Clusters from Eshcol : or, Words of comfort and ecncouragement drawn from the Sacred Scriptures for the afflicted children God

t^ihvavy of Che 'theolo^icd Seminar jc

PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY

'^2

. APk 21 1952 ^

GlMSleFS fFsm Eshditr

OB,

WOI[DS OF COMFORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT

DRAWN FROM THE SACRED SCRIPTURES FOR THE
AFFLICTED CHILDREN OF GOD.

BY y

JACOB HOKE,

AITTHOB or "holiness; oe, the higheb christian life," and "thk agb wm
LIVE in; its dangers and duties."

SECOND EDITION.

"Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver ; I have chosen

thee in the furnace of affliction^

Isaiah 48: 10.

DAYTON, OHIO:

UNITED BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE.

1882.

Eatered according to act of Congress, in the year 1883,

By Ret. W. J. Shuey,

Id the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. 0»

PREFilCE,

The circumstances under which the reflections contained in
this volume were written, as well as the reasons which in-
duced them, are stated in the second chapter, entitled, " Rejoic-
ing in Tribulation." The reader will pardon the personal
narrative therein related, as it seems right and proper to
introduce it as an illustration of the subject under considera-
tion, as well as an evidence of the all-sufficiency of divine
grace.

As in all families where there are afflicted ones, the softest
couch, the sweetest morsels from the table, and the kindest
and most unremitting attention are given to such ; so in
God's family, the most precious truths of his word, expressed
in language and metaphor of the utmost tenderness, seem to
be addressed to the weak, the afflicted, and the tried. In all
this the tender sympathy of Him who bore our griefs and
carried our sorrows, while a stranger and sojourner among
men, is seen.

Communion with God through his written word was the
principal source of my pastime and enjoyment during the
months and even years of my necessary retirement from the
active labors and pursuits of life ; and as the truths thus
gathered were so full of comfort to my own soul, and so
drew out my sympathies for my fellow-sufierers, I feel it a
duty, as well as a debt of gratitude to God for the all-abund-
ant grace bestowed upon me during those months of pain and

j^ PREFACE.

distress, to share the rich Eshcol clusters which unseen hands
brought, and still bring, to my soul with others called to
drink of affliction's bitter cup.

It is affirmed of our Lord Jesus Christ that he was made
^* perfect through suffering," and that in consequence of his
personal experience in all the trials through which his follow-
ers are called to pass he is the better able to sympathize with
them. May I be permitted to say, in all humility, that from
personal experience of severe and long-continued affliction I
am the better prepared to enter into the sympathies of fellow-
sufferers and execute a work for their comfort, which I could
not do without this personal experience? Was not this truth
iu the mind of the apostle when he uttered the words,^con-
tained in II. Corinthians i. 3, 4, — " Blessed be God, even the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Fathei* of mercies, and
the God of all comfort ; who comforteth us in all our tribula-
tion, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any
trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted
of God."

And now, dear reader, hoping that the blessing of God may
go forth with these pages and make them a source of good to
some of the scattered and suffering saints of the great family
of its once suffering Head, I subscribe myself *' your brother
and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and pa-
tience of Jesus Christ."

JACOB HOKE.

Chaubebsbvbg, Pa.

INTRDDUCTIDN,

" Many are the aflaictions of the righteous." "As thy day,
EG shall thy strength be." These two declarations from the
word of God will be found to constitute the basis of the
volume now offered to the Christian public. As to the former,
it will be needless to amplify. The pilgrimage of life is one
of cares, aflaictions, bereavements, and sorrows ; and God has
BO ordered that the Christian is no exception to the rule.

Can we say as much for the latter? Bible promises do not
create these drawbacks on life's enjoyment. Medical science
is not responsible for the existence of disease. It presupposes
every ailment for which it brings a remedy. So with the
gospel. It only provides for what already exists. Sin is the
prolific mother of all our woes. " Is there a balm in Gilead ?
Is there a physician there?" These are questions of infinite
moment to every member of our race ; and these questions
our author proposes to answer. And if long and patient
study of the word of God, and long and painful suffering in
the flesh will qualify a man to give such answer, then is he in
an eminent degree fitted for the task. " Clusters from
EsHCOL." The title is itself full of promise. The book does
not disappoint the hope the title excites. The Cliristiau reader
■will find a feast of good things as he studies these pages.

The author, Mr. Hoke, whom we have for a third of a cen-
tury intimately known as a friend and brother in the gospel,
has been for the greater part of his life a diligent Bible-

Vi INTRODUCTION.

Btudent. In his weekly Bible-class and in the Sunday-school,
where he has so long labored, he had ample opportunity to
test the power of divine truth to bless and save. His practi-
cal mind has especially gathered those precious truths that
prove such invaluable helps in the Christian warfare.

But he comes to the afllicted, heart-burdened Christian as a
brother and companion in like tribulation. For many years
he has been a sufferer in the flesh ; and he has learned by
a happy experience the power of the gospel to sustain and
save. Dr. Doddridge was, like many other good men, subject
to times of great despondency. At one time a deep gloom
had settled upon his mind. Walking along the street, feeling
wretched, and not knowing what to do, he heard, through an
open door, a child reading, "As thy day, so shall thy strength
be." The effect upon him, he says, was indescribable. The
burden was lifted from his heart, and he went his way rejoic-
ing.

But these afflictions are not only seasons of gospel comfort,
but are to be the means of religious development and growth.
They are to yield the "peacable fruits of righteousness to
them that are exercised thereby." Says the psalmist, " I went
through fire and through water, and thou broughtest me out
into a wealthy place." Our author has a blessed knowledge
of what this means. He knows what it is to have even the
Bufferings of life work to the soul's good; and being thus
blessed and enlarged in his own Christian experience, he is
able to direct others into the like faith.

These " Clusters " will find their way into many a Christian

home. They will dry up many a tear, and bring solace to

many a care-burdened heart. They will, too, help many a

yearning soul to a better trust, a richer hope, a higher joy.

The book is sent out on its mission of love with the prayer

that God may use it to his own glory and to the comfort and

eanctification of the believer.

JOHN DICKSON,

WsSTirBTILLK, OhIO.

CDNTENTS,

Preface. - - . - -
Introduction. By Rev. J. Dickson, D. D,

PAQB

3
5

CHAPTER I.
Fellowship with Christ in Suffering. - - - 11

CHAPTER II.
Rejoicing in Tribulation. - - - - - 24

CHAPTER in.
Divine Discipline. - - - - - - 44

CHAPTER IV.
Afflictions — Whence do They Come? - - - 78

CHAPTER V.
Afflictions — How to be Borne. - - - - 89

CHAPTER VI.
Afflictions Improved. - - - - . - 107

CHAPTER Vn.
Afflictions Sometimes Removed by Prayer, - - 132

CHAPTER VIII.
The Graces of the Holy Spirit Developed by Afaiction. - l/>3

vm CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.

A Royal Sufferer. ----- •ISO-

CHAPTER X.

God's Providential Care of His People. - - - 191

CHAPTER XI.

God in Everything. - - - - - - 20T

CHAPTER XII.
Special Grace for Special Occasions. - - - - 220

CHAPTER XIII.
Salvation Completed. - - - - - - 239-

CHAPTER XIV.

Observations from the Delectable Mountains. - - 253-

CHAPTER XV.
The Crossing of the River of Death. - - - 315-

CHAPTER I.

FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST IN SUFFERING.

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his suflferings, being made conformable
unto his death ; if by any means I might attain unto the res-
urrection of the dead." (Phil. iii. 10, 11.)

Fellowsliip with Christ in seven important re-
lations, or conditions, is spoken of in the Script-
ures; namely, —

I. Crucified with Christ; fellowship with the
Man of sorrows m his life of suffering. (Gal. ii.
20 ; Phil. iii. 10, 11 ; Peter iv. 13.)

n. Dead with Christ; dead to self, sin, the
law, and the world, as Christ was dead bodily.
(Rom. vi. 2, 3, etc.)

III. Buried with Christ; separated in spirit,
and, so far as possible, separated from all volun-
tary association with the world. (Rom. vi. 4, etc.)

lY. Raised up with Christ; revived to a new
life of spirituality and Christian activity. (Rom.
vi. 5 ; Eph. ii. 5.)

Y. Sitting together with Christ in heavenly vlaces ;

12 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

the enjoyment of the means of grace; entering"
into the fellowship of Christ's joys and rejoicings,
as well as being made partakers of his sorrows.
(Eph. ii. 6, 7.)

VL Glorified together with Christ; made and
fashioned like unto his glorious body in the resur-
rection at the last day. (Phil. iii. 21; I. John iii. 2.)

YII. Sharing in the coming kingdom and glory
of Christ; sitting upon thrones and forever reign-
ing with Christ. (II. Tim. ii. 12 ; John xvii. 5, 22,
24;Eev. iii. 21.)

The foregoing is God's own declared order, and
it can not be changed nor reversed ; and all who
would share in the enjoyments of the fifth, —
which pertains to this life, — and anticipate and
finally enter into the blessedness of the sixth and
seventh, — which pertain to the life which is to
come, — must first conform to the several preced-
ing relations stated.

Each of the topics thus given would furnish
abundant material for a volume. My object,
however, is to elucidate, in so far as I can, the
single topic of Felloicship with Christ in Suffering.
This will claim attention in this opening chapter,
and throughout the entire book.

Fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, in hi&
life of sorrows, afflictions, and trials, is a contin-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 13

gencj which all Christians may not only endure,
but seems to be indispensable to the higher forms
of Christian life and attainment here, as well as
to a participation in the blessedness of the life
which is to come. Indeed, from the connection
which the Scriptures plainly indicate between
euifering with Christ here, in the various forms
stated, and reigning with him in glory, it is
plainly evident that the possibility of the latter
depends upon the former.

The symbol employed by the inspired word to
illustrate this life of tribulation and affliction is
that of crucifixion. Death by the cross was not
only the most ignominious method of inflicting
the death-penalty known to all human law, but it
was also the most painful and lingering. As a
symbol of the sufterings of believers, in fellow-
ship with their suffering Head, it plainly points
to severe and protracted afflictions, and, as the
symbol further implies, to deep humiliation and
mortification. Such has it ever been with all the
suffering family of the Man of sorrows. Being
crucified with Christ, then, involves not only the
ordinary afflictions and trials usual alike to be-
lievers and unbelievers, but to special and extraor-
dinary seasons of affliction and suffering, sent
or permitted to come upon the children of God

14 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

for their good and the development of the graces
of the Holy Spirit.

So important is this self-crucifixion, and so
fully established is the fact that the more advanc-
ed states of grace and matured fruits of the Spirit
can alone be attained by it, and doubtless with
the purpose of reconciling Christians to entire
submission to the trying ordeal, the Scriptures
teach that the cup of suffering of which the
Savior drank before entering into his glory was
not wholly drained of its contents; but a part
was kindly left for those who would, through the
same bitter suffering, follow him to the same glo-
rious consummation. This truth seems plainly
taught in Colossians i. 24: "Who now rejoice in
my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is
behind of the afflictions of Christ."

But did Paul, who wrote most of his sufferings
with Christ, undergo death with Christ in the
sense we have indicated in our second proposi-
tion ? If so, when did it occur ? That eminent
servant of Grod gives utterance to frequent ex-
pressions which seem to imply that however ad-
vanced his attainments in grace, he has yet
struggled against the power of inward foes, and
was all athirst after a more complete and per-
fect deliverance. Eomans vii., and its parallel,

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 15

Galatians v., plainly sustain this assertion. At
other times, this same apostle expresses himself
as having undergone this crucifixion-death and
resurrection with Christ; but without a better
understanding of the apostle's inner life, and the
chronological order of his utterances, it can not
be learned just when he underwent this process.
But that he at some time passed through this
ordeal, and realized the precious results, is clear
from his frequent admissions of it.

At one stage of Paul's experience he says that
he counted all things but loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that he
sought above all things to "know him, and the
power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of
his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death ; if by any means I might attain unto the
resurrection of the dead, l^ot as though I had
already attained, either were already perfect : but
I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for
which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.'*
(Phil. iii. 8-12.)

Evidently when the apostle gave utterance to
these words he had not apprehended — that is, ex-
perienced,— the fullness of gospel grace, after
which he so ardently aspired. But that his aspi-
rations after this higher life, so frequently ex-

16 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

pressed and intensely cherislied, and coupled with
a consecration so perfect and entire, were at
length crowned with success, the faithfulness of
God to his promises, and the repeated declaration
of the apostle himself, ahundantlj attest. Proh-
ahly, after the conflict and victory recorded in II.
Corinthians xii., he was enahled to use language
which he could not, and which would not have
been appropriate to his inner state, prior to that.
His language now, is, "I am crucified with
Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me."

In proof that the experience expressed in the
words just quoted was attained through a process
of suffering, if not in connection with the special
occurrence referred to in II. Corinthians xii., the
following scriptures are cited : " From henceforth
let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the
marks of the Lord Jesus." "Always bearing
about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus,
that the life also of Jesus might be made mani-
fest in our body. For we which live are always
delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life
also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
mortal flesh." These quotations prove that the

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 17

author of tliem liad passed through severe afflic-
tions, and that the marks thereof, the permanent
bodily infirmity, yet remained. If the incident
of n. Corinthians xii. is not referred to, some
other, equally severe and permanent, must have
occurred in the life of Paul, which he has not
recorded.

But did Paul regret the process of suffering
through which he was called to pass — into the
possession of the abundant grace bestowed upon
him ? Hear his own reply to this interrogation :
" Most gladly therefore would I rather glory in
my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest
upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmi-
ties, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
in distresses for Christ's sake : for when I am
weak, then I am strong."

It will be borne in mind that we make a distinc-
tion between being crucified with Chri&t, and being
dead with Christ. The first may, and usually does,
continue throughout the entire life. It symbol-
izes the suffering life of the believer, which no
attainment of grace will turn aside. The second
is the death which the wholly consecrated be-
liever undergoes, usually in connection with trials
and afflictions, — though not always so, — to the
corrupt principle called in the Scriptures "the
8

18 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

carnal mind," " the body of sin," and " the old
man." These, even in the regenerated, yet mani-
fest their presence and power in evil tempers; as
coveteousness, pride, unbelief, etc. The blood of
Jesus alone, applied by the Holy Spirit, can de-
stroy this principle from which so much evil
flows. Afflictions only lead the chastened be-
liever to see his need of this cleansing, and make
him willing to receive this gracious work. They
do not, they can not cleanse the soul.

And now, dear reader, would you attain unto
the fullness of the blessing of Christ Jesus, which
it is your privilege to obtain in this life, as well
as share in the blessedness awaiting the saints in
the life to come ? You can reach these precious
results only by becoming like unto Christ, — by
being conformed unto him in all things. And if
this conformity involves trials, afflictions, and
sorrows, it will be no evidence of the displeasure
of God, or that he has withdrawn from you his
favor and regard. They rather prove the interest
God manifests for your welfare, and his purpose
to bestow upon you more abundantly of his
grace. '

Jesus Christ is the model we are to imitate.
We are to be made like him, — conformed to his
moral image, and, in some respects, conformed

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 19

to his earthly life here, that we may in the life to
come be made like him there. To produce this
conformity, God uses afflictions and trials. These
are variously stated in the Scriptures as refining^
(Isa. xlviii. 10 ; Job xxiii. 10) as sifting, (Amos
ix. 9) as 'pruning, (John xv. 2) and as polishing.
The material of which the temple of Solomon
was built was all made ready, in form and size,
before it was brought together ; and when the
sacred edifice was built, each piece exactly fitted
the place it was designed for so perfectly, that
the sound of hammer or saw was not heard. God
is preparing the material of his heavenly temple
here ; he is squaring and shaping and polishing
each individual for his proper place ; and when
the end shall be reached, and the material shall
all be brought together, it will be found that no
further preparation will be necessary. The sym-
bol plainly teaches this. Every one there must
be polished here, prepared here ; and while there
are many ways for doing this, the most efiectual
is sufl:ering. " Like a workman God stands over
each stone, touching and retouching it, turning it
on every side, marking its blemishes and rough-
ness, and then applying his tools to efifect the
desired shape and polish. Some parts of the
stone are so rugged and hard that nothing save

20 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

heavy and repeated strokes and touches will
smooth them down. They resist any milder
treatment. And yet, in patient love, this heav-
enly Workman carries on his purpose concerning
us. Keeping beside him, if one may so speak,
the perfect model according to which the stone is
to be fashioned, — even Jesus, the Father's chosen
one, — he labors till every part is shaped accord-
ing to his likeness, line after line, l^o pains are
spared, no watchfulness relaxed, till we are made
entirely like him, being changed into the same
image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the
Lord. Thus affliction molds and purifies. Thus
it effaces the resemblance of the first Adam, and
traces for us each lineament of the second, that as
we have borne the image of the earthly, we may
also bear the image of the heavenly." — Bonar.

But will God suffer his afflicted ones to be con-
sumed in the fire to which he may subject them ?
It is related that two pious ladies were conversing
about the meaning of the words of Malachi iii.
3 : " He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of sil-
ver." And passing a door over which the sign
read the calling of one engaged in working the
precious metal, they entered and asked him to
explain the process of refining silver. The re-
finer replied, " I place the crucible containing the

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 21

silver in the fire and subject it to an intense heat.
I take a seat by it, and keep my eye on it, and
closely watch it until I can see my own image
reflected, when I at once remove it from the fire ;
for when it reflects my image I know the dross is
all consumed, and to leave it longer in the fire
would destroy it." The meaning of the scripture
was made plain. Thus God watches closely and
afiectionately his afflicted saints, and when his
own image is seen in them he delivers or removes
them. He will not suffer them to be consumed
nor destroyed.

And what shall be the reward for this life of
affliction and suffering here ? It is indicated in
the words of the apostle : " If we suffer, we shall
also reign with him." (II. Tim. ii. 12.) When
the fullness of time shall have come, when the
promised inheritance of universal dominion shall
be given unto Christ (Rev. xi. 15), he will, accord-
ing to his gracious promises, kindly share it with
those who entered into the fellowship of his suf-
ferings here, and through them, like unto himself,
entered into glory. (Rev. iii. 21 ; Luke xxii.
28, 29.)

Kings do not share their thrones with their
subjects; only those of royal blood sit upon
thrones. Jesus acknowledges his disciples, and

22 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

each and every individual thereof, as his affianced
bride; and he has declared that when her seclu-
sion in the wilderness for the ^' time, and times,
and half" shall have been accomplished, she shall
come forth therefrom and take her proper place
at the approaching bridal-feast. (Rev. xii. and
xix.) Then, then she shall be amply compensated
for her life of suffering here. Then she shall see
that the trying discipline through which she has
been led here was all right and for her eternal
good, and she will take up the joyful song, " He
hath done all things well."

And now, dear afflicted reader, let us question
ourselves as to what affliction has done for us,
and what progress we have made in being trans-
formed into the image of our elder Brother? Are
we losing our worldliness and becoming heavenly-
minded? Are we getting quit of pride, passion,
stubbornness, covetousness, unbelief, etc.? Are we
caring less for worldly honors, for worldly pleas-
ures, for the smiles of men, for the world's ap-
plause? Is the world being crucified unto us and
we unto it, or are we ashamed of the reproach
of the cross ? Do we count it our glory and joy
to walk where our Lord leads, to suffer where he
suffered, to drink of the cup he drank of, and to
be baptized with the baptism he was baptized

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 23

with? Are we every day becoming more and
more unlike the children of earth, more and
more fashioned after the image and bearing the
lineaments of our divine Exemplar? Do we rea-
lize that this earth is neither our portion nor
rest? Can we look back to special trials and
afflictions and say, there and then I learned pre-
■cious lessons ; there I got rid of some of this body
of death ; there I got up to a higher level ? Have
we wiped away our rebellious tears, and been
made to shed tears of gratitude and submission ?
Have we learned that all the trying discipline
through which we are called to pass is designed
to make us partakers of His holiness? (Heb.
xii. 10.)

I close this chapter with quoting the lines of
Upham, addressed to suffering ones :

" Be patient, let the fire consume,
Give God's interior burning room,
Make no resistance, let it blaze,
And self, in root and branch, erase. •

" Thy life of self hath long annoyed ;
Thy hopes assailed, thy joys destroyed ;
It poisons every inward sense ;
And fire alone can drive it hence.

" The fiery trial gives distress ;
But never fear its anguish less ;
The pain thou feelest is a sign
Of flames from heaven, of fire divine.

24 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

" Oh let it burn till pride and lust,
And envy, creeping in the dust,
And wrong and crime, of every name.
Shall perish in the heavenly flame,"

CHAPTER n.

REJOICING IN TRIBULATION.

" Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and
to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?'^
(Matt. XX. 22.)

These words are the reply of Jesus, addressed
to James and John, to a request of theirs through
their mother for some special favor. In response
to his interrogation they said that they were ahle
to drink of his cup, and to share in his baptism*
He then told them that they knew not what they
asked, but that their request should be granted
them. The subsequent history of these two emi-
nent and holy men — the martyrdom of the for-
mer, and the many persecutions and banishment
of the latter, — attest the fulfillment of the Lord's
words, and the severity of the ordeal through
which they were called to pass.

In full view of his own baptism of suffering,
then near at hand, and in perfect knowledge of
all its bitterness, Jesus exclaimed, " I have a bap-
tism to be baptized with ; and how am I strait-

26 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

•ened till it be accomplished ! " His sensitive
nature shrunk from his approaching agony; and
when the cup was presented to his lips he prayed,
^* 0 my Father, if this cup may not pass away
from me, except I drink it, thy will he done."
Strengthened by an angel from heaven, he en-
dured his agony to the end, and thereby made
salvation possible for mankind, and became heir
to a kingdom to be revealed in the last day,
which he proposes to share with those who suffer
with him.

Through this baptism of suffering, in fellow-
ship with the Son of God, lies the way to eternal
glory. And among the other peculiarities of the
redeemed hosts in heaven is this, that they have
gone there through great tribulation. (Rev. vii. 14.)

It is with extreme reluctance that the writer
introduces here his own experience in affliction ;
but having undergone an ordeal of suffering so
severe and protracted, and realized results so pre-
cious and abiding, he feels it a duty to others
called to suffer in the same way, to place upon
record the following statement :

During the many years of my religious life I
have been permitted to enjoy much of the Divine
presence and favor. My most marked advance-
ments, however, in the grace of God have invari-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 27

bly been in connection with or immediately fol-
lowing sore affliction. I^early four years ago I
undertook to write an elucidation of Rom. v. 1-3.
I elaborated at considerable length "justification
by faith." I then wrote of its immediate and
saving result, — peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. I dwelt with special delight upon
its second and higher result, — standing (that is,
maintaining that position,) and rejoicing in hope
of the kingdom and glory of Christ, to be re-
vealed at the last day. But when I came to con-
eider the third and highest result — glorying in
tribulation, — I was unable to proceed. Up to this
point I had the light of my own experience to
assist me. But here was ground I had not trav-
eled over. I had undergone severe afflictions,
and had realized gracious results, but my rejoic-
ing was not in the midst of the affliction, as taught
in the scripture I was considering, but after it
was past and the blessing was bestowed, as repre-
sented in Heb. xii. 11. Evidently here was an at-
tainment of grace which I was experimentally
ignorant of; and I desired to have it. Unable to
finish my writing I laid it aside, and about a year
afterward, receiving no further light, I destroyed it.
From this circumstance, as well as from my
own understanding of the Scriptures, I was led

28 CLUSTERS PROM ESHCOL.

to form exalted conceptions of tlie standard of
Christian attainment; and my heart earnestly
aspired after all the fullness of the grace of God
which I could possihly attain unto in this life.

I also felt assured that the world forms its
opinion of the Lord Jesus Christ and his religion
by the spirit and lives of his professed represent-
atives, thus placing him upon trial before men,
in the persons of his friends ; and that it was in
view of this that he declared of his disciples, " Ye
are my witnesses" With the purpose, therefore,
worthily to represent my Lord before men, I de-
termined to seek after all the fullness of grace
possible to men, and for a number of years pray-
ed in secret thus : " Oh, make me all like Thee.
Make me to bear and reflect in all my life, walk,
conversation, in my disposition, temper, spirit,
in my example and influence, and even in my
appearance, the image of Jesus."

Often while thus in secret prayer I was made
to hesitate ; for, remembering that almost every
marked advancement in grace I had made was in
connection with some sore affliction, and, from
my understanding of the word of God, the grace
after which I aspired was usually connected with
severe personal chastisement, questions like these
would be suggested to my mind : " Are you will-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 29

ing to undergo trials like those in the past, which,
though severe and trying, resulted so greatly to
your good ? " Even two of the bitter trials I after-
ward was called upon to endure came squarely
before me as probable ingredients in my cup. At
length I was enabled to lay my all wholly upon
the altar of consecration, leaving all else to God
to choose and order as he saw best.

Soon after this consecration was made my
health gave way. ISTervous prostration, induced
by long and severe religious and secular labor,
came upon me. Then, while prostrated and
afflicted, bereavement, sad and sore indeed, came
and my earthly home was annihilated. For a
period of nearly a year I underwent an ordeal of
suffering, physical and mental, that language can
not describe. Then followed a precious baptism
of the Holy Spirit, and a period of respite lasting
about six months. Then, when I supposed my
heallh was permanently restored, and when I was
actively engaged in religious labor, affording me
much delight, my malady returned with increased
force. Cerebral exhaustion and chronic congestion
v*^ith all their attendant evils set in upon me, de-
stroying forever, as I supposed, every earthly hope
and prospect. Oh ! I shudder as I look back to
the long, dark night of agony which settled

30 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

upon me ; to the sleepless nights ; to the long
and weary days; to the blasted hopes; to the
humiliation and disappointment; to the fearful
idea that in some way I had displeased my heav-
enly Father, and that he was chastising me in
wrath. Life became a burden ; death seemed
greatly to be desired. Then, to crown it ally
Satan was permitted to assail me as never before.
In the character of an accuser, he charged me
with unfaithfulness to duty ; with disobedience to
my proper life-work ; with having committed the
unpardonable sin. The sword of the Spirit, with
which I tried to defend myself from his fiery darts,,
he wrested from my hand and used it against
me. At times Satan seemed to stand personally
before me ; and I was startled with suggestions of
passages of scripture, seemingly so pertinent, so
suddenly presented, and so persistently pressed
upon me by a seeming living person, that I was
led to suppose it was by the Holy Spirit. Hope
forsook me. Despair, dark and gloomy, settled
down upon me. For weeks together, excepting
intervals of respite graciously granted me, 1
wrestled with the power of this unseen foe. Oh,
the unutterable agony of soul I endured as I
gazed into vast, boundless eternity, without hope !
Sadness and melancholy settled down upon me,-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 31

uutil, like Job under similar circumstances, I
longed for death, and deplored the day of my
birth into this world. If the reader would know
the state of my feelings, he can learn it by read-
ing Job iii., vii., and Psalms vi. and Ixxxviii.

Forsaken by God, as I supposed, misunder-
stood of men, and suffering by day and by night
with a malady whose horrors can only be known
by personal experience, and which has sent many
to untimely graves, or premature retirement from
the active labors and pursuits of life, I lost in-
terest in every earthly pursuit, and was under
the necessity of secluding myself from all excite-
ment, for medical treatment. This condition of
suffering continued for a number of years, until
I went down to a depth of suffering reached by
but few, and from which fewer still' have ever
been lifted. The humiliation of our Lord Jesus
Christ culminated in a malefactor's death, when
" he was numbered with the transgressors ; Paul's,
when he lost all things, and was counted as the
filth and off scouring of the earth ; mine, in my
forced retirement, and when stripped of family,
home, friends, property, health, reputation, and
hope. Let no one who may read these lines sup-
pose that his or her condition is worse than mine
was; such is not the case. And I detail this little

82 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

experience only for the encouragement of sucli as
may be in similar affliction.

In all this bitter ordeal of suffering through
which I was passing I had forgotten, or lost sight
of my consecration to a life of suffering, if such
were the will of God, that I might attain unto
the measure of grace after which I aspired. I
was conscious of my integrity, that in all my
efforts to do what I conceived to be my duty I
was influenced by sincere and upright motives,
and that, however weak I had proved to be, I
had not intentionally sinned, nor withdrawn from
my heavenly Father that which, long years since,
I had committed to his care. This consciousness
of my integrity, and confidence in God's faithful-
ness, produced confidence in my ultimate salva-
tion, excepting the time when I wandered in the
dark regions of despair. My experience is best
expressed in the words of the apostle, — " I know
whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he
is able to keep that which I have committed unto
him against that day." The apostle's confidence,
as expressed in these words, seem to be based
upon the faithfulness of God to a jpast transaction
rather than in any present-felt emotion. Upon
that same rock I also stood, and now stand.

In addition to the comfort arising from the

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 33

confidence stated I could at all times, when I
could believe that my heavenly Father, while not
sending my affliction, yet permitted it, and would
cause good to come from it, either to myself or
others, entirely submit to his will, even to kissing
the hand and welcoming the rod which smote
me.

This ordeal of suffering continued for three
years, excepting the respite of about six months,
already stated. During it all, my heavenly Fa-
ther, while permitting me to be sorely tried by
the enemy, and afflicted mainly as a result of my
long-continued overwork, has had his eye of com-
passion upon me, and at length bestowed upon
me a most gracious visitation of peace and power,
which I will now describe :

On the last Sabbath of the past year, 1877, a
little tract, entitled, "Eternal life; can I lose it
before I die ? " was placed in my hands, with the
request that I should read it and give my opinion
of it. Unable to enter into its arguments suffi-
ciently to give an intelligent opinion of it, its
perusal led me to consider the absolute safety of
the Christian. The well-remembered words of
the psalmist, "Like as a father pitieth his chil-
dren, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame ; he remembereth that

84 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

we are dust," seemed to be more than ordinarily
full of encouraging meaning. I considered my
past life, my conversion to God in the days of my
boyhood, the many evidences of his presence and
favor bestowed upon me, and never more satis-
factory than at the time this cloud fell upon
me. I was conscious that I had not knowingl}f
sinned, nor departed from him, nor withdrawn
from his care that which, years before, I had
committed to him. Then I saw a fond father
press to his heart his little son, and imprint upon
his trusting face the evidences of his undying
affection. This relation, thought I, is the symbol
which God himself employs to represent his rela-
tion to and love for his children. Why, then,
is this symbol so frequently employed in the
Scriptures, and so tenderly enjoined by the Savior
in the prayer he taught his disciples, if it does
not mean all it represents ? And why may not
I, notwithstanding my affliction and weakness,
claim what the relation implies ? Soon, as in all
former experiences, confidence in the word of
God began to increase. Light, peace, comfort,
and joy followed. Gradually, steadily, these pre-
cious influences increased, until my despondency
and gloom were gone. I felt that my aching,
throbbing head was pillowed upon a Father's

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heart; and everlasting arms pressed me to his
loving bosom.

Oh, what a change! How inexpressibly pre-
cious was this blessed peace and comfort which
now possessed and filled my happy soul ! Instead
of dark, gloomy despair and melancholy, my
whole being was again filled with an infiuence so
sweet, so precious, so fear-dispelling, and so soul-
satisfying that I have no language to express it.
The word of God declares that it passes human
understanding. Such I found it to be indeed, —
the same in kind which I felt when I first be-
lieved in Jesus; the same which very often
since has filled and satisfied my soul, but now
bestowed in measure so large, so constant, so
abiding, that there was no room in my heart for
doubt or fear. That it is from God, and that I
am forever sealed unto eternal life, I have not the
shadow of a doubt.

ITow, contrast my present condition, under this
baptism of the Spirit, with what it was previous
thereto, especially when wandering in the region
of despair, nearly one year ago. Prostrated be-
neath the heel of the enemy, lying at the pit's
mouth, disrobed of almost everything I prized,
crushed in spirit, bruised and stripped and dis-
tressed, the spirit of prayer lost, religious duties

36 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCCL.

irksome, and every earthly prospect shrouded in
gloom, I was unhappy indeed. ]^ow, delivered
from my fears, filled with inexpressible peace and
comfort, and sweetly assured of the unchange-
able favor of God here and heaven hereafter,
and my heavenly Father proclaiming unto me,
" For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; but
with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little
wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment;
but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy
on thee.'' (Isa. liv. 7, 8.)

As already stated, the experience I thus gained
was not different from what I had formerly en-
joyed, but was more full and abiding. Its distin-
guishing characteristics may be stated as follows:

I. In former experiences Jesus seemed to stand
pre-eminent before me. My prayers and adora-
tion were all to him. Now the fatherhood of
God is pre-eminent, and the Savior appears as
my elder Brother, my Fellow-Pilgrim upon life's
highway, kindly bearing my burden and encour-
aging me with the assurance that he will share
with me his purchased inheritance. The Holy
Spirit, as the divine Comforter, takes the word
of God, illuminates it with precious meaning,
and seals it upon my heart.

II. I seem to have permanently entered into

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. . 37

the inner sanctuary, the holy of holies, where I
am permitted to enjoy the most perfect peace and
commune with God, without the intervention of
means and ordinances peculiar to worshipers in
the outer court. I have no language to express
the fullness of peace and comfort hestowed upon
me, and the assurance of the presence and favor
of God, and of my final salvation. This peace
and comfort continue full and abiding so long as
I keep my eye fixed upon Jesus, accept the fact
of my disability, and commit my all wholly to
God. But as soon as my mind is diverted from
Jesus, to contemplate myself, my past delinquen-
cies, my present weakness, or my probable future
disability, perplexity, and trouble arise.

Like others who have been disabled after many
years spent in active religious and secular work,
I find it more trying to faith and patience to be
idle and inactive than to be diligently at work.
If my heavenly Father wills it that my future is
to be spent in sufi"ering, I accept the allotment,
yea, rejoice in it, only so that his will shall be ac-
complished.

III. I seem to have undergone a crucifixion
to almost every earthly relation, interest, and
pursuit. Unable to find pleasure or enjoyment
in the things which interest others, and which

So CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

afforded me delight previous to this affliction,
God has most graciously re-opened a channel of
sweetest pleasure in communion with himself
through his Holy Spirit and the written word.
My attachment to friends and fellow- Christiana
continues, hut in the modified form indicated hy
the apostle in II. Cor. v. 16. I now seem to
have entered into a larger relationship and claim,
as heing in communion with patriarchs, prophets,
apostles, martyrs, fellow-lahorers who have pre-
ceded me to heaven, as well as the many precious
ones still living.

lY. There are certain conditions which I sup-
posed were indispensihle to the full enjoyment of
religion, as favorable surroundings, and active,
diligent labor. Indeed, I could conceive of noth-
ing else worth living for than to devote time,
strength, and talent to the promotion of the
cause of God and the welfare of my fellow-men ;
for next to the anticipated rest and associations
of heaven did I prize the relations and labors of
the church on earth. Every duty, every depart-
ment of labor assigned me, afforded me inexpress-
ible delight. The ways of religion were truly
ways of pleasantness, and her paths all peace.
And I know of no higher inducement to desire
life, health, and vigor, than to enable me to labor

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 3^

on in the Master's vineyard. I had yet to learn
that the grace of God can meet every want of
the soul and render it supremely happy, rejoic-
ingly happy, in the absence of these conditions,
and in actual suffering from a most distressing'
affliction. It was the want of this experience
which compelled me to lay aside my attempted
elucidation of Romans v. 3, as previously stated.
Now, I have learned how to harmonize that
scripture with Heb. xii. 11.

V. I am again confirmed in an opinion, long
held, that in my case it is my duty to use all my
experiences for the welfare of others. Impressed
with a belief that my religious life would be
marked by many trials and triumphs, and that I
should commit the principal events thereof to
writing for the benefit of others, I commenced
this duty over thirty years ago. I was strangely
led to use as a suitable text or motto for that
narrative, the words of the Savior in relation to
Peter, — "Behold, Satan hath desired to have
you, that he may sift you as wheat : but I ■ have
prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not : and when
thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."
(Luke xxii. 31, 32.) How appropriate these words
have been in my case, the record I have written
will show.

40 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

A severe affliction and an accompanying bap-
tism of the Holy Spirit, some ten years ago,
enabled me to write the two books, Holiness, or
the Higher Christian Life, and The Age We Live
In, The analogies of the past led me to consider
what new duty would be laid upon me in connec-
tion with this rich and more abiding baptism;
and shortly after its bestowal my former efforts
to write of afflictions came to my remembrance,
and I was impressed that this duty would now
be laid upon me. Strangely, and with a clear-
ness beyond my power to describe, the whole
subject of the teachings of the Scriptures in rela-
tion to the afflictions of believers came before
my mind. The title, the subjects, the divisions,
the arrangements, the texts, and the matter, all
stood clearly before me. I wrote down the table
of contents as suggested, and afterward, as I had
strength, wrote and rewrote in this present form
the manuscript which is intended to elucidate the
subject so important to God's afflicted . children.
Thus the duty I was incompetent to discharge
four years ago, when in comparative health and
surrounded with all desired earthly and social
comforts, is now undertaken and imperfectly dis-
charged, after years of severest affliction, and
while still in the furnace and under the chasten-
ing rod.

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 41

Before dismissing this personal narrative, in-
troduced here for the purpose of elucidating the
subject under consideration, and which may not
be referred to again in the following chapters,
and as an expression of my feelings in relation to
the future, I submit the following beautiful lines :

" Perhaps the dreaded future

Is less bitter than I think ;
The Lord may sweeten the waters,

Before I stoop to drink ;
Or if Marah must be Marah,

He will stand beside the brink.

" Oh, restful, blissful ignorance,

' Tis blessed not to know ;
It keeps me so still in those arms,

Which will not let me go.
And hushes my soul to rest.

On the bosom that loves me so.

" So I go on not knowing,

I would not if I might ;
I would rather walk in the dark with God
• Than go alone in the light,
I would rather walk with him by faith.

Than go alone by sight."

Three years have passed since this manuscript
was written. It seems but right that I should
now add to this personal narrative the fact of
very great relief from my malady, and the con-
tinued and abiding presence of God in my soul.

If I have any advice, which I have specially

42 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

learned in the school of affliction through which
I have passed, that I would give to other afflicted
ones, it is this, accept the fact of your affliction as
an expression of your Father's will concerning
you, either sent or permitted by him, and intend-
ed for your welfare, either here or hereafter.
Resistance will only increase your suffering. Paul
prayed thrice for the removal of his affliction, and
failing to have it taken away was then enabled
to accept it. I, too, reached this state, but not
until after three years of fruitless struggling.
But when this acceptance was reached deliver-
ance came.

And now, in comparing my condition at pres-
ent with what it was three years ago, when this
book was written, I can adopt the words of
Upham, and say :

" Smite on ! It doeth not hurt me now ;
The spear hath lost its edge of pain ;
And piercing thorns that bound my brow
No longer leave their bleeding stain.

" What once was woe is changed to bliss ;
What once was loss is now my gain ;
My sorrow is my happiness ;
My life doth live by being slain.

" The birth-pangs of those dreadful years
Are like the midnight changed to morn;
And daylight shines upon my tears,
Because the soul's great life is born.

4t

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 43

The piercing thorns have changed to flowers ;

The spears have grown to scepters bright ;
And sorrow's dark and sunless hours

Become eternal days of light."

CHAPTEE III.

DIVINE DISCIPLINE.

*' As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." (Rev. iii. 19.)

It is said of our Lord Jesus Christ that he was
"a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,"
and that, as the Captain of our salvation, he
" was made perfect through suffering." Such
seems to he the case also with his disciples. St.
Paul, in his Epistle to the Hehrews, chapter xii,
7, 8, declares that afflictions and chastisements
are indispensable evidences of real discipleship ;
and that without them we have reason to ques-
tion our saving relation to God.

The Savior declared to the church at Laodicea
what may he accepted as a general principle in
the divine administration, that all those whom
God loves as a parent he rebukes and chastens as
his children. And as our heavenly Father does
" not willingly afflict or grieve the children of
men," (Lam. iii. 33,) we are led to believe that
there must be an actual necessity for these chas-
tenings. That necessity will be considered in the

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 45"

proper place. For tlie present we will consider
some of the methods by which our heavenly
Father chastens his children. There are many
rods at his disposal, among which are:

I. The rod of poverty.^

All the wealth of the universe belongs to God,
and is distributed by him as is meet and proper
in his sight; and from the fact that the majority
of Christians are poor in this world's goods, it is
evident that this condition is best for them. The
Scriptures and general observation establish the
fact that worldly pros]Derity is not the most favor-
able for vigorous and progressive piety. It usu-
ally, if not universally, leads to alienation from
God and overmuch care for the interests of the
present life. Is it not, then, wise and good for
God to withhold or take from his children that
which proves an evil rather than a blessing ? Do
not affectionate and intelligent earthly parents
act according to this principle toward their chil-
dren ? Says St. James : " Hearken, my beloved
brethren. Hath not God chosen the poor of this
world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom
which he hath promised to them that love him V*

To the rich man in the parable it was said,

* For some of the ideas in this chapter I am indebted to
Bonar, in his Night of Weeping.

4§ CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

" Remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things:
but now he is comforted, and thou art torment-
ed." The disadvantages and privations of pov-
erty under which so many of the children of God
labor are not, then, arbitrary nor accidental, but
are by special, providential arrangement. It is
altogether likely that in no other way than
through the vale of poverty could the majority
of believers ever reach heaven ; and our heavenly
Father, looking to our highest and greatest good,
places us in the condition best adapted to the
promotion of that .which is of such priceless
value to us. In heaven, ample compensation will
be made for the temporary disadvantages of this
preparatory and probational state. Well, then,
can we endure the privations of a few years for
our eternity of gain.

There is, also, —

n. The rod of bereavement.

The safety of the Christian for the present and
future depends upon his loving God above all
other persons, and all things; for in proportion
to his love will be his confidence in Him as his
Guide and Protector. When, therefore, the earth-
ly attachments become so strong as to interfere
with our spiritual and eternal interests, be it to

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 47

the dearest earthly relations, — as husband, wife,
parent, child, sister, or brother, — faithfulness
to our highest interests upon the part of our
heavenly Father, to whom we have committed
this trust, requires that he interpose, and if nec-
essary remove that object. Then, in our weak-
ness and short-sightedness, unable to appreciate
the necessity of this providence, we are made to
suffer most keenly, and sometimes to call in ques-
tion the wisdom and goodness of God.

It was under circumstances like these that the
psalmist said, " Lover and friend hast thou put
far from me, and mine acquaintance into dark-
ness." Oh, who can estimate the number of
tears shed, the hearts that have heen stricken, by
bereavements ! Of how many may it be said, as
it was declared of the sister of Lazarus, " She
goeth unto the grave to weep there ? "

Of all the sorrows which afflict the believer
here, bereavement is the severest. It is the bit-
terest ingredient in his cup ; the sharpest arrow
in God's quiver ; the heaviest rod in his hand."To
see the object of our most tender love laid in the
grave; to part forever on earth, with no expecta-
tion to meet again until Jesus comes; to look
upon that face which shall smile no more on us ;
to close those eyes that shall see us no more ; to

48 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

press those lips that shall speak to us no more ; to
stand hy the cold side of father, mother, brother,
sister, wife, husband, or friend, yet hear no sound
and receive no greeting ; to carry to the tomb
the beloved of our hearts, and then return to a
desolate home, with a blank in our souls which
shall never again be filled until the reunion in
the skies ; this, oh, this, is grief indeed, — this is
wormwood and gall.''

And yet this is the rod which our heavenly
Father is most frequently using, — and none is
needed more than it. Perhaps we loved the
creature more than the Creator; the earthly,
more than the heavenly; and God, jealous of our
affections, and out of regard for our own welfare,
removes the idol of our hearts. Perhaps our
earthly homes are stealing away our hearts from
the house of many mansions in the skies, and
God breaks in upon us in mercy and turns our
home into a wilderness. "Perhaps we are sitting
at ease in Zion, comforted and contented amid
the afflictions of a suffering church and the mis-
eries of a world that owns no Savior and fears
no God. Jehovah speaks and we awake. He
takes to himself some one from our loved circle,
or smites to the dust some wretched sinner. "We
are aroused, awakened. Our sin finds us put;

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 49

and we mourn and weep over it and seek anew
to realize the full measure of our duty."

Bereavement reminds us too of the fact that our
true citizenship is in heaven ; that here we have
no abiding place ; that we have more brethren in
heaven than upon earth, and that the coming of
our Lord draweth nigh when we shall all be re-
united again. It kindles in us new desires for
the day of reunion, and thus hastens the coming
of the Lord ; it promotes the spirit of watchful-
ness ; it does for us what the departure of Moses
and Elijah from the mount of transfiguration did
for the apostles, — it leaves us alone with Jesus.
This is God's object in our chastisement. This
object is thus gained.

Another of our heavenly Father's rods, is, —

III. The rod of disappointment.

Said Job in the day of his prosperity, " I shall
die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as
the sand." Ah, that nest of worldly ease, hedg-
ed about by God's providences so closely that
Satan could neither assail Job nor his property,
without the permission of God, was soon to be
torn to pieces, and Job's days made so burden-
some and dark that the grave would be more
desirable than life. So our best-conceived plans,
our fondest anticipations, our brightest prospects,

50 " CLUSTERS FROM ESIICOL.

are often blasted, and we are made to mourn in
disappointment. There is a needs be, an actual
necessity for these disappointments, or a God of
infinite compassion and love would not thus afflict
his own dear children. Said the Savior at one
time to his disciples, "What I do thou knowest
not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." The
same might be said of all God's providential deal-
ings with his children.

As an instance of God's interposition to defeat
the purposes of even the unconverted, who form
plans for the future independently of his claims,
we quote the folloAving case from a book now
before us : " It is related that a young man of
fine abilities, when entering one of the Italian
universities, communicated his plans and hopes
for the future to an aged professor named Fil-
lippo I^eri. Said the young man, ' I intend to
spare no labor or pains to acquire a thorough
education, so that I may graduate with the high-
est honors.'

'' ' xVnd wl at will you do when you finish your
studies ? ' inquired l!^eri.

" ' Then I will take my doctor's degree, and
enter one of the learned professions, probably the
Liw.'

" ' W.iat then ? '

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 51

" * Well, I expect to become skillful, to rise to
the head of my profession, and accumulate wealth
and fame.'

" '"What then?'

" ' Why, I shall become rich, respected by all,
and promoted to high positions.'

" 'What then?'

" ' I will live in comfort until old age.'

" 'And what then?'

" ' Then ? Well then — then — then, I suppose,
like others, I must die.' "

Once more came the " What then ?" But no
answer was made. The Holy Spirit showed the
young man his error, and led him to forsake
his schemes for worldly good; and in due time
he became a useful minister of the gospel.

That young man's calculations were all for this
world, but through the abundant mercies of God
and the faithfulness of his devoted, aged servant,
his earthly schemes were laid aside, and his life
was given to the service and cause of God. Had
he not voluntarily changed his course, and had
not the providence of God crossed his path and
led him into a better way, he might now be reap-
ing the reward of his folly.

There is also —

lY. The rod of adversity.

§2 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

This may be the loss of our good name, reputa-
tion, or earthly substance. Or it may be the loss
of the friendship and the falling away of friends,
and the wrath of enemies. Job had these in
Yiew when he gave utterance to the following
words : " Behold, he breaketh down, and it can
not be built again : he shutteth up a man, and
there can be no opening." (Job xii. 14.) " He
hath made me weary : thou hast made desolate
all my company." " I was at ease, but he hath
broken me asunder : he hath also taken me by
my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up
for his mark. His archers compass me round
about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not
spare. . . . He breaketh me with breach upon
breach ; he runneth upon me like a giant." " My
face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is
the shadow of death." (Job xvi. 7, 12-14, 16.")
" My days are past, my purposes are broken off,
even the thoughts of my heart." (Job xvii. 11.)
" He hath fenced up my way that I can not pass,
and he hath set darkness in my paths. He hath
stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown
from my head. He hath destroyed me on every
side, and I am gone : and mine hope hath he re-
moved like a tree." " He hath put my brethren
far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily
estranged from me." (Job xix. 8-10, 13.)

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 53

Thus God speaks to us and we hear his voice,
as we did not in prosperity. Often nothing but
adversity will open our ears to hear and heed the
divine call. Said God by the prophet : " I spake
unto thee in thy prosperity ; but thou saidst, I
will not hear." (Jer. xxii. 21). We need to have
our ears closed to earthly sounds, that we may
hear those from heaven ; to have our eyes closed
to the pleasures of earth, that we may see those
of the skies ; to be turned out of a home on
earth, that we may seek a home in heaven.
Earth's pleasures, earth's pursuits, earth's associ-
ations are too seducing for us ; and God breaks
in upon them, and we are often led apart in des-
ert places, where alone with God we are led to
see our folly and repent of our sin. God can not
trust us with too full a cup, or too pleasant a
resting-place, lest we become enamored of the
one, and unwilling to exchange the other for a
heavenly. God can not trust some with health,
friends, prosperity ; they need adversity to hum-
ble them and keep them in the pilgrim's frame.
Coyetousness is bred of uninterrupted prosperity.
Hence riches often take to themselves wings and
fly away. We make idols of our friends, and
God removes them. In all this, God deals with
us not in wrath, but in great mercy. Kever for

54 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

a moment does lie lose sight of us. It is the dis-
cipline of love; it is controlled by a kind and
loving Father.

There is still one other rod of chastisement,
which is, —

V. The rod of personal affliction.

This rod is most frequently used by God for
the correction of his children, because it is the
most effectual. Satan well knew this when he,
after failing in his purpose concerning Job, ob-
tained permission to afflict his person ; and what
the removal of his children and property failed
to accomplish, was soon, in part, brought about
by severe personal affliction. Would you know
how severe was Job's affliction, and the extent to
which he was humiliated, while yet maintaining
his integrity ? You have only to consider his
own words : " So am I made to possess months
of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed
to me. When I lie down, I say. When shall I
arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of
tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day."
" When I say. My bed shall comfort me, my
couch shall ease my complaint ; then thou scarest
me with dreams, and terriliest me through vis-
ions : so that my soul chooseth strangling, and
death rather than my life. I loathe it ; I would
not live alway."

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Said the psalmist under affliction : "Mine eye
mourneth by reason of affliction : Lord, I have
called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my
hands unto thee. "Wilt thou shew wonders to
the dead ? shall the dead arise and praise thee ?
Shall thy loving -kindness be declared in the
grave ? or thy faithfulness in destruction." "■ I am
afflicted and ready to die from my youth up :
while I sufler thy terrors I am distracted. Thy
fierce wrath goeth over me." " When thou with
rebukes dost correct a man for iniquity, thou
makest his beauty to consume away like a moth."
Isaiah gave utterance to the following words :
^' Mine age is departed, and is removed from me
as a shepherd's tent : I have cut off like a weaver
my life : he will cut me off with pining sickness :
from day even to night wilt thou make an end of
me. I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so
will he break all my bones : from day even to
night wilt thou make an end of me. Like a
crane or a swallow, so did 1 chatter : I did mourn
as a dove : mine eyes fail with looking upward :
O Lord, I am oppressed ; undertake for me."

Jeremiah expressed his feelings as follows : " I
am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod
of his wrath." " My flesh and my skin hath he
made old ; he hath broken my bones." " He

^6 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

hatli filled me witli bitterness, he hath made me
drunk with wormwood." " Remembering mine
affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the
gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance,
and is humbled in me."

The words of these eminent Bible saints, un-
der affliction, are in harmony with the experience
of God's afflicted ones in all ages of the world,
and clearly show how effective is the rod of per-
sonal chastisement in bringing its subjects into a
state of humiliation.

Sickness prostrates us ; it cuts into the very
center of our carnal nature ; and oh, what vanity
is seen when upon a sick-bed.

Sickness takes us away from the active pur-
suits of life and sets us aside, and alone with
God. We are taken into his private chamber,
and there he converses with us face to face. Our
relish for the world is gone ; our hopes for earthly
good are in" the dust ; our props are all struck
away, and we are wholly cast on God. " If it
were not for pain," says one, " I should spend
less time with God. If I had not been kept
awake with pain, I should have lost one of the
sweetest experiences I ever had in my life. The
disorder of my body is the help I want from
God ; and if it does its work upon me before it

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 57

lays me in the dust, it will raise me up to
heaven."

Sickness teaches us that activity of service is
not the only way in which God is glorified.
"They also serve who stand and wait." Active
duty is that which man judges most acceptable;
but God shows us that in bearing and suffering
he is also glorified. Perhaps we were too much
harrassed by worldly cares, and needed retire-
ment, yet could find no way of obtaining it, until
God laid us down and drew us aside into a desert
place. ]N^o one of the family rods is more effect-
ual than that of bodily sickness ; no one is more
frequently used. Let us kiss the rod, and the
hand which afflict us.

. Having noticed some of the rods by which our
heavenly Father chastens his children, let us con-
sider the nature and design of these chastenings.
They are —

I. The chastisements of a Father,

Saith St. Paul, in Hebrew xii., "If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons ;
for what son is he whom the father . chasteneth
not ? . . . . Furthermore, we have had fathers
of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave
them reverence : shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

-58 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

For they verily for a few days chastened us after
their own pleasure; bat he for our profit, that we
might be partakers of his holiness."

What are the prerogatives of a father ? To di-
rect, control, correct, and provide for his children.
What a father does in these respects is at least
done in love, if not always in wisdom. What
our infinitely wise and good heavenly Father
does, must always be right, and for the real wel-
fare of his children.

Afflicted, chastened saint, forget not that an
all-wise, all-merciful, and all-powerful heavenly
Father controls the tempest, wields the rod, and
directs the providence under which you are suf-
fering, and that your eternal good is the end he
aims to secure. Then, in humble, unquestioning
submission, commit all to him, and with the poet
say,

" Thou knowest what is best ;

And who, O God, but thee hath power to know ?
' Tis thine alike with good to make me blest,
And thine to send affliction's hour of woe.

" No questions will I ask,

Do what thou wilt, my Father and my God!
Be mine the dear and consecrated task,
To bless the loving hand that lifts the rod."

II. It is also a discipline of love.

God. as the universal Father, loves all his

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creatures, and in that love exercises his fatherly
care over them. But he loves his own children
with a peculiar affection, — the love of compla-
cency and delight; and in this special love he
corrects, reproves, and chastens, as they may re-
quire, as is expressed by the wise man in Prov.
iii. 11, 12 : " My son, despise not the chastening
of the Lord ; neither be weary of his correction :
for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth ; even as
a father the son in whom he delighteth.^^

Have we not, in this peculiar love of our heav-
enly Father, — a love so great that he withheld
not his only begotten Son from an ignominious
death that we might be brought into this precious
relation, — the highest possible assurance that all
that he does and permits concerning us will be
for our highest and greatest good, here and here-
after ? It is related that during a violent storm
at sea the captain's wife, who was with him on
the vessel, was greatly alarmed for their safety.
Her husband attempted all he could to banish her
fears, and at length, taking a sword and holding
it threateningly over her, inquired if she was
afraid of it. She replied, " 'Eo ; for my husband
holds it, and he will not harm mc." " Then,"
said the captain, '' Our heavenly Father holds
this storm in his hands and he will not suffer us
to be harmed, unless it be for our ffood."

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The chastisements then which are upon us are
the result of infinite love ; they are the discipline
of love. Every step in the process is kindness.
There is no wrath, no vengeance in any part of
the process. We may rest assured of this, and
this is our consolation ; for love will not wrong
or unnecessarily afflict us. There will he no
needless suffering. There will not he one more
stroke than is necessary. The furnace shall not
become hotter than is needed to secure the result
aimed at. And the process will not be suffered to
continue one single hour more than is necessary,
"Were this kept in mind there would be less dis-
position to shrink from the ordeal, to entertain
hard thoughts of God, and suppose that he afflicts
us in wrath, or suffers us to be tossed upon the
tempest, or burned in the fire, without his regard
or notice.

As an illustration of the spirit with which the
trying providences of God should be borne, the
case of the father of Richard Cameron is to the
point. The aged saint was in prison " for the
word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.'^
The bleeding head of his martyred son was
brought to him by his unfeeling persecutor^-,
and he was asked derisively if he knew it. "I
know it, I know it," said the father, as he kissed

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the mangled forehead of his fair-haired son ; "it
is my son's, my own dear son's ! It is the Lord !
Good is the will of the Lord, who can not wrong
me or mine, but who hath made goodness and
mercy to follow us all our days."

III. It is a di-scijMne of wisdom.

He who afflicts us is God, who is infinitely
wise. Wisdom, then, will control it all. He
knows exactly what we need, and how to apply
it. The times, the instruments, the methods, and
the length of endurance, all, all are conceived
in infinite wisdom and controlled by infinite love.
The surest, the most direct, and the most gentle,
yet effective method is devised.

ly. It is further a discipline of faithfulness.

Said the psalmist : '^ I know, 0 Lord, that thy
judgments are right, and that thou in faithful-
ness hast afflicted me." (Psalms cxix. 75.) Hast
thou, dear reader, committed to thy heavenly
Father thine interests for time and eternity?
Then, thou hast left all to him to choose, to
control, and to direct thee in all things. Faith-
ful to his charge, which he willingly assumed, he
will not permit thee to suffer loss by loitering
by the way, or going in the wrong path, without
timely rebuke.

Is the spirit of the world, so deleterious to thy

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spiritual prosperity, increasing upon thee ? If it
is, thou art less likely to be aware of it than
others around thee. Thy God, however, knows
it, and will in some way awaken thee to a knowl-
edge of thy danger. Are thy worldly attach-
ments— right and proper in moderation — engross-
ing thy affections and bringing barrenness upon
thy soul? Faithfulness upon the part of Him^
to love whom with all thy heart is thy chiefest
good, requires His interposition, it may be in the
removal of the idol of thy heart. Are you be-
coming remiss in duty because of the press of
worldly cares, or, perchance, disposed to sit down
at thine ease, while the calls of duty all around
thee are unheeded ? Then be sure an awakening
rod is already prepared for thine arousing. Or are
you disposed to tarry on your pilgrimage, and
loiter at Vanity Fair, associating with its inhab-
itants, trafficking in its forbidden wares or in-
dulging in its guilty pleasures ? A tempest of
adversities will fall upon you ere God permit you
to tarry there to your hurt.

Then, the faithfulness of God is seen in this,
that he will not pass by a single fault which he
sees in us, but will make it known that it may be
removed. He is true to his children, whether in
sending good or evil upon them. Is he not rather

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 63

more true and faithful in sending the evil than
the good ? It is harder to reprove a friend than
to praise him. Yet for love's sake this should he
done, for " faithful are the wounds of a friend."
Our God then is faithful when he blesses ; more
faithful when he chastens. This is our consola-
tion, and should allay all our murmurings and
establish our hearts in peace. One other evidence
of God's faithfulness in chastisement is, that he
will not be moved from his purpose by regard
for our cries or tears, but will adhere to his pur-
pose until the end he has in view shall be accom-
plished.

Y. It is also a discijoUne of power.

He who is chastising us for our good is not one
who is unable to complete the work he has un-
dertaken ; nor can he be baffled or turned from
his purpose. He is able to carry out his designs
against the most resolute resistance. If there
were love alone in the dealing, the purpose might
fail of its accomplishment, for love is oftentimes
helpless and unable to do aught for its object.
Wisdom, too, alone is wholly ineffectual. So
with untiring faithfulness. It is often altogether
impotent, even in its fondest objects. But when
infinite j^oioer is united with infinite love, com-
passion, wisdom, and faithfulness, we are sure

64 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

that every obstacle will be surmounted and the
intended object secured. The God who chastises
us for our good is infinite in all his attributes.
He is " able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think." The very possibility,
then, of failure is taken away, and He who has
commenced a good work in us will complete it
unto the day of Jesus Christ.

Sach is the discipline through which God is
leading his children. It is love, wisdom, faithful-
ness, and power, — all infinite, and combined to
devise and execute our highest good. It is then
perfect, and sure of ultimate success. This is our
consolation in the hour of affliction.

But what are some of the lessons we learn from
the foregoing ?

I. All the afflictions of the righteous, ivhatever
may be their nature, or the immediate cause which
produced them, are by God himself. He either sends
or permits them. There is no exception to this
rule, even in cases which are clearly traceable to
our own indiscretion or the malice or weakness
of others.

II. Afflictions are common to all God's children.
Suffering is the family lot, the universal family
badge. All God's saints of every age have been
familiar with affliction. Eminent piety, exalted

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 65

station, nor extensive usefulness is an exemption
from it. Why, then, should we desire to throw
off the family badge ?

III. There is no condition on earth fraught with
more danger to the sold than uninterrupted health
and prosperity. To be left alone to the enjoyment
of unbroken and uninterrupted prosperity and
health is the certain road to the ruin of the
soul.

Said Evans : " It is upon the smooth ice we
slip; the rough path is safest for our feet."
*' There must be," said the holy Rutherford,
" ram and hail and storm in the saint's cloud."
Said Macduff: "He who knows us infinitely bet-
ter than we know ourselves, often puts thorns in
our nests to drive us to the wing, that we may
not be grovellers forever."

It is related of Cecil, the celebrated religious
writer, that, having heard that an excellent friend
and fellow- Christian was unusually prospered in
his worldly business, he called to caution him
against the danger of worldliness which he ap-
prehended in consequence of his prosperity. Cecil
told him that he had heard that he was in a
dangerous condition. His friend expressed his
ignorance of any danger or cause of alarm. Cecil
then informed him that that which he had only

66 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

heard, he now saw to be really true, and as an
evidence thereof his friend was ignorant of his
danger. Said he : ''I hear that you are prosper-
ing in your worldly business and increasing in
that which necessarily requires more and more
attention ; and that, without spiritual grace, will
prove to you, as it has to thousands of others, the
cause of your ruin." God thus used this eminent
saint to deliver that man from impending and
certain evil.

There is a needs be, then, in the chastisements
of the saints ; for were their earthly course free
from storms and trials, and were there no clouds
to obscure their sky and interrupt the sunbeams
of health and prosperity, they would forget that
they are but strangers and pilgrims here.

TV. Strange as it may seem, it is nevertheless
true, that even long-continued and high-wrought re-
ligious enjoyments sometimes beget a feeling of undue
self- exaltation, self-satisfaction, and unwatchfulness.
Hence the variations in Christian experience, and
frequently the chastisements and humiliations
which precede or follow seasons of high religious
enjoyment.

We need only cite the case of St. Paul, which
he himself relates in II. Cor. xii. 1-7. After re-
counting how he was caught up into the third

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 67

heaven, — even into paradise, — where he heard
and saw things which he was not at liberty to
tell, he further said, " And lest I should be exalt-
ed above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the
flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I
should be exalted above measure."

Y. Afflictions and providences are sometimes sent
by God to change the course of his children, when it
tends to their- loss or hurt. Our heavenly Father,
who sees the end from the beginning, is often
caused to interfere against our most cherished
plans, and, it may be, disable us by sore affliction,
to save us from ills which we can not foresee.

A Christian man relates that on a certain occa-
sion in his life he was unusually depressed be-
cause his plans and calculations were hopelessly
frustrated. On his way home one evening he
found his way obstructed by piles of thorn-
bushes, which some one had placed in his path.
Attempting to go around them and resume the
same path, he found that thorn-bushes were so
placed as to completely prevent this. Supposing
that an enemy had placed these bushes in his
way, to annoy him, he went to his home by
another way. In the morning he went to see
the place, when, to his gratitude, he saw that it

68 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

was no enemy but a friend who had prevented
him from going farther on his usual pathway
home, for a quarry by the way-side had fallen in,
across his path, into which he must have fallen
but for the interposition of those thorn-bushes.
So God by his providences often hedges up the
way of his children and turns their steps in
another direction, to save them from evils which
he alone is aware of.

YI. Calls to and preparation for special duties
and more extensive usefulness are usually God's
chastenings and afflictions.

It is the concurrent testimony of experienced
Christians that those who are designed for special
service in the church are prepared for their work
by severe and sometimes repeated baptisms of
suffering. Luther declared that "for the most
part, when God sent him upon any special service
for the good of the church he was brought low
by some severe fit of sickness."

YII. Afflictions and trials are sometimes sent,
or permitted by God, to bring to the knowledge
of the afflicted one some weakness or defect in
his Christian character, of which he was igno-
rant, and which it was important that he should
k^ow and have remedied.

Vm. Sometimes persons of eminent abilities

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 69

and influence in the church are laid aside by
affliction or removed by death for the welfare of
the general cause.

It sometimes occurs that valuable counselors
and laborers are laid aside or removed to the
church above, to demonstrate that no one is in-
dispensable to God, and that dependence should
be placed in God alone. Sometimes trees grow
so large that their shadow prevents the thrift of
other trees, and their pruning or removal is nec-
essary to the prosperity of the shaded ones. So
some Christians live too much in the shadow of
others, looking to them instead of to God, and
trusting to them to do the work Avhich they
should do themselves. God wisely removes such
and thereby causes others to go forward to greater
activity and usefulness, for their own good and
the prosperity of the general cause.

IX. Whenever visited by affliction the believer may
he assured that his heavenly Father designs some-
thing better for him than he now possesses.

Some more advanced state of grace, holiness,
and usefulness is about to be presented to his
attention and acceptance, and these chastenings
are the Father's awakenings thereto.

It is not the barren branches of the vine that
are pruned and cut and trimmed by the heavenly

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Husbandman, but those that bear fruit, that they
may bring forth more abundantly. " Every
branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh
away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he
purgeth ity that it may bring forth more fruit."
(John XV. 2.) The visitations of God to the
wicked often result in their being cut off and
taken away; those to the righteous, in their
chastisement to their awakening and quickening
to greater activity and usefulness.

X. WJien afflicted, we may be sure there is a
sufficient cause for it ; and we should seek by prayer
to ascertain that cause, so as to remedy it.

An old writer has said that " the candle will
never burn clear while there is a thief in it. Sin
indulged in the conscience is like Jonah in the
ship, which causeth such a tempest that the con-
science is like a troubled sea, whose waters can
not rest." The chastisement under which you
suffer, then, is an evidence that thy God is deal-
ing with thee in mercy, for thine own good. It
is God's expression of his hatred of sin and of
his purpose to deliver thee from it. The casting
of gold or silver into the furnace implies that
there is dross in it which requires fire to purge
out. Were there no dross there would be no
need of fire. Our chastisements are evidences of

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impurity within, and of God's purposes to free us
of it.

XI. The affliction loill always he, in extent and in
suffering, equal to the object to he attained,

^'God's usual method is, to inflict light chastise-
ments; and then, if these fail in accomplishing
his merciful purposes he inflicts still greater.
There may be touches of transient pain, a brief
illness, a slight indisposition, a passing weakness,
some common domestic vexation, some trivial
casualty, some few days of parting from one we
love, some disappointment or annoyance. These
are all Fatherly rebukes of the lighter kind ; but
they are overlooked because so common and light.
Had they been sharper or heavier they would
have been recognized as such, but being so ten-
der they are hardly worthy of serious attention.
Then, these failing in their purpose, some more
severe methods are used. A raging fever, a sad
bereavement, the loss of earthy possessions, the
blasting of our fondest hopes, come upon us like
a whirlwind, and we are prostrated in the dust.
Our strength seems to fail. Our life is despaired
of. Then we know that the hand of God is upon
us. Had we heeded the first inflictions of our
Father's rod we would have been spared these
severe strokes ; but the gentleness of the inflic-

72 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

tiou made us feel at liberty to underrate them, as
coming from God. We thus despise the chastise-
ments of the Almighty, and draw upon ourselves
greater inflictions. It is wisdom, then, to open
our eyes to the voice of God and to hear his
rebukes, ere their very severity forces us to bow
to them." (Bonar.)

" Protracted trials," says one, " seem specially
aimed at the will,^^ The will is the soul's citadel.
It is the seat of rebelliousness against God and
his calls to duty. It must be subdued, and stroke
after stroke is brought to bear upon it. These
failing, fire after fire is kindled in order to soften
it and bring it into subjection. When mild treat-
ment fails, furnace-heat is used. Said a sufifering
saint, " It requires all the energy of God to bend
my will to his." The subjugation of the will is
often a long-continued process. Stroke after
stroke in sad succession, and sometimes one fear-
ful stroke, which leaves behind it consequences
which years can not efface, fall upon the believer.
It is a Father's hand. It is the pruning-knife of
the great Husbandman. Receive it as such, dear,
afflicted, and chastened one, and thy peace shall
be greatly multiplied.

XII. Grace in proportion to the trial will always
be given.

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The strength of God is made perfect in our
weakness; and as our day and trial are so shall
our strength be. Be not afraid, then, dear, suffer-
ing saint, that thou will be consumed in the fire.
Thy God sits over thee and watches thee and will
not let thee be consumed.

" ' Tis true, He now thy strength doth try,
Like birds that teach their young to fly ;
But when thou sinkest, He will bring
Beneath thy fall His own great wing."

XIII. In our suffering and affliction we are con^
formed to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ in his
life of suffering.

Throughout all his earthly life, our Lord Jesus
Christ was "a Man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief." There was one mark by which he
was to be specially distinguished. It is the bruised
heel. This was the mark by which he was to be
known. Acquainted with grief is the family
badge, the family likeness. Companionship with
Christ implies that we are made like him in suf-
fering as well as in other respects. One sorrow,
or one trial, does not make us acquainted with
grief; it requires long and severe trials to do
this. The Master was a Man of sorrows, and we
are to be conformed to his image in this.

XIY. Afflictions^ then^ instead of evidences of

74 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

God's displeasure, as we are apt to suppose when
<ifflicted, are his oivn marks of favor, love, and re-
gard.

St. Paul's estimate of the value and signifi-
cance of afflictions is expressed as follows : "For
unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not
only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his
sake.''

" St. Peter, in his first general epistle, chapter
five, verse ten, says, " But the God of all grace,
who hath called us unto his eternal glory by
Ohrist Jesus, after that ye have suffered awhile,
make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle
you."

• Said an eminent saint, " Whatever evidences
of God's favor I formerly possessed, I know now
beyond a doubt that he loves me and remembers
me with favor, because he afflicts me."

However anomalous it may seem, afflictions
and chastisements are the expression of our heav-
enly Father's love. In the light of God's word,
there is no other way of accounting for them.
Anger or forgetfulness will not account for them.
It is simply impossible to trace them to any other
cause than love, unless the plain utterances of
God's word are entirely ignored. Admit this, and
all is harmonious ; deny it, and all is confusion,

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cruelty, darkness. " Chastising love is tlie faith-
fulest, the purest, the tenclerest, the deepest of all.
It can not wrong us. It seeks only our good."
^' Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth ; " and,
^* as many as he loves he rebukes and chastens."
(Heb. xii. 6; Rev. iii. 19.)

" Sorrowing and chastened believer, what more
couldst thou wish than this? Thy furnace is
severe ; but look at this assurance of Him who
lighted it. Love is the fuel that feeds the flames.
Its every spark is love, kindled by a Father's
hand, and designed as a special pledge of his
love. How many of his dear children has he so
rebuked and chastened ; and all, all for one
reason, — I love them. The myriads in glory have
passed through these furnace fires ; there they were
chosen, there they were purified, sanctified, and
made * vessels meet for the Master's use;' the
dross and the alloy purged, that the pure metal
might remain. And art thou to claim exemption
from the same discipline ? Art thou to think it
strange concerning these same fiery trials that
may be trying thee? Eather exult in them ais
thine adoption, — privilege. Envy not those who
are strangers to the refining flames, who are
* without chastisement ; ' rather surely the severest
discipline, loith a Father's love, than the fullest
cup, without that Father's smile." (Macduff.)

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XY. The afflictions of Christians here have a
relation to the enjoyments of heaven hereafter.

Said the apostle, "For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
(11. Cor. iv. 17.)

" If we suffer, we shall also reign with him/'
(n. Tim. ii. 12.)

" Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of
Christ's sufferings ; that, when his glory shall be
revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding
joy." (I. Peter iv. 13.)

" But the God of all grace, who hath called us
unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that
ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stab-
lish, strengthen, settle you." (I. Peter v. 10.)

" These are they which came out of great trib-
ulation, and have washed their robes, and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb. There-
fore are they before the throne of God, and serve
him day and night in his temple: and he that
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any
more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor
any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst
of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead
them unto living fountains of waters : and God

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shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." (Rev.
vii. 14-17.)

I conclude this chapter with the following
beautiful lines from LTpham's Christ in the Soul,
as expressive of the spirit in which these chas-
tisements should be received.

" ' Tis all the same to me ;

Sorrow and strife, and pinmg, want and pain I
Whatever it is, it cometh all from Thee,
And ' tis not mine to doubt Thee or complain.

" Thou knowest what is best ;

And who, O God, but thee hath power to know ?
* Tis thine alike with good to make us blest,
And thine to send affliction's hour of woe.

** Ko questions will I ask.

Do what thou wilt, my Father and my God I
Be mine the dear and consecrated task,
To bless the loving hand that lifts the rod,

" All, all, shall please me well ;

Since living fjaith hath made it understood,
That in the shadowy folds of sorrow dwell
The seeds of life and everlasting good.

CHAPTER lY.

AFFLICTIONS— WHENCE DO THEY COME?

"Affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth
trouble spring out of the ground." (Job v. 6.)

The words affliction and trouble, as used in tlie
scripture placed at tlie head of this chapter, are
generic, and imply all forms of bodily and mental
sufiering to which man is subject. The fact de-
clared of them is that they never come by acci-
dent, or chance, nor without an adequate cause.

The general teaching of the Scriptures as well
as the inferences from the few cases of afflicted
ones therein related abundantly prove that what-
ever may be the immediate cause of the affliction,
it is, in every case of the righteous, ordered, sent,
or permitted by God, for the present or future
good of the afflicted one. The wicked, also, are
visited by the chastenings of God for the pur-
pose of leading them to consideration and repent-
ance, or to punish them for flagrant wickedness.

"What are the usual causes of the afflictions of
the righteous ? We reply :

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I. The Scriptures undoubtedly teacli that in
some cases God permits Satan to inflict severe
affliction upon the believer. This is done, doubt-
less, for the purpose of testing the faith of the
afflicted one or for demonstrating the sustaining
and delivering power of Divine grace.

Two prominent cases are given in the Script-
ures,— one in the Old, the other in the !N"ew Tes-
tament. Let us consider these cases. In the first,
second, and third chapters of the Book of Job,
the cause, nature, and results of the afflictions of
that eminently good man are given. Satan hav-
ing failed in his purpose concerning Job, by
bereaving him of his children and his property,
asked and obtained of the Lord permission to
afflict his person. Permission was granted in the
following words : " Behold, he is in thine hand ;
but save his life. So went Satan forth from the
presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore
boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown."
(Job ii. 6, 7.)

The extent to which the power of the enemy
extended in this case was not only to the person
of Job, but to his children, his property, to the
stirring up of the Chaldeans and Sabeans, and
even unto the elements of nature, — the winds of
heaven, and fire. The intensity of Job's sufiierings

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under his afflictions can be faintly conceived by
a perusal of Ms own statement thereof. And
although he was reduced to such an extremity
that he deplored his birth and desired death
rather than continued existence, it is affirmed
of him that " in all this Job sinned not." (Job
i. 22.)

St. Paul, in II. Corinthians xii., gives a brief
encounter with the same grand enemy. The fact
of Satan's agency in his affliction is stated as fol-
lows : " Lest I should be exalted above measure
through the abundance of the revelations, there
was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messen-
ger of Satan to buffet me."

In the case of Job, after the purposes of God
were accomplished his afflictions were removed,
and his latter days were made prosperous and
happy. In the case of St. Paul the affliction
remained ; but grace was so largely bestowed that
he claimed to be the gainer, and even was made
to rejoice for and in consequence of his infirmi-
ties.

It may be inquired. Why was the affliction re-
moved in the case of Job and not also in the case
of St. Paul ? To this it may be replied that the
purposes of God can not always be understood
here. It may be for the reason that Satan charg-

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ed that Job's piety was influenced by and depend-
ant upon his worldly prosperity, and also upon
the continuance of his personal health. After
the falsity of these charges was fully demon-
strated, and an eminent example of submission
and patience under severe affliction was given,
to adorn the pages of holy "Writ, and comfort
God's afflicted ones in all after ages, the afflic-
tion was removed, and Job was restored to more
than his former health, prosperity, and happiness.
In the case of the apostle, Satan doubtless thought
to take advantage of some weakness, some pre-
disposition, some bodily • infirmity, to harass his
mind and hinder his usefulness, if not entirely to
drive him from the field of labor. The infirmity,
whatever it was, was made permanent because
the occasion of it remained, and grace was be-
stowed in such large measure that the apostle
stands forth as an eminent example of grace
triumphing over human weakness and the malice
of Satan.

That cases of affliction by satanic agency still
occur, and that advantage is still taken of the
weakness, .the infirmities, and the unfavorable
surroundings of the righteous, aggravating the
same, either to distract or destroy, or perma-
nently to injure, there can be no question. The

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Lord Jesus Christ himself came in contact with
this grand enemy of our race ; and for the space
of forty days he experienced his satanic power.
The first Adam met this same foe, and fell under
his power. It was necessary that the second
Adam also should meet and conquer him. This
was done, and the conquest was complete. He
is therefore the hetter prepared to sympathize
with those of his disciples who may he called to
come in conflict with the same great enemy. To
all such, whether in trials of faith by temptations,
or suffering sore afflictions, induced by satanic
malice and power, the Savior says, as he said to
Peter : '' Behold, Satan hath desired to have you,
that he might sift you as wheat : but I have pray-
ed for thee, that thy faith fail not."

In the severity of a conflict apparently so un-
equal, it might be supposed that the advantage
would be so much on the side of the enemy that
the extreme weakness of the buffeted and tried
one would be made to appear. It was so in the
case of Job ; for he gave utterance to many
expressions of seeming impatience. Paul at once
betook himself to the strong One for help, and
was delivered from this weakness. Peter, under
the power of his fierce assaults, so far fell by his
power that he denied the Lord, even to cursing

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and swearing. But he, as well as Job, was for-
given and restored, and long since they have
gone where the power and malice of Satan are
unfelt and unknown.

II. As a general thing, bodily affliction is the
result of the violation of some law of our phys-
cal being, — some indiscretion; for it is true in
regard to the laws which govern our physical
being as well as our spiritual, that " whatsoever
a man soweth, that shall he also reap." God has
nowhere promised to set aside or suspend the
laws of life and health, — unless in the special
cases stated in Mark xvi. 18, — even for the right-
eous. Good people, — even God's chosen and
dearly beloved, — then, may be in affliction and
suffering by their own indiscretion; and this from
the purest and best motives, and while in the dis-
charge of what may be deemed imperative duty.
The apostle in his letter to the church at Phi-
lippi (Phil. ii. 30), said that in consequence of his
extraordinary zeal, Epaphroditus was sick and
nigh unto death, for the work of Christ, not re-
garding his own life, that he might supply their
lack of service. There were idlers in the church
at Philippi ; and the work which they neglected
to do must be done by some one else, or it must
be left undone and God's cause w^ould suffer.

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Epaphroditus did tliis neglected work in addition
to his own, and one of the results was that his
strength failed under the burden. So there are
idlers in all our churches, and the Epaphrodituses
are suffering in consequence of the extraordinary
burdens imposed upon them. The churches every-
where furnish numerous examples of premature
retirement from active labor, or untimely deaths
from overwork. Our own church is not without
its eminent instances.

God does not impose unreasonable burdens
upon his children, nor does he require a devoted
few to add to their own burdens those of the
idlers in the vineyard; yet it is always the case
that in every instance where important duties are
neglected by some, they will be taken up and
carried by others, in addition to their own. If
men, influenced by a burning zeal for the divine
glory and the welfare of their fellow-men, suffer
their zeal to lead them into labors beyond their
strength, they must suffer in the flesh the inevita-
ble consequences. In all such cases it is true of
them as it was true with the Master himself, — the
zeal of God's house hath eaten them up.

III. Afilictions and trials are often sent by
God upon his children for their awakening, cor-
rection, and improvement. This is true even il

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 85

the affliction has been produced by some second-
ary natural cause. That God does use the rod of
affliction upon his erring and slothful children is
abundantly proved in the Scriptures, as we have
fully shown in our previous chapter. Reference
to the following scriptures will establish this fact
beyond dispute : " Behold, happy is the man
whom God correcteth : therefore despise not thou
the chastening of the Almighty : for he maketh
sore, and bindeth up : he woundeth, and his
hands make whole." (Job. v. 17, 18.)

"My son, despise not the chastening of the
Lord; neither be weary of his correction: for
whom the Lord loveth he correcteth ; even as a
father the son in whom he delighteth." (Pro v.
iii. 11, 12.)

" My son, despise not thou the chastening of
the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of
him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."
(Heb. xii. 5, 6.

"As many as I love I rebuke and chasten."
(Rev. iii. 19.)

Thus we have the fact of God's agency in the
afflictions of his people, with the design thereof,
and the manner in which these chastisements
should be borne, stated in almost the same Ian-

86 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

guage by Job, — the author of what is admitted
to-be the oldest book of the sacred canon, — as
well as by patriarch and prophet and apostle.

But what are some of the sources of encour-
agement for afflicted saints, taught by the fore-
going facts ?

1. ITo affliction, bereavement, trial, or what are
called accidents, can come upon a child of God
without the notice or permission of his heavenly
Father. This is true of all occurrences, even
though their origin may be plainly traced to
some human agency. Whatever may be the nat-
ure of the affliction, and whatever may be the
immediate cause thereof, by the time it reaches
the believer it has become the will of God con-
cerning him.

In addition to the general providence of God,
which is over all his creatures, the Scriptures jus-
tify the belief that each and every believer is
under special guardianship. Said the Savior to
the disciples of his own and of every age, ^' The
very hairs of your head are all numbered."

" There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall
any plague come nigh thy dwelhng. For he
shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep
thee in all thy ways."

" He will not suffer thy foot to be moved : he

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 87

that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he
that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor
sleep."

" 'No weapon that is formed against thee shall
prosper."

2. Suppose your affliction or trial, whatever it
may be, is sent or taken advantage of by Satan,
as in the cases of Job and Paul, it can only be so
by permission of God, who will overrule it for
good Satan could not touch Job until permis-
sion to do so was given him by God ; and the
evil spirits could not even enter into the herd of
swine until permission was given by Jesus.

3. Are you suffering the result of some im-
prudence of your own, or from the malice or
imprudence of another? If there is guilt con-
nected with it, God will pardon you and remove
the guilt. And as he is greater than nature and
before its laws, he can and may, if his glory and
your best interests require it, suspend those laws
and relieve you of their penalty.

4. As afflictions do not come from the dust,
nor trouble spring out of the ground, — as is de-
clared in Job V. 6 ; that is, that they do not come
by chance nor by arbitrary laws over which there
is no controlling and directing power, — but by
the permission of God, whatever may be the im-

88 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

mediate agency in producing them, it may be
said in all cases, especially of the righteous, to
whom special promises are given, they are of God
himself. Then, there is no trouble, no affliction,
no bereavement, no sorrow, or circumstance of
trial possible to a child of God unless God him-
self sends it. Are you suffering, then, dear, afflict-
ed member of the suffering family of God ? It
is the Father's loving hand that is upon you.
And in this fact you have the highest evidence
of his love and regard ; " for whom the Lord lov-
eth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom
lie receiveth. " (Heb. xii. 6.)

" God sometimes walks behind the cloud ;
And threatening storms his presence shroud ;
His light is there ; but all unseen,
Because the storm-cloud comes between.

" From that dark cloud the bolts descend,
The skies to cleave, the earth to rend;
But trusting hearts need not despair ; '
God guides the bolt ; and God is there."

CHAPTER Y.

AFFLICTIONS— HOW TO BE BORNE,

"Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint
"when thou art rebuked of him." (Heb. xii. 5.)

" Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the
name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and
of patience." (James v. 10.)

In the injunction of St. Paul, as quoted above,
and found in almost the same words in Job. v.
17, 18, and Proverbs iii. 11, 12, *as well as in
Hebrews xii. 5, we have the two extremes into
which the afflicted often fall; and against both
we are cautioned. These extremes are, despising
the chastenings of the Lord, and fainting under
them. The former implies to treat them lightly,
to consider them as but natural and ordinary
occurrences, and possessed of no special signifi-
cance; the latter, to give way to despondency
and discouragement.

In the admonition of St. James, patience under
affliction — as a medium between the two extremes
stated by St. Paul and as the proper spirit for the
afflicted — is enjoined.

90 CLUSTERS FEOM ESHCOL.

In considering tlie conduct of Bible saints un-
der affliction, as examples for imitation, it will be
found that while they at times exhibited much
patience and submission, and in some cases were
enabled to rejoice in their suffering, they all be-
trayed the usual evidences of weakness and frail-
ty. The tendency in every case was to fainting
and despondency rather than to the opposite
extreme.

Five cases of eminent saints under affliction
are given in the Scriptures ; and as we are di-
rected to them as examples for imitation, we pro-
pose to consider each case briefly.

The patriarch Job stands forth in the Bible as
a pre-eminent example of patience under afflic-
tion. His case will claim our attention first. The
following words, uttered at various times, show
his despondency as well as his conscious integrity
and sincerity, and his hope and trust in God.

" Let the day perish wherein I was born, and
the night in which it was said. There is a man
child conceived. Let that day be darkness ; let
not God regard it from above, neither let the
light shine upon it." "Why died I not from the
womb?" "For now should I have lain still and
been quiet, I should have slept : then had I been
at rest." "Wherefore is light given to him that

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 91

is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul:
which long for death, but it cometh not." "Why
is light given to a man whose way is hid, and
whom God hath hedged in ? For my sighing
cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured
out like the waters." "Oh, that I might have
my request ; and that God would grant me the
thing that I long for ! Even that it would please
God to destroy me; that he would let loose his
hand and cut me off! " " So am I made to pos-
sess months of vanity, and wearisome nights
are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say,
When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I
am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning
of the day." " Therefore I will not refrain my
mouth ; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit ;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul."
"When I say. My bed shall comfort me, my
couch. shall ease my complaint; then thou scarest
me with dreams, and terrifiest me through vis-
ions : so that my soul chooseth strangling, and
death rather than my life." " I am full of con-
fusion : therefore see thou mine affliction ; for it
increaseth." " God hath delivered me to the un-
godly, and turned me over into the hands of the
wicked." "He hath also taken me by my neck,
and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his

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mark." " He breaketh me with breacli upon
breach ; he runneth upon me like a giant." " Oh
that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that
thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be
past." " Oh that I were as in months past, as in
the days when God preserved me; when his
candle shined upon my head, and when by his
light I walked through darkness ; as I was in the
days of my youth, when the secret of God was
upon i*iiy tabernacle ; when the Almighty was yet
with me, when my children were about me ; when
I washed my steps with butter, and the rock
poured me out rivers of oil ; when I went out to
the gate through the city, when I prepared my
seat in the street ! the young men saw me, and
hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood
up." " The arrows of the Almighty are within
me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit:
the terrors of God do set themselves in array
against me." "I cry unto thee, and thou dost
not hear me : I stand up, and thou regardest me
not. Thou art become cruel to me: with thy
strong hand thou opposest thyself against me."

In the following words Job expresses his con-
sciousness of his integrity, and also his hope and
confidence in God :
"Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 93

may know mine integrity. If my step hath turn-
ed out of the way, and mine heart walked after
mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine
hands ; then let me sow, and let another eat; yea,
let my offspring be rooted out." " My foot hath
held his steps, his way have I kept, and not de-
clined. ^Neither have I gone back from the com-
mandment of his lips ; I have esteemed the words
of his mouth more than my necessary food."
" He knoweth the way that I take : when he hath
tried me, I shall come forth as gold." " Though
he slay me, yet will I trust in him."

The experience of David under affliction is
similar to that of Job ; and is as follows :

" 0 Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither
chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy
upon me, 0 Lord ; for I am weak : 0 Lord, heal
me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also
sore vexed. . . . Eeturn, 0 Lord, deliver my
soul : oh save me for thy mercies' sake. For in
death there is no remembrance of thee : in the
grave who shall give thee thanks ? I am weary
with my groaning ; all the night make I my bed
to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine
eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old
because of all mine enemies." " How lona: wilt
thou forget me, 0 Lord? forever? how long

94 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

wilt tliou hide thy face from me ? how long shall
I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my
heart daily ? . . . . Consider and hear me, 0
Lord my God : lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the
sleep of death." '' Have mercy upon me, 0 Lord,
for I am in trouhle : mine eye is consumed with
grief. .... For my life is spent with grief,
and my years with sighing : my strength faileth
because of mine iniquity, and my bones are con-
sumed. I was a reproach among all mine enemies,
but especially among my neighbors, and a fear to
mine acquaintance." " I am troubled ; I am bow-
ed down greatly ; I go mourning all the day long.
For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease :
and there is no soundness in my flesh. ... I
have roared by reason of the disquietness of my
heart." " In the day of my trouble I sought the
Lord : my sore ran in the night, and ceased not :
my soul refused to be comforted." " Will the
Lord cast off forever ? and will he be favorable
no more ? is his mercy clean gone forever ? doth
his promise fail for evermore ? hath God forgot-
ten to be gracious ? hath he in anger shut up his
tender mercies ? " "0 my God, my soul is cast
down within me." " Deep calleth unto deep at
the noise of thy water-spouts : all thy waves and
thy billows are gone over me." " Lord, why cast-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 95

est thou off my soul? why liiclest thou thy face
from me ? I am afflicted and ready to die from
my youth up : while I suffer thy terrors I am
distracted. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me : thy
terrors have cut me off."

The psalmist's integrity and confidence in God
are expressed as follows : '' Mine eyes are ever
toward the Lord ; for he shall pluck my feet out
of the net." '' Oh keep my soul, and deliver me :
let me not be ashamed ; for I put my trust in
thee. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me ;
for I wait on thee."

The great and good King Hezekiah gives utter-
ance to his feelings under affliction as follows :
" The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when
he had been sick, and was recovered of his sick-
ness : I said in the cutting off of my days, I
shall go to the gates of the grave : I am deprived
of the residue of my years. I said, I shall not
see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the
living : I shall behold man no more with the in-
habitants of the world. Mine age is departed,
and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent : I
have cut off' like a weaver my life : he will cut
me oft" with pining sickness: from day even to
night wilt thou make an end of me. I reck-
oned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break

96 CLUSTEKS FROM ESHCOL.

all my bones : from day even to night wilt thou
make an end of me. Like a crane or a swallow,
so did I chatter : I did mourn as a dove : mine
eyes fail with looking upward: 0 Lord, I am
oppressed ; undertake for me. What shall I say ?
he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath
done it : I shall go softly all my years in the bit-
terness of my soul. 0 Lord, by these things men
live, and in aU these things is the life of my
spirit : so wilt thou recover me, and make me to
live. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness ;
but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from
the pit of corruption : for thou hast cast all my
sins behind thy back. For the grave can not
praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they
that go down into the pit can not hope for thy
truth. The living, the living, he shall praise
thee, as I do this day : the father to the children
shall make known thy truth. The Lord was
ready to save me : therefore we will sing my
songs to the stringed instruments all the days of
our life in the house of the Lord." (Isa. xxxviii.
9-20.)

Jeremiah, in Lamentations iii., relates his re-
flections when under the chastening rod as fol-
lows : "I am the man that hath seen affliction
by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and

CLUSTERS FEOM ESHCOL. 97.

brought me into darkness, but not into light.
Surely against me is he turned ; he turneth his
hand against me all the day. My flesh and my
skin hath he made old ; he hath broken my
bones. He had bnilded against me, and com-
passed me with gall and travail. He hath set
me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.
He hath hedged me about, that I can not get
out : he hath made my chain heavy. Also when
I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. He
hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone; he hath
made my paths crooked. He was unto me as a
bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in
pieces : he hath made me desolate. He hath bent
his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. He
hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into
my reins. I was a derision to all my people ; and
their song all the day. He hath filled me with
bitterness, he hath made me drunken with worm-
wood. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel-
stones, he hath covered me with ashes. And thou
hast removed my soul far off from peace : I for-
gat prosperity. And I said. My strength and my
hope is perished from the Lord: Remembering
mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood
and the gall. My soul hath them still in remem-

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brance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to
my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the
Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because
his compassion fails not. They are new every
morning : great is thy faithfulness. The Lord i&
my portion, saith my soul ; therefore will I hope
in him."

The apostle Paul, in II. Corinthians, xii., re-
lates his experience under affliction. He does
not give expression to so great a despondency as
the four eminent persons already considered. His
experience corresponds with Romans v. 3, rather
than Hebrews xii. 11.

It will be seen that in several respects the ex-
periences of these eminent saints under affliction,
as related by themselves, were alike. There was
in all deep mental as well as bodily distress, — the
former greater than the latter. There was the
remembrance of former prosperity, enjoyment,
and honor, and humiliation and reproach occa-
sioned by contrasting the present with the for-
mer ; there was loss of enjoyment in life, and a
desire for death ; and above all there was deep
distress at the supposed anger of God in sending
sore affliction, and in refusing to hear and answer
their prayers. There was also the consciousness
of their integrity and uprightness, the absence of

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condemnation, and at times confidence in God
tliat in due time he would hear and deliver them.
In all the cases considered — that of St. Paul
excepted — there was a tendency to despondency
and fainting. The expressions of grief and fear
are more numerous and strongly expressed than
their confidence and hope. There is no subject
upon which the believer is more sensitive than the
relation he sustains to God; and if at any time God
withdraws the sensible evidence of his favor, as is
often the case in affliction, it is at once concluded
that for some reason he is ofi'ended. And when
in addition to the temporary withdrawal of the
divine favor God infiicts stroke after stroke of
sore affliction, bereavement, and sorrow, the tend-
ency is universal — even with saints of advanced
piety — to sink into despondency. And still fur-
ther, when in addition to all this, from the efiects
of disease, or for the purpose of testing the faith
of the sufferer, repeated prayers and supplications
are seemingly disregarded, the spirit of prayer
itself is lost, and the means of grace, formerly
affording so much delight, lose their interest, —
then it is that the soul is made to exclaim with
the psalmist: "Will the Lord cast off forever?
and will he be favorable no more ? Is his mer-
cy clean gone forever? doth his promise fail

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for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gra-
cious ? liatli lie in anger shut up his tender mer-
cies?"

Distressed and bewildered by affliction, and
interpreting God's dealings with us after the
standard of sense rather than faith, we are apt
with the poet to say, —

" Oh is it possible that God,

If God is Love, men sometimes say,
Can frowning, smite us with his rod.
And seeming put his love away.

'* Angry he seems, and sore doth smite ;

Strange thing for love ; and yet he knows
The mystic art to bring delight

From clouds and storms and heavy blows."

"We close the chapter with the following obser-
vations, deducted from the facts set forth.

I. We learn from the spirit and conduct of
the eminent saints to whom we have referred,
.and to whom St. James directs us to look as ex-
amples of patience under affliction, that none of
them was exempt from the weaknesses under
suffering usual to human nature ; and that in our
weakness and disposition to faint and suppose
that God's hand is upon us in wrath, and that he
disregards our tears and groans and prayers, we
do not differ from them, as we may have supposed.

II. True religion does not require nor tend to
stoical indifference under affliction.

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Jesus himself when called to suffer prayed for
the removal of the cup. And even in anticipa-
tion of his approaching suffering the Son of God
exclaimed, *'I have a baptism to be baptised
with; and how am I straitened till it be accom-
plished!" (Luke xii. 50.) St. Paul, also, when
sorely afflicted, prayed for its removal. (II. Cor.
xii. 8.) The Son of God wept in sympathy with
Mary and Martha at the grave of their brother
Lazarus. Tears in affliction and bereavement,
then, are not sinful. Said a suffering saint: "I
hope these groans and tears are not sin: I kiss
the rod that smites me, and yet I feel its pain."

III. Immoderate grief is forbidden.

"We do injustice to the cause of God and bear
damaging testimony against the power of divine
grace, thereby discouraging the week believer
by indulging in immoderate and excessive grief.
Then " lift up the hands which hang down, and
the feeble knees, lest that which is lame be turned
out of the way."

TV, It is universal, as the instances we have
cited shows, for the most pious and devoted,
when suffering under affliction, bereavement, and
sorrow, to be deeply concerned lest they have lost
the divine favor, and in consequence are chastised
by their heavenly Father. This is true especially

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in diseases which have a depressing effect upon
the mind. Even the great and good Jeremiah
supposed that God was scourging him with " the
rod of wrath." (Lam. iii. 1.) The Lord uses this
rod only upon the wicked ; never upon his own
children.

y. At no time is the Christian under so much
disadvantage in reasoning with the enemy aa
when reduced by affliction. Afflictions naturally
lead the mind to a contemplation of past and
present weaknesses, — an exercise which always
produces humiliation and shame. Satan in the
character of an accuser magnifies our infirmities,
and if possible leads us to distrust and despond-
ency.

At all times light and peace come to the soul
when self is lost sight of and its eye is fixed upon
Jesus God, however, finds it necessary at times
to lead the believer to humiliation, with the view
to his advancement to a better state. At such
times it is important that the afflicted and humili-
ated one should bear in mind that God deals with
his children after the worthiness of his Son, — not
after their own merit. Fear not then while con-
templating thine own infirmities to claim full
immunity in thy Surety.

YI. In the absence of sensible comfort from

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God, accept fully and freely the promises and
assurances of the written word, — for it is God's
voice speaking to us. This word is of more
value than our changeable feelings in interpreting
the providences of God, and his will concerning
us while under them.

The estimate placed upon the Scriptures and
their benefit to the psalmist in affliction are stated
in Psalms cxix. 50, 92, 143, 153.

YII. Fail not to heed the apostle's admonition
in Hebrews xii. 3, 4 : " Consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest
ye be weary and faint in your minds. Ye have
not resisted unto blood, striving against sin."

Whatever we may have suffered, if it be short
of losing blood, and life, we have not endured
as much suffering as the Son of God.

YIII. " Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and
he shall sustain thee." (Ps. Iv. 22.) Jesus, the
burden - bearer, kindly invites us to permit him
to carry our burdens. Take them to him in pray
er, lay them at his feet, and leave them there.

IX. Get as near to the hand which infiicts the
chastisements as possible. It is the dictate of
prudence as well as love to draw as near as possi-
ble to God in affliction, for thereby the stroke is
lightened, and its condemnatary power is lessened

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X. Accept fully the affliction which is upon
you as the expression of your heavenly Father's
will concerning you. Eesistance increases your
distress and prolongs your affliction.

" Resistance, which thy fears inspire,
Doth not protect, doth not restore ;
' Tis rather fuel to the fire.
And makes it burn and blaze the more.

" But when thy troubled soul accepts
The furnace of its wasting grief;
A power unseen thy life protects ;

' Tis Christ himself that brings relief."

XI. Cultivate the grace of patience.

" Let Patience have her perfect work," said an
eminent apostle. " Tribulation worketh patience,'*
said the same inspired man. " Patient in tribula-
tion" is one of the graces enjoined upon believers.

Patience in suffering is necessary for the com-
fort of the afflicted one, as well as for the devel-
opment of the purpose of God in our affliction.
It is unwise to judge of any piece of mechanism
before it is finished. God's purposes require time
for maturity and development.

Dear, afflicted believer, art thou undergoing
some severe ordeal of suffering ? Art thou afflict-
ed in body and perplexed in mind. Hast thou
been long tossed upon some bed of sickness ? and
have days of pain and nights of sleepless weari-

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ness been appointed unto thee? Art thou in strait-
ened circumstances, and suffering for want of the
comforts of life ? Art thou suffering some wrong
or unkindness at the hand of any one ? Has the
light of thine eyes been laid in the grave, and art
thou left to sadness and lamentation ? And is the
way God is leading thee in dark and mysteries ?
Are there no foot prints of love traceable in thy
way ? Is there no light in the cloud which ob-
scures thy sky ? l^o ray of hope for thee in thy
earthly future ? Be patient ; refrain from repin-
ing. Utter no impatient or unkind word. You
will yet be made to say of God's dealings with
you that " he hath done all things well." " The
Lord is good to them that wait for him." " But
they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength."

As appropriate to this chapter, devoted to the
spirit in which the chastisements of God should
be received, I quote again from Upham ;

" Shrink not from suffering. Each dear blow,
JFrom which thy smitten spirit bleeds,
j Ts but a messenger to show

The renovation which it needs.

" The earthly sculptor smites the rock ;

Loud the relentless hammer rings ;
- And from the rude, uushapen block.

At length, imprisoned beauty springs.

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** Thou art that rude, unshapen stone ;
And waitest, till the arm of strife,
Shall make its crucifixions known.
And smite and carve thee into life.

** The heavenly Sculptor works on thee;
Be patient. Soon his arm of might,
Shall from thy prison's darkness free,
And change thee to a form of light,"

"^^

CHAPTER VI.

AFFLICTIONS IMPROVED.

" For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own
pleasure ; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of
bis holiness." (Heb. xii. 10.)

In the scripture above quoted the apostle states
the design of God in the chastisements of his
children. It is that they may be made to partake
more largely of that attribute of the divine nature
termed his holiness. Of the communicable attri-
butes of God there is none of so much impor-
tance to the believer as that of holiness. It is that
which qualifies him to glorify God most, to repre-
Bent the Lord Jesus Christ before the world the
most truly, and to enter into and engage in the
employments of heaven the most abundantly.

How do afflictions and trials tend to an increase
in holiness? We have tried in previous chapters
to show that the divine chastisements are intend-
ed to awaken the Christian from the worldly
fitupor to which he is always subject, to weaken
his grasp of the associations and relations of life,

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and to lead him to a more complete consecration
to the service and glory of God. We will only
add that by the process of self-crucifixion the
corrupt life of nature yet attaching to believers is
weakened and destroyed, and the life of Christ,
previously implanted in the soul, is correspond-
ingly strengthened and developed. In propor-
tion as the earthly sky becomes darkened, the
heavenly is brightened ; and as our grasp of earth
is weakened, our hold upon the heavenly and
divine is strengthened.

Agitation in the material world is always bet-
ter than stagnation. The winds and storms and
frosts and snows are indispensable to health and
the productiveness of the earth. So periods of
agitation, and even persecution in the church, as
well as in the experience of individual Christians,
have been marked b}' more heroic and decided
piety than when external peace and prosperity
have prevailed. Uninterrupted health and pros-
perity invariably tend to ease, self-indulgence,
and worldliness. It was the church which said,
" I am rich, and increased with goods, and have
need of nothing," that was " wretched, and mis-
erable, and poor, and blind, and naked." (Rev.
iii. 17.) It is related that a ship was once found
frozen in the perpetual ice of the Arctic Sea.

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Upon going aboard of her, everything about the
ship was found faultlessly perfect. Every man
seemed to be at his propej: place; but all were
frozen stiff in death. The captaki was seated at
his table in his cabin, with his log-book before
him, and with pen in hand was apparently writ-
ing his daily record. He, too, was frozen to
death. Upon looking at the last record in the
log-book it was found that that vessel had been
frozen in there seventeen years. So there are
churches now which have drifted into the Arctic
Sea of worldliness, and have lost their spirituality
and power. ISTever, perhaps, in all the history of
the church was her machinery more complete
than at the present. Every department of Chris-
tian enterprise seems well manned, and every
man is at his place ; but how feeble the results in
proportion to it all. Alas, she has drifted into
formalism and death. And what is true of
churches is true also of individuals. Is it not
then a mercy when God breaks in upon our mo-
notony of worldliness and prosperity and blasts
our cherished prospects and leads us to look to
him for what we were seeking in the things of
the world? " Most mercifully, then," says Bonar,
does God hedge his people about with disappoint-
ment of every form, that they may lift their eyes

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above this earth and beyond these heavens to the
enduring blessedness that is at his right hand for-
ever. With what kindness, though with seeming
severity, does he mar the best friendship, that he
may attract them to the communion of his own
far better and everlasting companionship. With
what compassion does he break in upon their
misguided attachments, that he may draw them
away from earth and bind them to himself by
the more blessed ties of his own far-sweeter love.
With what tenderness does he tear asunder the
bonds of brotherhood and kindred, that he may
unite them to himself in far dearer and eternal
friendship. With what mercy does he overthrow
their prospects of worldly wealth and bring down
their hopes of earthly power and greatness, that
he may give them the heavenly treasure and
make them a * royal priesthood' to himself in
the glorious kingdom of his Son. With what
love does he ruin their reputation among men,
breaking in pieces their good name, which was
their idol, that he may show them the vanity cf
human praise, leading them to desire the power
that cometh from God, to know that in his fr^vor
is life, and that the light of his countenance is the
very sunshine of heaven.'"

The same eminent author from whom the quo«

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tation thus given was taken sets fortli the various
classes of Christian character and the relation of
affliction thereto, as follows :

I. " There are some Christians who work, but
they do not work like men awake. They move
forward in a certain track of duty, but it is with
weary footsteps. Their motions are constrained
and cold. They do many good things, devise
many good schemes, say excellent things, but the
vigorous pulse of warm life is wanting. Zeal,
glowing zeal, — elastic and untiring, — is not theirs.
They neither burn themselves, nor do they kindle
others. There is nothing of the * star ' about
them, save its coldness. They may expect some
sharp stroke of chastisement, for they need it.

II. " There are others who are wakeful only
by fits and starts. They can not be safely counted
on, for their fervor depends upon the humor of
the moment. A naturally impulsive tempera-
ment, of which, perhaps, they are not sufficiently
aware, and which they have not sought either to
crucify or regulate, renders them uncertain in all
their movements. This intermittent wakefulness
effects but little. They do and they undo. They
build up and they pull down. They kindle and
quench the flame alternately. There is nothing
of the * star ' about them. They stand in need

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of some sore and long- continued pressure, to
equalize the variable, fitful movements of their
Bpirit.

III. " There are others who seem to be always
wakeful ; but then it is the wakefulness of bustle
and restlessness. They can not live but in the
midst of stirring and scheming and moving to
and fro. Their temperament is that nervous,
tremulous, impatient kind that makes rest or
retirement to be felt as restraint and pain. These
seldom effect much themselves, but they are often
useful, by their perpetual stir and friction, in set-
ting and keeping others in motion and prevent-
ing stagnation around them. But their incessant
motion prevents them being filled with the needed
grace. Their continual contact with the out-
ward things of religion hinders their inward
growth and mars their spirituality. These are
certainly in one sense like the ' star,' wakeful and
unresting ; but they move forward with such haste
that instead of gathering light or giving it forth
they are losing every day the little that they pos-
sessed. A deep, sharp stroke will be needed for
shaking off this false fervor and imparting the
true, calm wakefulness of spirit to which, as
saints, they are called. It is the deepeyiing of
spiritual feeling that is needed in their case, and
it takes much chastening to accomplish it.

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lY. " There are others who are always steadily
at work, and apparently with fervor too. Yet a
little intercourse with them shows that they are
not truly awake. They work so much more than
they pray that they soon become like vessels with-
out oil. They are further on than the class last
mentioned, yet they still need arousing. They
are like the ' star,' both ' unresting and unhast-
ing,' yet their light is dim. Its reflection upon a
dark world is faint and pale. It is a deeper spir-
itual life and experience that they need ; and for
this, it may be, there is some sore visitation in
store for them.

"The true wakeful life is different from all
these. It is a thing of intensity and depth. It
carries ever about with it the air of calm and
restful dignity ; of inward power and greatness.
It is fervent, but not feverish ; energetic, but not
excited; speedy in its doings, but not hasty; pru-
dent, but not timid or selfish ; resolute and fear-
less, but not rash ; unobtrusive and sometimes, it
may be, silent, yet making all around to feel its
influence ; full of joy and peace, yet without pa-
rade or noise; overflowing in tenderness and love,
yet at the same time faithful and true. This is
wakeful life! But oh, before it is thoroughly
attairfed, how much are we sometimes called upon

8

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to suffer, through the rebelliousness of a carnal
nature that will not let us surrender ourselves up
wholly to God and present ourselves as living
sacrifices, which is our reasonable service."

To arouse us from our stupor and lead us into
thorough wakefulness, adversity alone is all-suffi-
cient ; for God may say to us as he said to Israel,^
by the prophet, "I spake unto thee'in thy pros-
perity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This
hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou
obeyedst not my voice." (Jer. xxii. 21.)

But do the annals of the church furnish any
evidences of the beneficial results of affliction ?
Having been directed to the prophets for exam-
ples of patience under affliction, it is meet that
we also look to them for instances of beneficial
results.

The after-history of Job and David and Heze-
kiah and Jeremiah and St. Paul, whose conduct
under affliction has been considered in the previ-
ous chapter, shows that the divine chastisements
under which they suffered so severely were great-
ly blessed to their good. See Job xlii. 12; II..
Chron. xxxii. 26-33; Lam. iii. 58.

The psalmist speaks more fully of the benefits
he received than any of the other saints referred
to. The following are some of his utterances :

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"For thou, 0 God, hast proved us: thou hast
tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us
into the net ; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.
Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads ; we
went through fire and through water: but thou
broughtest us out into a wealthy placed' (Psalms
Ixvi. 10-12.)

" Bless the Lord, 0 my soul : and all that is
in me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O
my soul, and forget not all his benefits : who for-
giveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy
diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruc-
tion; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness
and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth
with good things ; so that thy youth is renewed
like the eagle's." (Psalms ciii. 1-5.)

" Before I was afflicted I went astray : but now
have I kept thy word." ^' It is good for me that
I have been afflicted ; that I might learn thy
statutes." " I know, 0 Lord, that thy judgments
are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflict-
ed me." (Psalms cxix. 67, 71, 75.)

St. Paul, in 11. Corinthians, xii. 9, 10, states
the blessings from his affliction as follows : '' Most
gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmi-
ties, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in re-

116 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

proaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in dis-
tresses for Christ's sake : for when I am weak,
then am I strong."

It will be observed that while the psalmist
expresses his gratitude to God for the blessings
resultins: from afflictions which had then been heal-
edj the apostle rejoices in the midst of his suffering.
In the case of the former we have an exemplifi-
cation of the fact taught in Hebrews xii. 11 ; in
the latter of Komans v. 3. The first is a result
of simple submission to the Divine will ; the sec-
ond, of entire harmony therewith. The one brings
uncomplaining resignation; the other willing ac-
ceptance^ and eyenjoyfulness. In the first case the
precious results of affliction are realized after it
has passed away; in the second, they are realized
when the chastening rod is upon us.

In addition to the cases of the beneficial results
of affliction recorded in the sacred Scriptures, the
history of the church furnishes abundant exam-
ples, a few of which we will narrate. A book
lies before me containing the life, conversion, and
happy death of a celebrated man — William Gor-
don, M. D. F. L. S. This man — like many others
of a scientific turn — was somewhat skeptical upon
the truths of divine revelation until visited by
severe and protracted disease that finally resulted

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 117

in his death, which was very triumphant. After
he had fully helieved in Jesus and received the
clear evidence of the Divine favor he said to a
friend who visited him, " I have been thinking of
God as a Shepherd. The shepherd sends out his
dog when a sheep has wandered from the fold,
to hark at and frighten and sometimes to bite the
wanderer, in order to bring it back. So afflictions
and pains are the dogs which our Shepherd sends
to bring us back to him. Some of us are stub-
born sheep. I was one of these, and the dog had
to bite me. But the barking and biting are to
do us good, not harm, and to bring us to the
Shepherd. I have had more enjoyment the last
few weeks than in my whole life. I could not
have a doubt — not one. He saw me a rebellious
child. I am a miracle — an example of a marvel-
ous interposition of God. A short illness would
not have been enough. He saw I needed all this ;
and oh ! the blessing that has attended it. I trust-
ed too much to human learning ; but when I saw
how to get this by coming as a little child, it
burst upon me in a way I can not describe, l^o
man could have taught me this. It was the Holy
Spirit of grace. Then it all rushed upon my view
at once. I saw Christ, my Savior. Stripped of
all my filthy deeds, I went to the foot of the

118 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

cross, and Clirist presented to me God. I have
long been trying to learn this by reason. iJ^ever !
Never! I see what I saw not before, and feel
what I never felt. "When a man comes to that
book as a child he will find wonders in it to
make him marvel. The love of God is what I
can not describe. So great is it, I could have no
doubts and fears. To think that gracious Being
has been seeking me and afflicting me till he
brought me to this happiness ! I murmured; but
I did not see what he designed — to bring me to
that blessed Savior ! All the sayings of the Bible
60 accord with all I have experienced that I feel
it to be the most marvelous book there ever was
in the world. Read every word of it, and take it
just as it is. I feel my whole mind truly chang-
ed. I remember in the first part of my illness,
when I saw you all coming in, healthy and vig-
orous, I inwardly murmured, and was envious ;
but now I rejoice in your health. I love my_
friends with a tenfold love. I don't know how
I feel to them, they are so precious to me."

In a book published by '' The Tract Association
of Friends," entitled "Musings and Memoirs,"
intended to illustrate various fiicts in the divine
administration, I find the following incidents,
which will further illustrate the fact under con-

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eideration in this chapter : Heber informs us of
a person he found in an alms-house. He was old
and deaf, and one of his hands was so afflicted
with palsy that his wooden shoe kept up a con-
tinual clatter upon the floor. Although nearly
helpless' from his numerous infirmities, he was
cheerful and happy in the assurance of the pres-
ence and favor of God and everlasting life. When
asked what he was waiting for he would reply,
" Waiting for the appearance of my Lord, when
I expect great things, — for he has promised me a
crown of righteousness." When asked what was
the foundation of his hopes he pointed to the
text, " Therefore being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ :
by whom also we have access by faith into this
grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of
the glory of God."

Another writer relates how his own faith was
strengthened by an interview with a poor, suffer-
ing invalid. He was aged, and so afflicted that
he was confined to his chair, unable to lie down
day or night. Upon inquiring of him how he
was he replied with a cheerful smile, '' Oh, I am
promoted. I was long the Lord's loorkiiig servant;
now he has promoted me to his waiting servant^

Another case was that of an aged and crippled

120 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

colored woman. She was so crippled by disease
and infirmity that she was entirely dependent
upon charity. She was unable to use her limba
or eat a mouthful of victuals without being fed.
Besides this, she was in almost continual bodily
pain, yet filled with peace and comfort. During
thirteen years of confinement and suficring she
never doubted but that her heavenly Father
would continue to care for her. The streams of
Divine consolation so abounded at times that she
would exclaim, " I forget my poof suffering body
altogether. 'No matter how afflicted I am, — not
able to eat or sleep, — still I have this peace, this
comfort, that seems to subdue my bodily afflic-
tion all to silence. If every hair on my head
were a tongue I could employ them all in prais-
ing Almighty God."

Testimony like the foregoing might be given
indefinitely ; but I desist. It may only be neces-
Bary to appeal to the reader if he has not at some
time experienced the blessedness of the Divine
chastisements, and to say with one of old, " It is
good for me that I have been afilicted."

"What, now, are some of the gracious results of
affliction ? They may be stated thus :

I. The subjugation of the will and the destruction
of selfishness from the heart.

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The will is the man. As previously stated in
another chapter, the will is the citadel of the
sonl. In it self is enthroned and rebelliousness
has its seat. " At conversion," says one, " the
will is bent in the right direction ; but it is still
crooked and rigid and perverse. Prosperous days
may sometimes conceal it, so that we may be al-
most unconscious of its strength ; but it is rebell-
ious still, and furnace -heat is needed to soften
and mold it. No milder remedy will do. Fire
after fire does God kindle in order to soften it j
and blow after blow does he fetch down upon it.
ISTor does he rest till he has made it thoroughly
flexible, and hammered out of it the many relics
of self which it contains. He will not stay his
hand till he has thoroughly marred our self-
chosen ways. The bending and straightening of
the will is often a long process, during which the
soul has to pass through waters deep and many^
and through fires hot and ever kindling up anew.
Its perverseness and stiffiiess can be brought out
only by a long succession of trials. It is only
by degrees that it becomes truly pliable and is
brought into harmony with the will of God. We
can at a stroke lop ofi* the unseemly branch ; but
to give a proper bent to the tree we require time
and assiduous appliances for months or years.

122 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

I

However rebellious, however unyielding, however

selfish and proud, our will must be made to bend.

God will not leave it till he has made it one with

his own.

When the will has been brought into complete

harmony with the will of God, the affliction under
which we sufier will have been accepted and its
force either arrested or materially relieved. Chaf-
ing and fretting will be no longer indulged in,
and the affliction itself will be uncomplainingly
and even rejoicingly accepted.

There will be also —

II. Deadness to the world.

The world is the " spirit which worketh in the
hearts of the children of disobedience," and is
manifested in the undue pursuit of worldly gain,
the desire for worldly pleasures, and the love of
pomp, pride, and display. It is personified in the
Scriptures as a rival of Christ for the affections
of his afflanced bride, — the church; and undue
familiarity therewith is denounced as spiritual
adultery. (James iv. 4.)

The tendency to worldly conformity by Chris-
tians, unless wholly delivered from the dominion
of the carnal mind, is almost universal. Its
dangerous and soul-destroying results are clearly
stated in the sacred Scriptures, as are also the

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 123

frequent injunctions against it. And yet souls
all around us are perishing by reason of worldly
conformity. The very atmosphere we breathe
seems to promote it. The habit gains upon us ;
and, like death by freezing, its destructive effects
come on so stealthily, so unconsciously, that death
ensues ere we are aware of dano-er. It must be

o

the " enchanted ground " through which we are
passing. Indifference to Christian duty and priv-
ilege, the undue pursuit of worldly gain, the
ambition for distinction and place, the love of
pleasure, pride, and frivolity; these all demon-
strate with fearful significance the extent to which
this spirit of worldliness has gained upon us.

The bride of Christ, forgetful of her high des-
tiny and her proper seclusion in the wilderness
until her Lord^s return, is living in guilty friend-
ship with her absent Husband's foe and rival.
Losing sight of our heavenly citizenship, and
waiting for a city to come, we declare by our
spirit that we are of the earth, earthly. Expect-
ing to wear a crown of glory in heaven, we shrink
from the crown of thorns on earth. Professing
to look for a kingdom to be hereafter revealed,
we refuse to walk in the self-denying path by
which it alone can be reached. Assuming the
character of saints, of whom sobriety and gravity

124 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

are characteristics, we indulge in all manner of
levity, reserving our seriousness for the closet and
the sanctuary. But God loves us too well to per-
mit us to slumber on to our eternal ruin. Stroke
after stroke of af&iction is applied, each one of
which says, " Love not the world, neither the
things which are in the world." " Know ye not
that the friendship of the world is enmity with
God." At length we are awakened from our
sleep of death. The world's unsatisfying hollow-
ness is seen, and we turn to God, the only source
of real good. Our affliction has accomplished its
intended result. It has been sanctified to our
good. We now turn to God with increased ear-
nestness. We now bear increased fruit unto holi-
ness.

The opposite of worldliness is heavenly -minded-
ness. This can result only from crucifixion and
death to the world, and our renewal to a new and
higher life in Christ. Its presence in the soul
will be evidenced in our increased delight in
Christian duties, privileges, and associations, and
a corresponding aversion to all worldliness and
folly.

III. The understanding will be greatly enlightenedy
and the knowledge of divine things will be much en-
larged.

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 125

The understanding of the unregenerated, and
of many Christians also, is carnal, so that divine
truth is but very imperfectly understood. Hence
the great ignorance among professors of religion,
and even of Bible-readers, concerning the things
of God. The rod of affliction reduces us to sub-
mission and makes us willing to learn, while the
fire burns away the film which obscured our un-
derstanding. How fast we learn in the time of
affliction. We advance more in knowledge in a
single day than in years before.

A deeper insight into the hidden meaning of
the Scriptures seems to be specially connected
v/ith sanctified affliction. Said the psalmist, " It
is good for me that I have been afflicted ; that I
might learn thy statutes. ^^ (Psalms cxix. 71.)

" Blessed is the man whom thy chastenest, O
Lord, and teachest Mm out of thy law.'^ (Psalms
xciv. 12.)

" The rod of reproof gives wisdom," as well as
enables us " to learn songs in the night."

Afflictions take us down into a deeper experi-
ence, and also into a more perfect harmony be-
tween our own internal state and the truths of
the sacred Scriptures ; and they are comprehended
as never before. Said Luther, " Were it not for
tribulation I should not understand scripture."

126 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

It is related that a young minister upon graduat-
ino- from a Theological Seminary was thus
addressed by an aged professor: "Young man,
we have done all for you we can. One thing
more is needed to make you a successful preacher
and pastor, and that God alone can do for you.
It is some sore affliction."

A keener appetite for God's holy word, a spir-
itual understanding to comprehend it, and ma-
turity of judgment, are some of the abiding
results of sanctified affliction.

There will be also —

lY. Enlarged fellowship with the household of
faith.

The tendency in all hearts not wholly crucified
and dead with Christ and renewed to the new
life of spirituality is to denominational and sec-
tarian bigoty. Charity, or perfection in love, lifts
us above this feeling, and leads us into fellowship
with the entire family of God, whether on earth
or in heaven. Personal experience in severe and
protracted affliction has taught me that in pro-
portion as this narrowness of feeling is lost we
come into enlarged fellowship with the saints;
and we will understand as never before the mean-
ing of the apostle in Hebrews xii. 22-24 : " But
ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city

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of the living God, tlie heavenly Jerusalem, and
to an innumerable company of angels, to the
general assembly and church of the first-born,
which are written in heaven, and to God the
Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made
made perfect. And to Jesus the mediator of the
new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling,
that speaketh better things than that of Abel."

This feeling of kindredness is especially strong
for God's afilicted saints, for whom we will feel a
special concern and love.

One other result of sanctified affliction is —

V. Increased spiritual enjoyment.

" Tribulation worketh patience ; and patience,
experience ; and experience, hope : and hope mak-
eth not ashamed; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is
given unto us." (Rom. v. 3-5.)

A properly reconstructed and harmonious will
lies at the foundation of all true religious charac-
ter. Sanctified chastisements are the usual and
most efiective means to subdue the will and bring
it into complete harmony with the will of God.
From this harmonious will, patience under afflic-
tions will result. This in turn will lead us into
new experiences, which tend to increase and
strengthen our hope. Then the love of God

128 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

abundantly shed abroad in the heart banishes all
fear and shame and discontent. Thus afflictions
have been blessed to our increased spirituality,
usefulness, and happiness. Said a saint of other
days, " I know no greater blessing than health,
exce])t pain and sicknessJ^ Said another, " Oh,
what I owe to the file, to the hammer, and to the
furnace of my Lord Jesus Christ."

" The hour of anguish passes by ;
But in the spirit there remains
The outgrowth of its agency,
The compensation of its pains."

Then who can estimate the results of sanctified
affliction in the life which is to come ? "We will
have to wait for eternity to develop the relation
which the afflictions and trials of this present
state bear to the enjoyments of the life in heaven.
Said Rutherford a few centuries ago, "I wonder
many times that even a child of God should have
a sad heart, considering what the Lord is pre-
paring for them." " When we shall come home,
and enter into the possession of our Brother's
fair kingdom, and when our heads shall find the
weight of the eternal crown of glory, and when
we shall look back to pains and sufterings, then
shall we see life and sorrow to be less than one
step or stride from a prison to a glory, and that

CLUSTERS FROM ESHOOL. 129

our little incli of time in suffering is not worthy
of our first night's welcome home to heaven."

" Come, then," says the pious Bonar, "let us
question ourselves and endeavor to ascertain what
affliction has been doing for us, and what progress
we are making in putting off the old man and in
putting on the new. Am I losing my worldliness
of spirit, and becoming heavenly-minded? Am
I getting quit of my pride, my passion, my stub-
bornness, and becoming humble, mild, and teach-
able ? Are all my idols displaced and broken ?
And my creature-comforts, do I use as though I
used them not ? Am I caring less for the honors
of time, for man's love, man's smile, man's ap-
plause ? Am I crucified to the world, and is the
world crucified to me, by the cross of Christ?
Or am I still ashamed of his reproach, and half
reluctant to follow him through bad report and
through good, through honor and through shame?
Do I count it my glory and my joy to walk where
he has led the way, suffer wherein he suffered, to
drink of the cup of which he drank, and to be
baptized with the baptism wherewith he was bap-
tized ? Am I every day becoming more and more
unlike the children of earth, more and more fash-
ioned after the likeness, and bearing the special
lineaments of my Elder Brother, of whom the

130 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

whole family in heaven and earth is named ? Do
I realize this earth as neither my portion nor my
rest ; and, knowing that one chain may bind me
as fast as a thousand, am I careful to shake off
every fetter that may bind me to the vanities of
a world like this ? Is chastisement really purify-
ing me? Am I conscious of its blessed effects
upon my soul ? Can I look back upon such and
such scenes of trial and say, ^ There and then I
learned most precious lessons ; there, and then I
got rid of some of the body of this death ; there
and then I got up to a higher level, from which I
am trying to ascend to one higher still ? Have I
learned much of the sympathy of Jesus, and
know the blessedness of having such a one as
he to weep along with me in my day of sorrow ?
Have I wiped off* my rebellious tears and been
taught to shed only those of love and submissive
fondness — tears of brotherhood and sympathy;
tears of longing to be absent from the body, and
to be present with the Lord ? ' A goodly prize
this ; and until it is reached there will be strife
between us and God. When this state is reached,
then this strife shall cease, — our struggles will
be over."

As a means then to reach this result, let us wel-
come our Father's chastening rod, and with the
poet say, —

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 131

" Oh rather let misfortunes fall ;

They can not reach and harm the soul ;
But only serve to disenthrall,
The inward life, and make it whole.

" The greatness of thy sufifering shows,

That God, who loves thee, hates thy sin ;
And sends the message of his blows,
To see if all is right within.

** Trust all to Him, AflQiction's stroke

His work of mercy shall perform ; . ;

And leave thee, like the smitten oak,
That's deeper rooted in the storm."

CHAPTER VII.

AFFIilCTIONS SOMETIMES REMOVED BY PRATER.

" The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much." (James v. 16.)

This often-repeated portion of God's liolj word
stands in connection with the injunction to prayer
for the recovery of the sick. The whole passage
reads thus : " Is any among you afflicted ? let
him pray. Is any merry ? let him sing psalms.
Is any sick among you ? let him call for the elders
of the church, and let them pray over him, anoint-
ing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord
shall raise him up ; and if he have committed
sins, they shall be forgiven him Confess your
faults one to another, and pray one for another,
that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much." (James v. 13-17.)

In obedience to this scripture the following
order is to be observed:

I. In case of sickness word is at once to be
sent to the minister, elder, class-leader, or other

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 133

officers of the church. It sometimes occurs that
there are cases of sickness and the minister is
ignorant of it; and failing to visit the afflicted,
blame is unjustly attached to him.

II. If the afflicted one has been guilty of any
wrong it should be confessed, and pardon sought.

III. If there has been disagreement or enmity
between the afflicted one and some other, confes-
sion and reconciliation are to be promptly made.

lY. Anointing with oil in the name of the
Lord is enjoined.

Some Christians observe this direction, and it
is said with good results. I can see no reason
why this simple scriptural direction should not
be observed and the divine blessing expected
according to the promise connected therewith.

This anointing with oil may, however, be in-
tended only to teach that while looking to God to
heal the afflicted one the usual and necessary
remedies are to be diligently used.

Y. Prayer in faith is to follow these prelimi-
naries. As if to encourage our faith to expect
favorable results the inspired apostle cites the
case of Elijah, in answer to whose prayers God
suspended the laws of nature, or placed them for
a time in the power of a finite being. (James v.
17, 18.)

134 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

Is this promise of the restoration of the sick to
health, in answer to prayer, invariable and abso-
lute in every case, or are there exceptions to it,
as there are to all general rules, although not ex-
pressed in the letter of the record ?

The following, I think, are exceptions :

1. Diseases and afflictions which in their na-
ture are incurable except by special miracles, — as
dismemberment of the body, infirmities of age,
impairment of the constitution, and such afflic-
tions as result from violations of the laws of
health, the turpitude of which requires the death
of the oflender. In such cases the guilt may
have been pardoned, but the bodily effects still
remain.

St. Paul speaks ^of some who, by reason of sins
so peculiarly aggravating, were delivered unto
Satan for the destruction of the body, while their
spirits were saved. (I Cor. v. 1-5.)

The Apostle John says, " If any man see his
brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall
ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin
not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do
not say that ye shall pray for it J' (I. John v. 16.
See also Psalms xxv. 7 ; I. Cor. xi. 32.)

2. The promise to restore the sick to health,
like all other promises, is always subject to the

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 135

will of God. In some cases he may see it better
for tlie afflicted that he should not be restored ;
and the affliction may continue, or death may
result. The case of St. Paul, as related by him-
self in II. Corinthians xii., is an illustration.
After praying thrice for the removal of the afflic-
tion, and failing to have his prayer answered as
he expected, God bestowed upon him extraor-
dinary grace, so that he was made to rejoice not-
withstanding his affliction was made permanent. ,

Prayer offered in faith for the recovery of the
sick, if not answered in the way expected, will
still not be in vain, but will result in some greater
good than the restoration of the afflicted one.

With the exceptions we have stated, and prob-
:ably others of which we are ignorant, prayers for
the recovery of afflicted Christians may be an-
swered in their restoration.

But have we any well-authenticated cases on
record of such restoration ? We cite the follow-
ing: The case of Hezekiah, King of Judah, is
to the point. The scriptural record is as follows :
"In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death.
And the Prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to
him, and said unto him. Thus saith the Lord, Set
thine house in order : for thou shalt die, and not
live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and

136 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

prayed uuto the Lord, saying, I beseecL. thee, O
Lord, remember now how I have walked before
thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have
done that which is good in thy sight. And Heze-
kiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah
was gone out into the middle court, that the word
of the Lord came to him, saying. Turn again^
and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus
saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I
have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears :
behold, I will heal thee : on the third day thou
shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I
will add unto thy days fifteen years." (II. Kings
XX. 1-6.)

It is plainly evident that in this case Isaiah
joined his prayer with Hezekiah. The long and
familiar intimacy existing between them, their
union of action in reforming the abuses of the
people, and the fact that on another occasion they
unitedly prayed for the deliverance of the nation
from its enemies (II. Chron. xxxii. 20), as well as
the connection of Isaiah with the whole case^
unmistakeably show that they both prayed for
the life of the king. And their united petitions
were answered.

Before me lies a tract, published by the Mil-
liard Tract Repository of Boston, entitled, Were

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 137

they Miracles ? It gives the particulars of three
undoubted cases of instantaneous healing of the
sick in answer to prayer. These cases when first
brought before the public through the columns of
the religious press occasioned much interest and
inquiry ; and after the truthfulness of the same
was fally ascertained they were published in the
present form, and largely circulated. In the sec-
ond edition of this tract, from which I shall
quote, testimony is given to the permanency of
the cures of two of the persons, after an interval
of several years in which to test them. The
number and character of the witnesses are such
as to place the facts stated beyond dispute or sus-
picion.

The first case is that of Mrs. Jane C. Miller^
wife of a Congregational minister of Oberlin,
Ohio. President Charles G. Finney, who was
long and intimately acquainted with the family,
and who first published an account of the healing
of Mrs. Miller, in the Advance of December 26th,
1872, says that Mrs. Miller " is a lady of unques-
tionable veracity. However the fact of her heal-
ing is to be accounted for, her story is no doubt
worthy of entire confidence, as we have known
her for years as a lame, sufiering invalid, and now
Bee her in our midst in sound health." In a tes-

138

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

timonial subsequently attached to a statement
made by a number of persons familiar with all
the facts of the case Mr. Finney further says,
** I know Mrs. Miller well, and have no doubt of
the truth of the statement regarding her instan-
taneous healing in answer to prayer."
The following is Mrs. Miller's statement
"From my parents I inherited a constitution
subject to a chronic form of rheumatism, which
affected my whole system. For nearly forty years
I was subject to more or less suffering from this
cause. For seven years, until the last three
months, I have been unable to get about without
the aid of crutch or staff, — generally both. I
have used many liniments and remedies, but with
no permanent good results.

