True Christianity Part 28

7. First consider, that in bearing the contempt of the world, thou bearest no less than the very image of Christ, and followest him who is thy Head and Master. Rom. 8:17.

8. (2) To be contemned and disrespectfully used by the world, is of great efficacy for improving thyself in true humility; a virtue which finds favor with G.o.d. "For G.o.d resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5.

9. (3) Thy suffering of reproaches for the sake of truth, is an evidence that thou art ranked with that cloud of witnesses, who in all ages have been made "as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things,"

and so continue to be esteemed "unto this day." 1 Cor. 4:13.

10. (4) Remember that those that are come out "of great tribulation, shall be before the throne of G.o.d" at last (Rev. 7:14), and be there "confessed before the angels of G.o.d." Luke 12:8; 1 Cor. 4:5.

11. (5) Of what consequence is it how contemptuously the world uses thee, since thou art not to rise in the last day (as many shall), "to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2), (the Lord having redeemed thee from that), but to honor and glory!

12. (6) Remember that G.o.d does not withhold his grace from thee in this world. When the world frowns, G.o.d favors. When men withdraw their kindness, then G.o.d confers his mercy. For this purpose the Psalmist prays: "Help me, O Lord my G.o.d: O save me according to thy mercy; that they may know that this is thy hand, and that thou, Lord, hast done it." Ps.

109:26, 27. That is to say: As the Lord removed at last his Son from the cross, from all the labors of his soul, from all the insults of his enemies, and crowned him with glory in heaven; so will he deal with thee also, if thou continuest faithful in bearing the cross, and all the injuries of a profane world. All shall see and shall know, that it is the Lord's hand that hath done it.

13. (7) It was G.o.d himself who suffered his beloved Son to be thus contemned, reproached, and reviled, according to the words of the Psalm: "Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face."

Ps. 69:7. Remember, therefore, that the same G.o.d, who gave a bitter cup to his dear Son, hath also allotted thee thy trials, to humble thee, and to know what is in thy heart.

14. (8) Be sure that the Lord will change all the undeserved reproaches thrown upon thee, into so many blessings, and in his own time pour shame and confusion upon the scoffers. This is expressed in the following verse: "Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice." Ps. 109:28. Nay, if the wicked curse ever so much, yet "shall the curse causeless never come" (Prov. 26:2), as plainly appears from Balaam's attempt, who could not "curse, whom G.o.d had not cursed." Numb. 23:8. Whereas, whosoever feareth the Lord, it shall go well with him at the last, and he shall find favor in the day of his death. The same blessing is bestowed on Abraham, and on all those that walk in the steps of his faith: "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee." Gen. 12:3. And in another place we have this encouragement: "Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings." Isa. 51:7. And our Redeemer himself hath declared: "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you." Matt. 5:11. And his apostle says: "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of G.o.d resteth upon you." 1 Pet. 4:14.

15. (9) The Lord goes on in the aforesaid Psalm: "I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the mult.i.tude." Ps.

109:30. Christ now returns thanks to his heavenly Father for the very crosses and reproaches that were allotted him. This is the temper of every sincere Christian. He is thankful in the midst of afflictions and reproaches, particularly when he looks on the hand of that kind Father who entails all this upon him, but who also delivers him. And truly, the Lord never inflicts a judgment on any soul, but he affords at the same time sufficient reason for thanking and blessing him for that affliction. Thus is grat.i.tude the happy product of crosses and trials. And this consideration is fit to sweeten the duty of resignation to the will of G.o.d. He that for the love of Christ readily submits to the contempt of a vain world, shall be honored by G.o.d again, both in this world and in the world to come. There is a time, wherein the Lord "raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people." Ps. 113:7. Surely, it argues an excellent spirit, when a man for Christ's sake bears the insults of the wicked, and maintains an unshaken calmness of mind, in the midst of all the calumnies of the world. This is "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of G.o.d is of great price." 1 Pet.

3:4.

16. (10) The Psalm concludes, "For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul." Ps. 109:31. Here is comfort sufficient to make a Christian bear up against the hardships and reproaches he is exposed to in his warfare. It is never said that the Lord will stand at the right hand of the violent and great ones, of the oppressors and persecutors; but he will stand at the right hand of the poor, who being dest.i.tute of the arm or support of men, flee to the Lord alone for help and refuge, as to the sole object of their faith and trust.

