III. A sense of satisfaction
III. A sense of satisfaction
Faith is a state of satisfaction. Persons sometimes say: I am trusting, but I am not satisfied. That is impossible for the soul that is trusting for salvation is satisfied with salvation by promise, and anticipates soon salvation by power. If your home were under order from the court to be sold tomorrow, to cancel a judgment against you for one thousand dollars, and you had no money wherewith to redeem it, and a friend should, tonight, present you with a note on the Bank of England for one thousand dollars, do you think you would say to him: I am not satisfied? Would you feel, I havent any money ! Would you not rather experience the sweetest satisfaction? and would you not joyfully tell your wife and children: I have one thousand dollars; our home is saved? Yet that bank-note is only a piece of paper; it is neither silver nor gold; the judgment is still upon your home, but somehow that banknote commands so implicitly your confidence that you are most delightfully satisfied. So when the soul accepts in like faith any one of Heavens bank-notes of promise as the pledge of either pardon, purity, or power, a satisfaction takes possession of the heart that is unspeakable and full of glory; for Heavens bank of grace can not fail, and Heavens paper is payable at sight. The value of the witness of faith has been greatly underestimated in the instruction of seekers of salvation. It should be emphasized as the objective point in seeking salvation. The struggle of most seeking hearts is for the witness of the Holy Spirit, and in most cases this is so prominent in their minds as to hinder them more than any other thing in attaining it. It is the vain struggle to have God do his work, which he will certainly do without our anxiety or struggle about it. The real struggle should be for the seeking heart to do its part; that is, to believe unto salvation, and so attain the witness of faith which always brings a glorious rest and satisfaction of soul. We have seen souls come into the joy of pardon or full salvation, receiving the witness of the Holy Spirit thereto.
Then we have seen these in an hour, a day, or a week, doubting the divine work wrought in their hearts; some even casting away their confidence and forfeiting their pardon, or cleansing. The cause of this was evident. When their emotions subsided, the tempter came and said: Where is your salvation? you have no feeling; and not having clearly discerned that they were saved by faith, they concluded they were deceived, and lapsed into darkness. Suppose they had learned that only trusting they were saved; then when an abatement of the joy came which was concomitant to the witness of the Holy Spirit, they would have repelled the temptation of the adversary by simply singing, I am trusting, Lord, in thee, and they would not only have retained the rest of faith, but there would doubtless have come a renewed and more powerful witness of the Holy Spirit. Here is a spiritual axiom that is invaluable: The witness of faith attained, the witness of the Holy Spirit always follows; and the witness of faith maintained, retains and increases the power of the witness of the Holy Spirit.
A man, in a meeting I held, had been very clearly and powerfully converted. It was a wonderful conversion, such as no one should ever doubt; but within three days I found him bordering on despair, walking in darkness, and about to conclude that he was not saved. The intensity of heart emotion, and the corresponding nervous excitement, which the first realization of saving grace brought, had subsided, and he feared that it had all been excitement and no salvation. I said to him: Are you still given to God? He replied: Yes. Have you ceased to trust Jesus to save you? O! said he, that was the way I was saved, wasnt it? I just trusted. O, I will trust on! and instantly rest came again into his heart, and in a few moments the Holy Spirits witness was renewed in great power to him, and ever since he has been a stable and growing Christian, and now walks in the blessing of perfect cleansing, through the blood of the Lamb, by faith. It is said, one reason why the work of conversion and entire sanctification under Mrs.
Phoebe Palmer has such permanence in the hearts of those whom she led to Christ, was because she emphasized so constantly the faith that saves.
Whosoever believeth shall not make haste.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing!