A Secret and Yet No Secret 2

Have you not to mourn frequently, that you are not so much for Christ as you could wish to be? Though you recognize the truth of the text, "You are not your own, but are bought with a price," do you feel its force as you ought to do, in the actions which you perform for Christ? Are they all wholly for him? Could you take for your motto, "All for Jesus?" Could you feel that, whether you buy or sell, whether you read or pray, whether you go out in the world or come back to your home, that Jesus only is the one object on whom your heart is set, and for whom your life is spent? Blessed are they, those virgin souls, who wherever the Lamb does lead, from his footsteps never depart! Thrice happy are they who wear the white robe unsoiled by contact with the world! Thrice blessed are they who can say, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his lips, for his love is better than wine! Every Christian should feel that he is God's man- that he has God's stamp on him- and he should be able to say with Paul, "From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."

But I think there is another idea prominent, and it is that of "security" -security to the inner life. "A garden enclosed." "The wild boar out of the wood shall not break in there, neither shall the little foxes spoil the vines. "A fountain shut up." The bulls of Bashan shall not muddy her streams with their furious feet; neither shall the wild beast of Lebanon come there to drink. "A fountain sealed." No putrid streams shall foul 'her' springs; her water shall be kept clear and living; her fountains shall never be filled up with stones.

Oh, how sure and safe is the inner life of the believer. Satan does not know where it is, for "our life is hid with Christ." The world cannot touch it; it seeks to overthrow it with troubles, and trials, and persecutions, but we are covered with the Eternal wings, and are safe from fear of evil. How can earthly trials reach the spirit? As well might a man try to strike a soul with a stone, as to destroy a spirit with afflictions. Surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come near unto him; God has placed us in the secret place of the tabernacles of the Most High; in his pavilion has he hidden us, and in a high rock hath he secured us.

As a castle preserves the besieged, and as the ramparts keep those who find refuge behind them, even so fortresses of stupendous rock your dwelling place shall be. "Who is he that shall harm you," when God is your protector? "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that rises against you in judgment shall you condemn." No temptation shall be able to destroy the purity of the life within; no crushing weights of doubts shall be able to take away the vital principle from that new source of strength.

If all the powers of earth and hell could combine, and in their uttermost fury assault the spirit in its weakest hour, that immortal principle must still exist- it would boldly defy them all and triumph over every one of them; for he who gave it pledged his life for its preservation. The Spirit in the Christian is a spark of the Godhead, and till the Godhead dies the Christian's inner life can never expire. We are immortal, even though we are mortal. Within this outward crust that perishes there is a soul which endures, and within that soul which endures there is a something which might outlast even the soul itself- a part of the being of God, the indwelling Holy One of Israel, who is himself most surely divine. "God dwells in us, and we in him." We are one with Christ, even as Christ is one with the Father; therefore we are as imperishable through Christ's life as Christ himself. Truly may we rejoice in the fact that "because he lives we shall live also."

Once more only. I think in looking at the text you receive the thought of "unity". You notice, it is but one garden- "a garden enclosed." "A garden." It is but one spring, and that is shut up; it is but one fountain. So the inner life of the Christian is but one. There is the old life which still survives- that old death rather, the body of sin and death, struggling against the law of life which God has put into his members, but this has no kinship with the life divine. It is alone, and knows no relationship with earth.

There is but one life for all Christians; either we have it, or we are dead. There are degrees of operation, but it is the same God. There are differences of administration, but it is the same Spirit that quickens. We may not all of us have "one Lord, one faith, and one baptism." I wish we had. I wish that the two baptisms would cease, and that once again the Church would recognize and practice the baptism of believers only. But we do have one Spirit, otherwise we are not Christians. I may dissent myself as much as I please from another man who is in Christ- I can do that without sin; but dissociate myself as I may, I must be one with him, for the life that is in him is in me. The same life which quickens me, if I be in Christ dwells also in him.

When I hear 'strict communion' talked of, it reminds me of a little finger which was washed very clean, and therefore thought the rest of the body too filthy to have fellowship with it, so it took a piece of red tape and bound it tightly round itself, that the life-blood might not flow from itself into the rest of the body. What do you think, brethren? Why, as long as that little finger was itself alive, the pulsations and the motions of the blood went from it to all the rest of the body, and that little piece of red tape there was but a ridiculous sham; it did not affect anything; it had no influence; it only enabled the little finger boastfully to glory, and perhaps to earn for itself the sad distinction- "These are they that separate themselves;" but the blood flowed on unimpeded, and the nerves and sinews felt the common life-throb still. They forgot, when they denied fellowship in the outward act of eating bread and drinking wine, that the essential spirit of communion was far too spiritual to be thus restrained, it had overleaped their boundary and was gone. The only way in which a Christian can leave off communing with all other Christians is by leaving off being a Christian.

