in any degree mixed up with the withdrawal
which he is now experiencing. The believer owes
nothing to punitive justice, and therefore nothing
can be exacted of him. " Though the sufferings
of Christ do not secure us from sufferings, they
change the nature and design of our afflictions,
so that, instead of their being punishments, they
are corrections, and are inflicted not by the sword
of the Judge, but by the rod of the Father." * Let

* Jay s Christian Contemplated.



404 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOTJK.

the believer hear the voice of comfort : " Thou
hast not a farthing of debt to pay to God s law ;
there is no indictment against thee, nor a bill for
thee to answer Christ has paid all." * Christ s
departure is not for thy death, but to promote thy
better life. He is not gone to demand a writ
against thee, he is but absent to make thee purge
out the old leaven, that he may come and keep the
feast with thee.

Eemember also that a change in the outward
dealings of the Lord Jesus is not to be looked
upon as an alteration in his love. He has as
much affection for us when he puts us in the
prison-house of desertion as when he leads us
into the pavilion of communion. Immutability
will not allow of the shadow of a turning ; and
as immutability is stamped as much upon the
affection of Christ as upon his divinity itself, it
follows that our variable condition produces no
change in him.

" Immutable his will ;

Though dark may be my frame,
His loving heart is still

Unchangeably the same.
My soul through many changes goes ;
His love no variation knows."

That holy martyr, Master John Bradford, thus

* Colling s Cordial for a Dying Soul.



CAUSES OF APPARENT DESERTION. 405

comforted himself and his friends in a time of
gloom " The mother sometimes beateth the child,
but yet her heart melteth upon it even in the very
beating ; and therefore she casteth the rod into the
fire, and calleth the child, giveth it an apple, and
dandleth it most motherly. And to say the truth,
the love of mothers to their children is but a trace
to train us up to behold the love of God towards
us ; and therefore saith he, c Can a mother forget
the child of her womb ? as much as to say, No,
but if she should do so, yet will I not forget thee,
saith the Lord of Hosts. 5 Ah, comfortable saying !
I will not forget thee."

Wait awhile, and the light which is sown for the
righteous shall bring forth a harvest of delights;
but water the ground with the tears of thy repent
ance, lest the seed should long tarry under the
clods. As sure as thou art a quickened soul thou
wilt, in the dreary winter of thy Lord s absence,
pant for renewed communion ; and be thou sure to
use all means to obtain this boon. Do as thou
didst when thou didst first come to Christ. Read
and practise the directions given to the seeking
sinner in the third chapter,* for they are well-
adapted to thine own case, and then take the advice
which follows :

1. Hunt out and slay the sin which has caused

* See p. 142.



406 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

the coolness of fellowship between thee and thy
Lord.

2. Most humbly confess this sin. and ask grace
to avoid it in future.

3. Come again as a poor guilty sinner to the
cross of Christ, and put thy trust implicitly in him
who died upon it.

4. Use thy closet and thy Bible more frequently,
and with more earnestness.

5. Be active in serving Christ, and patient in
waiting for him, and ere long he will appear to
cheer thy spirit with floods of his surpassing love.
If all these fail thee, tarry the leisure of thy
Master, and thy work shall certainly be rewarded
in due time.

May God the Holy Spirit, by his divine influence,
bedew with grace the pages of this chapter, that
they may minister grace to the afflicted reader.



TO THE UNCONVERTED READER.



SINNER, we beseech tliee listen to the warnings
of one* who was for a long time sad and sick on
account of the hidings of his Lord s face. He
was a true and eminent saint, yet mark his sor-
sows, and let them awaken thee to fear the wrath
to come :

" Oh, sinners ! I have dearly paid for all the
delight I once had in sin for all my indifference
and lukewarmness, my cold and sluggish prayers,
my lost and misimproved time. Beware that you
do not provoke him, for he is a jealous God ; for
if you do, you shall also find that those sins which
you make a slight matter of, will tear you to pieces
hereafter. You will find them, when your con
sciences are awakened, to be a heavy and intolera
ble burden ; they will press you down to hell
itself. I could not have thought that the dis-

* Rev. Timothy Rogers, M.A.



