The Cause and Effect of Heart Trouble

The Cause and Effect of Heart Trouble

(No. 3076)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1908.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH
12, 1874.

"Let not your heart be troubled, neither Jet it be afraid." John 14:27.

THERE appeared to be great cause for their heart to be troubled and
abundant reason for being afraid, for their Lord was about to be taken
from them. What would a few timid disciples be able to do without their
Master? He had always been their Teacher, Friend and Guide. When they
had been assailed by adversaries, He had always espoused their cause
and routed their enemies. They were safe enough as long as He was with
them, but what would they be without Him? And, alas, He was going away
to die! He was about to be dragged away like a common felon, falsely
accused by bribed witnesses and then put to the cruel and shameful
death of the Cross. Would not the ignominious death of the Captain be
followed by the destruction of the army and the disastrous close of the
holy war? The disciples might well be seriously afraid when they knew
that their great adversary was very powerful, exceedingly cunning and
desperately determined to crush out the new kingdom. It must have
sounded somewhat strange in their ears that the Savior should say to
them, "Do not be troubled about it, and do not be afraid."

I am sure that the tone of voice which He used would prevent them from
imagining that He was mocking them. Sometimes when a man is in very
great trouble, it sounds almost like mockery to say to him, "Let not
your heart be troubled." "How can I help it?" he says. "How can I be
otherwise than troubled under such a trial as this? You tell me not to
be afraid, but if you were in a similar position, wouldn't you be
afraid?" And we are half inclined not to repeat the exhortation, lest
we should seem to be exulting over the weakness of the desponding. But
we must not forget that Jesus Christ was, Himself, in trouble at that
time–and yet He was perfectly calm. He was about to bear the brunt of
the storm, yet He was not afraid and, therefore, being a fellow
sufferer with His disciples in the trouble and being Himself the
perfect pattern of sublime patience and dauntless courage, He could
most properly say to them, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid." And, moreover, there would be such a charm about the way
in which He would say it, and such a gracious influence would go with
every syllable, that the most cowardly among them must have been
strengthened–and the most desponding would endeavor to shake off his
fears. May the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, apply to every troubled soul
here, our Savior's words of exhortation which form our text, "Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

I. And, first, dear Friends, let me remind you that if we are troubled
and fearful, THERE IS VERY OFTEN AN EVIL CAUSE AT THE BOTTOM OF IT.

"An evil cause?" asks one. Yes, an evil cause. Permit me to use a
paradox and say that it is not trouble that troubles a man so much as
something else that is the secret of the trouble. I have seen many in
sore trouble who, nevertheless, have not been troubled. They have been
tried, but their heart has not even been wounded in the trial. The more
their troubles have come upon them, the higher have they risen in
Divine Grace. As their afflictions have abounded, so have their joys
abounded through Christ Jesus! Do not tell me that sickness naturally
depresses, for I have seen many under various forms of sickness who
have been able to sing cheerily upon their beds and to praise God amid
the fires! Do not tell me that poverty puts an end to a Christian's
joy, for it is not so. The golden oil that feeds the lamp of the
Christian's joy is not drawn from the wells of earth–it comes from
quite another source. The Christian's joy does not spring from what he
possesses, nor his sorrow from what he lacks. As his exaltation does
not come from the world, so neither does his

depression, if he lives near to God. So it is not trouble that troubles
saints–it is something far worse than that. Let us see if we can
discover what the evil cause of it may be.

With some, it is an unhumbledheart. I am afraid that there are many
Christians in great trouble who are so proud that they will not admit
that God has a right to deal with them as He is dealing. They think
that there ought to be some more lenient dispensations of Providence
for them. They imagine themselves to be the kind of persons upon whom
the sun should always shine, who ought to walk in silver slippers and
whose path should be always smooth. And if it is not so, they fancy
that God is dealing harshly with them–that He is not kind to them–and
they doubt His love. You may tell them that the martyrs suffered far
more than they do. You may point them to many of their fellow
Christians who are in much worse circumstances than they are, but that
will not reconcile them to their own trials. The fact is, there is a
self-love about them which has exaggerated itself beyond all due
proportions into a sinful self-esteem! And this proud, vainglorious
idea of what they ought to have and ought to be, rebels against the
Sovereignty of God and refuses to submit to the will of the Most High!

