The Oil of Gladness

Delivered on Lord's-Day Morning, January 16th, 1876, by

C.H. SPURGEON,

At the [3]Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.

"Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."
Psalm 45:7

WE KNOW THAT THE ANOINTING received by our Lord Jesus Christ was the
resting of the Spirit of God upon him without measure. We are not left
to any guesswork about this, for in Isaiah 61 we are told, "The Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me." Our Lord
appropriated these very words to himself when he went into the
synagogue at Nazareth and opened the book at the place wherein these
words are written, and said, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in
your ears." The Apostle Peter also, in Acts 10:38, speaks of "How God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power": so that
we know both on Old and New Testament authority that the anointing
which rested upon the Lord Jesus Christ was the unction of the Holy
Ghost. Therefore, by the "oil of gladness" which we have before us in
the text is intended the Holy Spirit himself, or one of the gracious
results of his sacred presence. The divine Spirit has many attributes,
and his benign influences operate in divers ways, bestowing upon us
benefits of various kinds, too numerous for us to attempt to catalogue
them. Amongst these is his comforting and cheering influence. "The
fruit of the Spirit is joy." In Acts 13:52 we read, "The disciples were
filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost." Wherever he comes as an
anointing, whether upon the Lord or upon his people, upon the Christ or
the Christians, upon the Anointed or upon those whom he anoints, in
every case the ultimate result is joy and peace. On the head of our
great High Priest he is joy, and this oil of gladness flows down to the
skirts of his garments. To the Comforter, therefore, we ascribe "the
oil of gladness."

From this great truth we learn another, namely, the perfect
co-operation of the three persons of the blessed Trinity in the work of
our redemption. The Father sends the Son, the Son with alacrity comes
to redeem us, and the Spirit of God is upon him; so that Father, Son,
and Spirit have each a part in the saving work, and the one God of
heaven and earth is the God of salvation. A very interesting subject is
the work of the Spirit upon the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. We see
the Holy Ghost mysteriously operating in the formation and birth of the
holy child Jesus, for by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost was he
born of a woman. This work of the Holy Spirit was manifested to all
believing eyes when the Lord Jesus came out of the waters of the Jordan
after his baptism, and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and rested
upon him. Before he was said to "wax strong in spirit," but afterwards
he is described as "full of the Holy Ghost." Then was he led of the
Spirit and inspired by his divine energy, and this was shown throughout
the whole of his life, for the Spirit was with him in innumerable
miracles and in the demonstration and power which followed his words,
so that he spoke as one having authority, and not as the Scribes. In
him was abundantly fulfilled the prophecy which saith, "And the spirit
of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge
and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding
in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his
eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with
righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the
meek of the earth." The Holy Spirit had also a peculiar interest in his
resurrection, for he was "declared to be the Son of God with power,
according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead."
He was "put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." That
same Spirit wrought even more fully when the Lord ascended up on high,
and led captivity captive; then, succeeding his ascension, the gifts of
the cloven tongues of fire and the rushing mighty wind were witnessed
by his disciples, for the Spirit of God was given abundantly to the
church in connection with the ascension of the Redeemer. Oh, how
sweetly doth the Spirit co-operate with Christ at this very day, for it
is he that takes of the things of Christ and reveals them unto us. He
is the abiding witness in the church to the truth of the gospel, and
the worker of all our gifts and graces. Jesus gives repentance, but the
Spirit works it; faith fixes upon Christ, but the Spirit of God first
creates faith and opens the eye which looks to Jesus. The whole of this
dispensation through it is the peculiar office of the Spirit of God to
be revealing Christ to his people, and Christ in his people, and Christ
in the midst of an ungodly and gainsaying generation, for a testimony
against them. Blessed be the name of the Holy Spirit, that he is the
divine anointing, and so proves his hearty assent to the great plan of
redemption.

We now come, however, more closely to the text. The Spirit of God is
here considered in one of his influences or operations as "the oil of
gladness": we shall speak of this in the following way. First, the
saviour's anointing with gladness; secondly, the reason for the
bestowal of this oil of joy upon him; and, thirdly, the manner of the
operation of this sacred anointing upon ourselves.

