for the Master with heart and soul! How rich has
God made us–ah, some of our dear Brothers and Sisters especially–in
the leading of young minds to the Savior. You will thank God for it who
have brought hundreds to Christ! The Sabbath school has not been
without a blessing. And in your tract distributing we have had cases of
conversions! And from obscure and unknown individuals, occupying these
pews tonight–from them there has been fruit! There are quiet, gracious
women here who have brought in one or two to Jesus by their pious
conversation. I am pleased when I hear such a story as this–"We never
went to the House of God, Sir, but such-and-such a member of your
Church became a servant-girl with us, and she was a quiet spirit and
seemed so happy that we asked where she went–and we came, too–and we
have come to join the Church of which she is a member, because of
that." That has happened again and again!
Yet, alas, there are other members of the Church whose conduct would
not be the means of the conversion of anybody, but the very reverse!
Yet I thank God for not a few whose lives and whose testimonies have,
to my knowledge, brought many to the Savior. None know your names,
Beloved! None can sound the trumpet before you, but you have been
faithful servants in a few things! You will, in your turn, be made
rulers over many things and you shall enter into
the joy of your Lord! Oh, believe me, my heart is full when I think of
sinners saved by simply telling the story of the Cross! This is a joy
that the miser does not know of when he gloats over his treasure–a joy
which the warrior knows not of, even when he rides in triumph through
the streets–a joy which earth could not produce–from all her mines
and all her fountains–the joy of bringing souls to Jesus Christ, their
Savior! Rejoice, then, tonight with them that do rejoice." "Oh," says
one, "I would, but I never was the means of the conversion of a soul."
Do you remember our Brother's prayer last night, that every member of
this Church might, during the year, be the means of the salvation of
one soul? As he said, it was not a very large prayer–but if it were
answered, there would be 4,500 more souls called by your
instrumentality in that way! I know I said, "Amen," to it, and I do
say, "Amen," to it! And I do pray that there may not be one barren one
among you, but that the Lord may grant Grace to everyone to bring at
least one to the Savior in 12 months! God grant it, for His name's
sake! Well, if that is so, then you will be among those who will
rejoice–and now you may rejoice in the anticipation of it! I am sure
if you have not been useful, yourself, you cannot but be thankful to
God that others have been–and you will rejoice with them that do
rejoice!
Again, we must pass on, but this time our joy must take a higher
range–our thought must take a higher sweep! We have spoken of those
who are converted, and of their kinsfolk and acquaintances, and of
those who were the instruments of their conversion–but there are
others who are rejoicing besides those on earth. The angels rejoice.
Did we not read just now, "There is joy in the presence of the angels
of God over one sinner who repents"? Angels have more to do with us
than we know of. They are next akin to us, and they have a holy
sympathy with us. They watch us when we go astray and when they
perceive us hearing the Word, I do not doubt they hover over us to
observe, as best as they can, how far the Word operates upon our mind!
We read in Scripture–and that is the reason why the woman's head is
covered, that she is to have a covering over her head because of the
angels–but some read it because they observe the decorum and propriety
of the assembly and even if we do not, they do. Angels, then, we
believe, are in the midst of the congregations of the faithful, and
when they see a sinner hearing the Word, I doubt not they watch with
such anxiety as may be possible to spirits that cannot be unhappy! And
when they follow home the Hearer, and they mark the expression, and
they note the beginning of the prayer, I should not wonder but they
whisper it as news in all the golden streets, "Behold, he prays!" And
when they see the tear of repentance, that first ensign of the Grace of
God, which, like the snowflake that comes in spring to be the prophet
of the cooling summer–when they see this tear of penitence which
foretells this change of heart and is the token of its having
come–then they speed their way and tell their fellows up yonder and
they strike their harps anew! There is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner that repents–
"And shall not we take up the strain?" They who are not of our race
rejoice when any of our race are saved–and shall we be so
flinty-hearted as not to be glad? No! You spirits, though we see you
not, we hear–and what is done above is done here below! Your joy is
participated in tonight.
But now we must go much farther. "Rejoice with them that do rejoice."
