| The Christian Life | June 1942 |
Fullness of Joy
“Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.”—Psalms 16:11
IT IS the Creator’s design that all of His creatures be happy, but to enjoy happiness it is necessary to be in harmony with Him. Those who resist God’s will are sure to find that, ultimately, their pathway leads to sorrow. In verse four of the 16th Psalm the prophet declares that “sorrows shall be multiplied” to those that “hasten after another god.” Just as sorrow, suffering and death are partners, so joy, happiness and life go together. That’s why we read, “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.”
Our text is part of a prophecy relating to Jesus, and the “fullness” of joy referred to evidently relates to that which He experienced when following His resurrection, He entered into the actual “presence” of His Heavenly Father. By faith He entered into that joy even while He was being persecuted unto death by His enemies. It was this “joy that was set before Him” which enabled Him to “endure the cross, despising the shame.” (Heb. 12:2) Proving faithful under that test, He was exalted to “the right hand of the throne of God;” and the joys thus attendant upon His complete submission and faithfulness unto death were those of the divine life, the unmitigated pleasures of being forever in the actual presence of His beloved Heavenly Father.
Shortly before the Master finished His earthly course He bequeathed a blessed portion of His joy to His followers that their “joy might be full.” (John 15:11) Thus it is possible for every faithful Christian to experience, in part at least, the joy which was the Master’s strength—the joy of the Lord. Because of the fact that we are invited to be partners with Jesus, in His death and in His resurrection, we can claim the same blessed promises of God which were the source of His comfort and joy. To the extent that our faith is able to lay hold upon these promises we can be rejoicing Christians despite the opposition of the world, the flesh and the devil.
We can “rejoice in the hope of the glory of God” keeping faith’s vision focused upon the hallowed position in the actual presence of the Heavenly Father where there is “fullness” of joy, and where there are “pleasures for evermore.” (Rom. 5:2) The stronger our faith in the promised glory and joy of our future inheritance, the greater will be our measure of joy now. In this respect, as in others, our experiences should be similar to those of the Master. This means that the closer we keep to Him by adherence to His Word and spirit, the greater will be our joy; and our daily testimony will be, not how much we suffer, but how great is our rejoicing!
TROUBLED BUT NOT DISTRESSED
Living the Christian life, however, does not release us from trouble—it increases our troubles. Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was persecuted and finally crucified and we should not expect our experiences to be very different from His—the servant cannot expect to be above his Lord. (John 15:20) Paul rejoiced in his privilege of “suffering with Christ,” and from his own testimony we can see that while he suffered much, yet he was happy. (Rom. 8:17; II Tim. 2:12) Of his own experiences, St. Paul wrote: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”—II Cor. 4:8-11
The sufferings of Christ are not the self-imposed “austerities” which are practiced in some quarters of “Babylon,” in the belief that God doesn’t want His people to be happy. The sufferings of the Christian are self-imposed, however, in the sense that it is through faithfulness to the Lord and to the truth that the opposition of Satan and his allies is aroused against us. It was Jesus’ faithful ministry of the truth that brought upon Him the animosity of those who sat in darkness; and it is only as our sufferings are for the same cause of righteousness and truth that they are truly the “sufferings of Christ.” (II Cor. 1:5; I Pet. 4:13) The following quotation from the “Reprints,” beginning bottom of page 1782, is to the point in this connection:
“These sufferings are not such as are common to humanity—sickness, etc., incidental to sin and its penalty death—but sufferings for Christ’s sake, which means activity in Christ’s service. Whoever, therefore, can find no opportunity to render service to Christ and to suffer something of self-denial, etc., in that service, has no opportunity for making a [his] calling and election sure, and hence may consider himself as not being one of those ‘called’ to suffer and afterward to reign.
“But having drawn these lines sharply, according to the apostolic copy, let us note for a moment how many opportunities are afforded us for service and suffering. All may not suffer in exactly the same way, nor for the same cause, although it be still for God’s cause. The apostle shows this, saying, ‘Ye endured a great fight of afflictions, partly whilst ye were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.’