"Last summer [1872] several of us Christian
sisters were in the habit of spending short seasons
of prayer together. Some of our number had
read the narrative of Dorethea Trudel, and had
spoken to me on the subject of healing in answer
to prayer. My faith had not then risen to this
elevation. I had, in fact, accepted what I sup-
posed was the will of God, and made up my
mind to be a lame and suffering invalid the re^t
of my life. I had long since ceased to use reme-
dies for the restoration of my health, and had

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 139

not even thought of praying in regard to it. !N'ot-
withstanding what had been said me, I remained
in this opinion and attitude until the 26th of Sep-
tember last, when several ladies met at our house,
by appointment, for a prayer-meeting. I had
grown worse for some time, and was then unable
to get out to attend a meeting. I was suffering
much pain that afternoon ; indeed, I was hardly
able to be out of my bed. One lady was present
who could speak to me from her own experience
of having been healed in answer to the prayer of
faith. She related several striking instances in
which her prayers had been answered in the re-
moval of divers forms of disease to which she
was subject. She also repeated a number of pas-
sages of scripture which clearly justified the ex-
pectation of being healed in answer to the prayer
of faith.

" She said that Jesus had shown her that he
was just as ready to heal diseases now as he was
when on earth ; that such healing was expressly
promised in the Scriptures in answer to the pray-
er of faith, and that it was nowhere taken back.

*' These facts, reasonings, and passages of script-
ure made a deep impression on my mind, and for
the first time I found myself able to believe that
Jesus would heal me in answer to prayer. She

140 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

asked me if I could join my faith, with hers, and
ask for present healing. I told her I felt that I
could. We then knelt, and called upon the
Lord. She offered a mighty prayer to God, and
I followed. "While she was leading in prayer I
felt a quickening in my whole being, whereupon
my pain subsided ; and when we rose from prayer
I felt that a great change had come over me —
that I was cured !

" I found that I could walk without my staff or
crutch or assistance from any one. Since then
my pains have never returned ; I have more than
my youthful vigor. I walk with more ease and
rapidity than I ever did ; and I never felt so fresh
and young as I now do, at the age of fifty -two.

"]^ow, the one hundred and third psalm is my
psalm ; and my youth is more than renewed like
the eagle's. I can not express the constant joy
of my heart for the wonderful healing of my soul
and body. I feel as if I was made every whit
whole."

Another case related in this tract is that of a
daughter of Rev. Alfred Connet, a Congregational
minister of Carbondale, Osage County, Kansas.
It is related by her mother as follows: '' About
the middle of September, 1871, our eldest daugh-
ter,— iTettie, — then nearly eight^years old, began

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 141

complaining of her left leg. Tlie physicians pro-
nounced it sciatic rheumatism. At times her
sufferings were very great. Frequently she would
not walk for a week. She was lame all the time,
and never free from pain. In the fall of 1872 she
seemed worse. One limb appeared to be higher
than the other, and that limb shrinking away.
It was not nearly so large as the other. We
called in physicians again. They said the indi-
cations were that it was hip-disease. "We wrote
to the surgical institution at Indianapolis in re-
gard to her. They thought she could be cured
there, but that if she did not have treatment
soon she would be a suffering cripple for life. We
wanted to send her there for treatment, but found
it impossible to raise the means. The child grew
worse ; and on the 29th of December, 1872, she
had not left her bed for several days, and her
sufferings were intense.

" That Sabbath morning we read an article in
the Advance — ' Prayer for healing ; a remarkable
cure.' Then came the thought, Why can we not
have faith to believe that Jesus will cure our
child ? Myrie and Orthy, of seven and five years,
talked together about asking Jesus to cure Kettie.
She told one of the children to come to her ; and
I kept on reading, as though I had read nothing

142 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

remarkable, thougli I am sure that I knew not
what I was reading about. I dreaded any con-
versation with the children. At length I could
stand it no longer, and left the room and prayed
for faith to believe that my child could be cured.
I then went to Nettie. She asked me if I would
pray, and ask Jesus to cure her. I asked her if
she believed that Jesus would cure her. She
thought he would. And the little ones expressed
the same opinion. My faith was growing strong-
er. I told them we would read about Jesus cur-
ing, the sick. I then read aloud all the instances
of healing recorded in Matthew. We all felt
then that all we had to do was to ask Jesus to
cure her. I prayed, and was followed in prayer
by iN'ettie. "We asked for her cure that day.
After prayer I discovered that a change had come
over the child. She looked worse than ever be-
fore. The thought occurred to me that God was
going to answer our prayer by taking her to
himself. At her request I read to her awhile.
She then wanted to be helped in the rocking-
chair, though she could sit only on one side. I
helped her up ; and while doing so such a sense
of weakness came over me as I never felt before.
I laid down on her bed and immediately fell into
a deep sleep. How long I slept I know not — per-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 143

haps half an hour, or may be an hour. I was
then awakened bj Nettie telling me that she was
cured. She would say, ^ 0 Mamma, I am a new
girl ! Jesus has cured me. How I do love Jesus !'
She was the happiest person I ever saw. For the
jB.r§t time in fifteen months she was entirely well
and free from pain. She could run, jump, stand
on one foot, — in short, do any of the many things
a well child could. I then took off the plaster
which the doctor put on her hip a few days be-
fore— to make it sore. There was no sore ; and
we quit giving the medicine. That night we were
a happy family ; and it was late before the child
could compose herself to sleep. On "Wednesday
following the doctor came to see her. He could
find nothing ailing the child. He semed to think
that mesmerism or something of the kind had
been used. He has been here two or three times
since, and always questions her closely. The last
time he was here — a few days ago — he found her
in the kitchen with an apron on, doing her work."

The third case of miraculous healins: related in
this tract is that of Mrs. Ellen C. Sherman, wif^
of Eev. Moses Sherman, Methodist Episcopal
minister of Piermont, 'New Hampshire. The
healing occurred in 1873.

Mrs. Sherman had been greatly afflicted a great

144 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

many years, and for sixteen years prior to liei
instantaneous recovery was mostly confined to
her bed. She was afflicted with a complication of
diseases, among which was spinal weakness. In
fact nearly every organ of her lower body was
chronically diseased, which the best medical skill
failed to relieve; and for the eighteen months
prior to her healing it required two persons to
lift her in and out of bed. Between nine and
ten o'clock on the night of August 27th, 1873,
she was left alone for the night, her husband
sleeping in an adjoining room. She says that
when left alone she considered her helpless condi-
tion, and earnestly called apon God for relief.
At length she felt that the Savior was unusually
near her. We will now give her own words. " I
began to be conscious of a Presence in one quarter
of the room — his 'presence felt, not seen. Then I
heard his voice speaking, as it were, in a whisper
to my inner ear, saying, * I will come unto you,
and will manifest myself unto you.' So real and
palpable was this spiritual Presence that it seemed
as though I might grasp him with my hand, and
feel his form, were I only able to get up ; and he
filled the room and my whole being with his lov-
ing smile. I can never tell how much of bliss
entered into that hour. * * * Oh, the unutterable

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 145

Jbliss of that liour ! I felt, oh, if I could have
such a Presence with me always it would be joy-
ful to lie here and suffer in view of such love.
* * * But now, as I considered that God had
taken my body for his temple, I thought. This
sick, worn-out body, — what a poor offering to
make to God for his temple ! The thought troub-
led me, and I wished that I had something better
to offer. Then the Spirit — not the Presence —
whispered within me, * He is able to restore it,
and fit it up for his own temple.' This was the
first intimation I had of the design of the great
Physician. Then I became conscious of a move-
ment of the Presence, and it seemed to be filling
the room more and more. The only way that I
can express it is that the room seemed to be
filled thick.

" And now from the foot of the bed the Pres-
ence whispered, * Believest thou that I am able to
do this ? ' This was repeated many times while
I lay there and reasoned the matter all over. I
thought, He is the same yesterday, to-day, and
forever; and all power is given unto him. I re-
membered his miracles when he was here on the
earth. I knew he was willing. He had come
because he was willing; yes, and anxious to do
it. All this passed through my mind quickly,

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146 CLUSTEKS FROM ESHCOL.

The power to yield and believe was given ; and I
said, — my whole being, it seems to me, said it, —
^Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.' At once
the Presence seemed to press up to me over the
foot of the bed, and whispered to me the words,
* And he breathed on them, and said. Receive ye
the Holy Ghost.' And they were accompanied
by a warm breathing upon my face. The words
were many times repeated, and each time were
accompanied by a new wave of influence from
the Presence — warmer and more powerful than
the one before. Each new pulsation of the Holy
Breath flowed down deeper and deeper through
my body; and as it went all pain ceased. The
feeling was more like a current from a galvanic
battery. It was a warming, vitalizing power,
giving me new life and strength. Thus the
breathing went on, and the sweet, inflowing pow-
er continued, until it had penetrated my whole
being, causing all pain to cease, and filling me
with the most delicious sensation.

''While the healing influence was being breathed
upon me I was told very emphatically that this
was a miracle. It was also said, 'Go tell how
great things the Lord hath done for thee; this is
not done in a corner, but that the icorld may Jaiow.'

" After a little while I was told by a whisper

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 147

from the Presence to raise my left arm — the worse
one — to my head. Before, I was not able to raise
either without the aid of the other; but now I
raised this easily, and without pain. Then I was
told to raise the other, which I did with equal
ease. Then to turn over. At once I came over
like a cork in water. It seemed almost involun-
tary. Then, ring the bell (call my husband). I
did so ; and he sprung out of bed, and came in
but half awake, and lighted a candle. As he did
so I asked him, * Is there not a strange influence
in the room ? Do you not feel it ? ' Then I said,

* There is a strange influence in the room. The
Savior is here at work upon me.' I had no idea
of what was coming ; but as soon as I said, ' The
Savior is here,' etc., there was spoken to me in-
wardly from the Presence, with great emphasis,

* That the people may know that the So7i of man hath
power on earth still to forgive sins, rise up and
WALK ! ' At once I, who had been bed-ridden and
incapable of stepping a step for months, threw
off the clothes with my left arm, sprung out of
bed upon my feet, and started to walk across the
room."

Her husband at first supposed that she was
crazed, but soon learned by her joyful exclama-
tions of adoration and praise to Jesus that she

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was in her right mind; and he joined in with her
in thanksgiving to God for what he had wrought.
The family were called up and rejoiced together
several hours. In the morning Mrs. Sherman
arose, dressed herself without assistance, eat a
hearty breakfast, and soon resumed the active
duties of life. All the complications of disease of
spine, limbs, stomach, kidneys, and other organs
from which she had so long suffered so severly,
were made whole. Two years after this truly
wonderful occurrence Mrs. Sherman wrote to a
friend, " I was asked yesterday if I still had the
same faith that I was healed which I had two
years ago. It has caused me to think some on
that point. I can hardly say I have faith that I
was healed. It is knowledge; not faith. But I
have no more doubt of the cure being wrought
by Jesus Christ, I suppose, than had those who
were healed by him when on earth. I am in good
if not perfect health. I can not remember a sum-
mer when I have been so healthy and strong and
so able to work."

I have thus given the facts connected with
the three cases of instantaneous healing narrated
in this tract. The facts are as well authenticated
as human testimony can authenticate any event.
From my understanding of the Scriptures, and

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 149

from personal experience of the wonderful power
of divine grace under affliction, both to sustain
and deliver, if not actually to restore, I have no
hesitation in declaring my belief that in all these
cases God miraculously healed the afflicted ones.
In addition to the cases already narrated many
others might be given, for the religious press re-
cords many such. I will, however, close this
chapter by narrating a case of which I have 'per-
sonal knoivledge, and the facts of which are beyond
the possibility of mistake. A person was deeply
anxious for his brother, who to all appearance
was rapidly sinking to the grave with pulmonary
consumption. One day while bowed in secret
prayer, as was his custom for this brother, he was
suddenly and clearly assured by an inward con-
viction that his prayer was heard, and his broth-
er's life would be prolonged. So clear was this
assurance that prayer changed to wonder, aston-
ishment, and praise. The fact of this answer to
prayer was made known to some eight or ten
fellow-Christians, including the pastor, and all
concluded to wait for the result. The afflicted
person resided a considerable distance from where
the praying brother lived, and it was near two
weeks before information was received. At length
word came that the sick man was suddenly and

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strangely recovering his health ; that he was ahle
to resume work, and gave promise of complete
restoration. He rapidly improved ; and now near-
ly fourteen years have elapsed and he still lives,
and bids fair to live for many years more.

I will call no more witnesses, for it seems like
calling upon human testimony to vouch for the
veracity of God, who is worthy of being believed
without incidental and collateral testimony.

CHAPTER YIII.

THE GRACES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT DEVELOPED BY AFFLICTION.

" Awake, O north wind ; and come, thou south ; blow upon
my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out." (Solomon's
Song iv. 6.)

That precious portion of God's holy word — the
Song of Solomon ; called also the " Canticles," —
from which the passage quoted above, and which
I propose to elucidate in this chapter, is taken,
sets forth the relation existing between the Lord
Jesus Christ and the believer in language and
metaphor of the most tender and expressive char-
acter. In the main the symbol employed to rep-
resent this relation is that of the Husband and
his affianced bride. This symbol, while still pre-
served, is sometimes varied; and the figure of the
Shepherd and his flock is also used. (Chapter
i. 7, 8.) In the scripture under consideration in
this chapter the symbol of a garden of choice
and fragrant spices is employed; and the fact
symbolized is, the heart of the believer as a gar-
den, in which the precious fruits and graces of

151

152 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

the Holy Spirit are produced. As miglit be sup-
posed from the symbol employed to represent the
attachment existing between Christ and his peo-
ple, as Husband and affianced wife, the expres-
sions of affection are both reciprocal and tender,
such as the relation implies. The language used,
though inexpressibly tender and expressive, is yet
chaste aud elegant.

I have for elucidation in this chapter a garden
of spices; and my object in introducing it here,
in a book appropriated to the consideration of the
afflictions of believers, is to show that afflictions
and chastisements are necessary to develop the
graces of the Spirit in the hearts of believers,
and to cause the precious fragrance thereof to go
abroad to bless and edify others, as well as ta
glorify God.

Upon the nature and significance of the sym-
bol, I remark, —

I. Gardens are usually selected ground for this
special purpose.

When a place for a garden is chosen the most
suitable in soil and location is selected. The
Scriptures teach that salvation is entirely of God^
The first beginning of it originated in the great
loving heart of God. Man's acceptance of the
grace proffered in Jesus Christ brings him into a

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saving relation to God. Hence it may be said of
each individual Christian, as it was said specially
to the apostles, "Ye have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you." We are Christians then — if
Christians at all — because our salvation originated
in God. And yet the relation, while originating
in God, is mutual ; for had we not accepted the
proffered hand of God we would yet be in our
sins. Hence it was said of Mary of Bethany,
" Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall
not be taken away from her." (Luke x. 42.) This
relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and
the believer is one of ^ure choice on the part of
each. God chooses us and we choose him. The
analogy of the symbol, as well as the general
teaching of the Scriptures, is in harmony with
this view.

In choosing and calling persons into his service
God sees not as man sees, for often the most de-
voted and useful Christians are made such out of
the most unpromising material. John Bunyan,
the author of the Pilgrim's Progress, is an illus-
tration. Prior to his conversion he was noted for
his ignorance, wickedness, and profanity, but
grace wrought a wonderful change in him, and
he became a devoted, pious, and eminently useful
Christian.

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The woman wedded to a king or a prince,
though humble and poor previous to her mar-
riage, at once rises to the position of her hus-
band. The fair peasant -girl who married an
emperior of Eussia became at once a sharer of
his dignity, palace, and crown. So when the
humble believer weds the Lord Jesus Christ he
becomes a sharer in his kinofdom and crown.

II. The place for a garden having been selected,
it is set apart for this special purpose by a hedge,
wall, or fence.

The orientals were accustomed to fence in their
gardens with hedges of prickly shrubs. Some-
times a stone wall was built around them, as was
the case with Gethsemane. This wall or hedge
was to mark the line of separation between the
place selected for a garden, upon which special
€are was to be bestowed, and the barren waste
outside, upon which no such special care was to
be given. Its object was to prevent intrusion by
«vil-disposed persons and by beasts and animals.

The church of God in all ages has been sepa-
rate and apart from the world. Such is God's
order. But this gracious and necessary arrange-
ment has not always been respected upon the
part of the church. She alone has suffered from
her guilty folly. The Scriptures teaching this
separation, this hedging in, are as follows :

. CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 155

" The Lord hath s^t apart him that is godly for
himself." (Psalms iv. 12.)

"A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a
spriog shut up, a fountain sealed." (Solomon's
Songs iv. 12.)

*' Come out from among them, and be ye sep-
arate." (II. Cor. vi. 17.)

What is true of the church in relation to this
separation from the world is true also of each
individual person composing it. It is all-impor-
tant, then, that the dividing - line between the
church and the world be plainly drawn and well
understood. Said Dr. Cuyler in his Heart-Life,
" Where does the dividing-line run between true
religion and the world ? We answer that it runs
just where God's word puts it; and a conscience
which is enlightened by the word and by prayer
does not commonly fail to discover it. Where
God is honored is the right side ; where God is
dishonored, or even ignored, is the wrong side.
Where Christ would be likely to go if he were
on earth, is the right side ; but where a Christian
would be ashamed to have his Master find him,
there he ought never to find himself." " Bear in
mind," said the same excellent author, " that
every jpure pleasure which an unconverted heart
can enjoy, such as the joys of home and of friend-

156 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

ship, the love of letters, or art, the sight of beau-
ty, or the delight of relieving sorrow, all these
the Christian can have and enjoy likewise. They
are not sinful, and the child of God can partake
of them with a clear conscience. But just where
a Bible-conscience tells us to stojp, the license of
the world begins. The word of God draws that
dividing- line. Over that line lies the path of
self-indulgence. Over that line lies self-pamper-
ing, frivolity, slavery to fashion. Over that line
God is ignored and often defied ! Christ is wound-
ed there and often crucified afresh. Over that
line the follower of Jesus has no business to go ;
for if he goes at all he must go as a participant
in the pleasures of the world, or as a protestant
against them. If he goes to partake, he ofienda
Christ; if he goes to protest, he ofi[ends his ill-
chosen associates."

Says another excellent author : " Conformity to
the world implies resemblance to it; and when a
professed Christian begins to look like a world-
ling, and live like a worldling, how dwelleth the
love of God in him. There is a complete and
irreconcilable antagonism between what the Bible
calls 'the world' and the grace of Christ."

There is nothing which so effectually destroys
from the heart all true spirituality as worldliness

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in spirit, life, and association. It brings leanness
upon the soul, and condemnation and death here-
after. The only effectual remedy for this evil is
that designated by the apostle in Komans xii. 1,
2 : " Be not conformed to this world : but be ye
transformed hy the renewing of your mindJ' If
Christ dwell in the soul in all the fullness it is
our privilege to have him dwell there, we will
have no desires for the frivolities and pleasures
of the world, nor for any pleasure or pursuit into
which we can not take Christ with us ; but will
heartily subscribe to the following sentiment :

" Oh, can I quit celestial good,

The growth of life's immortal tree,
And feed, instead of angel's food,
On earth's poor dust and vanity."

As another step in preparing a garden there
will be —

III. The breaking up of the soil, and its former
worthless productions destroyed.

In the preparation of the heart for the recep-
tion of divine grace, it must be broken up by the
plowshare of truth. This can be done only by
the Holy Spirit in the use of that truth.

As a thorough conviction of sin is necessary
to a th^ rough conversion, and a thorough con-
ve. 9.VIJ1 18 necessary to a decided, whole-hearted,

158 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

and consistent following of Christ, as well as to
entrance into heaven at last, it is all-important
that conviction be thorough and radical. Said
Hutherford, " Many lay false and bastard founda-
tions, and they get Christ for as good as half
nothing, and never had a sick night of sorrow
for sin. This maketh loose work."

Says Cuyler : " Half-way converts make half-
way Christians. Some men's boughs hang on
the church-side of the wall, but their roots are on
the world's side. Such bear nothing but leaves.
* ^ * Unless conversion is radical and thorough,
unless the submission of the soul to Christ ia
without compromise and conditions, there will
be half-heartedness and halting to the last."

In regeneration the heart is renewed, and the
plants of sin are cut down and destroyed. These
plants are enumerated by the apostle in Galatians
V. 19-21, as follows : " Adultery, fornication, un-
cleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, ha-
tred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revel-
lings," etc. Truly a fearful crop to grow in a
human heart! These all flourish spontaneously,
and without cultivation and care, in the natural
heart, as weeds grow and flourish without culti-
vation in wild, neglected soil. They must be de-

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fitroyed from the heart before the plants of grace
can be made to grow and flourish therein.

TV, Gardens are intended to raise choice and
useful plants, which must be implanted therein.

In Solomon's Song in the same connection
from which the scripture I am illustrating is
taken, the fruits or productions of the garden of
the renewed heart are stated as '' an orchard of
pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire,
with spikenard ; spikenard and saffron ; calamus
and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense;
myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices." (Sol-
omon's Song iv. 13, 14.) These beautifu% rep-
resent the graces of the Holy Spirit in the hearts
of believers. They are stated by the apostle — in
Galatians v. 22, 23, — as follows: "Love, joy,
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance," etc.

As spices are not native to oriental gardens,
but are planted therein, so the graces of the
Spirit are not natural to the human heart. They
do not spring forth spontaneously, but are among
the blessed results of regeneration.

Y. Constant care and attention are necessary to
cultivate and bring to perfection these implanted
fruits.

The Scriptures unmistakably teach that how-

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ever radical and thorough the work of regenera-
tion, there yet remains in the renewed heart a
corrupt principle, inherited from the first Adam,
the tendency of which is to sin. This principle
is variously termed in the Scriptures as '' the old
man," " the body of sin," " the carnal mind," and
" a root of bitterness." (See Romans vi. 6, viii. 7 ;
Hebrews xii. 15.) This evil principle, this remain-
ing root of bitterness, springs up and brings forth
fruit unto sin, unless carefully watched and kept
down. Hence the admonition of. the apostle in
the same connection. The developments from
this root are seen in the evil tempers so often
manifest in professed Christians, as pride, self-
will, self-esteem, coveteousness, etc. These must
be carefully guarded against ; and the root from
which they spring should be eradicated from the
Boil of the heart. This is entire sanctification.
The occasional cutting down of weeds as they
appear in our gardens, and hinder the growth of
the implanted fruits, is not the best way to de-
stroy them; they should be plucked up by the
roots and cast out. The provisions of the gospel
contemplate a remedy not less radical for the de-
struction of the weeds of sin which grow in the
garden of the heart.

" Tear from thy heart the poisonous weed
Of self and sin that's growing there ;

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And plant, instead, celestial seed ;
And thus eternal fruitage bear.

*' Not by the wayside shall it grow ;
Not in a hard and rocky soil ;
But where it shall not fail to know
The cultivator's tears and toil."

VI. GardenSy to be vigorous and productive^ must
be well watered.

In oriental gardens streams and fountains of
waters are considered a necessity. One of the
advantages of Eden was its plentiful supply of
water. (Gen. iii. 10, 11.) In paradise regained,
as it appears in the apocalyptic vision, the Eiver
of Life, clear as crystal, prominently appears.
(Rev. xxii. 1, 2.)

In the garden of the soul this necessity of water-
ing is fully provided for. In it are '' a fountain,
a well of waters, and streams from Lebanon. (Sol-
omon's Song iv. 15.) These streams and fount-
ains beautifully represent God's Holy Spirit in
the hearts of believers. Said Jesus upon that
last great day of the feast at Jerusalem, ^' If any
man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He
that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that
believe on him should receive.") (John vii. 37-39.)
To the woman at Jacob's well he said, " Whoso-
11

162 CLUSTEES FROM ESHCOL.

ever drinketli of this water shall thirst again : but
whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give
him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall
give him shall be in him a well of water spring-
ing up into everlasting life." (John iv. 13, 14.)

The importance of the Holy Spirit in the devel-
opment of the Christian graces can not be over-
estimated. Some of the strongest declarations
and most expressive symbols of the word of God
are employed to represent this fact.

" Ho ! ask of me, and I will give,

From my own life, thy life's supply;

I am the fount ; drink, drink, and live ;

No more to thirst, no more to die."

YII. The unobstructed rays of the sun are also
needed to develop the fruits of the garden.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the sun in the moral
heavens. And as vegetation will not grow and
flourish to maturity without the rays of the sun,
so the plants in the Lord's garden can not flour-
ish and mature without this moral Sun.

The Lord Jesus Christ is an examplar after
which we are to copy. To become daily more
like him we must be in constant intercourse with
him. It is communion with the person of Christ
that brings spiritual prosperity ; and the want of
this communion with a personal Christ brings

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 163

leanness and barrenness. Said an eminent writer,
" There are not a few who are so occupied with
truth that they forget ' the True One ; ' so occupied
with faith that they lose sight of its jpersonal
object; so given to dwelHng upon the work of
Christ that they overlook his person. They seem
to regard the latter as a matter, if not beyond
them, at least one about which it will be time
enough to concern themselves when they see him
face to face. What He is, seems a question of
small importance, provided they know that he
has accomplished a work by which they may
secure eternal life. They take little interest in
the person of Him who has purchased their bless-
ings. The redemption is all, and the Redeemer
is nothing — or. at least very little. The sufficiency
of the work is all; the glory and excellency ot
his person nothing. They get all the benefit they
can out of the work of Christ, and then leave
Christ himself alone. What is all this but selfish-
ness ? And this selfishness is a constant hinder-
ance to spiritual prosperity." In full knowledge
of this fact of the all-importance of daily inter-
course with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and of its absolute necessity to spiritual growth
and maturity, Satan interposes many obstacles
between the soul and Christ. It may be the love

164 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

of tlie world, or of the creature, or of man's ap-
plause. Or it may be even religion itself, in
its round of ordinances, sacraments, and duties.
These, however right and proper, interpose be-
tween the soul and Christ, and become instru-
ments for exalting self and lowering the Savior.
(Bonar.)

Cultivate, then, daily intercourse and commun-
ion with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, if
you would grow in grace. Without it, the plants
of grace in the heart will become lean and tender
and wilted.

YIII. Oriental gardens are places of frequent
resort to those having access thereto.

It was probably in the splendid hanging-garden
which E^ebuchadnezzar built that he was walking
when, in the pride of his heart, he exclaimed,
" Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for
the house of the kingdom by the might of my
power, and for the honor of my majesty?" (Dan-
iel iv. 30.)

The Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly gardener,
IS represented in his word as often visiting, yea,
as dwelling in the heart of the pure and holy.
That he takes great delight in the precious fruits
which their hearts produce is also well estab-
lished. In all the relations in which he is repre-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 165

Bented as sustaining to the believer — whether of
the Shepherd, or the Vine, or the Husbandman,
or the Husband, — the expressions of his love to
his people are strong and tender, — stronger even
than theirs to him.

Says the happy believer in the connection which
I am elucidating, "Let my beloved come into his
garden, and eat his pleasant fruits." . To this he
replies, "I am come into my garden, my sister,
my spouse : I have gathered my myrrh with my
spice." Again he says, "I went down into the
garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and
to see whether the vine flourished, and the pome-
granates budded."

The bride again speaks, and says, " My beloved
is gone down into his garden, to the beds of
epices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies."

Again she speaks unto her companions and
says, " "While the King sitteth at his table, my
spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. . . .
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire
in the vineyards of En-gedi."

Says Jesus to his bride, " I am the rose of Sha-
ron, and the lily of the valleys."

The bride responds, "As the lily among thorns,
80 is my love among the daughters. As the apple-
-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my be-

166 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

loved among the sons. I sat down under his
shadow with great delight, and his fruit was
sweet to my taste."

Again the heavenly Bridegroom speaks, " Come
with me from Lehanon, my spouse, with me from
Lebanon : look from the top of Amana, from the
top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens,
from the mountains of the leopards. Thou hast
ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse ; thou
hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes,
with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy
love, my sister, my spouse ! how much better is
thy love than wine ! and the smell of thine oint-
ments than all spices ! Thy lips, 0 my spouse,
drop as the" honey-comb : honey and milk are
under thy tongue ; and the smell of thy garments
is like the smell of Lebanon."

This is precious language, indeed; and those
who walk in close intimacy with Jesus will have
no difficulty in understanding it. But again :

LK. Gardens are designed to he useful as well
as ornamental. Though hedged about to prevent
intrusion, the precious fruits and spices thereof
send forth their fragrance to benefit others. It is
said that in the countries where spices are culti-
vated the sweet fragrance thereof is carried by
the winds to a considerable distance. So there

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are some Christians who bring forth the fraits of
the Holy Spirit so abundantly that they fill the
air with their fragrance, as orchards in October
fill the air with the perfume of ripe fruit.

God intends that his children, while being hap-
py in his service, should, by their spirit, temper,
and lives, shed forth a precious fragrance to bene-
fit and bless others. Gloom and melancholy are
not their portion. " The lines are fallen unto us
in jpleasant places." Said one, " We need not
hide our peace any more than we should hide our
<3ross. Let the world see both, and learn how
well they agree together." Says one, " When the
winds blow upon the cinnamon-bushes, it is from
the hushes themselves that the odors flow out. The
softest zephyrs can not draw fragrance from a
pig-weed. The Holy Spirit may waft odors from
a true Christian life ; but the Christian must do the
living. Dead trees yield no spices. >k ?}: ^ The
measure of a Christian's power is the measure of
that Christian's piety. Grace must be in the soul
before it can come out of the soul. * ^ * As
long as any member of Christ's church lives a
hollow life of mere profession ; as long as he aims
to please himself and not his Savior; as long as
he is grasping and self-seeking and self-indulgent
and coveteous and a lover of pleasure more than

168 CLUSTEBS FROM ESHCOL.

a lover of God ; so long the professed cinnamon-
bush is not a whit better than the Canada thistle.
A church full of such professors, whatever their
creed, is only a patch of weeds." But even in
genuine Christians there are latent graces, which
require to be drawn forth. The delicious odors
of grace may lie unexercised and undeveloped;
and sonie wind of adversity, some sore trial, is
needed to develop those odors. Hence the prayer
of my text, — " Awake, 0 north wind ; and come,
thou south ; blow upon my garden, that the spices
thereof may flow out."

There are two winds mentioned in this script-
ure. God may send either or both, as seemeth
unto him good. I, will consider them separately.
There is —

1. The south wind.

The wind from the south is always soft, gentle,
and warm. It may represent the calm, peaceful
influences of the Holy Spirit filling, and at times
overflowing the hearts of believers. Or it may
represent the lighter and ordinary trials to which
all Christians are constantly liable. These ta
some extent develop the spirit of the inner life of
the believer, and by them he may glorify God
and benefit his fellow-men.

We have then, also, —

2. The winds from the north.

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 169

The winds from the north are always fierce,
boisterous, and cold. They clearly symbolize
ifflictions and trials of more than an ordinary
jharacter.

It is these northern blasts which more fully
ievelop Christian character. Then there are some
graces which can be developed only in affliction,
— patience being one of them. Said Dr. Cuyler,
" Sometimes God sends severe blasts of trial upon
his children, to develop their graces. Just as
torches burn most brightly when swung violently
to and fro; just as the juniper-plant smells sweet-
est when flung into the flames ; so the richest
qualities of a Christian often come out under the
north wind of suffering and adversity. Bruised
hearts often emit the fragrance that God loveth
to smell. Almost every true believer's experience
contains the record of trials which were sent for
the purpose of shaking the spice-treeJ'

*' Who bears a cross prays oft and well ;
Bruised herbs send forth the sweetest smell;
Were plants ne'er tossed by strong wind,
The fragrant spices who would find ?"

The history of the church abounds with in-
stances of eminent saints under affliction, whose
patient, uncomplaining, and often happy submis-
sion has done more to magnify the grace of God

170 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

than all the labors of their previous lives. The
spirit and conduct of Abraham, of Moses, of Jos-
eph, of Job, of David, of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, of
St. Paul, of Bunyan, of Wesley, and numerous
others under afflictions, trials, and persecutions,
have gone out to the ends of the earth to glorify
God and to encourage other afflicted and tried
ones. Had their lives been spent in active service
only, and not at times under severe trials and
chastisements, the fragrance of the graces they
emitted would not have been spread so widely.
Then how much does the church owe, for its best
and most useful literature, to its afflicted chil-
dren. It seems that some of our best devotional
books, as well as some of our best and most en-
during hymns, were prepared in the room of
affliction. A few instances will be cited.

John Bunyan was locked up in Bedford jail for
twelve years, by that royal scoffer Charles II.
He could not, as previously, preach to the listen-
ing thousands who attended his ministry; but in
the quiet and retirement of his cell he wrote the
Pilgrim's Progress, a book which for usefulness
stands next to the Bible. Bunyan was deprived the
privilege of preaching for a period of twelve years;
he has been preaching for centuries by his writ-
ings, and will continue to preach by the same

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 171

means until the end of time. Bichard Baxter, in
tlie furnace of affliction, was led to look away
from earth to heaven, and sung so sweetly of its
joys and sweet rest that the odors thereof yet
survive to bless and encourage God's afflicted
saints.

In the time of Queen Elizabeth a prisoner was
shut up in the dreary old tower of London. He,
too, caught a vision of the better country, and
composed that hymn which will survive until the
Lord shall come, —

" Jerusalem, my happy home,
When shall I come to thee ?
When shall my sorrows have an end.
Thy joys when shall I see? "

A Presbyterian clergymen in N^ew Orleans once
called to visit a young Scotchman who was lying
very ill. The young stranger paid but little at-
tention to what was said to him about his soul.
During one of his visits the minister began to
hum over to himself the lines, " Jerusalem, my
happy home." The youth burst into tears, and
exclaimed, " I used to hear my mother sing those
lines when I was a child." His heart was melted,
and he received the truth with penitence and joy.
The sweet odors from the dreary tower of Lon-
don reached down the ages to this poor wanderer
in a strange land.

172 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

Sarah F. Flower, afterward married to Wil-
liam B. Adams, in a season of peculiar trial wrote
that inimitable hymn, ^'I^earer, my God, to Thee."
It is a favorite with all of God's scattered and
suffering flock ; and it, too, will live until the end
of time. Professor Smith says that Hitchcock
and Park, as they wound their way down the'
foot-hills of Mount Lebanon, came in sight of a
group of fifty Syrian students, standing in a line,
singing in full chorus. They were students of
the new college of Beirut, at Abieh, and they
were singing in Arabic to the air of " Bethany."
As the professors drew nearer they caught the
sublime words, —

** Nearer, my God, to thee;

Nearer to thee ;
E'en though it be a cross

That raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee."

Surely in the case of the gifted writer of this
beautiful hymn, the rough wind of affliction waft-
ed the odors from her pious heart to a great dis-
tance.

Then there are the productions of that prince
of sacred poets, — Cowper. The church but little
knows the severity of the affliction under which
lie wrote the two h3^mns commencing as follows:

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 173

" There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains."

, And, —

" God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform ;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm^"

Dr. Doddridge, the eminent scholar and writer,
was afflicted in a similar manner to Cowper.
The north winds of affliction in his case, as in
that of Cowper and others, caused the fragrance
from the Lord's garden to be wafted very far off,
to cheer and comfort the hearts of God's saints.

Instances like the foregoing might be given
without number; but let these suffice. They
demonstrate the fact we wish to make prominent
in this chapter.

It will be seen, then, that while in other chap-
ters in this book we have shown the beneficial
results of affliction to the afflicted believer him-
self, in this chapter, and under the similitude of
the scripture we are considering, the benefits of
affliction to others is our main object. Times of
affliction are the believer's best opportunities for
glorifying God. Patient, uncomplaining submis-
sion, or joyful acceptance of the affliction, which
it is our privilege to attain unto, will do more to

174 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

promote the divine glory, by magnifying God's
grace in its power to save, to sustain, to deliver,
and to lift above the pain and depression incident
to severe affliction, than all the active service we
can possibly render in health and prosperity. To
be tossed by tempests and severe storms, and yet
cleaving fast to God; to be in a condition of
severe suffering, and yet calm, peaceful, and even
joyful, — this brings more glory to God than all
else we can do.

Says the pious Bonar, " Angels can glorify God
much in heaven amidst its glory and blessedness;
but oh, not half so much as we can do on earth
amid suffering and shame."

Says Macduff, "In affliction you can glorify
God in a way angels can not do in a world where
no trial is. They can glorify God only with the
crown; you can glorify him with the cross, and
the prospect of the crown together."

But it is sanctified affliction only which brings
the precious results we have stated. If God's
chastenings are not willingly accepted and pa-
tiently borne they will tend neither to our own
advantage nor to the good of others. Let all,
then, who are passing through seasons of severe
affliction see well to it that they do not fail to
secure a larger share of "the peaceable fruits of

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 175

righteousness," a more advanced degree of God's
holiness, which they are intended to produce, as
well as grace to exemplify the patience, submis-
sion, and even joyful acceptance of trials, by
which God is glorified and others benefited.

Dear afflicted saint, art thou called to suffer
long and severely upon the bed of languishing,
and have wearisome days and sleepless nights
been " appointed " to thee ? Have thy worldly
possessions, upon which perhaps thou wert lean-
ing too strongly for thy soul's good, been swept
away from thee by the devouring fire, or the
wickedness or frailty of thy fellow-men ? Or has
the light of thine eyes, the desire of thy heart,
gone to the grave, no more to be seen until Jesus
comes and brings all his loved ones with him,
turning thy earthly home into a wilderness, lest
its joys and blessed associations should steal away
thy heart from the house of many mansions in
the skies? Has prop after prop of the earthly
scaffolding, upon which thou hast been relying,
been forced to totter and fall, leaving thee to
learn that the peace of the world will suffice only
for days of health and prosperity, but is utterly
inadequate in the hour of adversity? These are
some of the rods which our heavenly Father is
laying upon us. They have been familiar to the

176 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

saints in every age. The path of suffering and
sorrow is not an unfrequented way. All God's
saints in every age have trodden it. Their foot-
steps can yet be seen. "Do not look, then, for a
situation without crosses. Be not anxious about
* smooth paths,' immoderate earthly enjoyments,
unbroken earthly prosperity. Write upon them,
^BewareJ You may live to see them become
your greatest trials." God loves us too much to
permit us to have an unbroken sunshine upon
our earthly life. His chastisements may seem to
speak of wrath; but they are all of love. The
rod of wrath is never used upon his children ; it
is reserved for incorrigible sinners only, and then
but sparingly. Oh, how it sweetens," said one,
" all Our blessings, and alleviates all our sorrows,
to regard both as emanations from a loving Fa-
ther's hand."

But will God permit his children to suffer un-
necessarily, or any severer, or longer than the
object he has in view may require ? " He know-
eth our frame ; he remembereth that we are dust."
" He stayeth his rough wind in the day of the
east-wind." He has said, " I will not contend for-
ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the
spirit should fail before me, and the souls which
I have made." (Isaiah Ivii. 16.)

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 177

My reader, are you, with the writer, drinking
affliction's bitter cup ? Have the north-winds of
adversity been let loose upon thee? Then thy
God contemplates some greater good, some more
advanced state of grace for thee. Or, perhaps,
the sphere of thy usefulness heretofore has been
too limited, and God intends, by these cold winds,
to enlarge it. Be not then afraid of the cold
blasts which beat upon thee. Thou as much
needest the sharp blasts of trial to develop thy
graces, as thou needest the south- wind of love and
mercy to foster and increase them. Canst thou
not, then, respond to the invocation of our text
and say, — " Awake, 0 north wind ; and come,
thou south ; blow upon my garden, that the spices
thereof may flow out."

I will close this chapter with the following ob-
servations :

(1.) God's sovereignty, or right to use his chil-
dren so as to promote his glory and lead others
unto himself, is absolute and unquestioned.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the world's only hope.
He is yet on trial before the children of men, and
his professed friends are his representatives. The
world will judge of Christ and his religion by
what they see in the spirit, conduct, and lives of
his professed friends. Hence Jesus says, " Ye are

12

178 . CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

my witnesses ! " If, then, God can be glorified
and souls be saved by subjecting believers to cir-
cumstances of trial and affliction, in wbich the
advantages of religion and the preciousness of its
graces are manifested, it is his indisputable right
so to do. Believers thus used to promote the
divine glory, and the welfare of their fellow-men,
should count it an honor.

. (2.) Every individual who takes upon him a
profession of religion is under obligations to so
avail himself of the provisions of grace as to
have them do for him all they possibly can, that
he thereby may be the better able to glorify God
and benefit his fellow-men. He should also be
willing to undergo any course of discipline, how-
ever severe and afflictive, which tends to the re-
sults stated. . .

(3.) How inexpressibly precious must that
grace be which can accomplish results so great, so
grand, and fraught with interests extending into
all future time and eternity.

Consider the symbols employed in the Script-
ures to represent man's moral state without grace.
A diseased body from the crown of the head to
the sole of the foot (Isa. i. 6.) ; a body dead, and
in a state of corruption (Eph. v. 4.) ; a cage filled
with unclean birds (Jer. v. 27.) ; a fountain send-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 179

ing forth all manner of uncleanness and impurity
(Mark vii. 21-23.) ; a blasted, cursed soil, bearing
only pernicious and deadly weeds (Gal. v. 19-21).
Consider then the symbol used to represent that
same heart, under the influence of God's Holy
Spirit, — a garden, producing the precious and fra-
grant spices already enumerated, sending forth
their fragrance to bless and save others. Consider
all this, in connection with the great events of.
the interminable future, for which the process of
discipline, by the methods we have stated, are
but preparatory ; and then weigh against this the
comparative fewness of thy trials, the lightness
thereof as compared with those of the Savior
and some of his followers in other ages, and the
shortness of time in which they are to be endured
as compared with the eternity of bliss beyond;
and then decide whether or not trials and afflic-
tions are blessings rather than evils.

CHAPTER IX.

A ROYAL SUFFERER.

" But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit
done unto him." (II. Chron. xxxii. 25.)

In considering the spirit and conduct of the
Old Testament saints as examples of patience
under affliction, as directed by the Apostle James
(v. 10.), we have learned that while those eminent
men possessed much of the grace of patient sub-
mission, they also exhibited much dejection and
other evidences of human weakness under suffer-
ing. The circumstances connected with the case
of Hezekiah, king of Judah, his weakness under
affliction, his restoration in answer to prayer, and
his subsequent inconsistences, are given with so
much minuteness in the Scriptures as to suggest
the propriety of devoting a chapter to a further
consideration thereof.

In order that we may have all the facts con-
nected with the case of this eminent servant of
God, a careful perusal of the following scriptures

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 181

is necessary : II. Kings xx.; II. Chron. xxxii. 24,
25; Isa. xxxviii.

"We quote from II. Kings as follows : "In those
days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the
Prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him,
and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine
house in order ; for thou shalt die, and not live.
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed
unto the Lord, saying, I heseech thee, 0 Lord,
remember now how I have walked before thee in
truth and with a perfect heart, and have done
that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah
wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was
gone out into the middle court, that the word of
the Lord came to him, saying. Turn again, and
tell Hezekiah the captain of my people. Thus
saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I
have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears : be-
hold, I will heal thee : on the third day thou shalt
go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will
add unto thy days fifteen years ; and I will de-
liver thee and this city out of the hand of the
king of Assyria ; and I will defend this city for
mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
And Isaiah said. Take a lump of figs. And they
took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah. What sV>oll r.-<

182 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I
shall go up into the house of the Lord the third
day ? And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have
of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that
he hath spoken : shall the shadow go forward ten
degrees, or go back ten degrees ? And Hezekiah
answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go
down ten degrees : nay, but let the shadow return
backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet
cried unto the Lord : and he brought the shadow
ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down
in the dial of Ahaz."

We call attention to the following facts con-
nected with this case :

I. Good and useful men, in the height of their
usefulness, and at a time when, according to hu-
man judgment, their life and presence are indis-
pensable to the success of the particular work in
which they are engaged, are not exempt from
disabling afflictions and death. Hezekiah was to
the Jewish people what Luther was to the Chris-
tian church and people of the sixteenth century.
He was evidently one of those chosen instru-
ments of God who appear at times upon the arena
of human life for the accomplishment of some
great work. His special mission was to reform
the evils which Ahab and others of his wicked

-==_i^''

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 183

predecessors' had introduced into the Jewish wor-
ship. For a full account of his piety, his zeal
for true religion, his labors to reform the idola-
trous practices of the nation, to re-establish the
pure worship of Jehovah, and to save the people
from their powerful eneniies, — the Assyrians, who
were at that time invadiDg the land, and threat-
'ening Jerusalem itself, — see II. Kings xviii., xix.,
II. Chron. xxix., xxxii., and Isa. xxxvi.