There is one (His name be ever blessed!)– the Eternal Father (who is
so represented by His own dear Son) is rejoicingand, therefore, though
it is speaking after the manner of men, it is also speaking after the
manner of the Man, Christ Jesus, and we cannot err! We find that the
father, when the prodigal returned, was the chief in all the joy. He
called others to rejoice with him, but it was thus, "Rejoice with me,
for this, my son, which was dead, is alive again; he was lost, but he
is found." In all the festival of that glad day there was joy with the
neighbors and joy in the poor penitent son! But the greatest joy of all
was in the glowing heart of the father who had loved his son, when his
son loved him not–had seen his son when his son was afar off, and had
run to meet his son when he was returning. Have you ever thought, and
will you think, tonight, of the joy of God over recovered sinners? The
joy of God! He is ever blessed! Infinitely blessed, but still He
condescends to allow us to describe Him as being in this respect of
like passions with ourselves–a Father rejoicing over a returning son!
Beloved, enter into Jehovah's joy! Is God joyous–joyous over sinners
saved? Let the sacred flame come on your soul. Have sympathy with your
Father. Play not the part, the unworthy part, of the elder bother. As
you yourselves were prodigals, and could not say, "These many years do
I serve You," rejoice with your Father, who, in pressing others to His
bosom, is only doing in their case what He has done to you–
"With joy the Father does approve The fruit of His eternal love."
He always loved the soul that He saves–loved it before it was created,
loved it in the purpose of predestination, loved it when it fell, loved
it when He ordained it to eternal life and gave it to His Son–loved it
when it hated Him. Is it not written, "His great love with which He
loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins"? And that
great love makes Him infinitely rejoice when He sees it recovered from
its misery and danger and brought into a state of reconciliation and
love to Himself. Share you, then, the Father's joy!
But now forget not the joy of Another, never to be forgotten by us who
are named by His name–the joy of the Shepherd who has found His sheep,
that Great Shepherd of the sheep who laid down His life that He might
save souls! Jesus is infinitely gladwhen a sinner repents! Measure, if
you can, His joy. I have given you a task which you can never fulfill.
I will give you two plumb lines, but they, like the deep you would
measure, are themselves immeasurable! These two plumb lines are, first,
the pangs He suffered for those souls and secondly, the love He bore
and bears those souls. His joy in their salvation is proportionate,
first, to the pangs He bore. So much the price, so much the value that
He puts upon the purchase. By so much as the travail was bitter, by
just so much the fruits of–that travail are sweet to Him. "He shall
see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied"–only satisfied
because He had the travail to obtain it, and He has obtained it. Had
not the grief been deep, been Infinite, the joy had not been great
enough to satisfy–to fill to the brim His soul with joy! I know Jesus
was very sad when on earth, but yet I have sometimes thought that of
all the men that ever lived, Jesus was the happiest Man, even in His
sorrows, for it is not possible for a heart to be so full of love to
others–to be so benevolent–and not to be happy! To love makes even
suffering, in a certain sense, sweets for the object of loves. "The joy
that was set before Him" made our Savior "endure the Cross," but not
with a common endurance. He so endured it that He "despised the shame"
and though it was shame, and it broke His health, yet it was shame on
which, in the majesty of His love, He trampled with a sacred joy. Now
today–
"All HHis work and warfare done,
He into HHis Heaven is gone!
Now before His Father's Throne,
There is pleading for HHis own." And as His own come to Him, one by
one, and as they come sometimes in larger companies, the Savior does
rejoice! Measure, I say, His joy by His pangs.
Measure it by His love, too, His great love, His boundless love, love
which many waters could not quench and which the flood could not drown.
Now I say to every godly heart, Can you refuse to be glad when Jesus is
glad? If He rejoices over saved souls, will you not rejoice with Him?
Is there not a sacred infection in that heavenly heart? Do you not
catch light from those beaming eyes? If you see Him glad, you forget
your little sorrows. You think them great, yet you forget them. I pray
God you may know the meaning of that verse here, "Enter you into the
joy of your Lord." May you have His joy, Beloved, in you, so that your
joy may be full, and so that you may rejoice with Christ who does
rejoice. One other word–there is One other who rejoices–
"The Spirit takes delight to view
The holy soul He fires anew."
