[January 24th, 1864.]
Joy is either a transient emotion produced by the expectation or enjoyment of good, or it is a permanent state of the mind, an habitual, cheerful and happy frame of the spirit, arising from the sense of security and blessedness. The command is,—
I. To be happy. II. To be happy in and through the enjoyment of spiritual good.
I. The command is to be happy. This is not inconsistent with the duty of mourning for our sins, nor with the duty of sympathy with the sorrows of others, weeping with those who weep, nor with being duly and naturally affected by the trials and afflictions of life, nor with the declaration that God looks with special favor upon such as are of an humble and contrite spirit, and tremble at his word. There may be joy in sorrow.
But the command to rejoice is, 1. A condemnation of a sad, desponding, discontented state of mind. It is a condemnation, 1st. On the one hand, of the doctrine that such sadness or despondency is in itself a desirable or profitable state; that it tends to holiness, or is the appropriate condition of the Christian. 2d. On the other hand, of the doctrine that these feelings should be cherished and rendered habitual. This is a common opinion. There is much to make it plausible. The awful interests of eternity which must be more or less in doubt until our destiny is decided, the amount of evil in our own hearts, the prevalence of evil in the world, the state of those dear to us, the low condition of the Church, the certainty of the perdition of so large a portion of the human race; these as well as our own personal sorrows and difficulties, would seem enough to banish all happiness from the heart of those who take a believing and enlarged view of the realities by which they are surrounded. Nevertheless joy, and not sadness, is the normal state of the Christian; and this state of depression of spirits is not itself good, nor a state of mind to be cherished as desirable and productive of holiness. 2. It is not only, however, a condemnation of habitual sadness, but it teaches, 1st. That the opposite state is the one which we ought habitually to enjoy; and 2d. That it is the one which we ought habitually to cherish. And this for two reasons. First, the Christian has abundant cause to be habitually joyful; reasons which cannot be duly and believingly apprehended without producing joy. Sadness, therefore, is the fruit and evidence of unbelief, as spiritual joy is the fruit and evidence of faith. The fact, (1.) That the Christian is forgiven. (2.) That he is reconciled to God and is the object of the divine love. (3.) That he is united to Christ. (4.) That all the exceeding great and precious promises of the Word of God are his. (5.) That Christ is set before him as the object of love, adoration and delight. (6.) That heaven is his everlasting inheritance. (7.) That all power is in the hands of Christ, that all things must work together for good, and that the final consummation will result in bringing infinite good out of the infinite evil that is in the world; these are rational sources of joy. It is unnatural and wrong, unbelieving and ungrateful for those who have all these sources of joy to be habitually sad and desponding. Nothing is more difficult to bear than for a father to see a child, surrounded by everything necessary to render him happy, habitually and causelessly miserable.
The second reason why we are commanded to be happy is that this state of mind is healthful. It tends to holiness. It is to the graces of the Spirit what the light of the sun is to nature. It renders them more healthful, vigorous and beautiful. Happiness belongs to heaven; misery, to hell.
II. This command to be happy is, however, not a command to be happy simply, but to be happy in the Lord. This is, 1. A prohibition against seeking happiness in the world. It is not a prohibition against opening our hearts to the sources of pleasurable emotion which surround us in the world. But it is a prohibition against seeking our happiness from that source, or even enjoying them as merely worldly. They should be received and enjoyed religiously. This moderates, modifies and regulates all worldly joy.
- It is a command to seek our happiness in God, and in the things of God. We must choose. If we come to the fountain of living water we shall not only be refreshed, but also enabled to enjoy worldly good more, and be safer than if we had made that good our portion.
III. In what sense is this joy a fruit of the Spirit?
-
The Spirit is the author of that gracious state of mind out of which joy springs.
-
He bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God, and he is the earnest of our inheritance.
-
He sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts, and directly infuses the special grace of joy.
IV. The reasons for this command.
-
Joy is healthful in all its natural influence and tendencies. Pain and sorrow are the reverse. The one is the inseparable companion or consequence of holiness; the others are inseparable from sin. The one tends, therefore, to produce holiness, and the others, sin. Pain and sorrow may be useful as medicine, not as food. Joy, however, is the natural atmosphere of the soul, out of which it cannot live. Or, it is as oxygen in the air; it is its vital principle. Take joy out of heaven, and what would it be? It would be as though the oxygen of our air were removed; all that lives would die. For our own good, therefore, we should rejoice.
-
This joy is a holy exercise. 1st. Because its objects are holy, pure, spiritual. 2d. Because it is in its nature the exercise of holy feeling.
-
It is a gift of God and the fruit of the Spirit. “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” (John 15:11.) “And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” (John 17:13.) “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Rom. 14:17.) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,” etc. (Gal. 5:22.) “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory, with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 24, 25.) Surely, that which is the gift of Christ, the fruit of the Spirit, and the atmosphere of heaven, must be holy, and worthy of being assiduously cherished.
-
It beautifies, adorns, and renders attractive the Christian character. A gloomy Christian is not only a burden to himself, but also a source both of unhappiness and of evil to those around him. We are bound, therefore, to be joyful as a means of honoring God, and being useful to our fellow-men.
-
Surely we of all men have abundant cause for joy. The absence of joy is a proof of unbelief. How can a man who believes that he is united to Christ, and therefore partaker of his righteousness, the temple of his Spirit, a child of God and an heir of heaven, fail to rejoice? If assured of great earthly good, we should not fail to overflow with joy. How then can we believe that we are partakers of Christ’s glory, and not rejoice?
← 186. Fight the good fight of faith.—1 Tim. 6:12 · Contents · 188. Zeal →