Chapter 2: He Has Said

Safety in Conflict

The way that God keeps His people secure is not by shutting out their enemies from attacking them, but by sustaining them while they are engaged in the conflict. It is not much to protect yourself behind an unscalable wall. But to stand where arrows are flying thick as hail, where spears are being thrust with fury, where sword blows are falling on every side — and in the middle of it all to prove invulnerable, unconquerable, immortal — this is to wear a divine life that cannot be overcome by human power. Such is the calling of the Christian.

God will put us where we must be tested and tempted. If we are not tested, there is no honor to Him who preserves us; and if we are not tempted, there is no gratitude to His grace who delivers us out of temptations. The Lord does not put His plants into a greenhouse, as some gardeners do. No — He sets them out in the open air, and if the frost is coming, He says, "No frost can kill them, and they will be all the sturdier in the summer for the cold in the winter." He does not shelter them from the heat of the sun or from the chill of the night. In this world we must have tribulation, and we must have much of it too, for it is through much tribulation that we inherit the kingdom.

What God does for His people is this: He keeps them in tribulation, preserves them in temptation, and brings them joyfully out of all their trials. So, Christian, you may rejoice in your security, but you must not think that you will not be attacked. You are like a stream from Lebanon — to be dashed down many a waterfall, to be broken over many a rough rock, to be blocked by many a huge stone, to be impeded by many a fallen tree. But you are to rush forward with the unstoppable force of God, sweeping everything away, until you find at last the place of your perfect rest.

Tomorrow

If tomorrows are not to be boasted of, are they good for nothing? No — blessed be God. There are a great many things we may do with our tomorrows. I will tell you what we may do with them if we are the children of God. We may always look forward to them with patience and confidence, trusting that they will work together for our good. We may say of our tomorrows, "I do not boast about them, but I am not frightened of them. I would not glory in them, but I will not tremble over them." Yes, we may be very much at ease and very comfortable about tomorrow. We may remember that all our times are in His hands, that all events are at His command, and that though we do not know all the twists and turns in the path of providence, He knows them all. They are all recorded in His book, and our times are all ordered by His wisdom.

Therefore, we may look at our tomorrows — still in the rough form of unminted time, about to be coined into each day's experience — and we may say of them all, "They will all be gold. They will all be stamped with the King's image, and therefore, let them come. They will not make me worse — they will work together for my good."

Yes, even more — a Christian may rightly look forward to tomorrow not simply with resignation, but also with joy. Tomorrow to a Christian is a happy thing; it is one stage nearer glory, one step nearer heaven for a believer, just one more mile sailed across the dangerous sea of life, and he is that much nearer to his eternal port.

Tomorrow! The Christian may rejoice at it. He may say of today, "Oh day, you may be dark, but I shall bid you goodbye, for look — I see tomorrow coming, and I shall rise on its wings and fly away, leaving you and your sorrows far behind me."

A Full Heart

You have seen the great reservoirs that supply water for thousands of houses. Now, the heart is the reservoir of a person, from which the streams of life flow.

That life may flow through different channels — the mouth, the hand, the eye — but still everything that comes from the hand, the eye, and the lips draws its source from the great fountain and central reservoir: the heart. And so there is no difficulty in seeing the great necessity for keeping this reservoir in a proper state and condition, since otherwise what flows through the channels must be contaminated and corrupt. Not only must the heart be kept pure, but it must also be kept full. However pure the water may be in the central reservoir, it will not be possible to have an abundant supply unless the reservoir itself is full. An empty fountain will most certainly produce empty pipes. Let the machinery be ever so precise, let everything else be well ordered — yet if that reservoir is dry, we may wait in vain for water.

See, then, the necessity of keeping the heart full. And let the necessity make you ask this question: "But how can I keep my heart full? How can my emotions be strong? How can I keep my desires burning and my zeal inflamed?" Christian, there is one text that will explain all this: "All my springs are in You," said David (Psalm 87:7). If you have all your springs in God, your heart will be full enough. If you go to the foot of Calvary, there your heart will be bathed in love and gratitude. If you are often in the quiet place of retreat, talking with your God, your heart will be full of calm resolve. If you go with your Master to the hill of Olivet, weeping with Him over Jerusalem, then your heart will be full of love for never-dying souls. If you are continually drawing your impulse, your life, your whole being from the Holy Spirit — without whom you can do nothing — and if you are living in close communion with Christ, there will be no danger of your having a dry heart.