Remember that our sorrows usually spring out of ourselves and that when
self is conquered, sorrow is, to a great extent, banished from the
human heart. We may have a rebellious spirit concerning the Providence
of God in many ways. I have heard of one whose husband had died and she
was wearing mourning for him many years after his death. She refused to
be comforted until a member of the Society of Friends said to her very
pointedly, "Woman, have you not forgiven God yet?" and the remark
struck home to her. There are some who actually quarrel with God over
the loss of husband, or wife, or child, or parent, or friend. Now, in
such a quarrel as that, one or the other must bend–and it is certain
that God cannot! He has done what was right and He had a right to do
what He pleased. It is the unhumbled heart which sets up its judgment
in opposition to God's judgment and dares to think that God has been
unkind or even unjust. It is this wicked pride which is at the root of
some of the worst sorrows which have embittered the lot of mankind! O
my dear Friend, shall not God do as He wills with you and with yours?
God gives, so shall He not take? Will you receive good at the hands of
the Lord and will you not receive what you think to be evil? Are you so
different in disposition from Job that you cannot and will not say,
"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the
Lord"? Then I must remind you that the Holy Spirit will never begin to
comfort you until this unhumbled spirit of yours is subdued! You must
get rid of this rebellion against the Most High, or else your heart
must continue to be troubled–

"Mortals, be dumb! What creature dares Dispute His awful will? Ask no
account of His affairs But tremble and be still."

If it is God who has done it, no question can be raised concerning it.
If it is God who has done it, no doubt as to the rightness of it can
arise in the mind of any intelligent Believer. Brothers and Sisters, if
we could see what God sees, we would feel that the heaviest trouble we
have ever had was the thing that we would choose above all other
things! You probably sometimes think that the course of Divine
Providence is very mysterious, but were you as well informed concerning
all the circumstances as the Lord is, you would say, "That is the
course I, myself, would have chosen." I do not doubt that when
Believers get to Heaven and look back upon their pathway on earth, and
recall God's dealings with them, they will admire the amazing loving
kindness and unerring wisdom of God in arranging all that they have
passed through–and that they will feel that they would not have
anything altered, but have had it all just as it has happened.

In many others, perhaps in the majority, the cause of heart trouble
lies in mistrust of God. This is especially true in reference to being
afraid. They are afraid that their present trials will crush them, or
that some future trial will cause their destruction. But, Brothers and
Sisters, you need not be afraid because of the greatness of your trial,
for you must be well aware that others have had greater trials and yet
have survived them! Nor need you be afraid because of the severity of
your present distress, for you have been in equal distress before and
yet have been delivered out of it! The real secret of your being
troubled and afraid lies in the fact that you doubt your God. Either
you do not think that He is equal to the emergency, or else you
conceive that He has forgotten you, or is angry with you, or that His
mercy is clean gone and that He will be favorable to you no more.

In any case, you are dishonoring Him by doubting Him. I know that it is
the notion of some people that a state of doubting is really a high
state of perfection. I heard, the other day, of a man of whom I was
told that he had walked in holiness and godliness for many years, yet
he had never uttered an expression which could lead anyone to think
that he really believed himself to be saved. He did not dare to say
that lest he should be guilty of presumption. As I listened to the
story, I could not help asking, "How long has he lived in this state?"
"Forty years," was the answer. "Well then," I replied, "he has been
living for these forty years in grievous sin, for there is no sin which
so dishonors God as does the sin of unbelief. And for a professor of
religion to continue, year after year, in such a state as that until it
becomes chronic is indeed terrible." Yet, as I said just now, there are
some persons who think it right to continue in such a state as this. I
do not wonder that their hearts are troubled! Beloved, if you believe
in your God, you know that He will bring you through your present
trouble and all future trials as well. If you truly love Him, you know
that all things are working together for your good. Therefore, let not
your heart be troubled! No, it cannot be, for your faith will drive out
your fear–your confidence in God will keep your heart from being
troubled.