408 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

pleasure of God had been a thing so bitter, and so
very dreadful. It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God, for he is a consuming
fire : if his anger be kindled but a little, you can
not then fix your mind upon any pleasant objects,
nor have one easy thought ; you cannot then go
about your business, your trade, or your secular
affairs, for your souls will be so much amazed that
you will be full of horror and consternation. Those
of us who have felt the terrors of the Lord, do
most earnestly persuade you to forsake every sin ;
for if you indulge in and love your iniquities, they
will set you on fire round about. Oh, that you
did but know what you do when you sin ! You
are opposing that authority that will avenge itself
of all its obstinate opposers ; you are heaping up
fuel for your own destruction ; you are whetting
that sword which will enter into your bowels ; you
are preparing yourselves for bitterness and trouble ;
and though God is patient for awhile, yet he will
not always be so: the shadows of the night are
drawing on, and the doleful time will come when all
your mirth will end in tears, and all your false con
fidence and your foolish hopes will expire and give
up the ghost. And which of you will live when
God shall enter into judgment with you ? "What
will you do ? Where will you go for help when
he who is your Maker he who has weighed your
actions, and observed your wanderings, shall call



CAUSES OF APPARENT DESERTION. 409

you to give an account of all these things ? If
our blessed Lord, when he came near Jerusalem,
lifted up his voice and wept, saying, Oh, that
thou hadst known, even thou in this thy day, the
things that belong unto thy peace ! what cause
have we to mourn over our fellow-creatures, whom
we see to be in danger of misery, and, alas, they
know it not ! Can we see them sleeping on the
very edge of ruin, and not be greatly troubled for
them ! Oh, poor sinners, you are now sleeping,
but the judge is at the door j you are rolling the
pleasant morsel under your tongue, but it will be
great vexation to you in the end. How can you
rest ? how can you be quiet when you have none
of your sins pardoned ? No comfortable relation
to God ! no well-grounded hope of heaven ! How
can you, with any assurance, go about those things
that concern your buying, your selling, and the
present life, when your poor souls, that are of a
thousand times more value, are neglected all the
while ! We have felt great terrors, inexpressible
sorrows, from an angry God, and we would fain
persuade you not to run upon the thick bosses of
his buckler, not to dare his justice, not to despise
his threats as once it was our folly : but we knew
not what we did. We are come out of great tribu
lation, and a fiery furnace, and we would fain per
suade you to avoid the like danger ; let what we
have felt be a caution to you. It was the desire

18



410 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUB.

of Dives, in his misery, that he might leave it to
go thence to warn his brethren lest they came to
the same place of torment ; but it could not be
granted. Some of us here come from the very
gates of hell to warn you that you may not go
thither nay, to warn you that you may never go
so near it as we did. We wish you so well that
we would not have any of you to feel so much sor
row and grief as we have felt. We were once
asleep, as you are ; we did not imagine that terror
and desolation were so near when they came upon
us ; and now, having been overtaken by a storm
of wrath, we come to warn you that we see the
clouds gather, that there is a sound of much rain
and of great misery, though your eyes are so fixed
on things below, that you see it not. You must
speedily arise and seek for a shelter, as you value
the salvation of your souls ; you must not put off
serious thoughts for your own safety, not for one
day, not for one hour longer, lest it be too late.
We were travelling with as little thought of dan
ger as some of you, and we fell among thieves ;
they plundered of our peace and comfort, and we
were even ready to die, when that God, whose just
displeasure brought us low, was pleased to take
pity on us, and to send his Son, as the kind Sama
ritan, to bind up our wounds and to cheer our
hearts ; and we cannot be so uncharitable as not to
tell you, when we see you going the same way,



CAUSES OF APPARENT DESERTION. 411

that there are robbers on the road, and that if you
do not either return or change your course you will
smart for your temerity as much as we have done.
We have been saved indeed at length from our
fears, as by fire y but we suffered, while they
remained, very great loss. Some, perhaps, will be
saying within themselves, I shall see no evil,
though I walk in the imaginations of my own heart.
These things you talk of are the mere product of a
melancholy temper^ that always presages the worst
that is always frighting itself and others with
Hack and formidable ideas / and seeing I am no
way inclinable to that distemper ( , / need not fear
any such perplexing thoughts? But know that no
briskness of temper, no sanguine courageous hopes,
no jollities nor diversions, can fence you from the
wrath of God. If you go on in sin, you must feel
the bitterness of it either in this or the next world ;
and that may, notwithstanding all the strength of
your constitution, all the pleasures of your unfear-
ing youth, come upon a sudden. Your souls are
always naked and open before God, and he can
make terrible impressions of wrath there when he
will, though by your cheerfulness and mirth you
seem to be at the greatest distance from it."

