Appendix To The Former Discourse.
APPENDIX TO THE FORMER
DISCOURSE.
A CHRISTIAN ON EARTH STILL IN HEAVEN.
When I awake, I am still with You. Psa 139.18.
The usefulness of the Psalms.
The scripture is a spiritual paradise: the book of Psalms is placed as the Tree of Life in the midst of this paradise. The Psalms are not only for delight, but usefulness. They are like the pomegranate tree. which is not only for savour, but also for fruit; or they are like those trees of the sanctuary in Eze 47.12, which are both for food and medicine.
The Psalms are enriched with variety, and suited to every Christian's estate and condition. They are a spiritual panoply and storehouse. If he finds his heart dead, here he may fetch fire; if he is weak in grace, here he may fetch armour; if he is ready to faint, here are cordials lying by. There is no condition you can name that there is not a psalm suited to that condition.
1. In case of sickness. "You will make all his bed in his sickness,"
Psa 41.3; and you may be sure that bed must be soft which God will make. And there is a parallel psalm to this, "My flesh fails," Psa
73.26. My health is declining, "but the Lord is the strength of my heart;" or as the Septuagint renders it, "He is the God of my heart."
2. In case of reproach. "I was a reproach among my enemies," Psa 31.11. "But I trusted in you O Lord; I said, you are my God," ver. 14.
"Blessed be the Lord, for he has shown me his marvellous lovingkindness in a strong city," ver. 21. Here was some sunshine breaking forth out of those black clouds.
3. In case of unkind treatment from friends. "It was not an enemy, for then I could have borne it; but it was you, my equal, my guide, and my acquaintance; we took sweet counsel together," Psa 55.12, 13
— here was the malady. "Cast your burden upon the Lord," ver. 22 — there was the cure. The Chaldee reads it, Cast your hope; the Septuagint, Cast your care. God is power, and therefore he is able to
help; God is mercy, and therefore he is willing to help. "He shall sustain you" — here is God's promise, which is his bond to secure us.
4. In case we are closely surrounded with enemies. There is a psalm suited to this condition: "Lord, how they have increased, who trouble me! They are many who rise up against me," Psa 3.1. "I laid myself down and slept," ver. 5. David, when beset all around with enemies, could lie down and sleep on the soft pillow of a good conscience. And Psa 27.3, "Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;" ver. 5, "He shall hide me in his pavilion; in the shelter of his tabernacle he shall hide me." He will hide me so safe, it will be as if I were in the holy place of the sanctuary, where none but the priest was to enter.
5. In case of poverty. If a Christian's state is brought so low, that like the widow in 1Kng 17.12, he has nothing but a handful of meal, and a little oil left in the cruse, there is a psalm of consolation: "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me," Psa 40.17. "I will bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with bread," Psa 132.15. Here is the dew of a blessing distilled: "You are my portion, O Lord," Psa
119.57. Behold riches in poverty! What does it matter if the water in the bottle is spent, if this well is at hand?
6. In case sin prevails. If through the power of temptation, sin prevails against a child of God, there is a consolatory psalm:
"Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You shall purge them away," Psa 65.3. In the Hebrew it is, You will hide them.
It alludes to the mercy-seat which was covered with the wings of the cherubim. So too, the sins of the godly, when repented of, are covered with the wings of mercy and favour.
7. In case of prayer, and no speedy reply. "I am weary of my crying, my eyes fail while I wait for my God," Psa 69.3. But in the same psalm he yet obtained comfort: "The Lord hears the poor, and He does not despise his prisoners," ver. 33. Would we have fruit before it is ripe? When mercy is ripe, we shall have it; and besides, there is nothing lost by waiting. We send out the golden fleet of prayer to heaven, and the longer this fleet stays out, the greater return it will bring with it. David found it so. Therefore he pulls off
his sackcloth, and puts on the garments of praise: "I will praise the name of God with a song," ver. 30.
8. In case of desertion. This is the poisoned arrow that wounds the heart. But still there is a psalm to turn to: "The Lord will not cast off his people, nor will he forsake his inheritance," Psa 94.14. This is like a star on a dark night, or like the plank and broken pieces of the ship on which Paul and the rest came safely to shore, Act 27.44. God may conceal his love from his children, but he will not take it away, 2Sam
7.15. He may change his providence towards them, but he will not alter his purpose.
9. In case of death, there is a psalm which revives: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil," Psa
23.4. The sting and poison of this serpent is taken away. You are with me: with your power to support; with your grace to sanctify; with your love to sweeten. "Your rod and your staff comfort me." I have the staff of Your promise in the hand of my faith, and with this I can walk through the dark entry of death.
Thus in every condition, David's psalms, like David's harp, may serve to drive away the evil spirit of sadness and uncheerfulness from a Christian. So much concerning the psalms in general.
The Portrait of a Godly Man I come now to the words of the text, "When I awake, I am still with You."