The third evil cause of trouble of heart in some is, I fear,
covetousness. I believe in calling things by their right names. I have
known persons who have possessed quite enough to guarantee to them
according to all human probabilities that they would never lack food
and raiment as long as they live–yet they were troubled. Why? Well
they were losing some of their money. But why did that trouble them? It
was because they had not obeyed that injunction of the Apostle, "Having
food and raiment let us be therewith content." I have known persons who
have had so much money that if they had lived to be as old as
Methuselah, they would probably have had plenty–yet, when some small
loss happened to them, you would suppose that they were so poor that
they must go to the workhouse! Although they had abundance left, they
were afraid because of their covetousness. A man may be covetous of his
own things as well as of the things of other people. He may covet his
own goods by grasping them, holding them and making them his god–and
when the Master comes to take away some of the goods which He has lent
to him as His steward–he is troubled and afraid and cannot endure the
loss of that which he has learned to love too well! It is very
difficult for man to have much money running through his hands without
some of it sticking. It is very sticky stuff–and when it once sticks
to the hands, they are not clean in the sight of the Lord! Unless a man
is able to use money without abusing it, accepting it as a talent lent
to him and not as a treasure given to him–it will very soon happen
that the more money he has, the more troubles he will have. Just in
proportion as our substance is increased, our daily cares will be
increased. And on that very soil which we most covet will grow the
thorns and thistles which will make our bed uneasy by night and our
deathbed hard to lie on when we come to die! So beware of covetousness,
Brothers and Sisters, for otherwise you will very soon fall into
trouble and fear.

Suppose, my Friend, you have more wealth than another man possesses?
Then you owe to God more gratitude than that other man does! Besides,
if you have more to carry than another man has, probably you also have
more care than that other man has–and what is there in that to make
you proud? Would even a donkey that has to carry a double load be proud
because its burden was twice as heavy as that of another donkey? No, it
would not be so stupid! The man who has one stick when he starts on his
journey has all that he needs. Shall another man who carries 20 sticks
boast over him when only one of them will be any use to him? He that
has a sufficiency should be satisfied with it, but he that has more
than a sufficiency has no cause to be proud concerning it. If you have
more than others have, you have a greater trust and a greater charge
than others have–therefore be humbler than others are and wait upon
God more than others do. You have a full cup to carry, so you need a
steady hand and must beware of having an unsteady head. Ask God to keep
you meek and lowly as your worldly circumstances rise, for so you will
rise with your circumstances. But if you are exalted and puffed up
because God prospers you, you will come down even though your
circumstances go up! It is poor prosperity when a man becomes outwardly
richer, but inwardly poorer–when he has more gold, but less
Grace–when he has more land, but less love to God. May God in His
mercy preserve us all from such "prosperity" as that, and also preserve
us from the pride which so often accompanies such prosperity! Remember
what Paul was Inspired to write to the Corinthians–"Who makes you to
differ from another? And what have you that you did not receive? Now if
you received it, why do you glory as if you had not received it?"

I am afraid there are some professors who are troubled and afraid
through an unequally bad cause, namely, envy. Alas, some good men have
fallen into this gross sin! The Psalmist was envious when he saw the
prosperity of the wicked. And he said, "Behold, these are the ungodly
who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have
cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all
the daylong I have been plagued, and chastened every morning." It
seemed as if he had the rough side of the road although he feared his
God, while the wicked had the smooth path. Yes, and the poor Christians
is very apt to get into a similar state of mind and to say, "How is it
that I have to pine in poverty while God' s enemies are pampered in
luxury? Why should I have to go hungry and in rags, while Dives,
yonder, is clothed in purple and fine linen and fares sumptuously every
day?" If any of you have felt like this, the best way to cure you of
your daily trouble must be to get you no longer to look with the green
eyes of jealousy upon the good things that others have, but to feel
that God has a right to give where He pleases. And if He chooses to
give an abundance of husks to the swine, you who are His children
should be the last to envy them!

I think I have, at least once before, quoted in your hearing an
illustration used by William Huntington with reference to those who
live by faith, depending upon the daily bounty of God. He says, "Their
case is something like that of a daughter whose father does not give
her a large dowry when she is married, but who gives her what is called
in the country, a hand-basket portion. That is to say, one day he will
send down to her house a ham. Another time a basket of eggs. Sometimes
a sack of flour. But every week something or other is sent to her from
her old home, 'with father's love,' and by these continued tokens of
love, the daughter probably gets more than if she had received her
portion in a lump sum. And she gets her father's love sent with it
every time." It is possible that if the Lord gave to His people all at
once, everything that they would need this side of Heaven, they might
afterwards think that He had forgotten them, or they might forget Him!
But His daily gifts, bestowed in answer to their prayers–and each one
coming with their Father's love stamped upon it, will keep Him
constantly in their remembrance! In this way we shall have many loving
reminders that He does not forget us–and oft-renewed assurances that
He changes not and will also not suffer His children to lack any good
thing. Let then the fact that God gives us all that we have, sweeten it
all and make us satisfied even if that all is sometimes only a scanty
supply.

In other cases I am afraid that anger is the cause of heart trouble and
fear. Some people–I will not say some Christians, because where anger
abides in the heart, it is very questionable whether the life of God
can exist there at the same time! But some professors have grown angry,
possibly without reason. And because they could not work their will
upon the person who had offended them, they have never been at
rest–and they have really done themselves serious injury through
cherishing such an evil spirit! It is a desperately bad case when a
professor of religion begins to feel as Haman did when Mordecai would
not bow down to him. It was nothing to Haman that he was the greatest
favorite of King Ahasuerus as long as Mordecai at the gate would not
cringe before him. You also know how he purposed to rid himself of his
enemy and how he was hanged on the very gallows that he had prepared
for Mordecai. His sad end ought to be a warning to all who are at all
like he was in spirit. I implore you, Beloved, to love one another! And
if at any time you have been grieved and vexed by others, forgive them.
A forgiving spirit is a ready way to please. Your hearts must be
troubled if you have in them any vestige of malice, or anger, or
enmity, or unkindness toward anybody. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for
they shall be called the children of God." And if any can have God's
peace to the full in their hearts, it is those who are fully at peace
with their fellow men. Search and see, therefore, whether your trouble
of heart may not have been caused by something of that sort.

Alas, I must also mention another evil cause of heart trouble and fear.
It is that which is displayed by persons of a very fretful disposition,
peevish, self-willed, and very exacting of other people. Some of them
are good people, too, when they are in their right minds and in a right
humor! But when they happen to be in their fits, the best place to be
in regard to them is as far off as possible! This kind of disposition
may sometimes spring from constitutional peculiarities, or it may be
the result of sickness and, therefore, we ought to be very patient with
such people. But if any of us are at all afflicted in that way, we
ought not to expect too much patience from other people, neither ought
we to try their patience more than we can help. It should be our
determination, in the name and strength of God, to fight against the
propensity to be troubled, vexed, cross and murmuring–for all of us
know what a disagreeable thing it is. I do not wonder that God is angry
with murmurers–and it is not very surprising if we also get vexed with
them. Suppose you help a poor man again and again, yet he never shows
the slightest gratitude, but always has more complaints and murmurs
more each time he comes to you? It will give you no pleasure to have
further contact with him. Let us all take care not to fall into that
state of mind–a child of God should not be like that. Certainly he is
not like his Master if he is, for you never read

of Jesus Christ murmuring or fretting and being peevish. You never
heard anyone who really knew Him say that Jesus Christ was one of those
exacting people whom nobody could please. Why, on the contrary, He was
one of those whom you could scarcely displease! And even when wicked
men nailed Him to the tree, He prayed for them, "Father, forgive

them, for they know not what they do." [See Sermons # 897, Volume
15–THE FIRST CRY FROM THE CROSS; #2263, Volume 38–CHRIST'S PLEA FOR
IGNORANT SINNERS and #3068, Volume 53–UNKNOWN DEPTHS AND HEIGHTS.]

