"An unknown joy pervaded him" ~ "Such is the character of the Reformation" | letter 152 on assurance & fighting for joy...

Here's the account of Thomas Bilney, who was greatly oppressed, vexed and bound up by the tyrannical and deceitful teachings of Romanism. During the Reformation, by the grace of God, Bilney was set free from that miserable bondage through the work of the Holy Spirit descending upon the Word of God, showing him in a clear light the all-sufficient and all-satisfying work of the One Mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus (II Tim. 2:5-6)...

Romans 4:4  Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5  And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6  just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7  “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8  blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

As a result of the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit in Bilney's soul, a new song of praise bubbled up and overflowed from his heart, similar to what David's song in Psalm 40:

1  I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2  He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3  He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.
4  Blessed is the man who makes
the LORD his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!

* * *

From: "History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, Volume Fifth" by Jean Henri Merle d'Aubigné, trans. by H. White, 160-164:

... the still small voice of the Word was making its way into the peaceful homes of praying men and the ancient halls of Oxford and Cambridge. In private chambers, in the lecture-rooms and refectories, students, and even masters of arts, were to be seen reading the Greek and Latin Testament. Animated groups were discussing the principles of the Reformation. When Christ came on earth (said some) He gave the Word, and when He ascended up into heaven He gave the Holy Spirit. These are the two forces which created the church—and these are the forces that must regenerate it.—No (replied the partisans of Rome), it was the teaching of the apostles at first, and it is the teaching of the priests now.—The apostles (rejoined the friends of the Testament of Erasmus)—yes, it is true— the apostles were during their ministry a living scripture; but their oral teaching would infallibly have been altered by passing from mouth to mouth. God willed, therefore, that these precious lessons should be preserved to us in their writings, and thus become the ever undefiled source of truth and salvation. To set the Scriptures in the foremost place, as your pretended reformers are doing, replied the schoolmen of Oxford and Cambridge, is to propagate heresy! And what are the reformers doing (asked their apologists) except what Christ did before them? The sayings of the prophets existed in the time of Jesus only as Scripture, and it was to this written Word that our Lord appealed when he founded his kingdom. And now in like manner the teaching of the apostles exists only as Scripture, and it is to this written word that we appeal in order to re-establish the kingdom of our Lord in its primitive condition. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; all is in motion—in the lofty halls of our colleges, in the mansions of the rich and noble, and in the lowly dwellings of the poor. If we want to scatter the darkness, must we light the shrivelled wick of some old lamp? Ought we not rather to open the doors and shutters, and admit freely into the house the great light which God has placed in the heavens?

There was in Trinity College, Cambridge, a young doctor, much given to the study of the canon law, of serious turn of mind and bashful disposition, and whose tender conscience strove, although ineffectually, to fulfil the commandments of God. Anxious about his salvation, Thomas Bilney [1495-1531] applied to the priests, whom he looked upon as physicians of the soul. Kneeling before his confessor, with humble look and pale face, he told him all his sins, and even those of which he doubted. The priest prescribed at one time fasting, at another prolonged vigils, and then masses and indulgences which cost him dearly. The poor doctor went through all these practices with great devotion, but found no consolation in them. Being weak and slender, his body wasted away by degrees, his understanding grew weaker, his imagination faded, and his purse became empty. "Alas!" said he with anguish, "my last state is worse than the first." From time to time an idea crossed his mind: "May not the priests be seeking their own interest, and not the salvation of my soul?" But immediately rejecting the rash doubt, he fell back under the iron hand of the clergy.

One day Bilney heard his friends talking about a new book: it was the Greek Testament printed with a translation which was highly praised for its elegant latinity. Attracted by the beauty of the style rather than by the divinity of the subject, he stretched out his hand; but just as he was going to take the volume, fear came upon him and he withdrew it hastily. In fact the confessors strictly prohibited Greek and Hebrew books, "the sources of all heresies;" and Erasmus's Testament was particularly forbidden. Yet Bilney regretted so great a sacrifice; was it not the Testament of Jesus Christ? Might not God have placed therein some word which perhaps might heal his soul? He stepped forward, and then again shrank back..... At last he took courage. Urged, said he, by the hand of God, he walked out of the college, slipped into the house where the volume was sold in secret, bought it with fear and trembling, and then hastened back and shut himself up in his room.

