In your long experience of life you will doubtless have observed that one of the most distressing things about old age is its loneliness.
A minister of the gospel in America, who conducts a newspaper feature entitled “Everyday Living,” which reaches millions of people, receives, in the course of his work, mountains of letters on the practical problems of life. From thousands of these letters he learns that “Private Enemy Number One” in human life is Fear, “Number Two” is Worry, and “Number Three,” Loneliness. The last-named of these three disturbers of the heart’s peace is the one of which we become increasingly conscious as the years speed over our heads, for one by one our loved ones pass from us, until ultimately we find ourselves alone. In the case of an ideally happy marriage, the loss of either partner can occasion great sorrow; always in the heart of the one who is left there is the cry for “the touch of the vanished hand and the sound of the voice that is still.”
Our heavenly Father is not unmindful of our need of companionship during the days of our years upon the earth, and He has made gracious provision for it. We are now, therefore, to examine that provision, and, as we do so, we shall find that whereas our human friendships are subject to the vicissitudes of time, the Divine Comradeship is independent of them—that while they may be shattered at any moment, this shall abide till traveling days are done.
God’s Promises
The first outstanding promise that God would be with His people is that which was given to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-1613And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. (Genesis 28:13‑16): “Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest.” That promise, adapted to circumstances, was repeated to Moses (Ex. 3:1212And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. (Exodus 3:12)) and to Joshua (Josh. 1:55There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (Joshua 1:5)).
If we take God’s further promise to Moses in Exodus 33:1414And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. (Exodus 33:14) — ”My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” — as a kind of motto, we shall find that it can be applied to all the forms of trial that we may encounter on our way to the heavenly land. Thus, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” — in the midst of conflict (Ex. 33:1414And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. (Exodus 33:14)); courage, in the hour of danger (Isa. 41:1010Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10)); companionship, in times of sorrow (Isa. 43:22When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Isaiah 43:2)); confidence, as we tread the valley of the shadow of death (Psa. 23:44Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)).
Passing to the New Testament, we observe that while Matthew’s Gospel opens with the announcement of the coming Savior (Matt. 1:2121And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)), it closes with the assurance of the perpetual presence of the Savior who has come: “Behold I am with you all the days” (Matt. 28:2020Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:20) JND). All the days — in winter days, when joys are fled; in sunless days, when the clouds return again and again after rain; in days of sickness and pain; in days of temptation and perplexity, as much as in days when the heart is as full of joy as the woodlands in spring are full of song. That day never comes when the Lord Jesus is not at the side of His saints. Lover and friend may stand afar, but He walks with them through the fires; He fords with them the rivers; He stands by them when face to face with the lion. We can never be alone. Of Him it can truthfully be affirmed that He will never bid us “Goodbye” (Heb. 13:55Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)).
Past, Present and Future
There are three great Biblical names, whose spiritual meanings unfold what God can be to His people during the days of their pilgrimage. These words cover, not only the special need of which we have been thinking, but also every problem and difficulty which we may encounter as we journey to the Land of Rest. The first is “Ebenezer,” which means, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” (1 Sam. 7:1212Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. (1 Samuel 7:12)). The second is “Emmanuel,” which means, “God with us” (Matt. 1:2323Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23)). The third is “Jehovah-Jireh,” which means, “The Lord will provide” (Gen. 22:1414And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. (Genesis 22:14)).
“Ebenezer “ — with all the happy memories that it recalls — is the only word that adequately explains the past. “Emmanuel” — with all the wealth of comradeship that it connotes — is the only word that can give assurance for the present. “Jehovah-Jireh” — with all the boundless provision that it implies — is the only word that can impart confidence as we face the future.
Two Examples
And now let me give you two illustrations of how these things work out in actual experience. One of them is from the Bible, and the other from church history.
Joseph, who was destined to occupy a unique place in the development of God’s earthly purposes, had been ruthlessly torn from his home and was eventually sold as a slave to Potiphar, an officer of the Egyptian guard (Gen. 39:11And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. (Genesis 39:1)). But we read that in these dire circumstances the Lord was with His young servant and that he was a prosperous man (Gen. 39:22And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. (Genesis 39:2)). Later on, he was charged with a grave offense of which he was innocent, and he was cast into prison (Gen. 39:19-2019And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 20And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. (Genesis 39:19‑20)). But again, it is stated that, even there, God was with this noble man: “The Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison” (Gen. 39:21-2321But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. (Genesis 39:21‑23)). If we are living in unclouded fellowship with God, “stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.” Joseph proved that His divine Friend was as really with him in the pit and in the dungeon as He was when, later on, by the exercise of divinely imparted wisdom, he saved the Egyptian empire from annihilation.
John Chrysostom was the most eloquent preacher of his age. Because of his loyalty to God and truth, he came under the ban of the emperor and by him was driven into exile. Writing to a friend from his wilderness home, this eminent servant of Christ said, “You lament my banishment, but since I knew that heaven was my country, I have esteemed the whole earth as a place of exile. Constantinople, from which I am expelled, is as distant from Paradise as is the desert to which they send me.” To the man who could use such language, God was the ever-present Helper, the never-failing Friend.
Beloved children of the King, let us ever remember, as friend after friend departs, that the God who lived in Joseph’s time and in John Chrysostom’s time is just the same today. He remains (Heb. 1:22Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:2)); He abides, and “the wilderness and the solitary place” may even yet become the place of “joy and singing.”
Let us close with the message which comes to us from Isaiah 46:44And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. (Isaiah 46:4): “Even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”
H. Durbanville (from The Best Is Yet to Be)