BY REV. JOHN COLQUHOUN, D.D.,
Minister of the Gospel, Leith, 1813.
COMFORT, in its general acceptation, is that refreshing pleasure or enlivening satisfaction of spirit, by which a man is upheld and strengthened against all evils, whether felt or feared: or, it is that inward solace, which supports and invigorates the heart under trouble of every kind. There are three sorts of comfort; natural, sinful, and spiritual.—Natural comfort is the refreshment of our natural spirits, by the good creatures of God, the gifts of His bounty. When God “giveth us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons. He thereby filleth our hearts with food and gladness,” (Acts xiv. 17). There is comfort in every creature of God. When we are hungry, food comforts us; when thirsty, drink refreshes us; when cold, clothes warm us; and when in affliction, or in want of advice, friends encourage us. But, besides these common and necessary gifts of Providence, every sense hath something peculiar to itself, which affords it comfort. The eyes have beautiful colours, to give them pleasure: the ears, besides ordinary, have melodious sounds, to delight them: the taste has not only the suitableness of common food, but the sweetness of honey, to please it; and the smell, besides common odours, has fragrant flowers to regale it.—Sinful, or unholy comfort, is the pleasure which sinners take in gratifying their lusts, or the delight which they have in abusing the gifts of Divine bounty. Sometimes, the true Christian is ready to wonder how wicked men can, at any time, feel themselves comfortable: but he has no cause to wonder; for their very commission of sin is a momentary comfort to their depraved nature, “It is as sport to a fool to do mischief,” (Prov. x. 23). “The scorners delight in their scorning,” (Prov. i. 22). “Their soul delighteth in their abominations,” (Isa. lxvi. 3). To commit iniquity is agreeable to their sinful nature, and therefore is a comfort to it. Indeed, were it not for the frequent opportunities which they have, of gratifying some lust, either of the flesh or of the mind, life would be an insupportable burden to them. “Evil men,” saith Solomon, “sleep not, except that they have done mischief: and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall,” (Prov. iv. 16). Ah! How inexpressibly dreadful is the condition of that man, to whose heart it is a pleasure, a comfort, to sin against a holy, and a gracious God! Sinful comfort also, is the pleasure that self-righteous persons take, in relying, either on their own righteousness wholly, or partly on the righteousness of Christ, and partly on their own, for their justification and title to eternal life; and the delights which hypocrites feel, in reflecting on their counterfeit graces and attainments.—Spiritual or holy comfort, is that inward solace or satisfaction, which supports, strengthens, and exhilarates holy souls; and which they have in and from the Lord Jesus, their Covenant-head, by the exercise of faith, hope, love, and the other graces of the Holy Spirit (Rom. v. 1-5) or it is that spiritual delight, that holy joy, which cheers and invigorates the hearts of believers, under all their inward and outward troubles. It is this only that deserves the name of pure, solid, and durable consolation. If it is a comfort to the wicked man, amidst all his afflictions, to gratify his carnal and ungodly lusts; it cannot, surely, but be a real and even a great consolation to a holy man, under all the trials of life, to exercise his spiritual graces, and to perform his holy duties.
The word Comfort is, in Scripture, used in a twofold sense. It is sometimes employed to express that which gives consolation; but more frequently to signify the consolation itself, which is received from it, or enjoyed by means of it.
1st, It is employed in Scripture, to express that which gives, or is a means of giving, consolation to the soul of an afflicted believer; whether it be a person (Col. iv. 11) or a thing, in which, by the blessing of Christ, comfort is hidden, and by which it is afforded (Ps. cxix. 76); or, a word or reason, suggesting to the mind of the Christian, matter of consolation (Ps. cxix. 50. 2 Cor. i. 4). Each of these is styled Comfort, because it is a mean or instrument of dispensing consolation to the saints.
2nd, The term is, by the Spirit of inspiration, more frequently employed to express the consolation itself, which believers receive, whether by means of persons, or of things, or of reasons; and which they feel or enjoy in their souls. It is in this last sense, chiefly, that I propose, in this treatise, to discourse of spiritual comfort.