He opened it—his eyes caught these words: This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. He laid down the book, and meditated on the astonishing declaration. "What! St Paul the chief of sinners, and yet St Paul is sure of being saved!" He read the verse again and again. "O assertion of St Paul, how sweet art thou to my soul!" he exclaimed. This declaration continually haunted him, and in this manner God instructed him in the secret of his heart. He could not tell what had happened to him; it seemed as if a refreshing wind were blowing over his soul, or as if a rich treasure had been placed in his hands. The Holy Spirit took what was Christ's, and announced it to him. "I also am like Paul," exclaimed he with emotion, "and more than Paul, the greatest of sinners!......But Christ saves sinners. At last I have heard of Jesus."

His doubts were ended—he was saved. Then took place in him a wonderful transformation. An unknown joy pervaded him; his conscience, until then sore with the wounds of sin, was healed; instead of despair he felt an inward peace passing all understanding. "Jesus Christ," exclaimed he; "yes, Jesus Christ saves!" Such is the character of the Reformation: it is Jesus Christ who saves, and not the church. "I see it all," said Bilney; "my vigils, my fasts, my pilgrimages, my purchase of masses and indulgences were destroying instead of saving me. All these efforts were, as St Augustine says, a hasty running out of the right way."

Bilney never grew tired of reading his New Testament. He no longer lent an attentive ear to the teaching of the schoolmen: he heard Jesus at Capernaum, Peter in the temple, Paul on Mars' hill, and felt within himself that Christ possesses the words of eternal life. A witness to Jesus Christ had just been born by the same power which had transformed Paul, Apollos, and Timothy. The Reformation of England was beginning. Bilney was united to the Son of God, not by a remote succession, but by an immediate generation. Leaving to the disciples of the pope the entangled chain of their imaginary succession, whose links it is impossible to disengage, he attached himself closely to Christ. The word of the first century gave birth to the sixteenth. Protestantism does not descend from the gospel in the fiftieth generation like the Romish church of the Council of Trent, or in the sixtieth like some modern doctors: it is the direct legitimate son—the son of the master.

Have you seen it all?

Romans 3:28  For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Galatians 2:16  yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Have you known the Spirit's refreshing wind blowing over your soul?

 John 3:3  Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4  Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5  Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Have you touched the rich treasure?

 Titus 2:4  But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5  he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6  whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7  so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

I Peter 2:4  As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5  you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6  For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Has unknown joy pervaded you ... your conscience once sore with the wounds of sin now healed, your despair replaced with inward peace passing all understanding?

Romans 5:1  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 8:14  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

I Peter 1:8  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory...

Hebrews 10:19  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20  by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21  and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22  let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Has God instructed you in the secret of your heart?

John 16:13  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14  He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15  All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Romans 8:14  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God...

Related:

My other letters on assurance & fighting for joy
My posts on dealing with past sins & guilt
Links to my posts on true and false religion and legalism
Dealing with sin & guilt: Are you wearing the Garment only God can provide?
Barabbas we save, Jesus Christ we slay (the mockery of profession ~ decisional regeneration)
Reformation Day: Martin Luther on "How One is Justified before God, and of Good Works"
Martin Luther on assurance
"The just person lives by faith." Luther's assurance received! (letter 87 on assurance & joy)
"Dear Christian People, Now Rejoice!" Luther's assurance expressed! (letter 88 on assurance & joy)
the Holy Spirit and Life
Labor Day: Do you know the blessedness of not working? (Romans 4:1-8)
Characteristics of true religion, # 2, part 2: Not of the letter but of the Spirit
Why preach the Gospel? # 2: Dead men need Life!
First Week of Advent: The Most Scandalous Bailout Ever
Second Sunday of Advent: FAQ about Santa Claus and the Gospel of Christ
"What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" (Labor Day)
Sackcloth and ashes
the converted Pharisee's song: "All my works, all flesh is as grass"

Erasmus, the Reformation and "the heavenly word" ~ "If the ship of the church is to be saved"
The church reformed, always being reformed, lest we become deformed
492 years later: You say you want a reformation? (my theses and a call to prayer)
Reformation Rebels: Are you willing to be a rebel for the sake of the Church?