And now, right in the midst of his usefulness,
and when his presence and authority seemed so
necessary to complete the good work in which he
was engaged, he was visited by sore affliction,
«ven unto death. Strange, indeed, are the provi-
dences of God. How many men have been
taken from the ministry in the height of their
usefulness, while others whose inefficiency and
v^ant of consecration, rendering them hinderan-
ces rather than helpers, are left to cumber the
ground?

"We learn from this that no one, however use-
ful, is indispensable to God ; and that though his
workmen may be laid aside or removed by death,
Tiis work will still be carried forward by others,
vrhom he will call to his service.

II. The approach of death does not find every
good man fully prepared.

184 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

It sometimes occurs that God's laborers are so
intent upon the work that their own hearts are
neglected. Working more than thej pray, as
did the church at Thyatira (Rev. iii. 19.), or car-
ing for the Lord's vineyard while their own is
neglected, as is stated in Solomon's Songs, i. 6, is
sure to entail spiritual leanness. Real heart-piety,
while developing its life and vigor in active, ear-
nest Christian labor, is best promoted by closet
duties, — as self-examination, Bible-reading, and
secret prayer. These duties are often crowded
out into a small space by men actively engaged
in religious as well as in secular work. In all such
cases the unexpected approach of death, as in the
case of Hezekiah, requires a further setting of
the house in order, a closer heart-examination, a.
more unreserved commital to God, and a clearer
apprehension of his favor. Then it is that, like
the good man whose conduct we are considering,
they turn their faces to the wall, weep over their
neglect, and call upon God for mercy. And then
it is, too, that they call to their bedside some
faithful Isaiah to intercede for them.

The reflections of Hezekiah in his distress are
given by his compeer and fellow-laborer, Isaiah
(Isa. xxxviii. 9-22). They are the reflections of a
man looking into the open grave, and not up into

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 185

heaven as did St. Paul just before his execution
(Titus iv. 6-8). The latter had his work all well
done, and his house fully in order. Hence his joy-
ful readiness to depart. The former was called
to face death unexpectedly, and while his house
was somewhat in disorder. Hence his confusion.
"We learn from this the necessity of looking well
to our own hearts, lest we, too, meet with a simi-
lar surprise.

III. The solemn retrospect which, if the men-
tal state does not preclude, is sure to come at the
approach of death.

The Savior himself when approaching the pe-
riod of his death, looked hack over his earthly
life, as well as to the future, and exclaimed, " I
have glorified thee on the earth : I have finished
the work which thou gavest me to do. And now,
0 Father, glorify thou me with thine own self
with the glory which I had with thee before the
world was." (John xvii. 4, 5.)

St. Paul — in what is probably his last written
words — said to Timothy (II. Timothy iv. 6-8.),
" I am now ready to be ofi:ered, and the time of
my departure is at hand. I have fought a good
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous

186 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

Judge, shall give me at that. day : and not to me
only, but unto all them also that love his appear-
ing-"

Hezekiah's retrospect was; "I beseech thee, 0

Lord, remember now how I have walked before
thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have
done that which is good in thy sight." (II. Kings
XX. 3.)

His prospect has been given already, as previ-
ously quoted. It was written by himself, though
recorded in the sacred annals by Isaiah. Had his
illness terminated in his death, as was expected,
doubtless his victory over all his fears would have
speedily followed his prayers and tears.

It will be observed that each of these persons,
while recalling their past labors in the cause of
God with evident pleasure and comfort, did not
urge them as the ground of their hopes for the
future. They looked for their reward as a gift
rather than as the price of their work. ''The
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
lifer

All men will at the approach of death — unless
their mental state is such as to preclude it — have
this solemn retrospect and prospect. Then, if
never before, will their judgment upon their past
actions be honest and sincere. To the devoted

CLU&TERS FROM ESHCOL. 187

and faithful it will be the source of untold com-
fort. To the unfaithful and unconsecrated it will
be the occasion of deep self-condemnation and
penitence. To the wicked it will cause unuttera-
ble confusion and remorse. Oh, at that moment-
ous hour to be able to say with the Savior, "i"
have finished the work which thou gavest me to do^^
or with St. Paul, '''-I have finished my course^^ will
occasion more comfort than if we had the uni-
verse at our disposal.

" How pleasant 'tis, when life is run,

And never more our steps shall roam,
To say with joy, our work is done,
And we are going home.

" How pleasant 'tis, our sorrows past,

With better, brighter worlds in view.
To give one parting look, the last,
And say with joy, Adieuy

TV. The resort of the righteous, at the ap-
proach of death.

St. James says, " Is any among you afflicted ?
let him pray." Desiring to be undisturbed by the
world, from which he was about to be separated,
Hezekiah " turned his face to the wall and pray-
ed." And, as is the case everywhere under such
circumstances, other good men came to his bed-
side to sympathize and pray with him. United
in their labors for the reformation of the people,

188 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

and in their prayers for deliverance from their
enemies (11. Chron. xxxii. 20.), Isaiah and Heze-
kiah now conjointly called upon God for the life
of the latter. God heard and regarded their cries^
and the king's life was prolonged. .

y. Notwithstanding Hezekiah's life was spar-
ed in answer to prayer, the proper means must
still be used.

By Isaiah's direction figs were applied to Heze-
kiah's boil, which occasioned his illness. God
sometimes works independently of means; but
usually in connection with them. We have no
warrant in the Scriptures to expect divine inter-
position while the necessary means are unem-
ployed. " God is a very present help in trouble."
This promise of divine assistance does not super-
sede the necessity to help ourselves. To neglect
the usual means, expecting God to interpose mi-
raculously, is presumption.

VI. Hezekiah, like many others, betrayed his
incredulity and unbelief.

When Isaiah informed him that he was about
to die he accepted the statement, and set about
the work of preparation. When, by God's direc-
tion, the prophet informed him that his life would
be prolonged he refused to believe it, and desired
some sign to confirm the statement. Strange

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 189

weakness of human nature ! It is a peculiarity
as universal as the race. Said Hezekiah, " What
shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me?"
** What sign shewest thou that we may see and
believe?" said the quibbling Pharisees to Jesus.
God is worthy to be believed upon his own verac-
ity, without signs and pledges in confirmation of
his word. 'No greater insult could be offered to
any one than to question his veracity ; yet even
good men — like Hezekiah — are guilty of this
crime against God.

VII. Under peculiar circumstances, like those
under which Hezekiah was placed, God some-
times condescends to gratify even the weaknesses
of his servants. He made the shadow go back-
ward ten degrees upon the dial of Ahaz, as de-
manded by the king.

For an account of a similar condescension to
satisfy the credulity of another eminent servant
of God, see Judges vi. 36-40.

YIII. The resort of the righteous when raised
up from a bed of affliction.

Hezekiah went up to the house of God on the
third day thereafter, to render public thanksgiv-
ing to God for his restoration. It is right and
proper that God's merciful deliverances should be
pu^Mly and formally acknowledged; and the

190 CLUSTEKS FKOM ESHCOL,

house of God is the proper place to make such
acknowledgment.

IX. Persons restored to health from severe
affliction sometimes are guilty of great indiscre-
tion.

The king of Bahylon sent messengers with a
present and congratulations to Hezekiah upon his
recovery, when he very imprudently showed them
the rich contents of his treasure-house. For this
indiscretion the land was afterward invaded, and
the people and their treasures were carried cap-
tive into Babylon. (II. Kings xx. 12^1 8.)

X. Yows and resolutions made in affliction
and at the supposed approach of death are not
always kept after restoration to health. In II.
Chronicles xxxii. 25 it is recorded, " But Heze-
kiah rendered not again according to the benefit
done unto him ; for his heart was lifted up : there-
fore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah
and Jerusalem."

XI. Notwithstanding all the weakness betray-
ed by Hezekiah during and after his affliction, he
finally died in peace and honor, and now rests
with his fathers. (II. Kings xx. 21.)

CHAPTER X.

god's PROVIDENTIAIi CARE OF HIS PEOPLE.

" The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears
are open unto their prayers." (I. Peter iii. 12.)

The Scriptures abound with assurances of God's
fatherly compassion and care for his children
under all the circumstances of trial and want and
danger through which they are called to pass in
this life. These assurances are usually clothed in
language and metaphor of the most tender and
expressive character, evidently for the purpose of
impressing us with the minuteness of that atten-
tion and the unfailing constancy of his love.

Having considered, under appropriate heads,
many of the scriptures which relate to the per-
sonal and bodily afflictions of believers, it seems
right and proper to devote a chapter to the con-
sideration of some of those which relate more
especially to God's providential dealings with his
children. This class of scriptures is so large
and varied, embracing almost every exigency

192 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

which can befall the Christian, that it will be
necessary to utilize them in the following sum-
mary manner :

I. There is a class of scriptural promises and
assurances which are to be understood as condi-
tional; that is to say, their fulfillment may not
always be in the precise manner we might expect,
or that the phraseology in which they are clothed
would lead us to anticipate.

The following are of this class :

" Thou shalt preserve me from trouble ; thou
ehalt compass me about with songs of deliver-
ance." (Psalms xxxii. 7.)

" Call upon me in the day of trouble : I will
deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." (Psalms
1. 15.)

"He shall deliver thee from the snare of the
fowler, and from the noisome pestilence." " A
thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand
at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh
thee." " There shall no evil befall thee, neither
ehall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." (Ps.
xci. 3, 7, 10.)

These scriptures, and all others of a similar
character, promising exemption from trouble, af-
fliction, or prevailing epidemic, are conditional to
the will of God) for it is a fact that the righteous

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 193

have many and severe trials, meet with the acci-
dents usual to this life, and fall a prey to epidem-
ics, as well as the wicked. Joh and David and
Jeremiah and Daniel and the apostles were all
good men, and yet they were sorely afflicted, per-
secuted, and tried. The fact taught in these
scriptures is, that in all cases of affliction or trial
the righteous have the advantage over the wicked,
that when it will be for the greater good of the
individual to be exempted he shall have exemp-
tion ; and when his best interests can be best pro-
moted by suffering for a time, suffering will be
permitted, but overruled in the end for his eter-
nal gain. In either case, it is the greatest good of
the individual that determines the question of suf-
fering or exemption. "Were it not so, and were
these promises of Grod absolute and uncondi-
tional, the Christian would fail to receive the rich
blessings which only -come through affliction. In-
finite love and wisdom, securing us against error
or loss or undue suffering, holds our destiny.
Under all circumstances, then, however threaten-
ing the storm, however afflicting the providence,
however severe the epidemic, we have the assur-
ance that God's eye of compassion is upon us,
and his providence orders and controls every-
thing relating to us. The word chance is not
found in God's vocabulary. 13

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" O God, thou knowest what is best ;
And as my weakness can not see
What things will make my spirit blest,
Help me to leave my choice with thee^

II. There are promises which are absolute, as, —

" The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppress-
ed, a refuge in Crimes of trouble." (Psalms ix. 9.)

" In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his
pavilion : in the secret of his tabernacle shall he
hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock." (Ps,
xxvii. 5.)

" Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy
presence from the pride of man : thou shalt keep
them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of
tongues." (Psalms xxxi. 20.)

" The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord:
he is their strength in the time of trouble." (Ps.
xxxvii. 39.)

" Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall
sustain thee : he shall never suffer the righteous
to be moved." (Psalms Iv. 22.)

" He shall cover thee with his feathers, and
under his wings shalt thou trust." "He shall
give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in
all thy ways." " He shall call upon me, and I
will answer him : I will be with him in trouble ; I
I will deliver him, and honor him. "(Ps.alms xci.
4, 11, 15.)

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"He giveth power to the faint; and to them
that have no might he increaseth strength." (Isa.
xl. 29.)

" The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of
trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him."
(JSTahum i. 7.)

" As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
so the Lord is round about his people from hence-
forth even forever." (Psalms cxxv. 2.)

These passages, with all others of a similar
character, are absolute; and their fulfillment in
every case may be relied upon. They are like so
many checks upon the divine fullness, which we
may present at any time in full confidentje that
they will be promptly honored. These absolute
promises differ from those of a conditional char-
acter in this, that the thing specially promised
shall be given. In the former, God reserves the
right to decide what will be best for us. An emi-
nent writer remarks that if we ask God for silver,
and silver is not given, it will be gold ; if we ask
for gold, and gold is withheld, God will give us
diamonds. He is always as good as his promises,
and often still better.

III. God's fatherly concern for his children
expressed by symbols.

"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the

196 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he know-
eth our frame ; he remembereth that we are dust."
(Psalms ciii. 13, 14.)

^' I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be
my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Al-
mighty." (II. Cor. vi. 18.)

. " Can a woman forget her sucking child, that
she should not have compassion on the son of
h^r womb ? yea, they may forget, yet will I not
forget thee." (Isa. xlix. 15.)

Traveling once in the cars, I observed a woman
sitting near me who had her child nicely laid on
the seat in front of her, which she had turned
toward her. It was sweetly sleeping; and her
eyes were constantly upon it. At a late hour in
the night the child awoke, and, perhaps, alarmed
at the strange scenes around it, began to cry. The
mother took it in her arms and pressed it to her
heart, and by those ways which only a mother
can use, soothed and calmed it, and soon it fell
asleep again. I thought of the scriptural use
made of parental and maternal love to express
God's concern for his children, especially of the
words of Isaiah Ixvi. 13 — " as one whom his
mother comforteth, so will I comfort you."

It is related that at the time of the wreck of
the steamer Kent every mother on board instiGct-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 197

ivelj caught to her arms her youngest child. A
minister of the gospel relates that having occa-
sion to move his library from a room on the
ground-floor to an upper room, his little son in-
sisted on helping him. He at length gave him a
small book to carry; but he insisted on having a
larger one. To satisfy him he gave him a larger
book, which he succeeded in carrying to the foot
of the stairs, when, unable to carry it farther, he
began to cry. The minister was compelled to
carry both the boy and the book. So God often
carries both his children and their burdens.

"Would we know the scriptural estimate of the
strength and tenderness of paternal love? Eead
our Lord's own delineation of it in Luke xv.

IV. God's providential interposition for the
safety of his children.

"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and
under his wings shalt thou trust." (Psalms xci. 4.)

" The angel of the Lord encampeth round about
them that fear him, and delivereth them." (Psalms
xxxiv. 7.)

"As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
so the Lord is round about his people from hence-
forth even forever." (Psalms cxxv. 2.)

From a book published by the Society of the
Friends, entitled, " Musings and Memoirs," I con-

198 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

dense the following statement: A gentleman
residing in Philadelphia was about to go upon a
journey to a distant place. Taking a seat in a
car at the Kensington depot he felt a strong im-
pression to change his seat. Without stopping
to reason about the impression he at once obeyed
the inward monitor, and at considerable difficulty,
because of the crowded condition of the cars, took
another seat. Just as the train was leaving the
depot a stone, hurled by some one, came crashing
through the window, breaking the glass to pieces
and destroying the panel on the opposite side. A
fellow - passenger, who had observed the man
changing his seat, and seeing that thereby his
life was no doubt saved, went to him and asked
him why he left that seat. He told him of the
impression wrought in his mind, and attributed it
to the providence of God.

"William Penn relates in his writings that when
in Ireland he met a Christian woman who told
him that when the city of Cork was invested by
King William's army she and her little daughter
were sitting at a certain place, when she was
strangely seized with a sudden fear and a strong
impulse to move away from where she was sit-
ting. Immediately after she and her child had left
the place a cannon-ball struck the seat, tearing it

CLUSTEHS FROM ESHCOL. 199

all to pieces. She also attributed her preservation
to the providential interposition of her heavenly
Father.

Horace Bushnell, in his "ITature and the Super-
natural," relates that a wealthy man of Califor-
nia— Captain Yount — twice dreamed in one night
that he saw a company of emigrants perishing in
the snow on the mountain. He related his dreams
to an old hunter, and described to him the ap-
pearance of the place where the emigrants were
snowed in, as it appeared to him in his dream.
The hunter at once recognized the place as Car-
son-Yalley Pass. To the astonishment, and against
the protests of many. Captain Yount dispatched
a company of men with mules, blankets, and
provisions to the place designated, — one hundred
and fifty miles distant. Arriving there, they found
a company of emigrants in exactly the perilous
condition in which they appeared to Captain
Yount in his dream. The emigrants were rescu-
ed, and ever after looked upon Captain Yount as
their deliverer. Of the truthfulness of this occur-
rence it is said there is no doubt, as many of the
emigrants and their descendants are yet living
witnesses.

It is related of an eminent Christian, whose
name has escaped my memory, that he dreamed

200 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

that having died, he was ushered into an ante-
room before entering into heaven. While there,
he was astonished to see a panoramic history of
his own hfe pictured upon the walls of the room.
Having satisfied himself after examination of the
faithfulness of the record, and remembering that
he had come near losing his life by having been
thrown from his horse, he sought in the proper
place in the panorama for this event. Great was
his surprise and gratitude to God when he saw it
faithfully depicted, and God's guardian angels
shielding him from harm.

Y. God's providential care for his children in
times of want.

" Behold the fowls of the air : for they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet
your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not
much better than they ? " (Matt. vi. 26.)

" Are not &ve sparrows sold for two farthings,
and not one of them is forgotten before God?
But even the very hairs of your head are all
numbered. Fear not therefore : ye are of more
value than many sparrows." (Luke xii. 6, 7.)

The following illustrations of God's providen-
tial care of his needy children are taken from the
book previously referred to : A number of fami-
lies emigrated from Pennsylvania to Canada,

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 201

where, during their first winter, owing to the
severity of the cold, the depth of the snow, and
the scarcity of provisions, they were in danger of
starving.. Their only resource for a long time
was the bark of the slippery elm and bass-wood,
from which they made a kind of jelly which suf-
ficed to support life. At the approach of spring
their affliction increased, for the jelly made of the
elm and bass-wood sickened them. In their ex-
tremity they collected together and called upon
God in prayer to deliver them from impending
starvation. Whilst thus sitting together and call-
ing upon God a pigeon alighted on a tree near
by. It was caught, and the broth made from it
kept them alive. The next day another pigeon
was taken, and so on for fourteen days in s acces-
sion. On the fifteenth day no pigeon came. One
of the children who was lying in bed from weak-
ness occasioned by the want of food, inquired if
the Great Spirit was angry that he did not send
any more pigeons ? Death again seemed inevita-
ble, when one of the men returned from a neigh-
boring stream and reported that the ice had given
way, and fish enough to sustain life could be
caught. In this way God kept those pious emi-
grants from starving until the return of spring
and summer, when their wants were supplied by
the ordinary means.

202 CLUSTEBS FROM ESHCOL.

Thomas Fuller in his writings relates the fol-
lowing incident : " When the city of Exeter was
besieged by the parliamentary forces, so that
only the south side thereof toward the sea was
open into it, incredible numbers of larks were
found in that open quarter, for multitudes like
quails in the wilderness, though, blessed be God,
unlike them both in cause and effect, as not sent
for man's destruction, nor with God's anger, as
appeared by the safe digestion into wholesome
nourishment; whereof I was an eye and mouth
witness. I will save my credit in not conjectur-
ing any number, knowing that then, though I
should stop beneath the truth, I should mount
above belief. They were as fat as plentiful; so
that being sold for two-pence a dozen and under,
the poor, who could have no cheaper, or the sick
no better meat, used to make pottage of them,
boiling them. Several natural causes were assign-
ed hereof. How.ever, the cause of causes was divine
Providence."

It is related that during the stormy period of
the Reformation, when Luther was confined in
the Castle of Wartburg, he one evening took a
seat at a window in his room, and sat down to
meditate. His great heart was troubled by the
rumors of war and bloodshed, in opposition to

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 203

the truth, which reached him. To add to his soli-
tude, night was approaching; and the distant
thunder and lightning gave evidence of a night of
storm and tempest. While thus musing in sadness
a rohin, which had its nest in a neighboring tree,
sat upon a twig and warbled forth its evening
song of thanksgiving to God; and then, seating
itself in its nest, and placing its head under its
wing, it went fast asleep, all unalarmed by the
approaching darkness and storm. The great re-
former thought of God's declared care for his
children, as well as for the birds, and felt that
like the robin, he could commit all to his heav-
enly Father. In this way his fears were allayed.

There is one other class of afflicted ones to
whom special promises are given, with the con-
sideration of which we will close this chapter.

YI. God's very special and tender regard for
the fatherless and widows.

" Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve
them alive; and let thy widows trust in me."
(Jer. xlix. 11.)

"A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the
widows, is God in his holy habitation." (Psalms
Ixviii. 5.) .

" The Lord preserveth the strangers ; he reliev-
eth the fatherless and widow." (Psalms cxlvi. 9.)

204 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

There is no class of afflicted ones that appeals
more strongly to the sympathies and watchful
care of the church than the widows and children
of deceased servants of God. Certainly some of
the most assuring and tender promises of the
Scriptures are given to such.

As an illustration of God's watchful care of
these, the following narrative I condense from
the statement which I find in the hook previously
referred to. The facts are related by a missionary
in Canada, and are said to he strictly reliable. A
farmer dying, left a very amiable and pious wid-
ow and three children. Desiring to disincumber
herself of the care of the farm she sold all of
her effects which she could dispense with, pro-
posing to take up her residence in a neighboring
village. A friend learning of her intention con-
gratulated her upon her decision, and remarked
that she would be much more comfortable and
safe in her new home than in the country, where
she would be unprotected. " Oh," said she, "not
unprotected ! Far from it. You forgot that I am
now under the special care and protection of Him
who careth for the fatherless and widows. I feel
confident that He will protect us."

The farm-house, in which she remained until
after she had made sale, was in a solitary place, — •

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 205

not another house being within half a mile of it.
The night after, the public sale the widow, her
three children, and her maid-servant were alone
in the house. The night was stormy, and the
wind howled fiercely, shaking the house at every
blast. Unable to sleep, the widow thought she
heard in the pauses of the tempest some unusual
noise. Then she heard the barking of a dog,
apparently on the other side of the house from
where the first sounds were heard. This increased
her alarm, as she had no dog of her own. Awak-
ening the maid, they quietly went to where the
dog was, and opening the door a large black dog
rushed into the house, and without stopping pro-
ceeded to the back window, where stood two
men trying to effect their entrauce. The dog
leaped through the window and pursued the men.
After a time, during which the inmates of the
house could distinctly hear a scuffle between the
dog and the would-be robbers, the dog returned
and was admitted. The house was made as secure
as possible, and all Avaited anxiously for daylight,
the dog sleeping on a rug prepared for him.
In the morning the dog eat a hearty breakfast,
which was gratefully given him, he expressing
his gratitude by wagging his tail and fondling
them. Having eaten, he left the house, and was

206 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

never seen afterward. It was supposed that the
robbers expected to find the widow unprotected
in her house, with a large sum of money — result-
ing from the day's sale. The dog it was thought
had followed some one to the sale, and was lefb
there. The true solution, however, is this : God
in that way interposed to save this widow and
her fatherless children from being robbed and
probably murdered. Truly, there are none so
safe as those who are under the protection of
God.

CHAPTER XI.

GOD IN EVERYTHING.

" The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord : and he
delighteth in his way." (Psalms xxxvii. 23.)

The Scriptures abundantly teach that God is in
every event that befalls his children, — either in
sending, permitting, or directing and controlling
it for their good. This is true also of all those
events which occur from some plainly-seen sec-
ondary cause.

Under the influence of divine grace it is not
hard to submit uncomplainingly to trials and
afflictions which are clearly traceable to the hand
of God ; but when we feel that we are suffering
from our own indiscretion or folly or sin, or from
the design, malice, or ignorance of others, it is
not so easy. Almost every event which befalls
us in life, whether favorable or otherwise, comes
to us through or by some human instrumentality ;
and nearly all our trials result from our own or
some other's inadvertence. !N'ow, we know that

208 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

God can not be the author of evil, — nor can he
approve of it in others ; and yet in some way he
must be the agent in every event that befalls his
children, or the numerous scriptures which de-
clare his watchful care and guardianship over his
children, his ordering all their paths, choosing all
their ways, directing all their steps, and causing
everything to work for their good, are without
truth, meaning, or comfort. If the righteous are
liable to the wicked designs of Satan, or of the
ungodly, independently of the divine cognizance
or permission, then the class of scriptures express-
ing God's constant care and attention, and the
fact of their absolute safety under all circumstan-
ces, is meaningless.

Wicked men may devise evil concerning the
Christian, and their designs and actions may be
disapproved by God; but by the time the result
reaches the believer it has become the will of God
concerning him, and should be accepted as such.
Joseph was sold by his brethren into bondage, in
a strange land. The act was theirs. It was
wicked. It was contrary to God's own declared
order touching our relations with each other.
But yet Joseph says of it, " God did send me be-
fore you to preserve life." (Gen. xlv. 5.) God
did not incline the hearts of Joseph's brethren to

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 209

sell Hm into bondage ; but be permitted tliem to
do itj bowever wicked and unbrotberly it was,
and overruled it all for good, not only to Josepb
bimself, but to tbe Egyptians and all tbe neigb-
boring nations, and tbis in barmony witb bis
general purpose to elevate Josepb and make bim
tbe instrument of tbe salvation of tbe people
from famine. All tbis God did witbout approv-
ing of tbe wickedness of tbe agents by wbom it
was effected.

Tbe cbild in its fatber's arms is safe, and no
barm can come to it witbout tbe fatber's notice
and permission, unless be is unable to prevent it;
and even tben tbe fatber suffers tbe barm bimself
before it reacbes tbe cbild. God is our Fatber.
We are bis cbildren. Our place is in bis arms.
We are dearer to bim tban eartbly cbildren are
to tbeir parents. His wisdom, love, and power to
detect and turn aside evil aimed at us are all in-
finite, and are all pledged by oatb and promise
for our safety. (Heb. vi. 10-18.) Wbat tben bave
we to fear ? Wbo can barm us ? Wbo is able to
pluck us out of bis band ? Wbo is able to set in
motion any train of circumstances designed for
our burt, witbout tbe notice, detection, and inter-
vention of our beavenly Fatber ? No power of
eartb or bell can toucb us witbout first obtaining

14

210 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

permission of God, or forcing him to stand aside,
or passing through him.

The believer is represented in the Scriptures as
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is in Christ as the
branch is in the vine ; as the member is in the
body ; as the wife is in the husband. He, as it
were, is absorbed in Christ, loses his identity in
him — Christ standing for him. If he suffers,
Christ also sufters. Is he tempted, tried, perse-
cuted? Christ also suffers, is tempted, tried, and
persecuted. (Acts ix. 4, 5.) How safe, then, how
absolutely safe is the believer in Christ ! I^oth-
ing can harm him without harming Christ, in
whom he abides. ISTo pain, no affliction, no be-
reavement, no accident, no sorrow can come to
him without afflicting the great loving heart of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Are there plottings of
evil against the Christian? 'No evil formed against
the child of God shall prosper, so long as he is
a follower of that which is good. Is his name
cast out as evil, and is the tongue of slander let
loose against him? God shall hide him in the
secret of his presence from the pride of man, and
shall keep him secretly in his pavilion from the
strife of the tongue. (Psalms xxxi. 20.) Does
pestilence, or famine and want threaten thee?
Thou needest fear no evil ; for thy God has given

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 211

Ms angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all
thy ways; and no evil shall befall thee, neither
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. Do
storms and tempests of affliction and sorrow
threaten thee? God shall cover thee with his
feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust.
(Psalms xci.)

This precious fact of the believer's absolute
safety in Christ is one of the great facts of divine
revelation. It is one of the unseen things which
human reason can not comprehend, and is re-
vealed to the eye of trusting, confiding faith.
The armies which the king of Syria sent against
Israel, and which sought the life of Eiisha, be-
cause he, by the spirit of prophecy, foreknew and
forewarned of all their designs, comprised a great
and mighty host. They encompassed the city in
which this servant of God was, cutting ofi", to all
human expectation, all means of escape, and caus-
ing his servant to exclaim, "Alas, my master!
how shall we do ? " He saw with his natural
vision only, and only natural objects. Eiisha,
seeing with the soul's interior eye, perceived that
the mountains all about the city were girdled by
a mighty host of horses and chariots of fire. He
had seen at least one of these before, when in it
Elijah ascended into heaven; and in the fullness

212 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

of his confidence lie calmed his servant's fears
with the assurance, " Fear not : for they that be
with us are more than they that be with them."
(II. Kings vi. 14-16.)

A devoted Christian lady says that during one
part of her religious life she was much troubled
with fear and doubt, and found it difficult to live
a life of implicit trust, especially under God's
chastening rod, with which she was often and
severely afflicted, because of the many secondary
and evil causes, as she supposed, which seemed
to control nearly everything which concerned her.
She carried her perplexities to God in prayer, and
was enlightened and delivered in the following
manner : She dreamed that she was in a perfect-
ly dark place, and that there advanced toward
her from a distance a body of light, which sur-
rounded and enveloped everything around her.
As it approached a voice seemed to say, " This is
the presence of God, This is the presence of God,"
While surrounded with this presence, all great
and awful things in life seemed to pass before her
— fighting armies, wicked men, raging beasts,
fearful storms, pestilence, sin and suffering of
every kind. She shrunk back at first in terror ;
but she soon saw that the presence of God so sur-
rounded and enveloped her and each and every

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 213

one of these things, that not a lion could reach
forth its paw, nor a bullet fly through the air, ex-
cepting as this presence moved out of the way to
let it pass. And she saw that, let there be ever
so thin a sheet, as it were, of this glorious pres-
ence between herself and the most terrible vio-
lence, not a hair of her head could be rufiled, nor
anything touch her, unless the presence divided
to let the evil pass through. Then all the small
and annoying things of life passed before her;
and equally she saw that these also were so com-
pletely enveloped by this presence that not a
cross look, nor a harsh word, nor petty trial of
any kind could reach her, unless God's great and
glorious presence moved out of the way to let it
reach her. Her difficulties vanished. Her ques-
tion was answered forever. God is in everything;
and to her she knew no secondary causes. She
saw that her life, day by day, and moment by
moment, came directly from her heavenly Fa-
ther's hand, let the agencies be what they may.
This lady from that time entered upon a new and
better experience, in which all tormenting fear
was completely banished, and she found no diffi-
culty in seeing God in every event of her life.

Is it not true that nearly all the troubles and
perplexities with which believers are afflicted are

214 CLUSTEKS FROM ESHCOL.

prospective^ and really never do occur? Instead
of walking by simple faith, as the word of God
directs, trusting God moment by moment, and
dismissing all anxious thoughts for the future, we
seek to reverse or set aside God's order, and walk
by sight. And, not content with bearing the
necessary burdens of the present, we not only
carry with us those of the past, but attempt also
to carry those of the future, and failing to bear
up under the weight we complain of the want of
divine support. Cast from thy shoulders the
burdens of the past ; attempt not to anticipate
the probable burdens of the future ; accept each
and every occurrence of thy life as an expression
of thy Father's will concerning thee, and thou
Bhalt realize that God is in everything to thee,
and that all things are working together for thy
good.

A Christian man who had met with a severe
misfortune, by which he lost nearly all his earth-
ly possessions, was much overwhelmed with grief.
He could not see the hand of God in an affliction
which reduced him and his family from affluence
to want. Sitting in the house of God one Sab-
bath, the minister preached from the text, " All
things shall work together for good to them that
love God." The man of God illustrated the idea

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 215

of the events in a Christian's life working together
— one event influencing another, and this still
another, until a gracious result is wrought for
the afflicted one, — by a person looking on the
wrong side of a clock, lie sees a number of
wheels, some larger and some smaller; some
turning one way and some another, and all seem-
ingly in confusion and without purpose or design.
He then saw. the same clock in the face; and he
saw that all those wheels were working together
for one purpose — to mark time upon the face of
the clock. " So," said the minister, " God's provi-
dences, however afflicting and perplexing and
seemingly confused and purposeless, are all work-
ing together to produce one result, — thy highest
and eternal good. "We may not be able to see
how one dispensation of affliction and loss oper-
ates on another to produce this result; but God
overrules and controls it all, and he will bring it
to pass." The distressed man was relieved of his
burden. He accepted the fact that God permitted
designing men to rob him of his worldly posses-
sions for the express purpose of securing to him
some greater good. He rested in that confidence,
was relieved of his burden, and in a few years
was enabled to bless God for the loss he had sus-
tained, because of the richness of divine grace
bestowed upon him.

216 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

An aged colored woman was thus addressed by
a lady who was troubled and perplexed by almost
everything around her : " Ah, ITancy, it is well
enough to be happy now, but I would think that
the thoughts of your future would sober you.
Suppose, for instance, that you would have a
spell of sickness, and be unable to work; or, sup-
pose your present employers should move away
and no one else would do anything for you ; or,
suppose — " " Stop," said IlTancy, "I never sup-
poses anything. De Lord is my Shepherd, and I
know I shall not want. Ah, honey, it's dese sup-
poses which is makin' you so miserable. You'd
better give dem all up and trust de Lord."

It is the privilege of the believer, then, to see
God in everything, in every event of his life, and to.
receive everything as coming directly from his
hand, with no intervening secondary cause. If he
attempts to discriminate between events, trying
to submit to what is plainly from God's hand, and
fretting over those which seem to be the result of
his own or other's inadvertence, his peace mus-
be disturbed. But when he can rise to this, ti
see God in everything, irrespective of secondary
agencies, to feel that every event of his life^
whether pleasant or otherwise, no matter what
the apparent intervening cause may be, comes

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 217

to Mm directly from God, is tlie expression of his
will toward him, and is intended for Ms good,
then, and then only, will he have abiding peace
and perfect trust.

Child of God, accept the fact that thy God is
in every event of thy life ; that there is not a
single occurrence which can be attributed to
chance; that not a single event can befall thee
without his notice and permission; that there
is a ''needs be" for all the afflictions and disap-
pointments and trials through which thou art
called to pass. " Oh," said an eminent saint,
"what a pillow is this * needs' be' on which to
rest an aching head ! " "What we know not now
concerning God's providential dealings with us,
we shall know hereafter, — " when the mists have
rolled away." Said Thomas Brooks, " The great
Counselor puts clouds and darkness round about
him, bidding us follow at his back, through the
cloud, promising an eternal and uninterrupted
sunshine on the other side."

Said Jeremy Taylor, "iTothing does so estab-
lish the mind amidst the rollings and turbulence
of things as both a look above them and a look
beyond them, — above them, to the steady and
good hand by which they are ruled; and beyond
them, to the sweet and beautiful end to which.

218 CLUSTERS FROM BSHCOL.

by that hand, they will be brought." On that
other side, when all shall be made plain to us, we
shall see how every affliction, every bereavement,
every disappointment, and every adversity was
needful for us, and without them we could never
have reached that blissful place.

Dearly beloved in the Lord, do not be over-
anxious about the roughness of your voyage ; for
every apparently rough and unfriendly blast
which beats upon you is but hastening you to
the desired haven. And do not attempt to an-
ticipate grace for trials which are yet in the
future ; for this is not God's order, nor in accord-
ance with his declared method. He has promised
to give the grace at the time and to the degree
it is needed. The proper attitude of the saint in
which to bear up under present troubles and in
prospect of the probabilities of the future is ex-
pressed in the following lines :

" ' Tis a great lesson which we learn,
In this our weak and trying state,
To see God's hand at every turn,
And patiently to wait.

" Concealed in mysteries sublime,

When painful months and years are past.
The things, deep hidden for a time,
Are all revealed at last.

*' We know them then, but know not now;
We walk by faith, and not by sense;

CLUSTJilRS FROM ESHCOL. 219

And cheerfully and humbly bow,
Before Thy providence.

** O God, this blessedness impart, —

This foretaste of a heavenly state,—
The gift of a believing heart,
Which patiently can wait,"

CHAPTER XII.

SPECIAL GRACE FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS.

" As thy days, so shall thy strength be." (Deut. xxxiii. 25.)

"We liave in the pilgrimage of the children
of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, in connection
with which the scriptural promise above quoted
stands, a symbol of the pilgrimage of believers
from the Egypt of sin to the Canaan of heaven.
The deliverance of that people from bondage,
their passage through the Red Sea, their mi-
raculous supply of bread and water, the fact that
their clothing and sandals did not wear out, the
abiding presence, protection, and guidance of
God in the pillar of cloud and fire, their final
crossing of the Jordan and entrance into the
promised land, all were typical of the pilgrimage
of Christians through this life, and all were de-
signed to impress the people with their constant
and entire dependence upon God.

Was it not infinitely better for the Israelites
when called to pass through a barren wilderness,

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 221

where neither bread nor water could be had by
ordinary means, that God supplied their needs
day by day rather than by one endowment of the
whole at the commencement of their journey ?
And is it not better for Christians that God
pledges himself to supply their daily needs, as
their circumstances may require, rather than by
one endowment when first they enter upon their
Christian life ? Were it otherwise, many, if not
all, would, through unfaithfulness, lose the need-
ed grace and be left to lament their folly in the
day of trial.

God, then, has wisely ordered that grace shall
be meted out to his children at the time and in the
proportion it is needed. Ordinary grace for ordi-
nary, and extraordinary grace for extraordinary
trials, are fully assured. This is the fact I wish
to impress in this chapter. The children of Is-
rael had their extraordinary as well as daily and
ordinary trials ; but in them all the divine inter-
position was equally ample and opportune. The
childi^n of God in all ages have their special
as well as ordinary emero^encies, and have ever
found that grace is equal to each and everj trial.
There is no condition or contingency possible to
the Christian, within the bounds of duty, in
w)> 'vh the divine protection, su]Dport, and deliv-

222 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

erance are not abundantly promised. And it is
only when lie wanders where neither duty or
consistency- call him that he places himself out-
side of the divine care. A circumstance in the
history of the apostles will illustrate this point.
The multitude, after having been miraculously fed
by the Savior, proposed in their enthusiasm to
make him their king. Having dismissed the peo-
ple, he sent the apostles across the Sea of Galilee
in the ship to a designated place, where he was
to rejoin them in the morning. The twelve evi-
dently went alone with reluctance; for it is said
that he constrained them. In trying to obey his
directions a fearful storm drove them from their
course, out to sea, and they were in danger of
perishing. When all their efforts appeared to be
in vain, and they were giving up in despair, the
Master came to their rescue. ]^ow, had the apos-
tles gone upon that voyage without the Savior, by
their own choice, they might have had some
ground for fear; but having obeyed his com-
mands, the responsibility of their safety was with
him, and he, ever faithful, appeared for their de-
liverance just at the critical time. (Mark vi. 45.)

Among the many emergencies in life to which
the believer is subject, and in which more than
ordinary grace is needed, are the following :

I. Straitened worldly circumstances.

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 223

Does God take cognizance of the worldly in-
terests of his children; and does he ever inter-
pose for their deliverance in times of want and
distress ?

The case of Elijah, who was fed by the ravens
(I. Kings xvii.), of Hagar and her child, who
were miraculously preserved from death (Gen.
xxi.), and of the widow of Zarephath, whose oil
and meal were multiplied in a time of famine (I.
Kings xvii.), are to the point.

The following instances of God's interposition
in the worldly concerns of his people are taken
from Musings and Memories, formerly referred to.
One winter morning a gentleman of Boston, while
in attendance at a daily religious meeting in that
city, had his mind strangely directed toward a
stranger in the meeting, and he was impressed to
hand him some money. The stranger was appar-
ently in no need himself, and the gentleman felt
reluctant to approach him. But at the close of
the meeting he yielded to the strong impression
and quietly slipped a five-dollar bill in his hand,
telling him to use it as he saw fit. The next morn-
ing that stranger arose in the meeting and said
that in former days he possessed means, and de-
lighted to use them in relieving the needy, but
that owing to reverses he was not able to do as

224 CLUSTERS ■ FROM ESHCOL.

formerly. He also said that wliile on his way to
the meeting the day before he saw a Christian
woman, sick and poor, with neither food nor fuel
in the cold weather, and that he earnestly desired
five dollars to relieve her. At the close of the
meeting a strange brother had slipped that
amount into his hand, telling him to use it ac-
cording to his own judgment, and that he went
right from the meeting to that woman's house,
and gave it to her, telling her that the Lord sent
it. She thankfully received the timely gift and
attributed it to her heavenly Father's love and
care.

Henry Erskine of Cornhill, Northumberland,
in his writings says that one evening, when re-
siding in Dryburg, Scotland, with his large fami-
ly, they had eaten their last morsel of food and
were without a penny to purchase more. In the
morning his children were clamoring for bread ;
but there was none in the house. After a time,
while he was silently looking to God for help, a
knock was heard at his door, and a man asked
assistance to take from his horse a very heavily-
loaded sack, which he was directed to leave there.
It proved to be a plentiful supply of provisions.
The donor was unknown.

On another occasion he says he was in Edin-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 225

burg, and without the means of purchasing food.
"While walking along the street he was stopped
by an individual who asked him if his name was
not Erskine. Replying that it was, a letter was
handed him containing a considerable sum of
money. It was signed, "From a sympathizing
friend." Mr. Erskine says he never knew who
the generous donor was.

One other case we condense from the account
in this book. A man residing in Philadelphia
was under the necessity of borrowing five thou-
sand dollars, to enable him to prosecute his busi-
ness. He efiected a loan of three thousand dollars
from a friend and two thousand from an insur-
ance company. A time of panic and failures
came on, and this man was informed by both the
parties of whom he had borrowed money that it
must be returned the next day. The poor man
was panic-stricken, — for at this time many busi-
ness houses were paying as high as one per cent
a day for the use of money, — and he knew not
where he could obtain relief. He carried his case
to God in prayer, spent a sleepless night over it,
and arose in the morning in much distress. It
was the day of the week on which he usually met
with his brethren in the house of God for wor-
ship, and notwithstanding his depression he re-

15

226 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

sorted to tlie diurch. As he sat in silence and
sadness an aged minister arose and strangely
spoke for the comfort of those in financial dis-
tress. In the course of his remarks, and entirely
ignorant of the condition of his deeply interest-
ed auditor, he said, "Art thou in need? The
money will come before thou needs it."

The afflicted man felt that the discourse was
intended for him, and that God was about to in-
terpose in his behalf; but as to how, he knew
not. After the meeting he went to the office of
the person of whom he had borrowed the three
thousand dollars, to see if he could not in some
way get an agreement for further time. To his
astonishment he was told that the man had that
day sailed for Europe, and left word that he could
repay the money when it suited him. Greatly
encouraged, he started to see about what he owed
the insurance company ; and on the way he met
a friend who inquired of him if he wished to bor-
row two thousand dollars. Upon telling him of
his circumstances the two thousand dollars were
handed him, with which he at once canceled the
loan to the insurance company. Was not the
providence of God in this man's deliverance?
Was it not in all the cases we have cited ? ]N"one
but skeptics and unbelievers could question it.

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 227

Probably the fault with us is, that we do not
carry to God our daily secular trials and difficul-
ties as we should, under the mistaken notion that
he does not feel concerned in them. " In all thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy
paths." (Prov. iii. 6.)

" Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall
sustain thee." (Psalms Iv. 22.)

There are also special distress and trial ; as, —

n. Severe personal affliction.

Upon this point so much has been written in
other chapters that we do not deem it necessary
to reproduce it here. The cases of the eminent
Bible saints under personal affliction, already con-
sidered, abundantly prove that the grace of God
is sufficient for any emergency, and that it is
always bestowed when the exigency demands it.