"Let not your heart be troubled," for the probability is that if you
look below the trouble, you will find that there is underneath it some
evil thing which is the real cause of the trouble. Therefore, O you
children of God, in whom dwells the Spirit of God, strive against it!

II. Now, in the second place, and briefly–if we are God's children, we
ought not to have our heart troubled and afraid because THERE IS REALLY
NO GOOD REASON IN ALL THE WORLD FOR SUCH TROUBLE AND FEAR.

Remember, first of all, that you are forgiven. Nothing ought to be a
cause of trouble to a man whose sins are forgiven. There is a poor man,
at this moment, lying in prison in the condemned cell. Suppose that you
were able to go to him and say, "Here is a free pardon for you." If,
after that, you were to say to him, "You will have to work hard all
your life. You will have to live in a poor cottage," I am sure that he
would say, "I don't care what work I do, nor where I live, so long as I
am pardoned! If I do but escape the gallows, you may do anything else
that you like with me." So, dear Friend, you are forgiven, you are a
child of God, you are an heir of Heaven and you can never be cast into
Hell! Cannot you also say, "Well, then, you may do what you will with
me, so long as I am pardoned"? When a man's sins are forgiven, what
cause can he have to complain? Rather would we say with the Psalmist,
"He has not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to
our iniquities." And therefore let each one of us say, "Bless the Lord,
O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your
iniquities; who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from
destruction; who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies."

Then next, there is no cause for you Christians to be troubled, for
your best interests are perfectly safe. You have not lost your
spiritual birthright and you will never lose it! Being children of God,
you are children of God forever! You have not lost your redemption–you
were bought with a price and you are free forever. You have not lost
your union to Christ. You are still one with Him and because He lives,
you shall also live. You have not lost your hopes of Heaven. You have
not lost your interest in the eternal joys. You have not lost the
justifying righteousness of Christ, nor the sanctifying power of the
Holy Spirit. All these precious things and many more are
yours–therefore you have no cause to be troubled or fearful. If you
were going home after this service and you were carrying a very large
sum of money in your pocket–and if, when you reached your destination,
you put your hand in your pocket and found that you had lost your
handkerchief. And if you put your hand in your pocket, again, and found
that the bag of gold was all right, you would surely not trouble about
the loss of your handkerchief! Your money being safe–the loss of which
would have been your ruin–you would be so delighted that you would not
mind about your trivial loss. Suppose we heard of great shipwreck and
that among those who were rescued was a man who, as soon as he was
brought ashore, set up a great lament because he had lost his hat?
Everybody would laugh at him for being so foolish–and that is very
much like the trouble of a child of God who sits down and frets and
worries over insignificant trifles while his immortal interests are all
safe! His soul is safe. God is His, Heaven is His. He has not lost any
of his real treasures. Therefore let him give heed to the Master's
words to His first disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither
let it be afraid."

Remember, too, O children of God, that the troubles you are now
enduring have not come to you by chance–they were laid upon you by the
gracious hand of the all-wise Jehovah who is your loving Father and
Friend–

"To His Church, His joy and treasure, Every trial works for good– They
are dealt in weight and measure, Yet how little understood. Not in
anger,

But from His dear covenant love."

Well then, if God sends you your trials, why are you troubled and
afraid because of them?

Recollect, too, that your present trials are working for your eternal
good, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "Our light affliction, which is
but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight
of glory." Do you not

know that your troubles have already been blessed to you? Were you ever
so spiritually enriched as you have been in times of storm and in hours
of pain? Have you not often thought, when you grew well again, that you
would like to go back to the bed of suffering, that you might grow in
Grace as you did when you were there? So, as your trials have thus
enriched you, why should you be troubled and afraid because of them?

Then, beside this, all the troubles of the children of God will work
out to God's Glory. The poet was right when he represented God,
Himself, as saying of His people–

"From all their afflictions My Glory shall spring,

And the deeper their sorrows, the louder they'll sing." Will you not,
therefore, be glad to be troubled, seeing that thus God is being
glorified in you?