" Ye bold, blaspheming souls,

Whose conscience nothing scares;
Ye carnal, cold, professing fools,
Whose state s as bad as theirs.



4:12 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

" Repent, or you re undone,

And pray to God with speed ;
Perhaps the truth may yet be known,
And make you free indeed.

" The hour of death draws nigh,

Tis time to drop the mask ;
Fall at the feet of Christ and cry ;
He gives to all that ask."



XII.
COMMUNION PRESERVED.



But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward
evening, and the day is far spent." LUKE xxiv. 29.



THESE disciples knew not their Lord, but they
loved the unknown stranger who spake so sweetly
of him. Blessed are the men who discourse of
Jesus ; they shall ever find a welcome in the hearts
and homes of the elect. His name to our ears is
ever melodious, and we love that conversation best
which is fullest of it. We would willingly afford
the chamber on the wall, the table, the stool, and
the candlestick, to all those who will talk conti
nually of Him. But, alas! there are too many
who would blush to answer our Saviour s question,
" "What manner of communications are these that
ye have one to another?"* Too great a number
of professors forget the words of the prophet,

* Luke xxiv. 17.

418



414: THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

" Then they that feared the Lord spake often one
to another : and the Lord hearkened and heard it,
and a book of remembrance was written before
him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought
upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the
Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my
jewels; and I will spare them as a man spare th
his own son that serveth him."* We will not be
censorious, but we believe with an old author, that
" the metal of the bell is known by the sound of
the clapper ; what is in the well will be found in
the bucket; what is in the warehouse will be
shown in the shop ; and what is in the heart will be
bubbling forth at the mouth."

O

"We often miss our Lord s company, because our
conversation does not please him. When our
Beloved goes down into his garden, it is to feed
there and gather lilies ;f but if thorns and nettles
are the only products of the soil, he will soon be
away to the true beds of spices. When two walk
together, and are agreed in solemn discourse con
cerning heavenly things, Jesus will soon make a
third. So here, on this journey to Emmaus, the
Saviour, though they " knew him not, because
their eyes were holden," did so wondronsly con
verse with them, that their "hearts burned within
them." He who would stay a man in the street

* Mai. iii. 16, 17. f Cant. vi. 2.



COMMUNION PRESERVED. 415

would naturally call out his name; and he who
would bring Jesus into his soul must frequently
pronounce his charming name.

The Lord having graciously conversed with
these favoured travellers, essays to leave them,
and continue his journey, but they constrain him
to remain, and at their earnest suit he does so.
From this pleasing little incident let us glean one
or two lessons.

I. When we have the Saviour s company for a
little while, we shall not he content until we have
more of it. These holy men were not content to
let him go, but would have him tarry with them all
night. There are certain liquors which men drink
that are said to increase thirst ; it is most true of
this rich " wine on the lees," that the more we
drink of it the more we desire. Nor will the
draught be forbidden us, or prove in any way
injurious, for the spouse bids us " drink, yea, drink
abundantly." The soul which has enjoyed commu
nion with Jesus will never agree that it has dwelt
long enough on the mount: it will far rather build
a tabernacle for itself and its master. Never is a
Christian tired of his Redeemer s society, but, like
Abraham, he cries, "My Lord, if now I have
found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray
thee, from thy servant." Any plea will be urged
to persuade our Lord to remain. Is it evening ?



