Disquietude and complaint
We have—
I. GOD'S RIGHTEOUS WAY. The way in which God intended man to walk was that way of wisdom, all of whose paths are peace. This divinely appointed way is that of holy service. Man, like every other being above him, and every other creature below him in the universe, was created to serve. We were created to serve our God and out kind; and in this double service we should find our rest and our heritage. This, which is God's way, should have been our way also.
II. MAN'S PERVERTED WAY. Man, in his sin and his folly, has "perverted his way;" he has attempted another path, a short cut to happiness and success. He has turned out of the high road of holy service into the by-path of selfishness; he has sought his satisfaction and his portion in following his own will, in giving himself up to worldly ambitions, in indulging in unholy pleasure, in living for mere enjoyment, in making himself the master, and his own good the end and aim of his life.
III. HIS CONSEQUENT DISQUIETUDE. When anything is in its wrong place, there is certain to be unrest. If in the mechanism of the human body, or in the machinery of an engine, or in the working of some organization, anything (or anyone) is misplaced, disorder and disquietude invariably ensue. And when man puts his will above or against that of his Divine Creator, that of his heavenly Father, there is a displacement and reversal such as may well bring about disturbance. And it does. It is hardly saying too much to say that all the violence, disease, strife, misery, poverty, death, we see around us arise from this disastrous perversion—from man trying to turn God's way of blessedness into his own way. Man's method has been utterly wrong and mistaken, and the penalty of his folly is heartache, wretchedness, ruin.
IV. HIS VAIN AND GUILTY COMPLAINT. He "fretteth against the Lord." Instead of smiting himself, he complains of God. He falls to see that the source of his unrest is in his own heart; he ascribes it to his circumstances, and he imputes these to his Creator. So, either secretly or openly, he complains of God; he thinks, and perhaps says, that God has dealt hardly with him, has denied to him what he has given to others; in the dark depths of his soul is a guilty rebelliousness.
V. THE ONE WAY OF REST. This is to return unto the Lord in free and full submission.
1. To recognize God's righteous claim upon us, as our Creator, Preserver, Redeemer.
2. To acknowledge to ourselves and to confess to him that we have guiltily withheld ourselves from him, and sinfully complained of his holy will.
3. To ask his mercy in Jesus Christ our Saviour, and offer our hearts to himself and our lives to his service. This is the one way of rest and joy; it is "the path of life."—C.
Making the most of ourself and our life
How shall we most truly "love our own soul" but by making all we can make of the nature and the life God has entrusted to our care! And how shall we do this? Surely by "getting wisdom" and "keeping understanding." To look at the subject negatively and, beginning at the bottom, to take an upward path, we remark—
I. THAT CONTEMPTUOUS CARELESSNESS MEANS CERTAIN RUIN. "He that despiseth his ways shall die." The man who never pauses to consider what he can accomplish, how he shall spend his days and his powers, but who goes aimlessly onward, letting youth and manhood pass without any serious thought at all, and content to snatch the enjoyment of the passing hour,—is a man of folly, and he can expect nothing, as he certainly will find nothing, hut the most meagre portion and a very speedy end of everything. He sows to the flesh, and of the flesh he reaps corruption. To "despise our way" in this fashion is to forfeit our inheritance and come to utter destitution. Moving higher up, but still failing to reach the right standard, we remark—
II. THAT ANY COUNSEL WHICH IS NOT OF GOD WILL PROVE DISAPPOINTING. There is much cleverness and keenness that is not wisdom; there is much concern about ourself and our future which is not a true "love for our own soul." There are many counsellors who will advise us to seek certain pleasures, or to aim at certain honours, or to climb to a certain position, or to seek entrance into some particular society, or to secure a certain treasure,—and it will be well with us. But any counsel which fall, short of telling us the will of God, which leaves untold the wisdom which is from above, will certainly prove to be unsound. A point will come in our experience where it will break down. It will not meet the deeper necessities of our nature nor the darker passages of our life. We must take higher ground—that on which we see—
III. THAT DIVINE WISDOM WILL LEAD US TO TRUE AND LASTING BLESSEDNESS. "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:28; see Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10). And surely:
1. To know God is, in itself, a real and a great blessing (Jeremiah 9:24). To know God as he is revealed in Jesus Christ is to be enriched in the most precious and valuable knowledge; it is "to be wiser than the ancients;" it is to have that in our mind which is of more intrinsic worth than all that men can put into their pockets.
2. To know God in Jesus Christ is to have rest of heart (Matthew 11:28, Matthew 11:29). Those who love themselves will surely care for spiritual rest—for a peace which no favouring circumstances can confer.
3. To learn of Christ and keep his commandments is to be preserved in moral and spiritual integrity; he that "keepeth the commandments" by consulting the will of Christ will certainly "keep his own soul" from all that stains and slays a human spirit and a human life—from impurity, insobriety, untruthfulness, dishonesty, profanity, selfishness; he will "keep his soul" in the love of God, in the light of his countenance, under his guardian care. To remain loyal to the wisdom of God (to "keep understanding") is to find every good that is open to us. It is to move along that path which is evermore ascending; which conducts to the loftier heights of moral excellency, of exalted spiritual joy, of holy and noble service; which leads to the very gates of heaven and the near presence of God.—C.