"Misunderstanding Vatican II" by R.C. Sproul on the Ligonier Ministries blog

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Photo credits:

Own photo / CC BY-SA 3.0
Work found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Bilney.jpg / Public Domain

(Letter 149 in my series of letters on assurance and fighting for joy)

In my post Three Years Later: Dancing & Skipping with Mrs. Durham, I had written:

Three years ago this month, I became desperate to know, to really know, the joy of the Lord. I had found myself continually overwhelmed and overcome by the here-and-now, by my circumstances, unable to run the race set before me, being dragged down, down, down into doubt, depression, and despair. I was wilting and withering, and not thriving and blossoming as I knew I ought to be as a Christian.

At that time, through my reading and studying the Bible, as well as through other reading (including that of Jonathan Edwards and Martyn Lloyd-Jones ~ and Lord willing, in the near future, I'm hoping to blog on a portion from one of ML-J's books about this, and when I do, I'll add the link here), I'd begun to see there was a supernatural joy available to all the children of God (no exceptions) that I'd not yet experienced – though I'll admit that for quite some time prior to that, I was skeptical about it, and I balked at the notion; I doubted and even argued that such a joy wasn't a real possibility for me due to my own personality (prone to depression and unhealthy introspection). I'd put myself in the very dangerous position of limiting and provoking Holy One of Israel (see Psalm 78).

The Bible must always be our primary authority. We are to test and try all things against the God-breathed, infallible Word. However, in addition to the Bible, God has always provided His Church with ministers to instruct and equip and build us up and guard us in His ways (~ Eph. 4:7-16). If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that the late Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was one of those men who has been instrumental in my life (in addition to that post, please see my posts here, here, and here.)

As I titled this blog, I truly did bristle at much of what ML-J had written about joy in his book "Safe in the World" (a compilation of his sermons on John 17) – in particular, these words from Chapter 9 ("True Joy") really provoked and incited me:

   We have been considering together the ways in which, as Christians, we manifest our Lord's glory, and we have reminded ourselves of our tremendous responsibility as we realize that we, and we alone, are the people through whom the Lord Jesus Christ is glorified in this world of time.

   Now that was the second reason for our Lord's prayer –– the first reason, you remember, was because of who and what we are – and here we come to the third reason, which he puts quite plainly in verse 13. He says, in effect, 'I am praying all these things audibly in their presence because I am anxious that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.' He is anxious that this joy that he himself had experienced should also be fully experienced by these his followers. There is, therefore, a very definite logical sequence in the arrangement of these matters. In dealing earlier with the ways in which the Lord Jesus Christ is glorified in us, we spoke of the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, and so on. At that point, in dealing briefly with joy, I said that I would not go into it in detail, because we would be returning to it, and this is where we must do that. And what we see here is that one of the ways in which we, as Christians, can glorify Christ is this life and world, is by being filled with this spirit of joy and rejoicing. This is a fruit of the Spirit which our Lord singles out in particular in this prayer to the Father on behalf of his followers. And so we glorify him in a very special way be being partakers of this his own joy.

   Obviously, therefore, this is an important subject. Our Lord would not have singled it out like this and given it a special place and emphasis unless it was something of vital concern. So clearly we must start our consideration of it by reminding ourselves again of what a wonderful display this is of our Lord's care and solicitude for his own people. How anxious he is that their welfare should be catered for! He is going to leave them, he is going back to the Father, but he does not lose interest in them for that reason. In a sense he is still more interested in them, and though he is going to face the shame and the agony of the cross, what is uppermost in his mind is the condition and the future of these disciples of his, whom he is leaving behind.