Those are "remembered, when he maketh inquisition for blood" (Ps. 9:12); and those are the afflicted, or the humble, "whose cry the Lord doth not forget." Tertullian tells us, "We are then absolved by G.o.d, when the world condemns us." For though "the wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him; yet will the Lord not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged." Ps. 37:32, 33. Thus will the Lord attend thee, O man!

with a wonderful deliverance, and afford thee reason enough to extol his name among many, for his marvellous kindness. David himself "had fainted, unless he had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait, therefore, on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." Ps. 27:13, 14.

"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart: and then shall every man have praise of G.o.d." 1 Cor. 4:5.

Chapter XVI.

Showing How Christians Are To Seek And Obtain Favor And Glory Through Christ, In Heaven.

_Hold not thy peace, O G.o.d of my praise, etc._-PS. 109:1, etc

This is a prayer of the eternal Son of G.o.d. The purport or substance of this prayer, may be more fully expressed in this manner:

"My Heavenly Father! thou knowest that in this world I have not sought my own glory, but the glory of thy holy name, and the salvation of all men: and therefore am I so bitterly persecuted, blasphemed, contemned, and vilified. Nevertheless, this is my comfort, that thou art my Father, and that I am thy only begotten Son: lo! this is my glory, in heaven with thee. And this my glory wilt thou in due time manifest and bring to light; that by thy glorifying of me, the world may see who it is whom they have blasphemed and persecuted." John 12:28.

2. Hence we are to learn, that such have the greatest glory and praise in heaven, who in this world are the most persecuted for righteousness' sake.

This we may gather from the example of our Lord himself. From him, the true Book of Life, we may learn true wisdom. But that we may the better understand that his example and holy life are our Book of Life, let us carefully observe the following considerations: (1) Christ never sought upon earth his own glory in anything, but accounted it sufficient for him, that G.o.d alone was his glory. So let us, in like manner, reject the empty glory and praises of this world, in whatever we do; endeavoring only that G.o.d be glorified in us, saying, "Ah, Lord G.o.d! give us also such a heart, even the heart of Christ thy Son, that we may have our glory in _Thee_ alone, and not in _ourselves_; that we may have our glory in heaven, and not upon earth."

3. (2) It was the highest glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, that he was the only begotten Son of G.o.d. And for this reason did the world persecute, vilify, and blaspheme him. Here let our prayer be like this: "Grant us also, Holy Father, that we may count it our greatest glory and joy, that we are thy children; that so we may also obtain the eternal enjoyment of thy love and promise, and may, by virtue of our adoption, come to possess in thee an everlasting inheritance. Remind us, also, that if the world hate, envy, reproach, and persecute us, it has done the same to thy dear and holy child Jesus."

4. (3) It is the glory of the Lord Jesus, that he wrought so many divine works, that he went about continually doing the most wondrous acts of grace and beneficence to mankind: and that he did this from pure love only, and from the highest compa.s.sion for the miseries of fallen nature; although he received nothing but hatred and most heinous ingrat.i.tude in return. "Grant us, blessed G.o.d, grateful and faithful hearts, so that we may be always ready to do good to as many as we possibly can; and that we may never be deterred from acts of charity, by the unthankfulness of the world, ascribing not to ourselves, but to thy name only, the glory of all that we do."

5. (4) It is the highest glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, that out of pure love, he laid down his life for us; that he purchased us with his own blood; that he was obedient to the Father, even unto death; that with the greatest meekness he endured the vilest reproach; and with the utmost patience, bore the pains of the cross. "O G.o.d, our glory, help us, that we may also overcome our enemy with love; that we may subdue our flesh with G.o.dly obedience; bear the reproach of the world with the meekness and long suffering of Christ; obtain the victory through patience; and being thus made strong in the Lord, be more than conquerors through him that loved us!"

6. (5) The highest glory of the blessed Jesus, is his exaltation to the right hand of G.o.d, and the name given him, which is "above every name; that, at the name of Jesus, every knee, both in heaven and in earth, should bow, and all tongues confess him to be their Lord." Phil. 2:9-11.

"Help, O gracious G.o.d! that we may esteem it our highest glory to be made conformable to our ever-blessed Head and Saviour; that so when he shall hereafter appear in power and majesty, we also may appear with him in glory, after we have here endured the contempt of the world, and continued faithful to the end, when every man shall have praise of G.o.d." 1 Cor. 4:5; 2 Cor. 4:17.

