Holy Ghost: 'Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and he shall exalt you in due time.' In order to this, I would recommend to you to take a close, retrospective view of your past life, with earnest prayer that God would search you and try you, and show you what wicked ways have been or now are in you. Go back to the days of your youth; take a close view of the use you made of affluence and influence; not comparing yourself with others, but judging yourself by the law of God, the only standard of right and wrong, truth and error. Seek for humbling views of yourself in yourself. If the Holy Ghost enlighten, you will find sufficient grounds. Seek for consolation in the free promises of God, through Jesus Christ, of which there are also abundance, even to the chief of sinners. What I recommend to you has been my own practice, especially in times of trial; and if health will admit of it, add fasting, because I think it is the Lord's ordinance. 'The days shall come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, then shall they fast in those days.'
"Read the third chapter of Jeremiah's lamentations; endeavor to come under the feelings of contrition on account of your sins, and derive consolation from faith in God's great mercy; ever keeping in view the only channel through which mercy can flow to sinners of Adam's race. Take also a view of God's dealings with his elect nation, in the wilderness: they had nothing but manna, and were punished for murmuring; while at that very time the nations in Canaan, the Egyptians, and Assyrians, were living in all manner of luxury. What was their whole history but backsliding, threatening upon threatening? then chastisement,
turning, repenting, pardon, reconciliation, and the same round again, every chastisement severer than the last, while worldlings in general have their day to the end; then 'are they brought into desolation as in a moment.' I wish you to take a particular view of God's dealings with them, before Nebuchadnezzar sacked the city of Jerusalem. The decree was passed after many warnings, and much long-suffering. How many pauses, as it were, did the merciful Lord God make before he gave them finally up to their enemies; and when the decree was irrevocable, and the chastisement to take place, still he followed them with mercy. See Jeremiah 27:12; and chapter 29, the letter which God commanded Jeremiah to write to those who had been carried away captive with Jehoiakim, advising them to build houses and plant vineyards, and to make the most of their situation. Those at Jerusalem were commanded to submit to the king of Babylon, as in that case he would not destroy the city; but no, they stood it out, and the threatened vengeance overtook them.
"The poor were left to take care of the vineyards. Jeremiah remained with them in preference to going with the king of Babylon to be promoted to honor. God offered to take them under his protection and be their God: but no, they would go to Egypt, and put themselves under the king of Egypt's protection. Jeremiah told them from the Lord, that Egypt itself should soon go into captivity. But to Egypt they went and carried Jeremiah with them. See Isaiah's prophecy on this occasion, chapter 30:1-4. Now look at chapter 42:24; there you see God's judgment and chastening; follow him in the beginning of chapter 43,
and view his mercy; in the end of the same chapter, again, see his charge against them, but it is followed, with mercy, not judgment.
"Thus we learn the character of God. Thus we learn his dealings with his people. They are not called to earthly comfort and prosperity. They ever have been, and still are a suffering people; they are all sinners — sin brings suffering, and God overrules suffering, so as to make it profitable to them. Though redeemed by the life and death of Christ, being justified by faith, they have peace with God; yet the Lord has not pleased all at once to qualify them for the purchased possession. They receive a new birth, new life, and are called to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, with this consolation, that God worketh in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure. This is not their home, here they have no continuing city; they are travelling through the wilderness, to the city and mansions purchased and prepared for them by their Saviour, and must be made holy before they can enter in. They have many corruptions to be mortified, and many errors in their estimation of men and things to be corrected. Their hearts require to be made spiritual, humble, tender, resigned, and loving. 'Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna — that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end.'
"Besides, all suffering is not the immediate punishment of sin in the individual sufferer, nor for his exclusive profit; it is evident from Scripture, there is suffering for the benefit of the body of Christ, his church, of which, I think, all have some share. God
has wise ends to answer by all the suffering of his creatures, and especially of the members of his body. The apostles rejoiced in this, and so ought we. 'If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.' Paul says, 'I fill up in my flesh that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ, for his body's sake, which is the church.'
"Now, my dear friend, look at your real situation, as a suffering member of a suffering body. Take a view of the saints of God in history, sacred or profane, and compare your own individual suffering with theirs: I am apt to think that, great as it is, it will not rise to mediocrity. I could expatiate on this subject, from what comes every day within my own knowledge. The Lord is working in this way all around me; but of that another time. In your own case, try for a moment to shut out of view every thing without your own family, what you once were, what you once possessed and enjoyed; also what your friends possess and enjoy at this present time; detach yourself from all. What was yours is gone; what you calculated upon is also gone; set all aside, and consider yourself a sinner saved from destruction by grace; in a state of purgation and preparation for happiness; on a pilgrimage with thousands of others your fellow-saved sinners, through the wilderness, to that inheritance which was purchased for you at such a price. Your Saviour is your leader, protector, provider; also your physician, and the physician of the whole body, perfectly acquainted with the constitution, disposition, and temper of every individual. He has made provision for each, all the journey through, and given security that none shall suffer real want.
"Bread and water are promised; nothing beyond these, though in general he gives more; to each he gives a portion in hand, to some for a day, some for a week, some for a year, which they calculate upon with more or less probability: none with certainty. Your portion is — for a year; take a view of those whom you know; one with another, I am inclined to think the Lord has still given you your full share of privilege. Look at the ordinary provision he makes for the ministers of his gospel, most of them with large families; many of those in the country have five hundred dollars, some four hundred, some three hundred, generally ill paid. The Lord puts a blessing in it, he makes it go far; they do what their hands find to do, and get along: so will he do with you, my dear. He will put you upon methods of industry and economy: your one chicken divided into six parts, with a little bit of pork, with the fruit of God's blessing on your industry in the garden, shall both taste sweet and satisfy for the time. Try to be thankful; Moses said of the manna, 'This is the bread which the Lord your God giveth you.' Pray and watch against dwelling on the plentiful tables of others; and when bidden to a feast take your portion, and say, this is from the Lord for the time. Do not let a thought of misery or wretchedness dwell upon your mind. O no, God is good; you shall not want. O, what sweet meals have I and my children made on hot potatoes, nicely boiled and cracked, with salt — not merely content, but they tasted good and savory. There are peculiar pleasures in a life of that kind. You shall yet sing of it.