   But there is more than that – indeed it is something which is of even more vital concern. All that we have been saying is something to rejoice in, but there is a bigger, deeper lesson here. This whole subject of joy is one which is prominent in the New Testament, and, therefore, it must be of primary importance to Christian people. We can see in John 16 how our Lord constantly referred to it, and if you go through the four gospels and look for it, you will find that he was always emphasizing it. And if you read the epistles you will find the subject of joy there, in perhaps a still more striking manner, for some of them are almost exclusively devoted to it. It is a great theme, for instance, of the epistle to the Philippians. Paul's concern there is that Christian people should experience this joy – 'Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice' (4:4). It was his burning desire for all Christian people. And then, what, after all, is the purpose of the book of Revelation except that God's people should be taught how truly to be filled with joy and to rejoice? John himself in his first epistle very specifically says, 'These things write I unto you that your joy might be full' (1:4). He was an old man realizing that he was at the end of his journey and thinking of the Christian people he was leaving behind in this difficult world. So he wrote his letter to them in order that their joy might be full. It is, I say, one of the outstanding themes of the entire New Testament, and so it behoves us to be very clear in our minds about it.

   There are certain principles that seem to me to stand out very clearly. The first is that we are not only saved for eternity. The gospel of Jesus Christ, of course is primarily something that does safeguard our eternal destiny. Its fundamental purpose is to reconcile us to God and to see that we are saved in that final and eternal sense. It puts us right once and for all and into a right standing in the presence of God. It reconciles us to God, and establishes definitely in our experience that we are his children. It takes from us the fear of the death, of the grave, and of judgement, and it assures us that our eternity and our eternal destiny is safe and secure. But – and this is what is emphasized in this particular verse – we are not only saved for eternity. It is a false and incomplete view of Christian salvation that postpones its blessing to the realm that lies beyond this present life and beyond the grave.

   This sounds so obvious that it is almost foolish to emphasize it, and yet if you go into the history of the church you will find that very often, and sometimes for a very long period, Christian people, by the subtlety of Satan, have been entirely robbed of this particular aspect. This has very often been a result of our reaction – a healthy and right reaction – against worldliness. Christian people have realized that because they are not of the world they should separate themselves form everything that belongs to it. They interpret that as meaning that while they are in this life they are – to use that line of Milton's – 'To scorn delights, and live laborious days'. So they have thought of the Christian as someone who is melancholic, someone who is never going to experience any happiness or joy in a sinful world like this, but who really does look forward to a great joy of unmixed bliss in the land that lies beyond the present and the seen. Thus they seem to rob themselves entirely of any benefits or blessings from salvation in this present life. Now that is tragically and pathetically wrong. The blessings of Christianity are to be enjoyed in this world as well as in the world to come. There are different aspects, of course, of salvation, but we must never so emphasize the future as to derogate from the present and detract from the future. There are blessings to be enjoyed here and now and our Lord emphasized that very clearly in this verse.

   But then I draw a second deduction, which is that one of the particular blessings which the Christian is meant to enjoy in the present life is this experience of joy. Our Lord says that he prays in order that this joy might be 'fulfilled in themselves'. We see that in John 16 when he exhorts us to pray: 'Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full' (v. 24). The Christian is meant to be a joyful person, one who is meant to experience the joy of salvation. There is no question about that; it is something which is taught everywhere in the New Testament, and so it is our duty as Christians to have this joy, and to be filled with it. And we must give ourselves neither rest nor peace until we have it.

   But there are many obstacles to that, and many things which hinder the Christian from having it. There are certain people, I know, who react against the false and carnal sort of joy, that they rob themselves of true joy. But the opposite of carnal and fleshly joy is not to be miserable. It is to have true joy, the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And in the light of all these exhortations from him and from the apostles we must start by realizing that it is our duty to possess and to experience this joy of which our Lord speaks. We have no right not to have it. Indeed, I put it as my third principle that it is clearly dishonouring to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the work he has done, not to have this joy. The teaching seems to be that he came into this world in order that we might have it. Take, for instance, the words at the end of chapter 16: 'These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace' (v. 33). That verse couples peace and joy together: 'In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.' And because he has overcome the world, we are meant to have this joy and to experience it; we are meant to be Christian people who rejoice.