In order to illustrate the general nature of this inestimable blessing, I shall present it, to the view of the devout reader, under the following particulars:
-
Spiritual comfort usually supposes trouble of some kind, either felt or feared; or the prospect of some difficult duty, to the performance of which the believer needs to be encouraged. It is under affliction, or uneasiness, that the heart of the Christian needs to be comforted. The Lord Jesus accordingly saith, “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted,” (Matt. v. 4). He made the first promise of the Holy Spirit, as a Comforter, to His disciples, when, in the prospect of His departure from them, sorrow had filled their heart (John xvi. 6, 7). “God,” says the Apostle Paul, “comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them who are in any trouble” (2 Cor. i. 4): and he styles him, “The God who comforteth them that are cast down” (2 Cor. vii. 6). The soul, that it may be qualified for spiritual consolation, must be quickened and humbled. It is “the spirit of the humble, and the heart of the contrite ones,” that the high and lofty One will revive with holy comfort, (Isa. lvii. 15). Indeed, the oil of spiritual joy is such, that no vessel but a contrite heart, can hold it. The design of imparting Divine consolation, is to cheer and invigorate the drooping spirit. The office of the Comforter is, to relieve the disconsolate soul (Lam. i. 16). It is impossible for them who have never felt the uneasiness of a wounded conscience, to value, or to desire, the joy of God’s salvation.—The soul, that it may need, and be prepared for, true consolation, must not only be quickened and humbled, but be under some affliction, either felt or apprehended. Comfort, according to an apostolical direction, is to be administered to “the feeble-minded” (1 Thess. v. 14); to such as are ready to stagger under the Cross, and to be overset by the temptations of Satan and the world, or discouraged because of the corruptions of their own hearts. It is trouble, that renders spiritual consolation necessary, as well as desirable. If the believer were not feeble, and incapable of being supported by a created arm, the office of a Divine Comforter would be unnecessary. If he had not a painful, as well as a spiritual, sense of his want of heavenly consolations, earthly comforts would be more acceptable to him than they: and if his heart were not prepared for them, by being humbled, as well as afflicted, they would no more refresh it, than a shower of rain would refresh a rock. Accordingly, Christ seldom communicates sensible comforts to the saints, but when they are either in inward or outward trouble. It is by their being troubled, that they become disconsolate, and so become fit for being consoled: and it is their sharpest afflictions, that often serve to prepare them for the sweetest consolations. He, therefore, brings them usually into the wilderness, before He speaks comfortably to them, (Hos. ii. 14). It may be proper here to remark that, as Divine comfort is the opposite of trouble, (Luther says, that “All things come from Christ to His Church, in contraries: He is righteousness, but it is in sin felt: He is life, but it is in death: He is consolation, but it is in calamity.”) Augustine likewise observes, that “the Christian’s life runs on between these two; our crosses and God’s comforts.”), so it must be more powerful and effectual, than either outward or inward trouble; for there is no prevailing, but by that which is the stronger: it must be more forcible to raise up the dejected soul, than the grievance is to cast it down; otherwise it cannot at the time, be comfort to it.
-
There are three degrees of spiritual comfort: the lowest degree is peace of conscience; the next is joy; and the highest is triumph.
Peace of conscience
Peace of conscience is that inward serenity, or tranquility of mind, which arises from the faith and sense of being justified in the sight of God, or of being in a state of union with Christ, and of conformity to Him. “Being justified by faith,” says the Apostle Paul, “we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. v. 1). The peace, with which the God of hope filleth the hearts of the saints, is peace in believing (Rom. xv. 13). It arises also from the sense, or consciousness of peace with God. When the blood of Christ is, by faith, applied to the conscience, the conscience is purged by it from dead works (Heb. ix. 14); and the heart also is, at the same time, sprinkled by it from an evil conscience (Heb. x. 22). The subject of spiritual peace, is a conscience that is purged. Purity and peace are connected together in the conscience; and they are both necessary to render it a good conscience (1 Tim. i. 5). When the conscience is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, it is thereby set free from the dread of revenging wrath. The mind is not as formerly, disturbed with alarming fears of God’s indignation, nor disquieted by His judgments (Prov. i. 33). This is accompanied usually, with a cordial acquiescence in the will of the Lord, founded on a persuasion of His wisdom and sovereignty, of His holiness and goodness: and so far as a man attains this holy acquiescence in the Divine will, he is secure from disappointment; and free from uneasiness. Now, this peaceful serenity of soul is the first degree of spiritual comfort. When the Lord Jesus would comfort His disconsolate disciples, he said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me ye might have peace” (John xvi. 33).
Joy
Joy is a higher degree of holy consolation. Spiritual joy is that gladness of heart, which flows from the lively exercise of faith, feasting upon Christ in the offers and promises of the gospel. The apostle Paul prayed thus for the believers at Rome; “Now the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Rom. xv. 13): and the apostle Peter said to the Christians of the dispersion, “Believing, ye rejoice” (1 Pet. i. 8). It is a holy delight, in living upon Christ, and in walking in Him; and it is effected by the Holy Spirit shedding abroad in the heart, like a fragrant perfume, the love of God. When He graciously condescends to administer that reviving cordial, it elevates and enlarges the fainting soul. Arising, as it does, from the begun enjoyment, and from the hope of the full and endless enjoyment of God in Christ, it strengthens, and so comforts the drooping heart. “The joy of the Lord,” says Nehemiah, “is your strength” (Neh. viii. 10). Peace is negative; joy is positive comfort: the former is as the calming of the storm; the latter, as the breaking out of the sun: that is a mitigation of trouble; this, a sense of positive enjoyment. When a condemned criminal knows that he is pardoned, he has peace; but when he is besides advanced to preferment, he has joy.
(To be continued.)