“Who cannot suffer in one or the other of these ways if he be willing? If he have the ability and opportunity and will use them in the direct service of the truth—either by telling the gospel orally or by circulating the message in printed form or by writing of it to his friends, he will surely bring upon himself the disfavor of neighbors and friends, and persecution open or secret. He will suffer for his faithfulness even though he suffer joyfully. If he have no ability as a public speaker, or a private talker, if he cannot write, if he be lame or sick, so as to be unable to circulate the printed page, he can at least share the reproaches of the truth by declaring himself the friend of the Lord and of those soldiers of the cross who are publishing the truth and being reviled therefore. Thus, at very least, all can suffer who will, and all will suffer who have been begotten of the truth and are not ashamed of the Lord, the brethren and the truth. And he that is ashamed is not fit for the kingdom.
“However, let our service and suffering be according to wisdom and love—to as good purpose as possible. In our services we should be careful not to interfere with the liberties of others. ‘Let none of you suffer as a busybody in other men’s matters.’ And let us also be careful not to make our sufferings subjects for boasting, as though seeking the praise of men, or of continual complainings to other members who are themselves perhaps suffering more acutely. If we suffer, let it be as unto the Lord.”
SUFFER JOYFULLY
We have in the expression, “suffer joyfully” what to human wisdom would surely be a paradox, yet to the Christian it is the true explanation of his life of rejoicing. The Christian is happy, not because all causes for unhappiness have been removed, but because he understands the purpose of his trials, having learned that it is his privilege to share in the sufferings of Christ, and he joyfully enters into that privilege. Our Christian rejoicing is not in the suffering itself, but in the fact that we are counted worthy to share in Christ’s suffering. When we do good and suffer for it, we accept the experience as an evidence of God’s favor upon us as His children, and the smile of His countenance is the source of our joy.—I Pet. 4:14; 2:20
The Christian’s joy is thus seen to be the joy of faith. It’s a joy which is not dependent upon material comforts, nor can physical suffering rob us of it. This doesn’t mean, however, that a Christian needs to deprive himself of ordinary physical comforts in order to experience the joy of the Lord. Here again we need to distinguish between true Christian suffering and its causes, and the false ideas that some entertain concerning it. The Lord doesn’t expect us to leave the seasoning out of our food so we won’t enjoy eating it. He doesn’t expect us to purposely make our beds hard so we cannot properly rest at night. He doesn’t want us to close our eyes to the beautiful things of nature with which we are surrounded, nor to turn away from enjoying the sweet perfume of flowers.
But if Christian faithfulness in the ministry of the truth leads to the loss of physical comforts, of whatever sort they may be, such loss does not deprive us of our joy in the Lord, the joys of faith. If we chart our Christian course in such a way as to purposely avoid the loss of earthly comforts, perhaps the Lord may allow us to enjoy the good things of this life, but it will be at the expense of the spiritual joys. But if we are faithful to our vows of consecration, irrespective of what the cost may be, then to whatever extent “sweet prospects, sweet birds and sweet flowers” are permitted by the Lord to cross our pathway, they will all gain new sweetness because of the higher vantage point from which we enjoy them.
Let none get the erroneous thought that we make God happy by making ourselves unhappy. Such would be an entirely wrong viewpoint of Christian suffering and the purpose back of it. God’s will for all of His creatures is that they be happy. Even inanimate things of creation, such as the trees, are spoken of in the Bible as clapping their hands with joy at the presence of the God of the whole earth. God invites us to share in the sufferings of Christ, not because He wants us to suffer, but because it helps to prepare us to share with Jesus in the future work of making an end of all suffering. Some adherents of nominal churchianity, failing to understand the true meaning of the “sufferings of Christ,” have advanced the erroneous theory that the more melancholy one can be the nearer he is living to the Lord. Out of this false theory has come the monastic life, austerities, doing of penance, etc. Probably there are times when God would be pleased for us to discipline the flesh in order that we may keep it more completely lined up for His service; but this is not because He doesn’t want us to be happy.
PURPOSES OF SUFFERING
One purpose of Christian suffering is that our faith might be thereby tested. Peter speaks of this saying, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” (I Pet. 1:7) Suffering is a trial of our faith because it puts to the test our belief in the promises of God, and in the wisdom of God. God cannot, in the very nature of things, exalt anyone to the divine nature who does not have full confidence in Him and in His plan. What if the fallen Lucifer had been immortal, indestructible! It would have meant that God’s universe would have been marred forever.
