It is surprising in one sense, to note the emphasis which the apostle Paul puts upon “joy”. When we come to think of the life he lived, the nature and revelation made known to and through him-the stewardship of the Mystery-his bonds and imprisonment, the loneliness and the abuse that seemed his daily meat, we should not be surprised after the manner of men, if “joy” never entered his vocabulary.
But, thank God we do not speak after the manner of men, having seen enough of the grace of God to be prepared for songs in the night and psalms from the innermost prison. Again and again in the epistle to the Philippians Paul bids his readers “rejoice”, even though some brethren (not merely pagan enemies) were endeavouring to add affliction to his bonds.
The ministry for which The Berean Expositor was first called in existence, and which justified its continuance, is one so fraught with problems, and which makes such demands upon both reader and writer, that it is absolutely necessary that into all the hard study, and in some cases isolation that the truth entails, should be brought the remembrance that faith is not cold but warm and living, and that there is a “joy of faith” (Phil. 1:25) as well as the subject matter of the faith, the fight of faith and steadfastness in the faith. Faith not only leads to justification, acceptance, and life, blessings indeed beyond computation, but to “joy and peace in believing”(Rom. 15:13) with which we should be as much filled, as “with the spirit”.
Some of the fruits of the Spirit are enumerated in Galatians 5:22,23 which sets forth a veritable cluster of Eschol, nine in all, including gentleness, temperance, and faith. The first in order of mention is “love”, without which all knowledge, faith, and even martyrdom are reduced to nothing: and second in order of mentions is “joy”. Can we conceive of gentleness without joy and still associate it with the Spirit? Temperance without joy may be a mischief-worker and a cause for stumbling. A joyless faith producing a joyless creed neither commends the gospel nor glorifies the Lord. Joy differs from happiness largely and depends upon what “happens”, whereas joy is deeper, being independent of circumstances. The Apostle may at one time be exalted and at another depressed: he may be full or hungry, be in comparative comfort or in lonely neglect. He may be even in fetters and prison, but his joy remains unchanged.
Strictly speaking, there should be no need in a magazine of this type specifically to deal with such a subject. We should all be so keen to learn all that is possible concerning the Lord and His Word, that the pursuit of some intricate piece of grammar should be a joyful undertaking, the labour of discovering or of verifying and using a structure should be as joyful a piece of work as the singing of a lovely melody. Indeed, a peep behind the scenes would sometimes reveal that when after hours of close study, some intricate point had been resolved, or a complicated structure discovered, and the writer’s manner of celebrating the event so far removed from such the deportment we usually associate with such studies. Some exuberance not only echoes Archimedes’ famous cry of Eureka, but, and which is more to the point, is an echo of a joy such as that of Jeremiah who exclaimed: “Thy words were found and I did eat them: and or of the Psalmist who said: “I rejoice at Thy word, as one that findeth great spoil” (Psa. 119:162).
“I will not leave thee”
The subject of Christian joy may be approached from several angles, and it is associated with a variety of themes, but the one theme that calls for immediate expression seems to be the close association that Scripture indicates as existing between joy and the presence of the Lord. We might establish the truth of this by an appeal to the epistle to the Philippians, where one of the key-words is “rejoice”, and where in chapter four the secret is revealed that “The Lord is near”. We might appeal to the Psalmist who said: “in Thy presence is fullness of joy” (Psa. 16:11), and realize that all such enjoyment of the Lord’s presence in this life is an anticipation of that future day of resurrection when we shall be satisfied (Psa. 17:15).
But in the first epistle of John we read: “These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (1 John 1:4). Upon examination it will be discovered that John is writing about fellowship with the Father and with the Son, of walking in the light as He is in the light. In other words he associates joy with the presence of the Lord.
Looking back to the verse in Psalm 16, proceeding that quoted above we read: “For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell” (Psa. 16:10), and this reference provided us with the first of many aspects of that experimental enjoyment of the presence of God, which is our theme.
“Thou wilt not leave me”. These words of the Lord spoken in the very valley of the shadow of death are calculated to minister to the joy of all who trust in Him. We observe that:
(1) The promise, “I will not leave thee” arises out of salvation itself:
“Hide not Thy face far from me; put not Thy servant away in anger: Thou has been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation” (Psa. 27:9).
As the God of our salvation we can confidently call upon Him to “leave us not”, and when we contemplate all that salvation has cost Him, we may gladly rest upon the fact that He will not leave those to perish who have been bought with such a price.
(2) “I will not leave thee” is also implicit in the fact that we so belong to the God of our Salvation, that we are called by His name:
“O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do Thou it for Thy Name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against Thee. O the Hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest Thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? Why shouldest Thou be as a man astonished, as a mighty man that cannot save? Yet Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by Thy Name: leave us not” (Jer. 14:7-9).
The context of this passage is one of terrible retribution. Not until Daniel, in is prayer of the ninth chapter, pleads for the city “which is called by Thy name…and They people (that) are called by Thy name” (Dan.9:18, 19) does an answer of peace come. Nevertheless, in spite of the long wait of 70 years, the prayer was heard. We are called by His name; He has called us by our name, and we can confidently put up the plea: “We are called by Thy name: leave us not”.