Here you have the very effigy and portraiture of a godly man drawn out: he is one who is still with God. It was David's happiness that he lived above the common rate of men, not only as he was higher in power and dignity, being a king, but higher in sublimity of affection, having his heart and hope raised above the world: "I am still with You." Divines give many reasons why David was called a man after God's heart, but surely this is not the least: because the frame of his heart was so heavenly, this being most agreeable to God's nature and will. David was a man who, as Ambrose 108 says, lived in the world, above the world. As soon as he awoke, he stepped into heaven. David was a seraphic saint, a mortal angel. Like a true bird of paradise, he
seldom touched the earth with his feet. He was least alone when he was most alone. When he awoke he was with God.
Nor was this only when the fit was upon him — having a thought of God and then away. Rather, it was a fixed temper of heart. I am still with You. The pulse of his soul was still beating after God. The hypocrite may have a blush of godliness, which is quickly over, Job
27.10;109 but the constitution of David's soul was heavenly: "I am still with You."
Caution. It is not that David had no diversions of mind. To have the eye always fixed upon God, will be the state of the blessed in heaven; but David was still with God.
1. Because the bias and bent of his spirit was towards God. His heart, like the needle in the compass, pointed heavenward.
2. Because he was more with God than he was anywhere else. As we used to say, a man lives at his house. It is not that urgent occasions won't draw him abroad sometimes, but he is said to live there, because he resides there most.
The words hold forth this proposition:
Doctrine. That it is the sweet temper of a gracious heart to be still with God. "I am still with You." David awoke in heaven. He was ever above. We read in the old law, that those creatures which crept on all fours were to be held an abomination; but those which had wings to fly, and legs to leap with, were accounted clean, Lev 11.20-21. Among the unclean and abominable to God, are those whose souls creep upon the earth. But those who have the legs and wings of grace to mount up with, who are still with God, these are pure and precious in God's eyes.
To illustrate this point, there are three things to be explained and amplified.
1. What it means to be still with God 2. In what sense the soul is still with God
3. Why a gracious heart is still with God 1. What it means to be still with God.
In general, it means to have a sweet intercourse and communion with God; "Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son
Jesus," 1Joh 1.3. In prayer we speak to God; in the sacrament He kisses us with the kisses of his lips — he gives us a private seal of his love.
2. In what sense is the soul said to be still with God?
I answer that the soul is still with God in five manners or ways.
1. By contemplation. So Ainsworth 110 understands the text. I am still with You — that is, by divine contemplation. David's thoughts were ever and again running upon God. So Psa 139.17, "How precious are your thoughts to me, O God!" David's mind was a spiritual mint, and he coined gold most, for most of his thoughts were heavenly. Thoughts are like travellers and passengers in the soul. David's thoughts were still travelling towards the Jerusalem above. In David's dangers, God was still with him; in David's contemplations, he was still with God. Anaxagoras 111 said he was born to contemplate heaven. Thus a Christian is still with God: he is viewing glory — his thoughts are all packed up and have gone there.
2. The soul is still with God by desire. His anchor is cast in heaven, Heb 6.19,112 and he is carried there with the sails of desire. David shot his heart into heaven by desire. He had strong pantings after God: "Whom do I have in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth I desire besides You," Psa 73.25. He doesn't say he had nothing upon earth, for he had his crown and sceptre. But he had nothing he desired like he desired God. "As the hart pants after the water brooks, so my soul pants after You, O God," Psa 42.1. The hart, as historians observe, is a dry, thirsty creature, especially when chased by the hunter. Then its nature is on fire, and it must have water to quench it. Thus the pious soul pants after the refreshing streams of Christ's blood. And these desires of a Christian are rightly terminated: he desires conformity to Christ in grace, as well as communion with him in glory. He desires the Sun of righteousness, not only for its refreshing beams, but also for His healing wings. He desires not only Christ's presence, but also his image. 'Lord give me
yourself, that I may be more holy; what would I do in heaven with this unholy heart? What converse could I have with God or angels?'
Thus the soul is still with God by desire; and he desires not only mercy, but grace.
3. The soul is still with God by love. Where a man's love is, there he is. What an egress and expansion of heart there is toward that which we love. Bonaventure 113 calls love the wing of the soul; on this wing
David flew to heaven. "I am still with You." Love has this property: it unites at a distance; it fixes the heart upon the object. Thus the lovesick spouse, when she could not see Christ, she embraced him in her affections. When her eye was not upon him, her love was still upon him: "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?" Song 3.3. Christ, my love, is crucified, said Ignatius.114 As Christ was fastened to the cross, so he is fastened to a Christian's heart. A true saint is like the tribe of Manasseh: half of the tribe was on this side of the Jordan, and half on the other side, in the holy land, Jos 1.14. So it is with a saint: half of him is on this side, and half in the holy land. His flesh is on earth, his heart is in heaven. As it was said by Paul, "Whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell," 2Cor 12.2. So it may be said of a good Christian, that it is hard to tell whether he is in the body or out of it. His love is in heaven; he is lodged in the tree of life. The fire of love boils the heart as high as heaven.