I. Let us carefully consider THE SAVIOR'S ANOINTING WITH GLADNESS. We
are, perhaps, surprised to read of our Lord in connection with
gladness. Truly he was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief,
yet this sorrowful aspect was that which he presented to the
superficial outside observer; and those who look within the veil of his
flesh know well that a mystic glory shone within his soul. Did not
David say of him as the King of Israel— "His glory is great in thy
salvation: honor and majesty hast thou laid upon him. For thou hast
made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with
thy countenance." I fully believe that there was never on the face of
the earth a man who knew so profound and true a gladness as our blessed
Lord. Did he not desire that his joy might be in his people that their
joy might be full? Does not benevolence beget joy, and who so kind as
he? Is it not a great joy to suffer self-sacrifice for beloved ones?
And who so disinterested as he? Is there not sure to be happiness in
the heart where the noblest motives are paramount and the sweetest
graces bear sway? And was not this pre-eminently the case with our
Lord? Let us see.

The gladness of our Lord Jesus may be viewed, first, as the gladness
which he had IN his work. The Son of God delighted in the work which
his Father had given him to do. This delight he declared as God, in the
old eternity! "Lo I come; in the volume of the book it is written of
me, I delight to do thy will, O God." This delight he had shown as man
even before his great public anointing, for when he was yet a child he
said, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?"
Evidently, even while yet a youth, he anticipated with delight the
great business which he had to do for his Father, and commencing in a
measure to do it amongst the doctors in the temple at Jerusalem. But
the day came in which he had reached the appointed age, and he at once
went forth to John to be baptized by him in Jordan, being eager to
fulfill all righteousness. Then the Spirit of God came down upon him,
and he was openly and visibly anointed, and you see from the moment
when he began to stand before the public eye, with what alacrity he
pursued his life work. We find him fasting, but he has been speaking to
a woman by the well's brink, and the joy which he has felt while
blessing her has made him quite forget the necessity for food, and he
tells his disciples "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." He felt
great gladness in that woman's joy, as she believed in him, and in the
expectation of yet more numerous converts from those who were flocking
from Samaria, of whom he said "Lift up now your eyes, for behold the
fields are white already unto the harvest." That joy in his work made
him abhor all idea of turning from its awful consummation, and led him
to say to Peter's suggestion "Get thee behind me, Satan." We see it
also in such expressions as this, "I have a baptism to be baptised
with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished." We read that
when the time came that he should be received up, he steadfastly set
his face to go to Jerusalem. His frequent allusions to his own decease
by a shameful death, all showed that he viewed with intense
satisfaction the great object after which he was reaching. Once,
indeed, his joy flowed over so that others could see it, when he said,
"I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast
hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto
babes." "At that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit." Let it never be
forgotten that we must not expect see in the life of Christ great
ebullitions of manifest exultation, because he was sent on purpose to
bear our sicknesses, and to be "stricken of God and afflicted." His
deep joy was concealed by his many griefs, even as the inner glory of
the tabernacle of old was hidden beneath coverings of badgers' skins.
He was the sun under a cloud, but he was the sun still. If you have a
small burden to carry, you may have an excess of strength which you can
display in leaping or running, but if you have an enormous load to
sustain your steady bearing of it may be an equally sure proof of your
strength: so also, if your trials are light, your joyous spirits may
vent themselves in smiles and songs, but if you are severely afflicted
it will need all your joyfulness to keep you from sinking. Our blessed
Lord had a load upon him infinitely transcending any weight of sorrow
ever borne by the most burdened of his people, and it needed the
wonderful joy which I feel sure we are justified in ascribing to him to
balance the marvellous grief which he had to endure. The uplifting
influence of this joy sufficed to bring him into a condition of calm,
quiet, serene majesty of spirit. Nothing strikes you more in the Savior
than the quiet peacefulness with which he pursues the even tenor of his
way. Now, if he had not possessed great stores of secret joy his spirit
would have been famished for want of sustenance. You would have found
him constantly sighing and weeping; his words and tones would have
become a terror to those around him, and his whole appearance would
have appeared melancholy and depressing to the last degree, whereas his
manner was cheerful and attractive— let the little children who
thronged around him bear witness to that. He was a man of sorrows, but
he was not a preacher of sorrows, neither do his life or his discourses
leave an unhappy impression upon the mind. The fact, probably, is, that
he was both the greatest rejoicer and the greatest mourner that ever
lived, and between these two there was an equilibrium of mind kept up,
so that wherever you meet him, with the exception of his agony in the
garden, he is peaceful and serene. You neither see him dancing like
David before the ark, nor yet like David bewailing the loss of one he
loved with a "Would God I had died for thee." He does not, like Elijah,
run before the king's chariot, nor lie down under the juniper to die.
He neither strives nor cries, nor causes his voice to be heard in the
streets; his peace is like a river, and his heart abides in the Sabbath
of God.

