Communion with God ',
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"And truly our fellowship is with the Father,
and with His Son Jesus Christ." 1 John 1:3
It is said of Moses that "the Lord spoke to him face to
face, as a man speaks to his friend." Now there is an
important sense in which the words may be applied to
every true believer. He is favoured with intimate and
endearing fellowship with his Heavenly Father. View
him on his bended knees, in the secrecy of his closet,
having shut out the world for a while, with its manifold
anxieties. How sweet the privilege he enjoys—that of
making all his requests known by prayer and
supplication unto God!
Is he conscious of his own weakness, of the temptations
which surround him, and the many foes which beset him?
His earnest cry is, "Hold me up—and I shall be safe!" Well,
God is there, being ever near to those who call upon Him
in truth, and says to him in return, "Do not be afraid, for
I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are
Mine! When you go through deep waters and great trouble,
I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of
oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will
not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy
One of Israel, your Saviour!" Isaiah 43:1-3
Does he feel sorely perplexed as to the course he should
pursue, when conflicting claims are pressing upon him?
He looks upward, and says in the language of the Psalmist,
"Teach me Your way, O Lord; and lead me in a plain path
because of my enemies." And what answer does God unto
unto him? "I will instruct you, and teach you in the way
which you shall go; I will guide you with My eye." "I will
lead you in paths that you have not known; I will make
darkness light before you, and crooked things straight;
these things will I do unto you, and not forsake you."
Is he oppressed under a deep sense of his exceeding
sinfulness, his iniquities being set in fearful array against
him, staring him in the face, and covering him with shame
and confusion? He knows, however, what it is to look to Him
whom he has so often found to be gracious; he therefore prays,
"Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities!"
And God remembers him with the favour which he bears to His
people, and in the plenitude of His compassion He proclaims,
"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My
own sake, and will not remember your sins!" "I will be merciful
to your unrighteousness, and your sins and your iniquities, will
I remember no more."
Sometimes the child of God is in great trouble concerning his
temporal needs, his earthly prospects being dark and gloomy.
But knowing that He who is the God of grace, is also the God
of providence, he draws near to the divine footstool for himself
and family, and he there cries, "Remember us, O God, for good;
oh! leave us not destitute." And He who hears the young ravens,
hears him, and says to him, "Fear not, My poor child; no evil
shall befall you, and no plague shall come near your dwelling.
Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who
trust in the Lord will never lack any good thing."
Sometimes, looking forward to the future, he says, "Do not
cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my
strength is gone." And the voice from heaven proclaims,
"I created you and have cared for you since before you
were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will
care for you. I will carry you along and save you!"
And so with all his needs, and all his wishes—he draws near
to God, and God draws near to him, and thus sweet fellowship
is enjoyed between them!
There are some who are disposed to sneer at the idea of
spiritual communion with God. But let them sneer as they
may; let them regard it, if they are so disposed, as a dream
of enthusiasm. The believer, however, is not to be laughed
out of his enjoyments. Fellowship with God is a privilege
with which he would not part for ten thousand worlds! Of
all precious things, it is to him the most precious. He regards
it as the dawn of eternal day, and feels it to be glory begun
below! Fellowship with God is to him, like the grapes of
Eshcol which were brought down to the wilderness; it is
a draught from those crystal streams which make glad
the city of the Most High; it is a flower plucked from the
amaranthine bowers of the Paradise above. In a word,
fellowship with God is the prelude and pledge of the
fullness of joy which is at God's right hand, and in which
consists the very essence of that transporting bliss which
will be realized by saints and angels forever and ever! And
while he gazes upon the toilsome pursuits of men for the
things which perish in their using, his language is—
"Let others stretch their arms like seas,
And grasp in all the shore;
Grant me the visits of Your grace,
And I desire no more!"
Christian, is there any ambition in your breast? Here is a
noble field for its display! O how unspeakable the honour
of holding familiar fellowship with the King of kings! And
this honour has, not only the more favoured servants of
God—but all the saints! This is the hidden manna they
have to eat—of which the world knows nothing. This is
the joy they possess, which a stranger cannot understand.
This is the honour they realize, which comes from God alone.
They may be poor and afflicted; they may be frowned upon
by an ungrateful and ungodly world; but this makes amends
for all—"they have fellowship with the Father, and with His
Son, Jesus Christ."
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