4. The soul is still with God by faith. Unbelief is called "drawing back from God," Heb 10.39; and faith is called "drawing near to God," Heb 10.22. By an eye of faith, through the perspective glass of a promise, we look into heaven. The people of Israel stood in the outer court of the temple, but the high priest "entered within the veil," into the holy of holies. Thus the senses stand in the outer court of the body, but faith enters within the veil (Heb 6.19). It sees Christ clothed with the robe of our human nature, and sitting down in glory above the angels. Faith embraces Christ. Austin asks the question,
How shall I put out a long arm to reach Christ in heaven? Believe, he says, and you have laid hold on him. Faith is the golden clasp that knits us to Christ. By faith we put on Christ as a garment, Rom 13.14.
By faith we receive and conceive him as food, Col 2.6.115 By faith we
are ingrafted into him like scions grafted into the stock, Joh 15.5.
Indeed a believer's life is outside of himself. He lives more in Christ than he lives in himself, just as the beam lives in the sun, and as the branch in the root, Col 3.3.116 Even as Judah said concerning Jacob,
"his life is bound up in the lad's life," Gen 44.30, so a believer's life is bound up in Christ. And thus the gracious soul is ever with God, by faith.
5. A Christian is still with God in the whole course and tenor of his life. Not only is his heart in heaven, but his conversation too, Phi
3.20.117 Our deportment and carriage is in heaven; we walk as citizens of that city. It is said of Christ, "his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem," Luk 9.53. A good Christian should be known by his face. His outward carriage and demeanour should show that he is going to the Jerusalem above. Socrates being asked what country he was from, answered that he was a citizen of the world. A true saint is a citizen of heaven. It is known what place he belongs to by his speech, habit, and gesture. There is a kind of angelic brightness on him. He shines in holiness, as Moses' face shone when he had been with God on the mount. He is still doing angels' work; his life is a veritable heaven on earth. "Noah walked with God," Gen
6.9. And in this sense, the pious soul is still with God: he walks unweariedly with God. Though he meets with some rubs and difficulties on the way, yet he still keeps his walk.
And thus we have seen in what sense a gracious Soul is still with God. The eagle may sometimes sit on a low bough, but her nest is built high, Job 39.27. A Christian walks on the surface of the earth, but his nest is built upon the Rock, Christ. The moon is seen in the water, yet it is seated in the firmament. So too, a Christian is seen here below, but he is above — "he is still with God."
3. Why a gracious heart is still with God.
There are five reasons why it is so.
1. From the nature of grace. Grace carries the soul up towards God.
Grace is like fire; it is the nature of fire to ascend. You who lie grovelling on the earth, feeding like the serpent on dust, or like eels
wrapping yourselves in the mud and slime of the world, if you had that new and holy principle of grace infused, your souls would spark upwards, you would "mount up to heaven like eagles," Isa 40.31. If you had the sharp eye of faith to see Christ, you would soon have the swift wing of desire to fly to him.
2. From the magnetic power of God's Spirit. The Spirit has not only a soul-purifying, but a soul-elevating power. As the sun exhales and draws the vapours up from the earth, so the Spirit draws the heart up to God; "The Spirit lifted me up," Eze 3.14. Though there is grace in the heart which would still be mounting upward, yet there is much corruption to pull us down. A Christian in this life is both checked and spurred; grace spurs him forward in his way to heaven, and then corruption checks him. Now, here the Spirit comes in and draws the heart up to God — which is as mighty a power as if you saw a millstone drawn up into the sun 3. Because God is the centre of the soul; and where should the heart ever be but at its centre? While the heart is on the earth it shakes and trembles — like the needle in a compass — till it turns to God. God is the proper orb where the soul fixes. A Christian rests in God as the bee rests in the hive, and the bird rests in the nest. "Return to your rest, O my soul," Psa 116.7. Noah's dove was never well, till it was in the ark. The ark was a type of Christ.
4. Because of those dear relations the soul has to God. There are all the terms of consanguinity.118 God is our Father, Joh 20.17; and where should the child be but with its father? He is our husband, Isa
54.5; and where should the wife be but with her husband? He is our friend, Joh 15.15; now, friends desire to still be together. God is our rock, 2Sam 22.2; and where should Christ's doves be but in the clefts of this blessed rock? God is the saint's treasure, and "where their treasure is, there their hearts will be also." (Mat 6.21)
5. Because of those rare excellencies which are in God.
(1) FULNESS. Everyone desires to be at a full fountain. "For it pleased the Father that in him all fulness should dwell," Col 1.19.
Observe, Christ is not only said to be fulness in the concrete, but
fulness in the abstract; indeed, in him is all fulness. A vessel may be full of water, but that is not all fulness: it is not full of wine. A chest may be full of silver, but that is not all fulness: it is not full of pearl.