Do we ever honor the Holy Spirit as we should? I fear we greatly grieve
Him by our forgetfulness of Him. Think you a moment, Beloved. The
Incarnation of Christ among the sons of men was a very, very great
marvel of condescension! But I do not know whether the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit in men is not, if possible, even a greater mystery of
condescending love! Christ took on Him, flesh, but it was pure. No sin
lives in His body. But the Holy Spirit dwells in sinful men. These
bodies are His temples, but they are impure–and the Holy Spirit
dwelling in us is constantly made to see the depravity of our hearts!
Now Jesus Christ walked among the sons of men and saw sin, it is true,
and His holy soul was grieved, but in a certain sense He was separate
from sinners. But here is the Holy Spirit, Infinitely pure, tender,
jealous for holiness, and yet He comes to dwell in our spirits! In our
spirits He dwells and, perhaps, by the week together we do not even
recognize His presence! And every day we rebel against His government.
He sees us unholy and He is grieved at it, for our sakes and for His
holiness' sake. He works Divine Graces in us and then we permit Satan
to come in and spoil those very Graces! He instructs us and then we
forget it. He leads us and then we start aside–and all the while the
dear faithful, gentle, dove-like Spirit does not leave us! He abides
with us and in us continually! He hides Himself, sometimes, and
withdraws His condescension, but God does not utterly take His Spirit
from us.
Now in the case of every soul converted there have been strivings of
the Holy Spirit. There have been resistances of the Holy Spirit. There
have been grievings of the Holy Spirit. There have been sins against
the Holy Spirit of many sorts and in many forms, but at last He has
brought to bear Omnipotent persuasions upon the heart! At last He has
put in His hand through the hole of the door and the soul has opened to
the touch! At last He sees Jesus installed in the heart– Jesus, whom
the Holy Spirit delights to honor, for it is His work and office to
reveal Christ to the soul! And surely there is as much of joy in the
Holy Spirit, Himself, as there is in the heart of Jesus, or in the
heart of the Eternal Father when at last a soul is saved! The triune
God is glad! He rests in His love! He rejoices over the converts with
singing!
Come, Brothers and Sisters, let us, too, rejoice! Forget your own
troubles a while! Forget, I pray, everything that might hamper and
hinder, and let us come to the Table with our Brothers and Sisters,
many of them who come here for the first time tonight! Let us feel that
the fatted calf is killed and that the dancing and the music are with
us, and let each be merry, rejoicing with the joy of our Lord, and with
the joy which He has given to His saved ones! Oh, what joy it would be
if all this congregation were saved! May we meet in Heaven, Beloved,
every one of us!
Now suppose the preacher should receive a message tonight that every
soul here would be saved except one, and suppose it were revealed to
him who that one would be and he was expected, now, to point out that
one! Oh, dreadful message! With what trembling would you all sit, each
one afraid lest it should be yourself to be left unsaved. I have no
such message, thank God! And yet, yet if I could hope that all here
would be saved but one, I must confess my heart would be lighter than
it is, for unless some of you repent, forsake your sins, and fly to
Christ, the lost will not be one, but many! Dear Hearer, let it not be
you! While Mercy, still with silken accents speaks and cries, "Return,
return!" While Love with bleeding hands beckons and cries with the
wounded side of Christ, "Oh, believe and come! Whoever believes on Him
shall be saved, for he that believes and is baptized shall be saved. He
that believes not shall be damned!" May God help you to trust in Christ
and live! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: ROMANS 12:1-16.
Verse 1. I beseech you, therefore, brethren–Paul is a calm reasoner.
He is a bold stater of Truth of God, but here he comes to pleading with
us. I think that I see him lift the pen from the paper and look round
upon us as with the accent of entreaty, and say, "I beseech you,
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, by God's great mercy to
you, His many mercies, His continued mercies." What stronger plea could
the Apostle have? "I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of
God."
1. By the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Though he beseeches you to do it, he claims a right to it! It is but
your reasonable service. Do we need to be entreated to be reasonable? I
am afraid that we do, sometimes. And what are we to do? To present our
bodies to God, not our souls, alone, to make real, practical work of
it. Let this flesh and blood in which your body dwells be presented to
God, not to be killed and to be a dead sacrifice, but to live and still
to be a sacrifice, a living sacrifice unto God, holy and acceptable to
Him! This is reasonable. God help us to carry it out.