Before me lies the biography of an excellent
Christian lady, who was called to her eternal re-
ward at a comparatively early age. Previous to
her affliction, which resulted in her death, she by
mistake took an overdose of deadly aconite, and
was brought down to the gate of death ; but she
finally recovered from it. She thus describes her
feelings when in that critical condition : " I did
not lose my consciousness, though my whole body
became rigid and cold. My sight left me, and

228 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

even my tongue stiffened in my mouth. The cold
perspiration stood on my forehead; and I thought,
Truly this is death. For more than one hour I
thought every breath would he my last. * ^H *
For five hours I lay very low, suffering the most
intense agony, — indeed, the suffering was more
fearful than anything I had ever dreamed of; but
I can truly say that it .loas ivorth it all to realize
what a i^rfect Savior Jesus is in time of trial. I
wish I could tell you of the heavenly calm he
granted me during those hours of dreadful suf-
fering. I have always from my childhood had an
almost morbid fear of death; and even since I
have put my trust in Jesus I have sometimes
been tempted to fear that when the trying hour
<3ame I should feel frightened, even though I
knew that through a crucified Redeemer I was
going to our eternal home in bliss. But when I
thought each moment was my last, and the shad-
ows of the dark valley were about me, every fear
was taken away and a heavenly joy and peace
filled my soul. Jesus waiS with me, and I was not
afraid."

Some time after her recovery from this poison-
ing this same young lady was taken with con-
sumption, from which she subsequently died.
During that illness she thus wrote to a friend:

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 229

"For days past the thought of dying in consump-
tion has been very painful to me ; but it was glo-
rious when I felt that Jesus was able for this also.
He will bring me through, and even make me
triumph over it. And now the thought of a lingering
death is not painful ; it even looks cheerful."

There are also —

III. Times of epidemic, or plague.

The ninety-first psalm appears to have been
written for such occasions as those under consid-
eration. This psalm was the special and favor-
ite portion of scripture of the late Bishop D.
Edwards. He appropriately termed it " The
Christianas Life- Insurance Policy." Read it ; and
carefully consider the strong expressions used,
assuring of absolute safety even under the trying
circumstances stated.

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the
Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my
refuge and my fortress : my God ; in him will I
trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare
of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under
his wings shalt thou trust : his truth shall be thy
shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for
the terror by night ; nor for the arrow that flieth

230 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in
darkness ; nor for the destruction that wasteth at
noonday. A thousand shall fall at .thy side, and
ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall. not
come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt
thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my
refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation ; there
shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague
come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his
angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands,
lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou
shalt tread upon the lion and adder : the young
lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under
feet. Because he hath set his love upon me,
therefore will I deliver him : I will set him on
high, because he hath known my name. He shall
call upon me, and I will answer him : I will be
with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and
honor him. With long life will I satisfy him,
and shew him my salvation."

As stated in a previous chapter, absolute ex-
emption from the pestilence and other ills of life
may not in every case be granted the Christian.
The chief fact taught is, that he will either be
exempted or afflicted, as will be for the best, the
the Lord himself being the judge.

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 231

The domestic figure of the hen shielding her
chickens under her wings in time of danger is of
such a nature that it might seem sacrilegious to
use it as relating to God and his children had not
God himself in this instance, and the Savior
afterward, employed it. (Matt, xxiii. 37.)

As another occasion calling for special grace
we refer to —

TV. The approach of death.

It is often the case that devoted and pious
Christians, when under deep affliction, shrink
from the idea of dying, and because of this fear
write bitter things against themselves, as well as
distress their anxious friends. There are others,
also, of whom the apostle writes in Heb. ii. 14,
15, who " through fear of death are all their life-
time subject to bondage." In all such cases of
the former, this fear will disappear and complete
victory will be given at the proper time. In the
latter, all tormenting fear, whether of death or
anything else, will disappear when the experience
of perfect love shall have been attained. (I. John
iv. 18.) This experience is attainable by all at
any time.

While it is the privilege of believers to live
above all tormenting and peace-disturbing fear of
death, there is yet needed special dying grace.

232 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

wliicli, like grace for all special purposes, is only
conferred when the exigency is near at hand. An
illustration of this important fact has often occur-
red as follows: The writer has had frequent
occasion to travel by railroad to the city of New
York. The ticket entitling him to a passage over
the road to the city, purchased at the commence-
ment of the journey, secures to him all that it
promises; but as he approaches the end of his
journey the conductor in charge of the train
passes through the cars and distributes to each
one entitled to receive it another ticket, which
passes him over the Hudson River, on the steam
ferry-boat. This ferry-ticket was not given with
the passage-ticket, although included in the con-
tract, but was distributed when it was about to
be needed. ]^either was it given to any but to
those who were entitled to it, or could show their
passage-ticket. So God dispenses to his children
dying grace only when it is needed. Were he to
confer it with converting and living grace many
would lose it, like unto some who would lose
their ferry-tickets, and be left in a dilemma at a
critical time. And as it would be highly unrea-
sonable for those having traveling tickets to
trouble themselves as to how they would get
across the river at the end of their journey be-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 233

cause they were not then in possession of the
ferry-ticket, so it is unreasonable for believers,
who have all -needed living grace, to perplex
themselves as to how they will get across the
river of death. God will see to it that the needed
grace shall be given when it is needed. In the
interval it is safer in his care than in ours.

In further illustration of this fact the following
cases are introduced. The first is that of our
Lord himself. The mental sufierings of the Sav-
ior were greater in Gethsemane than at any sub-
sequent time ; for, in addition to the bitter cup
of anguish and distress which every individual
would have to experience because of sin, all of
which at one time was pressed to his lips, he had
before him the physical agonies of crucifixion
which he was to undergo. No wonder, then^
that under this accumulated agony his sensitive
nature found utterance in the exclamations, " My
soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death ! '*
" 0 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pas&
from me ! " But after the appearance of an angel,
strengthening him (Luke xxii. 43.), a decided
change was apparent, and throughout the whole
of the bitter process lamb-like submission char-
acterized him. As it was with the Master, so it
is vdth his disciples.

234 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

It is related of an eminent Christian tliat while
under sentence of death for his faith he was vis-
ited by some of his friends, one of whom inquired
of him if he was ready to be burned? "]^o/'
*' I would not like to be burned now ; but then I
am to be bui^ned to-morrow, and don't need
burning grace 'till then; and I know it will be
given when needed."

Another martyr, of a timid, sensitive nature,
while being led to the stake was somewhat alarm-
ed, and exclaimed, " Oh, I can't burn ; I can't
burn ! " Some priests near him, hearing these
words and supposing that he was willing to re-
cant to save his life, spoke to him and offered him
life. Indignantly refusing this offer, and coming
in sight of the place of execution, and receiving
abundant evidence of the presence of God, he
exclaimed, " Kow I can burn ! ]!!Tow I can burn I "

A young lady, the daughter of pious parents,
one of whom — her mother — had already preceded
her to heaven, was afflicted with consumption.
Although long a consistent Christian, she shrunk
from the idea of dying. Her devoted father did
all he, could by his counsels and prayers to pre-
pare her for the trying event which it was evi-
dent was near at hand. Entering her room one
morning, her father saw that a change had come

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 235

upon Ms daughter. Her countenance gave evi-
dence of a calm, resigned, and joyful frame of
mind. Perceiving her father she said, " 0 father,
I had such a sweet dream last night. I dreamed
that I came to a river over which I had to pass.
It was wide and deep, and the wind was blow-
ing, making the waves roll very fearfully. As I
stood on the brink, fearing to enter, I saw a per-
son coming down a hill on the other side; and
standing on the bank and stretching out her
hands she said, ' Sister, come.' I looked, and saw
it was my sister. The river did not seem so wide,
nor dark, nor stormy. Presently I saw another
person come down ; and standing beside sister,
she stretched forth her hands and said, * Come ! '
I saw that it was mother. It got much lighter;
and the river seemed so narrow that I thought I
could easily go over. Then a shining person
came and stood between mother and sister ; and
reaching out his hands he said, ' Daughter, come !'
Oh, it was Jesus ! I forgot the river, for he
stretched forth his hands and lifted me over. O
father, I am not afraid to die now."

The two following cases came under the writ-
er's own observation. I was present once when
the physician informed the family that one of its
members, a person well advanced in life, and

236 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

long an humble Christian, was in a critical con-
dition. The afflicted one saw by the anxious
countenances of the friends that her case was
critical, and became much alarmed. " Oh," said
she, " must I die and go into vast eternity — so un-
expectedly ! " One who stood by thus addressed
her : " The doctor says there is no immediate
danger. Do not become alarmed and confused.
Look the matter squarely in the face, and all will
be. well. Don't stop to reason with the enemy as
to whether or not you have been converted and
are a Christian, and have been faithful or unfaith-
ful, but go right to Jesus as you are, leaving all
perplexing questions to him. Throw yourself
upon his mercy, upon his promises, and trust him
to save you, — not for what you have been, or
have tried to do, nor for what you are now, but
for his own sake — for what he has done and prom-
ised." The advice was followed, and in a few
hours all fear was gone and great peace filled her
heart; and she exclaimed repeatedly, "jN"ow I
feel that I ana not afraid to die."

An aged man, a professed Christian for many
years, upright and honest, but not very clear or
demonstrative in his religious experience, was
brought to the gate of death by a lingering dis-
ease. Said he to the writer, while great peace

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 237

was depicted upon his countenance, "All the days
of my life I was afraid of death, and always put
it as far from me as I could. 'Now, when* I am
up with it, and am brought to look it in the face,
I find for the first time that I have no fear what-
ever. God has done so much for me and has
taken all fear away so completely that I desire,
yea long to depart to be with Christ."

Instances like the foregoing might be given
without number; but let these suffice. In our
concluding chapter — Crossing the Jordan of
Death — testimony to the power of divine grace
in death will be given, by which it will be seen
that in the fact, as well as in the prospect, death
is shorn of its terror to the believer, and that all-
sufficient grace is always given for that trying
emergency. I conclude this chapter with the
following beautiful lines, expressive of the fact
of all-sufficient grace given at the near approach
of death, even to the disrobing it of its terrors,
and that to those who feared and trembled when
viewing the monster at a distance :

" These Border-Lands are calm and still,
And solemn are their silent shades ;
And my heart welcomes them, until
The light of life's long evening fades.

" I heard them spoken of with dread, —
As fearful and unquiet places ;
Shades, where the living and the dead
Look sadly in each other's faces.

2S8 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

" But since Thy hand hath led me here.
And I have seen the Border-Land;
Seen the dark river flowing near,
Stood on its brink as now I stand,

" There has been nothing to alarm

My trembling soul ; how could I fea?
While thus encircled in thine arm ?
\ I never felt Thee half so near."

CHAPTER XIIL

SALVATION COMPLETED,

" Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath be-
gun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ." (Phil. 1.6.)

An elucidation of tlie scripture placed at the
head of this chapter seems to be necessary to
complete the general subject of this book. I re-
mark, then, —

I. Eeligion in the soul is a work.

By a work, I mean that true religion is a living,
acting, working, and assimilating principle im-
planted in the soul, and kept alive therein by the
Holy Spirit, and not a faultless observance of
the ordinances, ceremonies, and duties of religion.
The latter may exist without a single element
of saving grace in the heart. The former, though
small in its beginnings, will, if the conditions of
spiritual prosperity are observed, enlarge and
increase until its final consummation in heaven.

II. Religion in its operation in the heart is a
good work. The quality of a given thing is esti-

240 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

mated bj wliat it cost, or for what it will do for
its possessor. Religion tested by this standard is
of inestimable value. It cost the highest price in
all the universe of God, even the life of his only-
begotten Son; and it secures for its possessor
deliverance from the guilt, condemnation, and
power of sin here, and eternal life and glory in
the life to come. It is good, too, for what it
does for individuals, for families, for communities,
and for nations ; good in its origin, good in its
objects and designs, good in its present results,
and good in what it proposes to do in the life to
come. It is good in its beginnings, good in its
constant progression, and doubly good in its final
results. It is good for the young and it is good for
the old ; it is good in health and it is good in
sickness ; it is good in prosperity and it is good
in adversity ; it is good in life and it is good in
death. It is good, supremely good, for what it
saves us from, as well as what it saves us too.
Oh, it is indeed a good work. Lord, evermore
give us more and still more of it.

III. True religion has its origin in God.

Our salvation in its commencement, as well aa
in its completion, is entirely of God. He first
entertained purposes of mercy concerning us;
and the expression of those purposes was the

CLUSTERS FROM ESHGOL. 241

gift of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And
by the complete and perfect satisfaction which
Christ made to the law upon Calvary, every ob-
stacle in the way of the salvation of the soul of
every individual of our race, so far as God is con-
cerned, has been entirely taken away; and it may
now be said to us as it was declared to the church
at Philadelphia, ^' Behold, I have set before thee
an open door, and no man can shut it."

The only difficulty now is with man himself.
He rejects and neglects the all-sufficient remedy
which .Heaven has provided, and which is so free-
ly proffered and urgently pressed upon his accept-
ance. Hence says the Son of God, " Ye will not
come unto me, that ye might have life."

In proof of the fact that all the difficulties in
the way of man's salvation are with himself alone,
and that God is already reconciled in Christ and
only waits the sinner's acceptance of the proffered
mercy to pass upon him the evidences of perfect
reconciliation and pardon, let the following script-
ures be considered : " And all things are of God,
who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of reconcilia-
tion ; to-wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling
the world unto himself, not imputing their tres-
passes unto them; and hath committed unto U3

16

242 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

the word of reconciliation. Now then we are
embassadors for Christ, as though God did be-
seech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead,
be ye reconciled to God." (11. Cor. v. 18-20.)

The difficulty in the way of the salvation of
each and every individual may now be said to be
lodged in his will. It is the controlling faculty of
the mind; and as it determines, so will be the
moral state of the individual. God will not co-
erce the will; for to do so would destroy the moral
agency and reduce us to mere machines. He will
only enlighten the understanding, convict the
conscience, and influence the judgment. But the
will is left free to choose or refuse ; and so long
as it retains its perverseness, God himself may be
successfully resisted. If the will chooses God and
his service, our salvation is assured ; if it refuses,
our damnation is inevitable. This explanation
gives the true import of the words of the apostle
in II. Corinthians viii. 12 — '^ If there be first a
willing mind, it is accepted according to that a
man hath, and not according to that he hath not."

lY. Salvation, while originating with God, is
first developed within the heart of the individual.

Man's method is to commence the work of
reformation on the outside and work inwardly;
God's method is to commence inside and work

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 243

outwardly. This fact is exemplified in the case
of the Pharisees, to whom our Lord said, '* Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the
platter, but within they are full of extortion
and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first
that which is within the cup and platter, that the
outside of them may be clean also." (Matt, xxiii.
25, 26.) Again he said on another occasion,
" That which cometh out of the man, that defileth
the man. For from within, out of the heart of
men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornica-
tions, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness,
deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy,
pride, foolishness : all these evil things come from
within, and defile the man." (Mark vii. 20-23.)
The seat of the moral disease, it will be seen,
is within the heart; and the remedy, to be effectual,
must always be applied where the disease is seat-
ed. Phariseeism always has, and yet does, work
on the outside. It offers to cleanse the heart by
ordinances, sacraments, the wearing of peculiar
garbs, etc. God's plan is to work from within,
where the disease is seated. He makes the fount-
ain clean and the stream will be clean of neces-
sity. He cleanses the heart, and the life will be
right as a consequence. With propriety, then,

244 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

he said, '' The kingdom of God is within you."
It is the leaven which a woman hid in the meal,
and which leavened the whole lump. The grace
of God in the heart will always make the life
right. Outward reformation only leaves the heart
as foul as a cao:e of unclean hirds.

But I remark again, and lastly, -

Y. God, who commenced this work of grace
in our hearts, ivill carry it on to full completion, at
the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The word ''^e//o?^m," as it is used in the text
we are considering, means to perfect, to complete, to
finish. The truth it teaches is that God, who has
commenced this work within us, will also com-
plete, perfect, and finish it. This completion will
take place in " the day of Jesus Christ;'^ that is,
when Christ shall come again in the clouds of
heaven at the last day, termed pre-eminently the
day of Jesus Christ, for then he shall appear in
his own proper glory, and not as the man of sor-
rows as formerly. When Christ shall thus ap-
pear in his glory, his saints, living and dead, shall
be changed into the same glory and be made like
unto him. This glorification of the saints is what
the Savior meant in his intercessory prayer when
he said, " And the glory wliich thou gavest me /
have given them; that they may be one, even as we

CLUSTERS FllOM ESHCOL. 245

are one." (John xvii. 22.) When this consumma-
tion shall have been reached, then, and then only,
may it be said that grace has. completed its work
for us. But shall it then have done for us all it
can do ? We know not. The Bible reveals noth-
ing further than the resurrection, glorification,
and exaltation of the saints. Anything beyond
this is left for future revelation, as the intermina-
ble future of the redeemed and saved may de-
mand.

Jesus Christ, then, is the model after which the
saints are to be fashioned; for God has predes-
tinated us "to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be the first-born among many
brethren." (Kom. viii. 29.) We may become
like him, as he now is, only after the similitude
of his earthly life, of which sufiering composed a
large part. We shall be made like him, as he
now is, hereafter, at the last day. And as Christ
was perfected through suffering (Heb. ii. 10.), and
as suffering is the common lot of the family of
God, and through suffering the redeemed shall
reach their final destination in heaven (Rev. vii.
14.), and as Christ has promised that those who
share in his sufferings here shall partake of his
glory hereafter, we should rather rejoice in our
tribulations as the true evidences of our divine

246 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

relationship, as evidences that we are in the true
way to life everlasting hereafter, and as the cer-
tain pledges of the glory which awaits us. "We
need not, then, count upon bright days here, nor
expect to pass through life without storms and
tempests. Peace within we may expect — this is
promised us; but peace without is not our lot.
It was not the Master's lot. It has never been
the lot of his followers. It can not be ours. Trib-
ulations and trials are the common heritage of
the family of God. It is the family badge and
the mark by which they are to be known, for by
it they are most like their Elder Brother.

God, then, is mercifully preparing his children
here for their proper place in the kingdom, to be
revealed at the last day. And as the material for
the first temple was all shaped, squared, smooth-
ed, and polished on the ground where it was cut,
or quarried, so that when it was brought together
each piece fitted the place it was designed for so
completely that the sound of hammer or saw was
not heard in further preparation in the erection
of the sacred edifice, so God is shaping, squaring,
smoothing, and polishing his material here for
the temple hereafter, of which they shall form a
part; and when all the scattered household of
God shall be gathered together in the skies, per-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 247

feet unity and harmony will prevail, and each,
one will he found to he just fitted for the place
intended. To accomplish this work of prepara-
tion, the saw, the hammer, and the file are needed;
and by them we are being made more and more
like unto the perfect pattern after which we are
to be conformed. Are we undergoing extraor-
dinary trials and afflictions ? Extraordinary care
bestowed upon any of the material of which the
temple was composed implied extraordinary hard-
ness and unfitness, or that it was designed for
more than an ordinary position in the sacred
edifice. The analogy points to exaltation in
heaven in proportion to our suffering here. Had
not Paul this fact in his mind when he declared
that " our light affliction, which is but for a mo-
ment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory." (II. Cor. iv. 17.) And
also in that other of his sayings, " I reckon that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be re-
vealed in us." (Rom. viii. 18.)

Upon this last passage Hannah More has re-
marked : " ' I reckon,' says Paul, like a man
skilled in spiritual arithmetic. ^ I reckon,' after
a due estimate of their comparative value, ' that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy

.248 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us.' " " 'No man," she continues^
Of the suflerings of the present world he had
shared more largely than any other man. Of the
glory that shall be revealed, he had a glimpse
granted to no other man. He had heard the words
of God and seen the vision of .the Almighty ; and
the result of this privileged experience was, he
* desired to depart and be with Christ;' he desir-
ed to escape from this valley of tears ; he was
impatient to recover the celestial vision, eager to
perpetuate the momentary foretastes of the glo-
ries of immortality."

If there is any one fact more than another that
I would want to be assured of beyond the possi-
bility of a doubt, it is whether the work of grace
commenced in my heart shall be carried on to its-
completion ? Or shall I, by reason of my weak-
ness or unfaithfulness, prevent this consumma-
tion ? The apostle, as if anticipating this very
anxiety, and intending to meet it, uses language
which precisely meets the case, — " Being confi-
dent of this very thing, that he which hath begun a
good work in you will perform it until the day of
Jesus Christ." He doubtless bases his confidence
upon God's own declared purposes, as well a&
upon his invariable method of always completing

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 24^

every work which he commences. This work,
then, will have its completion when our Lord
comes again in the clouds of heaven at the last
day, called by pre-eminence " the day of Jesus
Christ.^' St. Peter referred to this day when he
declared that " the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and
the works that are therein shall be burned up."
(II. Peter iii. 10.)

The Apostle John referring to that day declar-
ed, " Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and
it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we
know that, when he shall appear, we shall he like
Mmr (I. John iii. 2.) Said St. Paul, " Our con-
versation is in heaven ; from whence also we look
for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ : who shall
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned
like unto his glorious body, according to the
working whereby he is able even to subdue all
things unto himself." (Phil. iii. 20, 21.)

The same apostle again says: "For ye are
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then
shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Col.
iii. 3, 4.)

250 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

St. Paul speaks still further of the coming of
Christ and the glory to be revealed at that time,
as follows : " If we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus
will God bring with him. For this we say unto
you by the word of the Lord, that we which are
alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord
shall not prevent them which are asleep. For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with
the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall
rise first : then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall
we ever be with the Lord." (I. Thess. iv. 14-17.)

In his Epistle to Titus, St. Paul, speaking of
the coming of our Lord and the glorification of
the saints as the great motive to patience, faith
fulness, and diligence, uses this language : ''Teach-
ing us that, denying ungodliness and w^orldly
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present world ; looking for that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the
great God and our Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus
ii. 12, 13.)

In the apocalyptic vision the second coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ and the glorification of the

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 251

saints and their gathering together at the mar-
riage-feast in the skies is placed in Revelations
xix. 1-9. The rejoicings of the redeemed hosts at
that event will be found in Revelations vii. 9-17.

Dear afliicted followers of our Lord Jesus Christ,
let us be patient in all our afflictions. Our God
will not inflict one stroke more than is necessary
to accomplish his purposes concerning us. And
when those purposes shall have been accomplish-
ed, and we shall have been made fit for our place
in the heavenly temple, the shaping, the cutting,
the polishing, shall cease, and we shall be gather-
ed to our proper place. Then our trials will have
ended forever. Then God himself, as if unwilling
to commit this pleasant duty to other hands, will
wipe away all tears from our eyes. Then we
shall abide forever where there shall be " no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain, for the former things are
passed away."

"Until the day break, and the shadows flee
away," let us go up into the " mountain of myrrh,
and to the hill of frankincense," and with the
gifted Bickersteth, in his " Yesterday, To-day, and
Forever ^'^ catch a view of the coming glory.

'* In a glimpse,
In the individual twinkling of an eye,
The ground on which we stood, trembled and clave;

252 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

And I, a sense of rapture like new life
Through every limb discoursing, found myself
Appareird in celestial robes, what once
"Was mortal clothed in immortality,
What was corrupt in incorruption lost.
********
" The Bridegroom met the Bride alone. Himself
In glorified humanity supreme,
Incarnate Light ; and she like him in glory,
No spot or wrinkle on her holy brow,
No film upon her robes of dazzling white,
Most beautiful, most glorious ; every saint
Perfect in individual perfeetness ;
And each to each so fitly interlink'd,
Join'd and compact, these countless millions seem'd
One body by One Spirit inspired and moved.
The various members knit in faultless grace,
The feeblest as the sti-ongest necessary.
Nor schism, nor discord, nor excess, nor lack;
The Ideal of all beauty realized.
The Impersonation of delight and love."

CHAPTER XIY.

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE DELECTABLE MOUNTAINS.

" Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get
me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankin-
cense." (Solomon's Song iv. 6,)

It was upon a mountain that the Savior stood
when Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the
world and the glories of them, and offered to
give them unto him if he would fall down and
worship him. It was upon a mountain that ,^f

Moses stood when- he viewed the promised land,
into which he was not permitted to enter because
of his disobedience at Meribah. It was from "a
mountain great and high" that the revelator
stood when the apocalyptic vision of the ]^ew
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven, was shown
him. It was doubtless upon an eminence that
Abram stood when the Lord said unto him, "Lift
up now thine eyes, and look from the place where
thou art northward, and southward, and east-
ward, and westward : for all the land which thou
seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for-

254 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

ever." It was from the top of Lebanon and
Amana and Shenir and Hermon, and from the
mountains of the leopards, and the lions' dens,
that the heavenly Bridegroom called his spouse
to follow him to the mountain of myrrh, and to
the hill of frankincense, there to abide until the
day break and the shadows flee away. And it
was from the Delectable Mountains — the same,
doubtless, as the mountain of myrrh of Solo-
mon's Song, — that the pilgrims to Mount Zion
had such an extended and delightful view of the
Celestial City. The author of PilgrMs Progress
properly locates the Delectable Mountains at a
late stage in the believer's pilgrimage, and near
the end of his journey. Symbolizing, as it does,
an advanced state of Christian experience, this
mountain affords a favorable position for exten-
sive observation, both retrospective and pros-
pective. Taking a position upon one of its
highest peaks, all of which have been appro-
priately named by the shepherds who reside
there, and who are always ready to entertain
and instruct pilgrims, as Knowledge, Experience,
"Watchful, and Sincere, we invite the reader to
share in our observations.

The Delectable Mountains, with their gardens,
vineyards, meadows, orchards, pleasant fruits.

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 255

dainty flowers, and fountains of clear and spark-
ling waters, were all provided by the king of the
Celestial City for the accommodation of pilgrims.
Here they may find rest, soul-refreshment, and
precious companionship. Here the Heavenly Je-
rusalem is in full sight. Here the kind shep-
herds are ever delighted to entertain pilgrims,
and show them things which will be to their
profit and edification. Oh, it is truly, as its name
indicates, a delightful place indeed. Here we
love to linger, and feel loath to leave, were it not
that our King has provided something still better
for us.

But before we proceed on our farther journey
let us go up into the mountain's highest peak
and take some observations. We turn first to
retrospect the way by which we have come. We
recall to our remembrance the difficulties we
encountered, the discouragements we met, the
enemies we contended"*with, and the victories we
were enabled to achieve. These solemn retro-
spects are common to pilgrims; and they are
fraught with comfort or reproach, according as
life has been faithful or otherwise.

« J rj^ig good to cast a look awhile
Upon the troubles of the past;
When heaven and earth, Avithout a smile,
With clouds and storms were overcast."

256 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

A traveler in South America relates that he
ascended a mountain through what he suppcsed
was an undergrowth of weeds. But in the morn-
ing, looking back from the mountain's summit,
he saw that what he supposed were weeds was
the sensitive plant, and that the crooked, zig-zag
way by which he had come was plainly marked,
even down to the foot of the mountain. So from
the position we occupy, our past wanderings,
from the commencement of our pilgrimage to
the present, are all plainly marked, and we will
have no difficulty, but much cause for humilia-
tion, and also for great rejoicing, in tracing out
our past course.

Far away in the distance is the City of De-
struction. What cause for gratitude to God that,
from our earliest recollection, we were dissatisfied
with that place and desired to become a pilgrim.
These early impressions, under God, are the re-
sult of the godly example and faithful instruc-
tions of pious parents. They were pilgrims, and
have crossed the river and now rest in heaven.
After our pilgrim life is ended we expect to join
them in the pilgrim's home.

At a very early period of life we entered upon
our pilgrimage. Well do we remember the dis-
couraging struggle we had in the Slough of De-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 257

spond. Some of its filth adhered to us for a long
time afterward ; and even yet it is sometimes seen
upon our garment. At the wicket-gate we long
waited for entrance. It was at length opened,
and we entered in and became a pilgrim indeed.
There, too, stands the cross, at the sight of which
the burden fell from our back. The House of
the Interpreter stands in the same region, where
we found pleasant lodging, and where we received
wholesome instruction. Its chief inmate, the
Holy Spirit, kindly volunteered to accompany us
upon our pilgrimage. We have found him a
pleasant and useful companion. He is perfectly
familiar with all the way, and even guides our
feet, as well as protects and comforts us. The
Hill of Difficulty lies away in the distance. We
succeeded in climbing it; and mercifully, by tak-
ing heed to the instructions of our guide, escaped
the danger of losing our roll by resting in the
arbor, placed there by Satan. There, too, in that
same neighborhood, we found entertainment in
the house called Beautiful. Its associations, its
privileges, as well as its opportunities for Chris-
tian labor, have all proved to be very agreeable;
and we have never felt like going elsewhere for
either companionship, pleasure, or a field of use-
fulness.

17

258 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

" I love thy kingdom, Lord, —
The house of thine abode, —
The church our blest Redeemer saved
With his own precious blood."

" For her my tears shall fall ;
For her my prayers ascend ;
To her my cares and toils be giv'n
Till toils and cares shall end."

There, in the same locality, just this side of
the Hill of Difficulty, we, too, met Mr. "Worldly
"Wiseman, who directed us to Mr. Legality for
deliverance ; and had not Evangelist come to our
assistance, and directed us to the right way, the
thunderings and lightnings of Sinai would have
overwhelmed us. Mr. Worldly Wiseman still
lives and misleads many pilgrims. We caution
others to be on the lookout for him. He will
offer you the church and her ordinances instead
of Christ. Beware of him. He has ruined many
pilgrims. St. Paul doubtless fell into his hands ;
and the seventh chapter of Romans details his
struggles for liberty. The eighth chapter assures
us that Evangelist directed him aright, and that
he took his counsel.

Soon after meeting Evangelist and heeding his
counsel, we were joined by a fellow-traveler, one
Faithful. He long journeyed with us, was an
excellent companion and instructor, but long
since has crossed over the river to the Celestial

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 259

City. God has given ns many others since. They
have proved pleasant traveling companions ; but
our heart yet delights to cleave to Brother Faith-
ful. "We shall meet him on the other side. We,
in company with Brother Faithful, passed through
Vanity Fair. By taking heed to the instruction
of the Interpreter, we passed through this place,
so fatal to many pilgrims, without harm. "We,
too, came in sight of the lions, and found, as have
all other pilgrims, that they were chained by the
side of the road, and could not reach us unless
we deviated from the path. !N"o lion nor ravenous
beast can ever go upon the King's Highway.
There, too, we met the great Apollyon in fearful
conflict; but Immanuel came to our rescue. Then,
in Doubting Castle, Giant Despair long held us a
prisoner. Oh, we shudder at the remembrance
of the bitterness of our experience while in his
dreary prison. Despair, indeed, settled down
upon us, and, like Christian and Hopeful under
similar circumstances, life became a burden and
death desirable. But our Immanuel again inter-
posed and delivered us. Blessed be his name.
Our experience during this dreary part of our
pilgrimage is fitly expressed in the following lines:

** It was a dark, untravel'd road,

In which my steps were called to go ;
The path of many a weary load,
And where it led I did not know.

260 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

" A weary road with rivers high ;

Wild beasts were standing on the rocks ;
And clouds came drifting through the sky,
Fill'd deep with fires and thunder shocks.

*' But through the clouds, and through the flame,
And foaming floods, as on I went,
A voice of hope and cheering came, —
* Fear not to go where God has senV "

But now we are upon the Delectable Mountains.
Strange that they are so near Doubting Castle,
and that so many pilgrims are caught therein.
Here, however, all is beautiful and delightful.
Here in the gardens and vineyards we find many
pilgrims, all of whom have much to say of the
many deliverances wrought for them by Imman-
uel. Here, too, the shepherds tell us that the
heavenly Jerusalem can be seen on a bright day
through their perspective-glass. "We will ask the
shepherds to permit us to look through it, and
tell our readers what we may see.

Oh, how delightful is this place ! How inspir-
ing and invigorating is the pure atmosphere!
How sweet and nourishing the clusters from these
vineyards, and the fruit from these orchards!
How pure and reviving is the water from, these
fountains, — foretastes, doubtless, of the Fountain
of Life in heaven. And, then, how grand, how
inspiring, the view from these lofty peaks ! TVe

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 261

feel like restiDg here awhile ; but a voice says to
us, "Arise ye, get ye hence; for this is not thy
rest!"

" I see a hand you can not see,
Which beckons me away;
I hear a voice you can not hear,

Forbidding me to sta3\"

But before we proceed farther let us erect a
monument of thanksgiving to God for bringing
us safely thus far upon our heavenly pilgrimage,
and upon it write, —

" Here I'll raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by thy help I've come ;
And I hope by thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.'

"We now turn in the direction of the heavenly
Jerusalem, and see just ahead of us, and adjoin-
ing the Delectable Mountains, indeed but a con-
tinuance of them, the land of Beulah. (See Isaiah
Ixii. 4, 12.) Here it is that the sun shines day
and night. Here the air is pure, sweet, and
fragrant with the odor of camphire, spikenard,
saffron, calamus, cinnamon, frankincense, myrrh,
and aloes of the king's gardens. Here are the
king's orchards and vineyards, the fruit of which
the pilgrims are ever permitted to eat. Here is
no lack of corn and wine, for all is in abundance.
Here the singing of birds is ever heard, and here

262 CLUSTEES FROM ESHCOL.

the bells of the Celestial City are ever heard to
ring. Here the noise of the heavenly trumpeters,
with the eft'ects of the fruit they eat, prevent the
pilgrims from sleeping, and yet they receive as
much refreshment as if they slept ever so soundly.
Here they are in sight of the Celestial City, the
inhabitants of which occasionally come over and
walk with the pilgrims. Here the pilgrims walk
to and fro, their eyes filled with celestial visions,
and hearing nothing, seeing nothing, feeling noth-
ing, smelling nothing, nor tasting nothing that is
offensive. Here the weary pilgrims betake them-
selves to rest, and have more rejoicing than in
any part of their past pilgrimage. Here the
Slough of Despond, the Yalley of the Shadow of
Death, and Doubting Castle can not so much as
be seen. Here, on the borders of heaven, the
pilgrims have a better view of the Celestial City
than at any other time. Here the contract be-
tween the bride and the Bridegroom is renewed ;
and here voices from out of the city are heard,
saying, " Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold,
thy salvation cometh ! behold, his reward is with
him." Here all the inhabitants of the country
call them, " The holy people, the redeemed of the
Lord." Surely, this is the place of which we
sing,—

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** I've reached the land of corn and wine,
And all its riches freely mine ;
Here shines undimm'd one blissful day,
For all my night has pass'd away.

Chorus :
" O Beulah land, sweet Beulah land,
As on the highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea, *

' Where mansions are prepared for me,

And view the shining, glory shore.
My heav'n, my home for evermore.

" The Savior comes and walks with me,
And sweet communion here have we ;
He gently leads me with his hand.
For this is heaven's border-land.

** A sweet perfume upon the breeze.
Is borne from ever- vernal trees,
And flow'rs that never fading grow,
Where streams of life forever flow.

" The zephyrs seem to float to me.
Sweet sounds of heaven's melody.
As angels with the white-robed throng,
Join in the sweet redemption's song."

"But what is Beulah land, where is it, and
what does it symbolize in Christian experience ? "

Beulah means married. The Christian experi-
ence which it indicates is that deep, abiding, and
all-satisfying intercourse between Husband and
wife — the Lord Jesus Christ and his bride.

" But," it may be inquired, " are not all believ-
ers married unto Christ; and have not all this
experience ? "

264 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

All truly converted persons are married unto
Christ ; but many do not fully realize their divine
relationship, and as a consequence do not abid-
ingly possess the precious experience of full sal-
vation. Failing to obtain, by reason of their
worldliness and want of consecration, a satisfying
portion in Christ, they seek in the world, and in
worldly vanities, pursuits, and associations, for
what they feel to be necessary to complete and
perfect happiness. Hence their dissatisfaction,
inconsistencies, and legal entanglements. But
where Christ is fully and constantly accepted,
and the world, his foe and rival, is entirely for-
saken, the experience of complete and perfect
satisfaction will be attained and retained. This
is entire consecration. This is entire sanctifica-
tion. This is Beulah-land experience.

This experience is found throughout the entire
Scriptures. Some books, and chapters of others,
are entirely devoted to it. That precious portion
of God's holy "Word, the Song of Solomon, is the
Beulah land of the Scriptures. Indeed, it can
be understood only by those in the enjoyment of
the experience it details.

But let us hear some of the expressions which
fall from the lips of the happy inhabitants of this
delightful r»lace. Says one: " The winter is past,

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the rain is over and gone ; the flowers appear on
the earth; the time of the singing of birds is
come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our
land." Says another : " As the apple-tree among
the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among
the sons. I sat down under his shadow with
great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my
taste." '' My beloved is unto me as a cluster of
camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi."

" The voice of my beloved ! behold, he cometh
leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the
hills."

" My beloved is mine, and I am his : he feedeth
among the lilies."

" I sleep, but my heart waketh : it is the voice
of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to
me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled :
for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with
the drops of the night. "

"I charge you, 0 daughters of Jerusalem, if
ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am
sick of love."

" His mouth is most sweet : yea, he is altogether
lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend,
0 daughters of Jerusalem."

Says another happy pilgrim : '' The Lord is my
shepherd ; I shall not want."

266 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

Says one : " This is the bleating of Messiah's
sheep — I shall not want ! I shall not want ! ! "

" He maketh me to lie down in green pastures :
he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restor-
eth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of right-'
eousness for his name's sake. Yea, 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. Thou preparest
a table before me in the presence of mine ene-
mies : thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup
runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life: and I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalms
xxiii.)

This is the language of entire consecration.
This is the experience of entire sanctification.
This is the Beulah land of the Christian's pil-
grimage. Contrast these utterances, and the evan-
gelical spirit which they breathe, with the utter-
ances of the seventh chapter of Eomans, and the
legalism which it expresses, and the difference
will at once appear.

The distinguished author of the ^'Pilgrim's
Progress " locates the Land of Beulah at a late
period of the believer's pilgrimage and near the
end of his life. We claim that while this experi-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 267

ence is usually attained at this period, it may be
obtained and retained at any time after entering
into the wicket-gate. There is a by-way to hell,
as the immortal dreamer has shown us in his
allegory; and there is a nearer way to the Land
of Beulah than by the Yalley of the Shadow of
Death and Doubting Castle. This nearer way is
Entire Consecration and Faith.

"A highway shall be there, and a way," says
Isaiah (xxxv. 8.). The way is one; but it is a
highway to those only who consecrate themselves
fully, and believe for it ; and a way only to those
who do not comply with these conditions.

In the prophecy of Ezekiel (xlvii.) the stream
of salvation is represented as but ankle-deep;
then up to the loins ; then a great and mighty
river, which no man can cross over. The stream
is one; but it will be deep or shallow, according
to the faith exercised. To full consecration and
strong faith, it is a mighty river, — even " waters
to swim in;" to the weak and partially conse-
crated, it is but ankle-deep.

Then there are some who locate the Land of
Beulah at the commencement of the Christian's
pilgrimage, claiming that the soul is entirely sanc-
tified when it is regenerated. These make no
distinction between being sanctified in part, and

268 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

in whole, or wholly, as tlie apostle states it in L
Thessalonians v. 23. This view finds no eucour-
.agement in either God's word or the universal
faith of the church of the past. It is of recent
origin; is an innovation upon the faith of the
church, and is contrary to the analogy of the
Christian's life as taught in the Pilgrim's Prog-
ress.

"We turn now to resume our observations, and
see in the distance a river through which we
must pass. We will not, however, consider here
the passage of this river, reserving this for our
next and concluding chapter. Beyond this river,
upon the everlasting hills of Zion, the Holy City,
the New Jerusalem is faintly visible. That city
is the dwelling-place of God. To it the Savior
ascended from the mount of Olives. Into it
Enoch and Elijah also ascended, without passing
down through the dark river of death. To it
patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and all
other pilgrims who have preceded us, have gone.
There they now abide; and there our pilgrimage
will end, for this is the pilgrim's home.

But little, comparatively, is known of heaven.
The Bible, while revealing with unmistakable
distinctness the way to reach heaven, discloses
but little of its interior excellences. Said a trav-

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eler as he approached the city of Baltimorej by
the Chesapeake Bay, " That light in the distance
can not he a light-house, for it does not show us
Baltimore. It does not reveal its streets and
buildings, and its inhabitants and their mode of
living." The light-house is not intended to re-
veal Baltimore, but to lead us safely to it. So
God's word; it does not propose to disclose all
the glories of heaven, but rather to guide us to
it. Like the light-house, the Bible points out the
true way, as well as reveals the shoals and rocks
and quicksands which threaten our safety.

A missionary who labored in some far-western
field said once in our hearing, that one Sabbath
he left his home to preach in a distant village.
His way lay through a large prairie, which was
grown up with tall grass. While crossing this
prairie a snow-storm came down upon him and
he lost his way. !N'ight set in and he was yet lost
in this trackless field. Remembering that he had
a compass in his pocket, he struck a light and
took his bearings by that compass, and regulated
his course accordingl3^ In a short time he reach-
ed his destination. God's word is the sure com-
pass ! Consult it, obey its teaching, and it will
lead you to heaven.

It is said that ^' on the shores of the Adriatic

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the wives of fisliermen, whose husbands have
gone far oat upon the deep, are in the habit at
eventide of going down to the sea-shore and
singing, as female voices only can, the first stanza
of a beautiful hymn. After they have sung it
they listen till they hear, borne by the winds
across the desert sea, the second stanza, sung by
their faithful husbands as they are tossed by the
gale upon the waves. Perhaps, if we could listen,
we too might hear in this desert world of ours,
some sound, some whisper, borne from afar, to
remind us that there is a heaven, a home, and
that our departed friends have not forgotten us."

A traveler crossing the Atlantic Ocean says
that on approaching the shores of Europe, one
bright and beautiful morning he observed a pe-
culiar fragrance in the atmosphere. Inquiring of
the captain of the vessel as to what caused it, he
was informed that it was the odor from the or-
chards and vineyards along the coasts which they
were approaching. So the land-breezes from
Canaan are wafted to us, and increase our desire
to reach that happy place. We welcome these
precious breezes as harbingers of the fruitfulness,
the grandeur, and the glory of that better land.

Probably the reason why the Scriptures reveal
no more of the glories of heaven, and the bright

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visions thereof, which have been granted to a
few, and these only in their dying hours, are not
permitted to be made known, is, that if the full
glories of the heavenly state were revealed here,
travelers thitherward would become dissatisfied
with their wilderness life and become unduly anx-
ious to depart. Bunyan, in his Pilgrim's Prog-
ress, tells us that Christian and Hopeful caught
a glimpse of the heavenly Jerusalem when near-
ing the River of Death ; and both fell into a spell
of home-sickness, desiring to depart at once and
be with Christ, and were for a time unable to
proceed on their pilgrimage. God, then, properly
withholds these transporting scenes until so near
the end of the journey that they do not perma-
nently injure pilgrims, reserving the full vision
of eternal glory for immortal eyes.

And yet visions of heaven, in some few cases
so glorious, so transporting, and so encouraging,
have been given, and we narrate them here.

St. Paul was caught up into the " third heav-
en," " into paradise," " into heaven," and heard
and saw things which he declared he was not
permitted to reveal. (II. Cor. xii. 4.) Rev. Wil-
liam Tennent, a godly minister of the gospel,
above a century ago, was favored in a like man-
ner with St. Paul, and like him, he was not per-

272 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

mitted to tell what lie liad seen or lieard. Pay-
son, that eminently holy man, was highly favored
in his, last hours with visions of heaven and of
its angelic inhabitants. Even the sweet music of
the redeemed was wafted to his eager and en-
raptured ears.

Senator Foote, who died some years ago in
Washington, caught a glimpse of the everlasting
city just before his redeemed spirit left the shore
of time for its home in heaven; and he exultingly
exclaimed, " I see ! I see ! ! Beautiful I Beauti-
ful ! ! The pearly gates stand open wide ! "

E.ev. H. Y. Humelbaugh, of our own church,
when dying, exclaimed in holy ecstacy, " 0 Doc-
tor, what a beautiful laud lies just before my
eyes ! "

" Oh, heaven is nearer than mortals think,
When they look with trembling dread,
At the misty future that stretches on,
From the silent home of the dead.

" ' Tis no lonely isle on a boundless main,

No brilliant, but distant shore,

When the lovely ones who are called away,

Must go to return no more.
«

" No, heaven is near us ; the mighty vail

Of mortality blinds the eye,

That we can not see the angel bands

On the shores of eternity.

" Yet oft in the hours of holy thought,
To the thirsting soul is given
The power to pierce through the mist of sense,
To the beauteous scenes of heaven."