But in Christ is all fulness. He is bread to strengthen, Joh 6.48, wine to comfort, Joh 15.1, and gold to enrich, Rev 3.18. He is all, and in all, Col 3.11. 119
Thus there is a variety of fulness in the Lord Jesus. O Christian, what is it you need? Do you want quickening grace? Christ is the prince of life, Act 3.15. Do you want healing grace? Christ has made a medicine of his own body to cure you, Isa 53.5. Do you want cleansing grace? There is the bath of his blood to wash you: "The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sin," 1Joh 1.7. Let not the poets tell us of their Aonia and Kastalia, fountains in which they supposed their nymphs had washed; for these waters distilled out of Christ's side are infinitely more pure. Pliny says that the watercourses of Rome are the world's wonder. Oh, if he had known these sacred water-courses in Christ's blood, he would have been struck with admiration! And do you wonder that the soul is still with Christ, when there is all fulness in him?
No, but that all is not all. The apostle goes further. "It pleased the Father that in him all fulness should dwell," (Col 1.19). To note the duration of this fulness; it is not transient, but immanent. This fulness is not in Christ, like water in the pipe or spout. The spout may be full of water, but it doesn't continue there; water doesn't dwell in the spout. But this fulness is in Christ, as light is in the sun
— it dwells there. Christ's fulness is a never-failing fulness. What more can be said?
Indeed, but the apostle carries it yet higher. "In him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead," (Col 2.9). If Christ had all the fulness of the creation, the treasures of the earth, the holiness of the angels, this still could not satisfy the soul. In him there is the fulness of the Godhead: the riches of the Deity are in him. And the communication of this blessed fulness, Eph 3.19,120 — so far as there is a capacity to receive it — is what satisfies the soul and fills it
brim-full. If there is such a plenitude and fulness in God, no wonder a gracious heart desires to be still with God!
(2) SWEETNESS. God is love, 1Joh 4.8. Everyone desires to be with those from whom they receive the most love. The Lord often makes himself known to the soul in an ordinance, as he did to the disciples in the breaking of bread [on the road to Emmaus], Luk 24.35. He manifests himself in the comforts of his Spirit, which are so sweet and ravishing, that they surpass all understanding, Gal 5.22.121 And do you wonder that the soul is so strongly carried after God? Truly, if the soul is still with God, to speak with reverence, it is owing to God. He gives those jewels and bracelets, those love-tokens, so that the soul cannot help but desire to be still with God.
USE 1. To show us an art of how to be in heaven before our time; namely, by being still with God. A good Christian begins his heaven here. Grace translates him into the paradise of God. Elijah left his mantle behind, but he was taken up in a fiery chariot. So it is with a saint: the mantle of the flesh is left behind, but his soul is carried up in a fiery chariot of love.
USE 2. For reproof; and this consists of two branches.
Branch 1. It reproves those who are never with God: they live "without God in the world," Eph 2.12. It is the characteristic mark of a wicked man that God is not in all his thoughts, Psa 10.4. He never thinks of God, unless it is with horror and amazement — like the prisoner thinks of the judge and the courts. And here, two sorts of sinners are indicted:
(1) Those who are still with their sins. A child of God, though sin is with him, yet he is not with sin; his will is against sin. "That which I do, I do not allow," Rom 7.15. He would gladly shake off this viper into the fire (Act 28.5). He forsakes sin, but sin will not forsake him. So that, although sin is with him, he is not with sin. But a wicked man and sin are together, like two lovers mutually solacing and embracing. A wicked man is "a worker of iniquity," Luk 13.27, like a workman who follows his trade in his shop.
(2) Those who are still with the world. It is considered almost a miracle to find a diamond in a vein of gold. And it is just as great a miracle to find Christ, that precious stone, in an earthly heart. The world is men's Diana: "they mind earthly things," Phi 3.19. Like the ostrich, which cannot fly high (though she has wings) because her body is so heavy, most men are so weighed down with thick clay
(Hab 2.6)122 that they cannot soar aloft. They are like Saul, hidden among the stuff, 1Sam 10.22; or like Sisera, who had his head nailed to the earth, Jdg 4.21 — so their hearts are nailed to the earth. Absalom's beauty stole away the hearts of Israel from their king, 2Sam 15.6. And the world's bewitching beauty steals men's hearts away from God. It is sad when the husband sends his wife a jewel, and she falls so in love with the jewel, that she forgets her husband. An estate should be a loadstone to draw men nearer to God; but it is often a millstone to sink them to hell.
