THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
759
(3 ) W hat is th e sure cure for sorrow? (4 ) Why did He speak in Proverbs? (5) W hat is th e basis of assured peace? SUGGESTIVE COMMENT Rev. Jo h n H. H un ter, Los Angeles, California. Sorrow: Can we imagine ourselves back in the place in which the apostles were when our Lord made the astounding an nouncement to them th a t He was go ing away to leave them ? The mem ories of those th ree wonderful years of closest fellowship, and th e awe of the upper room and its sacred scenes en shrouded them. No wonder th a t sorrow filled th e ir hearts. Now, as then, when th e sense of the Master’s presence is lost by th e be liever for any reason, sorrow reigns. This is probably strange language to some modern saints whose spiritual perception is so clear, or, perhaps, whose sense of th e heinousness of sin and of th e ir own unworthiness is so dull, th a t they are never so distressed. But th e sain tly Samuel Rutherford w rote: ‘‘I know, as n igh t and shad ows are good for flowers, and moon light and dews are b etter th an a con tinu al sun; so is Christ’s absence of special use, and it h ath some nourish ing v irtu e in it, and giveth sap to hum ility, and p u tteth an edge on hun ger, and furnisheth a fair field to faith to put fo rth itself, and to exercise its fingers in gripping it seeth not w hat.” Joy: W hat th e believer sorrows over, the unbeliever joys over. W hat th e be liever longs for, the unbeliever dreads. As th e Master foretold His absence, He foretold His retu rn . As His absence was absence in body, so H is re tu rn w i'' be re tu rn in body. The joy of the anticipation of His promised re tu rn al leviates th e sorrow of His present ab sence. The reaction of th e believer to the tru tb of our Lord’s retu rn , apart
Peace is in God, no t in ourselves,— n o t in our wills bu t in su rrend er of our w ill, and reliance upon His will. We m ust be willing to be in His will, and we m ust w ill to be in His will. We must, and we will find our joy in doing H is will. Peace w ith God is through th e blood of Christ. The peace of God is by the Indwelling Holy Spirit. W e must recognize facts: We have an old n a tu re th a t is Satanic. W m u st no.t deny th is fact, b u t we hav' a rig h t to deny its rig h t to ru le over us, because we are not our own,-—we belong to Him. Recognizing th e streng th of th e old n atu re, and the power and au tho rity of th e new natu re,— if we would have peace w ith ourselves, then we must have th e peace of God, and th e recipe is found in Phil. 4:6, 7: " B e c a r e fu l fo r n o t h in g ; h u t In e v e r y t h in g , b y p r a y e r a n d s u p p lic a tio n , w it h t h a n k s g iv in g , le t y o u r r e q u e s ts h e m a d e k n o w n u n to G o d . A n d th e p e a c e o f G o d w h ic h p a s s e th a ll u n d e r s ta n d in g s h a ll k e e p y o u r h e a r ts a n d m in d s th r o u g h C h r is t J e s u s .” Satan cannot en ter th a t fortress. It is a peace which nothing can touch— no elements disturb. It is above price, — the peace of God, th e peace of Christ, th e gift of His resurrection life. The love of Christ alone is able to separate and satisfy your soul. Let th a t love pour in ; let it penetrate and permeate you; let it push out and push away th e flesh—-your enemy. Determ ine to tru st Him,— abandon your will to Him. Let no criticism, no unbelief, no tribu lation , no distress move you from th a t determ ination. W ith such a mind, stayed on Him, care ful for nothing, th ank fu l for anything, prayerful in everything,— you can over come every foe. Topics fo r Study (1) Why did th e disciples question concerning His saying, “A little while” ? (2) Why did He say the world would rejoice?
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