Part 45 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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Part 46 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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[4.] Fourthly, It may be they are sadly tempted and strangely buffeted by Satan, as Paul was—and from thence their present sadness may arise, 2 Cor. 12:8-10. Tempted souls can tell you that it is one of the hardest works in the world to rejoice in the school of temptation, and to be merry when Satan's fiery darts stick fast in the soul. Adam's tempting-time was not his rejoicing-time—but his sinning-time; and David's tempting-time was not his rejoicing-time—but his miscarrying-time, 1 Chron. 21; and Job's tempting-time was not his rejoicing-time—but his complaining-time, Job 3; and Peter's tempting-time was not his rejoicing-time—but his cursing and blaspheming-time, Mat. 26; and Paul's tempting-time was not his rejoicing-time—but his humbling-time, 2 Cor. 12:7-8. ["Our whole life," says Austin, "is nothing but a continued temptation."]
The best men are most tempted; and oftentimes they are followed with the saddest, darkest, vilest, basest, and most amazing, affrighting, tormenting, and astonishing temptations. And how is it possible that they should be able to rejoice and be glad, when such dreadful storms beat upon them! Certainly the work of a Christian in the day of temptation lies in his putting on the whole armor of God, Eph. 6:10-11, 16-18, and in a prudent handling the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith, and in earnest praying and vigilant watching, and a stout resisting of all Satan's fiery darts; for he who thinks, by disputing and reasoning, to put Satan off, does but shoot with him in his own bow, and will find to his cost that Satan will be too hard for him. It is open defiance, it is downright blows which makes Satan fly, and which secures the victory, James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9. Now joy and rejoicing attends not the combat—but the conquest. The Romans never used to ride in triumph—but after conquests obtained. A Christian's triumphing time is his conquering time. Joy is most seasonable and suitable when a Christian has beaten Satan out of the field. The rooster in the Arabic fable began to crow and clap his wings, as if he had obtained a perfect conquest—but, behold, suddenly a vulture comes, and snatches this great conqueror away. Those who triumph and rejoice over Satan before they have overcome him, are in no small danger of being beaten by him. But,
[5.] Fifthly and lastly, To gather up many things together. I say that their present sorrow and sadness may arise from their going astray into some by-path of vanity and folly, wherein they have got a fall, or broke a bone, or put their souls out of joint. As children sometimes get a fall, and then they come home by weeping cross—justso, Christians too often go astray and get a fall, and then they are fain to weep it out. When men keep not in the king's highway, they are often robbed of their money, and stripped of their clothes, and wounded too, as he was in the Gospel who fell among thieves—just so, when Christians keep not in the King of kings' highways, which are ways of righteousness and holiness, then they are often robbed of their comfort, and joy, and peace, and assurance, and communion with God, etc., and sorely wounded and bruised, and then it is no wonder if they are brought home with tears in their eyes.
Or it may be their evidences for heaven are so blotted and blurred that they cannot read their title to heaven—and then it is no wonder if they are perplexed and grieved. Or it may be they call in question former grants of favor and grace. Or it may be a deeper sense of misspent time lies harder than ever upon them. Or else the littleness and smallness of their graces under such soul-enriching opportunities and advantages do sorely oppress them. Or else the lateness of their conversion may sadly afflict them, etc. [Luke 10:30; Isaiah 35:8; Psalm 119:176.]
Now how absurd and unreasonable a thing is it for any men to argue thus, that surely godly men have no joy, no delight, no pleasure, etc., because there are some particular cases and conditions wherein they may be cast which rather bespeaks sorrow than joy, grief than gladness, mourning than mirth! Certainly you may as rationally and as righteously expect mirth, joy, and gladness from carnal, worldly, and ungodly wretches when they are under burning fevers, loathsome diseases, or violent pains of the stone or gout, etc., as you may expect upon a rational or religious account, joy and gladness, etc., in the saints in the fore-mentioned cases which are incident to them. It was a very unreasonable request that they made to the people of God in Psalm 137:1-4, "By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. There we hung up our lyres on the poplar trees, for our captors there asked us for songs, and our tormentors, for rejoicing: "Sing us one of the songs of Zion." How can we sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil?" And it is as unreasonable to expect or look that the people of God should sing and be merry, rejoice and be glad, when they are under soul distresses, and under the sore rebukes of God, and poured from vessel to vessel, etc. Music in times of mourning is as unreasonable as it is unseasonable and unsavory, Jer. 48:11, Proverbs 25:20, "Singing cheerful songs to a person whose heart is heavy is as bad as stealing someone's jacket in cold weather or rubbing salt in a wound." Music and mourning, singing and sorrow, agree like harp and harrow. There is such a contrariety between singing and sorrow, that he who sings does but add weight to his sorrow that cannot sing.
O sirs, as there is a time for rejoicing, so there is a time for mourning, Eccles. 3:4; as there is a time to laugh, so there is a time to weep; and as we must rejoice with those whorejoice, so we must mourn with those who mourn, and weep with those who weep, Romans 12:15. The condition of God's people in this life is a mixed condition. In this life they have their rejoicing times and their mourning times, their laughing times and their weeping times, their singing times and their sorrowing times, etc. It is true, in heaven there is all joy and no sorrow, all gladness and no sadness; and in hell there is all sorrow and no joy, all grief and no gladness, all howling and no singing, all madness and no mirth. But in this present life it is otherwise, for if there should be nothing but joy, many would look for no other heaven; and if there should be nothing but sorrow, most would look for no other hell. If men should have nothing but joy, how sadly would they be puffed up! And if they should have nothing but sorrow, how easily would they be cast down! But now, by a divine hand, our sorrows being mixed with our joys, our hearts come to be the more effectually weaned from the vanities of this life, and to long more earnestly after the pure and unmixed joys of a better life, etc. But,
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