Morning, March 24
Go To Evening Reading
“He was heard in that he feared.”
Hebrews 5:7
Did this fear arise from the infernal suggestion that he was utterly forsaken . There may be sterner trials than this, but surely it is one of the worst to be utterly forsaken? “See,” said Satan, “thou hast a friend nowhere! Thy Father hath shut up the bowels of
his compassion against thee. Not an angel in his courts will stretch
out his hand to help thee. All heaven is alienated from thee; thou
art left alone. See the companions with whom thou hast taken sweet
counsel, what are they worth? Son of Mary, see there thy brother James,
see there thy loved disciple John, and thy bold apostle Peter, how
the cowards sleep when thou art in thy sufferings! Lo! Thou hast no
friend left in heaven or earth. All hell is against thee. I have stirred
up mine infernal den. I have sent my missives throughout all regions
summoning every prince of darkness to set upon thee this night, and
we will spare no arrows, we will use all our infernal might to overwhelm thee:
and what wilt thou do, thou solitary one?” It may be, this was the temptation; we think it was, because the
appearance of an angel unto him strengthening him removed that fear.
He was heard in that he feared; he was no more alone, but heaven was
with him. It may be that this is the reason of his coming three times
to his disciples—as Hart puts it—
“Backwards and forwards thrice he ran,
As if he sought some help from man.”
He would see for himself whether it were really true that all men
had forsaken him; he found them all asleep; but perhaps he gained
some faint comfort from the thought that they were sleeping, not from
treachery, but from sorrow, the spirit indeed was willing, but the
flesh was weak. At any rate, he was heard in that he feared. Jesus
was heard in his deepest woe; my soul, thou shalt be heard also.