It is clear from Scripture that a person may lose his joy, though he is not permitted to lose his life. David and Peter both did so ; and what was the reason ? Was it not that they both grieved the Spirit ? They drove the Holy Dove from His resting- place in their hearts; and the true believer may do the same. He may grieve the Spirit by his temper, his evil-speaking, or his want of tenderness ; and he may lose all his joy, though God may save him by His marvellous grace.
^ A little while ago I saw a very sad and sickly-looking plant. It might have been employed as the symbol of melancholy and distress. It was limp and drooping, and had nothing about it suggestive of brightness, buoyancy, and health. I spoke to the gardener about it, and this was the gardener's reply : " That plant, sir, needs three things. It wants better soil, cleaner air, and more light." I was impressed with the comprehensiveness of the counsel. I think the gardener was demanding even more than he himself conceived. For what did he ask ? He asked that I should give my plant better soil ; that is to say, it wanted a new earth. He asked that I should give it more light ; that is to say,
* William Canton.
5i6 THE STRENGTH OF JOY
it wanted a new heaven. He asked that I should give it cleaner air ; that is to say, it needed a new climate. If my plant were to be brought out of melancholy disease into bright and vigorous health these three conditions would have to be supplied. I should have to take it away from its poor, lean, scanty rootage ; I should have to remove it from the polluting gases and vapours by which it was choked ; and I should have to release it from the artificial light, or at the best the natural twilight, by which it was im- prisoned. A day or two ago I saw another plant, away up on the Warton Hill. This plant enjoyed all the three conditions pre- scribed by my gardener. It was rooted in luxurious soil, it was steeped and baptized in the uninterrupted Ught, and it was swept and washed by the unpolluted air. And the plant was the very symbol of joy and strength and health. Its leaves were bright and radiant, and it erected itself as though in conscious triumph. All of which I say is a parable. There are multitudes of souls which are sick and drooping and sad. They are limp and melancholy. There is nothing about them suggestive of radiant joy and victory. How can they be transformed ? By the estab- lishment of new conditions. They require a new soil, more light and pure air ; that is to say, they need a new earth, a new heaven, and a new climate. And surely it is the "new" things that, above all else, are promised to us in Jesus Christ our Lord. In Jesus Christ we are heirs to the new things ; the " new earth " and the " new heaven " are ours in Him.^
2. But while the joy of the Lord is ours by the gift of the Holy Ghost, there are means used for conveying and for deepen- ing it. God makes use of public worship as a means by which He imparts His joy. How many have come to church burdened and careworn, and gone home from the sanctuary of God refreshed and strengthened. That is what happened to the Psalmist (Ps. Ixxiii. 17) ; and this is exactly what God promised when He said (Isa. Ivi. 7), " I will make them joyful in my house of prayer ; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar ; for mine house shall be called the house of prayer for all people."
3. God makes use of Holy Scripture as a means of imparting joy. There can be no real joy that is not founded on Scripture ; no other teaching can be the means of imparting abiding peace. Other things may produce excitement, and very lively emotions
1 J. H. Jowett.
NEHEMIAH viii. lo 517
for a time ; but it is the Word of God alone that can be the basis of solid joy. This appears very plainly in the words of our Lord Himself and His beloved Apostle. In John xv. 11, He said " These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full " ; and in 1 John i. 4, St. John appears to echo the words of his Master, and says, " These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full."
4. Finally, if we are to be joyful before the Lord and to serve Him with a pure and constant gladness, we must add to our worship trust. The Psalmist warns us that we can be thankful to God and speak good of His Name only as we are sure that He is a gracious God, whose mercy and truth are everlasting, and that we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. It is our distrust of Him and of our security in Him that so often gives us mourning for joy, and heaviness of spirit for the garment of praise.