Thus can the finger leave off communing with the rest of the body-by rotting away, and no other way, as long as it is alive. Communion is the life-blood of the soul. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit that quickens the body of the Church, and that Holy Spirit will go into every member, and you may try to check him by Church decrees, or to stop him by your by-laws and your ordinances, that such-and-such a Church shall never be loosed from the bands of ancestral bigotry, but the Church's life will beat freely through all the members of the Church's fellowship, and communion will go to all who are in Christ.

There is but one garden, but one spring, but one sealed fountain; and if you have it in your heart, and I have it in mine, there is a relationship between you and me that is as near as if you and I had the same soul, for you and I have the same Spirit. If you could imagine two bodies quickened by the very same mind, what a close connection would that be! But here are hundreds of bodies, hundreds of souls, quickened by the selfsame Spirit. Brethren, indeed not only ought we to love one another, but the love of Christ constrains us, so that we cannot resist the impulse; we do love each other in Christ Jesus.

II. I shall now need your attention, while with brevity I try to open the second text, which presents a decided contrast, because it deals not so much with the 'inner life' as with the 'active life' which goes abroad into all the deeds of the Christian in the world, and is the natural outgoing of the life within.

First, notice that in contradistinction to our first thought of secrecy you have in the text "manifestation". "A fountain of gardens." Everybody can see a fountain which runs streaming through many gardens, making deserts fertile. "A well of living waters." Whatever the traveler does not see, when he is riding along on a thirsty day, he is sure to see the fountain; if there is one any where he is certain to observe that. "And streams from Lebanon." So that any passer-by in the valley, looking up the side of the mountain, will see by the clusters of trees which skirt the stream where the stream is; or, if it be a smaller brook, just as sometimes in Cumberland and Westmoreland, on a rainy day you see the mountain suddenly marked with streaks of silver all down its brown sides, where the brooks are rippling, so the Christian become like the streams leaping down Lebanon's steep sides, clearly perceived even from a distance, manifest to the most casual observer.

Now, brethren, this is what you and I ought to be. No man ought to court publicity for his virtue, or notoriety for his zeal; but, at the same time, it is a sin to be always seeking to hide that which God has bestowed upon us for the good of others. A Christian is not to be 'a city in a valley'- he is to be "a city set upon a hill;" he is not to be a candle put under a bushel, but a candle in a candlestick, giving light to all. Retirement may be lovely in the eyes of some, and the hiding of oneself is doubtless a blessed thing, but the hiding of Christ in us can never be justified, and the keeping back of truth which is precious to ourselves, is a sin against our kind, and an offense against God.

Those of you who are of a nervous temperament and of retired habits of life must take care that you do not too much indulge your natural propensity, lest you should be useless to the Church. Seek in the name of him who was not ashamed of you to do some little violence to your feelings, and tell to others what Christ has told to you. Keep not the secret- it is too precious- it too much concerns the vital interests of man. Speak! if you cannot speak with trumpet tongue, yet speak with still small voice. If the pulpit must not be your platform, if the press may not carry on its wings your words, yet say, as Peter and John did, "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I unto you." And speak, too, as you can -gently to 'ones', if not loudly to twenties; quietly to 'twos', if not publicly to scores.

By Sychar's well talk to the Samaritan woman, if you cannot on the mountain preach the sermon; in the house; if not in the temple, in the field; if not upon the exchange, in the midst of your own household, if you cannot speak in the midst of the great family of man. At any rate, hide not your talent; wrap it not up. "It is but one," you say. So much the more reason why you should make the greater use of that one. Conceal it not; bring it out; trade with it; and so you shall multiply the talent, and you shall bring in good interest to your Lord and Master.

The inner life is secret- mind that you have this inner mystery; but out of the secret emanates the manifest; the darkness becomes the mother of light; from the dark mines comes the blazing coal. Oh! see to it, that from all that is hidden, and secret, and mysterious; there comes out the plain and the manifest, that men may see the holiness, truthfulness, and zeal of God in your life.