We see, then, that in his work our great High Priest was anointed with
the oil of gladness above his fellows, but we also note that those who
are his fellows do in their degree partake in this oil of gladness, and
are enabled to feel joy in the work which is appointed them of the
Lord. While our King is anointed with the oil of gladness it is also
written of the virgin souls who wait upon his church, "With gladness
and rejoicing shall they be brought, they shall enter into the King's
palace." If any professing Christian man here is engaged in a work
which he does not feel glad to do, I question if he is in his right
place. Occasional fits of depression there may be, but these are not
because we do not love the work, but because we cannot do it so well as
we would desire. We are tired in the work, but not tired of it. The
Lord loves to employ willing workmen. His army is not made up of
pressed men, but of those whom grace has made volunteers. "Serve the
Lord with gladness." Our Lord does not set us task work, and treat us
like prisoners in gaol, or slaves under the lash. I sometimes hear our
life-work called a task. Well, the expression may be tolerated, but I
confess I do not like it to be applied to Christian men. It is no task
to me at any rate to preach my Master's gospel, or to serve him in any
way. I thank God every day that "to me, who am less than the least of
all saints, is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles
the unsearchable riches of Christ." You teachers in the school, I hope
your labor of love is not a bondage to you! An unwilling teacher will
soon make unwilling scholars. Yea, I know that those of you who serve
the Lord find a reward in the work itself, and gladly pursue it. I am
sure you will not prosper in it if it be not so. If you follow your
work unwillingly, and regret that you ever undertook it, and feel
encumbered by it, you will do no good. No man wins a race who has no
heart in the running. In this respect the joy of the Lord is your
strength, and as your Master was anointed with the oil of gladness in
his work, so must you be. Yet, beloved fellow laborer, you will never
be so glad in your work as he was in his, nor will you ever be able to
prove that gladness by such self-denials, by such agonies, and such a
death. He has proved how glad he was to save sinners, because "for the
joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the
shame." Blessed Emanuel, thou art justly anointed with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows.

We further note that our Lord had this oil of gladness FROM his work.
Even while he was engaged in it he derived some joy from it, though it
was but as the gleanings of the vintage compared with the after
results. He did reap in joy as well as sow in tears, for many became
his disciples, and over each one of these he rejoiced. It was
impossible that the Good Shepherd should have saved so many sheep as he
did without rejoicing when he threw them on his shoulders to bear them
to the fold. Assuredly he rejoiced that he had found the sheep which he
had lost. But the fullness of his joy was left till after he had
ascended on high, then indeed was he anointed with the oil of gladness,
and the voice was heard, "To forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold
king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day
of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart." My
brethren, the joy of our Lord Jesus Christ now that he knows his
beloved are securely his, and no longer the slaves of sin and heirs of
wrath, is too great to be measured. He has redeemed unto himself a
people in whom his soul delights. For them the price is fully paid, for
them the penalty has been completely endured, for them all chains are
broken, and for them the prison house is razed to its foundation: for
them hath he bruised the serpent's head, for them hath he by death
destroyed death, and led captive him that had the power of death, even
the devil.

"All his work and warfare done,
He into his heaven is gone,
And before his Father's throne
Now is pleading for his own."

He now continues to receive into his joy the multitudes whom the Spirit
brings to him, for whom of old he shed his precious blood. You cannot
conceive the gladness of Christ. If you have ever brought one soul to
Christ you have had a drop of it, but his gladness lies not only in
receiving them, but in actually being the author of salvation to every
one of them. The Savior looks upon the redeemed with an unspeakable
delight, thinks of what they used to be, thinks of what they would have
been but for his interposition, thinks of what they now are, think of
what he means to make them in that great day when they shall rise from
the dead; and as his heart is full of love to them he joys in their
joy, and exults in their exultation. Their heavens swell their
Mediator's heaven, and their myriad embodiments of bliss, each one
reflects his own felicity, and so (speaking after the manner of men)
increases it, for he lives ten thousand lives by living in them, and
joys unnumbered joys in their joys. I speak with humblest fear lest in
any word I should speak amiss, for he is God as well as man, but this
is certain, that there is a joy of our Lord into which he will give his
faithful ones to enter, a joy which he has won by passing through the
shame and grief by which he has redeemed mankind. The oil of gladness
is abundantly poured on that head which once was crowned with thorns.