Remember, too, that your trials will soon be over and then there will
begin the bliss of Heaven which will never, never end. So the Christian
pilgrim can sing–

" The road may be rough, but it cannot be long.

And I'll smooth it with hope, and cheer it with song." What if the
shallows of the night fall grimly around you and the cold blast chills
you to your bones? 'Tis but a little sleep and then morning breaks, and
the sun rises in the land where–

"Everlasting spring abides,

And never-withering flowers– and you shall be where no night winds can
ever come, or darkness ever again oppress your happy spirits!
Therefore, comfort yourselves and comfort one another with these
cheering thoughts.

III. Lastly, Believers ought not to be troubled or afraid because, as
such a spirit comes from evil and there is no just cause or reason for
it, SO IT GENERALLY LEADS TO EVIL.

It leads to evil to yourself It is a very mischievous thing for a child
of God to be constantly troubled and afraid. It makes him selfish–he
gets to looking for comfort for himself. It makes him weak, faint,
fretful and so leads him to yet further rebellion and murmuring against
the Lord. God seems to attach very great importance to His people being
happy. You know Isaiah was Inspired to write, "Comfort you, comfort you
My people, says our God." And David was moved to say, "Be glad in the
Lord and rejoice, you righteous: and shout for joy, all you that are
upright in heart." And again, "Let the righteous be glad; let them
rejoice before God: yes, let them exceedingly rejoice." While Paul
writes to the saints at Philippi, "Rejoice in the Lord always: and
again I say, Rejoice." "The oil ofjoy" is to the soul what oil is to
the body–it gives suppleness and helps to make us strong–

" Why should the children of a King

Go mourning all their days?'

He would not have them do so for their own sakes. Genuine Christians
may have two Heavens if they will–a Heaven below, and a Heaven
above–we may drink of both the upper and the nether springs if God's
Grace shall enable us to believe in God and to believe also in Jesus
Christ. So let not trouble be your trouble, for it is an evil thing for
yourself.

Further, do not let it be your trouble because it leads to evil to your
fellow Christians. They see your mournful face and they are very apt to
catch the infection. Some of you remember dear old Mr. Dransfield, our
beloved elder who has gone to Heaven. Whenever he used to come into
this building, it was like the shining of the sun! On a Lord's-Day
morning when he came into the vestry, if it was a heavy, foggy morning,
he would say to me, "Well, my dear Pastor, the morning is not very
bright, but we can be very happy in our souls even on such a morning as
this is. The fog cannot get into our hearts, blessed be God!" And then
he would be sure to tell me some cheering thing that had happened
during the week–some soul had been converted–or something that would
help to gladden us all before we began the service. I have heard of
deacons who have always been sure, on the Sabbath morning, to tell the
minister any unpleasant thing that had happened during the week–so as
to depress his spirit in order that they might feel duly miserable
under his ministry during the rest of the morning. Never do that,
Brothers and Sisters, but be bright and cheerful for the sake of your
fellow Christians. I always think there is quite enough misery in the
world without my making any more. There are more than enough wild
beasts to howl in this wide wilderness, so I need not do any howling.
Let us be among the people of whom it is written, "The wilderness and
the solitary place shall be glad for them." As God's great caravan of
saints goes traveling through the Sahara of this world, let them make
the clarion of holy joy ring out triumphant notes till the desert
itself shall "rejoice even with joy and singing."

Make it to be so, Beloved. Here is Mr. Ready-to-Halt coming along on
his crutches. Smile at him and bid him welcome. Here is Miss
Much-Afraid. Do not go to her with the story of the dragons and the
giants, but tell her about the great King of the way and about the
Celestial City that you have seen from the top of Mount Clear! And if
you find anyone who is giving way to despondency so much that he
scarcely thinks that he can be a child of God at all, let the very
light of your countenance tell him that there is no real reason for a
Believer's distress of mind and lead him to expect that even hewill
find precious promises in the Word which shall enable him to rejoice in
the Lord! I think that many Christians have scandalized the Lord's name
and cause before the ungodly. Many professors make it appear that there
is not much difference between the Church and the world–but I believe
that there is sufficient power in true religion to lift a Christian
right up above the world and to make him live in such a serene
atmosphere that, notwithstanding all the briars and troubles that may
come upon him, he will be able to say, as David did when he fled from
Saul, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and
give praise. Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will
awake early."