The one who lives without prayer — the one who lives with little prayer — the one who seldom reads the Word — the one who seldom looks to heaven for a fresh influence from on high — that is the person whose heart will become dry and barren. But the one who calls in secret on his God, who spends much time in holy quiet, who delights to meditate on the words of the Most High, whose soul is given over to Christ, who delights in His fullness, rejoices in His all-sufficiency, prays for His second coming, and delights in the thought of His glorious return — such a person must have an overflowing heart. And as the heart is, so the life will be. It will be a full life, a life that will speak from the grave and wake the echoes of the future. "Keep your heart with all diligence" (Proverbs 4:23), and ask the Holy Spirit to keep it full; for otherwise the effects of your life will be feeble, shallow, and superficial, and you might as well not have lived at all.

Oh, for a heart that is full, and deep, and broad! Find the person who has such a heart, and that is the one from whom living waters will flow, refreshing the world with their streams.

Persevering Prayer

Do not give up those prayers that God's Spirit has put in your heart — for remember, the things you have asked for are worth waiting for. Besides, you are a beggar when you are in prayer, so you must not be a chooser as to the time when God will hear you. If you had a right idea of yourself, you would say, "It is a wonder that He ever listens to me at all, as unworthy as I am. Does the Infinite indeed bend His ear to me? May I hope He will at last listen to me? Then I may well continue my prayers."

And remember, it is your only hope: there is no other Savior. This or nothing — Christ's blood or else eternal judgment. And to whom will you go if you turn away from Him? No one ever yet perished pleading for mercy; therefore, keep on.

Besides, better people than you have had to wait. Kings, and patriarchs, and prophets have waited; so surely you can be content to sit in the King's waiting room a little while. It is an honor to sit, as Mordecai did, at the gate. Pray on — wait on!

"Ah!" says one, "that is just what I have been doing a long time." Yes, yes — there are different kinds of waiting. A man says, "I have been waiting," but he has folded his arms and gone to sleep. You may wait in that way until you are lost. The waiting I mean is "getting all things ready" — the waiting of the poor sufferer for the physician, who cries out in pain, "Is the doctor coming?" I will vouch for my Master when I say that none who wait like that will be sent away empty. He will never break His promise. Test Him — TEST HIM!

Humility

What is humility of mind? Humility is making a right estimate of oneself. It is no humility for a person to think less of himself than he should, though it might be quite a challenge to do that. Some people, when they know they can do a thing, tell you they cannot — but you surely would not call that humility. A man is asked to take part in some good work: "No," he says, "I have no ability" — yet if you were to say the same thing about him, he would be offended. It is not humility for a person to stand up and put himself down, saying he cannot do this or that, when he knows it is not true.

If God gives a person a talent, do you think that person does not know it? If someone has ten talents, he has no right to be dishonest with his Maker and say, "Lord, You have only given me five." It is not humility to underestimate your gifts. Humility is to think of yourself, if you can, as God thinks of you. It is to feel that if we have talents, God has given them to us, and to let it be seen that — like cargo in a ship — they tend to keep us low. The more we have, the lower we ought to be.

Humility is not to say, "I do not have this gift." It is to say, "I have the gift, and I must use it for my Master's glory. I must never seek any honor for myself, for what do I have that I did not receive?" (1 Corinthians 4:7). Humility is to feel that we have no power of ourselves, but that it all comes from God. Humility is to lean on our Beloved, saying, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). It is, in fact, to set aside self and to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ as All in All.

Look Upward

Christian, in all your troubles, look to God and be saved. In all your trials and afflictions, look to Christ and find deliverance. In all your anguish, in all your repentance for your guilt, look to Christ and find pardon. Remember to keep your eyes turned heavenward and your heart heavenward too. Bind around yourself a golden chain and fix one link of it to heaven's anchor. Look to Christ. Do not be afraid. There is no stumbling when a person walks with his eyes on Jesus. The one who looks at Christ walks safely.

The Use of Trial

Trials teach us what we are. They dig up the soil and let us see what we are made of. They just turn up some of the weeds onto the surface.

Faith Necessary

"Whatever things are lovely, and pure, and of good report" (Philippians 4:8) — try to pursue them. But remember that all these things put together, without faith, do not please God. Virtues without faith are whitewashed sins. Unbelief cancels everything. It is the fly in the ointment; it is the poison in the pot. Without faith — with all the virtues of purity, with all the generosity of charity, with all the kindness of selfless compassion, with all the talents of genius, with all the bravery of patriotism, and with all the firmness of principle — you have no claim to divine acceptance, for "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6).