But clearly enough, again, we have in the second text, in opposition to the separation of the first, "diffusiveness". The garden was enclosed before; now it is "a fountain of gardens;" the well was shut up, now it is a well of living waters; before we had the fountain sealed, now we have streams dashing down the sides of Lebanon. So a Christian is to be separate in his inner life; but in the outer manifestations of that inner life, he is to mingle for good among his fellow-men.

It was usual in Romish countries, for women who wished to be specially holy, to make recluses of themselves; and in the Church of St. Roche, in Paris, there was a small building erected on the side of the Church. The only opening was a little grating, through which the necessaries of life were passed. Within this narrow cell, there lived for eighty years, and died, I think, at the age of ninety-six, a woman doubtless devout, but certainly superstitious. There she passed her life. The only sound she heard was the tramp of the worshippers upon the Church pavement, and the chant of the daily service; but she lived there, thinking she was serving God by being separate from men.

That is not the 'separation' of the New Testament. We are to be separate from sinners, as Christ was, and who ever went among them more than he did? We are to be healthy, and by that health separate from the leper; we are to be clean, and by that cleanness separate from the filthy. But we are to go among them; we are to visit; we are to distribute ourselves what Christ has given to us. If we keep ourselves altogether apart, we shall be useless to our fellow-men; we shall be like stagnant pools, we shall grow putrid by degrees. We must let the streams flow abroad; we must seek to give to others what Christ has given to us.

Now, some of you who keep yourselves separate in that sense, may I beg you to see if there be no 'mission of mercy' for you? Go you out among them as physicians in the midst of the sick, as torchbearers in the midst of darkness. Go you out as loosers of the bonds among the captives; as openers of prison doors among those that be bound, and he who has given you the true principle within, which is and must be shut up, will bless the outgoings of your zeal, both in the morning and in the evening, and cause that, watering others, your own soul shall be watered too.

Briefly we are obliged to speak on each of these points; but notice, thirdly, that in opposition to the sacredness of the first text we have in the second verse an unlimited "freeness", especially in that last expression- "streams from Lebanon." What can be freer than the brook, which leaps along the mountain side? There the bird wets its wings; there the red deer comes to drink, and even that wild beast of Lebanon, of which we read in the Book of the Kings, comes there, and without hindrance slakes its thirst.

What can be freer than the rivulet singing with liquid notes down the glen? It belongs to no one; it is free to all. Whosoever passes by, be he king or peasant, may stoop there and refresh himself from the mountain stream. So be it with you, Christian. Carry about with you a piety which you do not wish to keep for yourself. A light loses none of its own luster when others are lit at its flame.

Remember, you shall earn riches by giving riches, and in this sense giving away shall be an increase of your wealth. I know some who are in an bad sense, like fountains shut up. They love the doctrine of election, but there is one doctrine they love better, and that is, the doctrine of 'exclusion'. They love to think they are shut in, but they feel quite as much delight that others are shut out. Their conversation is always flavored with the thought of shutting others out. They are told that in such-and-such a Church there has been a large increase. Well, they hope they are genuine; by which they mean that they do not believe they are. A young believer begins to tell them something of his joys. Well, they don't like to be too fast in pronouncing an opinion; by which they mean, they would not like one more to get in than should, and they are half afraid that perhaps some may overstep the bounds of election and get saved who should not be.

Well, brethren, I love the doctrine of election, I love to think that the garden is enclosed, but I do love in my own life to exemplify the equally precious truth of the freeness of the gospel, so that if I speak to any it shall not be to discourage them, but to encourage them- not to say, "Get you gone!" but "Come and welcome!"

"Depart, you cursed," has nothing to do with me; my business is to say, "Come, you blessed." I would rather go to the door, and say, "Come in, you blessed of the Lord, wherefore stand you outside?" than slam it in a sinner's face with "What have you to do here?" Nay, we must be shut up in the inner life; but let every wall be broken down as to the outer life. We must be hidden springs within, but let us be sweetly flowing rivulets without, giving drink to every passer-by.

And not to detain you long, you will notice that, while we had in the other text the idea of security, in connection with that, we have here in this text the idea of "approach". The garden was shut up-that was to keep it. There are no walls here, so that all all may come to it. The streams were shut up before; here it is an open well. The fountain was sealed in the first verse; here it is a flowing stream, which is to teach us this- that the way God keeps his people in security is not by shutting out their enemies from attacking them, but while laying them open to temptation and attack, he yet sustains them.

It is not much to preserve oneself behind a wall which cannot be scaled, but to stand where arrows are flying thick as hail, where lances are being pushed with fury, where the sword-cuts are falling on every part, to stand, I say, invulnerable, invincible, immortal; this is to wear a divine life which cannot be conquered by human power. Such is the Christian.