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 273

We come now to consider heaven as it is re-
vealed in the Scriptures, and inquire, —

I. What does the word of God reveal as to the
splendor and glory of heaven f

Is heaven a place, or is it only a state, or con-
dition ? Says Dr. Howard Crosby, " We are
accustomed to say that space and time are only
conditions of our finite and composite natures,
and that to unfettered spirits there would be rec-
ognition of neither time nor space. Whether
this be so or not, no man can tell. It is a tran-
scendentalism that it is folly to talk about. Time
and space are absolute necessities to our thinking.
Every conception of our mind is formed on them
as a foundation ; and we can have no idea of God
himself except as in time and space. However,
we must — whether we will or not, — take the word
* place,' as used in the words of our Lord, John
xiv. 3, in a literal sense. Even if it be not liter-
ally a place, we think of it as a place — for we can
not think of it in any other way. And, moreover,
from the words being used when our Savior
might have said simply, * I go to prepare for you,'
we may infer that it is actually a place, as we
understand the word, that is meant here."

The scriptural representations of heaven, to
our mind, clearly teach that heaven is a place — a

274 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

city; and as such, its splendor and glory are de-
scribed as follows :

1. The external glory of heaven.

The E^evelator says of the angel, " He carried
me away in the spirit to a great and high mount-
ain, and shewed me that great city, the holy
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
having the glory of God : and her light was like
unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper-
stone, clear as crystal ; and had a wall great and
high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates
twelve angels, and names written thereon, which
are the names of the twelve tribes of the children
of Israel : on the east three gates ; on the north
three gates ; on the south three gates ; and on the
west three gates. And the wall of the city had
twelve foundations, and in them the names of the
twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked
with me had a golden reed to measure the city,
and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And
the city lieth four-square, and the length is as
large as the breadth : and he measured the city
with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The
length and- the breadth and the height of it are
equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hun-
dred and forty and four cubits, according to the
measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 275

building of the wall of it was of jasper : and the
city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And
the foundations of the wall of the city were gar-
nished with all manner of precious stones. The
first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire;
the third, a chalcedony ; the fourth, an emerald ;
the fifth, sardonyx ; the sixth, sardius ; the sev-
enth, chrysolite ; the eighth, beryl ; the ninth, a
topaz ; the tenth, a chrysoprasus ; the eleventh,
a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the
twelve gates were twelve pearls ; every several
gate was of one pearl." (Rev. xxi. 10-21.)

"We notice, —

2. The internal glory of heaven.

" And the street of the city was pure gold, as
it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple
therein : for the Lord God Almighty and the
Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in
it : for the glory of God did lighten it, and the
Lamb is the light thereof." (Eev. xxi. 21-23.)

" And he shewed me a pure river of water ot
life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne
of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the
street of it, and on either side of the river, was
there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner
of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month : and

276 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations. And there shall be no more curse : but
the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in
it; and his servants shall serve him: and they
shall see his face ; and his name shall be in their
foreheads. And there shall be no night there ;
and they need no candle, neither light of the
sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light." (Rev.
xxii. 1-5.)

" And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled
with fire : and them that had gotten the victory
over the beast, and over his image, and over his
mark, and over the number of his name, stand on
the sea of glass, having the harps of God." (Rev.
XV. 2.)

Thus we have heaven described as a city of
twelve thousand furlongs in extent, each way;
that is, it is fifteen hundred miles in width, in
length, and also in height, — for " the length, and
the breadth, and the height of it are equal." Its
walls, built of jasper, — blood-red, — are "a hundred
and fifty and four cubits ; " that is, two hundred
and sixteen feet high. These stand upon twelve
foundations, — most likely twelve ranges or layers
of precious stones, the names of which are given,
— and upon each of which is engraved the name
of an apostle. The gates — twelve in number,

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 277

three on each side, — are each of one pearl. The
streets are paved with pure gold, clear and trans-
parent as glass or crystal, which reflected the
glory of the Lamb like unto " a sea of glass
mingled with fire."

Such is the material splendor of heaven, if ma-
terialism applies at all to anything connected
with the abode of the redeemed. Can the human
imagination conceive of anything so grand, so
transcendently magnificent as this? Even if it
be but symbolical, the glory and splendor of the
place will be great, as the reality always exceeds
the symbol. Says Dr. Crosby, '' Imagery may be
valuable as a help, provided we do not rest our
hope and affections and desires upon the images,
but upon the ineffable and indescribable beyond."
But is heaven a city only ; and is there not variety
there in scenery and landscape as here ? It seems
clear from the Revelator's account of the new
heaven and new earth succeeding the present,
which is burned up at the descent of the Judge,
at the last day, into which the new Jerusalem
descends, that a new and vast world shall succeed
this upon which we now live, and that the heav-
enly Jerusalem, as already described, is but the
metropolis of this new world.

There seems to be a want of harmony betwieen

278 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

the statement made in Matthew xxv. 34, and John
xiv. 2, 3. How can it be explained? In the
former the Judge is repriasented as saying to the
righteous at his right hand, in the last judgment,
"Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world;" in the latter, Jesus said to his disci-
ples, when about to leave them, " I go to prepare
a place for you." In the first, the kingdom — the
place — has already been jjrepared ; in the second,
it is yet incomplete. It will be seen that the lat-
ter quotation stands in connection with the words
— "In my Father's house are many mansions.'*
These " many mansions," doubtless, are the innu-
merable worlds in the vast universe, called here,
" My Father's house." To these worlds the re-
deemed from earth may hereafter be permitted to
go, and with the inhabitants of which they may
mingle. But as some of these worlds may have
become disorganized by sin, like our own, their
reconstruction, at the expiration of their proba-
tion, may be the preparation to which the Savioi
referred.

But where is heaven? The theory held by
some eminent men upon this question is worthy
of consideration, — that as the sun is the center of
our solar system, around which other plajiets and

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 279

their satellites revolve, so somewhere in the vast
universe of God there is a great central world,
around which all the other systems, revolve ; and
in this central world God specially dwells, and
directs and controls all his works. That central
world is heaven. It is the dwelling-place of the
redeemed. Speaking of heaven as a city, Thomas
Guthrie said, " It is a city never built with hands,
nor hoary with the years of time ; a city whose
inhabitants no census has numbered; a city
through whose streets rush no tide of business,
nor nodding hearse creeps slowly with its burden
to the tomb; a city without griefs or graves,
without sin or sorrow, without births or burials,
without marriages or mournings ; a city which
glories an having Jesus for its King, angels for
its guards, saints for its citizens ; whose walls are
salvation, and whose gates are praise."

" Never eye
Of mortal man had seen, nor ear had heard,
Though ravish'd with the distant fame thereof,
Glory like this ; the handiwork of God,
And fashion'd of heaven's choice material, light
Through which the Light of lights translucent shone ;
The mansion of creation's Architect ;
The palace of the everlasting King ;
Its gates of pearl, its edifice of gold;
Its walls on twelve foundations superposed
(Of which the divine realities the earth
Can only lend its feeblest semblances),

280 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

The jaspei' screak 'd with many a tender dye,

The sapphire of celestial blue serene,

The agate once Chalcedon's peerless boast,

The fathomless repose of emerald,

The ruby, and the blood-tinctured sardonyx,

The chrysolite like amber sheathing fire,

The beryl emulous of ocean's sheen,

The opal-tinted topaz clear as glass,

The soft, pale purple of the chrysoprase,

The Meliboean hyacinth, and last

The lucid violet of amethyst.

But not of pearly gates, or golden streets,

Or bulwarks, or foundations built of jewels.

Thought we that day, or lingered to admire ;

For we were on our way to meet our God."

But what can we learn from the Scriptures of —
II. The condition of the redeemed in heaven f
In order to consider this question with the
care which its importance demands, I shall take
up the following points in the order stated.

1. Do the spirits of departed saints go imme-
diately into the presence of God, and do they
enter into a state of conscious happiness; or do
they go into a state of unconsciousness, and thus
remain until the resurrection, at the last day ?

In every age of the Christian church, from
the apostolic age until the present, it has been
held that the spirits of departed saints go imme-
diately into a place of conscious, happy exist-
ence, and remain there until the resurrection of
the body, at the last day, when soul and body,
reunited and glorified, dwell forever in heaven.

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 281

That the place into which the spirits of depart-
ed saints go at death, though sometimes called
paradise, is heaven, is proved hy the following
scriptures.

The Redeemer said to the dying malefactor at
his side, " To-day shalt thou be with me in para-
dise." (Luke xxiii. 43.) St. Paul, in narrating
his wonderful vision, uses the terms "third heav-
en" and "paradise" synonomously, thereby prov-
ing by inspired authority that paradise is heaven.

That the spirits of departed believers do not,
at death, go into a state of unconsciousness, and
thus remain until the resurrection, as is taught
by materialists, but do go at once into the pres-
ence of Jesus, and there abide in conscious, happy
existence, is established by the same inspired au-
thority. St. Paul, in writing to the church at
Philippi (Phil. i. 21-23.), declares of himself what
is equally applicable to all Christians, — " For me
to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live
in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor; yet
what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a
strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and
to be with Christ ; which is far better."

In his epistle to the church at Corinth, the
same apostle says (II. Cor. v. 6-8.), " We are
always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at

282 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

Lome in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
.... we are confident, I say, and willing rather
to be absent from the body, and to be present with
the Ijordr Here the apostle recognizes the fact
of his body being but the tenement in which
himself — that which constituted his own person-
ality— dwelt. This tenant is the spirit ; and while
it remained in its tenement — the body — it was
absent from the Lord; but to depart from its
fleshly tenement was to be at once in the pres-
ence of the Lord. Plainly the apostle knew of
no intermediate and unconscious state. Materi-
alists alone hold to the heterodoxy of soul-sleep-
ing. It is a pernicious doctrine, and belief in it
leads to other and greater departures from sound
orthodoxy.

But it may be inquired, —

2. Is the home of the souls of the redeemed —
the heaven into which the spirits of departed
saints go at death — the same where the glorified
shall ever abide, after the resurrection and glori-
fication, at the last day ?

There is a difterence of opinion, held by good
men, upon this question. Some claim that our
present earth, after its destruction by fire, in the
last day, will be reconstructed and refitted for
the abode of the saints, and that the new Jeruaa-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 283

lem, as described in Eevelations xix., will be its
metropolis. While I incline to this latter opin-
ion, I am willing to await the developments of
that momentous period, assured that our God will
make it all right for us.

3. "What will be the outward appearance of
the glorified saints ?

The saints are to be changed and glorified and
made like unto the glorified Kedeemer. We now
bear the image of the earthly, — the first Adam ;
we shall then bear the image of the heavenly, —
the second Adam, the Lord from heaven. (Phil,
iii. 20, 21 ; I. Cor. xv. 43-49 ; I. Thess. iv. 13-17.)
Would you know what is the appearance of the
glorified Redeemer, after whom the saints shall
be conformed ? Read the description in Rev. i.
12-18; Daniel vii. 9, 10, x. 5, 6; Matt. xvii. 2.

This is the consummation of the Christian's
hope. This is awaking in the likeness of Christ.
This is the salvation completed. This is the
consummation for which the Redeemer prayed.
(John xvii. 22.) This is the realization of the
promised glorification with Christ, because we
suffered with him in this life. (II. Tim. ii. 11, 12.)
This is walking with Christ, dressed in white,
emblematic of purity, and bearing palm-branches,
emblematic of victory and eternal peace, because

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we walked with him here in shame and reproach.
This is sharing the kingdom, appointed unto
those who continued with the Redeemer in his
temptations. (Luke xxii. 28, 29.) This is the cor-
ruptible putting on incorruption. This is being
conformed unto the heavenly image of our Elder
Brother, as we were conformed to his earthly
image here. This is the full and complete and
ever-abiding glory promised as the consumma-
tion of all our hopes and aspirations. We shall
be in a city which is appropriately called "glo-
ry." The bodies with which we shall enter into
that place shall be glorious, — "like unto the glo-
rious body of Christ." The garments which we
shall wear are "for beauty and glory." The
crowns we shall wear are "crowns of glory."
The society with which we shall forever associate
are the glorified. The songs we shall sing shall
be songs of glory. The rest we shall enjoy shall
be glorious. The inheritance to which we shall
attain is one of glory and honor. The consum-
mation to which we are called is " eternal glory."
The salvation which we have secured is "salva-
tion with Christ, and eternal glory." And in
anticipation of all these, we now rejoice with
*'joy unspeakable and full of glory."

" Oh, happy saints^ who dwell in light,

And walk with Jesus, clothed in white I

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Safe landed on that peaceful shore
Where pilgrims meet to part no more.

" Released frotn sorrow, toil, and strife,
And welcome to an endless life,
Their souls have now began to prove
The height and depth of Jesus' love."

As another feature of the condition of the re-
deemed in heaven, I notice, —

4. The absence of all suffering and distress.

Suffering and distress are universal in this
world. 'No one, however upright and holy, is
exempt from this bitter cup. In heaven, how-
ever, all suffering will forever have ended. Said
the angel to the Revelator, concerning the in-
numerable throng which stood around the throne
in heaven, " These are they which came out of
great tribulation, and have washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and
serve him day and night in his temple : and he
that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among
them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst
any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor
any heat. For the Lamb ivhich is in the midst of
the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
living fountains of waters: and God shall loipe
away all tears from their eyes.J^ (Rev. vii. 14-17.)

Again the Revelator says, "• And I heard a

286 CLUSTEKS FKOM ESHCOL.

great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God
himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ;
and there shall he no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there he any more pain : for the
former things are passed away.^' (Rev. xxi. 3-5.)

This blessedness, this exemption from suffering
and tears, has been clearly predicted by the proph-
ets of old, unto whom visions of the future glory
of the redeemed were granted. Said Isaiah, " He
will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord
God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and
the rebuke of his people shall he take away from
off all the earth." (Isa. xxv. 8.)

Again the same prophet says, "And the ran-
somed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion
with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads :
they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow
and sighing shall flee away. (Isa. xxxv. 10.) See
also Isaiah xxx. 19; Jeremiah xxxi. 12. Oh, the
tears that have been shed in this world, — tears of
anguish, tears of bereavement, tears of personal
suffering, tears of parting, tears of widowhood^
tears of orphanage, tears of homelessness, tears
of poverty, tears of want, tears over our own

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 287

spiritual poverty, and tears of heart-breaking
anguish because of the waywardness and sin of
loved ones ! Time does not wipe away these
tears. Even the society of the redeemed does not
do it. Angel hands can not do it. God alone
can do it ; and he reserves this task to himself,
and with his own hand wipes away all tears by
forever banishing all causes for tears.

" Oh, tell me," said a man, as he came rushing
into the street in the city of London, from his
house, after the last member of his family had
died of the plague which ravaged that city in the
seventeenth century, ''is there a place anywhere
where people do not die?" Yes, yes, there is
such a place, and but one place; and that is
heaven.

" Tell me, ye winged winds,
That round my pathway roar,
Do ye not know some spot,
Where mortals weep no more?
Some lone and pleasant dell.
Some valley in the west,
W^here, free from toil and pain.
The weary soul may rest ?

The loud wind dwindled to a whisper low, i

And sighed for pity as it answered, No 1

> '* Tell me, thou mighty deep,

Whose billows round me play,
Know'st thou some favored spot,
Some island far away,
Where weary man may find

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The bliss for which he sighs,

Where sorrow never dies ?

The loud waves rolling in perpetual flow,

Stopped for awhile, and sighed to answer, No !

" And thou, serenest moon,
That with such holy face,
Dost look upon the earth,
Asleep in night's embrace.
Tell me, in all thy round.
Hast thou not seen some spot
i Where miserable man

Might find a happier lot ?

Behind a cloud the moon withdrew in woe,

And a voice sweet but sad responded, No I

" Tell me, my secret soul,
Oh tell me, Hope and Faith,
Is there no resting-place
From sorrow, sin, and death,
Is there no happy spot.
Where mortals may be blest.
Where grief may find a balm.
And weariness a rest ?

Faith, Hope, and Love, best boons to mortals given,
Waved their bright wings, and whispered, Yes, yes ;
in heaven.

There is not only the absence of all sorrow and
distress in heaven, but there will be —

5. The presence of all that is necessary to
perfect happiness.

First, and pre-eminently, there is the personal
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been
the joy and life of his people here; he will be
equally so in heaven, for the Lamb is the light
thereof. Christ will be there as the source of all

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 289

blessedness to his people; as the interpreter of
the dark providences through which he led his
flock in this life; and he will he there, like a
shepherd, to lead his people to the green pastures,
and to the unfailing fountain of life.

But there will he also all the good and holy
from every kindred and tongue and nation,
among whom will he patriarchs, prophets, apos-
tles, and martyrs. And there, too, will be our
own loved ones, from whom we have been sepa-
rated here. Says Bonar in his 3Iorning of Joy,
" From Abel downward there has been one long
scene of bereavement and separation. The griefs
of parting make up the greatest amount of
earthly suffering among the children of men.
And from these griefs the saints have not been
exempted. Bitter have been the farewells that
have been spoken around the death -bed, or in
prisons, or on the sea-shore, or on the home
threshold, or in the city among strangers, — the
farewells of men who know that they will meet
no more till the grave gives up its trust. Death
has been the great scatterer, and the tomb has
been the great receiver of the fragments. The
pain of parting, in the case of the saints, has
much to alleviate it ; but still the bitterness is
there, and our hearts are made to bleed from the

19

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wounds thas made. But in heaven is reunion*
During the night we have become scattered; in
the morning, when day breaks, we shall be gath-
ered together. Here it is a smitten Shepherd and
a scattered flock ; there it will be a glorified Shep-
herd and a gathered flock. Everything connected
with this reunion is fitted to enhance its blessed-
ness. To meet again anywhere, or at any time,
will be blessed ; how much more blessed to meet
at such a time, in such circumstances, and in such
a home. The dark past will lie behind us like a
prison from which we have come forth, or like a
wreck from which we have escaped and landed
in safety in a quiet haven. We will meet at the
marriage-table. We will meet under the shadow
of the tree of life. We will meet beside the river
of life. We will meet to keep festival, and sing
the song of everlasting triumph. Oh, it was
blessed to meet here for a day ; how much more
blessed to meet there to part no more forever. It
was blessed to meet here, even with parting full
in view ; how much more where no such cloud
overhano^s our future."

But shall we know our friends in heaven?
This has been the great question of the ages, and
deserves some consideration here. Says Dr. Wm.
Morley Punshon : "The question of the recog-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 291

nition of departed friends in heaven, and special
and intimate reunion with them, scripture and
reason enable us to infer with almost absolute
certainty. It is implied in the fact that the res-
urrection is a resurrection of individuals ; that it
is this mortal that shall put on immortality. It
is implied in the fact that heaven is a vast and
happy society; and it is implied in the fact that
there is no unclothing of nature that we possess,
only the clothing upon ^*t of the garments of a
brighter and more glorious immortality. * * ^ic
When God said in the ancient Eden, ^ It is not
good for man to be alone/ there was a deeper
gignij&cation in the words than could be exhausted
or explained by the family tie. It was the decla-
ration of an essential want, which the Creator in
his highest wisdom has impressed upon the no-
blest of his works. * * ^ Life of all kinds
tends to companionship, and rejoices in it, from
the larva and buzzing insect cloud up to the
kingly lion and the kinglier man. It is a social
state into which we are to be introduced there, as
well as a state of consciousness. Take comfort,
then, those of you in whose history the dearest
ties of life have been severed by the rude hand
of Death, those whom you have thought about as
lost are not lost, except to present sight. Perhaps

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even now they are angel watchers, screened by a
kindly Providence from everything about, that
would give you pain; but if you and they are
alike in Jesus, and remain faithful to the end,
doubt not that you shall know them again. It
were strange if amid the multitude of earth's
ransomed ones that we are to see in heaven we
would see all but those we most fondly and fer-
vently long to see ! Strange if in some of our
walks along the golden streets we never happen
to light upon them ! Strange if we did not hear
some heaven song, learned on earth, trilled by
some clear, ringing voice that we have often
heard before ! "

" But," says one, " can I be happy in heaven
when I know there that some loved one — some
brother, or sister, or wife, or husband, or parent,
or child, — is in perdition, or living in sin in the
world and on the way to everlasting destruc-
tion?"

This is a mystery that God has not seen fit to
make clear to us. We should remember that he
is the Father of all men, in a more exalted sense
than any parent can be, and that his attachment
to his children is greater than ours possibly can
be, and that his great heart of love is ever
yearning for the salvation of all. And yet, when

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the period of their probation has expired, and
they persist in their rebellion against him, he,
consistent with his love and compassion, forever
banishes them to hopeless misery. God destroyed
the people of the antediluvian world, and the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; and yet they
were his children, and the objects of his love. "We
are to be like God. We are to have his Spirit, and
to be in perfect harmony with him in all things.
If then God can, consistently with his character
for love and compassion, consign the wicked to
everlasting destruction, we must be, we can be,
able to consent thereto. Says Dr. John S. C.
Abbott, "If God, our loving, heavenly Father,
can be happy on his eternal throne while some
of his children are in persistent rebellion against
him, and are suffering the rebel's dreadful doom,
earthly parents, translated to heaven, sharing
God's nature, with soul's ennobled, expanded,
illumined with celestial light, will certainly wit-
ness nothing in the administration of God's gov-
ernment which will thrill their souls with an-
guish.''"

I come now to notice, —

III. The employments and enjoyments of the
heavenly state.

What the employments of the redeemed in

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heaven will be, and what their enjoyments con-
sist in, are but faintly revealed in the Scriptures.
In addition to the absence of all causes and con-
ditions of unhappiness, there will be the presence
of every condition necessary to the most rational,
joyful, and permanent happiness. But what
these conditions will be is left to their develop-
ment. There will be that indispensable condition
to perfect enjoyment, the presence of Jesus, the
unfailing source of all Christian joy ; for it were
unsatisfying to the redeemed and glorified to
dwell forever in the midst of the highest conceiv-
able splendor without Him who alone can fill and
satisfy the soul. " In his presence is fullness of
joy, and at his right hand are pleasures for ever-
more."

The Scriptures, however, do reveal somewhat
of the felicities of the heavenly state ; and I shall
dwell on these and consider the subject in two
aspects; as, —

1. The social condition of the saints in heaven.

That conception of heaven which considers it
a home, a place for sanctified social enjoyment,
such as pure and spiritual beings could enter into,
is most probably nearest the reality. It will not
all be formal and stated worship there. The
enlarged relationships of heaven, the renewal of

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 295

former associations, the recollections of the past,
the anticipations of the future, as well as the
innate tendency or man's nature for social enjoy-
ment, which grace augments rather than dimin-
ishes, seem to point to a large degree of social
enjoyment in heaven.

Says Dr. Charles F. Deems : " Will any soul
that reaches heaven feel strange there ? Will it
seem a foreign country ? Will all its sights and
sounds and suggestions be totally unfamiliar?
Will they wake no responsive note on any chord
of the harp of memory ? Will they shed no ray
of light on the lens of hope ? There -are many
who are looking forward to a residence in heaven.
Will it be more than a residence ? Will it be a
home ? We know the difference between the two
when applied to places here upon earth. There
are many kind of residences ; there is but one home.
The only real home a man has upon earth is
the spot in which he would rather be than in any
other place. The place in which he gets the most
rest, most comfort, most solace, most satisfaction
to every craving of his nature — that is home.
How do we look forward toward heaven? Is it
simply the termination of the journey where, in
the natural course of things, the pilgrimage ceas-
es ? Such a state of affairs may occur to a man who

296 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

has gone from his home, and whose business or
duty has taken him across the ocean to a foreign
port. There he may have to stay all the days of
his life, and behind him leave wife and children^
father and mother. He looks forward with inter-
est to his arrival. He would rather be there than
on the stormy ocean. But it is not home. I^ow^
how do we feel toward heaven ? Is it simply the
end of the road we must travel as Christians, and
which we must terminate somewhere ? Or do we
have longings for heaven ? Does it come into
our dreams ? Do thoughts of it often lift our
souls as the tides lift up the seas ? Do we feel
that every other residence is a tent, but heaven is
our mansion; that we go to every other place
because we must, but are stretching ourselves ta
be in heaven because we shall be at home in
heaven ? It may be so sweet, so delicious, so sat-
isfactory, so fulfilling, as to come in sudden and
sublime contrast with all our previous experi-
ence. In this sense it may, for a brief season,
be startling and somewhat strange ; but if we
have been spiritually-minded upon earth, each
new moment in heaven will bring us the fulfill-
ment of some hope, or the completion, in shouts
of laughter, of some song which we had begun
upon earth, and which had been drowned in sobs*

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 297

It will be the being ^ forever with the Lord ' that
will make our heaven everlasting."

Says Thomas Guthrie : " Home ! oh, hc,w sweet
is that word ! "What beautiful and tender associa-
tions cluster around it. Compared with it, house^
mansion, palace, are cold, heartless terms. But
Home! That word quickens the pulse, warms the
heart, stirs the soul to its depths, makes age feel
young again, rouses apathy into energy, sustains
the sailor in his midnight watch, inspires the sol-
dier with courage on the field of battle, and im-
parts patient endurance to the worn-down sons of
toil. * * * Grace sanctifies our afflictions, and
imparts a sacredness to the homes of earth by
making them types of heaven. As a home, the-
believer delights to think of heaven* Thus while
lately bending over a dying saint, and expressing
our sorrow to see him so low, with the radiant
countenance rather of one who had just left
heaven than one about to enter it, he raised and
clasped his hands and exclaimed in ecstacy, ' I
am going home ! ' "

In heaven the redeemed will come into imme-
diate and personal intercourse with all God's-
family, with whom, though now scattered and
unseen, they already stand related. Among these
will be our own loved ones, as well as the great

298 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOE.

company of whom the apostle speaks as being
already in our relationship, — " Ye are come unto
mount rnon, and unto the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable
company of angels, to the general assembly and
church of the first-born, v^hich are written in
heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the
spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the
mediator of the new covenant." (Heb. xii. 22-24.)

In addition to the persons already enumerated,
— surely all that seems necessary to complete
and perfect happiness, — there will doubtless be
saved ones from other worlds, probably redeemed
by the same Savior who redeemed us. With
these, saints from this earth will be permitted to
associate, and, in company with them, shall visit
the worlds from which they have come. This
opinion was held by Dr. Dick, the eminent Chris-
tian philosopher; and it seems to be implied in
the words of the Savior in John xiv. 2.

Oh, the bliss of the reunions that shall take
place in heaven between parents and children,
husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, pastors
and people, and brethren of the same household
of faith. There they shall meet again; there
they shall be reunited in bonds that shall never
more be sundered ; there shall be re-established

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 299

a home that shall never he hroken up. Oh, hlisa-
ful hope ! Oh, blessed expectation !

" A home in heaven ! When our friends are fled
To the cheerless gloom of the moldering dead ;
We wait in hope on the promise given ;
We will meet up there wi our home in heaven.^^

I shall consider next, —

2. Religious, or devotional employments of
heaven.

There is no temple in heaven, no place specially
set apart for worship, for all heaven is alike
sacred and holy. (Rev. xxi. 22.) The worship
there will he spontaneous, habitual, and constant,
rather than formal and at stated times and places.

The following are references to the worship of
heaven : " After this I beheld, and, lo, a great
multitude, which no man could number, of all
nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,
stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands ; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Sal-
vation to our God which sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood
round about the throne, and about the elders and
the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their
faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen : Bless-
ing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving,
iind honor, and power, and might, be unto our

300 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the
elders answered, saying unto me, What are these
which are arrayed in white robes? and whence
came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me. These are they
which came out of great tribulation, and have
washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before
the throne of God, and serve him day and night
in his temple : and he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them." (Eev. vii. 9-15.)

"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the
mount Sion, and with him a hundred forty and
four thousand, having his Father's name written
in the foreheads. And I heard a voice from
heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the
voice of a great thunder : and heard the voice of
harpers harping with their harps : and they sung
as it were a new song before the throne, and be-
fore the four beasts, and the elders : and no man
could learn that song but the hundred and forty
and four thousand, which were redeemed from
the earth." (Rev. xiv. 1-3.)

"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled
with fire : and them that had gotten the victory
over the beast, and over his image, and over his
mark, and over the number of his name, stand on

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 301

the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And
they sing the song of Moses the servant of God,
and the song of the Lamh, saying, Great and
marvelous . are thy works, Lord God Almighty;
just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
"Who shall not fear thee, 0 Lord, and glorify thy
name ? for thou only art holy : for all nations
shall come and worship before thee ; for thy
judgments are made manifest," (Rev. xv. 2-4.)

" And after these things I heard a great voice
of much people in heaven, saying. Alleluia; Sal-
vation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto
the Lord our God : for true and righteous are his
judgments. . . . And again they said, Alleluia.
. . . . And the four and twenty elders and the
four beasts fell down and worshiped God that
sat on the throne, sajdng, Amen ; Alleluia. And
a voice came out of the throne, saying. Praise
our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him,
both small and great. And I heard as it were
the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice
of many waters, and as the voice of mighty
thunderings, saying. Alleluia : for the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth." (Rev. xix. 1-6.)

It will be perceived from the foregoing quota-
tions of God's holy word, concerning the worship
of the skies, that it is adoration, praise, and

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thanksgiving, altogether. The time for suppli-
cation and prayer will have ended forever; and
from thenceforth the harps of the redeemed will
be tuned to but one song, — the song of Moses
and the Lamb. This is redemption's song, wdiich
the redeemed only can sing, and which must be
learned here. Neither the four symbolic beasts,
nor the elders, nor the angels, can enter into
this song, for they have not been redeemed.
They, however, respond to it with loud exclama-
tions of " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty."
" Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanks-
giving, and honor, and power, and might, be
unto our God forever and ever. Amen." (Rev.
vii. 12 ; xiv. 3, etc.)

Redemption's song can be sung by the redeem-
ed only ; for " no man could learn that song but
the hundred and forty and four thousand, which
were redeemed from the earth." (Rev. xiv. 3.)
The Israelites, after having safely passed through
the divided waters of the Red Sea, and witnessed
the destruction of the pursuing hosts of Egypt,
stood upon the shore of deliverance and sung re-
sponsively the hymn of thanksgiving and praise
recorded in Exodus xv. In like manner the
Israel of God, after having safely passed the
wilderness of life, and crossed the river of death,

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their enemies all left behind them, will stand
upon the shore of everlasting deliverance and
sing redemption's song. The analogy between
the two is so striking that the former is the ac-
cepted scriptural symbol of the latter. Hence the
song of the redeemed in heaven is called '^the
song of Moses the servant of God, and the song
of the Lamb." (Eev. xv. 3.) And as no one
could have entered into the spirit of the song of
the saved hosts of Israel, nor adopted its senti-
ments truthfully, who had not undergone the
previous experience of Egyptian bondage, the
hardships and inconveniences of the wilderness
life, and the perils of the Red Sea, and the pur-
suing hosts of Egypt, and complete and everlast-
ing deliverance therefrom, so now no one can
enter into the song of the redeemed in heaven
who has not undergone the previous experience
of bondage to sin, the toils and privations of the
wilderness life, the assaults of the devil, and the
bitterness of death, and complete and everlasting
deliverance from all these by the blood of the
Lamb. Redemption's song must, then, be learned
here. It is commenced in prayers and sighs ; it
is carried on amidst tears and toils, afflictions and
sorrows, until it merges into a shout of triumph
in heaven.

804 CLUSTERS FKOM ESHCOL.

" ' Tis said, perhaps it may be true,
* Prayer ends with earthly days ; '
Or, rather, that it flows into
One ceaseless song of praise."

That there will be variety in the worship of
heaven is seen by comparing E-evelations iv. 8-11,
with xix. 1-9. In the former the four symbolic
beasts, and the elders, seem to lead in the ascrip-
tions of praise. In the latter the exclamations of
joy and thanksgiving come from the redeemed,
and are responded to by the assembled hosts of
angels.

This last scene — that depicted in Revelations
xix. 1-9 — is the first occasion in which all the
redeemed have been congregated together. It is
the first and final assemblage of the redeemed
church, — the bride of Christ, — as she comes up
from her resurrection from the dead, clothed in
the glorious garments of immortality, and her
being placed at her proper place at the table, at
the Lord's side, at the marriage-supper of the
Lamb. The symbolic woman of Revelations xii.,
representing the church of Christ, in her collect-
ive capacity constituting the bride of Christ, the
Lamb's wife, now emerges from her wilderness
retreat, at the end of the prophetic period of ^' a
time, and times, and half a time," and takes her
position by her Lord's side. And now, on this

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 305

festive occasion, from this vast congregated host,
coniposed of the redeemed, the angels, and all
the hosts of heaven, now gathered for the first
time altogether, goes up the loud acclaim, " Alle-
luia ; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power,
unto the Lord our God." " Alleluia : for the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth." This sung from
so vast and mighty a host, in which you, my
reader, may take a part, and in which the writer
confidently expects to have a share, was " as it
were the voice of a great multitude, and as the
voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty
thunderings."

But will this service of song and praise pro-
duce weariness ? l^o ; for though the redeemed
"serve God day and night" (Rev. vii. 15.), they
" yet rest from their labors." (Rev. xiv. 13.)
This ceaseless service proves the necessity for
bodies so constituted as to be unsusceptible of
weariness or fatigue. This will be provided for
in the resurrection and glorification.

" There, on those high and flow'ry plains,
Our spirits ne'er shall tire,
But in perpetual, joyful strains
Redeeming love admire."

I come now to notice, lastly, —
lY. The qualifications necessary to entrance into
heaven,

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306 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

This, without doubt, is the most important
question we have for consideration, in connection
with the subject of the future residence, employ-
ments, and enjoyments of the redeemed in the
heavenly state ; and, fortunately, upon this par-
ticular question the Scriptures are clear and ex-
plicit. Everything that relates to Christian char-
acter, from regeneration to final glorification, may
be considered a qualification for heaven. I will,
however, confine myself to but a few of the
qualifications stated in the book of Revelation,
which are as follows :

1. The redeemed saints in heaven are all cloth-
ed in pure and spotless white. This is emblem-
atical of purity and holiness, — Rev. vii. 9, 14;
xix. 8, — this "fine linen, clean "and white, is the
righteousness of the saints." It was ''granted'^
unto the saints, — that is, it was given unto them ;
and like redemption's song, which can be learned
only here, it must be secured here, washed white
here in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. vii. 14.), worn
here, and kept unsoiled and unspotted from the
world. Ample provision has been made for this
cleansing; for a fountain has been opened "to the
house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusa-
lem, for sin and uncleanness." (Zech. xiii. 1.)
Well will it be if all who profess to be followers

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of the Lamb avail themselves of this fountain of
cleansing, and wash their robes white, and keep
them white, until the coming of the Lord.

A fitness for heaven is indispensable to its en-
joyment. That fitness is holiness ; and holiness
can be secured only here. Says one, "Place a
sinner under the very shadow of the tree of life,
and he would say, ^ I don't want to be here.' In
visiting an art-gallery, or a conservatory of music,
our enjoyment will be in the ratio of our previous
training and development of our tastes and sym-
pathies in this direction. As those entertainments
would be to the blind, or deaf, so would the joys
of heaven be to the sinner. Heaven must be
begun upon earth. We must carry its bud in
our hearts here, or we can never see its full blos-
som hereafter. Entrance into heaven is not the
result of a projectile force lifting us into an un-
known place. It is the result of a process begun
in time. The church is God's training-school,
where the appetites and afiections for the joys of
heaven are developed. Our great work is not
merely to get men into heaven, but to prepare
them for it. When they are ready they will be
there soon enough. Our characters are now
catching colors which will survive the judgment-
day. What gigantic importance this gives to

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time. As we sit before the artist's camera wMle
our photograph is being impressed upon the sen-
sitive plate, how important it is that we maintain
the right position. A slight move will spoil the
picture. So during our brief years on earth our
characters are impressed for eternity. Death will
be the artist closing the watch, and announcing
the process completed ; and the impression there
made can not be altered. Death is not a final
discharge. It is only a transfer. It takes us to
the judgment-seat, and leaves us as it found us.
The direction which the main current of our
affections and aspirations has taken upon earth
will there become fixed. Let us not lose the
opportunities now passing or we lose the inher-
itance. Let us not miss the tide or it will be for-
ever too late."

2. The redeemed in heaven are said to be
"without fault, or guile " (Eev. xiv. 5.) ; that is,
they are pure and upright in their life, as Avell as
in heart. Their professed love to Christ and to
his people is '' without dissimulation ; " and they
abhor that which is evil, and cleave to that which
is good." (Horn. xii. 9.)

3. They bear upon their foreheads their Fa-
ther's name. (Eev. xiv. 1.) Reference is hereto
made to the custom of branding upon slaves the

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names of their masters, so that all who saw them
could tell to whom they belonged. So the serv-
ants of God, the sheep of Christ's fold, here in
this life, as well as there in heaven, bear about in
them, in their spirit, temper, disposition, and
life, evidences of their divine ownership, as plain-
ly as if their Father's name were written upon
their foreheads.

4. They " follow the Lamb whithersoever he
goeth." (Eev. xiv. 4.) Following the Lamb is
imitating his example. Like him, they are hum-
ble and meek and gentle and guileless. They
know the Shepherd's voice and follow him, and
a stranger they will not follow.

5. They have kept the commandments of God,,
and the faith of Jesus. (Rev. xiv. 12.)

They have studied God's word to learn the
will of God concerning them; and they have held
fast to sound doctrines, and have not been led
into the errors and falsehoods which are to pre-
vail in the last days. (Rev. xvi. 15.);

6. They have overcome the great enemies of
the soul — the flesh, the world, and the devil, —
by the blood of the Lamb, and their testimony
for Christ. (Rev. xii. 11.)

Realizing the cleansing efficacy of the blood of
Jesus in their own hearts, they bear testimony ta

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the power of the same by their words as well as
by their upright and consistent lives.

7. They have endured the hardships of their
earthly pilgrimage, and been faithful unto death.
(Eev. ii. 10.)

Those who set their hands to the plow, and
look back, are declared to be unfit for the king-
dom of God. Those who persevere unto the end
will be saved, and those only.

8. They have suffered with Christ in this life,
and now share with him in his glory.

It is one of the peculiarities of the redeemed
hosts in heaven — a peculiarity which the angel
specially notices, — that they came up there
through great tribulation. (Rev. vii. 14.)

Tribulations and trials are common to all men,
both good and bad ; but there are some trials
which are peculiar to Christians alone. It is
these special trials, and the ordinary trials sanc-
tified, that have a relation to and a bearing upon
the glory of the redeemed in heaven. Then,
when thus crowned and glorified with Christ,
will the afflicted saint understand the import of
the words of the Savior, "Ye are they which
have continued with me in my temptations. And
I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father
hath appointed unto me?" (Luke xxii. 28, 29.)

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" If we suffer, we shall also reign with him/'
{n. Tim. ii. 12.)

"For our light affliction, which is but for a
moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory." (II. Cor. iv. 17.)

" For I reckon that the sufferings of this pres-
ent time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom. viii.
18.)

Behold, now, the description of heaven as we
have sketched it, drawn from the sacred Script-
ures ! Behold the redeemed, standing amidst
angels and seraphim, forever saved and beyond
the reach of harm; with God himself fully re-
vealed to their wondering, immortal, and rejoic-
ing eyes; palms of victory in their hands, em-
blematic of eternal victory ; harps of gold upon
which to celebrate the high praises of God and
the Lamb; crowns of glory upon their heads,
indicating their kingly character as they sit be-
side the Savior upon his throne. Add to all this,
complete and eternal exemption from all forms
of suffering, sorrow, danger, toil, tears, trials,
labor, privation, hunger, thirst, poverty, bereave-
ment, widowhood, orphanage, old age, and death ;
God himself compassionately wiping away all
tears with his own almighty hand, as if he spe-

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cially delighted to do it and reserved the task for
himself alone ; and Jesus, still in the tender char-
acter of a shepherd, leading his flock to living
fountains of waters, and to the rich pastures of
sweetest hliss ! Oh, this is heaven ! — only in part,
however, for " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that
love him." (I. Cor. ii. 9.) These words, though
relating to the heliever's privileges in this life, as
the connection shows, are yet applicahle to the
glories of heaven also.

" What no human eye hath seen, what no mortal ear hath
heard,
What no thought hath never been, in its noblest flights con-
ferred,—

This hath God prepared in store
For his people evermore."

I now stand upon the Delectable Mountains ; I
shall ere long stand upon the Mount of God. I
now " see through a glass darkly ; " soon I shall
see face to face. I now know in part; then I
shall know even as I also am known. Until the
daylight of eternity break, and the shadows flee
away, I will remain upon the mountain of myrrh,
and the hill of frankincense, and with the eager,
expectant bride, in anticipation of her Lord's
coming, say, "Turn, my Beloved, and be thou

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like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains
of Bether."

But what will be my rapture when first I see
the new Jerusalem, the city of God, the home
of the redeemed? With what delight will I gaze
upon its streets of transparent gold, its walls of
jasper, its foundations of precious stones, and its
gates of pearl ? With what relief shall I first
realize that now I am forever delivered from all
sorrow, tears, afflictions, pain, and distress? With
what rapture will I first behold Jesus, fall at his
feet, hear him speak to me, and permit me to
speak to him? And, oh, bliss of bliss! joy of
joys ! shall heaven itself find language fit to ex-
press the bliss I shall experience when the Savior
places the crown upon my head, and the harp in
my hands, and tells me that now I am forever to
dwell in his presence ? Then who of all my de-
parted friends will first recognize and greet me ?
Whom shall I first see and speak to? Shall I
know the loved ones who have gone over before
me ; and will I need to be told who this one and
that one is ; or shall I know them by intuition, as
Peter, James, and John knew Moses and Elias
upon the mount of transfiguration? And will I
not take up the soliloquy of the poet and say, —

" Aud am I, then, in heaven ? Is this the land
To which my yearning heart so often turn'd

314 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

Desirous ? This the paradise of saints ?
And is it I myself who speak ? The same
Who wandered in the desert far astray,
Till the Good Shepherd found me perishing,
And drew me to hjmself with cords of love ?
Has he now brought me to his heavenly fold,
Which sin can never touch nor sorrow cloud,
Me who hath water'd with my frequent tears
The thorny wilderness, and struggled on
Foot-sore and weary, — me, the wayward one ?
And shall I never wander from him more.
And never grieve his brooding Spirit again ?
Oh, joy ineffable I I am now in heaven ! "

CHAPTER XV.

3 THE CROSSING OF THE RIVER OP DEATH.

"And they are there unto this day." (Joshua iv. 9.)

The passage of the Israelites, under the leader-
ship of Joshua, over the river Jordan, and their
entrance into the land of Canaan, with wnich
event the scripture qouted stands connected, fitly
eymholize the death of believers and their en-
trance into heaven. The long and arduous pil-
grimage of the desert was about to terminate,
the promised inheritance was about to be entered
upon, and it only remained that Jordan should
be crossed and the fruition of their long-cherished
hopes should be realized. So the Christian pil-
grim from the City of Destruction to the Canaan
of heaven, having safely crossed the wilderness
of life, with all its hardships and dangers, rinds
only the stream of death between him and his
promised rest. This last obstacle overcome, he
forever enjoys the glories and bliss of heaven.

I am aware that the analogy between Canaan

316

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and heaven is not entirely perfect, for the Israel-
ites encountered enemies in Canaan after entering
therein, while in the heavenly Canaan no enemies
will be found. In this case, as in most scriptural
analogies, the symbol falls below the fact symbol-
ized, without destroying the analogy.

By command of God, Joshua directed that
twelve men, one from each tribe, should each
take up a stone and set it in the midst of Jordan,
where the feet of the priests stood who bore the
ark of the covenant. Twelve stones they were
also to take from the bed of the river and carry
them with them and set them up in the place
where they lodged that night. It is evident from
the connection in which these words stand that
these twelve stones were subsequently carried
with them, and kept conspicuously in their lodg-
ings in all after-time ; and when any one — their
children especially — would ask what these stones
were designed to represent, they* were to be told
that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before
the ark of the covenant of the Lord when it
passed over the Jordan, and that these stones
were to remind them of and keep in perpetual
remembrance that event. (Joshua iv. 6, 7.)