Faith nourishes every virtue; unbelief withers every virtue in the bud. Thousands of prayers have been stopped by unbelief. Many songs of praise that would have swelled the chorus of the skies have been stifled by unbelieving complaints. Many a noble enterprise conceived in the heart has been killed before it could come to life by unbelief.

Faith is the Christian's source of strength — cut it off, and he can do nothing.¹ Peter, while he had faith, walked on the waves of the sea. But soon there came a wave behind him, and he said, "That will sweep me away," and then another in front, and he cried out, "That will overwhelm me!" He thought, "How could I be so bold as to walk on top of these waves?" And as soon as he doubted, he began to sink. Faith was Peter's life preserver — it kept him up; but unbelief sent him down. The Christian's life may be said to be always "walking on the water," and every wave would swallow him up. But faith enables him to stand. The moment you stop believing, that moment distress and failure follow. So why do you doubt?

Christ "Altogether Lovely"

In calling the Lord Jesus "altogether lovely," the Church declares that she sees nothing in Him she does not admire. The world may mock His cross and call it shameful; to her it is the very center and soul of glory. A proud and scornful nation might reject their King because of His manger-cradle and peasant clothing, but to her eyes the Prince is glorious even in this humble dress. He is never without beauty to her. Never is His face marred or His glory stained. She presses His pierced feet to her heart and looks upon their wounds as jewels. Fools stand by His cross and find plenty of material for mockery and scorn; she discovers nothing but solemn reason for reverent worship and unlimited love.

Viewing Him in every office, position, and relationship, she cannot find a flaw; in fact, the thought of imperfection is banished far away. She knows too well His perfect deity and His spotless humanity to give a moment's shelter to the thought of a blemish in His immaculate person. She rejects every teaching that diminishes Him. She refuses the most gorgeous covering that would obscure His beautiful features. Yes, she is so jealous for His honor that she will listen to no voice that does not witness to His praise. A suggestion against His pure conception or His unstained holiness would stir her soul to holy outrage. Nothing has ever roused the passion of the Church so fully as a word against her Head. To all true believers this is the highest treason, and an offense that cannot be treated lightly. Jesus is without a single blot or blemish — "altogether lovely."

Yet this negative praise, this bold denial of fault, is far from representing the fullness of the Church's loving admiration. Jesus is positively lovely in her eyes. Not barely acceptable, not merely fair — His beauties are captivating beauties, and His glories are such as charm the heart.

But although this declaration by the Church is the very height of the language of praise, and was doubtless intended as the pinnacle of all description, it is not possible that this one sentence, even when expanded by the most careful reflection, should be able to express more than a fraction of the admiration felt. Like one of the giants of old, the sentence towers above all others, but its stature fails to reach the towering height of heaven-born love. It is but a faint symbol of inexpressible affection — a choice pearl washed ashore from the deep sea of love.

The Remedy for Doubts

The best way to get your faith strengthened is to have communion with Christ. If you commune with Christ you cannot be unbelieving. When His left hand is under my head and His right hand embraces me, I cannot doubt. When my Beloved sits at His table, and He brings me into His banqueting house, and His banner over me is Love, then indeed I believe. When I feast with Him, my unbelief is put to shame and hides its head.

Speak, you who have been led to green pastures and have been made to lie down beside still waters. You who have seen His rod and His staff and hope to see them even when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Speak, you who have sat at His feet with Mary, or laid your head on His chest with the beloved John: have you not found that when you have been near to Christ your faith has grown strong, and when you have been far from Him your faith has become weak?

It is impossible to look Christ in the face and then doubt Him. When you cannot see Him, then you doubt Him. But you must believe when your Beloved speaks to you and says, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away" (Song of Solomon 2:10). There is no hesitation then. You must rise from the lowlands of your doubt up to the hills of assurance.

All Things Working for Good

Christ is the ruler of all events; in everything His authority is supreme, and He exercises His power for the good of His Church. He spins the thread of events and works from the pattern of destiny, and does not allow those threads to be woven in any way other than according to the design of His loving wisdom. He will not allow the mysterious wheel to turn in any direction that will not bring good to His chosen people. He makes their worst things blessings to them, and their best things He makes holy. In times of plenty, He blesses their increase; in times of need, He supplies all they require. As all things are working for His glory, so all things are working for their good.

Footnotes

¹ The original reads "Faith is the Samsonian lock of the Christian" — a vivid reference to Samson, whose supernatural strength resided in his hair (Judges 16). When his locks were cut, his power was gone. Spurgeon's image captures perfectly how faith is the source of the Christian's spiritual strength.