We are to pray, "lead us not into temptation;" but indeed, we often are tempted, notwithstanding our prayer. God will put us where we must be tempted- put us where we must be tried, because, if we are not tried, there is no honor to him; and if we are not tempted, then where is the glory to the grace that delivers us out of temptations?

The Lord does not put his plants into a hot-house, as some gardeners do; no, he sets them out in the open air, and if the frost is coming, he says, "Ah! but no frost can kill them, and they will be all the sturdier in the summer for the cold in the winter." He does not shelter them either from the heat of the sun, or horn the cold by night, for in this world we must have tribulation, and we must have much of it too, for it is through much tribulation we inherit the kingdom. But what God does to his people is this. He keeps them 'in' tribulation, preserves them 'in' temptation, and brings them joyfully out of all their trials. So, Christian, you may rejoice in your security; but you must not think that you are not to be attacked; you are a stream from Lebanon, to be dashed down many a cascade, to be broken over many a rough rock, to be stopped up with many a huge stone, to be impeded by many a fallen tree; but you are to dash forward with the irresistible force of God, sweeping everything away, till you find at last the place where shall be your perfect rest.

And last of all, in opposition to the unity of which I spake, we have in our second text great "diversity". You have "a fountain," not of a garden, but "of gardenS;" you have a well, but it is a well of living waterS; you have not a stream, but streamS- streams from Lebanon. So a Christian is to do good in all sorts of ways, and his fruits are to be of many kinds; he is to be like the trees of Paradise, which bear twelve manner of fruits.

The Christian is to have all sorts of graces. "Whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good repute;" he is to have all these. It is an old proverb that a man may have too many irons in the fire. But that depends upon what fire it is; for if it is God's fire, put all the irons in it. A man may attempt too much they say, -but not for Christ. If you should attempt great things, and have great faith, you shall succeed in all that you attempt. There seems to be a fear among some Christian men either of doing too much themselves, or either letting other people do too much; and I know some to whom that text might almost be applied, "They have the key of the kingdom of heaven, but they neither enter themselves, and they that would they hinder." Not content to refuse the burden for themselves, they will not even touch it with one of their little fingers; but they are afraid that others shall carry the burden either.

Well, we are not afraid as these are. Blessed be God, if there is a trench to be filled up, let us struggle who shall lead the way; if there is a rampart to be climbed, if there is no other man to throw the irons over with the scaling-ladder, let your minister attempt the deed, and lead the van, for he is well assured that there are many here who would jostle with him, and say, "Let me come first; let me serve my Master; let me live or let me die, if I may but glorify him."

What! bring forth for Christ a little shrivelled cluster up at the topmost bough -a cluster which the very birds of heaven will not condescend to touch, because it is too little even for their appetites? No, rather let us have every bough weighed down with clusters, like those of Eshcol, which will take two ordinary men to carry, but which we can bear in rich profusion, because the life of the Spirit of God is in us.

We are a race of little doers, of little givers, of little thinkers, of little believers. O God, raise us up again giants in these days; give us again the consecrated men who shall stand upon the sword like the old Roman, and say, "For God I devote myself; to Christ I give body, soul, and spirit, and if I be offered up upon the sacrifice of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all." Oh! if the fountain, the secret fountain, were better seen to, I think there would be more of these outward streams; and if the sealed well were better guarded, we should see more of these rapid streams from Lebanon, which would make glad the people of God, and the world at large.

And now, how many of you have the secret spring within you? If your soul is not renewed by grace you cannot do good. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." No man enters fully into discipleship with Christ, till the water as well as the Spirit has been reverently received: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." But these two things being done, being born of water and of the Spirit, go you forth to show to others the mystery, the fellowship of the mystery- to make all men know that God has appeared unto us in Christ Jesus, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their iniquities.

Preach of Christ when you know Christ, but not till then. Let the streams flow out where you have the inner fountain, but not till then. Sad reflection! There are some of you that have it not. Oh! if you have it not, you perish. You cannot get it of yourselves. He alone can give it. You are in his hands to give it to you. Oh! may your longings end in groanings today, and may you groan to God, "Lord! renew me, Lord, cause me to be born again!" And those groanings will be proofs that he has begun the good work and those longings shall be evidence that there is a well in you, though it is a well shut up, -a well shut up even from yourself. God grant that you may seek and find through Jesus Christ; and to him be glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

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