God tests our faith in Him and our devotion to Him by permitting us to experience some very severe and exacting trials, and by making our service for Him a sacrifice. For a time He may permit us to enjoy the sweets of His favor, causing the sun of His loving kindness to shine warmly upon us; and how we do rejoice in such happy experiences. During such times we should feed upon His Word and grow spiritually strong in Him. Thus we are prepared for the fiery trials which are necessary for our testing and the crystallization of our characters. But these trials should not rob us of our joy in the Lord. Through faith we should lay hold upon the precious promises, and realize that while God is trying us, He will help us to bear it, and that finally, if we keep ourselves in His love, we shall come forth as gold. “In quietness and in confidence” shall be our strength, so we “rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”—Isaiah 30:15; Psalm 37:7
The divine purpose for us is that we may reign with Christ and share with Him in dispensing Kingdom blessings of life and joy to the willing and obedient of humanity. To be prepared for such a glorious future work, we need not only to be tested and tried for the proof of our faith, but that these very trials may enable us to be touched with a feeling of the world’s infirmities and thus to be properly qualified to deal with them in the next age. Our knowledge of this purpose, and our faith in the divine wisdom and power back of it, should enable us to rejoice despite our trials. If this be so, then we are experiencing the joy of the Lord which is our strength.
This was the source of the Master’s joy. He was not shielded from suffering, but He had full confidence in the divine purpose back of His suffering, and He was in full heart-harmony with that purpose. He knew that when the divine plan for the world was complete there would be no more suffering and sorrow of any kind; that there would be gladness and rejoicing everywhere; and His joy sprang from a consciousness of the fact that the Father had honored Him to have a part in accomplishing such a blessed program.
We can have the same joy in a degree commensurate with our faith and confidence in God and in His promises. The disciples on the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee lacked faith; they doubted, and their hearts were filled with fear. In their anxiety they cried to the Master to save them lest they perish. Jesus stilled the storm and the waves, and said to His disciples, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” (Matt. 8:26) If, when we are surrounded by the storms of life, we lose our joy it the Lord, we should pray, “Lord, increase our faith.”
In Romans 12:12, the apostle associates the thoughts of joy, trials, and prayer, indicating that they are closely related in the Christian life. He says, “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.” Our rejoicing, our joy, is in the blessed hope set before us in the promises of God, and in the divine assurance of God’s care for us. But we need to be tested, so while we rejoice in hope, we need also to be “patient in tribulation.” The Greek word here translated “patient” means to “bear under,” or submit to. It is the thought expressed by the statement, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”—I Pet. 5:6
If we are truly humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of. God it means that we will be rejoicing in our hope and we won’t be complaining against God’s providences. Job of old said of the Lord, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” (Job 13:15) Surely a consecrated, spirit-begotten Christian should not be less submissive under the divine hand which moulds and fits him for a position in the glorious Kingdom of Christ. Our continued trust in the Lord should be such a deep, full trust, that from it will spring our rejoicing in Him.
If our rejoicing is to continue, despite the trials of the way, we will need to keep very close to the Lord in prayer; so the apostle adds, “continuing instant in prayer.” (Rom. 12:12) To be “instant in prayer” means that we will go to the throne of grace promptly in every time of need. It means that we properly recognize the Lord as the true source of our strength and the true fountain of our joy. Recognizing this, we go to Him for our supplies, and gladly do we “continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.”—Col. 4:2
Our prayers should not always be in the nature of requests. We should cultivate the habit of watching for the answers to our prayers, and watching with thanksgiving. Every experience in our Christian life should be an occasion for thanksgiving to the Lord. We should thank Him even for our trials, because of their great value to us. If we fully realize our need of divine help and forgiveness, and properly appreciate what the Lord is daily doing for us, it will be hard to keep us away from the throne of grace; we’ll want to talk with the Lord often—very often.
“PEACEABLE FRUITS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS”
In Hebrews 12:5-11, the apostle sets forth another purpose of Christian suffering. It is a part of God’s training program for the house of sons who will constitute His ruling house during the Millennial age. Even Jesus learned obedience through the things which He suffered. This doesn’t mean that Jesus was ever disobedient. The thought is, rather, that He learned to be obedient even though the Heavenly Father permitted Him to suffer. How necessary it was that this crucial test of obedience should be placed upon the One who was to be entrusted with the gigantic task of restoring obedience to the divine will throughout all the earth.
