16. THE CHRISTIAN'S TRUST
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In his darkest days, Job said: "Though He slays me, yet will I trust in Him." That was a noble purpose, a blessed resolution.
1. It was called for. There was need of it. Job's circumstances were trying, and demanded that he should take his stand firmly on right ground. It met his case exactly. He knew not what might come; but come what might, He would cleave to the Lord.
2. It was prompt. In it was nothing dilatory. He did not require time and argument to work him up to the good purpose. He uttered it as soon as it was called for. He delayed not, but made haste to flee to God.
3. He had doubtless often said as much before. It is of the very nature of piety to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart. As one said at a later day, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." There is no piety without hearty confidence in God.
4. It was unfeigned. Job meant what he said; and he said what he meant. He was sincere. No hypocrite under like circumstances would have used such language, but would have given up in despair—would have cursed (or renounced) God and died.
5. It was a wise resolution. We never act so foolishly as when we withdraw our confidence from God. "The fearful" are in Scripture said to have their portion with "the abominable, and murderers, and all liars" (Rev. 21:8). The reason why men do not trust God is because they are wicked. They do not know Him, nor love Him. They hate Him. We never act so wisely as when we cast our burden on the Lord.
6. It is true, the man of Uz acted strangely. God's people are a peculiar people. They are not of this world. They savor the things that are of God and not of men. They are born from above. They are taught of God. There was something quite unusual in Job's conduct. Not many of his contemporaries, nor many of any past age, have imitated Job. It is not commonly regarded as wise to risk life and all things on one's faith—one's faith in God.
7. So Job's purpose must have been gracious. By the grace of God he said what he did. In himself Job was as weak as other men. He abhorred himself and repented in dust and ashes. But the Lord was with him and enabled him to witness a good confession. He had help from heaven. It was not by might, nor by power, but by God's Spirit that he chose his ground.
8. His resolution was kept. From it he never swerved. Though he said some things that did not befit him, yet he never drew back from God. The best resolutions, if broken, are good for nothing. To the last Job denied the charge of a base hypocrisy. To the last he stuck to the Lord his God.
9. His purpose and action on it turned out well. The Lord approved in the main Job's conduct. He said to his three friends: "You have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has." "The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning." He did not trust in vain. All ended well. "You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy."
10. The darker our way, the more we should trust. God does sometimes slay His people. He kills and He makes alive. He has the keys of death and of hell. Job thought the Lord would probably cut him off with pining sickness. But yet he could not and would not forsake the Rock of his salvation.
Reader, will you follow Job's example? You cannot do better. To go backward from the Almighty is ruin. To distrust Him is excessive folly. There is not one virtuous feeling involved in departing from the living God. To renounce Jehovah is death. If you trust Him, let no other trust intrude. Renounce all else. Some make gold their confidence; some trust in chariots and some in horses; some in bows and some in some in swords; some in native powers and some in acquirements. But wise and godly men trust only in the Lord their God (Job 31:24; Ps. 20:7; Ps. 44:6; Isa. 40:30-31).
And all should trust in the Lord—even the widow, the fatherless, the friendless, and the man that is ready to perish (Ps. 22:9; Jer. 49:11; Ps. 65:5; 1 Tim. 4:10).
The benefits of such trust are many.
a. This is the only way to great spiritual prosperity. "He who puts his trust in the Lord shall be made fat" (Prov. 28:25). Compare Ps. 31:19.
b. This is the great cure of that fear which brings the soul into bondage. "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid" (Isa. 12:2). Compare Isa. 50:10.
c. If we trust not in the Lord, we cannot expect any fixedness of joy or stability of character. "Those who trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides forever." "The heart of the upright is fixed, trusting in the Lord" (Ps. 125:1; 112:7).
d. Safety is found in no other way than in pious confidence. "He is a shield to all those who trust in Him;" "Whoever puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe" (Ps. 18:30; Prov. 29:25). Compare Dan. 3:28.
e. Our usefulness and comfort depend on our confidence in Jehovah. "Trust in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and verily you shall be fed" (Ps. 37:3).
f. Trust in God is the great solace of old age. So the Psalmist found it. "You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth . . . . Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not" (Ps. 71:5, 18).
Oh, "it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes." When will men so learn and so practice?
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