   This links very naturally with the precious subject of glorifying him – a miserable Christian does not and obviously cannot glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Everybody else is miserable, the world makes people so. But if the Lord Jesus Christ has done what he claims to have done, and has come to suffer all the he suffered in this world, to the end that his people might be made different, they are obviously to be a joyful people. He has done all that in order to make it possible for us, and so our failure to be joyful in our lives is to detract from his glory and to cast queries upon his wonderful work. It thus behoves us as Christian people to realize that is out duty to be joyful. This is often put to us in the New Testament as an injunction. We are commanded to rejoice and if you are commanded to do something, it means that you must do it. Now that, obviously, is going to raise a question in our minds as to the nature of this joy. People say that it is no use going to a miserable man and telling him to cheer up. But there is a sense in which you can do that – not directly, but indirectly – and it will result in joy. This is what we must consider together. 'Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice' – that is what we are meant to do, and we are meant to be joyful, not only for our own sakes, but still more for his.

   So that leads us to the vital question – what is this joy, and what do we know about it? We will content ourselves, for the moment, with just looking at what our Lord himself tells us in this particular verse. The first thing is that it is his joy. 'These things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.' Now this is most important because it means that it is not the kind of joy that some people sometimes seem to think it is. It is the kind of joy that he himself possessed and therefore we can say of necessity that it was not carnal or fleshly, it was never boisterous.

   I emphasize those negatives because it is always essential to point out that in a matter like this there are two extremes that must always be avoided. I have already mentioned one of them, that of being so anxious to avoid the carnal as to become almost melancholic, but we must also avoid this other extreme. There are certain people – and they have been very much in evidence I should think for the last fifty years or so – who, having realized quite rightly that a Christian is meant to have joy, have been so anxious to manifest the fact that though they are Christian they are still joyful, that they assume a liveliness which is certainly not the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are a kind of boisterous Christian, but our Lord was never boisterous. Our Lord's joy was a holy joy. Yes – let us not hesitate to say it – it was a serious joy. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and yet joyful.

At the time I first read those words of Lloyd-Jones, I felt them to be goads, and I was vigorously kicking at them! But now I thank and bless and praise God for each and every one of those words!

In Ecclesiastes 12, Solomon wrote about such blessed goading...

10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.   11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

Though I initially didn't welcome those words of Lloyd-Jones (far from it!), in retrospect, I can see his words were words of truth and words of the wise, and they were much-needed goads and nails for my miserable and misdirected and misguided soul, words which came to me from the Good Shepherd through one of His undershepherds, so I might begin to learn to rejoice in the Lord always!

In his Complete Commentary on Ecclesiastes, here's Matthew Henry writing about God's blessed and precious goading and nailing:

      That which he [Solomon] and other holy men wrote will be of great use and advantage to us, especially being inculcated upon us by the exposition of it, 11. Here observe,

     (1.) A double benefit accruing to us from divine truths if duly applied and improved; they are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness. They are of use, [1.] To excite us to our duty. They are as goads to the ox that draws the plough, putting him forward when he is dull and quickening him, to amend his pace.

The truths of God prick men to the heart (Acts ii. 37) and put them upon bethinking themselves, when they trifle and grow remiss, and exerting themselves with more vigour in their work. While our good affections are so apt as they are to grow flat and cool, we have need of these goads. [2.] To engage us to persevere in our duty. They are as nails to those that are wavering and inconstant, to fix them to that which is good. They are as goads to such as are dull and draw back, and nails to such as are desultory and draw aside, means to establish the heart and confirm good resolutions, that we may not sit loose to our duty, nor even be taken off from it, but that what good there is in us may be as a nail fastened in a sure place, Ezra ix. 8.