Now, brethren, you, also, can be partakers in this joy. When he makes
you in your little measure to be instrumentally saviours of others,
then you also partake of his gladness, but as I have said before, you
cannot know its fullness, for he is in this respect anointed with the
oil of gladness above his fellows. "Who is this that cometh from Edom,
with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel,
travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in
righteousness, mighty to save. I have trodden the winepress alone; and
of the people there was none with me." Returning from the battle and
the spoil he has a joy with which none can intermeddle, for his own
right hand and his holy arm hath gotten unto him the victory.

Again, our Lord Jesus has the oil of gladness poured upon him in
another sense, namely, because his person and his work are the cause of
ineffable gladness in others. Oh, I wish I had a week in which to talk
upon this point— a week— one could scarcely enter upon the theme in
that time! We sang just now—

"Jesus, the very thought of thee
With sweetness fills my breast."

The oil of gladness upon him is so sweet that we have only to think
upon it and it fills us with delight. There is gladness in his very
name.

"Exult all hearts with gladness
At sound of Jesu's name;
What other hath such sweetness,
Or such delight can claim?"

What gladness he created when here below. His birth set the skies
ringing with heavenly music, and made the hearts of expectant saints to
leap for joy. In after days a touch of the hem of his garment made a
woman's heart glad when she felt the issue of her blood staunched, and
a word from his lips made the tongue of the dumb to sing. For him to
lay his hand upon the sick was to raise them from their beds of
sickness, and deliver them from pain and disease. His touch was
gladness then, and a spiritual touch is the same now. To-day to preach
of him is gladness, to sing of him is gladness, to trust him is
gladness, to work for him is gladness, to have communion with him is
gladness. To come to his table, and there to feast with him, is
gladness; to see his image in the eyes of his saints is gladness; to
see that image only as yet begun to form in the heart of a young
convert is gladness. Everything about him is gladness. All his garments
smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia. Nothing comes within a mile of
him but what it makes you glad to think that he has been so near it.
The very print of his foot has comfort in it, and the wounds in his
hands are windows of hope. I have known some who have had to carry a
cross for his dear sake, and they have kissed and hugged that cross,
and gloried in their tribulations because they were borne for him.
Fellowship with him has turned the bitterest potion into generous wine.
Beloved, if these distant glimpses are so precious, what must it be to
see him face to face? I have tried to conceive it, and I protest that
even in attempting the conception my spirit seems to swoon at the
prospect of such supreme delight. Only to hear the music of his
footfall on the other side the partition wall raises longings in my
heart too strong, too eager to be long endured. What, death, art thou
all that divides me from seeing my Lord? I would gladly die a million
deaths to see him as he is and to be like him. What, a slumber in the
grave for this poor body! Is that all I have to dread? Then let it
slumber, and let the worms consume it, for "I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I
see God." Oh, what will it be to see him? To see HIM that loved us so,
to mark the wounds with which he purchased our redemption, to behold
his glory, to listen to that deal voice of his, and to hear him say,
"Well done, good and faithful servant." To lie in his bosom for ever,
truly neither eye hath not seen, nor ear heard the like of this bliss.
More than the bride longs for the marriage day do we expect the bridal
feast of heaven, but of all the dainties on that royal table there will
not be one that will be equal to himself, for to see him will be all
the heaven we desire. He is better than heaven's harp or angels, and
the cause of greater gladness than streets of gold or walls of jasper.

Brethren, can we share this power to distribute joy? Assuredly we can.
If the Lord Jesus be with us we can give joy to others. I know some
whose very presence comforts their fellows; their words are so full of
consolation, and their hearts so overflowing with sympathy that they
make gladness wherever they go. Ay, but the best of you, ye sons of
consolation, are not anointed with the oil of gladness to the same
extent as he was. Above his fellows, even above Barnabas the son of
consolation; above the best and the tenderest sympathizers is he thus
anointed, and from him there pours forth a continual stream of
effectual consolation which becomes the oil of joy to those who wear
the garments of heaviness. Thus much upon the first point, the Savior's
anointing of gladness.