(3) “I will not leave thee” is implied in the promises of God:
The subject of Christian joy may be approached from several angles, and it is associated with a variety of themes, but the one theme that calls for immediate expression seems to be the close association that Scripture indicates as existing between joy and the presence of the Lord. We might establish the truth of this by an appeal to the epistle to the Philippians, where one of the key-words is “rejoice”, and where in chapter four the secret is revealed that “The Lord is near”. We might appeal to the Psalmist who said: “in Thy presence is fullness of joy” (Psa. 16:11), and realize that all such enjoyment of the Lord’s presence in this life is an anticipation of that future day of resurrection when we shall be satisfied (Psa. 17:15).
But in the first epistle of John we read: “These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (1 John 1:4). Upon examination it will be discovered that John is writing about fellowship with the Father and with the Son, of walking in the light as He is in the light. In other words he associates joy with the presence of the Lord.
Looking back to the verse in Psalm 16, proceeding that quoted above we read: “For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell” (Psa. 16:10), and this reference provided us with the first of many aspects of that experimental enjoyment of the presence of God, which is our theme.
“Thou wilt not leave me”. These words of the Lord spoken in the very valley of the shadow of death are calculated to minister to the joy of all who trust in Him. We observe that:
(1) The promise, “I will not leave thee” arises out of salvation itself:
“Hide not Thy face far from me; put not Thy servant away in anger: Thou has been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation” (Psa. 27:9).
As the God of our salvation we can confidently call upon Him to “leave us not”, and when we contemplate all that salvation has cost Him, we may gladly rest upon the fact that He will not leave those to perish who have been bought with such a price.
(2) “I will not leave thee” is also implicit in the fact that we so belong to the God of our Salvation, that we are called by His name:
“O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do Thou it for Thy Name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against Thee. O the Hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest Thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? Why shouldest Thou be as a man astonished, as a mighty man that cannot save? Yet Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by Thy Name: leave us not” (Jer. 14:7-9).
(3) “I will not leave thee” is implied in the promises of God:
“And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will keep thee in all places whither though goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” (Gen.28:15)
Here is a ground of strong confidence. “I am with thee”; I will keep thee”; “I will bring thee” are all implied in the words: “For I will not leave thee until…”
(4) “I will not leave thee” is our strength in the conflict and our pledge of victory:
“Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee, He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Deut. 31:16).
“I will not forsake thee”
Whenever we hear the words, “I will not leave thee”, we immediately add, if only mentally, the words, “neither will I forsake thee”. In on sense “leaving” and “forsaking” have an almost synonymous meaning and, indeed, the same original word is sometimes rendered “leave” and sometimes “forsake”. There are, however, one or two passages that we ought not to omit from our study together, and we trust that the survey will minister something of the joy of faith to any who may know something of what it means to be forsaken here below.
At the dedication of the temple, Solomon blessed the Lord saying,
“Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto His people Israel, according to all that He promised: there hath not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised by the hand of Moses His servant. The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; let Him not leave us, nor forsake us” (1 Kings 8:56,57)
The way in which Solomon links together the fulfillment of the promise with the plea, “leave us not, neither forsake us”, leads our thoughts back to the beginning of Israel’s history in the land, under Joshua:
“As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee…And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye may know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof” (Josh. 1:5, 23:14).
Let us notice one or two features that minister to the comfort of the believer.
(1) The fact that the Lord will not forsake His people is a pledge of preservation: “For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved for ever” (Psa 37:28). Surely it must minister to our joy to realize that in spite of all the opposition of the enemy, and of the betrayal of their own failings, the saints are not forsaken, and their preservation is assured.
(2) the fact that the Lord will not forsake His people is because He is gracious and merciful, and slow to anger:
“…in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookests them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, this is thy God that brought thee out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations: yet Thou in Thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go …Yet many years didst Thou forbear them, and testifiest against them…Nevertheless for Thy great mercies’ sake Thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them: for Thou are a gracious and merciful God” (Neh. 9:17,18,19,30,31).
(4) The fact that the Lord will not forsake His people delivers them from bondage of fear: “Be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Heb. 13:5,6).
Many children of God are compelled to walk in lonely paths. Faithfulness often cuts them off from fellowship. Natural ties are also severed, and friends prove false or frail. It is to such that the blessed assurance comes, with all its sweetness, that the Lord will not forsake them:
“When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up” (Psa.27:10).
“Can a woman forget her sucking child…Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee” (Isa. 49:15).
“At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me” (2 Tim.4:16,17)
The Apostle knew a little of the fellowship of His Lord’s sufferings. He, like the Saviour, was forsaken by his own, but there the parallel ceases. Paul could add, “notwithstanding the Lord stood with me”, but his Saviour, and ours, had to cry, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? (Matt.27:46).
Let us never forget in all the joy that comes to us by His gracious presence, that part of the price for such blessing included the forsaking of the Holy One for our sakes.
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