416 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

we will plead that the day is far spent, and we
shall need him to cheer our midnight hours. Is it
morning ? we will tell him that we fear to begin
the day without a long visit from him. Is it noon ?
we will urge that the sun is hot, and we shall faint
unless he allows us to sit beneath his shadow. We
will always find some reason for his remaining, for
love s logic is inexhaustible. If he would become
our constant guest we should never weary of his
company. A thousand years would seem but as
one day if all the time we might lay our head upon
his bosom ; yea, eternity itself shall need no other
source of joy since this perennial stream is ever
running. When our wondering eyes have admired
the beauties of our Saviour for millions of years
we shall be quite as willing to continue the medita
tion, supremely blest with that Heaven which our
eyes shall drink in from his wounded hands and
side. The marrow of heaven is Jesus ; and as we
shall never be surfeited with bliss, so we shall
never have too much of Jesus. Fresh glories are
discovered in him every hour; his person, work,
offices, character, affection, and relationships, are
each of them clusters of stars which the eye of
contemplation will view with unutterable astonish
ment as they are in their order revealed to the
mind. The saint who has longest tenanted the
mansions of glory will confess that the presence
of the Saviour has not ceased to be his bliss, nor



COMMUNION PRESERVED. 417

has the freshness of the pleasure been in the least
diminished. Christ is a flower, but he fadeth not;
he is a river, but he is never dry ; he is a sun, but
he knoweth no eclipse ; he is all in all, but he is
something more than all. He that longs not for
Christ hath not seen him, and by just so much as
man has tasted of the sweetness of Jesus will he be
hungry and thirsty after more of him. Men who
are content with a manifestation once in a month
will soon become so dull that once a year will suit
them ; but he who has a visit from the Saviour
very frequently will be panting for fresh views of
him every day yea, and every hour of the day.
He will never lack appetite for spiritual things
who lives much on them. The poor professor may
be content with a few of Christ s pence now and
then, but he who is rich in grace thinks so small
an income beneath his station, and cannot live
unless he has golden gifts from the hand of his
Lord ; he will covet earnestly this best of gifts,
and be a very miser after the precious things of
the cross. John Owen, the most sober of theolo
gians, falls into a perfect ecstasy when touching
on this subject. In expounding Cant. viii. 6, Y, he
gives us the following glowing passage : " The
intendment of what is so loftily set out by so many
metaphors in these verses is, C I am not able to
bear the workings of my love to thee, unless I may
always have society and fellowship with thee.



418 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

There is no satisfying of my love without it. It As
as the grave, that still says, Give ! give ! Death
is not satisfied without its prey. If it have not all
it has nothing. Let what will happen, if death
hath not its whole desire it hath nothing at all.
Nor can it be withstood in its appointed season ;
no ransom will be taken. So is my love ; if I
have thee not wholly I have nothing. Nor can all
the world bribe it to a diversion; it will be no
more turned aside than death in its time. Alas ! I
am not able to bear my jealous thoughts; I fear
thou dost not love me that thou hast forsaken me,
because I know I deserve not" to be beloved.
These thoughts are hard as hell ; they give no rest
to my soul. If I find not myself on thy heart and
arm, I am as one that lies down in a led of
coals" The absence of the Saviour deprives the
believer of more than joy or light ; it seems to
destroy his very life, and sap the foundations of his
being. Let us seek then to hold the king in his
galleries.

II. "We remark, in the next place, that if we
would keep the Saviour with us, we must constrain
him. Jesus will not tarry if he is not pressed to do
so. Not that he is ever weary of his people, but
because he would have them show their sense of
his value. In the case before us, it is said, " he
made as if he would go further." This he did to



COMMUNION PRESERVED. 419

>ry their affection. " Not," says Ness, " that he
had any purpose to depart from them, but to prove
them how they prized him, and accounted of his
company. Therefore this ought not to be misim-
proved to countenance any kind of sinful dissimil
ation. If Solomon might make as though he
would do an act that in its own nature was unlaw
ful (to slay an innocent child),* sure I am our
Saviour might do that which is but indifferent in
itself (whether to go or stay) without being charged
with the sin of dissembling. But when Christ
makes to be gone, the two disciples would not let
him go, but one (as it were) gets hold on one arm,
and the other on the other ; there they hang till
they constrain him to continue with them." These
were wise men, and were, therefore, loath to part
with a fellow-traveller from whom they could learn
so much. If we are ever privileged to receive
Jesus under our roof, let us make haste to secure
the door that he may not soon be gone. If he sees
us careless concerning him, and cold towards him,
he will soon arise and go hence. He will not in
trude himself where he is not wanted ; he needs no
lodging, for the heaven of heavens is his perpetual
palace, and there be many hearts of the contrite
where he will find a hearty welcome.

