Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 2525
“And you now, therefore, have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man takes from you.” John 16:22.
Joy is the normal condition of a Believer. His proper state, his healthy state, is that of happiness and gladness. As I have often reminded you, it has become a Christian duty for Believers to be glad. “Rejoice in the Lord,” is a precept given to us over and over again and I believe that, broadly speaking, the general condition of God’s people is one ofjoy. It is not a falsehood if we say, “Happy are you, O Israel!” True Christians are the happiest people under Heaven. They have many sorrows, but there is a text which says, “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” And old Master Brooks has a good note upon the passage. He says that it does not say, “As sorrowful, yet as always rejoicing.” The “quasi”—the “as”—relates only to the sorrow. The joy is real, without any “quasi. ” Christians have quasi sorrow, but they have real rejoicing! They are oftentimes as if they were sad—yes, as if they were, of all men, most miserable, but in the very depths of their soul they have “the peace of God which passes all understanding,” to keep their heart and mind through Christ Jesus.
I will venture to assert that Christians, at least, always have matter for joy. They are never short of material out of which they may make melody unto the Lord! If they will, they may rejoice, for they have plenty of causes for joy. The Lord has done great things for them and they ought to add, “Therefore we are glad.” And, as they have plenty of matter for joy, so they have ample motive for joy, for when they joy and rejoice, they glorify God, they prove the reality of their faith and they make their religion attractive to others!
The joy of the Lord is their strength, their beauty, their charm. There are always reasons why a Christian should be happy and as he has matter for joy and motive for joy, so he always has a measure ofjoy! He may seem to be overwhelmed with trouble, but his boat still floats. He may seem to run short ofjoy, as the widow in Elijah’s day ran short of meal and oil, but there shall always be a cake for him to eat and a little oil shall still remain in the cruse. His joy shall never utterly fail him—he shall always have a sufficient measure of hope to enable him to keep his lamp alight in the darkest night.
Above and beyond all this, the Christian always has a remainder of joy which shall be his in due time. What he has not yet in his own hand, is in the pierced hands of Jesus, held there fast and safe against all comers! And he may and he should always sing—
“Glory to You for all the Grace I have not yet tasted.”
Some people have but little in possession at present, but they have a reversionary interest in a large estate. And it is so with us. We have a heritage of joy that as yet we have not entered upon, but it is ours by a covenant of salt, and none can break the sacred inheritance. So let us again take up the language of the hymn we sang at the beginning of the service—
“The hill of Zion yields A thousand sacred sweets, Before we reach the heavenly fields, Or walk the golden streets.”
Thus you see, dear Friends, that Believers have matter for joy, motive for joy, a measure ofjoy already possessed and a greater remainder of joy yet to be realized! God’s people are a happy people, a blessed people. May my soul always be numbered among them!
Now, coming to the text, which is intended to promote our joy, I gather two observations—first, that the Lord Jesus enters into our s orrows. He does not overlook them, but He says, “You now, therefore, have sorrow.” Secondly, the Lord Jesus creates our joy. “But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man takes from you.”
I. First, then, dear Friends, you who are sorrowful, listen to this former part of the discourse. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ENTERS INTO OUR SORROWS.
One point in which He enters into them is this—He sees our quickness in sorrowing. Perhaps you did not notice that in the text, but it is there. You observe, in the 20th verse, that Jesus said to His disciples, “You shall be sorrowful,” and He compared them to a woman in travail. But then He did not say what we might have thought He would have said, “You will, therefore, have sorrow,” but He said, “You now, therefore, have sorrow.” He saw their faces begin to pale before the sorrow had really come. He had not gone away from them, for there He stood in their midst—but in the expectation that He would go, their eyes began to grow dim and the tears commenced to roll down their cheeks, so He said as He looked at them, “You now, therefore, have sorrow.” And, Beloved, you and I also are very quick at this work of sorrowing. I wish that we anticipated our joys with half the readiness that we anticipate our sorrows! We would be much happier if we did, but there is many a child of God who cries long before he is hurt and sorrows long before his troubles actually come to him.