Chapter 7. A Persuasive to this holy Delight in Religion.
Chapter 7.
A Persuasive to this holy Delight in Religion.
LET me persuade Christians to labour for this holy delight. Think upon the text, "Let your delight be in the law of the Lord." So that I may better enforce the exhortation, I will lay before you several weighty considerations.
1. In the law of God, there is that which may cause delight.
This appears in two things:
(1) Truth. The law of God is a series of truth: "Your word is true from the beginning," Psa 119.160. The two Testaments are the two lips by which the God of truth has spoken to us. Here is a firm basis for faith.
(2) Goodness. "You gave them true laws, good statutes," Neh. 9.13.
Here is truth and goodness: the one is adequate to the understanding, the other to the will. Now, this goodness and excellence of the law of God shines forth in nine particulars.
1. This blessed law of God is a letter sent to us from heaven, penned by the Holy Spirit, and sealed with the blood of Christ. See some passages in the letter: "As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you," Isa 62.5. And, "I will betroth you to me forever in righteousness and in loving-kindness, and in mercies." Hos 2.19. Is it not delightful reading over this loveletter?
2. The law of God is a light "that shines in a dark place," 2Pet 1.19.
It is our pole-star to guide us to heaven; it was David's candle and lantern to walk with, Psa 119.105. Now, light is sweet, Ecc 11.7. It is sad to lack this light; those heathens who do not have the knowledge of God's law, must stumble to hell in the dark. Jerome brings in Tully [i.e., Cicero] with his oratory, and Aristotle with his syllogisms, crying out in hell. Those who leave the light of the word, following the light within them (as some speak), prefer the shining of the glow-worm, above the sun.
3. The law of God is a spiritual mirror to dress our souls by. David often looked at himself in this mirror and got much wisdom.
"Through your precepts I get understanding," Psa 119.104. This mirror both shows us our spots, and takes them away. It may be compared to the laver which was made of the women's mirrors, Exo
38.8. It was both a mirror and a laver; a mirror to look in, and a laver to wash in. So the law of God is a mirror to show us our faces, and a laver to wash away our spots.
4. This law of God contains in it our evidences for heaven. Would we know whether we are heirs of the promise, and whether our names are written in heaven? We must find it in this law book: "He has chosen us to salvation through sanctification," 2The 2.13. "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren," 1Joh 3.14. And isn't it comforting, reading over our evidences?
5. The law of God is a place of ammunition, out of which we must fetch our spiritual artillery to fight against Satan. It may be compared to the "Tower of David built for an armoury, on which there hang a thousand bucklers; all shields of mighty men," Song
4.4. It is called the "sword of the Spirit," Eph 6.17. It is observable that when the devil tempted our Saviour, he ran to scripture for armour: "it is written." Three times Christ wounded the serpent with this sword, Mat 4.3, etc. Isn't it good having our armour about us when the enemy is in the field?
6. The law of God is our spiritual medicine-book, or book of receipts. Basil 24 compares the word of God to an apothecary's shop which has its pan pharmakon;25 when there is any disease growing in the soul, here is a recipe to take. If we find ourselves dead in duty, here is a recipe: "Your word has quickened me," Psa 119.50. If our hearts are hard, here is a recipe: "Is not my word like a fire?"
Jer 23.29; this is able to melt the rock into tenderness. If we grow proud, here is a recipe: "God resists the proud," 1Pet 5.5. If any fresh guilt is contracted, here we have a sovereign medicine to take:
"Sanctify them through your truth," Joh 17.17. The law of God is
like a medicinal-garden where we may walk and gather any herb to expel the poison of sin.
7. The law of God is a divine treasury to enrich us. Here the riches of knowledge and the riches of assurance are to be found, Col 2.2.
In this law of God are scattered many truths, like precious diamonds to adorn the hidden man of the heart. David took the law of God as his heritage, Psa 119.111. In this blessed mine is hidden the true pearl; here we dig till we find heaven.
8. The law of God is our cordial 26 in those times in which we grow faint. And it is a strong cordial, "That we might have strong consolation," Heb 6.18. They are strong consolations indeed that can sweeten affliction, that can turn water into wine, that can stand against the fiery trial. "This is my comfort in affliction, for Your word has quickened me," Psa 119.50. The comforts of the world are weak consolations. A man has comfort in health; but let sickness come, and where is his comfort then? He has comfort in an estate; but let poverty come, and where is his comfort then? These are weak consolations: they cannot bear up against trouble. But the comforts of the Word are strong consolations; they can sweeten the waters of Marah.27 Let sickness come, the comforts of the word can allay and support it; "the inhabitant of the land will not say I am sick," Isa 33.24. Let death come, a Christian can outbrave it: "O death, where is your sting?" 1 Cor. 15.55. And isn't it comforting to have such a jalap 28 lying by, that it can expel the venom of death?
9. The law of God is manna — a heavenly manna that suits itself to every Christian's palate. What does the soul desire? Quickening?
Strengthening? He may find all in this manna.