Moreover, this being troubled and afraid does much mischief among
sinners. They hear that we are the children of God, that we have found
Grace and favor in the sight of the Lord and they watch to see what
sort of people we are. If they see us prosper and see that we are
happy, then they say, "Yes, we also are happy when we prosper." If they
see us at services and meetings and find us rejoicing, they say, "Yes,
of course, that is a sort of religious dissipation and they are happy."
They watch till they catch us on the sickbed–and then when pain is
sharp upon us, if they see us patient, they say, "There is something in
religion after all." They wait till we are poor, or till we are
bereaved–and then if we are calm under losses and crosses–and still
praise the Lord, they say "Ah! There is something real in it." They
watch when we come to die and if they can hear us sing some sweet song
in the midst of the river, and can witness a calm hallowed peace
resting upon us in the last solemn hour, they whisper to one another,
"There is something real and true here. There is a supernatural power
that makes these men able to die as we could not die." Thus they are
often led by the Spirit of God to seek Grace for themselves–that they
also may be saved!

Patient Christians and joyful Christians are better preachers in the
homes where they live than we can ever be from our pulpits! And happy
Christians who at all times, and under all circumstances, wear a
cheerful aspect, greatly recommend the Gospel to others. You know that
if you saw a man-servant who looked very thin and lean, and as he went
about, he seemed to be always wringing his hands in misery and sighing,
you would say, "That poor fellow must have a hard time of it. He has
got a bad master, you may depend upon it. I should think he has small
wages and very short commons. He lives in the house, doesn't he?
There's very little to be had there, I am sure." You hear that the
gentleman needs another servant and as you read the advertisement, you
say, "That won't suit me, the poor wretch he already has is such a
woe-begone creature that I don't wish to be as he is." How different it
is in other households! A bright, cheerful man-servant says, "I have,
been with my master for many years and the longer I live with him, the
better I like him. He is the best master I ever heard or read of. I
used to serve another man, but he treated me so shamefully that I ran
away from him. But ever since I have been in this house I cannot tell
you how happy I have been. I like my master's service, I like his other
servants, I like his wages, I like everything about him! And I shall be
very glad to see you in the same happy service." "Oh!" you would say,
"That place will do well for me if the master will but have me." You
know that there are more flies caught with honey than with vinegar–and
there are more souls brought to Christ by happy Christians than there
ever will be by all the dreadful gloom and solemnity which some people
find it necessary to put on! I say that because I suspect that some of
it is not genuine. There are some who think that it is right to look as
if true religion were the summit of misery, but it is not so. "Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid," lest you should
bring up a bad report and make people think that the land which flows
with milk and honey is not a good land, but a land that eats up the
inhabitants thereof.

To close in a sentence or two–if you are always troubled and afraid,
you will bring dishonor upon the name of God and you will make the ways
of religion to be evilly spoken of. Let it not be so, O mourning
Christian! Ask the Lord to help you to put away the ashes and to take
the oil of joy instead of mourning, and the garment of praise in place
of the spirit of heaviness–

"Sing, though sense and carnal reason Gladly would stop the joyful
song!

Sing, and count it highest treason

For a saint to hold his tongue!

Sing, for you shall Heaven inherit,

Sing, and never the song have done–

Sing to Father, Son, and Spirit,

One in Three, and Three in One!" My one regret, in preaching this
sermon is that I cannot address it to you all. There are some
unconverted persons here who are troubled. I hope you will be still
more troubled! I cannot say to you, "Do not be afraid," for you ought
to be even more afraid than you are and you have everything to make you
afraid. But though you are troubled and afraid, remember that there is
a Savior and that this Savior may be yours–for whoever believes in Him
shall have his sins forgiven and shall be delivered from the wrath to
come. If you believe in Him with all your heart, then my text may be
addressed to you–but not till then. May God lead you so to believe and
then we will say to you, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid." Amen.