2. And be not conformed to this world. Do not live as men of the world
do. Do not follow the customs, the fashions, the principles of the
world. "Be not conformed to this world."
2. But be you transformed–It is not enough to be nonconformists. Be
transformed ones, altogether changed into another form!
2. By the reviewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. It is by holy living, by
consecrated bodies, that we are to prove the will of God! We cannot
know it. We cannot practically work it out except by a complete
consecration unto God.
3. For I say, through the Grace given unto me, to every man that is
among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;
but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the
measure of faith Humility is sober thinking. Pride is drunken thinking.
He who thinks more of himself than he should, is intoxicated with
conceit– but he that judges aright and is, therefore, humble–thinks
soberly. God give us to be very sober in our thoughts of ourselves.
4, 5. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not
the same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and
everyone members, one of another Hence the diversity. If the hand were
made exactly like the foot, it would not be a tenth part as useful. And
if the eye had only the same faculty as the ear, it would not be able
to see, and the whole body would be a loser thereby. Do we begin to
compare eyes, and ears, and feet, and hands and say, "This is the
better faculty"? No. They are each one necessary! So do not compare
yourselves among yourselves, for if you are in the body of Christ, you
are, each one, necessary, and the peculiarity which you possess, and
the peculiarity which your Brothers and Sisters possess have their
place in the corporate body, and must be precious before God!
6-8. Having then, gifts differing according to the Grace that is given
to us whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of
our faith Or ministry, let us use it in our ministering: or he that
teaches, in teaching. Or he who exhorts in exhortation. Keep to your
own work. Stand in your own niche. If you are only an exhorter, do not
pretend to teach. If your work is ministry, and you cannot prophesy, do
not attempt to do it. Every man in his own order!
8, 9. He that gives, let him do it with simplicity; he that rules, with
diligence; he that shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without
dissimulation. Do not pretend to a love that you have not. Do not lard
your speech with, "dear" this, and "dear" that, when there is no love
in your heart! And even if your heart is full of love, show it without
spreading molasses over your talk, as some do. "Let love be without
dissimulation."
9. Abhor that which is evil Be a good hater. Abhor that which is evil
9. Cleave to that which is good. Stick to it. Hold it fast. Do not go
an inch beyond it.
10. Be kindly affectionate, one to another, with brotherly love. Hear
this, you members of the Church. Endeavor to carry it out by a kindly
courtesy and a real sympathy one with another–"Be kindly affectionate
one to another with brotherly love."
10. In honor preferring one another Putting another before yourself,
aspiring after the second place, rather than the first.
11. Not slothful in business.A lazy man is no beauty anywhere. 11.
Fervent in spirit.Burn. Let your very soul get hot!
11, 12. Serving the Lord. Rejoicing in hope. When you have not anything
else to rejoice in, rejoice in hope!
12. Patient in tribulation.The word, "tribulation," signifies threshing
as with a flail. Be patient when the flail falls heavily.
12, 13. Continuing instant in prayer Distributing to the necessity of
the saints. When you have told your own needs to God, then help the
necessities of those who come to you.
13, 14. Given to hospitality. Bless them who persecute you: bless, and
curse not A Christian cursing is a very awkward spectacle. Even the
Pope, when he takes to cursing, as at least the former one used to do
very liberally, seems as if he could hardly be the vicar of God on
earth! Our work is to bless the sons of men. "Bless and curse not."
15. Rejoice with them who rejoice. Do not be a wet blanket on their
joys. If they have good cause for rejoicing, join in it. Help them to
sing their hymn of gratitude.
15. And weep with them who weep. Sympathize with mourners. Take a share
of their burden. I really believe that it is easier to weep with them
who weep than it is to rejoice with them who rejoice–for this old
flesh of ours begins to envy those who rejoice–whereas it does not so
much object to sympathize with those that sorrow. Carry out both
commands. "Rejoice with them who rejoice. Weep with them who weep."
16. Be of the same mind, one toward another Agree together, you
Christian people. Do not be always arguing and discussing. Be of the
same mind, one towards another. In Church life, very much must depend
upon our unity in mind as well as in heart. "One Lord, one faith, one
Baptism"–these help to make a good foundation for Christian
fellowship!