II. Let us now consider THE REASON FOR THE BESTOWAL OF THIS ANOINTING
UPON HIM? It is given in the text. He is anointed alcove his fellows,
because it is said of him, "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest
wickedness." The perfect righteousness of Christ has brought to him
this gladness, because perfect holiness there must be before there can
be perfect happiness. Sin is the enemy of joy. Let the sinner say what
he likes, sin can no more dwell with real joy than the lion will lie
down with the lamb. To be perfectly glad you must be perfectly cleansed
from sin, for until you are so cleansed you cannot possess the oil of
gladness to the measure that Christ possessed it. As the believer is
delivered from the power of sin he is brought into a condition in which
the joy of the Lord can more and more abide in him. Now, every way
Jesus loved righteousness intensely and hated wickedness intensely. He
died that he might establish righteousness and that he might destroy
wickedness from off the face of the earth; therefore it is that he has
greater gladness, because he had greater holiness. Moreover, you know
that in any holy enterprise if the business succeeds the joy of the
worker is proportionate to the trial it has cost him. In the great
battle of righteousness our Lord has led the van, in the great fight
against wickedness our Savior has borne the brunt of the battle,
therefore, because he to the death loved righteousness and to the agony
and bloody sweat strove against sin, the accomplished conquest brings
him the greatest joy. He has done the most for the good cause, and
therefore he is anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows.

Now, note there is another reason why he is anointed, and there is
another view of the anointing. He is anointed above his fellows, which
shows that those who are in fellowship with him are anointed too. You
observed in our reading that the high priest had the oil poured on his
head, but the sons of Aaron who were minor priests were sprinkled with
this same oil mixed with the blood of the sacrifice. On Christ this
anointing is poured above his fellows, and then upon his fellows in
communion with himself there comes the sprinkling of the oil. We have
our measure; he has it without measure. Now, beloved, Christ is
anointed above his fellows that his fellows may be anointed with him.
Even as he ascended above all things that he might fill all things, so
is he anointed above his fellows that he may anoint his fellows; and
through the power of the anointing we are told that his people come
into the same condition of righteousness as himself. Turn to Isaiah
61., which passage we have already had before us, and you find as
follows— "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness; that"— mark this!— "that they might be
called trees of righteousness". Now, observe, that we first read, "Thou
lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness, therefore God hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness," and then we meet with the parallel with
reference to ourselves, "The oil of joy for mourning, that they may be
called trees of righteousness." He is anointed because he is righteous;
we are anointed that we may be righteous, and thus in Christ we come
into the condition in which it is safe for us to be glad, and possible
for joy to dwell in us. To the unrighteous the oil of gladness cannot
come, but to the righteous there ariseth light even in darkness. "There
is no peace saith my God, unto the wicked." The holy oil was forbidden
to be placed upon a stranger to God's holy house; and upon man's flesh
it could not be poured, because man's flesh is a corrupt, polluted
thing. This oil of gladness comes only on those who are born into God's
Israel by regeneration, and are delivered from walking after the flesh;
these the Lord makes to be as "trees of righteousness, the planting of
the Lord, that he may be glorified." See then the two reasons why
Christ has received the anointing, first because he is righteous
himself; and secondly, that he may make others righteous. Therefore is
the Spirit of the Lord God upon him that he may give the oil of joy to
his own chosen, and make them righteous, even as he is righteous, glad
as he is glad.

III. We will now meditate upon THE MANNER OF THE OPERATION OF THIS OIL
OF GLADNESS UPON US. Jesus is anointed with the oil of gladness above
his fellows. Now, we have to show that his fellows are anointed with
the oil of gladness too. Did not David say, "Thou anointest mine head
with oil; my cup runneth over"? so that we can say of ourselves what we
say of our Lord, we are anointed, for he was anointed. Now, in what
respects does the anointing of the Holy Spirit give us gladness? I
shall notice eight things, and touch but very briefly on each.

First, we too, through Jesus Christ, are anointed to an office, "for he
hath made us"— whisper it to one another in the joy of delight— "He
hath made us kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign for ever
and ever." When the oil went on Aaron's head, you know how it ran down
his beard, even Aaron's beard, unto the skirts of his garments, and now
this day this anointing oil, which made the king and the priest, has
fallen upon us too. Blessed be his name, shall we not be glad? It is
very inconsistent with our position if we are not. Are you a king and
do you not rejoice?