There can be a moderate use of these things, but there is danger in excess use. The bee may suck a little honey from the leaf, but put it in a barrel of honey, and it dies. Christians must stave off the world, so that it doesn't get into their hearts, Psa 62.10.123 Water is useful to the ship, and helps it sail better to the haven. But if water gets into the ship, and it is not pumped out at the leak, it drowns the ship. So too, riches are useful and convenient for our passage; we sail more comfortably with them through the troubles of this world. But if water gets into the ship — if the love of riches gets into the heart — then we are drowned by them, 1Tim 6.9.124
Branch 2. It reproves those who are seldom with God. They are sometimes with God, but not still with God. The shell-fish, as naturalists observe, has so little life in it, and moves so slowly, that it is hard to determine if it lives a vegetative or a sensitive life. The same may be said of many Christians: their motion heavenward is so slow and inconstant, that we can hardly know if the life of grace is in them or not — they are seldom with God. "You have left your first love, Rev 2.4. Many professors have almost lost their acquaintance with God. There was a time when they could weep at a sermon — but now these wells are stopped up. There was a time when they were
tender about sin; the least hair of it would make their eye weep; the least sin would afflict their conscience — but now they can digest this poison. There was a time when they trembled at the threatenings of the word — but now, with the leviathan, they can "laugh at the shaking of a spear," Job 41.29. There was a time when they "called the sabbath a delight," Isa 58.13; it was the queen of days. How they waited with joy for the rising of the Sun of Righteousness on that day! What pantings of their soul after God! What a mounting up of affections! But now the case is altered: "What a weariness it is to serve the Lord!" Mal 1.13.
There was a time when they delighted in the word (indeed it is a mirror that mends the eyes of those who look into it). But now they have laid it aside; they seldom look in this mirror. There was a time when they could offer up strong cries in prayer, Heb 5.7. But now the wings of prayer are clipped. They come like cold suitors to God, with their petitions cooling between their lips, as if they would teach God to deny them. Oh why have you quit your communion with God?!
"What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me?" Jer 2.5. Let Christians lay this sadly to heart:
"Remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do your first works," Rev 2.5. You are in a spiritual lethargy: O never leave till your hearts are wound up to such a heavenly frame as David had here: "When I awake, I am still with You." And that brings me to the next use.
USE 3. The third use is exhortation. To persuade all those who profess they are Christians, to imitate this blessed pattern in the text:
"be still with God." You will never go to heaven when you die, unless you begin heaven here. The church in the Revelation has a crown of stars on her head, and the moon under her feet, Rev 12.1. Christ is not to be found in the furrows, but on the pinnacle.
Now, so that you may get your hearts loosened from these things below, and be still with God, I will propound only two arguments.
The first argument is to consider how unworthy it is for a Christian to have his heart set upon the world.
(1) It is unworthy of his SOUL. The soul is dignified with honour. It is a noble coin that has a divine impress stamped on it: it is capable of communion with God and angels. Now, it is too far below a man to spend the affections and operations of this heaven-born soul on worthless things. It is as if one were to embroider sackcloth with gold, or set a diamond in clay.
(2) It is unworthy of his PROFESSION. "Do you seek great things for yourself?" Jer 45.5. What! Baruch! You who are a godly man! A Levite! Oh how sordid it is for someone who has his hope in heaven, to have his heart set upon the earth! It is as if a king were to leave his throne to follow the plough; or as if a man were to leave a goldmine to dig in a gravel-pit. The lapwing has a crown on her head, and yet it feeds on dung. This is a fit emblem for those who have a crown of profession shining on their head, and yet feed with eagerness on these things below. Christians should deny themselves, but not undervalue themselves; they should be humble, but not base. If Alexander would not exercise at the Olympics because it was too far below him (kings do not usually run races), shall those then who are the holy seed, the heirs of glory, disparage themselves by too eager a pursuit of these contemptible things?
The second argument to persuade us to be still with God, is to consider what a rare and excellent life this is. This will appear in four particulars.
(1) To be still with God is the most NOBLE life. It is as much above the life of reason, as reason is above the life of a plant. The true
Christian is like a star in the highest orb: he looks no lower than a crown. Grace puts high thoughts, princely affections, and a kind of heavenly ambition into the soul. Grace raises a Christian above himself; it makes him like Caleb, a man of another spirit, Num
14.24. He lives in the altitudes; his thoughts are lodged among angels and the "spirits of just men made perfect," (Heb 12.23). And so, isn't this the most noble life — to be still with God? The academics compare the soul of man to a fowl mounting up with her
wings in the air. Thus with the wings of grace, the soul flies aloft, and takes a prospect 125 of heaven.
(2) To be still with God is the most SATISFYING life; nothing else will be so. "All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full," Ecc
1.7. Let all the golden streams of worldly delights run into the heart of man, yet the heart is not full. Strain out the quintessence of the creature, and it turns to froth, "Vanity of vanities," Ecc 1.2. But in God there is sweet satisfaction and contentment. My soul will be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, Psa 63.5. Here is a hive of sweetness, a mirror of beauty, a magazine of riches. Here is the river of pleasure, where the soul bathes with infinite delight, Psa
36.8. And this river has a fountain at the bottom: "For with you is the fountain of life," ver. 9. And is this not most satisfactory? It is a wise observation of Picus Mirandula,126 that in the creation of the world, God gave the water to the fish, the earth to the beasts, and the air to the fowls. Afterward, He made man in his own image, so that man might say, "Lord, there is nothing on earth to be desired besides You." What can satisfy my soul, but to be still with You?