When we have the honour of a visit from Prince
Immanuel let everything be done to protract it.

* 1 Kings, iii. 24.



420 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

Angels visits are few and far between : when we
have the happiness of meeting therewith, let us,
like Jacob, manfully grasp the angel, and detain
him, at least until he leaves a blessing. Up,
Christian, with a holy bravery, and lay hold on the
mercy while it is within reach ! The Son of Man
loves those who hold him tightly. He will not
resent the familiarity, but will approve of thine
earnestness. Let the loving bride of the Canticles
teach thee by her example, for she glories in her
deed when she sings, " I found him whom my soul
loveth, I held him, and I would not let him go. 5
True, tis amazing grace which can allow such a
liberty with the person of so exalted a being ; but
seeing that he invites us to lay hold on his strength,
and has sanctioned the act in others, shall we, like
Ahaz, when he declined to ask a sign, refuse the
favour which our Lord allows ? ~No

" We will maintain our hold ;
Tis his goodness makes us bold."

How can we then prolong our communion with the
Saviour ? Let us reply to the question by sundry
directions, which, by the aid of the Spirit, we will
labour to follow.

1. Allow no rivals to intrude. Jesus will never
tarry in a divided heart. He must be all or
nothing. Search then thy heart; dethrone its
idols; eject all interlopers; chastise alHrespassers ;
yea, slay the Diabolians who lurk in thy soul. If



COMMUNION PRESERVED. 421

we would enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with the
Son of God, we must institute a rigid inquisition
against all kinds of sin. A little evil will at times
mar our peace, just as a small stone in the shoe will
spoil our walking. Tender are the shoots of this
vine of communion, and little foxes will do no little
injury. " The Lord thy God is a jealous God," and
Jesus thy husband is jealous also. Sorely did he
smite Jerusalem, because she sought affinity with
other gods, and chose to herself many lovers. Keep
then thy house and heart open to him, and shut to
all others. With sin he cannot dwell. Canst thou
expect the "angel of the covenant" to dwell with
the prince of darkness? Can there be concord
with Christ and Belial? Awake then, and cry
" Away, ye profane," my heart is the temple of
Jesus, and ye must not defile its hallowed places.
If they retire not, get to thyself the scourge of re
pentance and self-mortification, and if it be laid on
lustily they will not long abide the blows.

It behoves us to remember, also, that there are
other things besides sins which may become offen
sive to the Saviour. The nearest friend, the part
ner of our bosom, or the offspring of our loins, may
excite the Lord s jealousy. If these become the
objects of an affection which ought to be wholly
his, he will be moved to anger with us. The calf
was no less an idol because it was made of gold.
The brazen serpent, despite its original service,
must be broken when men worship it. All things



4:22 THE SAINT AND HIS SAYIOUE.

are alike cause of jealousy to Jesus if they are
exalted to his throne, since no creature can in the
least possess anything deserving of worship. The
very mention of a rival s name will suffice to drive
our blessed Lord away. He will have the name
of Baali taken utterly out of our mouth ; and he
alone must be our Ishi.

Oh ! true believer, is there no strange god with
thee? Make a thorough search. Bid even thy
beloved Rachel rise, for the teraph is often con
cealed beneath the place where she sitteth. Say
not in haste, I am no idolater. The approaches of
this sin are insidious in the extreme, and ere thou
knowest it thou art entangled in its iron net. The
love of the creature has a bewitching power over
men, and they seldom know the treachery of the
Delilah until their locks are shorn. Oh, daughters
of Zion, let King Solomon alone have your love ;
rehearse his name in your songs, and write his
achievements on your memories ; so will he dwell
in the city of David and ride through your midst
in his chariot paved with love for you : but if ye
pay homage to any save himself, he will return
unto his place and make your beauteous city a by
word with the enemy. Have no fellowship with
strangers, if you desire manifestations of love from
the adorable Jesus. " Let none be your love and
choice, and the flower of your delights, but your
Lord Jesus. Set not your heart upon the world,
since God hath not made it your portion ; for it



COMMUNION PRESERVED. 423

will not fall to you to get two portions, and to re
joice twice, and to be happy twice, and to have an
upper heaven and an under heaven too. Most of