7. (6) The glory of Christ the Lord is, that he is the only Head of his Church in general, and of every member thereof in particular; a glorious King of his people; and an everlasting High priest, making intercession for us. "Help us with thy grace, O G.o.d most gracious, that we may evermore account it our greatest glory, that we are members of thy Son, and subjects of his kingdom, and that we may enjoy all the privileges and benefits purchased by his high-priestly intercession, sacrifice, and benediction."

8. (7) Another branch of the glory of Christ is, that G.o.d has most wonderfully displayed and magnified his name throughout the whole world: and has (in opposition to all his enemies, blasphemers, and persecutors, who would not own him to be the Son of G.o.d), in the most public and solemn manner attested his cause, declared him to be his Son by mighty signs and wonders, and established faith in his name amongst many nations and languages. Notwithstanding that G.o.d held his peace for a while, and vailed the glory of his Son under the mystery of the cross; yet did it break forth the more gloriously like the sun. For, "out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, G.o.d hath shined. Our G.o.d shall come, and shall not keep silence." For though G.o.d, who is our glory, may seem now and then to be silent, and to hold his peace when we are insulted and persecuted; yet is there nothing more certain, than that after the short hour of probation, he will no longer keep silence, but with a high hand deliver us from the reproach which we suffered, and "remove his stroke away from us," that we may rejoice in his salvation. Ps. 39:10. However, "it doth not yet appear what we shall then be." 1 John 3:2.

9. The conclusion of the whole is this: It is G.o.d alone who is to be _our glory_; it is not the world, nor wealth, nor honor, nor greatness, nor the arm of flesh, that I may call my glory; but G.o.d, and only G.o.d, is my glory! Wherefore, "let not the wise man glory in his wisdom" (as it is written), "neither let the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord." Jer. 9:23, 24; 1 Cor.

1:31.

Chapter XVII.

Showing How We May Through Christ, And After The Example Of All The Saints, Overcome The Calumnies Of Men.

_Mine enemies reproach me all the day, and they that are mad against me are sworn against me._-PS. 102:8.

Among the many crosses and troubles of a Christian, a false and slanderous tongue is none of the least, as we may evidently see, from the example of Christ himself, whom the Pharisees, with their envenomed tongues, both in his life and at his death, did most maliciously sting.

2. Herein the Lord left a pattern of patience to every Christian, who must not think to escape, since the great Master himself was wounded by malicious tongues. The more conformable any one is to Christ, and the more zealously he follows Christ's steps, the more is he also insulted by false and deceitful tongues. This plainly appears from the example of holy David, who was tormented by slanderers, as he himself complains in the following Psalms: 3, 4, 10, 12, 15, 31, 50, 52, 55, 58, 64, 69, 102, 120, and 140. Indeed, there is no one of the prophets of old who did not have these deadly arrows shot against him by murderous tongues; for "their tongue is an arrow shot out: he speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait." Jer. 9:8. All honest hearts ought, therefore, to beware of back-biters. As he that toucheth a man infected with leprosy, or any infectious distemper, must expect to be so infected; so he that gives ear to lying tongues, too often catches the same distemper.

3. Now, since a Christian is forbidden to retort evil for evil (Rom.

12:17; Matt 5:39), (this agreeing in no wise with the Christian faith); there is no other counsel left, but that by a conscience void of offence, he derives his comfort from those divine oracles with which the Lord has furnished him for that purpose.

4. (1) Let thy first comfort be the example of Christ and of all the saints. It fares no worse with us in this respect, than with Christ our Head, and with all that have ever been most dear to him. Nothing of this kind has befallen us, which has not been before in all ages undergone by his followers. And since the examples of others have generally a strong influence on our lives, and readily suggest themselves to our remembrance in time of trouble; we ought, therefore, to improve all those instances into an encouragement to bear our treatment with patience, for the sake of the joy that usually springs up from the reproach of the cross. Look then upon the Prince of thy salvation, look upon the lives of all the saints of old, those who have been the greatest lights in their generation. Consider the example of Moses, who esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt (Heb. 11:26), and who, by reason of the continual contradictions he underwent, is said to have been a man meek, or afflicted, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. Numb.

12:3. And what shall we say of David? He was truly, in his time, the very mark, as it were, at which all the false tongues in the land shot their murderous arrows. "Mine enemies," said he, "revile me all the day long: and they that are mad against me, are sworn together against me." Ps.

