Distinguishing Marks of Saving Faith (9)

(This article continues the translation of Chapter 33 of The Christian’s Reasonable Service.)

True believers receive Christ alone as their only and all-sufficient portion, while willingly, joyously, and unconditionally relinquishing all that would oppose them in this. Christ must be all in all. They know that He alone is sufficient for them, even if presently they do not sensibly experience this. It grieves them to rely upon something else and in order to be delivered from this, they flee to Jesus. Concerning their sincere and heartfelt inclinations, they may say with Asaph “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee” (Psalm 73:25). They also join Paul in Philippians 3:8, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my LORD: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”

Without reservation they also surrender themselves to Jesus to endure with Him and for the sake of His cause both sweet and bitter, sorrow and joy, light and darkness, so that He would lead, enable, and strengthen them. They fully surrender themselves to His leadership, not only to be brought to Mount Tabor, but also by Him to be brought to Golgotha. It is their wish that He might take away all that would cause them to find joy in the things of the world, and that He would bring upon them all that is bitter, as long as He is not far from them, and that they may be near Him in solitude and quietness. However, if it would please Him to remove His sensible presence from them, and should such also be to His honor, then they would surrender themselves to this— be it with tears in their eyes—even if He were to pass them by and through hell lead them to heaven. Behold, in this manner does a true believer receive Jesus, thereby fully surrendering himself to Him again.

True believers are not satisfied merely to have received the Lord Jesus for such a purpose and in the aforesaid manner. Their hearts remain focussed on Jesus, and they cannot experience any happiness until they may actually partake of and enjoy communion with God in Christ. Their joys and sorrows are proportionate to whether they are far from or near to Him.

A temporal believer concerns himself only with the doctrines themselves. As long as he is able to discern, contemplate, discuss them, may be esteemed and cherished among the godly, and the fellowship to which he has joined himself prospers, the temporal believer is joyful. Then he has the preeminence and is especially esteemed.

However, true believers have their focus upon God. The Lord is their treasure, and therefore their hearts are also there. They soon learn to discern whether the Lord is near or at a distance. When the Lord hides His countenance, the soul is bereft of its joy; it mourns, languishes, is restless, troubled, and overwhelmed, as we can observe in the saints. “My Beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for Him” (Song of Solomon 5:4); “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?” (Psalm 42:5); “Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will He be favourable no more? Is His mercy clean gone for ever? doth His promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath He in anger shut up His tender mercies?” (Psalm 77:7-10); “Hide not Thy face from me…. My heart is smitten, and withered like grass…. I am like a pelican of the wilderness…. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping” (Psalm 102:2,4,6,7,9).

They are as Moses who, when the LORD indicated His presence would be withheld, could not be satisfied with this. When the Lord addressed him about this matter by saying, “My presence shall go with thee,and I will give theerest,” Moses responded, “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence” (Exodus 33:14,15).

When the Lord is at a distance, true believers long for His presence. This separation causes them to be fainthearted and to languish. “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth” (Song of Solomon 1:2); “My soul fainteth for Thy salvation: but I hope in Thy Word. Mine eyes fail for Thy Word, saying, When wilt Thou comfort Me?” (Psalm 119:81,82).

When the Lord is distant, they nevertheless cannot fail to persevere. Even if at times they become discouraged, they will nevertheless resume the struggle. They cannot cease to seek, even if they are only able to lift their eyes upward with Hezekiah. “Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me” (Isaiah 38:14). They concur with the prophet. “Unto Thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwel-lest in the heavens” (Psalm 123:1).

The bride did likewise: “By night on my bed I sought Him whom my soul loveth: I sought Him, but I found Him not. I will rise now… I will seek Him whom my soul loveth: I sought Him but I found Him not” (Song of Solomon 3:1,2).

Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635-1711), a Second Reformation divine, was a leading representative of practical Reformed Orthodoxy in the Netherlands who became most renowned for his major work,Redelijke Godsdienst (The Christian’s Reasonable Service).

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