(3) To be still with God is the most COMFORTABLE life. What sweet harmony and music is in such a soul! The bird, the higher it takes flight, the sweeter it sings. So too, the higher the soul is raised above the world, the sweeter joy it has. How the heart is inflamed in prayer! How is it ravished in holy meditation! What joy and peace there are in believing! (Rom 15.13). And these joys are those honeystreams which flow out of the rock, Christ. Tell me, is it not comfortable to be in heaven? The one who is still with God, carries heaven about with him. He has those prelibations and tastes of God's love, which are the beginnings of heaven, Rom 8.23.127 So sweet is this kind of life, that it can drip sweetness into the troubles and disquiets of the world, such that we are scarcely sensible of them. It can turn the prison into a paradise; the furnace into a festival. It can sweeten death. A soul elevated by grace can rejoice to think of dying: death will but cut the string, and the soul — that bird of paradise — will fly away and be at rest.
(4) To be still with God is the most DURABLE life. The life of sense will fail. We must shortly bid farewell to all our outward comforts; these blossoms will drop off. We read of a "sea of glass mingled with fire," Rev 15.2. Bullinger,128 and other learned expositors, understand "sea of glass" to mean the world. Indeed it is a fit emblem for it. The world is a sea, and it is seldom calm. It is a sea of glass, slippery; and this glass is mingled with fire, to show that it has a perishable and consuming nature. Riches take wings, and relations take wings. But for you — who by the wings of grace are still soaring aloft — this life shall never have an end. It is the beginning of an eternal life. Happiness is but the cream of holiness.
You who are still with God, shall ever be with the Lord, 1The 4.17.
You shall see God in all His embroidered robes of majesty. "We shall see him as he is," 1Joh 3.2. And this sight will be ravishing, and full of glory. O then, is this not the best kind of life? He who is still with God when he awakes, shall ever be with the Lord when he goes to sleep at death.
Ques: But how will I arrive at this blessed frame of heart, to be still with God?
Ans. 1. Get a right judgment. It is a great matter to have the judgment set right. Get a right judgment of sin, and you will never be with sin. Get a right judgment of God, and you will be still with him.
In God are combined all excellences. How sweet is his love! How satisfying is his presence! But as the painter drew a veil over Agamemnon's face, because the greatness of his grief for his daughter Iphigenia could not be expressed, so when I speak of the glorious perfections in God, I must draw a veil. Neither pen nor pencil can set them forth in their orient lustre; the angels must be silent here.
Ans. 2. If you would be still with God, then watch over your hearts every day. Lock up your hearts with God every morning, and give him the key. Otherwise the heart will be sneaking out to vanity. Lord, says Bernard, there is nothing more flitting than my heart. Keep watch and ward there. Christians, look to your hearts especially after
an ordinance: when you have been with God in duty, then expect a temptation. Physicians say that the body must be more carefully looked after when it comes out of a hot bath; for the pores being open, it is in more danger of catching cold. After your spiritual bathing in an ordinance, when you have been at a sermon or a sacrament, then take heed that you don't catch cold.
Ans. 3. Beware of being remiss in duty. When you begin to slacken the reins, and abate your former heat and vigour in religion, a deadness sneaks insensibly upon the heart; and by degrees, a sad estrangement between God and the soul arises. And brethren, how hard a work you will find it to get your hearts up again, once they are down! A weighty stone that has been rolled up to the top of a steep hill, and then falls down to the bottom, how hard it is to get it up again! 129 O take heed of a dull, lazy temper in God's service. We are bid to be "fervent in spirit," Rom 12.11. The Athenians inquired at the oracle of Apollo, why their plagues continued for so long. The oracle answered them that they must double their sacrifices: those who would hold constant communion with God, must double their devotion. They must be much in prayer, and mighty in prayer. We read that the coals were to be put to the incense, Lev 16.13. Incense was a type of prayer; and putting the coals to the incense was to show that the heart of a Christian ought to be inflamed in holy services.
Nothing is more dangerous than a plodding formality.
Ans. 4. If you would be still with God, then be much in the communion of saints. Many Christians live as if this article were blotted out of their creed. How one saint whets and sharpens another! Just as vain company cools good affections, so by being in the communion of saints, we are warmed and quickened. Be often among the spices, and you will smell of them.
These directions being observed, we will be able to keep our acquaintance with God, and may arrive at this same blessed frame, as David had here:
"When I awake, I am still with You."
Notes [←1] That is, a skull and crossbones, warning of poison or death.
[←2] An abrupt, emphatic, and emotional interjection.
[←3] Tit 2.7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility;
[←4] 2Cor 11.2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
[←5] Originally "livery" – the outward identifying dress of a servant.
[←6] Mat 7.22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' etc.,
[←7] Pindar: a Greek lyric poet remembered for his odes (518?-438? BC)
[←8] Heb 13.20-21.