102:8. They affronted him daily with the reproach of his misery, turning him, as it were, into a proverb, and offering him the most heinous indignity that can be offered to a man. What shall we say of Job? How was he upbraided by his friends, and grieved with their tongues! And how fell Daniel, that holy prophet, into an open sepulchre, yea, into a den of lions! Yet how powerfully did the Lord rescue Moses, Job, and Daniel! All these are gone before thee, and their examples, if duly considered, will excite in thee a spirit of holy emulation, and draw thee into the same way of the cross by which they entered into the kingdom of G.o.d. Acts 14:22.

Behold, thy Lord Jesus goeth before thee, pursued with the curses and revilings of the Pharisees! There goeth Moses before, and the faction of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, following behind, with execrations in their mouths, and stones in their hands, to rid themselves of him! Numb. 16.

There is David in sore trials, and Shimei behind, cursing his king! 2 Sam.

16:5. And there are the apostles of our Lord, and an unbelieving mult.i.tude behind, stopping their ears, and running madly upon them.

5. (2) It is not enough, however, slightly and superficially to reflect on the example of the saints; but we must learn also to be _followers_ of them, when we are tried as they were, and in every tribulation copy after their meekness and patience. How shall meekness appear, or how shall patience be exercised, if thou be not contradicted; or if there be none to deride, slander, or vilify thee? Thou must, therefore, patiently take up thy cross with them, and meekly follow the Lord Christ in his steps. Thou art called to _suffer_ with thy Saviour, and not to avenge thyself, not to return evil for evil, not to revile again being reviled, not to threaten being slandered, but quietly to commit thy cause "to him that judgeth righteously." 1 Pet. 2:23. Evil tongues must give an account in the day of judgment of every _idle_ word which they have spoken. Matt. 12:36. And this will at the last day prove a burden heavy enough. Leave all, therefore, to the Lord, to do as he pleaseth, who will not fail to do right. Recompense and vengeance belong to him alone. Deut. 32:35. Fix thine eye on the Lord Jesus: "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so opened he not his mouth." Isa.

53:7.

6. (3) From the examples of the saints, we are, in the next place, to learn a sovereign remedy, which they made use of against the venom of evil tongues. This is _prayer_. They prayed, and so they were healed and comforted. When they were bitterly cursed by their adversaries, they sent up only their cry to G.o.d, saying: "Let them curse; but bless thou." Ps.

109:28; Luke 6:28. Consider the whole Book of Psalms throughout. How did David defend himself with prayer, as with a wall of iron, against false tongues! They are all foolish marksmen, who bend their bow against the innocent; and draw the sword to slay such as are of a right conversation: for their lies and slanders shall return at last upon their own heads, and shall enter into their own bowels; as it is written: "Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken." Ps. 37:15.

All this can be obtained by prayer. Whenever any one prays earnestly against an evil speaker or a liar, it is as if he wrestled and fought with him; even as David wrestled with Goliath (1 Sam. 17:48, 49), or as Moses contended with the Egyptian sorcerers. Ex. 7:12. Here two spirits fight with each other; that is, the prayer of faith proceeding from the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth; and the spirit of lies proceeding from the devil, the father of lies. But all these devilish serpents of the Egyptians shall eventually be subdued, and, as it were, swallowed up by the divine rod of Moses; that is, by prayer.

7. (4) Another remedy against the poison of a wicked tongue, is the frequent _reading and meditating upon the Word of G.o.d_. This is an excellent means of consolation and refreshment, whenever a soul is insulted and pursued by enemies. An upright heart hunted by men of falsehood and malice, is like a hart, whose thirst increases by being hunted; and as this pants after the water brooks (Ps. 42:1), so must a soul in affliction long after the cooling streams of the divine Word, and thirst for the living waters of grace, thereby to be quickened and refreshed. For by this word of grace the Lord revives a drooping soul, speaking to her in a kind and gracious manner. "Blessed are ye," says our Master, "when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely. Rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matt. 5:11, 12. In this saying of our Lord, there is a threefold ground of comfort. 1. Blessed are ye. 2. Rejoice. 3. Great is your reward. Who would not be willing, for the sake of so great and endless a good, to endure here reproach and persecution for a short period? Yea, who would not even rejoice, since he is made by this means a partaker of Christ's sufferings, in order, "that when the glory of Christ shall be revealed," he may also partake with his Lord in that joy? "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye, for the Spirit of glory and of G.o.d resteth upon you." 1 Pet. 4:13, 14. Remember also, that "it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth;" that he "sit alone and keep silence," when he hath anything laid upon him to bear; yea, that he "put his mouth in the dust," and wait in hope; and that he "give his cheek to him that smiteth him," when he is "filled full with reproach.

For the Lord will not cast off for ever." Lam. 3:27-31.