A word now on the nature of this joy. That is the more necessary since not a few are apt to naturalize and carnalize the same, regarding it as a mere spirit of elation or happy feeling of exhilaration. Instead, it is a heavenly grace, a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), and therefore something spiritual, supernatural, and Divine. God is alike its Author, Object and Maintainer. As the peace which He gives “passeth all understanding,” (Phil. 4:7), so the joy He communicates is said to be “unspeakable,” (1 Pet. 1:8)—not only excelling sense, but beyond full comprehension. It is an elevation of soul after the Lord and of things above. It is a delighting ourselves in God, for since all happiness be the enjoyment of the chief good, then all felicity is bound up in Him. Joy is heaven begun in the saint, for his blessedness here and hereafter differs not in kind but only in degree. It is therefore a joy which is pure and unalloyed. As spiritual love is far more than a sentiment, as God’s peace is more excellent than mere placidity or tranquility of mind, so the joy which Christ imparts to the believer is vastly superior to any natural emotion. It is a state of exultation, a complacence of heart, a full satisfaction of soul as it feasts upon a perfect Object. Spiritual joy results from the heart’s being engaged with the Lord: “My soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in His salvation,” (Ps. 35:9). “Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips,” (Ps. 63:3 & 5). We rejoice that all our sins are forgiven, that we are accepted in the Beloved, that we are made the friends of God, that our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, that we have a building of God eternal in the heavens. Such a joy is something to which the natural man is a total stranger: “Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased,” (Ps. 4:7)—the love of God and His goodness to us in Christ affords a pleasure and a satisfaction which no creature can. Spiritual joy is a very different thing from mere exuberance of spirits or ecstatic feelings, being entirely a holy and supernatural experience. No matter what may be his circumstances in this world, the Christian has ground and matter for rejoicing at all times, and is called upon to do so “evermore” being assured “your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you,” (John 16:22). In view of what has been pointed out in the last two paragraphs, the Christian reader should more readily perceive the radical difference there is between natural hilarity and spiritual joy. The former is incapable of rising above the woes of earth. It wanes in the presence of life’s hardships. Its bloom departs when the sun of prosperity is beclouded. It cannot survive the loss of health or of loved ones. Vastly different is the joy of the Lord. It is restricted neither to surroundings nor temperaments, and fluctuates not with our varying moods or circumstances. Nature may indeed assert itself, as Christ wept by the grave of Lazarus, yet its possessor can say with Paul, “as sorrowful yet always rejoicing.” When the hurricane lashes the surface of the sea, the heart of it is undisturbed. Grace enables us to glory even in tribulations (Rom 5:3). While the bodies of the martyrs were burning at the stake, hallelujahs were on their lips. ~A.W. Pink
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 04:45:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015