2. Delight in religion crowns all our services. Therefore David counsels his son Solomon, not only to serve God, but to serve him
"with a willing mind," 1Chr 28.9. Delight in duty is better than duty itself; just as it is worse for a man to delight in sin than to commit it, because there is more of the will in sin. So delight in duty is to be preferred before duty: "O how love I your law!" Psa 119.97. It is not how much we do, but how much we love. Hypocrites may obey God's law, but the saints love his law; this carries away the garland.29
3. Delight in spiritual things evidences grace. It is a sign that we have received the spirit of adoption. An innocent 30 child delights to obey his father. He that is born of God is ennobled by grace, and acts from a principle of innocence. Grace alters the bias of the heart, and turns it from unwilling, to willing. The Spirit of grace is called a free spirit, Psa 51.12, not only because it works freely, but because it makes the heart free and cheerful in obedience. A gracious heart does not act by pure constraint, but by free consent.
4. Delight in religion makes the business of religion easier for us. Delight makes everything easy; there is nothing hard to a willing mind. Delight turns religion into recreation. It is like fire to the sacrifice, like oil to the wheels. Like wind to the sails, it carries us full sail in our duty. He that delights in God's way will never complain of the ruggedness of the way. A child that is going to his father's house, does not complain of a bad way. A Christian is going to heaven in the way of duty: with every prayer, every sacrament, he is a step nearer his Father's house. Surely he is so full of joy in going home, that he will not complain of a bad way. Get this holy delight then. Beloved, we do not have many miles to go; death will shorten our way, let delight sweeten it.
5. All the duties in religion are for our good. We will have the benefit. "If you are wise, you will be wise for yourself," Pro 9.12. God has wrapped his glory and our good together. "I gave them my statutes, which if a man does them, he shall even live in them," Eze
20.11. There is nothing the Lord requires that does not tend to selfpreservation. God bids us, read his word, and why? This word is his
Will and Testament in which He conveys a fair estate to be settled upon us, Col 1.12; "And this is the promise that He has promised us, even eternal life;" 1Joh 2.25. He bids us pray, and this duty carries meat in its mouth. "This is the confidence we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." 1Joh 5.14. Ask what you will, he will sign your petitions. If you had a friend that were to say, "Come to me when you will, I will furnish you with money," would you not delight to visit that friend? God will give up to half his kingdom, (Mar 6.23); and will we not delight in prayer? God bids us
believe; and there is a honey-comb to be found in this precept:
"Believe and you shall be saved." Salvation is the crown that is set upon the head of faith. Well may the apostle say, "His commandments are not grievous." (1Joh 5.3) O then, if religion is so beneficial, if there is such gold to be dug out of this mine, then it should make us delight in the ways of God! What will tempt, if not self-interest?
6. How Christ delighted in the work of our redemption! "Lo, I come, I delight to do your will, O my God," Psa 40.7, 8. It is agreed by expositors that it is spoken mystically of Christ. When he came into the world to sacrifice his life for us, it was a free-will offering. "I have a baptism to be baptised with," Luk 12.50. Christ was to be, as it were, baptised in his own blood; and how he thirsted for that time!
"How I am distressed till it is accomplished!" If Christ so delighted in the work of our redemption, shall we not delight in his service? If he suffered willingly, do we pray unwillingly? If he so cheerfully laid down his life for us, shall we not surrender our lives to him?
Certainly if anything could make Christ repent of shedding his blood, it would be this: to see Christians come off so reluctant in their duty, bringing it as a penance rather than a sacrifice.
7. Delight in God's service makes us resemble the angels in heaven. They serve God with cheerfulness. As soon as God speaks the word, they are ambitious to obey. How they are ravished with delight while they are praising God! In heaven we will be like the angels (Mat 22.30); spiritual delight would make us like them here.
To serve God by constraint, is to be like the devil — all the devils in hell obey God, but it is against their will; they yield a passive obedience. But service which comes off with delight is angelic. This is what we pray for, that "God's will may be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Mat 6.10) and isn't it done with delight there?
8. This delight in God's law will not cause a surfeit.31 Carnal objects often cause loathing and nausea; we soon grow weary of our delights. This is why we change from one sense to another; from colours to music, from music to smell, etc. Too much pleasure is a
pain. But spiritual objects do not overfeed or tire the soul; the more we study in the law of God, the more delight we find. And in this regard, David might say the words of God's mouth were "sweeter to his taste than honey," Psa 119.103 — because one may soon surfeit upon honey, but he can never surfeit with the word of God. Once someone has, like Jeremiah, "found the word and ate it," Jer 15.16, he will not be overfed with it. There is that savouriness in the word that makes a Christian cry out, "Lord, give me this bread evermore,"
Joh. 6.34. There is that sweetness in communion with God, that the soul says, "O that it might always be thus; O that what I now feel, I might ever feel!" He that delights in God, does not complain that he has too much of God, but rather too little. He opens and spreads the sails of his soul to take in more of those heavenly gales. He longs for that time when he will be ever-delighting himself in the sweet and blessed vision of God.
9. Without this holy delight, we weary ourselves, and we weary God too. "Will you weary my God also?" Isa 7.13. Our delighting in God would make him delight in us; but when we begin to say "what a weariness it is to serve the Lord," Mal 1.13, then God is as weary as we are; he is even sick of such services. When duties are a burden to us, they are a burden to God, and what should we do with them? When a man is weary of a burden, he will cast it off. Let all this quicken our delight in God's service.