WHILE the scriptural narratives, as has already been indicated, afford a rich supply of comfort to the believing soul, the divine precepts and instructions are equally full of consolation. To this effect the sweet singer of Israel thought and wrote: “Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for thy word hath quickened me” (Psa. 119:49, 5049ZAIN. Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. 50This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. (Psalm 119:49‑50)).
The reason why the word of God produces this blessed result is not far to seek. Since, in contrast to the imperfect, not to say impracticable, philosophies of mankind, it sets the sorrows and trials of this life in their true and proper character, shedding the light of heaven upon the gloom of earth. For all mere human efforts to comfort, apart from God and the truth, are inefficient because more or less ignorant. And the failure is the more apparent in proportion to the bitterness of the trial to be faced. This is shown in the history of Job. His three friends were evidently sincere in their regard for the sufferer, and anxious to serve him in the hour of his sorrow. But the cause of the patriarch's affliction completely baffled them. They failed to understand how such a perfect and upright man, as Job was, should be so very severely tried. Hence, after seven days' silence, by their insinuations and misrepresentations they caused that patient man to exclaim in the bitterness of his soul, “Miserable comforters, are ye all.” They might have been of service if his were an ordinary case; but when an eminently righteous man was stripped of every earthly possession in an unexampled manner, their tongues were dumb. Not comprehending in any degree the ways of God with His own, they caused Job to feel, by their false and unworthy suggestions, their utter inability to help him and threw him back on God Himself. So that eventually he said, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee” (Job 42:55I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. (Job 42:5)).
It is thus patent that in the deepest and keenest of the sorrows of the human heart, there were none to sympathize, none to cheer, had not Christ been sent “to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa. 61:2, 32To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah 61:2‑3)).
But when the Lord of glory came, He declared what sounded strangely enough in mere human ears. “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:44Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)). The fact was, however, that the sweetness of the consolation administered by that Blessed One more than equaled the bitterness of the sorrow which called it forth. In this strain wrote one of God's suffering saints, “I protest in the presence of that all-discerning Eye Who knoweth what I write and what I think, that I would not want the sweet experience of the consolations of God, for all the bitterness of affliction; nay, whether God come to His children with a rod or a crown, if He come Himself with it, it is well. Welcome, welcome, Jesus, what way soever Thou come, if we can get a sight of Thee.”
It is noticeable in the ways of the Lord here below, that before removing the cause of a person's grief by His mighty power, He bestowed a word of cheer for the assurance and support of the soul. Thus, when He met the funeral procession issuing from the gates of Nain, carrying forth that widow's only son, He did not proceed at once to raise him to life. But when the Lord saw the grief-stricken woman, “He had compassion on her,” and banished her tears by His compassionate words “Weep not.” The words were effectual, for they were not the formal utterance of some shallow-minded unfeeling mortal; but they came from the lips and heart of the One Who Himself wept at the grave of Lazarus. He was able to enter into and fully appreciate the inward pangs of her heart as no other could. Bereft of adequate human sympathy, this in itself was as balm to her wounded soul. Besides, there was not only exquisite compassion in the words of Jesus, but power and promise and hope. He was able not only to comfort in the very presence of tribulation, but to deliver out of it. (Compare 2 Cor. 1:3-103Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 5For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 6And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. 8For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: 9But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 10Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; (2 Corinthians 1:3‑10).) The divine voice, that first of all spoke peace to the troubled heart of the bereaved widow, spoke life to the dead youth upon the bier. “And He came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still, And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother” (Luke 7:12-1512Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. (Luke 7:12‑15)).
Again, when blank despair was settling on the heart of Jairus at the tidings of his little daughter's decease, the Master's words were “Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole” (Luke 8:5050But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. (Luke 8:50)). Before announcing her restoration, He graciously soothed the agonized feelings of the newly bereaved father by His sympathizing and encouraging words “Fear not.” So, too, before stilling the storm, His voice was heard amid the howling of the tempest, bidding His timorous disciples “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (Matt. 14:2727But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. (Matthew 14:27)) It is well, therefore, for us to learn that the Lord not only delivers the godly out of their troubles, but supports them by His word in the very midst of them.
And because this “comfort of the scriptures” is ever available in the very hour of sorrow, it thereby becomes of untold value to the saint of God. Human comfort is sometimes liberally administered when the trial is over and gone. In the case of Job we find him left alone in the hour of his grief, save for his “friends” whose offices were more irritating than soothing. But when Jehovah “turned the captivity of Job” and gave him “twice as much as before,” we read, “Then came there unto him all his brethren and all his sisters and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and they bemoaned him and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an ear-ring of gold” (Job 42:1111Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. (Job 42:11)). Such comfort as this may do for fine weather but is useless in a storm.
And the experience of Job is by no means unexampled, as most can testify from their own histories. But what sorrowing saint ever consulted the scriptures in faith and sought in vain for cheer and support? There the blessed Lord ever lives and speaks before the eyes and ears of His people. There we have the incomparable fact of God manifest in flesh upon earth, in the very midst of a world like ours. There we see His manhood bringing Him into daily contact with the abundant sorrows of this vale of tears; yet the glory of His Godhead outshining and forbidding us to think of Him as altogether such a one as ourselves. Hence nothing more quickly calms the troubled spirit than a reverent consideration of that Man of Sorrows Who “Himself rook our infirmities and bore our sicknesses,” of that Divine Word Who, while tabernacling among men, began to do what He will more perfectly accomplish in due time—to wipe away all tears from off all faces.
It has been said that the great essential feature of comfort is substantiality; in order to be effective, it must have a solid and permanent basis. And this basis our God has given us in His Son. For what can be more changeless than He Who is “the same yesterday and to-day and forever?” And in this we are privileged beyond saints of Old Testament days. They hung upon promises—upon what God had said He would do. But now grace and truth has come by Jesus Christ. In Him God was and is manifested in all the fullness and tenderness of His love, so that no sorrow can withstand His presence. There we see divine tears welling forth from human eyes, for His interest and sympathy in the sorrows of mankind were those, not of a man only, but of God Himself.
It is painful to think that there are those who at this very day, are teaching that the Ineffable Son “beggared Himself of divine prerogatives,” and became no more than a man. No more than a man! Alas! alas! For the universal experience is, that there is no man, no, not one, in whom we can implicitly trust and confide. It was not at the feet of a mere man, but of the Omniscient Man that sorrowing and contrite Peter threw himself. To no other but Jesus could he have said, “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee” (John 21:1717He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. (John 21:17)).
It is worthy of remark that after alluding to the “consolation in Christ,” the “comfort of love,” the apostle by the Spirit proceeds at once to unfold the essential glories of Christ's person in a most striking way (Phil. 2). Thus is the condition of our hearts bound up most closely with the majesty and dignity of the Person of our Lord.
( To be continued, D.V.)