"Why should the children of our King
Go mourning all their days?
Sweet Comforter, descend and bring
Some unction of thy grace."

May the gladness now come to you. You are priests to God. Shall the
anointed priests serve their Lord with gloomy countenances? No: rejoice
in the Lord always, all ye priests of his that are anointed to this
blessed work. "Bless the Lord, O house of Israel: bless the Lord, O
house of Aaron."

We, too, are consecrated to the Lord, for the oil poured upon the
priest was the oil of consecration. From that time forward he was a
dedicated man; he could not serve anyone but God; he, above all the
rest of the congregation, was the man of God for ever as long as ever
he lived. So beloved, we have been consecrated: the Spirit of God has
sanctified us and set us apart unto the Lord, as it is written, "Ye are
not your own; ye are bought with a price." Our Lord said in his
matchless prayer, "they are not of the world, even as I am not of the
world." "Sanctify them," said he, "by thy truth, thy word is truth."
Yes, blessed be God, we are consecrated men and women: we belong to the
Lord, and are vessels for the Master's use, hallowed from all other
uses to be the Lord's. "For I will be to them a God, they shall be to
me a people." Does not this make you glad? Are you really set apart to
be the Lord's own sons and daughters, and hallowed to be used by him in
his service both here and hereafter, and do you not rejoice? O my soul,
dost thou not feel the trickling of the consecrating oil adown thy brow
even now, and does it not make thy face to shine and make thy heart
happy, because thou art now the Lord's?

Thirdly, by this oil we are also qualified for our office. You see the
Spirit descended upon Christ that he might have the spirit of wisdom,
and power, and so be strengthened and qualified to discharge his sacred
work. Now, the Spirit of God is upon every believer in this sense.
Remember how in his First Epistle, second chapter, and twentieth verse,
John says, "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all
things," or "ye are able to discern all things." And further on, in
that same chapter, he says, "This anointing teacheth you all things."
Well, if we are to serve the Lord a main gift is knowledge, for how can
we instruct the ignorant, or guide the perplexed, except we know
ourselves? And it is this anointing which teaches us, and makes us fit
for the service to which the Master has called us. Oh, does the Holy
Spirit then lead us into all truth, and give us knowledge, and shall we
not rejoice? Ignorance means sorrow, but the light of the knowledge of
God in the face of Jesus Christ means joy. O brethren, will ye not
bless God to-day for what the Spirit of God has taught you? If you do
not, what must you be made of? for he has taught you such wonderful
lessons so full of joy. Even if he has never taught you more than this,
that whereas you were once blind now you see, he has taught you enough
to make your heart rejoice as long as you live. Is he not the oil of
gladness?

Fourthly, the Spirit of God heals us of our diseases. The Eastern mode
of medicine was generally the application of oil, and I should not
wonder if in the course of years it should be discovered that the
modern pharmacy, with all its drugs, is not worth so much as the
old-fashioned method. Certainly, when the Holy Spirit spake concerning
sick men, and advised that medicines should be used, and prayer for
their restoration, he prescribed anointing with oil. I suppose that
anointing with oil was mentioned because it was the current medicine of
the times, but it could not have been injurious or altogether absurd,
or the Holy Spirit would not in any measure have sanctioned it. I will
not raise the question, however. But a frequent medicine of the olden
time was, undoubtedly, anointing with oil, and it is well known that
olive oil does possess very remarkable healing qualities. I have read
in books of one or two instances of the bites of serpents having the
venom effectually removed by the use of olive oil. It is more commonly
used in countries where it grows than here, and it is in many ways a
very useful medicine. Certainly the Holy Spirit is that to us. What
wounds and bruises have been healed with this oil. Before the Spirit
came they were putrefying, they had not been bound up nor mollified
with ointment, but now this ointment, mixed after the art of the
apothecary, with the costliest spices, has effectually healed us, and
what remains of the old sores and wounds it continues still to heal;
and so wonderful is its power it will ultimately take out every scar,
and we shall be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing through its
healing power. Shall we not, therefore, be glad and rejoice in the
Lord, for if restoration to health makes us happy surely the renewal of
our spiritual youth should make our hearts bound for joy?