     (2.) A double way of communicating divine truths, in order to those benefits:-- [1.] By the scriptures, as the standing rule, the words of the wise, that is, of the prophets, who are called wise men, Matt. xxiii. 34. These we have in black and white, and may have recourse to them at any time, and make use of them as goads and as nails. By them we may teach ourselves; let them but come with pungency and power to the soul, let the impressions of them be deep and durable, and the will make us wise to salvation. [2.] By the ministry. To make the words of the wise more profitable to us, it is appointed that they should be impressed and fastened by the masters of assemblies. Solemn assemblies for religious worship are an ancient divine institution, intended for the honour of God and the edification of his church, and are not only serviceable, but necessary, to those ends. There must be masters of these assemblies, who are Christ's ministers, and as such are to preside in them, to be God's mouth to the people and theirs to God. Their business is to fasten the words of the wise, and drive them as nails to the head, in order to which the word of God is likewise as a hammer, Jer. xxiii. 29.

I invented and concocted a long litany of arguments and excuses for why Lloyd-Jones' words didn't apply to me, and, even more gravely, for why Jesus' words didn't apply to me. But the Lord was patient and longsuffering with me, and I will tell you this:  God kept goading, and kept nailing! Thank God for grace that abounds to stiff-necked sinners like myself! God intended all that goading and all that nailing for my good... every prick and every puncture sovereignly ordained, coming down from the Father of lights in order to excite my dull soul to my duty as a Christian to pursue and possess joy, and to engage me to persevere in that duty. As part of that process, God began to hedge up my way with thorns and make me even more miserable (much like Hosea's wife ~ see Hosea 2). In the Valley of Achor (trouble), God did open wide a door of hope, so I might begin to drink of the joy that Jesus died to give me. But along the way I had to let God explode my flawed, false, and faulty theological concepts that a Christian shouldn't and couldn't really be joyful, and that any experience of God's joy I might have would have to be somehow limited by my own personality and my own particular circumstances. Though like Sarah, I didn't exactly laugh at the prospect of joy being a reality for me, I confess that I did smirk...

Genesis 18:11  Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12  Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13  And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14  Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15  Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

My brothers and sisters, how dare you and I smirk or laugh at the exceeding great and precious promises of God! We are not only justified by faith, but we LIVE by faith. We live by faith in the God who makes promises that seem so far-fetched and so absurd and so impossible to our puny and pygmy fleshly understanding. However, let us never forget this:  we have the mind of Christ, and we have the Holy Spirit that we might know the the things that are freely given to us of God (see I Cor. 1:6-16), that we might begin to know and plumb and dip into and taste and see and savor the unsearchable riches of the glory of our inheritance in Christ.

Is anything too hard for the LORD? Is it too hard for the LORD to grant you joy in Him?

Go to the Scripture, and seek out good, orthodox instruction from men like ML-J, and pray to the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth (remember: the devil is a liar and the father of lies!), and then watch God begin to blow-up your own home-spun theology and your ill-formed and false conceptions about the character of God and of Christianity, and I will guarantee you this: you will find God to be more precious and more glorious and more wonderful than you could have ever imagined, and you will begin to get a taste of what the Psalmist wrote when he said:

Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

All who are Christ's have already been reconciled to God by the Lord Jesus Christ by grace through faith in the the offering of Jesus' body and blood on our behalf. Therefore, all who believe have already been brought on to that path of life, and we have already been given access to drink of that fullness of joy and to sup of those pleasures forevermore beginning in the here and now!

As I said, God kept goading and nailing, and the discipline was very grievous at many times, but it was all for my good. (And He continues to goad and nail: that's part of His loving discipline to all His children ~ the Father chastens those He loves! If we are without such discipline, then we are illegitimate children and not His children! ~ Heb. 12:3-11). God opened my heart to consider His precious Word, so that I eventually began to understand and embrace that Jesus' words were spoken to me and were prayed for me... Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word...

