Doth God give suitable strength to His people in all exigencies? Let none abuse this doctrine, by giving up the use of the means that God has appointed, and neglecting to use their own endeavours. Though believers have Christ to lean to all their way in their journey to Heaven, yet none must expect to be carried thither on His shoulders without setting down a foot. We may warrantably look to Him for strength for every duty; yet it is in using the means that this strength is conveyed.
Beware of leaning to yourselves, and neglecting to look for this promised strength. 1. Lean not to your own purposes; for your goodness is like the morning dew. 2. Lean not to your gracious habits; for these are but ready to die. 3. Lean not to your duties and performances; for they are defiled. 4. Lean not to your frames, for they are fleeting and inconsistent. And besides it is highly dangerous and provoking to God, for to trust in any of these; remember the fearful curse, that is pronounced against him “that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord” Jer. 17: 5, 6. Who then shall we trust? Read Isaiah 26: 4. “Trust in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”
Let all believers bless God for this excellent method of salvation through Jesus Christ. The new covenant is far better than the old. Now, our stock is not in our hand but in Christ’s and He manages it for us, which is our great happiness. When God brought Israel out of Egypt with a high hand, he did not set them down on the other side of the Red sea, and then bid them shift their way to Canaan — “No, He led them on their way; yea He bare them all the way they went” so when God in a day of His power brings an elect soul out of spiritual Egypt He doth not set him in the way with a stock of strength in his hand, and then leave him to march through the wilderness alone. No, He leads him all the way, for the whole country rises on him in his march, and if left to go alone, without special and renewed aid he would never get to Canaan.
What course must the Christian take to get these seasonable supplies of strength from God, to continue safely through the wilderness without fainting and failing?
Answer — Take these directions:-
- Labour to be thoroughly convinced of your impotence and insufficiency that you may be weak in your own sense and feeling. The way to be strong, is to be weak according to the apostle’s experience “When I am weak, then am I strong” 2 Cor. 12: 10. Hence also it is said of these worthies Heb. 11: 34, “Out of weakness they were made strong” i.e. out of weakness felt and apprehended.
- Humbly represent and bemoan your impotence before God like Ephraim “I was a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke” Jer. 31: 18. He felt his own impotence and aversion to what was good and then he groans and looks up to God for power — “Turn Thou me, and I shall be turned, for Thou art the Lord my God”. And in the next verse we see how readily the Lord gave him pity and help. Thus also did Jehoshophat find help, 2 Chron. 20: 12 “We have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon Thee,” as if he had said “Though we be weak, yet we know Thou art infinitely powerful, and full of compassion.”
- Use well any small power you have, and it will increase. The right arm is more strong and vigorous than the left, because it is more exercised. So grace, the more it is exercised the more it grows. Math. 13: 12. Prov. 10: 29.
- Wait on the Lord in the diligent use of means, for it is promised, Is. 40: 31 “They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” and in Ps. 27: 14 “Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, wait I say on the Lord”. We must not trust to the means but to God in the use of them.
- Walk tenderly, and guard against every known sin; for sin lets out the soul’s strength.
- Be often looking in a believing way to the Mediator Christ, your treasurer and head of influences, and derive all your supplies of strength from and through Him alone.
- Carefully entertain the Spirit’s notions and fall in with them. Grieve not the Spirit sent to strengthen you; otherwise you will, in so doing, cast away your strength from you.
Lastly, acquaint yourselves with the Word of God, and its gracious promises of strength. Lay them up in store and plead them humbly with God, for prayer grounded upon a promise is likely to prevail. David’s argument was Ps. 119: 28 “Strengthen Thou me according to Thy Word.” And in Ps. 138: 3 he had the experience “In the day when I cried Thou answered me and strengthened me, with strength in my soul.” I conclude with the apostle’s words, 1 Pet. 5: 10, 11 “The God of all grace who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that he have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.”
“To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
— From an old divine.