Thus also we are suppled and softened. Oil applied to the body supples
and softens, and, believe me, brethren, nothing is more akin to joy
than softness and tenderness of heart. If ever you meet with a
hard-hearted proud man, he is not a happy man and if he should seem to
be happy in his pride it is a dangerous and deadly happiness, and the
sooner it is taken away the better. Where God dwells is heaven, and
where does he dwell? With the humble and the contrite heart. That is a
beautiful expression of David's, I have drank joy out of it, "Make me
to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may
rejoice." Oh, there is never a bone in manhood's system that knows how
to rejoice till God has broken it, and when it is broken then comes the
mighty Physician and applies the oil and restores the bone to
infinitely more than its former strength, and then the bones which had
been broken become each one so many new arguments for gratitude, and
all our healed wounds become mouths of praise unto the Most High. We
are thus softened and gladdened.

By the oil of the Holy Spirit we are also strengthened. Oil well rubbed
into the system was anciently assumed to be a great strengthener, and I
suppose it was. Certainly the Holy Spirit is the strength of
Christians, and where he is the strength there is sure to be joy. "The
joy of the Lord is your strength."

Oil, too, is a beautifier. The Easterns did not think themselves fit
for their banquets till they had washed their face and anointed
themselves with perfumed oil. They were very fond of locks dripping
with oil and faces bright therewith. Certainly there is a beauty which
the Spirit gives to men, which they can never obtain in any other way.
Oh, the excellence of the character that is formed by the hand of the
Spirit of God! It is a beautiful thing which even God himself delights
to look upon; it is a thing of beauty, and in the most emphatic sense a
joy for ever. He that is made comely with the comeliness which the Holy
Spirit gives must be a happy man. Other beauty may bring sorrow, but
the beauty of holiness makes us akin to angels.

Once more, it becomes a perfume. When oil was poured on a man his
presence scented the air around him, and when the Spirit of God is
given to us it is perceived by other spiritual minds. Cannot you detect
in a brother's prayer that he has been with Jesus? Do you not know by
the lives of some of Christ's dear saints that he is very familiar with
them? Do you not perceive that they have had a special anointing? The
ungodly world cannot tell it, but saints discern it. The nostril of the
wicked is only pleased by the leeks, and the garlic, and the onions of
Egypt, but the believing nostril has been sanctified, and it perceives
the delicate myrrh and cinnamon, and sweet calamus and cassia, which
make up the anointing oil. The rare combination of sacred qualities
which make up a holy character will be seen in the believer in whom the
Holy Spirit displays his power, and as a consequence he will be glad at
heart.

Furthermore, I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot hear
them now, for the time is spent. Therefore I will only say, I pray,
brethren, that the anointing may be ours in all the various senses I
have mentioned. I should like all of you to go away happy. You children
of God, be as glad as ever you can be. I would to God that a sacred
gladness rang through this house like a marriage peal: yet for all
that, do not forget that Jesus has joy above you all. You may be very
glad, but he is gladder still. You may sing his praises, but he leads
the sacred orchestra of heaven. "In the midst of the congregation will
I praise thee," saith he. Rejoice in his joy. I have often thought it
did not matter any more what became of me so long as he is victorious.
A soldier in battle, sorely wounded, lies bleeding in a ditch, but he
hears the sound of the trumpets, and they tell him the commander is
coming along, the King for whom his loyal heart is willing to bleed,
and he enquires, "Have they won the day?" "Oh, yes," they say "he has
won the day, and the enemy are flying before him." The soldier
exclaims, "Thank God, I can die." It is the soldier's joy to die with
victory ringing in his ears. Our Lord is glad, and therefore we are
glad.

"Let him be crowned with majesty
Who bowed his head to death,
And be his honor sounded high
By all things that have breath."

If it be so we will be content to say, like David, "The prayers of
David, the son of Jesse, are ended." We have no more to pray for: we
have done with the world, done with wishing, done with everything, if
Christ reigns, and all things are under his foot. May this joy be
yours. Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON— Exodus 30:22-33; 29:5-7, 21;
Psalm 45:1-8; Isaiah 61:1-3.

The reader is earnestly requested to read these passages.

HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"— Psalm 45 (Vers. I.), 438, 786.
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For the Sick and Afflicted