It was just over three years ago that I began to ask, seek, and knock for that joy which was my duty to have, and that joy which is the duty of all Christians to have. (I recounted some of that story in my post here.) I got tired and weary of being miserable, and by faith I put myself into the blessed yoke of Jesus. I had come to see that my choosing to live as a miserable Christian was living (if you want to call that living!) at such a low level because I was flat-out refusing to embrace and trust God's blessed promises, and to pray for and to expect God Himself to impart to me His joy. Many of you are in that very same place right now. I urge you to go to the Good Shepherd and read and soak in His promises for you, and then to ask, seek, and knock. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Wrestle with Him like Jacob, and importunately plead like the widow! Remember:  without faith it is impossible to please Him! Ask God to bless your mustard seed of faith, or if you don't even have a mustard seed of faith, ask Him to give it to you! Remember: to enter into Jesus' joy is the duty of all Christians, no exceptions. May God guard us so we might not be guilty of provoking, grieving, tempting, and limiting our God as the Israelites did:

Psalm 78:40  How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! 41  Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. 42  They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. 43  How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan...

When we're not seeking by faith what has been already purchased for us at Calvary and what is already ours by the second birth, we are not only robbing ourselves of joy, but we are also robbing our God of the glory due His name. Remember His hand! Remember His power! Remember His love! Remember His mercy! Remember His grace! Remember the day He delivered you from the devil's realm of darkness, sin, and death!

May the Holy Spirit of God continue to guide and lead us into all truth, and by His truth set us free to glorify and enjoy God as God has intended for us. God willing, I will continue goading and nailing you, as my Lord did for me. May God make my efforts effectual for your progress AND JOY in the faith... ~ Karen

my other posts on assurance & fighting for joy.
my posts on Christian hedonism

More from Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

Updated 2/12/13:  Thanks to the MLJ Trust you can access for free over 1600 sermons of the late Dr. Lloyd-Jones at the Martyn Lloyd-Jones Audio Library here:  (http://www.mljtrust.org/). I regret to say that the sermon I cited here as well as the other sermons from this book aren't currently available on the site.

You can also subscribe to a weekly Podcast of Dr. Lloyd-Jones' sermons at Living Grace Ministries at oneplace.com.

Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Photo credits:

I edited the Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chianina_steer_lying_down.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0
I edited the Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oxen.jpg  / Public Domain

Almost four years ago, I blogged about how my NKJV Bible is filled with lots of notes and references that I've written in it. It's really my own personalized study Bible, so to speak (see my posts here and here). Though I had that particular Bible rebound in early 2009...

... it's beginning to come apart again, and even though I managed to find an identical copy of that Bible, I can't bring myself to lay this one aside...

In my recent post "Dancing and Skipping with Mrs. Durham," I included a poem I'd written with the following lines based on Psalm 55:22 (KJV - "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee..."):

"Cast thy burden," the LORD proclaims,
"On My bosom, both night and day,
"My lamb, your weary head lay."

This past Sunday morning, as I turned to the book of Philippians in that Bible (our church is currently in the midst of a series on Philippians), I noticed a notation I'd made in reference to Philippians 4:6-7 (Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus). The notation was a quotation taken from the 17th century Scottish Puritan Henry Scougal's (1650-1678) book "The Life of God in the Soul of Man":

To do justice to Scougal's words, I'll give you the fuller context of what he wrote in the portion of the book entitled,

THE DUTIES OF RELIGION ARE DELIGHTFUL TO HIM.

The exercises of religion, which to others are insipid and tedious, do yield the highest pleasure and delight to souls possessed with divine love; they rejoice when they are called "to go up to the house of the Lord, that they may see his power and his glory, as they have formerly seen it in the sanctuary," Psalm lxiii.2. They never think themselves so happy as when, having retired from the world, and gotten free from the noise and hurry of affairs, and silenced all their clamorous passions, (those troublesome guests within), they have placed themselves in the presence of God, and entertain fellowship and communion with him; they delight to adore his perfections, and recount his savours, and to protest their affection to him, and tell him a thousand times that they love him; to lay out their troubles or wants before him, and disburden their hearts in his bosom. Repentance itself is a delightful exercise, when it floweth from the principle of love:  there is a secret sweetness which accompanieth those tears of remorse, those meltings and relentings of a soul returning unto God, and lamenting its former unkindness.

