Down through the ages, the wickedness of men and nations on the one hand, and God’s just judgments upon men on the other, have brought untold trouble and misery upon the inhabitants of the earth. And these present times are indeed no exception.
The year that has now gone was one during which most, if not all, of the nations and peoples of this modern world have been affected and troubled, by diverse and manifold afflictive events and activities. And as we enter upon the year 1957, the present time and the immediate future appear to be no less charged with danger to the peace and tranquility of the peoples of the world. Multitudes of those who affect to be happy, without God, without Christ, and without hope in the world, are discovering in these days of advancement that their human and carnal happiness and satisfaction can be shaken and weighed in the balances and found wanting. When dark events and national and international controversy confront the natural man, in a Christian land or a pagan land, he is prone to be filled with fear, forebodings and anxieties for his peace and comfort, and in addition when the ordinary and extraordinary troubles of this life beset him, the sources and avenues wherein he found his happiness seem to dry up and become futile and vain.
Of course, those who know and fear God, and have all their hope and confidence placed in the suffering Redeemer, the Lord Jesus, with respect to their eternal salvation from sin and all the eternal benefits of that, are not, and never have been, immune from tribulation, and suffering in the world. In point of fact, it has been a distinctive characteristic of the experiences of the most saintly, that in the world they had tribulation, of one kind or another. And to-day, and at the outset of another year, there is much, in addition to what personal trials they may have, which is calculated to dismay and discourage them and to sadden their hearts. Be this as it may, they are no ordinary people by virtue of their relation to the Lord Jesus Christ and in the eyes of God,
and thus the Lord says to them, “Be of good cheer” (John xvi. 33); and the Holy Spirit through the Psalmist says, “Let the righteous be glad” (Psalm lxxvii. 3). And there are many substantial and good grounds and reasons why they ought to be glad and rejoice. And so we indicate some of these in the notes that follow, for the consideration of tried and exercised believers in a day of trouble.
Firstly: That God has revealed Himself and His name in the Scriptures of truth, and among other glories; that He is a just God and a Saviour (Isa. xlv. 21); that His counsel and purposes shall stand (Psalm xxxiii. 11) from age to age and shall be fulfilled and cannot be frustrated by any human power or plan; and that He, the Lord God omnipotent reigns supremely in the kingdom of men, in the midst of His enemies, and in behalf of His people who are precious in His sight; and that He is unchangeable and eternally free from all changes (Psalm cii. 27). Rejoice in God.
Secondly: They should be glad and rejoice in “the day which the Lord hath made” (Psalm cxviii. 24). And whatever interpretation may be given to these words by others, we consider it not out of place to recall the people of God to the events and transactions of that day wherein the Son of God, the blessed Lord Jesus Christ, was led to Golgotha and crucified there. That day was appointed in the counsels of heaven, on behalf of a great multitude of the ruined Adamic race. It was a dark day of suffering and death for Christ, but a bright day of salvation for sinners. Let the righteous look back, again and again, to that day when their sins were atoned for and all the blessings of the Covenant of grace procured for them, unworthy, sinful beings. “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians vi. 14) declared Paul; who, out of his own remarkable experience exhorted the righteous in his epistles to rejoice in Christ Jesus, who died for them and rose again. And the Apostle had his own share of afflictions and trials but “the day which the Lord hath made” was the very foundation of all his satisfaction and happiness.
Thirdly: The Lord hath done great things for His people, in their own experience, whereof they have reason to be glad. They have not been left ignorant of their sins and the dangers of the broad way. They have been enlightened in the knowledge of the divine Redeemer and the way of salvation. They have been turned from ungodly living, and have been made willing to cast themselves upon the infinite mercy and merits of the Redeemer. They have been begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ again from the dead—a hope of the inheritance in heaven. All this and more has been wrought in them and for them, in sovereign grace and by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. And these are great things, because proceeding from the operations of the Spirit of God, and which contribute to their separation from a godless world, and by which they have been translated into the
kingdom of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And so indeed herein they have cause to be glad, although for other reasons they may have weeping.
Fourthly: Their afflictions here in the world are said to be light and but for a moment, when viewed in the revelation of Scripture, as to their working out for the believer, a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (see II Corinthians iv. 17). What comfort there is here for the righteous! How glad they may well be, in entering into this blessed view of all their tribulations, that instead of working against them, their afflictions, under the divine superintendence, are being used and blessed to their being fitted to contain and enjoy the glory of heaven. As the Word asserts: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans viii. 28).
Fifthly: The Lord Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, exhorts His disciples to rejoice and be exceeding glad, even when men would revile and persecute them, and say all manner of evil against them falsely, for His sake. And why were they to be glad in face of all this evil treatment by the Christ-hating world? The Saviour tells us: “For great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew v. 11, 12). And so when the righteous are but the off-scouring of all things in the eyes of their fellow-men, because they are witnesses for Christ, they may be glad and rejoice secretly in their hearts on the basis of Christ’s uplifting and comfortable words of promise, quoted above.
Sixthly: Let the Christian be glad when he sees or perceives the grace of God in the case of others. When even one poor, lost sinner is obviously quickened to newness of life, and manifests the fruits of a work of grace in their heart, in a family, a congregation or a district, this should rejoice the mind and heart of the righteous. Because in such a case, the love and power of God are evidenced, and what a wonderful favour that is to a sinner, and to the Church of Christ in the world. We read in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter xi., that Barnabas was sent to Antioch, “who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart, they would cleave unto the Lord.” And did not David say, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord”? That others had a mind and desire to seek and worship the Lord in His house, was indeed an encouragement and cause of rejoicing to godly David. And so this should be likewise to the godfearing in these times of apostacy and tribulation.
Seventhly: Any service that the Lord may call His people to engage in, however small or great that service or duty may be, should be done gladly and with a willing mind. It is a great honour to serve the heavenly Master, in however lowly a capacity, although indeed one may
feel keenly their weakness and unfitness. And the righteous should derive spiritual pleasure and satisfaction in putting their hand to anything that is according to the mind of the Lord, and that will assist the Cause of His Gospel and Church, and contribute to the benefit of precious souls. Even giving a cup of cold water to a disciple, and visiting the widow, the fatherless and the otherwise afflicted, in a Christian and sympathetic spirit, may well have the reward of a Gospel satisfaction, when such is done, as unto the Lord. And so the psalm enjoins, “Serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm c. 2).
Eighthly: As the righteous profess to have a hope of the glory of God, based and built up upon the rock of their salvation, even Christ Jesus; then, let them rejoice and be glad in that hope, in that expectation of the fullness of their salvation in heaven, after their day is done here in the midst of this evil and troubled world, and when they shall go to be with Christ, which is far better. And they should be seeking that this, their hope, should abound more and more, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
But finally, it is the Lord alone who can put gladness into the hearts of His people, working graciously and mightily in them, through His truth and by His divine Spirit in connection with their day-by-day circumstances and experiences. As David testifies: “Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased” (Psalm iv. 7). It is all of grace, and grace alone can bring true, soul, spiritual gladness to the righteous. “Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord . . .” (Deut. xxxiii. 29).