These stones were fitly called " memorial stones;''
and it was said of them, as well as of the twelve

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 317

stones placed in the midst of Jordan, that, at the
time the sacred record was written, " ihey are there
until this day.''

That these expressive incidents in the history
of God's chosen people possessed a significance
above the comprehension of the people at that
time, and probably of Joshua himself, there is no
doubt ; and that they symbolize some things con-
nected with the passage of believers over the
river of death, is equally clear. Let us consider
what this significance probably is.

Death is a part of the penalty incurred by
Adam's transgression ; and as all the race of man-
kind sinned in him, in that transaction all be-
came equally subject to the penalty. Hence, says
the apostle, ^'Wherefore, as by one man sin en-
tered into the world, and death by sin ; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned." (Rom. v. 12.) In the atonement made
by the Son of God that penalty has been fully
met, as well as every other requirement of God's
law; and as God will not require it of us and of
our Substitute also, it follows that all those who
oome under the provisions of the atonement, by
compliance with the conditions upon which its
benefits are made available, will experience in the
mnttrr of dyings as well as in other respects, some

S18 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

advantage, some immuuity, over those who do
not comply with these conditions and come under
the protection of the atonement. This advantage,
this immunity, will be considered in this chapter.

Death, and the victory achieved over it by our
Lord Jesus Christ, and the relation which Chris-
tians sustain to it and to the victory thus achiev-
ed, are set forth in the Scriptures under the fol-
lowing symbols :

I. Death personified as a Jailer^ or Prison-keeper,

The Jewish and probably pagan idea of the
place of departed spirits is that of a vast world
called Hades, surrounded, like a x^rison, with
huge, impassable walls, and Death, personified as
a jailer, standing, key in hand, at its iron gate,
admitting all who came, both good and bad, but
permitting none to escape.

Many eminent Christian scholars hold the opin-
ion that at death the spirits of the departed all
go into one world, both good and bad, but are
widely separated by a vast and impassable gulf,
and that there they remain in happiness or mise-
ry, according to their character and lives here,
until the resurrection at the last day, when the
spirits come forth to re-inhabit their respective
bodies and to appear before the judgment-tri-
bunal.

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 319

This view seems to be in harmony with several
passages of God's word, among which are the
following : " Death and hell [Hades] delivered up
the dead which were in them : and they [the
inmates of Hades] were judged every man ac-
cording to their works." (Rev. xx. 13.)

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, it is
said of the rich man that " in hell he lifted up his
eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar
ojff, and Lazarus in his bosom." (Luke xvi. 23.)
If the word here translated hell means, as is
claimed, Hades, it does not disprove the fact of a
hell of torment for the wicked ; for the rich man,
though in the same vast world with Lazarus, was
yet widely separated from him, and was in tor-
ment while Lazafus was happy in Abraham's
bosom.

In that ancient confession called the " The
Apostles' Creed," the fact of Hades is acknowl-
edged in the words affirmed of Christ, — " He was
dead and buried, and he descended into hell," —
Hades.

Bickersteth in his grand production, '' Yester-
day, To-day, and Forever,'' holds this view, which
appears in the following quotation :

" Our mother earth
Has but one sepulcher for all. And here
One Hades, by us call'd the under world,

4J20 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

Receives the spirits of the damn'd and blest ;
One world, but widely sunder'd by a gulf
Inevitably fixed, impassable,
Which severs to the left hand and the right,
The prison-house of woe and paradise."

Whatever may be true in regard to the specu-
lations concerning the place and condition of de-
parted spirits in the intermediate period between
death and the resurrection, the Scriptures unmis-
takably establish the fact that the righteous are
taken at once into the presence of the Savior,
and into communion with other saints, and enjoy
conscious happiness, while the wicked go at once
into a place of suifering.

To the penitent and believing malefactor, cru-
cified by his side, the Savior said, " To-day shalt
thou be with me in paradise.' ^ (Luke xxiii. 43.)
That paradise is heaven is proved by St. Paul,
who, in giving an account of his vision, uses the
words '^paradise" and "third heaven'' synono-
mously. (II. Cor. xii. 1-4.)

" Nor think
That paradise, though situate in the deep
Which lieth under, is not real heaven ;
Heaven is where Jesus is, and he is there."

That there will be no interval of unconscious-
ness, no cessation of activity, no intermission of
enjoyment, is equally placed beyond dispute by
the confidence with which St. Paul expressed his

CLUSTERS FEOM ESHCOL. 321

belief that to be absent from the body is to be
present, at once and forever, with the Lord. (II.
Cor. V. 8; Phil. i. 23.)

Some sixty-three years after the ascension of
our Lord Jesus Christ to the right hand of the
Father, he appeared in his glorified human body
to the aged and well-beloved John, then in baur
ishment upon the Island of Patmos " for the word
of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."
Notwithstanding their former intimacy, the aged
apostle failed to recognize, in the glorious person-
age before him, his former Lord and Master,
upon whose bosom he formerly laid his head.
Having fallen to the earth as dead, the glorified
Redeemer lifted the aged apostle upon his feet,
and calmed his fears by the precious words, — pre-
cious not only to John, but to all God's scattered
family of every age and country, — " I am he that
liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am alive for
evermore. Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of
death:' (Rev. i. 18.)

The key is an lemblem of authority; for he
that holds the key to the entrance to any place
may be considered as having control over that
place. The power of death was formerly held by
the devil (Heb. ii. 14); but it has been wrested
from him, and is now held by Christ. This he

21

322 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

did by submitting himself to death, going down into
death's prison-house, remaining there for a time^
and then coming forth in victory.

Among the several books of the first and sec-
ond centuries of the Christian dispensation which
claimed to be canonical, but were properly reject-
ed as uninspired, is one in which it is related that;
the soul of the Son of God, immediately upon its-
departure from the body, went into Hades, caus-
ing much uneasiness among the wicked spirits^
there, and calling forth extraordinary vigilance
upon the part of Satan to prevent its departure.
But upon the third day after its entrance it went
forth, notwithstanding all resistance, crushing
down the huge iron gate, and forever placing it
out of the power of Satan to restore it.

The foregoing account is without doubt apoc-
ryphal; but it serves to illustrate the fact of
Christ's complete and abiding victory over death..
The Son of God, then, is the mighty Conqueror.
He now holds, and for all time to come, until
Death and Hades shall be abolished (lie v. xx. 14),
will continue to hold the power over the great
foe of our race.

The victory achieved by Christ over death ex-
tends not only over Hades, the place of departed
spirits, but over the grave also, the place where

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 323

»

the body is deposited,' for he had the keys of
both in his possession. Our Lord Jesus Christ
went down into the grave and laid there three
days, his spirit being meanwhile in paradise, and
then came up again by his own almighty power.
And, as if to demonstrate the completeness of
his victory over death and the grave, he brought
with him many of those who had been sleeping
there. (Matt, xxvii. 52, 53.)

The resurrection of Christ from the dead is the
earnest, the first -fruit, of the glorious harvest
which awaits the saints ; and his glorious appear-
ance as he manifested himself to John on Patmos
(Rev. i. 13-16), and as he now appears in heaven,
is the model after which all who die in him, and
all who are alive and remain at his coming, shall
be conformed.

Oh, precious thought, our Elder Brother, he
who in all things, sin alone excepted, was made
like unto his brethren, took upon him our flesh
and blood that he might sufier as we must suffer,
die as we must die, go down into the grave as we
must go down into the grave, that through his
own death he might destroy him who had the
power of death, — that is, the devil,-— and thus
prepare the way for our deliverance from the
power of this great enemy. (Heb. ii. 14, 15) And

824 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

now, although we and our loved ones must go
into the grave, and there hold communion with
*^ corruption, earth, and worms," we do not pass
beyond the jurisdiction of Christ, nor where his
authority does not extend, nor where he has not
himself gone; but we shall be under his super-
vision and watchful care, until he shall bid us
arise.

" God, my Redeemer lives,
And often from the skies
Looks down and watches all my dust,
' Till he shall bid it rise."

As another representation of death, I notice, —

II. Death is a mighty conqueror.

This symbol of death is found in Revelation vi.
8. The great enemy is there represented as a
hideous and ghastly human skeleton, seated upon
a pale horse, attended by Hades, the prison of
departed spirits, into which he consigns all who
fall by his victorious and relentless hand.

From this symbol of a mighty conqueror, seat-
ed upon a pale horse, and riding forth to uni-
versal conquest, originated the niore modern idea
of the King of Terrors, in the character of a
human skeleton, seated upon a throne of human
skulls, and swaying undisputed control over the
human race. -■This change from a horse to a
throne may be due to the fact that the former

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 325

symbol was designed to represent a special era in
the history of the church, in which deaths by
plague were widely prevalent, while in the latter
the idea of universal and continuous rule is sym-
bolized.

" But that black phantom soon
Assum'd a livid pale, most ghastly steed,
Best ridden by the King of Terrors, Death,
And follow'd by the shades of hell."

In the character of a king, or a tyrant. Death
has exercised almost universal dominion over the
human race. Of all the vast multitude of human
beings who have lived, but two — Enoch and Eli-
jah— have escaped the power of this tyrant. And
all who are now living, and all who will yet live,
down to the end of the world, except those who
may be living when the Savior comes again m
the clouds of heaven, must fall before this mighty
conqueror. "A conqueror all along he has been,
— never yet baffled ; his course one perpetual tri-
umph,— the ally of Death following in his foot-
steps; not only smiting down the victim, but
devouring it, — taking it into his den and con-
suming it bone by bone, till every particle is
crumbled into dust, as if to make victory so sure
that a retrieval of it would be absolutely impossi-
ble."

Oh, who can estimate the agony, the woe, the

326 CLUSTERS FROM BSHCOL.

heart-aches, the tears, the distress, and the priva-
tions which have been occasioned hy the victori-
ous arm of this pitiless, relentless tyrant ! What
household has been exempted from his unwel-
come visits? What homes have escaped his dev-
astating power ? What families has he broken
up and scattered, — no more to be united till Jesus
comes ! What widows and orphans has he sent
forth to battle with a pitiless world ! And when
has this relentless tyrant, in a single case, been
turned aside from his purpose by either age, sex,
beauty, wealth, poverty, piety, or usefulness?

But is there no power than can arrest the vic-
torious course of this pale horse and his relentless
rider? Is there no one strong enough to wrest
the scepter from this enthroned monarch? May
we not take up the inquiry of the poet and ask, —

" How long shall Death, the tyrant, reign.
And triumph o'er the just?"

These inquiries are answered by the Prophet
Hosea, who, in his prediction of Christ's victory
over death and the grave, uses language which
seems to have been formed specially to meet the
symbol of the enthroned King of Terrors, — "/
will ransom them from the 'power of the grave; I will
redeem them from death: 0 death, I will he thy
plagues; 0 grave, I will be thy destruction.^' (Hosea
xiii. 14.)

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 327

Death has now been despoiled of his power by
our Lord Jesus Christ; and although he is yet
permitted to sway his scepter for awhile, his
power has been greatly mitigated in the cases of
the saints ; and ere long he, too, as the last enemy
of our race, shall be completely destroyed. (I.
Cor. XV. 26.)

But, in what manner did the Redeemer break
the power of this great tyrant ? By what means
have this horse and his rider been arrested in
their victorious career? In what way has the
ficepter been wrested from the hand of this en-
throned monarch?

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Strong Man armed,
met the great conquering enemy on his hitherto
'Unchecked course, and threw the horse back upon
Ms haunches and wrested the sword from the
hand of its rider. He entered into the palace of
the King of Terrors, and there wrested the scep-
ter from his hand. He is therefore the conquer-
ing Hero. But in this mighty conflict he himself
was wounded. He received the sword into his
^own bosom, and poured out his life-blood that
we might live. The wreath of victorious battle,
however, is his ; and under his shield we may
rest secure. Death has been arrested in his course.
JEe is now a conquered foe.

828 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

One other symbol of death, employed in the-
Scriptures, is, —

III. Death as a deadly serpent.

Some serpents are inoffensive and harmless ;:
this great serpent is armed with a deadly sting, — ■
^'The sting of death is sin.'' Sin gave unto death
its sting, and the law gave sin its strength. (I..
Cor. XV. 55, 56.)

In the character of a great and deadly serpent^
Death has assailed our whole race, and all who
have ever lived, with but two exceptions, have-
fallen by his sting. The venom of this sting is
first felt at birth, and continues to be felt through-
out the entire life ; for life is one unceasing battle
with death, and every pain we feel, every tear we
shed, and every cry that escapes our lips, is the
result of the deadly poison which has been pro-
jected into our system. All classes and condi
tions of life are alike subject to the fatal results
of the sting of this great serpent ; and until the
great Deliverer came and plucked away his stingy
his sway was universal and undisputed.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the great Deliverer, has
taken away from Death his sting, by permitting^
it to pierce himself. He overcame the great
enemy by allowing himself to be overcome. He-
robbed the grave of its victory by laying there- '

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 329'

awhile himself. '' He caused the grave to let go
its hold by going down into its precincts and
wrestling with it in the greatness of his strength.
He brought round the law, which was against us^
to be upon our side, by giving the law all that it
sought, so that it could ask no more either of
him or of us. Ah, this is victory ! It is not escap-
ing by stealth out of the hands of the enemy ; it
is open and triumphant victory, — victory which
not only routs and disgraces the enemy, but swal-
lows him up ; victory achieved in righteousness
and in behalf of those who had once been lawful
captives."

In that grand and consoling statement of the
victory achieved over death by our Lord Jesus
Christ, and the fact of the resurrection and glori-
fication of the saints, this exultant interrogation,
inspired by the greatness of the victory and the
certainty of the glory which is to follow, is thus
defiantly put: "0 death, where is thy sting? O
grave, ivhere is thy victory ? The sting of death is
sin; and the strength of sin is the laio. But thanks
be to God, which giveth us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ'^ (I. Cor. xv. 55-57.)

Death, then, to the believer, is a conquered foe.
He is a jailer despoiled of his key ; a monarch
without a scepter; a serpent without a sting.

S30 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

But, it may be inquired, must not Christians
die and pass into the dominion of death ?

Believers must pass through the dominion over
which the dark shadow of death rests, — called the
"^'Valley of the Shadow of Death," — but they will
encounter the shadow of the great destroyer only.
Shadows may alarm, but they can not harm us.

In securing this victory over death our Lord
Jesus Christ did not meet, as his people will
meet, a serpent despoiled of its sting; but he
met the great serpent in all its venom and power,
receiving in his own person the sting intended
for us. In a word, Jesus died as a sinner dies thai
sinners might die like saints. In this conflict with
the great serpent, the seed of the woman received
a wound in his heel, but in turn he crushed the
serpent's head. (Gen. iii. 15.)

The relation which Christians now sustain to
death is illustrated by the following incident : In
the war between France and Germany a few
years ago, all Germans in foreign lands still
owing allegiance to the fatherland were called
upon to serve in the German army. A person
seeing his German friend walking about the
streets of London, asked him how it was that
he had not responded to the call of his govern-
ment, and gone to the war. " Oh," said he, " be-

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 331

cause I am dead ; the government "has no claim
upon me." "What, you dead! Explain your-
self." " Well, I did not want to go to the war,
and I found a young man who offered to go as
my substitute. He went instead of me ; he took
my place and was killed. ITow that was counted
just the same as though I had been killed; and I
am considered by the government as a dead man,
and they have no further claim upon me."

The Lord Jesus Christ, moved by love and
compassion, became our Substitute. He took ©ur
place under the law. He died for us ; and God
accepts his death as though we had died. And,
now, to all who accept of salvation by Christ, to
all who are in Christ, losing thereby their person-
ality before the law in him, death is practically
ended ; for, as our Substitute has already died for
us, God will not require it again of us. But
those who refuse or neglect this great salvation,
who avail not themselves of the great previsions
of mercy, must indeed die, must meet the penalty
in their own persons.

In the light of this explanation, how plain and
simple are the following scriptures : " Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and
blood, he also himself likewise took part of the
flame; that through death he might destroy him

832 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

that had the "power of death, that is, the devil ; and
deliver them, who through fear of death were all
their life-time subject to bondage." (Heb. ii.
14,15.)

" Jesus said unto her [Martha], I am the resur-
rection, and the life: he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live : and who-
soever liveth and believeth in me shall never die/*
.(John xi. 25, 26.)

St. Paul, in I. Corinthians xv. 54, declares that
death is ^'swallowed up in victory;^' and in II. Timo-
thy i. 10, he declares that " Our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ hath abolished death.'' Death, then,
Co the Christian is only a sleep; and the church
has caught the correct idea of it in .naming the
resting-places of their departed ones as "ceme-
teries,'' from a Greek word which signifies " sleep"
ing-placesJ'

This advantage, this immunity, be it remem-
bered, accrues to Christians only. They alone
encounter shadows only. All out of Christ meet
and fall by the power of the King of Terrors
himself.

" But," says one, " is not this the doctrine of
materialism, which teaches that the wicked shall
be destroyed in death, and shall thereafter have
jio conscious existence ? "

CLUSTEES FROM ESHCOL. 333

E'o, by no means. We hold that to Christians
Death has been despoiled of his sting, his terror,
his power to harm, and may be counted as a
friend rather than a foe, an advantage rather
than a disadvantage ; for, has not St. Paul includ-
ed it among the possessions of Christians, in his
enumeration of their treasures ? — " All things are
yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or
the world, or life, or death, or things present, or
things to come ; all are yours.'' (I. Cor. iii. 21,
22.) The wicked, however, will not realize this
advantage. To them Death is a fearful enemy;
and they shall experience his sting, his terror, his
power to harm, without a single mitigating or
relieving circumstance.

In the world of departed spirits the souls of
the righteous will abide until the resurrection, in
paradise, a place of inexpressible joy and happi-
ness, while the souls of the wicked shall abide
in darkness and misery and wretchedness and
woe. In the resurrection, the bodies of both the
righteous and the wicked shall be resurrected
and re-inhabited by their respective spirits. The
righteous, glorified and immortalized, shall go to
the place prepared for them from the foundation
of the world, ^while the wicked, immortalized
and transformed, shall go into the place prepared

334 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

for the devil and his angels. (Matt. xxv. 34-46.)
This is the second death referred to in Revela-
tion XX. 14.

In what form and after what likeness the wick-
ed shall he made to conform in their resurrection,
the Scriptures are considerately silent. As the
righteous shall he conformed to the image of
Him whom they have served, it is altogether
likely that the ungodly will he made to hear, in
some respects, the image of him whom they
chose here to serve. Oh, horrid thought ! Well
is it that God has mercifully hid this from our
knowledge.

But what, it may he inquired, is the analogy
between the memorial stones referred to in the
scripture placed at the beginning of this chapter,
and the victory over death secured to believers ?

Simply and beautifully this : The priests who
bore the ark of the covenant passed on some
twelve hundred yards in advance of the hosts of
Israel, and as soon as their feet touched the water
they divided, and remained divided as long as
the ark was kept in the river, and through these
divided waters the people all passed over safely.
The ark of the covenant was a type of Christ,
the true ark of the covenant; and as the former
divided the waters of Jordan, and afforded tho

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 335

Israelites a safe passage through them, so the
latter divides the waters of the river of death,
and affords God's Israel a safe and triumphant
passage through them. And as the waters of
Jordan were powerless to harm the Israelites as
long as the ark was in their midst, so the waters
of the river of death are powerless to harm the
spiritual Israel so long as the true Ark, the Lord
Jesus Christ, remains therein. And as the stones
which were planted in the midst of the river
were placed where the feet of the priests stood
who bore the ark of the covenant, and were left
there when the ark was removed, so the virtue of
Christ's presence in the region and dominion of
Death remains there, although he himself is no
longer there. These memorial stones, then, are
intended to symbolize the all-important fact of
the perfect, complete, and ever-abiding victory
gained over death by our Lord Jesus Christ; and
it is of these it is affirmed in our text that 'Hhey
are there unto this day,"

The stones taken from the bed of the river and
carried with them, and subsequently set up in
their lodgings, symbolize the triumphant passage
of believers through the river of death, as the
stones themselves were intended to keep in per-
petual remembrance the safe passage of the chil-
dren of Israel through the river Jordan.

S36 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

That I have not misunderstood the significance
of these memorial stones, let the following script-
ure be considered : " And he spake unto the
children of Israel, saying, When your children
fihall ask their fathers in time to come, sayiug,
What mean these stones ? Then ye shall let your
children know, saying, Israel came over this Jor-
dan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried
up the waters of Jordan from before you, until
ye tvere passed over, as the Lord your God did to
the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us,
until we were gone over : that all the people of
the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that
it is mighty : that ye might fear the Lord your
Ood forever." (Joshua iv. 21-24.)
' The stones placed in the midst of Jordan are
hidden from our sight; so the great fact which
they symbolize, the perfect and ever-abidiug vic-
tory over death by Christ /or the benefit of believers,
is not visible to natural eyes, but to faith only.
The stones carried up from the bed of the river
and subsequently kept in their dwellings, were at
all times visible, and their significance was ever
known ; so the great fact which they symbolize,
the happy and triumphant deaths of believers,
are among the richest and most precixDus treas-
ures of every Christian . family. The one is not

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 337

realized until the hour of death ; the other is
always present and visible, in our dwellings, in
our homes, for there it is always needed.

The annals of the church abound with instan-
ces of complete and perfect victory in death, a
few of which I will introduce in illustration of
our subject :

John Bunyan, in his Pilgrim's Progress, de-
scribes the crossing of the river of death of the
pilgrims Christian and Hopeful. After entering
into the river, Christian at first became alarmed,
and supposed that he would go down under the
water. Hopeful encouraged him with the words,
*^ Be of good cheer, my brother ; I feel the bot-
tom, and it is good." After some time Christian
broke forth in exclamations of praise, — " Oh, T
see Him again ; and He tells me, ' When thou
passest through the water, I will be with thee ;
and through the river, they shall not overflow
thee.'" Christian, therefore, presently found
ground to stand upon; and so it followed that
the rest of the way was but shallow, and thus
they got over.

These pilgrims in passing through the river of
death found that whatever had become of the
stones placed in the midst of the Jordan when
Israel passed over, the great fact which those

338 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

stones symbolized — the ever-abiding presence of
the great Ark of the Covenant, Jesus Christ, —
was still there.

A traveler to the Holy Land says that at his-
first sight of the river Jordan he was made to
exclaim, "What! Is this narrow, insignificant
stream the great Jordan about which I have
heard so much ? I supposed from the prominence
given to it in the Scriptures, and the oft-repeated
words of the hymn, ^ On Jordan's stormy banks-
I stand,' that I would see a wide and deep
river!" So, many Christian travelers have found
in approaching the river of death that their pre-
vious conceptions of it were altogether extrava-
gant, and, with a pious lady when dying, exclaim,
" OA, its only a brook ! "

John Janeway, an eminent Christain of En-
gland, in the seventeenth century, after a life of
eminent piety and usefulness came down to the
river of death. When confronting his last enemy
he said, " I am ashamed to pray for life. Is there
anything here more desirable than the enjoyment
of Jesus Christ? Can I desire anything below
comparable to that blessed vision? Oh, that
crown ! That rest which remains for the people
of God ! And, blessed be God, I can say, I know
it is mine."

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 339

To a friend who visited him he said, " I feel
the excellences of Jesus Christ; my heart is as
full as it can hold in this lower state."

As the end drew near his language was nearly
all adoration and praise. Admiring the hound-
less love of God to him he said, " Oh, why this
love to me, Lord ? Why to me ? Praise is now my
work ; and I shall be engaged in that sweet em-
ployment forever. Oh, help me to praise Him ! I
have nothing else to do. I have done with prayer;
I have almost done with conversing with mortals.
I shall soon behold Christ himself, who died for
me, and loved me, and washed me in his blood.
I shall shortly be in eternity, singing the song of
Moses and the song of the Lamb. I shall pres-
ently stand upon mount Sion, with an innumera-
ble company of angels and the spirits of the just
made perfect. I shall hear the voice of multi-
tudes, and be one among them who say, * Halle-
lujah! Salvation! Glory and honor and power
unto the Lord our God.' " In this happy frame
and giving utterance to such triumphant expres-
sions he passed through the river safely, upon the
stepping-stones placed there by our blessed Lord.

"William Gordan, an eminent Christian and
physician of England, well known to scientists
as a man of great abilities, when dying, exclaimed,

340 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

*' People have said that death \?> frightful. I look
on it with pleasure. I see no monster around
me ! Death ! I see no death at my bedside ; it
is that benign Savior, waiting to take me. I
could not have a fear. Christ, not death, is about
to take me. There is no death to the Christian.
The glorious gospel takes away death. I don't
look at myself. I am a mass of corruption ; but
I revel in the atonement. I. shall never see Death,
that monster so often talked of. It is Christ!
Death? Death? There is none here. It is all
swallowed up of life ! I see nothing but Christ."

Said Bishop Haven, when dying, " It's so de-
lightful dying, — it is pleasant, so beautiful. The
angels are here ; God lifts me up in his arms. I
can not see the river ; it is all light. I am float-
ing away from earth up into heaven ; I am glid-
ing away unto God." One of his friends inquired
of him if it was all right with him ? He replied,
" Yes ; I have not a cloud over my mind. I be-
lieve the gospel all through, — all through."

Rev. "W. T. Lower, a minister of the church of
the United Brethren in Christ, a man of excellent
Christian spirit, died prematurely from excessive
labor in the Master's vineyard. His last illness
was long and severe; but his submission and
patience were perfect and complete. His last

CLUSTERS PROM ESHCOL. 341

sermon was from the text, "Mark the perfect
man, and behold the upright, for the end of that
man is peace." (Psalms xxxvii. 37.) It was said
to have been a sermon of extraordinary clearness
and power. It proved to be prophetic of his own
departure, then near at hand. A few days after
the delivery of that sermon Mr. Lower took to
his bed, from which he never arose, until carried
to his grave. During his illness he was always
patient, uncomplaining, and submissive, and as
the end drew near, often exceedingly joyful and
triumphant. Calmly, peacefully, and in perfect
confidence in God, this man of God passed away,
just as the evening sun sunk behind the mount-
ain near at hand. His end was peace. His en-
trance was abundant. His feet, too, found a safe
passage throng the river, upon the stepping-stones
placed there by our Lord Jesus Christ.

As an illustration of the power of divine grace
to sustain and give victory in death, the case of
Hev. H. Y. Humelbaugh is an eminent example.
Mr. Humelbaugh was also a minister in the
church of the United Brethren in Christ, and
died October 13th, 1868, while pastor of the
church at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The
writer visited him frequently during the several
weeks of his illness, and was present with hira

342 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

when he died and heard the expressions of tri-
umph as they fell from his dying lips, many of
which were written down at the time, lest they
would be forgotten. Among all the precious
utterances of departing saints none that we have
ever heard surpass for beauty and grandeur some
of the expressions which fell from the lips of this
man of God. They deserve a permanent place
in the annals of the church; and, so far as we
can, we give them this prominence.

Mr. Humelbaugh appeared to have a presenti-
ment of his approaching death, and often spoke
of his . departure, expressing, however, the wish,
if consistent with his heavenly Father's will, to
recover and live awhile longer for the sake of
his family.

Visiting him early in the evening prior to his
death I found him quite ill, but calmly resting in
God. To my inquiry if he still enjoyed the pres-
ence of the Savior, he replied, " Oh, yes, I am
happy, — though at times I have severe trials.
Yesterday morning I thought I was going over.
Oh, if I could have had strength I would have
shouted the praise of God ! Before you go I must
tell you the vision I had about two weeks ago.
I was alone one day, when four angels came and
stood there at the foot of my bed, bearing in their

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 343

iiands a beautiful white lounge. After standing
awhile and looking upon me very lovingly they
vrent up again."

Said I to him : " Are you certain you were not
asleep and dreaming?"

"I tell you I did see them, — I was wide awake;
and I thought I was dying, for I felt my heart
breaking at the sight."

Mrs. Humelbaugh informed me that at the
time referred to she was absent from the room,
but upon returning she found him with closed
€yes and very pale. Supposing him to be dead
she called to him. Opening his eyes he said,
*'Were you frightened?" "Yes," she replied; "I
thought you were dead." He then told her of
the vision of angels he had seen.

Returning to the room of the sick man, after
meeting with and leading my class, about nine
o'clock at night, I found his family in tears. The
doctors had just left, telling them that he was
fast sinking. I entered his room, and shortly
after- some five or six brethren, members like my-
self of Mr. Humelbaugh's congregation, came in
and remained till his death, some three hours
afterward. Desiring to know the doctor's opin-
ion of his case he inquired of him, and was told
of his critical condition. He replied, " Well, this

344 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

is not what we expected, but it is all right." He
was apparently surprised at the nearness of death,
and for about a half hour he lay in silence, evi-
dently meditating and praying. At length, ob-
taining complete victory over all fear, he exclaim-
ed, " I have tried to live a religious life ; and now
I can say, Saved by grace ! Saved by the grace
of God ! " Then turning toward the doctors, who
sat by his side, and extending his arm and with a
smile of triumph upon his pale face, he exclaimed,.
"0 doctor, ivhat a beautiful land lies just before my
eyesT^

Turning to his weeping wife he said, "0 Fanny,,
weep not for me ; I will soon be at rest, — forever
at rest from all my troubles. Oh, lead a holy^
life. Train up the children in the fear of God —
in experimental religion; and tell them to be
humble." Then raising both hands he exclaimed,,
" Let people say what they choose against exper-
imental religion ; thank God, it saves in a dying
hour! "

After resting awhile he said, "I started to
serve God when young, — thirteen years ago; I
tried to hold out, and now I am almost home."
Inquiring the time of night, he was told it was
near twelve o'clock. He then said, " If I could,
I would like to sing." " Shall we sing for you ? '^

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 34S

I inquired. "It miglit confuse me; you had bet-
ter not." Then in a feeble strain he faintly sung,
*' I'm nearer, nearer home, — nearer to my happy
home."

During the four hours in which this occurred
he labored hard at times for breath, — had several
sinking -spells, but was at all times in perfect
peace and holy ecstasy.

Having left the room, about an hour before he
died, he inquired where I was. Being called, I
hastily returned to his bedside ; and, desiring me
to resume my place by his side and hold his hand,
as I had done all the evening, he said, supposing^
that I was frightened and desired to get away,.
" Don't be alarmed ; this is all right ; it will soon
be over !"

When very near the end he attempted to quote
the words, "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." Omitting the words, "I fear no
evil," I quoted the whole verse correctly to him,
he repeating it after me ; and then, as if inspired
with the precious import o..* the concluding words,,
he exclaimed, ^'They comfort me! They comfort me!
Yes, blessed be God, they comfort me." Then,
laying his hand on his breast, he said, " 0 Jesus,

■346 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

»

precious Jesus, thou art precious to mj soul !
In a few moments, with holy ecstasy, with the
light of heaven in his countenance, and with up-
lifted hands, he exclaimed, " 0 King of Terrors !
O End of Time ! Oh, all is bright ! I'll soon be

AT HOME ! "

With the wor^s, " Farewell, brethren," he clos-
ed his eyes and ceased to breathe, his happy
spirit released from its tenement of clay, and,
doubtless, was escorted to heaven by the four
shining ones who had appeared to him a few
weeks previously.

Mr. Humelbaugh while in health often spoke
to the writer of the gloom which seemed to come
over him when contemplating death. He was
then viewing it from a distance; but when he
came to test the reality his fears all departed,
and he passed triumphantly through the river.

Before me lays a tract, a book, and a written
manuscript, in which the peaceful and triumphant
deaths of loved ones are recorded. These were
written by husbands for their departed wives,
and a sister for a departed sister. They are Me-
morial Stones, taken from the river of death, and
set up and cherished, as God intends such memo-
rials should be cherished, in our families, where
they may be constantly seen, and where by con«

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 347

tinual intercourse therewith we may become fa-
miliarized to the fact that death is a conquered
foe, that those of our friends who have left us
have passed through the river safely, and that the
virtue of the presence of the true Ark of the
•Covenant — our Lord Jesus Christ — still abides in
the river of death, and that our feet, when we
come to pass that river, shall find the stepping-
stones to be there still.

A few extracts from these memorials I will
give ; and they will demonstrate that triumph in
death is not confined to persons of eminent tal-
ents, position, or usefulness in the church, but
that the humble and lowly can also share therein.

Mrs. C. A. Castle, wife of Bishop ^N". Castle,
whose triumphant death, after a long and severe
illness from consumption, has been recorded by
her husband, and published in a tract by the
Holiness Association in the church of the United
Brethren in Christ, has furnished one of the most
remarkable instances of the power of divine
grace to sustain and give victory to the believer
in death which the annals of the Church contains.
This devoted Christian lady went with her hus-
band to the Pacific coast, to which he was ap-
pointed by the General Conference of 1877, and
while there was stricken by that fell destroyer —

348 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

consumption. Some time before her death she-
received the blessing of entire sanctification ; and
from that time until her departure she was un-
usually filled with the Holy Spirit, and testified
to all with whom she came in contact the power
of Jesus to save from alt sin. As the hour of
departure drew near she gave utterance to expres-
sions of holy triumph and ecstasy which have but
few parallels. I will now quote from .the record
written by her husband : '' For some two days
and nights she was almost incessantly employed
in labor for souls and in praise. She would sing,
at short intervals, day and night. Oh, the melo-
diousness, the heavenliness of that singing! She
could never sing much ; but this was unearthly
singing. At one time she said, ^ The Lord ha&
washed my heart so clean. It is white, yes, whiter
than snow. Oh, this sweet peace ; it flows as a
river to my soul ! This room is full of glory ; my
pillow is covered with glory.' Remaining quiet
a few minutes, in which she seemed sweetly rest-
ing, she exclaimed, ' Why, I was not breathing,.
was I? It seemed that the Lord breathed through
me.' After passing away into a motionless and
speechless state, in which she remained for quite
a period of time, with every indication of death,
— limbs cold and brow clammy, — on reviving she

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 349

fiaid, ' When I was so near gone I stood in the
bright rows of heaven, and joined their songs. I
wanted to stay; but Jesus said, " Linger a httle
while longer."' All the clothes — handkerchiefs,
bed - clothing, stand -cover, — had to be pefectly
white and free from any signs of dirt ; her mouth
and te-eth and finger-nails were cleansed ; 'for,' said
she, * since Jesus has washed me so clean, I want
everything clean around me.' When the lamp
was turned low to save her eyes she said, ' Oh,
how full of light this room is ! In heaven they
need no light; Jesus is the light of the place.
Oh, how beautiful heaven is ! It is all pure. The
angels are all pure.' Then she sung, ' Glory, glo-
ry fills my soul,' — waving her hand in triumph.
Only those who heard this singing can tell of its
heavenly melody. At the end of the singing she
exclaimed, ' Sweet Jesus, precious Jesus ! Oh, it
is nothing to the Christian to die 1 '

" Passing away again, as previously mentioned,
she quite suddenly aroused with shouts of ' Glo-
ry ! Glory I ! ' clapping her hands in great ec-
stacy, exclaiming, ' Kow I know why God would
not let me go. He told me to come back and
tell you to preach this full and free salvation.
He says I can not do it, — my lungs are gone; but
tell him to do it, — and I will be with him. Oh,

S50 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

that I had found this full salvation years ago t
How much good I might have done! I have
enjoyed religion all these years! I found Jesus
precious to my soul — in my closet; hut, oh, it
was nothing to this! This flows as a river; it is
constant ! My room is all lighted up with glory/
Then waiving her hand she exclaimed, ' Oh, how
bright the cross ! How beautiful the crown ! ' "

" Here," wrote the bishop, " follow some* won-
derful things. This vision occurred in the fore-
noon, and was wonderful. 'No tongue or pen can
describe the glorious, spiritual presence that
seemed to pervade the room where this suffering
saint was lying. Heaven came down to earth.
It was truly a mount of transfiguration. The
countenance, especially the eyes, seemed celestial.
A soft, mellow light, or heavenly sweetness, shone
from them, — only varying in rich and mysterious
deepness as new wonders filled the vision. I was
occupying a seat at the foot of the bed at the
time, having been in conversation, when I chanc-
ed to see a more fixed and entranced gaze, up-
ward and onward, as if trying to survey some
scene of musical interest. The eyes passed
through a certain space, backward and forward,
up and down, as if surveying numbers. It must
be observed here that the talk was not rapid; it

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 351

was quite slow and measured, as when one is
looking by the aid of a glass into the distance
and by slow degrees discovers and relates scenes
of thrilling interest. The brilliancy of the coun-
tenance increased and the expressiveness of the
eyes became more intensely glorious as the scenes
detailed increased in interest. Let it be observed
how gradually the vision opens and increases in
magnitude; especially how the multitude of the
heavenly host increased in numbers. After a few
moments' gaze she said, ' Oh, heaven is such a
beautiful place! It is brighter than a thousand
suns ! ' Then gazing a moment she exclaimed,

* Don't you see those bright ones ? They come in
thousands.' A pause, with increasing interest,

* Oh, what a multitude ! There stands Jesus ! Oh,
don't you see him ? Oh, how bright ! The air is
filled with bright beings ! They are increasing in
numbers ! They are coming nearer! Oh, glory !
See the holy ranks ! Oh, they are coming for me!
My heart is made ready for the heavenly com-
pany ! Oh, they are coming from all the courts
of heaven ! They are waiting for me ! Glory !
Glory ! Glory ! More are coming ! They are all
around my bed. I am waiting, waiting. Oh, it
is so light in my room; it is filled with angels. I
see for miles and miles, and it is all filled with

S52 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

angels, — millions and millions of angels.' While
gazing for a time, back and forth, np and down,
she said, ^ I have not seen any of my friends yet.*
Then lowering her eyes, as if viewing the ranks,
she exclaimed, while a heavenly brilliancy filled
her eyes, ' There is sister Jane, who died at
Elkhart. Oh, how beautiful! There is Jesse —
Bweet little angel. He is in mother's bosom.
[ This little babe died in Iowa.] There is Sister
Kitson. Glory ! Glory ! ! [We were at this sis-
ter's house the last night we spent near Warsaw,
Indiana.] There is Father Zahring; Josie and
Ellie Tuck. They are all angels, sweet angels.'
Father Zahring died very suddenly, near Frank-
fort, Indiana, the year that I was in charge of
Frankfort Circuit. Josie and Ellie, daughters
of Rev. H. Tuck of St. Joseph Conference, died
at Elkhart, Indiana.

" But the vision continued, ' There is aunt Katie
Lower. She came up through great tribulation.
Brother Farmer, Brother Hadley, Brother Had-
ley's child. Dr. Linn's little children, — they are
all angels. I can't number that multitude; it
will take an eternity to number it. It is a multi-
tude that can't be numbered.' Rev. Joseph Far-
mer of St. Joseph Conference died the year of
our marriage, while I lived near Berrien Springs,

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 853

Michigan. Our sainted wife never saw him. She
saw his picture frequently ; and we often stood at
the head of his grave; but in person she never
saw him. In this vision she knew and named
him. Surely, to the pure in heart, heaven and
earth are not widely separated.

" In the midst of these wonderful scenes she
broke out into singing, * Glory, glory, glory,
glory, fills my soul ! ' Then she exclaimed, ' It is
so beautiful ! Such beautiful mansions prepared
for all the faithful. Oh, Jesse is so sweet ! Heaven
is full of little children. It will take millions and
millions of years to count them. My brother
Philip, who was killed in the army ; Sister Blinn,
Charley Losier, — the dear little boy. Tell Ida
[her daughter] to write and tell them.' After
this she exclaimed, pointing them out, and won-
dering why we could not see them, * See the
friends ! There is one ; there is another ; ' and so
on."

In this happy frame this devoted servant of
God continued for a few days, and then, suddenly
and without affording the friends by her bedside
time to say farewell, her happy spirit took its de-
parture to be with Christ and with the loved ones
whom she saw in vision. Truly, she found a safe
passage through the river upon the sure step-
ping-stones placed there by our Lord. ^

854 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

Miss A. "W*., while yet in youth, was called to
meet the great enemy, death. Of a timid and
retiring disposition, she often expressed her fears
of meeting death, especially in the form of lin-
gering, painful disease. When in the last stage
of consumption she wrote to a friend thus: "0.
has told thee, of course, how much worse I am in
body ; but I am very happy. I think the thought
of just falling asleep in Jesus is perfectly sweet.
It is so different from my old view of death ; and
this is all that death is to him who trusts in Jesus
— just falling asleep on Jesus' breast to awake at
the glorious resurrection-morn."

This young lady when dying " was placed upon
a sofa in the center of the room, that she might
have the benefit of all the air passing. As she
seemed to be sinking into death her parents, sis-
ters, and friends gave her the parting kiss, she
sweetly smiling and whispering, *Ji^'5 so lovely to
be going/ Addressing her father she inquired,
* Father, am I dying?' To his words she re-
sponded, ^Ifs all right; I want the Lord's will done/
Just before she drew her last breath she folded
her hands across her breast, and with a sweet
smile, and gazing upward, said, ^My. Beloved is
mine, and I am his/ In the act of turning her
on her side, her sister said to her, 'Almost home,

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 855

darling,' when, witli her last breath, she whis-
pered, *W-i-t-h the Lord.' The feet of this youth-
ful pilgrim found the sure stepping-stones to be
Hhere unto this day' "

Mrs. E. W., an estimable Christian lady, after a
sore and protracted illness approached the brink
of the river of death. Obtaining, in answer to her
many prayers, a perfect victory over the fear of
death, she gave utterance to the following beauti-
ful words : " 0 dearest Lord, thou hast fully satis-
fied the longing desire of thy poor, helpless serv-
ant. Oh, how shall I thank thee sufficiently, and
praise thy holy name for the fresh and unex-
pected display of thy heavenly love and mercy !
Glory ! Glory ! ! Glory ! ! ! Thanksgiving and
praise be to thy worthy and adorable name for-
ever ! 0 Lord, thou hast fully satisfied ! Come
when thou pleasest. Thy servant is ready and
willing to be taken to thy holy arms."

Addressing her husband she said, "I was pray-
ing to-day, when suddenly a burst of glory came.
Tell all my dear brothers and sisters that I want
them to partake with me in the same joy, the
same heavenly love, and the same glorious pros-
pects which I now feel, and with which my heart
and soul are filled." Then, with a countenance
beaming with heavenly rapture, she exclaimed,

356 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL.

"Oil, Happy ! Happy ! ! Happy ! ! ! Glory ! Glo-
ry!! Glory!!! Language can not set forth a
sense of the eternal weight of glory which presses
on my happy, happy soul."

In this frame, and giving utterance to such tri-
umphant exclamations, she continued for awhile
and then sweetly fell asleep in Jesus.

These dying triumphs might be continued to
almost any extent, for the annals of the church
abound with them; but we desist. We might
tell of the dying triumphs of the martyrs, of the
reformers, of the Wesleys, of Fletcher, of Top-
lady, of Locke, of Payson, of Otterbein, of Ed-
wards, and of a host of others ; but enough has
been given to demonstrate the fact that whatever
may have become of the stones set up in the
midst of the Jordan, and of those taken from the
midst of the river and carried with them and
subsequently preserved in their families, the facts
which these memorial - stones symbolized — the
complete and abiding victory over death achieved
by our Lord Jesus Christ, and the memorials of
triumphant and happy deaths of samts cherished
in our households and families, — yet remain ; for
" they are there unto this day"

My task — if employment so pleasant and de-
lightful as the preparation of this work can be

CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 357

called a task — is finished. I have tried to set be-
fore the reader the teaching of God's holy word
in relation to the afflictions and trials of believers.
And I think it has been demonstrated that in'
stead of these being evidences of the Divine dis-
pleasure, as we are apt to conclude when afflicted,
they are rather evidences of God's special love
and regard for us, and that without them we
have reason to question our divine relationship.

And now, in conclusion, and as an expression
of our own relation to the subject treated in these
pages, and to the kingdom and glory near at
hand, the anticipation of which is so delightfully
precious in affliction so severe and protracted as
that under which these pages have been written,
I quote the following expressive and appropriate
verses from TJpham's " Christ in the soul:

" The days of toil soon are over;

Temptations, darkness, sorrow gone,
Already see the shining shore,
And let the bark move swiftly on,

" The waves are dashing round the prow;
And hostile clouds are in the sky ;
But wave nor cloud can hurt us now ;
Behold I The shining shore is nigh,"

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