The severities of a holy life, and that constant watch which we are obliged to keep over our hearts and ways, are very troublesome to those who are only ruled and acted by an external law, and have no law in their minds inclining them to the performance of their duty; but where divine love possesseth the soul, it stands as sentinel to keep out every thing that may offend the beloved, and doth disdainfully repulse those temptations which assault it; it complieth cheerfully, not only with explicit commands, but with the most secret notices of the beloved's pleasure, and is ingenious in discovering what will be most grateful and acceptable unto him; it makes mortification and self-denial change their harsh and dreadful names and become easy, sweet, and delightful things.

~ from Henry Scougal's "The Life of God in the Soul of Man," (New York: Cosimo, 2007; originally published in 1741), 72-74. You can access a copy of book here: <http://books.google.com/books?id=W6lbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR3#v=onepage&q&f=false>.

Has the divine love of Christ possessed your soul?

Does your life burst forth with the precious fruit of the Life of God in your Soul in the ways Scougal describes?

Are the duties of religion sweet and delightful to you – or are they insipid and tedious?

Does your religion spring from a principle of love, from an internal heart religion – or are you only ruled and acted by an external law?

Ezekiel 36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. 29 I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”

John 14:19b
Because I live, you will live also.

II Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Isaiah 27:6
Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob;
Israel shall blossom and bud,
And fill the face of the world with fruit.

Isaiah 35
1  The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
2  The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God...
10  And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

John 15:8
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Philippians 1
 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart . . . you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

For your progress AND JOY of faith (Philippians 1:25),
Karen

---

Other posts about Henry Scougal's "The Life of God in the Soul of Man":

Pressing on in the New Year
Second Sunday after Christmas: Is your religion true religion? (Henry Scougal)
Mistakes about Religion & What Religion Is ~ Henry Scougal
Encouragements to press on in battling sin, # 2: moving beyond despondency | Scougal

My posts on True & False Religion and Legalism including:

1st Sunday after Epiphany: Characteristics of false religion, # 1-Hypocrisy
Characteristics of true religion, # 2, part 2: Not of the letter but of the Spirit
Finding pleasure in Him
Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from Jonathan Edwards
Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from George Whitefield
"Alas! if this be not true religion, what is?" ~ George Whitefield
why we need a new heart (Bible reading - Matthew 5)
Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly
What is a nominal Christian?
Phebe Bartlet – a child put in our midst ~ "Do you love Me?"
"give me also springs of water" - Will you be an Achsah? (letter 66 on assurance & fighting for joy)
Are you a radiant Christian or a drunken old woman? (letter 82 on assurance & fighting for joy)
Three Years Later: Dancing & Skipping with Mrs. Durham | Letter 147 on fighting for joy
Oct. 16, 1555 ~ Ridley & Latimer: monuments of joy | letter 148 on fighting for joy
Advent # 5 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might draw near to God | Even a Vapor ~ Letter 133 (Naphtali revisited)

Other related posts:

Letter 13 on assurance and fighting for joy (strengthened for endurance and patience with joy)
Letter 17 on assurance and fighting for joy (will we be diligent to enter into His joy?)
Linger, linger, linger – so you might know God's love
Considering Jesus: (1) Making time to consider Jesus
Considering Jesus: (2) Why do we do quiet time anyhow?
take to heart ALL the words (more on quiet time)
Get gnawing, put your nose down in the Book to feed the white-hot flame of God's gift
"Garbage In" (Are you truly His disciple?)
Are you a foolish or a wise pilgrim? (What have you done with your roll?)
As a deer pants ... Is your soul panting for God? (Psalms 42 & 43)

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. Emphasis mine.

Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Photo credits:

I edited the work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Lord_is_my_Good_Shepherd.jpg / ((PD-Art|PD-old-70}}

Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexandre_Couder_-_Woman_Kneeling_in_Prayer_-_Walters_371369.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0 / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hare_desert-flowers.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Public Domain