How necessary, too, that those who are following the “Captain” of their salvation should be subjected to the same kind of discipline. The thought of “chastening” is not necessarily that of punishment for wrongdoing from a moral standpoint. It’s a form of the word “chaste,” which means pure. To be chastened, then, means to be made pure, or to be set apart wholly to the doing of the divine will. A man in being trained as a soldier needs to be disciplined in order to know how to be a good soldier. To begin with, he will do many things the wrong way, so he needs to be trained. His training may not affect his moral standing as a man, but it does perfect him as a soldier.
It is thus that we are disciplined, trained, to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Our training affects our whole being, morally, physically and intellectually. It weans us away from all former viewpoints, hopes and habits, and sets us apart wholly to the one great purpose to which we have dedicated our lives. Some of the training processes call for “rebuking” by the Lord, and “chastening” by His loving hand. If we do not have these experiences it means that we have pot been accepted as sons. If we do have them, then this disciplinary training thus received is an evidence of God’s love for us.
The chastenings of the Lord are not “joyous,” but “grievous,” the apostle explains; but afterwards, if we are properly exercised thereby, they yield the “peaceable fruit of righteousness,” and in this fruitage we can rejoice. We are not joyful in the suffering as such, but because the suffering is an evidence that God is dealing with us as sons, and that’s real cause for rejoicing. It is another way in which we experience the joy of the Lord, the joy of faith. It is a joy that is ours by faith despite the influences which, from the standpoint of the natural man, would rob us of all joy.
SUFFERING AS CHRISTIANS
In I Peter 4:12-16, the apostle associates Christian joy with Christian suffering, and shows clearly the proper relationship between the two. We are not to think it “strange concerning the fiery trial” by which the Heavenly Father tests us. On the contrary, we are to “rejoice inasmuch as we are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” We are to thus rejoice in Christ’s sufferings now, “that, when His glory shall be revealed, we may be glad also with exceeding joy.” What a prospect!
Yes, O blessed thought, we can rejoice because we are counted worthy of a share in Christ’s sufferings, and have this evidence of God’s favor. And, if we continue faithful to the end of the way, we will be glad with “exceeding joy.” This exceeding joy is evidently the “fulness of joy” mentioned in our text, Psalm 16:11. We can have great joy and rejoicing now, even while we are still suffering with Christ, and being trained for future glory with Him. And we can be in His presence now, in the sense of enjoying the smile of His favor, and having the opportunity of coming to the throne of grace in prayer.
But a part of our present joy—yea, a large part of it—is based upon our hope of finally entering into the actual presence of our beloved Heavenly Father. What a hope! There we will find the “fulness of joy” of which now we have but a foretaste. If we have caught the true vision of God, we will long to know Him better and to be able to serve Him perfectly. Our souls will pant for Him as the “hart panteth after the water brooks.” (Psa. 42:1) And when we hear that “Well done, … enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” what rapture will it be. (Matt. 25:21) With such a prospect how can any earthly thing be permitted to hinder our progress toward the heavenly goal?
Our present joys, deep and rapturous as they should be, are but a foretaste of that “fulness of joy” yet to be realized. When that fulness of joy shall have been attained, it will be unmingled with trials and sufferings of any kind. The Hebrew word translated “joy” in our text signifies, according to Prof. Strong, “blithesomeness,” meaning gay or merry. There will be nothing then to mar the joy of the faithful. The trials will have been ended, the battles will have been fought, and the victory won. There’ll be no more dark valleys—only the overflowing joy of continuous partnership with the “Majesty on high” in the happy work of scattering blessings far and wide throughout His universe.
And it is in God’s “presence” that this “blithesomeness” will be experienced. As already noted, there is the actual presence of God, and there is a symbolic presence, the latter being a state or condition of harmony with Him. Christ and the church will throughout all the ages of eternity, have the privilege of entering into the actual presence of the Heavenly Father, and no tongue or pen can describe the continuous and rapturous joy which will be theirs—“fullness” of joy indeed, and “pleasures for evermore.”
The “great multitude,” the “Princes in all the earth,” and the restored world of mankind, will rejoice in the blessings of Jehovah’s symbolic presence. That is, they will have His full favor and blessing, and in that favor they, too, will rejoice with joy unspeakable. All tears will be wiped away. Tears are a symbol of sorrow, and it is God’s purpose to make an end of sorrow. When this purpose is fully accomplished, there will be fullness of joy in every part of God’s great universe, and all of His creatures will forever rejoice in the sunshine of His presence.
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“Who would faint while such a prospect —Hymns of Dawn
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