Joy in the Lord by R. M. Hatfield

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 17, 1864

Joy in the Lord.

By R. M. Hatfield

THERE are persons who grow sad at the mere mention of a life of piety. They expect Christians to be moping and melancholy, and are not surprised if they find them austere and sullen. Religion is regarded as a disagreeable necessity—a something that prepares people for happiness in Heaven by making them miserable upon earth. However this notion may have originated, it receives no countenance from God's word. To be joyful in the Lord is placed before us as a privilege of all Christians. Not only so, but it is enjoined as an imperative duty. We are required to be happy and joyous, just as we are required to be patient and submissive. And there is nothing strange in this when we remember that "joy in the Holy Ghost" is one of the essential elements of the mind that has been renewed by grace. Love and joy are no less fruits of the Spirit than meekness, goodness, and faith. We are to rejoice not only in times of prosperity, when we have all things and abound, but "in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,"—to "rejoice evermore;"—and the obligation to do this rests on the same authority that requires us to "be sober and watch unto prayer." It can hardly be necessary to quote texts in support of this position. The Old and the New Testament, prophets and apostles, perfectly agree in representing the good and pious man as being happy. The ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, and the path of the just is as the "shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." The redeemed of the Lord are to come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. Believers are not to wander in the wilderness, weary and faint, seeking rest, and finding none. The promise is: "Ye shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." There can be no doubt that it is the will of God that the children of Zion should be joyful in their King. And it becomes all Christians to nourish this holy affection in their souls till they are enabled habitually to "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." They are to do this first for their own sakes. Joy in the Lord is a means of grace to the believer.

We are not ignorant of the fact that a class of religious writers speak of the advantages of the "wilderness state." They insist that it is profitable for Christians to pass a considerable part of their time in heaviness through manifold temptations, if not in darkness and despondency through the deceitfulness of sin. It is good for the soul to be cast down and tossed about, as it is by such a discipline that we are brought to yearn for our heavenly rest. The loss of the consolations of grace, and painful uncertainties as to our spiritual state, are represented as tending to humility and holiness. These views, largely insisted upon as they are by the mystics, find no support from the Word of God. On the contrary, "we are saved by hope," and "the joy of the Lord is our strength." The full assurance of faith and fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ, are essential to the best development of the Christian character. An atmosphere of light and peace, of love and joy, is the very one in which the Christian graces thrive and come to rich and beautiful maturity.

Plants and flowers may be kept alive in a dark room or cellar, but fresh air and sunshine are indispensable to their perfection. And the "fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ," is promised to those who walk in the light, and abide in him in whom is no darkness at all. The Christian may not rejoice in an exemption from the common afflictions of life. He is a man of like passions with others, and the grace that purifies his heart makes him peculiarly susceptible to suffering. But in the day of adversity, when earthly comforts fail, and he is most desolate and broken-hearted, he may find a sweet and solemn joy in communion with God. Paul on a certain occasion describes himself as being "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing," and the prophet, under the influence of a resolute and heroic faith, said, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet will I rejoice in the Lord; I will joy in the God of my salvation."

But for the sake of others, not less than for their own, should believers cultivate a joyful trust in the Lord. A gloomy and desponding Christian misrepresents the gospel, and disparages the way of truth. Those who have received the glad tidings, and in which it "effectually worketh," are described in the word of God as a saved and happy people. They are to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, and shine as lights in the world. The promise to such is that they shall find rest in Christ, and that their hearts shall be kept in perfect peace amid all the commotions of life. They may be buffeted by Satan and suffer through the thorn in the flesh, but they are kept by the power of God, and consoled by the assurance that all things work together for their good. Their afflictions, in the estimation of a Christian faith, are "light,"—"but for a moment,"—and "not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed" in them. And the world has a right to expect of those who are sustained by such a hope, that they will bear up with cheerful fortitude against the ills of life. And when a Christian, instead of doing this, succumbs to misfortune, and sinks into despondency, he gives his enemies occasion to taunt him with the question, "Where now is thy God?" It may be well enough for Pharisees and hypocrites to be of a sad countenance, and to disfigure their faces—the believer is to wash his face, anoint his head, and eat his bread with joy. The comforts of the Lord delighting his soul, should render his whole life beautiful and attractive. Commendations of the way of truth by grim and ghastly Christians do harm rather than good. The appearance of a company of nuns or Shakers with their doleful countenances and hideous dresses would be enough, we think, to prejudice a nation of heathens against the gospel. No little harm has been done by publishing to the world the private journals of morbid and melancholy Christians. If the life of a good man has been marred by such an infirmity, let it be buried as quietly as possible along with his other faults. A Christian has no right to be forlorn and wretched, and cannot be without wronging himself and inflicting an injury on others. But this joy in the Lord is indispensable to the Christian as a

preparation for the personal efforts it is his duty to make for the salvation of souls. And these individual efforts are just what the church and world now most need. What we want is an increase of quiet, unprofessional efforts to save souls.

We need devout men and holy women, not a few, to engage in this work. And the constraining love of Christ is the one great qualification for those who would save souls. The love of God, shed abroad in the heart, enables them to say with holy boldness, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." The hiding of God's power is with the men who have this heavenly anointing. When from warm and glad hearts they declare what great things God has done for their souls, the Lord is with them, and none of their words fall to the ground. The anxious, restless souls who are inquiring, "Who will show us any good?" listen to this testimony and believe.

In all our congregations there are men who are to be influenced, not by arguments or learned prelections, but by the simple, heartfelt testimony of those who have been with Jesus, and tasted that the Lord is gracious. In view of the interests of the souls who are perishing, it becomes us to pray for the hastening of the time when all Christians shall have "an unction from the Holy One;" so that they cannot but speak of the consolation in Christ, and the comfort of love with which their hearts are filled. When that day comes, Zion will put on her beautiful garments, and hear the voice of the Master saying, "Arise and shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."