[←9] Psa 16.8 I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
[←10] Act 24.16 "This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. Heb 5.14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
[←11] This was written Nov 7, 1657. Afterwards, Reynolds was bishop of Norwich.
[←12] The Hebrew shav means empty, vain, or false.
[←13] When fresh ale or spirits were available at a tavern, they would "hang out the bush" to let customers know.
[←14] "Pass current" means "be acceptable." By faith in Christ, we and our works are made acceptable to God.
[←15] That is, the absence, lack, or deprivation of something – not only sins of omission, but of inaction.
[←16] Here, religion means piety or godliness – living in conformity to God's word.
[←17] 2Cor 5.12 ...that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart.
[←18] A characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something.
[←19] Num 14.24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
[←20] That is, enlivening grace.
[←21] By an authority which cannot be questioned — A tenure held immediately from the king.
[←22] 1Joh 2.17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
[←23] That is, earthly: everything under the moon.
[←24] Basil "the Great" (329-379), one of the Cappadocian bishops.
[←25] A book containing an account of remedies for all diseases.
[←26] Strong highly flavored sweet liquor that warms, comforts, and stimulates.
[←27] Exo 15.23-25 – where the bitter undrinkable waters were made sweet.
[←28] A purging medicine.
[←29] That is, the trophy.
[←30] Originally, "ingenuous" meaning honest, genuine, artless; not devious or deceitful.
[←31] Filled to excess; over-indulgence.
[←32] Conscripted: forced into military service.
[←33] At the end of the 4th cent, fanatics made their appearance in Syria, who were known as Messalians, praying people.
[←34] Drusius – Johannes van den Driesche (1550-1616); Flemish exegete.
[←35] "The dogs by the river Nilus' side, being thirsty, lap hastily as they run along the shore." Sir Kenelm Digby, The Nature of Bodies (1644).
[←36] Ride post: mail delivery on horseback, rapidly going from one house to the next.
[←37] Joh 5.2-3 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
[←38] Jos 1.5 "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Heb 13.5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
[←39] Deu 5.15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
[←40] Rising like the sun.
[←41] "Pass current" means "be acceptable."
[←42] A dead axle on a carriage or wagon that has terminal spindles on which the wheels revolve.
[←43] Heb 11.17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
[←44] Jerome Cardan (1501-1576) De Subtilitate. Gerolamo Cardano was an Italian mathematician, physician, astrologer, philosopher and gambler. He wrote more than
200 works on various subjects.
[←45] A distinguished painter was anxious to sketch Alexander the Great of Macedon.
Alexander had a scar on his right brow, which he received in battle. The painter was at a loss how to sketch a precise likeness and yet avoid this repulsive scar. He had
Alexander sit on his throne in a musing attitude, with his finger placed on the scar, and his elbow resting on the side of the throne. Rev Dr. Cumming, The Christian
Witness, (London 1845), vol 2, p. 297.
[←46] Joh 21.15-19.
[←47] Augustine of Hippo (354-430).
[←48] An Athenian lawmaker whose code of laws prescribed death for almost every offense
(c. 7th century BC)
[←49] Damocles was a flatterer in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse. To teach him a lesson, Dionysius offered to switch places with Damocles for a day. A banquet was held where Damocles enjoyed being treated like a king. Only at the end of the meal did he look up and notice a sharpened sword hanging directly above his head, held by a single horse-hair. He lost his appetite and no longer wanted to be so fortunate. A metaphor of living in fear of impending doom.
[←50] German theologian and Luther's successor as leader of the Reformation in Germany
(1497-1560).
[←51] Perhaps John Demascene of Damascus (676-754?).
[←52] Pro 14.16 A wise man fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is selfconfident.
[←53] To lower the sails of your boat, as in saluting, or when taken in tow; hence, to bow or submit to.
[←54] That is, a sharpening stone – here it means an incentive to prepare the heart.
[←55] A made-up Christian who may look like gold, but is made of another substance entirely.
[←56] Theodore Beza (1519-1605) French Protestant theologian; disciple of John Calvin.
[←57] Seleucus I Nicator (358-281 BC); infantry general under Alexander the Great; founded the Seleucid Empire.
[←58] To abandon to eternal damnation; to reject or condemn.
[←59] Or dram: an eighth ounce; a pinch.
[←60] 2Cor 6.8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;
[←61] Followers of Photinus (Serbian bishop and heretic, d. 376) who also denied the deity of Christ.
[←62] (Gr. myth.) It is often told the other way around: Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon, loved the mortal Endymion. She believed him to be so beautiful that she asked
Endymion's father, Zeus, to grant him eternal youth so he would never leave her. Zeus granted her wish and put him into an eternal sleep.
[←63] Quintus Curtius Rufus, a 1st century Roman historian. His only known work is
"Histories of Alexander the Great."
[←64] That is, the garland placed on the victor's head is forever: the race is now over and the victory is won. In the same way, to enter heaven, is to enter into eternal security: none can ever pluck us from Christ's hand, Joh 10.28. And so, to have heaven "only for a day" would be impossible — to have it even for a day is to have it for eternity.
[←65] Greek painter, born at Heraclea in southern Italy, fifth century BC.
[←66] 1Ch 16.4 And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel:
[←67] Benefits and presents given to servants.
[←68] Psa 19.11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.
[←69] The edge of a fabric that is woven so that it will not ravel or fray.
[←70] (c. 400-325 BC) Greek philosopher and Cynic.
[←71] Luk 10.40 But Martha was distracted with much serving Luk 12.20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'
[←72] Sophisticate: to alter and make impure, as with the intention to deceive.
[←73] "...that gall of anger that swarms like smoke inside of a man's heart and becomes a thing sweeter to him by far than the dripping of honey." ― Homer, The Iliad, book 18,
78-147.
[←74] Any foodstuff made by combining different ingredients, preferably into a tasty, nourishing dish.
[←75] Or "My ruin!"
[←76] John Gerson (1363-1429), reformer and mystic; Chancellor of the University of Paris.
[←77] Gal 5.17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
[←78] Luk 14.26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
[←79] Rom 8.13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death [i.e., mortify] the deeds of the body, you will live.
[←80] The sharpening stone, or incentive – whatever incites or induces us to action.
[←81] Phi 3.8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
[←82] In appearance, like the sun rising.
[←83] Pambo (d. c.375): a founder of the Nitrian Desert monastery in Egypt, and a famed disciple of Anthony the Great.
[←84] That is transformation, Rom 12.2.
[←85] The remnants or left-overs.
[←86] Desire, ardour, force.
[←87] Greek philosopher and astronomer (624-546 BC) who was said by Aristotle to be the founder of physical science.
[←88] What needs to be eaten to sustain a person's body; necessary food for nourishment.
[←89] Hos 12.4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
[←90] Law: an extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion; used only when all other judicial remedies fail.
[←91] The leading units moving at the head of an army.
[←92] Originally, "fish for gudgeons."
[←93] State of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.
[←94] 1Joh 3.2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
[←95] An early telescope.
[←96] This universal remedy that is precious for all.
[←97] Creator of Sparta's Constitution.
[←98] The ancient name of Sparta.
[←99] The process of using your mind to consider something carefully.
[←100] Coining – which is to make up or invent something.
[←101] A mirror.
[←102] Cassian, John (360-435), or John the Ascetic; a Roman monk noted for his mystical writings.
[←103] Deu 28.9 "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways."
[←104] Epiphanius of Salamis (c.310–403) bishop of Salamis, Cyprus; best known for composing the Panarion, a very large compendium of the heresies up to his own time.
[←105] Gregory of Nazianzus (c.329390), Archbishop of Constantinople.
[←106] Lush and flourishing vegetation – fruitfulness.
[←107] Douay-Rheims Psa 72.26.
[←108] Bishop of Milan (340?-397); the first Church Father born and raised in the Christian faith. This is taken from his letter to Horontianus, Letters (1881). pp. 269-324. Letter
44 (AD 389).
[←109] Job 27.10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God?
[←110] Henry Ainsworth (1571–1622).
[←111] An Athenian philosopher who maintained that everything is composed of very small particles that were arranged by some eternal intelligence (500-428 BC).
[←112] Heb 6.19 This hope we have is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil;
[←113] Bonaventure (1221-1274); born Giovanni di Fidanza, Italian scholastic theologian.
[←114] Bishop of Antioch who was martyred under the Roman Emperor Trajan (died 110).
[←115] Col 2.6 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him; Joh
6.55-56 "For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 "He who eats
My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." Joh 15.10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.
[←116] Col 3.3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
[←117] Phil 3.20 For our citizenship [or conversation – the conduct of our life] is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
[←118] A blood relation.
[←119] Alluding to Psa 104.14-15 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man's heart.
[←120] Eph 3.19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
[←121] The gifts of the Spirit include the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, Phi
4.7.
[←122] The KJV uses "thick clay"; other translations use heavy debt or pledges. Drusius notes that gold was called "yellow earth" (sticky clay), and that the Romans cursed a greedy man by wishing he be buried under heavy clay at death.
[←123] Psa 62.10 Do not trust in oppression, Nor vainly hope in robbery; If riches increase,
Do not set your heart on them.
[←124] 1Tim 6.9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
[←125] A prospect is a distant view of a wide area, esp. one that is pleasant to look at.
[←126] Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) an Italian Renaissance philosopher.
At the age of 23, he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, natural philosophy, and magic against all comers, for which he wrote the famous Oration on the Dignity of Man, which has been called the "Manifesto of the Renaissance."
[←127] Rom 8.23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
[←128] Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575); Swiss reformer, successor to Huldrych Zwingli at Zurich.
[←129] In Greek mythology Sisyphus was a king of Corinth. He was punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever.