t^ihvavy of Che 'theolo^icd Seminar jc 
 
 PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 
 
'^2 
 
 . APk 21 1952 ^ 
 
 GlMSleFS fFsm Eshditr 
 
 OB, 
 
 WOI[DS OF COMFORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT 
 
 DRAWN FROM THE SACRED SCRIPTURES FOR THE 
 AFFLICTED CHILDREN OF GOD. 
 
 BY y 
 
 JACOB HOKE, 
 
 AITTHOB or "holiness; oe, the higheb christian life," and "thk agb wm 
 LIVE in; its dangers and duties." 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver ; I have chosen 
 
 thee in the furnace of affliction^ 
 
 Isaiah 48: 10. 
 
 DAYTON, OHIO: 
 
 UNITED BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE. 
 
 1882. 
 
Eatered according to act of Congress, in the year 1883, 
 
 By Ret. W. J. Shuey, 
 
 Id the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. 0» 
 
PREFilCE, 
 
 The circumstances under which the reflections contained in 
 this volume were written, as well as the reasons which in- 
 duced them, are stated in the second chapter, entitled, " Rejoic- 
 ing in Tribulation." The reader will pardon the personal 
 narrative therein related, as it seems right and proper to 
 introduce it as an illustration of the subject under considera- 
 tion, as well as an evidence of the all-sufficiency of divine 
 grace. 
 
 As in all families where there are afflicted ones, the softest 
 couch, the sweetest morsels from the table, and the kindest 
 and most unremitting attention are given to such ; so in 
 God's family, the most precious truths of his word, expressed 
 in language and metaphor of the utmost tenderness, seem to 
 be addressed to the weak, the afflicted, and the tried. In all 
 this the tender sympathy of Him who bore our griefs and 
 carried our sorrows, while a stranger and sojourner among 
 men, is seen. 
 
 Communion with God through his written word was the 
 principal source of my pastime and enjoyment during the 
 months and even years of my necessary retirement from the 
 active labors and pursuits of life ; and as the truths thus 
 gathered were so full of comfort to my own soul, and so 
 drew out my sympathies for my fellow-sufierers, I feel it a 
 duty, as well as a debt of gratitude to God for the all-abund- 
 ant grace bestowed upon me during those months of pain and 
 
j^ PREFACE. 
 
 distress, to share the rich Eshcol clusters which unseen hands 
 brought, and still bring, to my soul with others called to 
 drink of affliction's bitter cup. 
 
 It is affirmed of our Lord Jesus Christ that he was made 
 ^* perfect through suffering," and that in consequence of his 
 personal experience in all the trials through which his follow- 
 ers are called to pass he is the better able to sympathize with 
 them. May I be permitted to say, in all humility, that from 
 personal experience of severe and long-continued affliction I 
 am the better prepared to enter into the sympathies of fellow- 
 sufferers and execute a work for their comfort, which I could 
 not do without this personal experience? Was not this truth 
 iu the mind of the apostle when he uttered the words,^con- 
 tained in II. Corinthians i. 3, 4, — " Blessed be God, even the 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Fathei* of mercies, and 
 the God of all comfort ; who comforteth us in all our tribula- 
 tion, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any 
 trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted 
 of God." 
 
 And now, dear reader, hoping that the blessing of God may 
 go forth with these pages and make them a source of good to 
 some of the scattered and suffering saints of the great family 
 of its once suffering Head, I subscribe myself *' your brother 
 and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and pa- 
 tience of Jesus Christ." 
 
 JACOB HOKE. 
 
 Chaubebsbvbg, Pa. 
 
INTRDDUCTIDN, 
 
 " Many are the aflaictions of the righteous." "As thy day, 
 EG shall thy strength be." These two declarations from the 
 word of God will be found to constitute the basis of the 
 volume now offered to the Christian public. As to the former, 
 it will be needless to amplify. The pilgrimage of life is one 
 of cares, aflaictions, bereavements, and sorrows ; and God has 
 BO ordered that the Christian is no exception to the rule. 
 
 Can we say as much for the latter? Bible promises do not 
 create these drawbacks on life's enjoyment. Medical science 
 is not responsible for the existence of disease. It presupposes 
 every ailment for which it brings a remedy. So with the 
 gospel. It only provides for what already exists. Sin is the 
 prolific mother of all our woes. " Is there a balm in Gilead ? 
 Is there a physician there?" These are questions of infinite 
 moment to every member of our race ; and these questions 
 our author proposes to answer. And if long and patient 
 study of the word of God, and long and painful suffering in 
 the flesh will qualify a man to give such answer, then is he in 
 an eminent degree fitted for the task. " Clusters from 
 EsHCOL." The title is itself full of promise. The book does 
 not disappoint the hope the title excites. The Cliristiau reader 
 ■will find a feast of good things as he studies these pages. 
 
 The author, Mr. Hoke, whom we have for a third of a cen- 
 tury intimately known as a friend and brother in the gospel, 
 has been for the greater part of his life a diligent Bible- 
 
Vi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Btudent. In his weekly Bible-class and in the Sunday-school, 
 where he has so long labored, he had ample opportunity to 
 test the power of divine truth to bless and save. His practi- 
 cal mind has especially gathered those precious truths that 
 prove such invaluable helps in the Christian warfare. 
 
 But he comes to the afllicted, heart-burdened Christian as a 
 brother and companion in like tribulation. For many years 
 he has been a sufferer in the flesh ; and he has learned by 
 a happy experience the power of the gospel to sustain and 
 save. Dr. Doddridge was, like many other good men, subject 
 to times of great despondency. At one time a deep gloom 
 had settled upon his mind. Walking along the street, feeling 
 wretched, and not knowing what to do, he heard, through an 
 open door, a child reading, "As thy day, so shall thy strength 
 be." The effect upon him, he says, was indescribable. The 
 burden was lifted from his heart, and he went his way rejoic- 
 ing. 
 
 But these afflictions are not only seasons of gospel comfort, 
 but are to be the means of religious development and growth. 
 They are to yield the "peacable fruits of righteousness to 
 them that are exercised thereby." Says the psalmist, " I went 
 through fire and through water, and thou broughtest me out 
 into a wealthy place." Our author has a blessed knowledge 
 of what this means. He knows what it is to have even the 
 Bufferings of life work to the soul's good; and being thus 
 blessed and enlarged in his own Christian experience, he is 
 able to direct others into the like faith. 
 
 These " Clusters " will find their way into many a Christian 
 
 home. They will dry up many a tear, and bring solace to 
 
 many a care-burdened heart. They will, too, help many a 
 
 yearning soul to a better trust, a richer hope, a higher joy. 
 
 The book is sent out on its mission of love with the prayer 
 
 that God may use it to his own glory and to the comfort and 
 
 eanctification of the believer. 
 
 JOHN DICKSON, 
 
 WsSTirBTILLK, OhIO. 
 
CDNTENTS, 
 
 Preface. - - . - - 
 Introduction. By Rev. J. Dickson, D. D, 
 
 PAQB 
 
 3 
 5 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Fellowship with Christ in Suffering. - - - 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Rejoicing in Tribulation. - - - - - 24 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 Divine Discipline. - - - - - - 44 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Afflictions — Whence do They Come? - - - 78 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Afflictions — How to be Borne. - - - - 89 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Afflictions Improved. - - - - . - 107 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 Afflictions Sometimes Removed by Prayer, - - 132 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 The Graces of the Holy Spirit Developed by Afaiction. - l/>3 
 
vm CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A Royal Sufferer. ----- •ISO- 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 God's Providential Care of His People. - - - 191 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 God in Everything. - - - - - - 20T 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Special Grace for Special Occasions. - - - - 220 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Salvation Completed. - - - - - - 239- 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Observations from the Delectable Mountains. - - 253- 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Crossing of the River of Death. - - - 315- 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST IN SUFFERING. 
 
 "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, 
 and the fellowship of his suflferings, being made conformable 
 unto his death ; if by any means I might attain unto the res- 
 urrection of the dead." (Phil. iii. 10, 11.) 
 
 Fellowsliip with Christ in seven important re- 
 lations, or conditions, is spoken of in the Script- 
 ures; namely, — 
 
 I. Crucified with Christ; fellowship with the 
 Man of sorrows m his life of suffering. (Gal. ii. 
 20 ; Phil. iii. 10, 11 ; Peter iv. 13.) 
 
 n. Dead with Christ; dead to self, sin, the 
 law, and the world, as Christ was dead bodily. 
 (Rom. vi. 2, 3, etc.) 
 
 III. Buried with Christ; separated in spirit, 
 and, so far as possible, separated from all volun- 
 tary association with the world. (Rom. vi. 4, etc.) 
 
 lY. Raised up with Christ; revived to a new 
 life of spirituality and Christian activity. (Rom. 
 vi. 5 ; Eph. ii. 5.) 
 
 Y. Sitting together with Christ in heavenly vlaces ; 
 
12 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 the enjoyment of the means of grace; entering" 
 into the fellowship of Christ's joys and rejoicings, 
 as well as being made partakers of his sorrows. 
 (Eph. ii. 6, 7.) 
 
 VL Glorified together with Christ; made and 
 fashioned like unto his glorious body in the resur- 
 rection at the last day. (Phil. iii. 21; I. John iii. 2.) 
 
 YII. Sharing in the coming kingdom and glory 
 of Christ; sitting upon thrones and forever reign- 
 ing with Christ. (II. Tim. ii. 12 ; John xvii. 5, 22, 
 24;Eev. iii. 21.) 
 
 The foregoing is God's own declared order, and 
 it can not be changed nor reversed ; and all who 
 would share in the enjoyments of the fifth, — 
 which pertains to this life, — and anticipate and 
 finally enter into the blessedness of the sixth and 
 seventh, — which pertain to the life which is to 
 come, — must first conform to the several preced- 
 ing relations stated. 
 
 Each of the topics thus given would furnish 
 abundant material for a volume. My object, 
 however, is to elucidate, in so far as I can, the 
 single topic of Felloicship with Christ in Suffering. 
 This will claim attention in this opening chapter, 
 and throughout the entire book. 
 
 Fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, in hi& 
 life of sorrows, afflictions, and trials, is a contin- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 13 
 
 gencj which all Christians may not only endure, 
 but seems to be indispensable to the higher forms 
 of Christian life and attainment here, as well as 
 to a participation in the blessedness of the life 
 which is to come. Indeed, from the connection 
 which the Scriptures plainly indicate between 
 euifering with Christ here, in the various forms 
 stated, and reigning with him in glory, it is 
 plainly evident that the possibility of the latter 
 depends upon the former. 
 
 The symbol employed by the inspired word to 
 illustrate this life of tribulation and affliction is 
 that of crucifixion. Death by the cross was not 
 only the most ignominious method of inflicting 
 the death-penalty known to all human law, but it 
 was also the most painful and lingering. As a 
 symbol of the sufterings of believers, in fellow- 
 ship with their suffering Head, it plainly points 
 to severe and protracted afflictions, and, as the 
 symbol further implies, to deep humiliation and 
 mortification. Such has it ever been with all the 
 suffering family of the Man of sorrows. Being 
 crucified with Christ, then, involves not only the 
 ordinary afflictions and trials usual alike to be- 
 lievers and unbelievers, but to special and extraor- 
 dinary seasons of affliction and suffering, sent 
 or permitted to come upon the children of God 
 
14 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 for their good and the development of the graces 
 of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 So important is this self-crucifixion, and so 
 fully established is the fact that the more advanc- 
 ed states of grace and matured fruits of the Spirit 
 can alone be attained by it, and doubtless with 
 the purpose of reconciling Christians to entire 
 submission to the trying ordeal, the Scriptures 
 teach that the cup of suffering of which the 
 Savior drank before entering into his glory was 
 not wholly drained of its contents; but a part 
 was kindly left for those who would, through the 
 same bitter suffering, follow him to the same glo- 
 rious consummation. This truth seems plainly 
 taught in Colossians i. 24: "Who now rejoice in 
 my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is 
 behind of the afflictions of Christ." 
 
 But did Paul, who wrote most of his sufferings 
 with Christ, undergo death with Christ in the 
 sense we have indicated in our second proposi- 
 tion ? If so, when did it occur ? That eminent 
 servant of Grod gives utterance to frequent ex- 
 pressions which seem to imply that however ad- 
 vanced his attainments in grace, he has yet 
 struggled against the power of inward foes, and 
 was all athirst after a more complete and per- 
 fect deliverance. Eomans vii., and its parallel, 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 15 
 
 Galatians v., plainly sustain this assertion. At 
 other times, this same apostle expresses himself 
 as having undergone this crucifixion-death and 
 resurrection with Christ; but without a better 
 understanding of the apostle's inner life, and the 
 chronological order of his utterances, it can not 
 be learned just when he underwent this process. 
 But that he at some time passed through this 
 ordeal, and realized the precious results, is clear 
 from his frequent admissions of it. 
 
 At one stage of Paul's experience he says that 
 he counted all things but loss for the excellency 
 of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that he 
 sought above all things to "know him, and the 
 power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of 
 his sufferings, being made conformable unto his 
 death ; if by any means I might attain unto the 
 resurrection of the dead, l^ot as though I had 
 already attained, either were already perfect : but 
 I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for 
 which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.'* 
 (Phil. iii. 8-12.) 
 
 Evidently when the apostle gave utterance to 
 these words he had not apprehended — that is, ex- 
 perienced, — the fullness of gospel grace, after 
 which he so ardently aspired. But that his aspi- 
 rations after this higher life, so frequently ex- 
 
16 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 pressed and intensely cherislied, and coupled with 
 a consecration so perfect and entire, were at 
 length crowned with success, the faithfulness of 
 God to his promises, and the repeated declaration 
 of the apostle himself, ahundantlj attest. Proh- 
 ahly, after the conflict and victory recorded in II. 
 Corinthians xii., he was enahled to use language 
 which he could not, and which would not have 
 been appropriate to his inner state, prior to that. 
 His language now, is, "I am crucified with 
 Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ 
 liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the 
 flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who 
 loved me, and gave himself for me." 
 
 In proof that the experience expressed in the 
 words just quoted was attained through a process 
 of suffering, if not in connection with the special 
 occurrence referred to in II. Corinthians xii., the 
 following scriptures are cited : " From henceforth 
 let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the 
 marks of the Lord Jesus." "Always bearing 
 about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, 
 that the life also of Jesus might be made mani- 
 fest in our body. For we which live are always 
 delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life 
 also of Jesus might be made manifest in our 
 mortal flesh." These quotations prove that the 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 17 
 
 author of tliem liad passed through severe afflic- 
 tions, and that the marks thereof, the permanent 
 bodily infirmity, yet remained. If the incident 
 of n. Corinthians xii. is not referred to, some 
 other, equally severe and permanent, must have 
 occurred in the life of Paul, which he has not 
 recorded. 
 
 But did Paul regret the process of suffering 
 through which he was called to pass — into the 
 possession of the abundant grace bestowed upon 
 him ? Hear his own reply to this interrogation : 
 " Most gladly therefore would I rather glory in 
 my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest 
 upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmi- 
 ties, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, 
 in distresses for Christ's sake : for when I am 
 weak, then I am strong." 
 
 It will be borne in mind that we make a distinc- 
 tion between being crucified with Chri&t, and being 
 dead with Christ. The first may, and usually does, 
 continue throughout the entire life. It symbol- 
 izes the suffering life of the believer, which no 
 attainment of grace will turn aside. The second 
 is the death which the wholly consecrated be- 
 liever undergoes, usually in connection with trials 
 and afflictions, — though not always so, — to the 
 corrupt principle called in the Scriptures "the 
 8 
 
18 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 carnal mind," " the body of sin," and " the old 
 man." These, even in the regenerated, yet mani- 
 fest their presence and power in evil tempers; as 
 coveteousness, pride, unbelief, etc. The blood of 
 Jesus alone, applied by the Holy Spirit, can de- 
 stroy this principle from which so much evil 
 flows. Afflictions only lead the chastened be- 
 liever to see his need of this cleansing, and make 
 him willing to receive this gracious work. They 
 do not, they can not cleanse the soul. 
 
 And now, dear reader, would you attain unto 
 the fullness of the blessing of Christ Jesus, which 
 it is your privilege to obtain in this life, as well 
 as share in the blessedness awaiting the saints in 
 the life to come ? You can reach these precious 
 results only by becoming like unto Christ, — by 
 being conformed unto him in all things. And if 
 this conformity involves trials, afflictions, and 
 sorrows, it will be no evidence of the displeasure 
 of God, or that he has withdrawn from you his 
 favor and regard. They rather prove the interest 
 God manifests for your welfare, and his purpose 
 to bestow upon you more abundantly of his 
 grace. ' 
 
 Jesus Christ is the model we are to imitate. 
 We are to be made like him, — conformed to his 
 moral image, and, in some respects, conformed 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 19 
 
 to his earthly life here, that we may in the life to 
 come be made like him there. To produce this 
 conformity, God uses afflictions and trials. These 
 are variously stated in the Scriptures as refining^ 
 (Isa. xlviii. 10 ; Job xxiii. 10) as sifting, (Amos 
 ix. 9) as 'pruning, (John xv. 2) and as polishing. 
 The material of which the temple of Solomon 
 was built was all made ready, in form and size, 
 before it was brought together ; and when the 
 sacred edifice was built, each piece exactly fitted 
 the place it was designed for so perfectly, that 
 the sound of hammer or saw was not heard. God 
 is preparing the material of his heavenly temple 
 here ; he is squaring and shaping and polishing 
 each individual for his proper place ; and when 
 the end shall be reached, and the material shall 
 all be brought together, it will be found that no 
 further preparation will be necessary. The sym- 
 bol plainly teaches this. Every one there must 
 be polished here, prepared here ; and while there 
 are many ways for doing this, the most efiectual 
 is sufl:ering. " Like a workman God stands over 
 each stone, touching and retouching it, turning it 
 on every side, marking its blemishes and rough- 
 ness, and then applying his tools to efifect the 
 desired shape and polish. Some parts of the 
 stone are so rugged and hard that nothing save 
 
20 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 heavy and repeated strokes and touches will 
 smooth them down. They resist any milder 
 treatment. And yet, in patient love, this heav- 
 enly Workman carries on his purpose concerning 
 us. Keeping beside him, if one may so speak, 
 the perfect model according to which the stone is 
 to be fashioned, — even Jesus, the Father's chosen 
 one, — he labors till every part is shaped accord- 
 ing to his likeness, line after line, l^o pains are 
 spared, no watchfulness relaxed, till we are made 
 entirely like him, being changed into the same 
 image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the 
 Lord. Thus affliction molds and purifies. Thus 
 it effaces the resemblance of the first Adam, and 
 traces for us each lineament of the second, that as 
 we have borne the image of the earthly, we may 
 also bear the image of the heavenly." — Bonar. 
 
 But will God suffer his afflicted ones to be con- 
 sumed in the fire to which he may subject them ? 
 It is related that two pious ladies were conversing 
 about the meaning of the words of Malachi iii. 
 3 : " He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of sil- 
 ver." And passing a door over which the sign 
 read the calling of one engaged in working the 
 precious metal, they entered and asked him to 
 explain the process of refining silver. The re- 
 finer replied, " I place the crucible containing the 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 21 
 
 silver in the fire and subject it to an intense heat. 
 I take a seat by it, and keep my eye on it, and 
 closely watch it until I can see my own image 
 reflected, when I at once remove it from the fire ; 
 for when it reflects my image I know the dross is 
 all consumed, and to leave it longer in the fire 
 would destroy it." The meaning of the scripture 
 was made plain. Thus God watches closely and 
 afiectionately his afflicted saints, and when his 
 own image is seen in them he delivers or removes 
 them. He will not suffer them to be consumed 
 nor destroyed. 
 
 And what shall be the reward for this life of 
 affliction and suffering here ? It is indicated in 
 the words of the apostle : " If we suffer, we shall 
 also reign with him." (II. Tim. ii. 12.) When 
 the fullness of time shall have come, when the 
 promised inheritance of universal dominion shall 
 be given unto Christ (Rev. xi. 15), he will, accord- 
 ing to his gracious promises, kindly share it with 
 those who entered into the fellowship of his suf- 
 ferings here, and through them, like unto himself, 
 entered into glory. (Rev. iii. 21 ; Luke xxii. 
 28, 29.) 
 
 Kings do not share their thrones with their 
 subjects; only those of royal blood sit upon 
 thrones. Jesus acknowledges his disciples, and 
 
22 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 each and every individual thereof, as his affianced 
 bride; and he has declared that when her seclu- 
 sion in the wilderness for the ^' time, and times, 
 and half" shall have been accomplished, she shall 
 come forth therefrom and take her proper place 
 at the approaching bridal-feast. (Rev. xii. and 
 xix.) Then, then she shall be amply compensated 
 for her life of suffering here. Then she shall see 
 that the trying discipline through which she has 
 been led here was all right and for her eternal 
 good, and she will take up the joyful song, " He 
 hath done all things well." 
 
 And now, dear afflicted reader, let us question 
 ourselves as to what affliction has done for us, 
 and what progress we have made in being trans- 
 formed into the image of our elder Brother? Are 
 we losing our worldliness and becoming heavenly- 
 minded? Are we getting quit of pride, passion, 
 stubbornness, covetousness, unbelief, etc.? Are we 
 caring less for worldly honors, for worldly pleas- 
 ures, for the smiles of men, for the world's ap- 
 plause? Is the world being crucified unto us and 
 we unto it, or are we ashamed of the reproach 
 of the cross ? Do we count it our glory and joy 
 to walk where our Lord leads, to suffer where he 
 suffered, to drink of the cup he drank of, and to 
 be baptized with the baptism he was baptized 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 23 
 
 with? Are we every day becoming more and 
 more unlike the children of earth, more and 
 more fashioned after the image and bearing the 
 lineaments of our divine Exemplar? Do we rea- 
 lize that this earth is neither our portion nor 
 rest? Can we look back to special trials and 
 afflictions and say, there and then I learned pre- 
 ■cious lessons ; there I got rid of some of this body 
 of death ; there I got up to a higher level ? Have 
 we wiped away our rebellious tears, and been 
 made to shed tears of gratitude and submission ? 
 Have we learned that all the trying discipline 
 through which we are called to pass is designed 
 to make us partakers of His holiness? (Heb. 
 xii. 10.) 
 
 I close this chapter with quoting the lines of 
 Upham, addressed to suffering ones : 
 
 " Be patient, let the fire consume, 
 Give God's interior burning room, 
 Make no resistance, let it blaze, 
 And self, in root and branch, erase. • 
 
 " Thy life of self hath long annoyed ; 
 Thy hopes assailed, thy joys destroyed ; 
 It poisons every inward sense ; 
 And fire alone can drive it hence. 
 
 " The fiery trial gives distress ; 
 But never fear its anguish less ; 
 The pain thou feelest is a sign 
 Of flames from heaven, of fire divine. 
 
24 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 " Oh let it burn till pride and lust, 
 And envy, creeping in the dust, 
 And wrong and crime, of every name. 
 Shall perish in the heavenly flame," 
 
CHAPTER n. 
 
 REJOICING IN TRIBULATION. 
 
 " Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and 
 to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?'^ 
 (Matt. XX. 22.) 
 
 These words are the reply of Jesus, addressed 
 to James and John, to a request of theirs through 
 their mother for some special favor. In response 
 to his interrogation they said that they were ahle 
 to drink of his cup, and to share in his baptism* 
 He then told them that they knew not what they 
 asked, but that their request should be granted 
 them. The subsequent history of these two emi- 
 nent and holy men — the martyrdom of the for- 
 mer, and the many persecutions and banishment 
 of the latter, — attest the fulfillment of the Lord's 
 words, and the severity of the ordeal through 
 which they were called to pass. 
 
 In full view of his own baptism of suffering, 
 then near at hand, and in perfect knowledge of 
 all its bitterness, Jesus exclaimed, " I have a bap- 
 tism to be baptized with ; and how am I strait- 
 
26 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 •ened till it be accomplished ! " His sensitive 
 nature shrunk from his approaching agony; and 
 when the cup was presented to his lips he prayed, 
 ^* my Father, if this cup may not pass away 
 from me, except I drink it, thy will he done." 
 Strengthened by an angel from heaven, he en- 
 dured his agony to the end, and thereby made 
 salvation possible for mankind, and became heir 
 to a kingdom to be revealed in the last day, 
 which he proposes to share with those who suffer 
 with him. 
 
 Through this baptism of suffering, in fellow- 
 ship with the Son of God, lies the way to eternal 
 glory. And among the other peculiarities of the 
 redeemed hosts in heaven is this, that they have 
 gone there through great tribulation. (Rev. vii. 14.) 
 
 It is with extreme reluctance that the writer 
 introduces here his own experience in affliction ; 
 but having undergone an ordeal of suffering so 
 severe and protracted, and realized results so pre- 
 cious and abiding, he feels it a duty to others 
 called to suffer in the same way, to place upon 
 record the following statement : 
 
 During the many years of my religious life I 
 have been permitted to enjoy much of the Divine 
 presence and favor. My most marked advance- 
 ments, however, in the grace of God have invari- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 27 
 
 bly been in connection with or immediately fol- 
 lowing sore affliction. I^early four years ago I 
 undertook to write an elucidation of Rom. v. 1-3. 
 I elaborated at considerable length "justification 
 by faith." I then wrote of its immediate and 
 saving result, — peace with God through our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. I dwelt with special delight upon 
 its second and higher result, — standing (that is, 
 maintaining that position,) and rejoicing in hope 
 of the kingdom and glory of Christ, to be re- 
 vealed at the last day. But when I came to con- 
 eider the third and highest result — glorying in 
 tribulation, — I was unable to proceed. Up to this 
 point I had the light of my own experience to 
 assist me. But here was ground I had not trav- 
 eled over. I had undergone severe afflictions, 
 and had realized gracious results, but my rejoic- 
 ing was not in the midst of the affliction, as taught 
 in the scripture I was considering, but after it 
 was past and the blessing was bestowed, as repre- 
 sented in Heb. xii. 11. Evidently here was an at- 
 tainment of grace which I was experimentally 
 ignorant of; and I desired to have it. Unable to 
 finish my writing I laid it aside, and about a year 
 afterward, receiving no further light, I destroyed it. 
 From this circumstance, as well as from my 
 own understanding of the Scriptures, I was led 
 
28 CLUSTERS PROM ESHCOL. 
 
 to form exalted conceptions of tlie standard of 
 Christian attainment; and my heart earnestly 
 aspired after all the fullness of the grace of God 
 which I could possihly attain unto in this life. 
 
 I also felt assured that the world forms its 
 opinion of the Lord Jesus Christ and his religion 
 by the spirit and lives of his professed represent- 
 atives, thus placing him upon trial before men, 
 in the persons of his friends ; and that it was in 
 view of this that he declared of his disciples, " Ye 
 are my witnesses" With the purpose, therefore, 
 worthily to represent my Lord before men, I de- 
 termined to seek after all the fullness of grace 
 possible to men, and for a number of years pray- 
 ed in secret thus : " Oh, make me all like Thee. 
 Make me to bear and reflect in all my life, walk, 
 conversation, in my disposition, temper, spirit, 
 in my example and influence, and even in my 
 appearance, the image of Jesus." 
 
 Often while thus in secret prayer I was made 
 to hesitate ; for, remembering that almost every 
 marked advancement in grace I had made was in 
 connection with some sore affliction, and, from 
 my understanding of the word of God, the grace 
 after which I aspired was usually connected with 
 severe personal chastisement, questions like these 
 would be suggested to my mind : " Are you will- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 29 
 
 ing to undergo trials like those in the past, which, 
 though severe and trying, resulted so greatly to 
 your good ? " Even two of the bitter trials I after- 
 ward was called upon to endure came squarely 
 before me as probable ingredients in my cup. At 
 length I was enabled to lay my all wholly upon 
 the altar of consecration, leaving all else to God 
 to choose and order as he saw best. 
 
 Soon after this consecration was made my 
 health gave way. ISTervous prostration, induced 
 by long and severe religious and secular labor, 
 came upon me. Then, while prostrated and 
 afflicted, bereavement, sad and sore indeed, came 
 and my earthly home was annihilated. For a 
 period of nearly a year I underwent an ordeal of 
 suffering, physical and mental, that language can 
 not describe. Then followed a precious baptism 
 of the Holy Spirit, and a period of respite lasting 
 about six months. Then, when I supposed my 
 heallh was permanently restored, and when I was 
 actively engaged in religious labor, affording me 
 much delight, my malady returned with increased 
 force. Cerebral exhaustion and chronic congestion 
 v*^ith all their attendant evils set in upon me, de- 
 stroying forever, as I supposed, every earthly hope 
 and prospect. Oh ! I shudder as I look back to 
 the long, dark night of agony which settled 
 
30 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 upon me ; to the sleepless nights ; to the long 
 and weary days; to the blasted hopes; to the 
 humiliation and disappointment; to the fearful 
 idea that in some way I had displeased my heav- 
 enly Father, and that he was chastising me in 
 wrath. Life became a burden ; death seemed 
 greatly to be desired. Then, to crown it ally 
 Satan was permitted to assail me as never before. 
 In the character of an accuser, he charged me 
 with unfaithfulness to duty ; with disobedience to 
 my proper life-work ; with having committed the 
 unpardonable sin. The sword of the Spirit, with 
 which I tried to defend myself from his fiery darts,, 
 he wrested from my hand and used it against 
 me. At times Satan seemed to stand personally 
 before me ; and I was startled with suggestions of 
 passages of scripture, seemingly so pertinent, so 
 suddenly presented, and so persistently pressed 
 upon me by a seeming living person, that I was 
 led to suppose it was by the Holy Spirit. Hope 
 forsook me. Despair, dark and gloomy, settled 
 down upon me. For weeks together, excepting 
 intervals of respite graciously granted me, 1 
 wrestled with the power of this unseen foe. Oh, 
 the unutterable agony of soul I endured as I 
 gazed into vast, boundless eternity, without hope ! 
 Sadness and melancholy settled down upon me,- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 31 
 
 uutil, like Job under similar circumstances, I 
 longed for death, and deplored the day of my 
 birth into this world. If the reader would know 
 the state of my feelings, he can learn it by read- 
 ing Job iii., vii., and Psalms vi. and Ixxxviii. 
 
 Forsaken by God, as I supposed, misunder- 
 stood of men, and suffering by day and by night 
 with a malady whose horrors can only be known 
 by personal experience, and which has sent many 
 to untimely graves, or premature retirement from 
 the active labors and pursuits of life, I lost in- 
 terest in every earthly pursuit, and was under 
 the necessity of secluding myself from all excite- 
 ment, for medical treatment. This condition of 
 suffering continued for a number of years, until 
 I went down to a depth of suffering reached by 
 but few, and from which fewer still' have ever 
 been lifted. The humiliation of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ culminated in a malefactor's death, when 
 " he was numbered with the transgressors ; Paul's, 
 when he lost all things, and was counted as the 
 filth and off scouring of the earth ; mine, in my 
 forced retirement, and when stripped of family, 
 home, friends, property, health, reputation, and 
 hope. Let no one who may read these lines sup- 
 pose that his or her condition is worse than mine 
 was; such is not the case. And I detail this little 
 
82 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 experience only for the encouragement of sucli as 
 may be in similar affliction. 
 
 In all this bitter ordeal of suffering through 
 which I was passing I had forgotten, or lost sight 
 of my consecration to a life of suffering, if such 
 were the will of God, that I might attain unto 
 the measure of grace after which I aspired. I 
 was conscious of my integrity, that in all my 
 efforts to do what I conceived to be my duty I 
 was influenced by sincere and upright motives, 
 and that, however weak I had proved to be, I 
 had not intentionally sinned, nor withdrawn from 
 my heavenly Father that which, long years since, 
 I had committed to his care. This consciousness 
 of my integrity, and confidence in God's faithful- 
 ness, produced confidence in my ultimate salva- 
 tion, excepting the time when I wandered in the 
 dark regions of despair. My experience is best 
 expressed in the words of the apostle, — " I know 
 whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he 
 is able to keep that which I have committed unto 
 him against that day." The apostle's confidence, 
 as expressed in these words, seem to be based 
 upon the faithfulness of God to a jpast transaction 
 rather than in any present-felt emotion. Upon 
 that same rock I also stood, and now stand. 
 
 In addition to the comfort arising from the 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 33 
 
 confidence stated I could at all times, when I 
 could believe that my heavenly Father, while not 
 sending my affliction, yet permitted it, and would 
 cause good to come from it, either to myself or 
 others, entirely submit to his will, even to kissing 
 the hand and welcoming the rod which smote 
 me. 
 
 This ordeal of suffering continued for three 
 years, excepting the respite of about six months, 
 already stated. During it all, my heavenly Fa- 
 ther, while permitting me to be sorely tried by 
 the enemy, and afflicted mainly as a result of my 
 long-continued overwork, has had his eye of com- 
 passion upon me, and at length bestowed upon 
 me a most gracious visitation of peace and power, 
 which I will now describe : 
 
 On the last Sabbath of the past year, 1877, a 
 little tract, entitled, "Eternal life; can I lose it 
 before I die ? " was placed in my hands, with the 
 request that I should read it and give my opinion 
 of it. Unable to enter into its arguments suffi- 
 ciently to give an intelligent opinion of it, its 
 perusal led me to consider the absolute safety of 
 the Christian. The well-remembered words of 
 the psalmist, "Like as a father pitieth his chil- 
 dren, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. 
 For he knoweth our frame ; he remembereth that 
 
84 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 we are dust," seemed to be more than ordinarily 
 full of encouraging meaning. I considered my 
 past life, my conversion to God in the days of my 
 boyhood, the many evidences of his presence and 
 favor bestowed upon me, and never more satis- 
 factory than at the time this cloud fell upon 
 me. I was conscious that I had not knowingl}f 
 sinned, nor departed from him, nor withdrawn 
 from his care that which, years before, I had 
 committed to him. Then I saw a fond father 
 press to his heart his little son, and imprint upon 
 his trusting face the evidences of his undying 
 affection. This relation, thought I, is the symbol 
 which God himself employs to represent his rela- 
 tion to and love for his children. Why, then, 
 is this symbol so frequently employed in the 
 Scriptures, and so tenderly enjoined by the Savior 
 in the prayer he taught his disciples, if it does 
 not mean all it represents ? And why may not 
 I, notwithstanding my affliction and weakness, 
 claim what the relation implies ? Soon, as in all 
 former experiences, confidence in the word of 
 God began to increase. Light, peace, comfort, 
 and joy followed. Gradually, steadily, these pre- 
 cious influences increased, until my despondency 
 and gloom were gone. I felt that my aching, 
 throbbing head was pillowed upon a Father's 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 35 
 
 heart; and everlasting arms pressed me to his 
 loving bosom. 
 
 Oh, what a change! How inexpressibly pre- 
 cious was this blessed peace and comfort which 
 now possessed and filled my happy soul ! Instead 
 of dark, gloomy despair and melancholy, my 
 whole being was again filled with an infiuence so 
 sweet, so precious, so fear-dispelling, and so soul- 
 satisfying that I have no language to express it. 
 The word of God declares that it passes human 
 understanding. Such I found it to be indeed, — 
 the same in kind which I felt when I first be- 
 lieved in Jesus; the same which very often 
 since has filled and satisfied my soul, but now 
 bestowed in measure so large, so constant, so 
 abiding, that there was no room in my heart for 
 doubt or fear. That it is from God, and that I 
 am forever sealed unto eternal life, I have not the 
 shadow of a doubt. 
 
 ITow, contrast my present condition, under this 
 baptism of the Spirit, with what it was previous 
 thereto, especially when wandering in the region 
 of despair, nearly one year ago. Prostrated be- 
 neath the heel of the enemy, lying at the pit's 
 mouth, disrobed of almost everything I prized, 
 crushed in spirit, bruised and stripped and dis- 
 tressed, the spirit of prayer lost, religious duties 
 
36 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCCL. 
 
 irksome, and every earthly prospect shrouded in 
 gloom, I was unhappy indeed. ]^ow, delivered 
 from my fears, filled with inexpressible peace and 
 comfort, and sweetly assured of the unchange- 
 able favor of God here and heaven hereafter, 
 and my heavenly Father proclaiming unto me, 
 " For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; but 
 with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little 
 wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; 
 but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy 
 on thee.'' (Isa. liv. 7, 8.) 
 
 As already stated, the experience I thus gained 
 was not different from what I had formerly en- 
 joyed, but was more full and abiding. Its distin- 
 guishing characteristics may be stated as follows: 
 
 I. In former experiences Jesus seemed to stand 
 pre-eminent before me. My prayers and adora- 
 tion were all to him. Now the fatherhood of 
 God is pre-eminent, and the Savior appears as 
 my elder Brother, my Fellow-Pilgrim upon life's 
 highway, kindly bearing my burden and encour- 
 aging me with the assurance that he will share 
 with me his purchased inheritance. The Holy 
 Spirit, as the divine Comforter, takes the word 
 of God, illuminates it with precious meaning, 
 and seals it upon my heart. 
 
 II. I seem to have permanently entered into 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. . 37 
 
 the inner sanctuary, the holy of holies, where I 
 am permitted to enjoy the most perfect peace and 
 commune with God, without the intervention of 
 means and ordinances peculiar to worshipers in 
 the outer court. I have no language to express 
 the fullness of peace and comfort hestowed upon 
 me, and the assurance of the presence and favor 
 of God, and of my final salvation. This peace 
 and comfort continue full and abiding so long as 
 I keep my eye fixed upon Jesus, accept the fact 
 of my disability, and commit my all wholly to 
 God. But as soon as my mind is diverted from 
 Jesus, to contemplate myself, my past delinquen- 
 cies, my present weakness, or my probable future 
 disability, perplexity, and trouble arise. 
 
 Like others who have been disabled after many 
 years spent in active religious and secular work, 
 I find it more trying to faith and patience to be 
 idle and inactive than to be diligently at work. 
 If my heavenly Father wills it that my future is 
 to be spent in sufi"ering, I accept the allotment, 
 yea, rejoice in it, only so that his will shall be ac- 
 complished. 
 
 III. I seem to have undergone a crucifixion 
 to almost every earthly relation, interest, and 
 pursuit. Unable to find pleasure or enjoyment 
 in the things which interest others, and which 
 
So CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 afforded me delight previous to this affliction, 
 God has most graciously re-opened a channel of 
 sweetest pleasure in communion with himself 
 through his Holy Spirit and the written word. 
 My attachment to friends and fellow- Christiana 
 continues, hut in the modified form indicated hy 
 the apostle in II. Cor. v. 16. I now seem to 
 have entered into a larger relationship and claim, 
 as heing in communion with patriarchs, prophets, 
 apostles, martyrs, fellow-lahorers who have pre- 
 ceded me to heaven, as well as the many precious 
 ones still living. 
 
 lY. There are certain conditions which I sup- 
 posed were indispensihle to the full enjoyment of 
 religion, as favorable surroundings, and active, 
 diligent labor. Indeed, I could conceive of noth- 
 ing else worth living for than to devote time, 
 strength, and talent to the promotion of the 
 cause of God and the welfare of my fellow-men ; 
 for next to the anticipated rest and associations 
 of heaven did I prize the relations and labors of 
 the church on earth. Every duty, every depart- 
 ment of labor assigned me, afforded me inexpress- 
 ible delight. The ways of religion were truly 
 ways of pleasantness, and her paths all peace. 
 And I know of no higher inducement to desire 
 life, health, and vigor, than to enable me to labor 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 3^ 
 
 on in the Master's vineyard. I had yet to learn 
 that the grace of God can meet every want of 
 the soul and render it supremely happy, rejoic- 
 ingly happy, in the absence of these conditions, 
 and in actual suffering from a most distressing' 
 affliction. It was the want of this experience 
 which compelled me to lay aside my attempted 
 elucidation of Romans v. 3, as previously stated. 
 Now, I have learned how to harmonize that 
 scripture with Heb. xii. 11. 
 
 V. I am again confirmed in an opinion, long 
 held, that in my case it is my duty to use all my 
 experiences for the welfare of others. Impressed 
 with a belief that my religious life would be 
 marked by many trials and triumphs, and that I 
 should commit the principal events thereof to 
 writing for the benefit of others, I commenced 
 this duty over thirty years ago. I was strangely 
 led to use as a suitable text or motto for that 
 narrative, the words of the Savior in relation to 
 Peter, — "Behold, Satan hath desired to have 
 you, that he may sift you as wheat : but I ■ have 
 prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not : and when 
 thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." 
 (Luke xxii. 31, 32.) How appropriate these words 
 have been in my case, the record I have written 
 will show. 
 
40 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 A severe affliction and an accompanying bap- 
 tism of the Holy Spirit, some ten years ago, 
 enabled me to write the two books, Holiness, or 
 the Higher Christian Life, and The Age We Live 
 In, The analogies of the past led me to consider 
 what new duty would be laid upon me in connec- 
 tion with this rich and more abiding baptism; 
 and shortly after its bestowal my former efforts 
 to write of afflictions came to my remembrance, 
 and I was impressed that this duty would now 
 be laid upon me. Strangely, and with a clear- 
 ness beyond my power to describe, the whole 
 subject of the teachings of the Scriptures in rela- 
 tion to the afflictions of believers came before 
 my mind. The title, the subjects, the divisions, 
 the arrangements, the texts, and the matter, all 
 stood clearly before me. I wrote down the table 
 of contents as suggested, and afterward, as I had 
 strength, wrote and rewrote in this present form 
 the manuscript which is intended to elucidate the 
 subject so important to God's afflicted . children. 
 Thus the duty I was incompetent to discharge 
 four years ago, when in comparative health and 
 surrounded with all desired earthly and social 
 comforts, is now undertaken and imperfectly dis- 
 charged, after years of severest affliction, and 
 while still in the furnace and under the chasten- 
 ing rod. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 41 
 
 Before dismissing this personal narrative, in- 
 troduced here for the purpose of elucidating the 
 subject under consideration, and which may not 
 be referred to again in the following chapters, 
 and as an expression of my feelings in relation to 
 the future, I submit the following beautiful lines : 
 
 " Perhaps the dreaded future 
 
 Is less bitter than I think ; 
 The Lord may sweeten the waters, 
 
 Before I stoop to drink ; 
 Or if Marah must be Marah, 
 
 He will stand beside the brink. 
 
 " Oh, restful, blissful ignorance, 
 
 ' Tis blessed not to know ; 
 It keeps me so still in those arms, 
 
 Which will not let me go. 
 And hushes my soul to rest. 
 
 On the bosom that loves me so. 
 
 " So I go on not knowing, 
 
 I would not if I might ; 
 I would rather walk in the dark with God 
 • Than go alone in the light, 
 I would rather walk with him by faith. 
 
 Than go alone by sight." 
 
 Three years have passed since this manuscript 
 was written. It seems but right that I should 
 now add to this personal narrative the fact of 
 very great relief from my malady, and the con- 
 tinued and abiding presence of God in my soul. 
 
 If I have any advice, which I have specially 
 
42 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 learned in the school of affliction through which 
 I have passed, that I would give to other afflicted 
 ones, it is this, accept the fact of your affliction as 
 an expression of your Father's will concerning 
 you, either sent or permitted by him, and intend- 
 ed for your welfare, either here or hereafter. 
 Resistance will only increase your suffering. Paul 
 prayed thrice for the removal of his affliction, and 
 failing to have it taken away was then enabled 
 to accept it. I, too, reached this state, but not 
 until after three years of fruitless struggling. 
 But when this acceptance was reached deliver- 
 ance came. 
 
 And now, in comparing my condition at pres- 
 ent with what it was three years ago, when this 
 book was written, I can adopt the words of 
 Upham, and say : 
 
 " Smite on ! It doeth not hurt me now ; 
 The spear hath lost its edge of pain ; 
 And piercing thorns that bound my brow 
 No longer leave their bleeding stain. 
 
 " What once was woe is changed to bliss ; 
 What once was loss is now my gain ; 
 My sorrow is my happiness ; 
 My life doth live by being slain. 
 
 " The birth-pangs of those dreadful years 
 Are like the midnight changed to morn; 
 And daylight shines upon my tears, 
 Because the soul's great life is born. 
 
4t 
 
 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 43 
 
 The piercing thorns have changed to flowers ; 
 
 The spears have grown to scepters bright ; 
 And sorrow's dark and sunless hours 
 
 Become eternal days of light." 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 DIVINE DISCIPLINE. 
 
 *' As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." (Rev. iii. 19.) 
 
 It is said of our Lord Jesus Christ that he was 
 "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," 
 and that, as the Captain of our salvation, he 
 " was made perfect through suffering." Such 
 seems to he the case also with his disciples. St. 
 Paul, in his Epistle to the Hehrews, chapter xii, 
 7, 8, declares that afflictions and chastisements 
 are indispensable evidences of real discipleship ; 
 and that without them we have reason to ques- 
 tion our saving relation to God. 
 
 The Savior declared to the church at Laodicea 
 what may he accepted as a general principle in 
 the divine administration, that all those whom 
 God loves as a parent he rebukes and chastens as 
 his children. And as our heavenly Father does 
 " not willingly afflict or grieve the children of 
 men," (Lam. iii. 33,) we are led to believe that 
 there must be an actual necessity for these chas- 
 tenings. That necessity will be considered in the 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 45" 
 
 proper place. For tlie present we will consider 
 some of the methods by which our heavenly 
 Father chastens his children. There are many 
 rods at his disposal, among which are: 
 
 I. The rod of poverty.^ 
 
 All the wealth of the universe belongs to God, 
 and is distributed by him as is meet and proper 
 in his sight; and from the fact that the majority 
 of Christians are poor in this world's goods, it is 
 evident that this condition is best for them. The 
 Scriptures and general observation establish the 
 fact that worldly pros]Derity is not the most favor- 
 able for vigorous and progressive piety. It usu- 
 ally, if not universally, leads to alienation from 
 God and overmuch care for the interests of the 
 present life. Is it not, then, wise and good for 
 God to withhold or take from his children that 
 which proves an evil rather than a blessing ? Do 
 not affectionate and intelligent earthly parents 
 act according to this principle toward their chil- 
 dren ? Says St. James : " Hearken, my beloved 
 brethren. Hath not God chosen the poor of this 
 world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom 
 which he hath promised to them that love him V* 
 
 To the rich man in the parable it was said, 
 
 * For some of the ideas in this chapter I am indebted to 
 Bonar, in his Night of Weeping. 
 
4§ CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 " Remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst 
 thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: 
 but now he is comforted, and thou art torment- 
 ed." The disadvantages and privations of pov- 
 erty under which so many of the children of God 
 labor are not, then, arbitrary nor accidental, but 
 are by special, providential arrangement. It is 
 altogether likely that in no other way than 
 through the vale of poverty could the majority 
 of believers ever reach heaven ; and our heavenly 
 Father, looking to our highest and greatest good, 
 places us in the condition best adapted to the 
 promotion of that .which is of such priceless 
 value to us. In heaven, ample compensation will 
 be made for the temporary disadvantages of this 
 preparatory and probational state. Well, then, 
 can we endure the privations of a few years for 
 our eternity of gain. 
 
 There is, also, — 
 
 n. The rod of bereavement. 
 
 The safety of the Christian for the present and 
 future depends upon his loving God above all 
 other persons, and all things; for in proportion 
 to his love will be his confidence in Him as his 
 Guide and Protector. When, therefore, the earth- 
 ly attachments become so strong as to interfere 
 with our spiritual and eternal interests, be it to 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 47 
 
 the dearest earthly relations, — as husband, wife, 
 parent, child, sister, or brother, — faithfulness 
 to our highest interests upon the part of our 
 heavenly Father, to whom we have committed 
 this trust, requires that he interpose, and if nec- 
 essary remove that object. Then, in our weak- 
 ness and short-sightedness, unable to appreciate 
 the necessity of this providence, we are made to 
 suffer most keenly, and sometimes to call in ques- 
 tion the wisdom and goodness of God. 
 
 It was under circumstances like these that the 
 psalmist said, " Lover and friend hast thou put 
 far from me, and mine acquaintance into dark- 
 ness." Oh, who can estimate the number of 
 tears shed, the hearts that have heen stricken, by 
 bereavements ! Of how many may it be said, as 
 it was declared of the sister of Lazarus, " She 
 goeth unto the grave to weep there ? " 
 
 Of all the sorrows which afflict the believer 
 here, bereavement is the severest. It is the bit- 
 terest ingredient in his cup ; the sharpest arrow 
 in God's quiver ; the heaviest rod in his hand."To 
 see the object of our most tender love laid in the 
 grave; to part forever on earth, with no expecta- 
 tion to meet again until Jesus comes; to look 
 upon that face which shall smile no more on us ; 
 to close those eyes that shall see us no more ; to 
 
48 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 press those lips that shall speak to us no more ; to 
 stand hy the cold side of father, mother, brother, 
 sister, wife, husband, or friend, yet hear no sound 
 and receive no greeting ; to carry to the tomb 
 the beloved of our hearts, and then return to a 
 desolate home, with a blank in our souls which 
 shall never again be filled until the reunion in 
 the skies ; this, oh, this, is grief indeed, — this is 
 wormwood and gall.'' 
 
 And yet this is the rod which our heavenly 
 Father is most frequently using, — and none is 
 needed more than it. Perhaps we loved the 
 creature more than the Creator; the earthly, 
 more than the heavenly; and God, jealous of our 
 affections, and out of regard for our own welfare, 
 removes the idol of our hearts. Perhaps our 
 earthly homes are stealing away our hearts from 
 the house of many mansions in the skies, and 
 God breaks in upon us in mercy and turns our 
 home into a wilderness. "Perhaps we are sitting 
 at ease in Zion, comforted and contented amid 
 the afflictions of a suffering church and the mis- 
 eries of a world that owns no Savior and fears 
 no God. Jehovah speaks and we awake. He 
 takes to himself some one from our loved circle, 
 or smites to the dust some wretched sinner. "We 
 are aroused, awakened. Our sin finds us put; 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 49 
 
 and we mourn and weep over it and seek anew 
 to realize the full measure of our duty." 
 
 Bereavement reminds us too of the fact that our 
 true citizenship is in heaven ; that here we have 
 no abiding place ; that we have more brethren in 
 heaven than upon earth, and that the coming of 
 our Lord draweth nigh when we shall all be re- 
 united again. It kindles in us new desires for 
 the day of reunion, and thus hastens the coming 
 of the Lord ; it promotes the spirit of watchful- 
 ness ; it does for us what the departure of Moses 
 and Elijah from the mount of transfiguration did 
 for the apostles, — it leaves us alone with Jesus. 
 This is God's object in our chastisement. This 
 object is thus gained. 
 
 Another of our heavenly Father's rods, is, — 
 
 III. The rod of disappointment. 
 
 Said Job in the day of his prosperity, " I shall 
 die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as 
 the sand." Ah, that nest of worldly ease, hedg- 
 ed about by God's providences so closely that 
 Satan could neither assail Job nor his property, 
 without the permission of God, was soon to be 
 torn to pieces, and Job's days made so burden- 
 some and dark that the grave would be more 
 desirable than life. So our best-conceived plans, 
 our fondest anticipations, our brightest prospects, 
 
50 " CLUSTERS FROM ESIICOL. 
 
 are often blasted, and we are made to mourn in 
 disappointment. There is a needs be, an actual 
 necessity for these disappointments, or a God of 
 infinite compassion and love would not thus afflict 
 his own dear children. Said the Savior at one 
 time to his disciples, "What I do thou knowest 
 not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." The 
 same might be said of all God's providential deal- 
 ings with his children. 
 
 As an instance of God's interposition to defeat 
 the purposes of even the unconverted, who form 
 plans for the future independently of his claims, 
 we quote the folloAving case from a book now 
 before us : " It is related that a young man of 
 fine abilities, when entering one of the Italian 
 universities, communicated his plans and hopes 
 for the future to an aged professor named Fil- 
 lippo I^eri. Said the young man, ' I intend to 
 spare no labor or pains to acquire a thorough 
 education, so that I may graduate with the high- 
 est honors.' 
 
 '' ' xVnd wl at will you do when you finish your 
 studies ? ' inquired l!^eri. 
 
 " ' Then I will take my doctor's degree, and 
 enter one of the learned professions, probably the 
 Liw.' 
 
 " ' W.iat then ? ' 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 51 
 
 " * Well, I expect to become skillful, to rise to 
 the head of my profession, and accumulate wealth 
 and fame.' 
 
 " '"What then?' 
 
 " ' Why, I shall become rich, respected by all, 
 and promoted to high positions.' 
 
 " 'What then?' 
 
 " ' I will live in comfort until old age.' 
 
 " 'And what then?' 
 
 " ' Then ? Well then — then — then, I suppose, 
 like others, I must die.' " 
 
 Once more came the " What then ?" But no 
 answer was made. The Holy Spirit showed the 
 young man his error, and led him to forsake 
 his schemes for worldly good; and in due time 
 he became a useful minister of the gospel. 
 
 That young man's calculations were all for this 
 world, but through the abundant mercies of God 
 and the faithfulness of his devoted, aged servant, 
 his earthly schemes were laid aside, and his life 
 was given to the service and cause of God. Had 
 he not voluntarily changed his course, and had 
 not the providence of God crossed his path and 
 led him into a better way, he might now be reap- 
 ing the reward of his folly. 
 
 There is also — 
 
 lY. The rod of adversity. 
 
§2 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 This may be the loss of our good name, reputa- 
 tion, or earthly substance. Or it may be the loss 
 of the friendship and the falling away of friends, 
 and the wrath of enemies. Job had these in 
 Yiew when he gave utterance to the following 
 words : " Behold, he breaketh down, and it can 
 not be built again : he shutteth up a man, and 
 there can be no opening." (Job xii. 14.) " He 
 hath made me weary : thou hast made desolate 
 all my company." " I was at ease, but he hath 
 broken me asunder : he hath also taken me by 
 my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up 
 for his mark. His archers compass me round 
 about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not 
 spare. . . . He breaketh me with breach upon 
 breach ; he runneth upon me like a giant." " My 
 face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is 
 the shadow of death." (Job xvi. 7, 12-14, 16.") 
 " My days are past, my purposes are broken off, 
 even the thoughts of my heart." (Job xvii. 11.) 
 " He hath fenced up my way that I can not pass, 
 and he hath set darkness in my paths. He hath 
 stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown 
 from my head. He hath destroyed me on every 
 side, and I am gone : and mine hope hath he re- 
 moved like a tree." " He hath put my brethren 
 far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily 
 estranged from me." (Job xix. 8-10, 13.) 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 53 
 
 Thus God speaks to us and we hear his voice, 
 as we did not in prosperity. Often nothing but 
 adversity will open our ears to hear and heed the 
 divine call. Said God by the prophet : " I spake 
 unto thee in thy prosperity ; but thou saidst, I 
 will not hear." (Jer. xxii. 21). We need to have 
 our ears closed to earthly sounds, that we may 
 hear those from heaven ; to have our eyes closed 
 to the pleasures of earth, that we may see those 
 of the skies ; to be turned out of a home on 
 earth, that we may seek a home in heaven. 
 Earth's pleasures, earth's pursuits, earth's associ- 
 ations are too seducing for us ; and God breaks 
 in upon them, and we are often led apart in des- 
 ert places, where alone with God we are led to 
 see our folly and repent of our sin. God can not 
 trust us with too full a cup, or too pleasant a 
 resting-place, lest we become enamored of the 
 one, and unwilling to exchange the other for a 
 heavenly. God can not trust some with health, 
 friends, prosperity ; they need adversity to hum- 
 ble them and keep them in the pilgrim's frame. 
 Coyetousness is bred of uninterrupted prosperity. 
 Hence riches often take to themselves wings and 
 fly away. We make idols of our friends, and 
 God removes them. In all this, God deals with 
 us not in wrath, but in great mercy. Kever for 
 
54 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 a moment does lie lose sight of us. It is the dis- 
 cipline of love; it is controlled by a kind and 
 loving Father. 
 
 There is still one other rod of chastisement, 
 which is, — 
 
 V. The rod of personal affliction. 
 
 This rod is most frequently used by God for 
 the correction of his children, because it is the 
 most effectual. Satan well knew this when he, 
 after failing in his purpose concerning Job, ob- 
 tained permission to afflict his person ; and what 
 the removal of his children and property failed 
 to accomplish, was soon, in part, brought about 
 by severe personal affliction. Would you know 
 how severe was Job's affliction, and the extent to 
 which he was humiliated, while yet maintaining 
 his integrity ? You have only to consider his 
 own words : " So am I made to possess months 
 of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed 
 to me. When I lie down, I say. When shall I 
 arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of 
 tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day." 
 " When I say. My bed shall comfort me, my 
 couch shall ease my complaint ; then thou scarest 
 me with dreams, and terriliest me through vis- 
 ions : so that my soul chooseth strangling, and 
 death rather than my life. I loathe it ; I would 
 not live alway." 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 55 
 
 Said the psalmist under affliction : "Mine eye 
 mourneth by reason of affliction : Lord, I have 
 called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my 
 hands unto thee. "Wilt thou shew wonders to 
 the dead ? shall the dead arise and praise thee ? 
 Shall thy loving -kindness be declared in the 
 grave ? or thy faithfulness in destruction." "■ I am 
 afflicted and ready to die from my youth up : 
 while I sufler thy terrors I am distracted. Thy 
 fierce wrath goeth over me." " When thou with 
 rebukes dost correct a man for iniquity, thou 
 makest his beauty to consume away like a moth." 
 Isaiah gave utterance to the following words : 
 ^' Mine age is departed, and is removed from me 
 as a shepherd's tent : I have cut off like a weaver 
 my life : he will cut me off with pining sickness : 
 from day even to night wilt thou make an end of 
 me. I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so 
 will he break all my bones : from day even to 
 night wilt thou make an end of me. Like a 
 crane or a swallow, so did 1 chatter : I did mourn 
 as a dove : mine eyes fail with looking upward : 
 O Lord, I am oppressed ; undertake for me." 
 
 Jeremiah expressed his feelings as follows : " I 
 am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod 
 of his wrath." " My flesh and my skin hath he 
 made old ; he hath broken my bones." " He 
 
^6 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 hatli filled me witli bitterness, he hath made me 
 drunk with wormwood." " Remembering mine 
 affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the 
 gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, 
 and is humbled in me." 
 
 The words of these eminent Bible saints, un- 
 der affliction, are in harmony with the experience 
 of God's afflicted ones in all ages of the world, 
 and clearly show how effective is the rod of per- 
 sonal chastisement in bringing its subjects into a 
 state of humiliation. 
 
 Sickness prostrates us ; it cuts into the very 
 center of our carnal nature ; and oh, what vanity 
 is seen when upon a sick-bed. 
 
 Sickness takes us away from the active pur- 
 suits of life and sets us aside, and alone with 
 God. We are taken into his private chamber, 
 and there he converses with us face to face. Our 
 relish for the world is gone ; our hopes for earthly 
 good are in" the dust ; our props are all struck 
 away, and we are wholly cast on God. " If it 
 were not for pain," says one, " I should spend 
 less time with God. If I had not been kept 
 awake with pain, I should have lost one of the 
 sweetest experiences I ever had in my life. The 
 disorder of my body is the help I want from 
 God ; and if it does its work upon me before it 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 57 
 
 lays me in the dust, it will raise me up to 
 heaven." 
 
 Sickness teaches us that activity of service is 
 not the only way in which God is glorified. 
 "They also serve who stand and wait." Active 
 duty is that which man judges most acceptable; 
 but God shows us that in bearing and suffering 
 he is also glorified. Perhaps we were too much 
 harrassed by worldly cares, and needed retire- 
 ment, yet could find no way of obtaining it, until 
 God laid us down and drew us aside into a desert 
 place. ]N^o one of the family rods is more effect- 
 ual than that of bodily sickness ; no one is more 
 frequently used. Let us kiss the rod, and the 
 hand which afflict us. 
 
 . Having noticed some of the rods by which our 
 heavenly Father chastens his children, let us con- 
 sider the nature and design of these chastenings. 
 They are — 
 
 I. The chastisements of a Father, 
 
 Saith St. Paul, in Hebrew xii., "If ye endure 
 chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons ; 
 for what son is he whom the father . chasteneth 
 not ? . . . . Furthermore, we have had fathers 
 of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave 
 them reverence : shall we not much rather be in 
 subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 
 
-58 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 For they verily for a few days chastened us after 
 their own pleasure; bat he for our profit, that we 
 might be partakers of his holiness." 
 
 What are the prerogatives of a father ? To di- 
 rect, control, correct, and provide for his children. 
 What a father does in these respects is at least 
 done in love, if not always in wisdom. What 
 our infinitely wise and good heavenly Father 
 does, must always be right, and for the real wel- 
 fare of his children. 
 
 Afflicted, chastened saint, forget not that an 
 all-wise, all-merciful, and all-powerful heavenly 
 Father controls the tempest, wields the rod, and 
 directs the providence under which you are suf- 
 fering, and that your eternal good is the end he 
 aims to secure. Then, in humble, unquestioning 
 submission, commit all to him, and with the poet 
 say, 
 
 " Thou knowest what is best ; 
 
 And who, O God, but thee hath power to know ? 
 ' Tis thine alike with good to make me blest, 
 And thine to send affliction's hour of woe. 
 
 " No questions will I ask, 
 
 Do what thou wilt, my Father and my God! 
 Be mine the dear and consecrated task, 
 To bless the loving hand that lifts the rod." 
 
 II. It is also a discipline of love. 
 
 God. as the universal Father, loves all his 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 59 
 
 creatures, and in that love exercises his fatherly 
 care over them. But he loves his own children 
 with a peculiar affection, — the love of compla- 
 cency and delight; and in this special love he 
 corrects, reproves, and chastens, as they may re- 
 quire, as is expressed by the wise man in Prov. 
 iii. 11, 12 : " My son, despise not the chastening 
 of the Lord ; neither be weary of his correction : 
 for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth ; even as 
 a father the son in whom he delighteth.^^ 
 
 Have we not, in this peculiar love of our heav- 
 enly Father, — a love so great that he withheld 
 not his only begotten Son from an ignominious 
 death that we might be brought into this precious 
 relation, — the highest possible assurance that all 
 that he does and permits concerning us will be 
 for our highest and greatest good, here and here- 
 after ? It is related that during a violent storm 
 at sea the captain's wife, who was with him on 
 the vessel, was greatly alarmed for their safety. 
 Her husband attempted all he could to banish her 
 fears, and at length, taking a sword and holding 
 it threateningly over her, inquired if she was 
 afraid of it. She replied, " 'Eo ; for my husband 
 holds it, and he will not harm mc." " Then," 
 said the captain, '' Our heavenly Father holds 
 this storm in his hands and he will not suffer us 
 to be harmed, unless it be for our ffood." 
 
60 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 The chastisements then which are upon us are 
 the result of infinite love ; they are the discipline 
 of love. Every step in the process is kindness. 
 There is no wrath, no vengeance in any part of 
 the process. We may rest assured of this, and 
 this is our consolation ; for love will not wrong 
 or unnecessarily afflict us. There will he no 
 needless suffering. There will not he one more 
 stroke than is necessary. The furnace shall not 
 become hotter than is needed to secure the result 
 aimed at. And the process will not be suffered to 
 continue one single hour more than is necessary, 
 "Were this kept in mind there would be less dis- 
 position to shrink from the ordeal, to entertain 
 hard thoughts of God, and suppose that he afflicts 
 us in wrath, or suffers us to be tossed upon the 
 tempest, or burned in the fire, without his regard 
 or notice. 
 
 As an illustration of the spirit with which the 
 trying providences of God should be borne, the 
 case of the father of Richard Cameron is to the 
 point. The aged saint was in prison " for the 
 word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.'^ 
 The bleeding head of his martyred son was 
 brought to him by his unfeeling persecutor^-, 
 and he was asked derisively if he knew it. "I 
 know it, I know it," said the father, as he kissed 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 6i 
 
 the mangled forehead of his fair-haired son ; "it 
 is my son's, my own dear son's ! It is the Lord ! 
 Good is the will of the Lord, who can not wrong 
 me or mine, but who hath made goodness and 
 mercy to follow us all our days." 
 
 III. It is a di-scijMne of wisdom. 
 
 He who afflicts us is God, who is infinitely 
 wise. Wisdom, then, will control it all. He 
 knows exactly what we need, and how to apply 
 it. The times, the instruments, the methods, and 
 the length of endurance, all, all are conceived 
 in infinite wisdom and controlled by infinite love. 
 The surest, the most direct, and the most gentle, 
 yet effective method is devised. 
 
 ly. It is further a discipline of faithfulness. 
 
 Said the psalmist : '^ I know, Lord, that thy 
 judgments are right, and that thou in faithful- 
 ness hast afflicted me." (Psalms cxix. 75.) Hast 
 thou, dear reader, committed to thy heavenly 
 Father thine interests for time and eternity? 
 Then, thou hast left all to him to choose, to 
 control, and to direct thee in all things. Faith- 
 ful to his charge, which he willingly assumed, he 
 will not permit thee to suffer loss by loitering 
 by the way, or going in the wrong path, without 
 timely rebuke. 
 
 Is the spirit of the world, so deleterious to thy 
 
62 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 spiritual prosperity, increasing upon thee ? If it 
 is, thou art less likely to be aware of it than 
 others around thee. Thy God, however, knows 
 it, and will in some way awaken thee to a knowl- 
 edge of thy danger. Are thy worldly attach- 
 ments — right and proper in moderation — engross- 
 ing thy affections and bringing barrenness upon 
 thy soul? Faithfulness upon the part of Him^ 
 to love whom with all thy heart is thy chiefest 
 good, requires His interposition, it may be in the 
 removal of the idol of thy heart. Are you be- 
 coming remiss in duty because of the press of 
 worldly cares, or, perchance, disposed to sit down 
 at thine ease, while the calls of duty all around 
 thee are unheeded ? Then be sure an awakening 
 rod is already prepared for thine arousing. Or are 
 you disposed to tarry on your pilgrimage, and 
 loiter at Vanity Fair, associating with its inhab- 
 itants, trafficking in its forbidden wares or in- 
 dulging in its guilty pleasures ? A tempest of 
 adversities will fall upon you ere God permit you 
 to tarry there to your hurt. 
 
 Then, the faithfulness of God is seen in this, 
 that he will not pass by a single fault which he 
 sees in us, but will make it known that it may be 
 removed. He is true to his children, whether in 
 sending good or evil upon them. Is he not rather 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 63 
 
 more true and faithful in sending the evil than 
 the good ? It is harder to reprove a friend than 
 to praise him. Yet for love's sake this should he 
 done, for " faithful are the wounds of a friend." 
 Our God then is faithful when he blesses ; more 
 faithful when he chastens. This is our consola- 
 tion, and should allay all our murmurings and 
 establish our hearts in peace. One other evidence 
 of God's faithfulness in chastisement is, that he 
 will not be moved from his purpose by regard 
 for our cries or tears, but will adhere to his pur- 
 pose until the end he has in view shall be accom- 
 plished. 
 
 Y. It is also a discijoUne of power. 
 
 He who is chastising us for our good is not one 
 who is unable to complete the work he has un- 
 dertaken ; nor can he be baffled or turned from 
 his purpose. He is able to carry out his designs 
 against the most resolute resistance. If there 
 were love alone in the dealing, the purpose might 
 fail of its accomplishment, for love is oftentimes 
 helpless and unable to do aught for its object. 
 Wisdom, too, alone is wholly ineffectual. So 
 with untiring faithfulness. It is often altogether 
 impotent, even in its fondest objects. But when 
 infinite j^oioer is united with infinite love, com- 
 passion, wisdom, and faithfulness, we are sure 
 
64 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 that every obstacle will be surmounted and the 
 intended object secured. The God who chastises 
 us for our good is infinite in all his attributes. 
 He is " able to do exceeding abundantly above 
 all that we ask or think." The very possibility, 
 then, of failure is taken away, and He who has 
 commenced a good work in us will complete it 
 unto the day of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Sach is the discipline through which God is 
 leading his children. It is love, wisdom, faithful- 
 ness, and power, — all infinite, and combined to 
 devise and execute our highest good. It is then 
 perfect, and sure of ultimate success. This is our 
 consolation in the hour of affliction. 
 
 But what are some of the lessons we learn from 
 the foregoing ? 
 
 I. All the afflictions of the righteous, ivhatever 
 may be their nature, or the immediate cause which 
 produced them, are by God himself. He either sends 
 or permits them. There is no exception to this 
 rule, even in cases which are clearly traceable to 
 our own indiscretion or the malice or weakness 
 of others. 
 
 II. Afflictions are common to all God's children. 
 Suffering is the family lot, the universal family 
 badge. All God's saints of every age have been 
 familiar with affliction. Eminent piety, exalted 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 65 
 
 station, nor extensive usefulness is an exemption 
 from it. Why, then, should we desire to throw 
 off the family badge ? 
 
 III. There is no condition on earth fraught with 
 more danger to the sold than uninterrupted health 
 and prosperity. To be left alone to the enjoyment 
 of unbroken and uninterrupted prosperity and 
 health is the certain road to the ruin of the 
 soul. 
 
 Said Evans : " It is upon the smooth ice we 
 slip; the rough path is safest for our feet." 
 *' There must be," said the holy Rutherford, 
 " ram and hail and storm in the saint's cloud." 
 Said Macduff: "He who knows us infinitely bet- 
 ter than we know ourselves, often puts thorns in 
 our nests to drive us to the wing, that we may 
 not be grovellers forever." 
 
 It is related of Cecil, the celebrated religious 
 writer, that, having heard that an excellent friend 
 and fellow- Christian was unusually prospered in 
 his worldly business, he called to caution him 
 against the danger of worldliness which he ap- 
 prehended in consequence of his prosperity. Cecil 
 told him that he had heard that he was in a 
 dangerous condition. His friend expressed his 
 ignorance of any danger or cause of alarm. Cecil 
 then informed him that that which he had only 
 
66 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 heard, he now saw to be really true, and as an 
 evidence thereof his friend was ignorant of his 
 danger. Said he : ''I hear that you are prosper- 
 ing in your worldly business and increasing in 
 that which necessarily requires more and more 
 attention ; and that, without spiritual grace, will 
 prove to you, as it has to thousands of others, the 
 cause of your ruin." God thus used this eminent 
 saint to deliver that man from impending and 
 certain evil. 
 
 There is a needs be, then, in the chastisements 
 of the saints ; for were their earthly course free 
 from storms and trials, and were there no clouds 
 to obscure their sky and interrupt the sunbeams 
 of health and prosperity, they would forget that 
 they are but strangers and pilgrims here. 
 
 TV. Strange as it may seem, it is nevertheless 
 true, that even long-continued and high-wrought re- 
 ligious enjoyments sometimes beget a feeling of undue 
 self- exaltation, self-satisfaction, and unwatchfulness. 
 Hence the variations in Christian experience, and 
 frequently the chastisements and humiliations 
 which precede or follow seasons of high religious 
 enjoyment. 
 
 We need only cite the case of St. Paul, which 
 he himself relates in II. Cor. xii. 1-7. After re- 
 counting how he was caught up into the third 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 67 
 
 heaven, — even into paradise, — where he heard 
 and saw things which he was not at liberty to 
 tell, he further said, " And lest I should be exalt- 
 ed above measure through the abundance of the 
 revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the 
 flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I 
 should be exalted above measure." 
 
 Y. Afflictions and providences are sometimes sent 
 by God to change the course of his children, when it 
 tends to their- loss or hurt. Our heavenly Father, 
 who sees the end from the beginning, is often 
 caused to interfere against our most cherished 
 plans, and, it may be, disable us by sore affliction, 
 to save us from ills which we can not foresee. 
 
 A Christian man relates that on a certain occa- 
 sion in his life he was unusually depressed be- 
 cause his plans and calculations were hopelessly 
 frustrated. On his way home one evening he 
 found his way obstructed by piles of thorn- 
 bushes, which some one had placed in his path. 
 Attempting to go around them and resume the 
 same path, he found that thorn-bushes were so 
 placed as to completely prevent this. Supposing 
 that an enemy had placed these bushes in his 
 way, to annoy him, he went to his home by 
 another way. In the morning he went to see 
 the place, when, to his gratitude, he saw that it 
 
68 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 was no enemy but a friend who had prevented 
 him from going farther on his usual pathway 
 home, for a quarry by the way-side had fallen in, 
 across his path, into which he must have fallen 
 but for the interposition of those thorn-bushes. 
 So God by his providences often hedges up the 
 way of his children and turns their steps in 
 another direction, to save them from evils which 
 he alone is aware of. 
 
 YI. Calls to and preparation for special duties 
 and more extensive usefulness are usually God's 
 chastenings and afflictions. 
 
 It is the concurrent testimony of experienced 
 Christians that those who are designed for special 
 service in the church are prepared for their work 
 by severe and sometimes repeated baptisms of 
 suffering. Luther declared that "for the most 
 part, when God sent him upon any special service 
 for the good of the church he was brought low 
 by some severe fit of sickness." 
 
 YII. Afflictions and trials are sometimes sent, 
 or permitted by God, to bring to the knowledge 
 of the afflicted one some weakness or defect in 
 his Christian character, of which he was igno- 
 rant, and which it was important that he should 
 k^ow and have remedied. 
 
 Vm. Sometimes persons of eminent abilities 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 69 
 
 and influence in the church are laid aside by 
 affliction or removed by death for the welfare of 
 the general cause. 
 
 It sometimes occurs that valuable counselors 
 and laborers are laid aside or removed to the 
 church above, to demonstrate that no one is in- 
 dispensable to God, and that dependence should 
 be placed in God alone. Sometimes trees grow 
 so large that their shadow prevents the thrift of 
 other trees, and their pruning or removal is nec- 
 essary to the prosperity of the shaded ones. So 
 some Christians live too much in the shadow of 
 others, looking to them instead of to God, and 
 trusting to them to do the work Avhich they 
 should do themselves. God wisely removes such 
 and thereby causes others to go forward to greater 
 activity and usefulness, for their own good and 
 the prosperity of the general cause. 
 
 IX. Whenever visited by affliction the believer may 
 he assured that his heavenly Father designs some- 
 thing better for him than he now possesses. 
 
 Some more advanced state of grace, holiness, 
 and usefulness is about to be presented to his 
 attention and acceptance, and these chastenings 
 are the Father's awakenings thereto. 
 
 It is not the barren branches of the vine that 
 are pruned and cut and trimmed by the heavenly 
 
70 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Husbandman, but those that bear fruit, that they 
 may bring forth more abundantly. " Every 
 branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh 
 away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he 
 purgeth ity that it may bring forth more fruit." 
 (John XV. 2.) The visitations of God to the 
 wicked often result in their being cut off and 
 taken away; those to the righteous, in their 
 chastisement to their awakening and quickening 
 to greater activity and usefulness. 
 
 X. WJien afflicted, we may be sure there is a 
 sufficient cause for it ; and we should seek by prayer 
 to ascertain that cause, so as to remedy it. 
 
 An old writer has said that " the candle will 
 never burn clear while there is a thief in it. Sin 
 indulged in the conscience is like Jonah in the 
 ship, which causeth such a tempest that the con- 
 science is like a troubled sea, whose waters can 
 not rest." The chastisement under which you 
 suffer, then, is an evidence that thy God is deal- 
 ing with thee in mercy, for thine own good. It 
 is God's expression of his hatred of sin and of 
 his purpose to deliver thee from it. The casting 
 of gold or silver into the furnace implies that 
 there is dross in it which requires fire to purge 
 out. Were there no dross there would be no 
 need of fire. Our chastisements are evidences of 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 71 
 
 impurity within, and of God's purposes to free us 
 of it. 
 
 XI. The affliction loill always he, in extent and in 
 suffering, equal to the object to he attained, 
 
 ^'God's usual method is, to inflict light chastise- 
 ments; and then, if these fail in accomplishing 
 his merciful purposes he inflicts still greater. 
 There may be touches of transient pain, a brief 
 illness, a slight indisposition, a passing weakness, 
 some common domestic vexation, some trivial 
 casualty, some few days of parting from one we 
 love, some disappointment or annoyance. These 
 are all Fatherly rebukes of the lighter kind ; but 
 they are overlooked because so common and light. 
 Had they been sharper or heavier they would 
 have been recognized as such, but being so ten- 
 der they are hardly worthy of serious attention. 
 Then, these failing in their purpose, some more 
 severe methods are used. A raging fever, a sad 
 bereavement, the loss of earthy possessions, the 
 blasting of our fondest hopes, come upon us like 
 a whirlwind, and we are prostrated in the dust. 
 Our strength seems to fail. Our life is despaired 
 of. Then we know that the hand of God is upon 
 us. Had we heeded the first inflictions of our 
 Father's rod we would have been spared these 
 severe strokes ; but the gentleness of the inflic- 
 
72 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 tiou made us feel at liberty to underrate them, as 
 coming from God. We thus despise the chastise- 
 ments of the Almighty, and draw upon ourselves 
 greater inflictions. It is wisdom, then, to open 
 our eyes to the voice of God and to hear his 
 rebukes, ere their very severity forces us to bow 
 to them." (Bonar.) 
 
 " Protracted trials," says one, " seem specially 
 aimed at the will,^^ The will is the soul's citadel. 
 It is the seat of rebelliousness against God and 
 his calls to duty. It must be subdued, and stroke 
 after stroke is brought to bear upon it. These 
 failing, fire after fire is kindled in order to soften 
 it and bring it into subjection. When mild treat- 
 ment fails, furnace-heat is used. Said a sufifering 
 saint, " It requires all the energy of God to bend 
 my will to his." The subjugation of the will is 
 often a long-continued process. Stroke after 
 stroke in sad succession, and sometimes one fear- 
 ful stroke, which leaves behind it consequences 
 which years can not efface, fall upon the believer. 
 It is a Father's hand. It is the pruning-knife of 
 the great Husbandman. Receive it as such, dear, 
 afflicted, and chastened one, and thy peace shall 
 be greatly multiplied. 
 
 XII. Grace in proportion to the trial will always 
 be given. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 73 
 
 The strength of God is made perfect in our 
 weakness; and as our day and trial are so shall 
 our strength be. Be not afraid, then, dear, suffer- 
 ing saint, that thou will be consumed in the fire. 
 Thy God sits over thee and watches thee and will 
 not let thee be consumed. 
 
 " ' Tis true, He now thy strength doth try, 
 Like birds that teach their young to fly ; 
 But when thou sinkest, He will bring 
 Beneath thy fall His own great wing." 
 
 XIII. In our suffering and affliction we are con^ 
 formed to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ in his 
 life of suffering. 
 
 Throughout all his earthly life, our Lord Jesus 
 Christ was "a Man of sorrows, and acquainted 
 with grief." There was one mark by which he 
 was to be specially distinguished. It is the bruised 
 heel. This was the mark by which he was to be 
 known. Acquainted with grief is the family 
 badge, the family likeness. Companionship with 
 Christ implies that we are made like him in suf- 
 fering as well as in other respects. One sorrow, 
 or one trial, does not make us acquainted with 
 grief; it requires long and severe trials to do 
 this. The Master was a Man of sorrows, and we 
 are to be conformed to his image in this. 
 
 XIY. Afflictions^ then^ instead of evidences of 
 
74 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 God's displeasure, as we are apt to suppose when 
 <ifflicted, are his oivn marks of favor, love, and re- 
 gard. 
 
 St. Paul's estimate of the value and signifi- 
 cance of afflictions is expressed as follows : "For 
 unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not 
 only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his 
 sake.'' 
 
 " St. Peter, in his first general epistle, chapter 
 five, verse ten, says, " But the God of all grace, 
 who hath called us unto his eternal glory by 
 Ohrist Jesus, after that ye have suffered awhile, 
 make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle 
 you." 
 
 • Said an eminent saint, " Whatever evidences 
 of God's favor I formerly possessed, I know now 
 beyond a doubt that he loves me and remembers 
 me with favor, because he afflicts me." 
 
 However anomalous it may seem, afflictions 
 and chastisements are the expression of our heav- 
 enly Father's love. In the light of God's word, 
 there is no other way of accounting for them. 
 Anger or forgetfulness will not account for them. 
 It is simply impossible to trace them to any other 
 cause than love, unless the plain utterances of 
 God's word are entirely ignored. Admit this, and 
 all is harmonious ; deny it, and all is confusion, 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 75 
 
 cruelty, darkness. " Chastising love is tlie faith- 
 fulest, the purest, the tenclerest, the deepest of all. 
 It can not wrong us. It seeks only our good." 
 ^' Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth ; " and, 
 ^* as many as he loves he rebukes and chastens." 
 (Heb. xii. 6; Rev. iii. 19.) 
 
 " Sorrowing and chastened believer, what more 
 couldst thou wish than this? Thy furnace is 
 severe ; but look at this assurance of Him who 
 lighted it. Love is the fuel that feeds the flames. 
 Its every spark is love, kindled by a Father's 
 hand, and designed as a special pledge of his 
 love. How many of his dear children has he so 
 rebuked and chastened ; and all, all for one 
 reason, — I love them. The myriads in glory have 
 passed through these furnace fires ; there they were 
 chosen, there they were purified, sanctified, and 
 made * vessels meet for the Master's use;' the 
 dross and the alloy purged, that the pure metal 
 might remain. And art thou to claim exemption 
 from the same discipline ? Art thou to think it 
 strange concerning these same fiery trials that 
 may be trying thee? Eather exult in them ais 
 thine adoption, — privilege. Envy not those who 
 are strangers to the refining flames, who are 
 * without chastisement ; ' rather surely the severest 
 discipline, loith a Father's love, than the fullest 
 cup, without that Father's smile." (Macduff.) 
 
76 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 XY. The afflictions of Christians here have a 
 relation to the enjoyments of heaven hereafter. 
 
 Said the apostle, "For our light affliction, 
 which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far 
 more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 
 (11. Cor. iv. 17.) 
 
 " If we suffer, we shall also reign with him/' 
 (n. Tim. ii. 12.) 
 
 " Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of 
 Christ's sufferings ; that, when his glory shall be 
 revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding 
 joy." (I. Peter iv. 13.) 
 
 " But the God of all grace, who hath called us 
 unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that 
 ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stab- 
 lish, strengthen, settle you." (I. Peter v. 10.) 
 
 " These are they which came out of great trib- 
 ulation, and have washed their robes, and made 
 them white in the blood of the Lamb. There- 
 fore are they before the throne of God, and serve 
 him day and night in his temple: and he that 
 sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 
 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any 
 more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor 
 any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst 
 of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead 
 them unto living fountains of waters : and God 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 77 
 
 shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." (Rev. 
 vii. 14-17.) 
 
 I conclude this chapter with the following 
 beautiful lines from LTpham's Christ in the Soul, 
 as expressive of the spirit in which these chas- 
 tisements should be received. 
 
 " ' Tis all the same to me ; 
 
 Sorrow and strife, and pinmg, want and pain I 
 Whatever it is, it cometh all from Thee, 
 And ' tis not mine to doubt Thee or complain. 
 
 " Thou knowest what is best ; 
 
 And who, O God, but thee hath power to know ? 
 * Tis thine alike with good to make us blest, 
 And thine to send affliction's hour of woe. 
 
 ** Ko questions will I ask. 
 
 Do what thou wilt, my Father and my God I 
 Be mine the dear and consecrated task, 
 To bless the loving hand that lifts the rod, 
 
 " All, all, shall please me well ; 
 
 Since living fjaith hath made it understood, 
 That in the shadowy folds of sorrow dwell 
 The seeds of life and everlasting good. 
 
CHAPTER lY. 
 
 AFFLICTIONS— WHENCE DO THEY COME? 
 
 "Affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth 
 trouble spring out of the ground." (Job v. 6.) 
 
 The words affliction and trouble, as used in tlie 
 scripture placed at tlie head of this chapter, are 
 generic, and imply all forms of bodily and mental 
 sufiering to which man is subject. The fact de- 
 clared of them is that they never come by acci- 
 dent, or chance, nor without an adequate cause. 
 
 The general teaching of the Scriptures as well 
 as the inferences from the few cases of afflicted 
 ones therein related abundantly prove that what- 
 ever may be the immediate cause of the affliction, 
 it is, in every case of the righteous, ordered, sent, 
 or permitted by God, for the present or future 
 good of the afflicted one. The wicked, also, are 
 visited by the chastenings of God for the pur- 
 pose of leading them to consideration and repent- 
 ance, or to punish them for flagrant wickedness. 
 
 "What are the usual causes of the afflictions of 
 the righteous ? We reply : 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 79 
 
 I. The Scriptures undoubtedly teacli that in 
 some cases God permits Satan to inflict severe 
 affliction upon the believer. This is done, doubt- 
 less, for the purpose of testing the faith of the 
 afflicted one or for demonstrating the sustaining 
 and delivering power of Divine grace. 
 
 Two prominent cases are given in the Script- 
 ures, — one in the Old, the other in the !N"ew Tes- 
 tament. Let us consider these cases. In the first, 
 second, and third chapters of the Book of Job, 
 the cause, nature, and results of the afflictions of 
 that eminently good man are given. Satan hav- 
 ing failed in his purpose concerning Job, by 
 bereaving him of his children and his property, 
 asked and obtained of the Lord permission to 
 afflict his person. Permission was granted in the 
 following words : " Behold, he is in thine hand ; 
 but save his life. So went Satan forth from the 
 presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore 
 boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown." 
 (Job ii. 6, 7.) 
 
 The extent to which the power of the enemy 
 extended in this case was not only to the person 
 of Job, but to his children, his property, to the 
 stirring up of the Chaldeans and Sabeans, and 
 even unto the elements of nature, — the winds of 
 heaven, and fire. The intensity of Job's sufiierings 
 
80 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 under his afflictions can be faintly conceived by 
 a perusal of Ms own statement thereof. And 
 although he was reduced to such an extremity 
 that he deplored his birth and desired death 
 rather than continued existence, it is affirmed 
 of him that " in all this Job sinned not." (Job 
 i. 22.) 
 
 St. Paul, in II. Corinthians xii., gives a brief 
 encounter with the same grand enemy. The fact 
 of Satan's agency in his affliction is stated as fol- 
 lows : " Lest I should be exalted above measure 
 through the abundance of the revelations, there 
 was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messen- 
 ger of Satan to buffet me." 
 
 In the case of Job, after the purposes of God 
 were accomplished his afflictions were removed, 
 and his latter days were made prosperous and 
 happy. In the case of St. Paul the affliction 
 remained ; but grace was so largely bestowed that 
 he claimed to be the gainer, and even was made 
 to rejoice for and in consequence of his infirmi- 
 ties. 
 
 It may be inquired. Why was the affliction re- 
 moved in the case of Job and not also in the case 
 of St. Paul ? To this it may be replied that the 
 purposes of God can not always be understood 
 here. It may be for the reason that Satan charg- 
 
OLUSTEBS FROM ESHCOL. 81 
 
 ed that Job's piety was influenced by and depend- 
 ant upon his worldly prosperity, and also upon 
 the continuance of his personal health. After 
 the falsity of these charges was fully demon- 
 strated, and an eminent example of submission 
 and patience under severe affliction was given, 
 to adorn the pages of holy "Writ, and comfort 
 God's afflicted ones in all after ages, the afflic- 
 tion was removed, and Job was restored to more 
 than his former health, prosperity, and happiness. 
 In the case of the apostle, Satan doubtless thought 
 to take advantage of some weakness, some pre- 
 disposition, some bodily • infirmity, to harass his 
 mind and hinder his usefulness, if not entirely to 
 drive him from the field of labor. The infirmity, 
 whatever it was, was made permanent because 
 the occasion of it remained, and grace was be- 
 stowed in such large measure that the apostle 
 stands forth as an eminent example of grace 
 triumphing over human weakness and the malice 
 of Satan. 
 
 That cases of affliction by satanic agency still 
 occur, and that advantage is still taken of the 
 weakness, .the infirmities, and the unfavorable 
 surroundings of the righteous, aggravating the 
 same, either to distract or destroy, or perma- 
 nently to injure, there can be no question. The 
 
82 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ himself came in contact with 
 this grand enemy of our race ; and for the space 
 of forty days he experienced his satanic power. 
 The first Adam met this same foe, and fell under 
 his power. It was necessary that the second 
 Adam also should meet and conquer him. This 
 was done, and the conquest was complete. He 
 is therefore the hetter prepared to sympathize 
 with those of his disciples who may he called to 
 come in conflict with the same great enemy. To 
 all such, whether in trials of faith by temptations, 
 or suffering sore afflictions, induced by satanic 
 malice and power, the Savior says, as he said to 
 Peter : '' Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, 
 that he might sift you as wheat : but I have pray- 
 ed for thee, that thy faith fail not." 
 
 In the severity of a conflict apparently so un- 
 equal, it might be supposed that the advantage 
 would be so much on the side of the enemy that 
 the extreme weakness of the buffeted and tried 
 one would be made to appear. It was so in the 
 case of Job ; for he gave utterance to many 
 expressions of seeming impatience. Paul at once 
 betook himself to the strong One for help, and 
 was delivered from this weakness. Peter, under 
 the power of his fierce assaults, so far fell by his 
 power that he denied the Lord, even to cursing 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. • 83 
 
 and swearing. But he, as well as Job, was for- 
 given and restored, and long since they have 
 gone where the power and malice of Satan are 
 unfelt and unknown. 
 
 II. As a general thing, bodily affliction is the 
 result of the violation of some law of our phys- 
 cal being, — some indiscretion; for it is true in 
 regard to the laws which govern our physical 
 being as well as our spiritual, that " whatsoever 
 a man soweth, that shall he also reap." God has 
 nowhere promised to set aside or suspend the 
 laws of life and health, — unless in the special 
 cases stated in Mark xvi. 18, — even for the right- 
 eous. Good people, — even God's chosen and 
 dearly beloved, — then, may be in affliction and 
 suffering by their own indiscretion; and this from 
 the purest and best motives, and while in the dis- 
 charge of what may be deemed imperative duty. 
 The apostle in his letter to the church at Phi- 
 lippi (Phil. ii. 30), said that in consequence of his 
 extraordinary zeal, Epaphroditus was sick and 
 nigh unto death, for the work of Christ, not re- 
 garding his own life, that he might supply their 
 lack of service. There were idlers in the church 
 at Philippi ; and the work which they neglected 
 to do must be done by some one else, or it must 
 be left undone and God's cause w^ould suffer. 
 
84 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Epaphroditus did tliis neglected work in addition 
 to his own, and one of the results was that his 
 strength failed under the burden. So there are 
 idlers in all our churches, and the Epaphrodituses 
 are suffering in consequence of the extraordinary 
 burdens imposed upon them. The churches every- 
 where furnish numerous examples of premature 
 retirement from active labor, or untimely deaths 
 from overwork. Our own church is not without 
 its eminent instances. 
 
 God does not impose unreasonable burdens 
 upon his children, nor does he require a devoted 
 few to add to their own burdens those of the 
 idlers in the vineyard; yet it is always the case 
 that in every instance where important duties are 
 neglected by some, they will be taken up and 
 carried by others, in addition to their own. If 
 men, influenced by a burning zeal for the divine 
 glory and the welfare of their fellow-men, suffer 
 their zeal to lead them into labors beyond their 
 strength, they must suffer in the flesh the inevita- 
 ble consequences. In all such cases it is true of 
 them as it was true with the Master himself, — the 
 zeal of God's house hath eaten them up. 
 
 III. Afilictions and trials are often sent by 
 God upon his children for their awakening, cor- 
 rection, and improvement. This is true even il 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 85 
 
 the affliction has been produced by some second- 
 ary natural cause. That God does use the rod of 
 affliction upon his erring and slothful children is 
 abundantly proved in the Scriptures, as we have 
 fully shown in our previous chapter. Reference 
 to the following scriptures will establish this fact 
 beyond dispute : " Behold, happy is the man 
 whom God correcteth : therefore despise not thou 
 the chastening of the Almighty : for he maketh 
 sore, and bindeth up : he woundeth, and his 
 hands make whole." (Job. v. 17, 18.) 
 
 "My son, despise not the chastening of the 
 Lord; neither be weary of his correction: for 
 whom the Lord loveth he correcteth ; even as a 
 father the son in whom he delighteth." (Pro v. 
 iii. 11, 12.) 
 
 " My son, despise not thou the chastening of 
 the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of 
 him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, 
 and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." 
 (Heb. xii. 5, 6. 
 
 "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten." 
 (Rev. iii. 19.) 
 
 Thus we have the fact of God's agency in the 
 afflictions of his people, with the design thereof, 
 and the manner in which these chastisements 
 should be borne, stated in almost the same Ian- 
 
86 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 guage by Job, — the author of what is admitted 
 to-be the oldest book of the sacred canon, — as 
 well as by patriarch and prophet and apostle. 
 
 But what are some of the sources of encour- 
 agement for afflicted saints, taught by the fore- 
 going facts ? 
 
 1. ITo affliction, bereavement, trial, or what are 
 called accidents, can come upon a child of God 
 without the notice or permission of his heavenly 
 Father. This is true of all occurrences, even 
 though their origin may be plainly traced to 
 some human agency. Whatever may be the nat- 
 ure of the affliction, and whatever may be the 
 immediate cause thereof, by the time it reaches 
 the believer it has become the will of God con- 
 cerning him. 
 
 In addition to the general providence of God, 
 which is over all his creatures, the Scriptures jus- 
 tify the belief that each and every believer is 
 under special guardianship. Said the Savior to 
 the disciples of his own and of every age, ^' The 
 very hairs of your head are all numbered." 
 
 " There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall 
 any plague come nigh thy dwelhng. For he 
 shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep 
 thee in all thy ways." 
 
 " He will not suffer thy foot to be moved : he 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 87 
 
 that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he 
 that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor 
 sleep." 
 
 " 'No weapon that is formed against thee shall 
 prosper." 
 
 2. Suppose your affliction or trial, whatever it 
 may be, is sent or taken advantage of by Satan, 
 as in the cases of Job and Paul, it can only be so 
 by permission of God, who will overrule it for 
 good Satan could not touch Job until permis- 
 sion to do so was given him by God ; and the 
 evil spirits could not even enter into the herd of 
 swine until permission was given by Jesus. 
 
 3. Are you suffering the result of some im- 
 prudence of your own, or from the malice or 
 imprudence of another? If there is guilt con- 
 nected with it, God will pardon you and remove 
 the guilt. And as he is greater than nature and 
 before its laws, he can and may, if his glory and 
 your best interests require it, suspend those laws 
 and relieve you of their penalty. 
 
 4. As afflictions do not come from the dust, 
 nor trouble spring out of the ground, — as is de- 
 clared in Job V. 6 ; that is, that they do not come 
 by chance nor by arbitrary laws over which there 
 is no controlling and directing power, — but by 
 the permission of God, whatever may be the im- 
 
88 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 mediate agency in producing them, it may be 
 said in all cases, especially of the righteous, to 
 whom special promises are given, they are of God 
 himself. Then, there is no trouble, no affliction, 
 no bereavement, no sorrow, or circumstance of 
 trial possible to a child of God unless God him- 
 self sends it. Are you suffering, then, dear, afflict- 
 ed member of the suffering family of God ? It 
 is the Father's loving hand that is upon you. 
 And in this fact you have the highest evidence 
 of his love and regard ; " for whom the Lord lov- 
 eth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom 
 lie receiveth. " (Heb. xii. 6.) 
 
 " God sometimes walks behind the cloud ; 
 And threatening storms his presence shroud ; 
 His light is there ; but all unseen, 
 Because the storm-cloud comes between. 
 
 " From that dark cloud the bolts descend, 
 The skies to cleave, the earth to rend; 
 But trusting hearts need not despair ; ' 
 God guides the bolt ; and God is there." 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 AFFLICTIONS— HOW TO BE BORNE, 
 
 "Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint 
 "when thou art rebuked of him." (Heb. xii. 5.) 
 
 " Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the 
 name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and 
 of patience." (James v. 10.) 
 
 In the injunction of St. Paul, as quoted above, 
 and found in almost the same words in Job. v. 
 17, 18, and Proverbs iii. 11, 12, *as well as in 
 Hebrews xii. 5, we have the two extremes into 
 which the afflicted often fall; and against both 
 we are cautioned. These extremes are, despising 
 the chastenings of the Lord, and fainting under 
 them. The former implies to treat them lightly, 
 to consider them as but natural and ordinary 
 occurrences, and possessed of no special signifi- 
 cance; the latter, to give way to despondency 
 and discouragement. 
 
 In the admonition of St. James, patience under 
 affliction — as a medium between the two extremes 
 stated by St. Paul and as the proper spirit for the 
 afflicted — is enjoined. 
 
90 CLUSTERS FEOM ESHCOL. 
 
 In considering tlie conduct of Bible saints un- 
 der affliction, as examples for imitation, it will be 
 found that while they at times exhibited much 
 patience and submission, and in some cases were 
 enabled to rejoice in their suffering, they all be- 
 trayed the usual evidences of weakness and frail- 
 ty. The tendency in every case was to fainting 
 and despondency rather than to the opposite 
 extreme. 
 
 Five cases of eminent saints under affliction 
 are given in the Scriptures ; and as we are di- 
 rected to them as examples for imitation, we pro- 
 pose to consider each case briefly. 
 
 The patriarch Job stands forth in the Bible as 
 a pre-eminent example of patience under afflic- 
 tion. His case will claim our attention first. The 
 following words, uttered at various times, show 
 his despondency as well as his conscious integrity 
 and sincerity, and his hope and trust in God. 
 
 " Let the day perish wherein I was born, and 
 the night in which it was said. There is a man 
 child conceived. Let that day be darkness ; let 
 not God regard it from above, neither let the 
 light shine upon it." "Why died I not from the 
 womb?" "For now should I have lain still and 
 been quiet, I should have slept : then had I been 
 at rest." "Wherefore is light given to him that 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 91 
 
 is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul: 
 which long for death, but it cometh not." "Why 
 is light given to a man whose way is hid, and 
 whom God hath hedged in ? For my sighing 
 cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured 
 out like the waters." "Oh, that I might have 
 my request ; and that God would grant me the 
 thing that I long for ! Even that it would please 
 God to destroy me; that he would let loose his 
 hand and cut me off! " " So am I made to pos- 
 sess months of vanity, and wearisome nights 
 are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say, 
 When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I 
 am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning 
 of the day." " Therefore I will not refrain my 
 mouth ; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit ; 
 I will complain in the bitterness of my soul." 
 "When I say. My bed shall comfort me, my 
 couch. shall ease my complaint; then thou scarest 
 me with dreams, and terrifiest me through vis- 
 ions : so that my soul chooseth strangling, and 
 death rather than my life." " I am full of con- 
 fusion : therefore see thou mine affliction ; for it 
 increaseth." " God hath delivered me to the un- 
 godly, and turned me over into the hands of the 
 wicked." "He hath also taken me by my neck, 
 and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his 
 
92 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 mark." " He breaketh me with breacli upon 
 breach ; he runneth upon me like a giant." " Oh 
 that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that 
 thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be 
 past." " Oh that I were as in months past, as in 
 the days when God preserved me; when his 
 candle shined upon my head, and when by his 
 light I walked through darkness ; as I was in the 
 days of my youth, when the secret of God was 
 upon i*iiy tabernacle ; when the Almighty was yet 
 with me, when my children were about me ; when 
 I washed my steps with butter, and the rock 
 poured me out rivers of oil ; when I went out to 
 the gate through the city, when I prepared my 
 seat in the street ! the young men saw me, and 
 hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood 
 up." " The arrows of the Almighty are within 
 me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: 
 the terrors of God do set themselves in array 
 against me." "I cry unto thee, and thou dost 
 not hear me : I stand up, and thou regardest me 
 not. Thou art become cruel to me: with thy 
 strong hand thou opposest thyself against me." 
 
 In the following words Job expresses his con- 
 sciousness of his integrity, and also his hope and 
 confidence in God : 
 "Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 93 
 
 may know mine integrity. If my step hath turn- 
 ed out of the way, and mine heart walked after 
 mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine 
 hands ; then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, 
 let my offspring be rooted out." " My foot hath 
 held his steps, his way have I kept, and not de- 
 clined. ^Neither have I gone back from the com- 
 mandment of his lips ; I have esteemed the words 
 of his mouth more than my necessary food." 
 " He knoweth the way that I take : when he hath 
 tried me, I shall come forth as gold." " Though 
 he slay me, yet will I trust in him." 
 
 The experience of David under affliction is 
 similar to that of Job ; and is as follows : 
 
 " Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither 
 chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy 
 upon me, Lord ; for I am weak : Lord, heal 
 me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also 
 sore vexed. . . . Eeturn, Lord, deliver my 
 soul : oh save me for thy mercies' sake. For in 
 death there is no remembrance of thee : in the 
 grave who shall give thee thanks ? I am weary 
 with my groaning ; all the night make I my bed 
 to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine 
 eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old 
 because of all mine enemies." " How lona: wilt 
 thou forget me, Lord? forever? how long 
 
94 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 wilt tliou hide thy face from me ? how long shall 
 I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my 
 heart daily ? . . . . Consider and hear me, 
 Lord my God : lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the 
 sleep of death." '' Have mercy upon me, Lord, 
 for I am in trouhle : mine eye is consumed with 
 grief. .... For my life is spent with grief, 
 and my years with sighing : my strength faileth 
 because of mine iniquity, and my bones are con- 
 sumed. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, 
 but especially among my neighbors, and a fear to 
 mine acquaintance." " I am troubled ; I am bow- 
 ed down greatly ; I go mourning all the day long. 
 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease : 
 and there is no soundness in my flesh. ... I 
 have roared by reason of the disquietness of my 
 heart." " In the day of my trouble I sought the 
 Lord : my sore ran in the night, and ceased not : 
 my soul refused to be comforted." " Will the 
 Lord cast off forever ? and will he be favorable 
 no more ? is his mercy clean gone forever ? doth 
 his promise fail for evermore ? hath God forgot- 
 ten to be gracious ? hath he in anger shut up his 
 tender mercies ? " "0 my God, my soul is cast 
 down within me." " Deep calleth unto deep at 
 the noise of thy water-spouts : all thy waves and 
 thy billows are gone over me." " Lord, why cast- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 95 
 
 est thou off my soul? why liiclest thou thy face 
 from me ? I am afflicted and ready to die from 
 my youth up : while I suffer thy terrors I am 
 distracted. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me : thy 
 terrors have cut me off." 
 
 The psalmist's integrity and confidence in God 
 are expressed as follows : '' Mine eyes are ever 
 toward the Lord ; for he shall pluck my feet out 
 of the net." '' Oh keep my soul, and deliver me : 
 let me not be ashamed ; for I put my trust in 
 thee. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me ; 
 for I wait on thee." 
 
 The great and good King Hezekiah gives utter- 
 ance to his feelings under affliction as follows : 
 " The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when 
 he had been sick, and was recovered of his sick- 
 ness : I said in the cutting off of my days, I 
 shall go to the gates of the grave : I am deprived 
 of the residue of my years. I said, I shall not 
 see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the 
 living : I shall behold man no more with the in- 
 habitants of the world. Mine age is departed, 
 and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent : I 
 have cut off' like a weaver my life : he will cut 
 me oft" with pining sickness: from day even to 
 night wilt thou make an end of me. I reck- 
 oned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break 
 
96 CLUSTEKS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 all my bones : from day even to night wilt thou 
 make an end of me. Like a crane or a swallow, 
 so did I chatter : I did mourn as a dove : mine 
 eyes fail with looking upward: Lord, I am 
 oppressed ; undertake for me. What shall I say ? 
 he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath 
 done it : I shall go softly all my years in the bit- 
 terness of my soul. Lord, by these things men 
 live, and in aU these things is the life of my 
 spirit : so wilt thou recover me, and make me to 
 live. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness ; 
 but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from 
 the pit of corruption : for thou hast cast all my 
 sins behind thy back. For the grave can not 
 praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they 
 that go down into the pit can not hope for thy 
 truth. The living, the living, he shall praise 
 thee, as I do this day : the father to the children 
 shall make known thy truth. The Lord was 
 ready to save me : therefore we will sing my 
 songs to the stringed instruments all the days of 
 our life in the house of the Lord." (Isa. xxxviii. 
 9-20.) 
 
 Jeremiah, in Lamentations iii., relates his re- 
 flections when under the chastening rod as fol- 
 lows : "I am the man that hath seen affliction 
 by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and 
 
CLUSTERS FEOM ESHCOL. 97. 
 
 brought me into darkness, but not into light. 
 Surely against me is he turned ; he turneth his 
 hand against me all the day. My flesh and my 
 skin hath he made old ; he hath broken my 
 bones. He had bnilded against me, and com- 
 passed me with gall and travail. He hath set 
 me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. 
 He hath hedged me about, that I can not get 
 out : he hath made my chain heavy. Also when 
 I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. He 
 hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone; he hath 
 made my paths crooked. He was unto me as a 
 bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. 
 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in 
 pieces : he hath made me desolate. He hath bent 
 his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. He 
 hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into 
 my reins. I was a derision to all my people ; and 
 their song all the day. He hath filled me with 
 bitterness, he hath made me drunken with worm- 
 wood. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel- 
 stones, he hath covered me with ashes. And thou 
 hast removed my soul far off from peace : I for- 
 gat prosperity. And I said. My strength and my 
 hope is perished from the Lord: Remembering 
 mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood 
 and the gall. My soul hath them still in remem- 
 
98 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 brance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to 
 my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the 
 Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because 
 his compassion fails not. They are new every 
 morning : great is thy faithfulness. The Lord i& 
 my portion, saith my soul ; therefore will I hope 
 in him." 
 
 The apostle Paul, in II. Corinthians, xii., re- 
 lates his experience under affliction. He does 
 not give expression to so great a despondency as 
 the four eminent persons already considered. His 
 experience corresponds with Romans v. 3, rather 
 than Hebrews xii. 11. 
 
 It will be seen that in several respects the ex- 
 periences of these eminent saints under affliction, 
 as related by themselves, were alike. There was 
 in all deep mental as well as bodily distress, — the 
 former greater than the latter. There was the 
 remembrance of former prosperity, enjoyment, 
 and honor, and humiliation and reproach occa- 
 sioned by contrasting the present with the for- 
 mer ; there was loss of enjoyment in life, and a 
 desire for death ; and above all there was deep 
 distress at the supposed anger of God in sending 
 sore affliction, and in refusing to hear and answer 
 their prayers. There was also the consciousness 
 of their integrity and uprightness, the absence of 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 99 
 
 condemnation, and at times confidence in God 
 tliat in due time he would hear and deliver them. 
 In all the cases considered — that of St. Paul 
 excepted — there was a tendency to despondency 
 and fainting. The expressions of grief and fear 
 are more numerous and strongly expressed than 
 their confidence and hope. There is no subject 
 upon which the believer is more sensitive than the 
 relation he sustains to God; and if at any time God 
 withdraws the sensible evidence of his favor, as is 
 often the case in affliction, it is at once concluded 
 that for some reason he is ofi'ended. And when 
 in addition to the temporary withdrawal of the 
 divine favor God infiicts stroke after stroke of 
 sore affliction, bereavement, and sorrow, the tend- 
 ency is universal — even with saints of advanced 
 piety — to sink into despondency. And still fur- 
 ther, when in addition to all this, from the efiects 
 of disease, or for the purpose of testing the faith 
 of the sufferer, repeated prayers and supplications 
 are seemingly disregarded, the spirit of prayer 
 itself is lost, and the means of grace, formerly 
 affording so much delight, lose their interest, — 
 then it is that the soul is made to exclaim with 
 the psalmist: "Will the Lord cast off forever? 
 and will he be favorable no more ? Is his mer- 
 cy clean gone forever? doth his promise fail 
 
100 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gra- 
 cious ? liatli lie in anger shut up his tender mer- 
 cies?" 
 
 Distressed and bewildered by affliction, and 
 interpreting God's dealings with us after the 
 standard of sense rather than faith, we are apt 
 with the poet to say, — 
 
 " Oh is it possible that God, 
 
 If God is Love, men sometimes say, 
 Can frowning, smite us with his rod. 
 And seeming put his love away. 
 
 '* Angry he seems, and sore doth smite ; 
 
 Strange thing for love ; and yet he knows 
 The mystic art to bring delight 
 
 From clouds and storms and heavy blows." 
 
 "We close the chapter with the following obser- 
 vations, deducted from the facts set forth. 
 
 I. We learn from the spirit and conduct of 
 the eminent saints to whom we have referred, 
 .and to whom St. James directs us to look as ex- 
 amples of patience under affliction, that none of 
 them was exempt from the weaknesses under 
 suffering usual to human nature ; and that in our 
 weakness and disposition to faint and suppose 
 that God's hand is upon us in wrath, and that he 
 disregards our tears and groans and prayers, we 
 do not differ from them, as we may have supposed. 
 
 II. True religion does not require nor tend to 
 stoical indifference under affliction. 
 
' CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 101 
 
 Jesus himself when called to suffer prayed for 
 the removal of the cup. And even in anticipa- 
 tion of his approaching suffering the Son of God 
 exclaimed, *'I have a baptism to be baptised 
 with; and how am I straitened till it be accom- 
 plished!" (Luke xii. 50.) St. Paul, also, when 
 sorely afflicted, prayed for its removal. (II. Cor. 
 xii. 8.) The Son of God wept in sympathy with 
 Mary and Martha at the grave of their brother 
 Lazarus. Tears in affliction and bereavement, 
 then, are not sinful. Said a suffering saint: "I 
 hope these groans and tears are not sin: I kiss 
 the rod that smites me, and yet I feel its pain." 
 
 III. Immoderate grief is forbidden. 
 
 "We do injustice to the cause of God and bear 
 damaging testimony against the power of divine 
 grace, thereby discouraging the week believer 
 by indulging in immoderate and excessive grief. 
 Then " lift up the hands which hang down, and 
 the feeble knees, lest that which is lame be turned 
 out of the way." 
 
 TV, It is universal, as the instances we have 
 cited shows, for the most pious and devoted, 
 when suffering under affliction, bereavement, and 
 sorrow, to be deeply concerned lest they have lost 
 the divine favor, and in consequence are chastised 
 by their heavenly Father. This is true especially 
 
102 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 in diseases which have a depressing effect upon 
 the mind. Even the great and good Jeremiah 
 supposed that God was scourging him with " the 
 rod of wrath." (Lam. iii. 1.) The Lord uses this 
 rod only upon the wicked ; never upon his own 
 children. 
 
 y. At no time is the Christian under so much 
 disadvantage in reasoning with the enemy aa 
 when reduced by affliction. Afflictions naturally 
 lead the mind to a contemplation of past and 
 present weaknesses, — an exercise which always 
 produces humiliation and shame. Satan in the 
 character of an accuser magnifies our infirmities, 
 and if possible leads us to distrust and despond- 
 ency. 
 
 At all times light and peace come to the soul 
 when self is lost sight of and its eye is fixed upon 
 Jesus God, however, finds it necessary at times 
 to lead the believer to humiliation, with the view 
 to his advancement to a better state. At such 
 times it is important that the afflicted and humili- 
 ated one should bear in mind that God deals with 
 his children after the worthiness of his Son, — not 
 after their own merit. Fear not then while con- 
 templating thine own infirmities to claim full 
 immunity in thy Surety. 
 
 YI. In the absence of sensible comfort from 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 108 
 
 God, accept fully and freely the promises and 
 assurances of the written word, — for it is God's 
 voice speaking to us. This word is of more 
 value than our changeable feelings in interpreting 
 the providences of God, and his will concerning 
 us while under them. 
 
 The estimate placed upon the Scriptures and 
 their benefit to the psalmist in affliction are stated 
 in Psalms cxix. 50, 92, 143, 153. 
 
 YII. Fail not to heed the apostle's admonition 
 in Hebrews xii. 3, 4 : " Consider him that endured 
 such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest 
 ye be weary and faint in your minds. Ye have 
 not resisted unto blood, striving against sin." 
 
 Whatever we may have suffered, if it be short 
 of losing blood, and life, we have not endured 
 as much suffering as the Son of God. 
 
 YIII. " Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and 
 he shall sustain thee." (Ps. Iv. 22.) Jesus, the 
 burden - bearer, kindly invites us to permit him 
 to carry our burdens. Take them to him in pray 
 er, lay them at his feet, and leave them there. 
 
 IX. Get as near to the hand which infiicts the 
 chastisements as possible. It is the dictate of 
 prudence as well as love to draw as near as possi- 
 ble to God in affliction, for thereby the stroke is 
 lightened, and its condemnatary power is lessened 
 
104 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 X. Accept fully the affliction which is upon 
 you as the expression of your heavenly Father's 
 will concerning you. Eesistance increases your 
 distress and prolongs your affliction. 
 
 " Resistance, which thy fears inspire, 
 Doth not protect, doth not restore ; 
 ' Tis rather fuel to the fire. 
 And makes it burn and blaze the more. 
 
 " But when thy troubled soul accepts 
 The furnace of its wasting grief; 
 A power unseen thy life protects ; 
 
 ' Tis Christ himself that brings relief." 
 
 XI. Cultivate the grace of patience. 
 
 " Let Patience have her perfect work," said an 
 eminent apostle. " Tribulation worketh patience,'* 
 said the same inspired man. " Patient in tribula- 
 tion" is one of the graces enjoined upon believers. 
 
 Patience in suffering is necessary for the com- 
 fort of the afflicted one, as well as for the devel- 
 opment of the purpose of God in our affliction. 
 It is unwise to judge of any piece of mechanism 
 before it is finished. God's purposes require time 
 for maturity and development. 
 
 Dear, afflicted believer, art thou undergoing 
 some severe ordeal of suffering ? Art thou afflict- 
 ed in body and perplexed in mind. Hast thou 
 been long tossed upon some bed of sickness ? and 
 have days of pain and nights of sleepless weari- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 105 
 
 ness been appointed unto thee? Art thou in strait- 
 ened circumstances, and suffering for want of the 
 comforts of life ? Art thou suffering some wrong 
 or unkindness at the hand of any one ? Has the 
 light of thine eyes been laid in the grave, and art 
 thou left to sadness and lamentation ? And is the 
 way God is leading thee in dark and mysteries ? 
 Are there no foot prints of love traceable in thy 
 way ? Is there no light in the cloud which ob- 
 scures thy sky ? l^o ray of hope for thee in thy 
 earthly future ? Be patient ; refrain from repin- 
 ing. Utter no impatient or unkind word. You 
 will yet be made to say of God's dealings with 
 you that " he hath done all things well." " The 
 Lord is good to them that wait for him." " But 
 they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
 strength." 
 
 As appropriate to this chapter, devoted to the 
 spirit in which the chastisements of God should 
 be received, I quote again from Upham ; 
 
 " Shrink not from suffering. Each dear blow, 
 JFrom which thy smitten spirit bleeds, 
 j Ts but a messenger to show 
 
 The renovation which it needs. 
 
 " The earthly sculptor smites the rock ; 
 
 Loud the relentless hammer rings ; 
 - And from the rude, uushapen block. 
 
 At length, imprisoned beauty springs. 
 
106 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 ** Thou art that rude, unshapen stone ; 
 And waitest, till the arm of strife, 
 Shall make its crucifixions known. 
 And smite and carve thee into life. 
 
 ** The heavenly Sculptor works on thee; 
 Be patient. Soon his arm of might, 
 Shall from thy prison's darkness free, 
 And change thee to a form of light," 
 
 "^^ 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AFFLICTIONS IMPROVED. 
 
 " For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own 
 pleasure ; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of 
 bis holiness." (Heb. xii. 10.) 
 
 In the scripture above quoted the apostle states 
 the design of God in the chastisements of his 
 children. It is that they may be made to partake 
 more largely of that attribute of the divine nature 
 termed his holiness. Of the communicable attri- 
 butes of God there is none of so much impor- 
 tance to the believer as that of holiness. It is that 
 which qualifies him to glorify God most, to repre- 
 Bent the Lord Jesus Christ before the world the 
 most truly, and to enter into and engage in the 
 employments of heaven the most abundantly. 
 
 How do afflictions and trials tend to an increase 
 in holiness? We have tried in previous chapters 
 to show that the divine chastisements are intend- 
 ed to awaken the Christian from the worldly 
 fitupor to which he is always subject, to weaken 
 his grasp of the associations and relations of life, 
 
108 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 and to lead him to a more complete consecration 
 to the service and glory of God. We will only 
 add that by the process of self-crucifixion the 
 corrupt life of nature yet attaching to believers is 
 weakened and destroyed, and the life of Christ, 
 previously implanted in the soul, is correspond- 
 ingly strengthened and developed. In propor- 
 tion as the earthly sky becomes darkened, the 
 heavenly is brightened ; and as our grasp of earth 
 is weakened, our hold upon the heavenly and 
 divine is strengthened. 
 
 Agitation in the material world is always bet- 
 ter than stagnation. The winds and storms and 
 frosts and snows are indispensable to health and 
 the productiveness of the earth. So periods of 
 agitation, and even persecution in the church, as 
 well as in the experience of individual Christians, 
 have been marked b}' more heroic and decided 
 piety than when external peace and prosperity 
 have prevailed. Uninterrupted health and pros- 
 perity invariably tend to ease, self-indulgence, 
 and worldliness. It was the church which said, 
 " I am rich, and increased with goods, and have 
 need of nothing," that was " wretched, and mis- 
 erable, and poor, and blind, and naked." (Rev. 
 iii. 17.) It is related that a ship was once found 
 frozen in the perpetual ice of the Arctic Sea. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 109 
 
 Upon going aboard of her, everything about the 
 ship was found faultlessly perfect. Every man 
 seemed to be at his propej: place; but all were 
 frozen stiff in death. The captaki was seated at 
 his table in his cabin, with his log-book before 
 him, and with pen in hand was apparently writ- 
 ing his daily record. He, too, was frozen to 
 death. Upon looking at the last record in the 
 log-book it was found that that vessel had been 
 frozen in there seventeen years. So there are 
 churches now which have drifted into the Arctic 
 Sea of worldliness, and have lost their spirituality 
 and power. ISTever, perhaps, in all the history of 
 the church was her machinery more complete 
 than at the present. Every department of Chris- 
 tian enterprise seems well manned, and every 
 man is at his place ; but how feeble the results in 
 proportion to it all. Alas, she has drifted into 
 formalism and death. And what is true of 
 churches is true also of individuals. Is it not 
 then a mercy when God breaks in upon our mo- 
 notony of worldliness and prosperity and blasts 
 our cherished prospects and leads us to look to 
 him for what we were seeking in the things of 
 the world? " Most mercifully, then," says Bonar, 
 does God hedge his people about with disappoint- 
 ment of every form, that they may lift their eyes 
 
110 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 above this earth and beyond these heavens to the 
 enduring blessedness that is at his right hand for- 
 ever. With what kindness, though with seeming 
 severity, does he mar the best friendship, that he 
 may attract them to the communion of his own 
 far better and everlasting companionship. With 
 what compassion does he break in upon their 
 misguided attachments, that he may draw them 
 away from earth and bind them to himself by 
 the more blessed ties of his own far-sweeter love. 
 With what tenderness does he tear asunder the 
 bonds of brotherhood and kindred, that he may 
 unite them to himself in far dearer and eternal 
 friendship. With what mercy does he overthrow 
 their prospects of worldly wealth and bring down 
 their hopes of earthly power and greatness, that 
 he may give them the heavenly treasure and 
 make them a * royal priesthood' to himself in 
 the glorious kingdom of his Son. With what 
 love does he ruin their reputation among men, 
 breaking in pieces their good name, which was 
 their idol, that he may show them the vanity cf 
 human praise, leading them to desire the power 
 that cometh from God, to know that in his fr^vor 
 is life, and that the light of his countenance is the 
 very sunshine of heaven.'" 
 
 The same eminent author from whom the quo« 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. Ill 
 
 tation thus given was taken sets fortli the various 
 classes of Christian character and the relation of 
 affliction thereto, as follows : 
 
 I. " There are some Christians who work, but 
 they do not work like men awake. They move 
 forward in a certain track of duty, but it is with 
 weary footsteps. Their motions are constrained 
 and cold. They do many good things, devise 
 many good schemes, say excellent things, but the 
 vigorous pulse of warm life is wanting. Zeal, 
 glowing zeal, — elastic and untiring, — is not theirs. 
 They neither burn themselves, nor do they kindle 
 others. There is nothing of the * star ' about 
 them, save its coldness. They may expect some 
 sharp stroke of chastisement, for they need it. 
 
 II. " There are others who are wakeful only 
 by fits and starts. They can not be safely counted 
 on, for their fervor depends upon the humor of 
 the moment. A naturally impulsive tempera- 
 ment, of which, perhaps, they are not sufficiently 
 aware, and which they have not sought either to 
 crucify or regulate, renders them uncertain in all 
 their movements. This intermittent wakefulness 
 effects but little. They do and they undo. They 
 build up and they pull down. They kindle and 
 quench the flame alternately. There is nothing 
 of the * star ' about them. They stand in need 
 
112 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 of some sore and long- continued pressure, to 
 equalize the variable, fitful movements of their 
 Bpirit. 
 
 III. " There are others who seem to be always 
 wakeful ; but then it is the wakefulness of bustle 
 and restlessness. They can not live but in the 
 midst of stirring and scheming and moving to 
 and fro. Their temperament is that nervous, 
 tremulous, impatient kind that makes rest or 
 retirement to be felt as restraint and pain. These 
 seldom effect much themselves, but they are often 
 useful, by their perpetual stir and friction, in set- 
 ting and keeping others in motion and prevent- 
 ing stagnation around them. But their incessant 
 motion prevents them being filled with the needed 
 grace. Their continual contact with the out- 
 ward things of religion hinders their inward 
 growth and mars their spirituality. These are 
 certainly in one sense like the ' star,' wakeful and 
 unresting ; but they move forward with such haste 
 that instead of gathering light or giving it forth 
 they are losing every day the little that they pos- 
 sessed. A deep, sharp stroke will be needed for 
 shaking off this false fervor and imparting the 
 true, calm wakefulness of spirit to which, as 
 saints, they are called. It is the deepeyiing of 
 spiritual feeling that is needed in their case, and 
 it takes much chastening to accomplish it. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 113 
 
 lY. " There are others who are always steadily 
 at work, and apparently with fervor too. Yet a 
 little intercourse with them shows that they are 
 not truly awake. They work so much more than 
 they pray that they soon become like vessels with- 
 out oil. They are further on than the class last 
 mentioned, yet they still need arousing. They 
 are like the ' star,' both ' unresting and unhast- 
 ing,' yet their light is dim. Its reflection upon a 
 dark world is faint and pale. It is a deeper spir- 
 itual life and experience that they need ; and for 
 this, it may be, there is some sore visitation in 
 store for them. 
 
 "The true wakeful life is different from all 
 these. It is a thing of intensity and depth. It 
 carries ever about with it the air of calm and 
 restful dignity ; of inward power and greatness. 
 It is fervent, but not feverish ; energetic, but not 
 excited; speedy in its doings, but not hasty; pru- 
 dent, but not timid or selfish ; resolute and fear- 
 less, but not rash ; unobtrusive and sometimes, it 
 may be, silent, yet making all around to feel its 
 influence ; full of joy and peace, yet without pa- 
 rade or noise; overflowing in tenderness and love, 
 yet at the same time faithful and true. This is 
 wakeful life! But oh, before it is thoroughly 
 attairfed, how much are we sometimes called upon 
 
 8 
 
114 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 to suffer, through the rebelliousness of a carnal 
 nature that will not let us surrender ourselves up 
 wholly to God and present ourselves as living 
 sacrifices, which is our reasonable service." 
 
 To arouse us from our stupor and lead us into 
 thorough wakefulness, adversity alone is all-suffi- 
 cient ; for God may say to us as he said to Israel,^ 
 by the prophet, "I spake unto thee'in thy pros- 
 perity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This 
 hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou 
 obeyedst not my voice." (Jer. xxii. 21.) 
 
 But do the annals of the church furnish any 
 evidences of the beneficial results of affliction ? 
 Having been directed to the prophets for exam- 
 ples of patience under affliction, it is meet that 
 we also look to them for instances of beneficial 
 results. 
 
 The after-history of Job and David and Heze- 
 kiah and Jeremiah and St. Paul, whose conduct 
 under affliction has been considered in the previ- 
 ous chapter, shows that the divine chastisements 
 under which they suffered so severely were great- 
 ly blessed to their good. See Job xlii. 12; II.. 
 Chron. xxxii. 26-33; Lam. iii. 58. 
 
 The psalmist speaks more fully of the benefits 
 he received than any of the other saints referred 
 to. The following are some of his utterances : 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 115 
 
 "For thou, God, hast proved us: thou hast 
 tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us 
 into the net ; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. 
 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads ; we 
 went through fire and through water: but thou 
 broughtest us out into a wealthy placed' (Psalms 
 Ixvi. 10-12.) 
 
 " Bless the Lord, my soul : and all that is 
 in me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O 
 my soul, and forget not all his benefits : who for- 
 giveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy 
 diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruc- 
 tion; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness 
 and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth 
 with good things ; so that thy youth is renewed 
 like the eagle's." (Psalms ciii. 1-5.) 
 
 " Before I was afflicted I went astray : but now 
 have I kept thy word." ^' It is good for me that 
 I have been afflicted ; that I might learn thy 
 statutes." " I know, Lord, that thy judgments 
 are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflict- 
 ed me." (Psalms cxix. 67, 71, 75.) 
 
 St. Paul, in 11. Corinthians, xii. 9, 10, states 
 the blessings from his affliction as follows : '' Most 
 gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmi- 
 ties, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 
 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in re- 
 
116 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 proaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in dis- 
 tresses for Christ's sake : for when I am weak, 
 then am I strong." 
 
 It will be observed that while the psalmist 
 expresses his gratitude to God for the blessings 
 resultins: from afflictions which had then been heal- 
 edj the apostle rejoices in the midst of his suffering. 
 In the case of the former we have an exemplifi- 
 cation of the fact taught in Hebrews xii. 11 ; in 
 the latter of Komans v. 3. The first is a result 
 of simple submission to the Divine will ; the sec- 
 ond, of entire harmony therewith. The one brings 
 uncomplaining resignation; the other willing ac- 
 ceptance^ and eyenjoyfulness. In the first case the 
 precious results of affliction are realized after it 
 has passed away; in the second, they are realized 
 when the chastening rod is upon us. 
 
 In addition to the cases of the beneficial results 
 of affliction recorded in the sacred Scriptures, the 
 history of the church furnishes abundant exam- 
 ples, a few of which we will narrate. A book 
 lies before me containing the life, conversion, and 
 happy death of a celebrated man — William Gor- 
 don, M. D. F. L. S. This man — like many others 
 of a scientific turn — was somewhat skeptical upon 
 the truths of divine revelation until visited by 
 severe and protracted disease that finally resulted 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 117 
 
 in his death, which was very triumphant. After 
 he had fully helieved in Jesus and received the 
 clear evidence of the Divine favor he said to a 
 friend who visited him, " I have been thinking of 
 God as a Shepherd. The shepherd sends out his 
 dog when a sheep has wandered from the fold, 
 to hark at and frighten and sometimes to bite the 
 wanderer, in order to bring it back. So afflictions 
 and pains are the dogs which our Shepherd sends 
 to bring us back to him. Some of us are stub- 
 born sheep. I was one of these, and the dog had 
 to bite me. But the barking and biting are to 
 do us good, not harm, and to bring us to the 
 Shepherd. I have had more enjoyment the last 
 few weeks than in my whole life. I could not 
 have a doubt — not one. He saw me a rebellious 
 child. I am a miracle — an example of a marvel- 
 ous interposition of God. A short illness would 
 not have been enough. He saw I needed all this ; 
 and oh ! the blessing that has attended it. I trust- 
 ed too much to human learning ; but when I saw 
 how to get this by coming as a little child, it 
 burst upon me in a way I can not describe, l^o 
 man could have taught me this. It was the Holy 
 Spirit of grace. Then it all rushed upon my view 
 at once. I saw Christ, my Savior. Stripped of 
 all my filthy deeds, I went to the foot of the 
 
118 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 cross, and Clirist presented to me God. I have 
 long been trying to learn this by reason. iJ^ever ! 
 Never! I see what I saw not before, and feel 
 what I never felt. "When a man comes to that 
 book as a child he will find wonders in it to 
 make him marvel. The love of God is what I 
 can not describe. So great is it, I could have no 
 doubts and fears. To think that gracious Being 
 has been seeking me and afflicting me till he 
 brought me to this happiness ! I murmured; but 
 I did not see what he designed — to bring me to 
 that blessed Savior ! All the sayings of the Bible 
 60 accord with all I have experienced that I feel 
 it to be the most marvelous book there ever was 
 in the world. Read every word of it, and take it 
 just as it is. I feel my whole mind truly chang- 
 ed. I remember in the first part of my illness, 
 when I saw you all coming in, healthy and vig- 
 orous, I inwardly murmured, and was envious ; 
 but now I rejoice in your health. I love my_ 
 friends with a tenfold love. I don't know how 
 I feel to them, they are so precious to me." 
 
 In a book published by '' The Tract Association 
 of Friends," entitled "Musings and Memoirs," 
 intended to illustrate various fiicts in the divine 
 administration, I find the following incidents, 
 which will further illustrate the fact under con- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 119 
 
 eideration in this chapter : Heber informs us of 
 a person he found in an alms-house. He was old 
 and deaf, and one of his hands was so afflicted 
 with palsy that his wooden shoe kept up a con- 
 tinual clatter upon the floor. Although nearly 
 helpless' from his numerous infirmities, he was 
 cheerful and happy in the assurance of the pres- 
 ence and favor of God and everlasting life. When 
 asked what he was waiting for he would reply, 
 " Waiting for the appearance of my Lord, when 
 I expect great things, — for he has promised me a 
 crown of righteousness." When asked what was 
 the foundation of his hopes he pointed to the 
 text, " Therefore being justified by faith, we have 
 peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ : 
 by whom also we have access by faith into this 
 grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of 
 the glory of God." 
 
 Another writer relates how his own faith was 
 strengthened by an interview with a poor, suffer- 
 ing invalid. He was aged, and so afflicted that 
 he was confined to his chair, unable to lie down 
 day or night. Upon inquiring of him how he 
 was he replied with a cheerful smile, '' Oh, I am 
 promoted. I was long the Lord's loorkiiig servant; 
 now he has promoted me to his waiting servant^ 
 
 Another case was that of an aged and crippled 
 
120 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 colored woman. She was so crippled by disease 
 and infirmity that she was entirely dependent 
 upon charity. She was unable to use her limba 
 or eat a mouthful of victuals without being fed. 
 Besides this, she was in almost continual bodily 
 pain, yet filled with peace and comfort. During 
 thirteen years of confinement and suficring she 
 never doubted but that her heavenly Father 
 would continue to care for her. The streams of 
 Divine consolation so abounded at times that she 
 would exclaim, " I forget my poof suffering body 
 altogether. 'No matter how afflicted I am, — not 
 able to eat or sleep, — still I have this peace, this 
 comfort, that seems to subdue my bodily afflic- 
 tion all to silence. If every hair on my head 
 were a tongue I could employ them all in prais- 
 ing Almighty God." 
 
 Testimony like the foregoing might be given 
 indefinitely ; but I desist. It may only be neces- 
 Bary to appeal to the reader if he has not at some 
 time experienced the blessedness of the Divine 
 chastisements, and to say with one of old, " It is 
 good for me that I have been afilicted." 
 
 "What, now, are some of the gracious results of 
 affliction ? They may be stated thus : 
 
 I. The subjugation of the will and the destruction 
 of selfishness from the heart. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 121 
 
 The will is the man. As previously stated in 
 another chapter, the will is the citadel of the 
 sonl. In it self is enthroned and rebelliousness 
 has its seat. " At conversion," says one, " the 
 will is bent in the right direction ; but it is still 
 crooked and rigid and perverse. Prosperous days 
 may sometimes conceal it, so that we may be al- 
 most unconscious of its strength ; but it is rebell- 
 ious still, and furnace -heat is needed to soften 
 and mold it. No milder remedy will do. Fire 
 after fire does God kindle in order to soften it j 
 and blow after blow does he fetch down upon it. 
 ISTor does he rest till he has made it thoroughly 
 flexible, and hammered out of it the many relics 
 of self which it contains. He will not stay his 
 hand till he has thoroughly marred our self- 
 chosen ways. The bending and straightening of 
 the will is often a long process, during which the 
 soul has to pass through waters deep and many^ 
 and through fires hot and ever kindling up anew. 
 Its perverseness and stiffiiess can be brought out 
 only by a long succession of trials. It is only 
 by degrees that it becomes truly pliable and is 
 brought into harmony with the will of God. We 
 can at a stroke lop ofi* the unseemly branch ; but 
 to give a proper bent to the tree we require time 
 and assiduous appliances for months or years. 
 
122 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 I 
 
 However rebellious, however unyielding, however 
 
 selfish and proud, our will must be made to bend. 
 
 God will not leave it till he has made it one with 
 
 his own. 
 
 When the will has been brought into complete 
 
 harmony with the will of God, the affliction under 
 which we sufier will have been accepted and its 
 force either arrested or materially relieved. Chaf- 
 ing and fretting will be no longer indulged in, 
 and the affliction itself will be uncomplainingly 
 and even rejoicingly accepted. 
 
 There will be also — 
 
 II. Deadness to the world. 
 
 The world is the " spirit which worketh in the 
 hearts of the children of disobedience," and is 
 manifested in the undue pursuit of worldly gain, 
 the desire for worldly pleasures, and the love of 
 pomp, pride, and display. It is personified in the 
 Scriptures as a rival of Christ for the affections 
 of his afflanced bride, — the church; and undue 
 familiarity therewith is denounced as spiritual 
 adultery. (James iv. 4.) 
 
 The tendency to worldly conformity by Chris- 
 tians, unless wholly delivered from the dominion 
 of the carnal mind, is almost universal. Its 
 dangerous and soul-destroying results are clearly 
 stated in the sacred Scriptures, as are also the 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 123 
 
 frequent injunctions against it. And yet souls 
 all around us are perishing by reason of worldly 
 conformity. The very atmosphere we breathe 
 seems to promote it. The habit gains upon us ; 
 and, like death by freezing, its destructive effects 
 come on so stealthily, so unconsciously, that death 
 ensues ere we are aware of dano-er. It must be 
 
 o 
 
 the " enchanted ground " through which we are 
 passing. Indifference to Christian duty and priv- 
 ilege, the undue pursuit of worldly gain, the 
 ambition for distinction and place, the love of 
 pleasure, pride, and frivolity; these all demon- 
 strate with fearful significance the extent to which 
 this spirit of worldliness has gained upon us. 
 
 The bride of Christ, forgetful of her high des- 
 tiny and her proper seclusion in the wilderness 
 until her Lord^s return, is living in guilty friend- 
 ship with her absent Husband's foe and rival. 
 Losing sight of our heavenly citizenship, and 
 waiting for a city to come, we declare by our 
 spirit that we are of the earth, earthly. Expect- 
 ing to wear a crown of glory in heaven, we shrink 
 from the crown of thorns on earth. Professing 
 to look for a kingdom to be hereafter revealed, 
 we refuse to walk in the self-denying path by 
 which it alone can be reached. Assuming the 
 character of saints, of whom sobriety and gravity 
 
124 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 are characteristics, we indulge in all manner of 
 levity, reserving our seriousness for the closet and 
 the sanctuary. But God loves us too well to per- 
 mit us to slumber on to our eternal ruin. Stroke 
 after stroke of af&iction is applied, each one of 
 which says, " Love not the world, neither the 
 things which are in the world." " Know ye not 
 that the friendship of the world is enmity with 
 God." At length we are awakened from our 
 sleep of death. The world's unsatisfying hollow- 
 ness is seen, and we turn to God, the only source 
 of real good. Our affliction has accomplished its 
 intended result. It has been sanctified to our 
 good. We now turn to God with increased ear- 
 nestness. We now bear increased fruit unto holi- 
 ness. 
 
 The opposite of worldliness is heavenly -minded- 
 ness. This can result only from crucifixion and 
 death to the world, and our renewal to a new and 
 higher life in Christ. Its presence in the soul 
 will be evidenced in our increased delight in 
 Christian duties, privileges, and associations, and 
 a corresponding aversion to all worldliness and 
 folly. 
 
 III. The understanding will be greatly enlightenedy 
 and the knowledge of divine things will be much en- 
 larged. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 125 
 
 The understanding of the unregenerated, and 
 of many Christians also, is carnal, so that divine 
 truth is but very imperfectly understood. Hence 
 the great ignorance among professors of religion, 
 and even of Bible-readers, concerning the things 
 of God. The rod of affliction reduces us to sub- 
 mission and makes us willing to learn, while the 
 fire burns away the film which obscured our un- 
 derstanding. How fast we learn in the time of 
 affliction. We advance more in knowledge in a 
 single day than in years before. 
 
 A deeper insight into the hidden meaning of 
 the Scriptures seems to be specially connected 
 v/ith sanctified affliction. Said the psalmist, " It 
 is good for me that I have been afflicted ; that I 
 might learn thy statutes. ^^ (Psalms cxix. 71.) 
 
 " Blessed is the man whom thy chastenest, O 
 Lord, and teachest Mm out of thy law.'^ (Psalms 
 xciv. 12.) 
 
 " The rod of reproof gives wisdom," as well as 
 enables us " to learn songs in the night." 
 
 Afflictions take us down into a deeper experi- 
 ence, and also into a more perfect harmony be- 
 tween our own internal state and the truths of 
 the sacred Scriptures ; and they are comprehended 
 as never before. Said Luther, " Were it not for 
 tribulation I should not understand scripture." 
 
126 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 It is related that a young minister upon graduat- 
 ino- from a Theological Seminary was thus 
 addressed by an aged professor: "Young man, 
 we have done all for you we can. One thing 
 more is needed to make you a successful preacher 
 and pastor, and that God alone can do for you. 
 It is some sore affliction." 
 
 A keener appetite for God's holy word, a spir- 
 itual understanding to comprehend it, and ma- 
 turity of judgment, are some of the abiding 
 results of sanctified affliction. 
 
 There will be also — 
 
 lY. Enlarged fellowship with the household of 
 faith. 
 
 The tendency in all hearts not wholly crucified 
 and dead with Christ and renewed to the new 
 life of spirituality is to denominational and sec- 
 tarian bigoty. Charity, or perfection in love, lifts 
 us above this feeling, and leads us into fellowship 
 with the entire family of God, whether on earth 
 or in heaven. Personal experience in severe and 
 protracted affliction has taught me that in pro- 
 portion as this narrowness of feeling is lost we 
 come into enlarged fellowship with the saints; 
 and we will understand as never before the mean- 
 ing of the apostle in Hebrews xii. 22-24 : " But 
 ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 127 
 
 of the living God, tlie heavenly Jerusalem, and 
 to an innumerable company of angels, to the 
 general assembly and church of the first-born, 
 which are written in heaven, and to God the 
 Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made 
 made perfect. And to Jesus the mediator of the 
 new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, 
 that speaketh better things than that of Abel." 
 
 This feeling of kindredness is especially strong 
 for God's afilicted saints, for whom we will feel a 
 special concern and love. 
 
 One other result of sanctified affliction is — 
 
 V. Increased spiritual enjoyment. 
 
 " Tribulation worketh patience ; and patience, 
 experience ; and experience, hope : and hope mak- 
 eth not ashamed; because the love of God is shed 
 abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is 
 given unto us." (Rom. v. 3-5.) 
 
 A properly reconstructed and harmonious will 
 lies at the foundation of all true religious charac- 
 ter. Sanctified chastisements are the usual and 
 most efiective means to subdue the will and bring 
 it into complete harmony with the will of God. 
 From this harmonious will, patience under afflic- 
 tions will result. This in turn will lead us into 
 new experiences, which tend to increase and 
 strengthen our hope. Then the love of God 
 
128 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 abundantly shed abroad in the heart banishes all 
 fear and shame and discontent. Thus afflictions 
 have been blessed to our increased spirituality, 
 usefulness, and happiness. Said a saint of other 
 days, " I know no greater blessing than health, 
 exce])t pain and sicknessJ^ Said another, " Oh, 
 what I owe to the file, to the hammer, and to the 
 furnace of my Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 " The hour of anguish passes by ; 
 But in the spirit there remains 
 The outgrowth of its agency, 
 The compensation of its pains." 
 
 Then who can estimate the results of sanctified 
 affliction in the life which is to come ? "We will 
 have to wait for eternity to develop the relation 
 which the afflictions and trials of this present 
 state bear to the enjoyments of the life in heaven. 
 Said Rutherford a few centuries ago, "I wonder 
 many times that even a child of God should have 
 a sad heart, considering what the Lord is pre- 
 paring for them." " When we shall come home, 
 and enter into the possession of our Brother's 
 fair kingdom, and when our heads shall find the 
 weight of the eternal crown of glory, and when 
 we shall look back to pains and sufterings, then 
 shall we see life and sorrow to be less than one 
 step or stride from a prison to a glory, and that 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHOOL. 129 
 
 our little incli of time in suffering is not worthy 
 of our first night's welcome home to heaven." 
 
 " Come, then," says the pious Bonar, "let us 
 question ourselves and endeavor to ascertain what 
 affliction has been doing for us, and what progress 
 we are making in putting off the old man and in 
 putting on the new. Am I losing my worldliness 
 of spirit, and becoming heavenly-minded? Am 
 I getting quit of my pride, my passion, my stub- 
 bornness, and becoming humble, mild, and teach- 
 able ? Are all my idols displaced and broken ? 
 And my creature-comforts, do I use as though I 
 used them not ? Am I caring less for the honors 
 of time, for man's love, man's smile, man's ap- 
 plause ? Am I crucified to the world, and is the 
 world crucified to me, by the cross of Christ? 
 Or am I still ashamed of his reproach, and half 
 reluctant to follow him through bad report and 
 through good, through honor and through shame? 
 Do I count it my glory and my joy to walk where 
 he has led the way, suffer wherein he suffered, to 
 drink of the cup of which he drank, and to be 
 baptized with the baptism wherewith he was bap- 
 tized ? Am I every day becoming more and more 
 unlike the children of earth, more and more fash- 
 ioned after the likeness, and bearing the special 
 lineaments of my Elder Brother, of whom the 
 
130 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 whole family in heaven and earth is named ? Do 
 I realize this earth as neither my portion nor my 
 rest ; and, knowing that one chain may bind me 
 as fast as a thousand, am I careful to shake off 
 every fetter that may bind me to the vanities of 
 a world like this ? Is chastisement really purify- 
 ing me? Am I conscious of its blessed effects 
 upon my soul ? Can I look back upon such and 
 such scenes of trial and say, ^ There and then I 
 learned most precious lessons ; there, and then I 
 got rid of some of the body of this death ; there 
 and then I got up to a higher level, from which I 
 am trying to ascend to one higher still ? Have I 
 learned much of the sympathy of Jesus, and 
 know the blessedness of having such a one as 
 he to weep along with me in my day of sorrow ? 
 Have I wiped off* my rebellious tears and been 
 taught to shed only those of love and submissive 
 fondness — tears of brotherhood and sympathy; 
 tears of longing to be absent from the body, and 
 to be present with the Lord ? ' A goodly prize 
 this ; and until it is reached there will be strife 
 between us and God. When this state is reached, 
 then this strife shall cease, — our struggles will 
 be over." 
 
 As a means then to reach this result, let us wel- 
 come our Father's chastening rod, and with the 
 poet say, — 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 131 
 
 " Oh rather let misfortunes fall ; 
 
 They can not reach and harm the soul ; 
 But only serve to disenthrall, 
 The inward life, and make it whole. 
 
 " The greatness of thy sufifering shows, 
 
 That God, who loves thee, hates thy sin ; 
 And sends the message of his blows, 
 To see if all is right within. 
 
 ** Trust all to Him, AflQiction's stroke 
 
 His work of mercy shall perform ; . ; 
 
 And leave thee, like the smitten oak, 
 That's deeper rooted in the storm." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AFFIilCTIONS SOMETIMES REMOVED BY PRATER. 
 
 " The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 
 much." (James v. 16.) 
 
 This often-repeated portion of God's liolj word 
 stands in connection with the injunction to prayer 
 for the recovery of the sick. The whole passage 
 reads thus : " Is any among you afflicted ? let 
 him pray. Is any merry ? let him sing psalms. 
 Is any sick among you ? let him call for the elders 
 of the church, and let them pray over him, anoint- 
 ing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the 
 prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord 
 shall raise him up ; and if he have committed 
 sins, they shall be forgiven him Confess your 
 faults one to another, and pray one for another, 
 that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer 
 of a righteous man availeth much." (James v. 13-17.) 
 
 In obedience to this scripture the following 
 order is to be observed: 
 
 I. In case of sickness word is at once to be 
 sent to the minister, elder, class-leader, or other 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 133 
 
 officers of the church. It sometimes occurs that 
 there are cases of sickness and the minister is 
 ignorant of it; and failing to visit the afflicted, 
 blame is unjustly attached to him. 
 
 II. If the afflicted one has been guilty of any 
 wrong it should be confessed, and pardon sought. 
 
 III. If there has been disagreement or enmity 
 between the afflicted one and some other, confes- 
 sion and reconciliation are to be promptly made. 
 
 lY. Anointing with oil in the name of the 
 Lord is enjoined. 
 
 Some Christians observe this direction, and it 
 is said with good results. I can see no reason 
 why this simple scriptural direction should not 
 be observed and the divine blessing expected 
 according to the promise connected therewith. 
 
 This anointing with oil may, however, be in- 
 tended only to teach that while looking to God to 
 heal the afflicted one the usual and necessary 
 remedies are to be diligently used. 
 
 Y. Prayer in faith is to follow these prelimi- 
 naries. As if to encourage our faith to expect 
 favorable results the inspired apostle cites the 
 case of Elijah, in answer to whose prayers God 
 suspended the laws of nature, or placed them for 
 a time in the power of a finite being. (James v. 
 17, 18.) 
 
134 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Is this promise of the restoration of the sick to 
 health, in answer to prayer, invariable and abso- 
 lute in every case, or are there exceptions to it, 
 as there are to all general rules, although not ex- 
 pressed in the letter of the record ? 
 
 The following, I think, are exceptions : 
 
 1. Diseases and afflictions which in their na- 
 ture are incurable except by special miracles, — as 
 dismemberment of the body, infirmities of age, 
 impairment of the constitution, and such afflic- 
 tions as result from violations of the laws of 
 health, the turpitude of which requires the death 
 of the oflender. In such cases the guilt may 
 have been pardoned, but the bodily effects still 
 remain. 
 
 St. Paul speaks ^of some who, by reason of sins 
 so peculiarly aggravating, were delivered unto 
 Satan for the destruction of the body, while their 
 spirits were saved. (I Cor. v. 1-5.) 
 
 The Apostle John says, " If any man see his 
 brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall 
 ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin 
 not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do 
 not say that ye shall pray for it J' (I. John v. 16. 
 See also Psalms xxv. 7 ; I. Cor. xi. 32.) 
 
 2. The promise to restore the sick to health, 
 like all other promises, is always subject to the 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 135 
 
 will of God. In some cases he may see it better 
 for tlie afflicted that he should not be restored ; 
 and the affliction may continue, or death may 
 result. The case of St. Paul, as related by him- 
 self in II. Corinthians xii., is an illustration. 
 After praying thrice for the removal of the afflic- 
 tion, and failing to have his prayer answered as 
 he expected, God bestowed upon him extraor- 
 dinary grace, so that he was made to rejoice not- 
 withstanding his affliction was made permanent. , 
 
 Prayer offered in faith for the recovery of the 
 sick, if not answered in the way expected, will 
 still not be in vain, but will result in some greater 
 good than the restoration of the afflicted one. 
 
 With the exceptions we have stated, and prob- 
 :ably others of which we are ignorant, prayers for 
 the recovery of afflicted Christians may be an- 
 swered in their restoration. 
 
 But have we any well-authenticated cases on 
 record of such restoration ? We cite the follow- 
 ing: The case of Hezekiah, King of Judah, is 
 to the point. The scriptural record is as follows : 
 "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. 
 And the Prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to 
 him, and said unto him. Thus saith the Lord, Set 
 thine house in order : for thou shalt die, and not 
 live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and 
 
136 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 prayed uuto the Lord, saying, I beseecL. thee, O 
 Lord, remember now how I have walked before 
 thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have 
 done that which is good in thy sight. And Heze- 
 kiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah 
 was gone out into the middle court, that the word 
 of the Lord came to him, saying. Turn again^ 
 and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus 
 saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I 
 have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears : 
 behold, I will heal thee : on the third day thou 
 shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I 
 will add unto thy days fifteen years." (II. Kings 
 XX. 1-6.) 
 
 It is plainly evident that in this case Isaiah 
 joined his prayer with Hezekiah. The long and 
 familiar intimacy existing between them, their 
 union of action in reforming the abuses of the 
 people, and the fact that on another occasion they 
 unitedly prayed for the deliverance of the nation 
 from its enemies (II. Chron. xxxii. 20), as well as 
 the connection of Isaiah with the whole case^ 
 unmistakeably show that they both prayed for 
 the life of the king. And their united petitions 
 were answered. 
 
 Before me lies a tract, published by the Mil- 
 liard Tract Repository of Boston, entitled, Were 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 137 
 
 they Miracles ? It gives the particulars of three 
 undoubted cases of instantaneous healing of the 
 sick in answer to prayer. These cases when first 
 brought before the public through the columns of 
 the religious press occasioned much interest and 
 inquiry ; and after the truthfulness of the same 
 was fally ascertained they were published in the 
 present form, and largely circulated. In the sec- 
 ond edition of this tract, from which I shall 
 quote, testimony is given to the permanency of 
 the cures of two of the persons, after an interval 
 of several years in which to test them. The 
 number and character of the witnesses are such 
 as to place the facts stated beyond dispute or sus- 
 picion. 
 
 The first case is that of Mrs. Jane C. Miller^ 
 wife of a Congregational minister of Oberlin, 
 Ohio. President Charles G. Finney, who was 
 long and intimately acquainted with the family, 
 and who first published an account of the healing 
 of Mrs. Miller, in the Advance of December 26th, 
 1872, says that Mrs. Miller " is a lady of unques- 
 tionable veracity. However the fact of her heal- 
 ing is to be accounted for, her story is no doubt 
 worthy of entire confidence, as we have known 
 her for years as a lame, sufiering invalid, and now 
 Bee her in our midst in sound health." In a tes- 
 
138 
 
 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 timonial subsequently attached to a statement 
 made by a number of persons familiar with all 
 the facts of the case Mr. Finney further says, 
 ** I know Mrs. Miller well, and have no doubt of 
 the truth of the statement regarding her instan- 
 taneous healing in answer to prayer." 
 The following is Mrs. Miller's statement 
 "From my parents I inherited a constitution 
 subject to a chronic form of rheumatism, which 
 affected my whole system. For nearly forty years 
 I was subject to more or less suffering from this 
 cause. For seven years, until the last three 
 months, I have been unable to get about without 
 the aid of crutch or staff, — generally both. I 
 have used many liniments and remedies, but with 
 no permanent good results. 
 
 "Last summer [1872] several of us Christian 
 sisters were in the habit of spending short seasons 
 of prayer together. Some of our number had 
 read the narrative of Dorethea Trudel, and had 
 spoken to me on the subject of healing in answer 
 to prayer. My faith had not then risen to this 
 elevation. I had, in fact, accepted what I sup- 
 posed was the will of God, and made up my 
 mind to be a lame and suffering invalid the re^t 
 of my life. I had long since ceased to use reme- 
 dies for the restoration of my health, and had 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 139 
 
 not even thought of praying in regard to it. !N'ot- 
 withstanding what had been said me, I remained 
 in this opinion and attitude until the 26th of Sep- 
 tember last, when several ladies met at our house, 
 by appointment, for a prayer-meeting. I had 
 grown worse for some time, and was then unable 
 to get out to attend a meeting. I was suffering 
 much pain that afternoon ; indeed, I was hardly 
 able to be out of my bed. One lady was present 
 who could speak to me from her own experience 
 of having been healed in answer to the prayer of 
 faith. She related several striking instances in 
 which her prayers had been answered in the re- 
 moval of divers forms of disease to which she 
 was subject. She also repeated a number of pas- 
 sages of scripture which clearly justified the ex- 
 pectation of being healed in answer to the prayer 
 of faith. 
 
 " She said that Jesus had shown her that he 
 was just as ready to heal diseases now as he was 
 when on earth ; that such healing was expressly 
 promised in the Scriptures in answer to the pray- 
 er of faith, and that it was nowhere taken back. 
 
 *' These facts, reasonings, and passages of script- 
 ure made a deep impression on my mind, and for 
 the first time I found myself able to believe that 
 Jesus would heal me in answer to prayer. She 
 
140 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 asked me if I could join my faith, with hers, and 
 ask for present healing. I told her I felt that I 
 could. We then knelt, and called upon the 
 Lord. She offered a mighty prayer to God, and 
 I followed. "While she was leading in prayer I 
 felt a quickening in my whole being, whereupon 
 my pain subsided ; and when we rose from prayer 
 I felt that a great change had come over me — 
 that I was cured ! 
 
 " I found that I could walk without my staff or 
 crutch or assistance from any one. Since then 
 my pains have never returned ; I have more than 
 my youthful vigor. I walk with more ease and 
 rapidity than I ever did ; and I never felt so fresh 
 and young as I now do, at the age of fifty -two. 
 
 "]^ow, the one hundred and third psalm is my 
 psalm ; and my youth is more than renewed like 
 the eagle's. I can not express the constant joy 
 of my heart for the wonderful healing of my soul 
 and body. I feel as if I was made every whit 
 whole." 
 
 Another case related in this tract is that of a 
 daughter of Rev. Alfred Connet, a Congregational 
 minister of Carbondale, Osage County, Kansas. 
 It is related by her mother as follows: '' About 
 the middle of September, 1871, our eldest daugh- 
 ter, — iTettie, — then nearly eight^years old, began 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 141 
 
 complaining of her left leg. Tlie physicians pro- 
 nounced it sciatic rheumatism. At times her 
 sufferings were very great. Frequently she would 
 not walk for a week. She was lame all the time, 
 and never free from pain. In the fall of 1872 she 
 seemed worse. One limb appeared to be higher 
 than the other, and that limb shrinking away. 
 It was not nearly so large as the other. We 
 called in physicians again. They said the indi- 
 cations were that it was hip-disease. "We wrote 
 to the surgical institution at Indianapolis in re- 
 gard to her. They thought she could be cured 
 there, but that if she did not have treatment 
 soon she would be a suffering cripple for life. We 
 wanted to send her there for treatment, but found 
 it impossible to raise the means. The child grew 
 worse ; and on the 29th of December, 1872, she 
 had not left her bed for several days, and her 
 sufferings were intense. 
 
 " That Sabbath morning we read an article in 
 the Advance — ' Prayer for healing ; a remarkable 
 cure.' Then came the thought, Why can we not 
 have faith to believe that Jesus will cure our 
 child ? Myrie and Orthy, of seven and five years, 
 talked together about asking Jesus to cure Kettie. 
 She told one of the children to come to her ; and 
 I kept on reading, as though I had read nothing 
 
142 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 remarkable, thougli I am sure that I knew not 
 what I was reading about. I dreaded any con- 
 versation with the children. At length I could 
 stand it no longer, and left the room and prayed 
 for faith to believe that my child could be cured. 
 I then went to Nettie. She asked me if I would 
 pray, and ask Jesus to cure her. I asked her if 
 she believed that Jesus would cure her. She 
 thought he would. And the little ones expressed 
 the same opinion. My faith was growing strong- 
 er. I told them we would read about Jesus cur- 
 ing, the sick. I then read aloud all the instances 
 of healing recorded in Matthew. We all felt 
 then that all we had to do was to ask Jesus to 
 cure her. I prayed, and was followed in prayer 
 by iN'ettie. "We asked for her cure that day. 
 After prayer I discovered that a change had come 
 over the child. She looked worse than ever be- 
 fore. The thought occurred to me that God was 
 going to answer our prayer by taking her to 
 himself. At her request I read to her awhile. 
 She then wanted to be helped in the rocking- 
 chair, though she could sit only on one side. I 
 helped her up ; and while doing so such a sense 
 of weakness came over me as I never felt before. 
 I laid down on her bed and immediately fell into 
 a deep sleep. How long I slept I know not — per- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 143 
 
 haps half an hour, or may be an hour. I was 
 then awakened bj Nettie telling me that she was 
 cured. She would say, ^ Mamma, I am a new 
 girl ! Jesus has cured me. How I do love Jesus !' 
 She was the happiest person I ever saw. For the 
 jB.r§t time in fifteen months she was entirely well 
 and free from pain. She could run, jump, stand 
 on one foot, — in short, do any of the many things 
 a well child could. I then took off the plaster 
 which the doctor put on her hip a few days be- 
 fore — to make it sore. There was no sore ; and 
 we quit giving the medicine. That night we were 
 a happy family ; and it was late before the child 
 could compose herself to sleep. On "Wednesday 
 following the doctor came to see her. He could 
 find nothing ailing the child. He semed to think 
 that mesmerism or something of the kind had 
 been used. He has been here two or three times 
 since, and always questions her closely. The last 
 time he was here — a few days ago — he found her 
 in the kitchen with an apron on, doing her work." 
 
 The third case of miraculous healins: related in 
 this tract is that of Mrs. Ellen C. Sherman, wif^ 
 of Eev. Moses Sherman, Methodist Episcopal 
 minister of Piermont, 'New Hampshire. The 
 healing occurred in 1873. 
 
 Mrs. Sherman had been greatly afflicted a great 
 
144 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 many years, and for sixteen years prior to liei 
 instantaneous recovery was mostly confined to 
 her bed. She was afflicted with a complication of 
 diseases, among which was spinal weakness. In 
 fact nearly every organ of her lower body was 
 chronically diseased, which the best medical skill 
 failed to relieve; and for the eighteen months 
 prior to her healing it required two persons to 
 lift her in and out of bed. Between nine and 
 ten o'clock on the night of August 27th, 1873, 
 she was left alone for the night, her husband 
 sleeping in an adjoining room. She says that 
 when left alone she considered her helpless condi- 
 tion, and earnestly called apon God for relief. 
 At length she felt that the Savior was unusually 
 near her. We will now give her own words. " I 
 began to be conscious of a Presence in one quarter 
 of the room — his 'presence felt, not seen. Then I 
 heard his voice speaking, as it were, in a whisper 
 to my inner ear, saying, * I will come unto you, 
 and will manifest myself unto you.' So real and 
 palpable was this spiritual Presence that it seemed 
 as though I might grasp him with my hand, and 
 feel his form, were I only able to get up ; and he 
 filled the room and my whole being with his lov- 
 ing smile. I can never tell how much of bliss 
 entered into that hour. * * * Oh, the unutterable 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 145 
 
 Jbliss of that liour ! I felt, oh, if I could have 
 such a Presence with me always it would be joy- 
 ful to lie here and suffer in view of such love. 
 * * * But now, as I considered that God had 
 taken my body for his temple, I thought. This 
 sick, worn-out body, — what a poor offering to 
 make to God for his temple ! The thought troub- 
 led me, and I wished that I had something better 
 to offer. Then the Spirit — not the Presence — 
 whispered within me, * He is able to restore it, 
 and fit it up for his own temple.' This was the 
 first intimation I had of the design of the great 
 Physician. Then I became conscious of a move- 
 ment of the Presence, and it seemed to be filling 
 the room more and more. The only way that I 
 can express it is that the room seemed to be 
 filled thick. 
 
 " And now from the foot of the bed the Pres- 
 ence whispered, * Believest thou that I am able to 
 do this ? ' This was repeated many times while 
 I lay there and reasoned the matter all over. I 
 thought, He is the same yesterday, to-day, and 
 forever; and all power is given unto him. I re- 
 membered his miracles when he was here on the 
 earth. I knew he was willing. He had come 
 because he was willing; yes, and anxious to do 
 it. All this passed through my mind quickly, 
 
 10 
 
146 CLUSTEKS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 The power to yield and believe was given ; and I 
 said, — my whole being, it seems to me, said it, — 
 ^Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.' At once 
 the Presence seemed to press up to me over the 
 foot of the bed, and whispered to me the words, 
 * And he breathed on them, and said. Receive ye 
 the Holy Ghost.' And they were accompanied 
 by a warm breathing upon my face. The words 
 were many times repeated, and each time were 
 accompanied by a new wave of influence from 
 the Presence — warmer and more powerful than 
 the one before. Each new pulsation of the Holy 
 Breath flowed down deeper and deeper through 
 my body; and as it went all pain ceased. The 
 feeling was more like a current from a galvanic 
 battery. It was a warming, vitalizing power, 
 giving me new life and strength. Thus the 
 breathing went on, and the sweet, inflowing pow- 
 er continued, until it had penetrated my whole 
 being, causing all pain to cease, and filling me 
 with the most delicious sensation. 
 
 ''While the healing influence was being breathed 
 upon me I was told very emphatically that this 
 was a miracle. It was also said, 'Go tell how 
 great things the Lord hath done for thee; this is 
 not done in a corner, but that the icorld may Jaiow.' 
 
 " After a little while I was told by a whisper 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 147 
 
 from the Presence to raise my left arm — the worse 
 one — to my head. Before, I was not able to raise 
 either without the aid of the other; but now I 
 raised this easily, and without pain. Then I was 
 told to raise the other, which I did with equal 
 ease. Then to turn over. At once I came over 
 like a cork in water. It seemed almost involun- 
 tary. Then, ring the bell (call my husband). I 
 did so ; and he sprung out of bed, and came in 
 but half awake, and lighted a candle. As he did 
 so I asked him, * Is there not a strange influence 
 in the room ? Do you not feel it ? ' Then I said, 
 
 * There is a strange influence in the room. The 
 Savior is here at work upon me.' I had no idea 
 of what was coming ; but as soon as I said, ' The 
 Savior is here,' etc., there was spoken to me in- 
 wardly from the Presence, with great emphasis, 
 
 * That the people may know that the So7i of man hath 
 power on earth still to forgive sins, rise up and 
 WALK ! ' At once I, who had been bed-ridden and 
 incapable of stepping a step for months, threw 
 off the clothes with my left arm, sprung out of 
 bed upon my feet, and started to walk across the 
 room." 
 
 Her husband at first supposed that she was 
 crazed, but soon learned by her joyful exclama- 
 tions of adoration and praise to Jesus that she 
 
148 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 was in her right mind; and he joined in with her 
 in thanksgiving to God for what he had wrought. 
 The family were called up and rejoiced together 
 several hours. In the morning Mrs. Sherman 
 arose, dressed herself without assistance, eat a 
 hearty breakfast, and soon resumed the active 
 duties of life. All the complications of disease of 
 spine, limbs, stomach, kidneys, and other organs 
 from which she had so long suffered so severly, 
 were made whole. Two years after this truly 
 wonderful occurrence Mrs. Sherman wrote to a 
 friend, " I was asked yesterday if I still had the 
 same faith that I was healed which I had two 
 years ago. It has caused me to think some on 
 that point. I can hardly say I have faith that I 
 was healed. It is knowledge; not faith. But I 
 have no more doubt of the cure being wrought 
 by Jesus Christ, I suppose, than had those who 
 were healed by him when on earth. I am in good 
 if not perfect health. I can not remember a sum- 
 mer when I have been so healthy and strong and 
 so able to work." 
 
 I have thus given the facts connected with 
 the three cases of instantaneous healing narrated 
 in this tract. The facts are as well authenticated 
 as human testimony can authenticate any event. 
 From my understanding of the Scriptures, and 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 149 
 
 from personal experience of the wonderful power 
 of divine grace under affliction, both to sustain 
 and deliver, if not actually to restore, I have no 
 hesitation in declaring my belief that in all these 
 cases God miraculously healed the afflicted ones. 
 In addition to the cases already narrated many 
 others might be given, for the religious press re- 
 cords many such. I will, however, close this 
 chapter by narrating a case of which I have 'per- 
 sonal knoivledge, and the facts of which are beyond 
 the possibility of mistake. A person was deeply 
 anxious for his brother, who to all appearance 
 was rapidly sinking to the grave with pulmonary 
 consumption. One day while bowed in secret 
 prayer, as was his custom for this brother, he was 
 suddenly and clearly assured by an inward con- 
 viction that his prayer was heard, and his broth- 
 er's life would be prolonged. So clear was this 
 assurance that prayer changed to wonder, aston- 
 ishment, and praise. The fact of this answer to 
 prayer was made known to some eight or ten 
 fellow-Christians, including the pastor, and all 
 concluded to wait for the result. The afflicted 
 person resided a considerable distance from where 
 the praying brother lived, and it was near two 
 weeks before information was received. At length 
 word came that the sick man was suddenly and 
 
150 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 strangely recovering his health ; that he was ahle 
 to resume work, and gave promise of complete 
 restoration. He rapidly improved ; and now near- 
 ly fourteen years have elapsed and he still lives, 
 and bids fair to live for many years more. 
 
 I will call no more witnesses, for it seems like 
 calling upon human testimony to vouch for the 
 veracity of God, who is worthy of being believed 
 without incidental and collateral testimony. 
 
CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 THE GRACES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT DEVELOPED BY AFFLICTION. 
 
 " Awake, O north wind ; and come, thou south ; blow upon 
 my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out." (Solomon's 
 Song iv. 6.) 
 
 That precious portion of God's holy word — the 
 Song of Solomon ; called also the " Canticles," — 
 from which the passage quoted above, and which 
 I propose to elucidate in this chapter, is taken, 
 sets forth the relation existing between the Lord 
 Jesus Christ and the believer in language and 
 metaphor of the most tender and expressive char- 
 acter. In the main the symbol employed to rep- 
 resent this relation is that of the Husband and 
 his affianced bride. This symbol, while still pre- 
 served, is sometimes varied; and the figure of the 
 Shepherd and his flock is also used. (Chapter 
 i. 7, 8.) In the scripture under consideration in 
 this chapter the symbol of a garden of choice 
 and fragrant spices is employed; and the fact 
 symbolized is, the heart of the believer as a gar- 
 den, in which the precious fruits and graces of 
 
 151 
 
152 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 the Holy Spirit are produced. As miglit be sup- 
 posed from the symbol employed to represent the 
 attachment existing between Christ and his peo- 
 ple, as Husband and affianced wife, the expres- 
 sions of affection are both reciprocal and tender, 
 such as the relation implies. The language used, 
 though inexpressibly tender and expressive, is yet 
 chaste aud elegant. 
 
 I have for elucidation in this chapter a garden 
 of spices; and my object in introducing it here, 
 in a book appropriated to the consideration of the 
 afflictions of believers, is to show that afflictions 
 and chastisements are necessary to develop the 
 graces of the Spirit in the hearts of believers, 
 and to cause the precious fragrance thereof to go 
 abroad to bless and edify others, as well as ta 
 glorify God. 
 
 Upon the nature and significance of the sym- 
 bol, I remark, — 
 
 I. Gardens are usually selected ground for this 
 special purpose. 
 
 When a place for a garden is chosen the most 
 suitable in soil and location is selected. The 
 Scriptures teach that salvation is entirely of God^ 
 The first beginning of it originated in the great 
 loving heart of God. Man's acceptance of the 
 grace proffered in Jesus Christ brings him into a 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 153 
 
 saving relation to God. Hence it may be said of 
 each individual Christian, as it was said specially 
 to the apostles, "Ye have not chosen me, but I 
 have chosen you." We are Christians then — if 
 Christians at all — because our salvation originated 
 in God. And yet the relation, while originating 
 in God, is mutual ; for had we not accepted the 
 proffered hand of God we would yet be in our 
 sins. Hence it was said of Mary of Bethany, 
 " Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall 
 not be taken away from her." (Luke x. 42.) This 
 relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and 
 the believer is one of ^ure choice on the part of 
 each. God chooses us and we choose him. The 
 analogy of the symbol, as well as the general 
 teaching of the Scriptures, is in harmony with 
 this view. 
 
 In choosing and calling persons into his service 
 God sees not as man sees, for often the most de- 
 voted and useful Christians are made such out of 
 the most unpromising material. John Bunyan, 
 the author of the Pilgrim's Progress, is an illus- 
 tration. Prior to his conversion he was noted for 
 his ignorance, wickedness, and profanity, but 
 grace wrought a wonderful change in him, and 
 he became a devoted, pious, and eminently useful 
 Christian. 
 
154 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 The woman wedded to a king or a prince, 
 though humble and poor previous to her mar- 
 riage, at once rises to the position of her hus- 
 band. The fair peasant -girl who married an 
 emperior of Eussia became at once a sharer of 
 his dignity, palace, and crown. So when the 
 humble believer weds the Lord Jesus Christ he 
 becomes a sharer in his kinofdom and crown. 
 
 II. The place for a garden having been selected, 
 it is set apart for this special purpose by a hedge, 
 wall, or fence. 
 
 The orientals were accustomed to fence in their 
 gardens with hedges of prickly shrubs. Some- 
 times a stone wall was built around them, as was 
 the case with Gethsemane. This wall or hedge 
 was to mark the line of separation between the 
 place selected for a garden, upon which special 
 €are was to be bestowed, and the barren waste 
 outside, upon which no such special care was to 
 be given. Its object was to prevent intrusion by 
 «vil-disposed persons and by beasts and animals. 
 
 The church of God in all ages has been sepa- 
 rate and apart from the world. Such is God's 
 order. But this gracious and necessary arrange- 
 ment has not always been respected upon the 
 part of the church. She alone has suffered from 
 her guilty folly. The Scriptures teaching this 
 separation, this hedging in, are as follows : 
 
. CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 155 
 
 " The Lord hath s^t apart him that is godly for 
 himself." (Psalms iv. 12.) 
 
 "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a 
 spriog shut up, a fountain sealed." (Solomon's 
 Songs iv. 12.) 
 
 *' Come out from among them, and be ye sep- 
 arate." (II. Cor. vi. 17.) 
 
 What is true of the church in relation to this 
 separation from the world is true also of each 
 individual person composing it. It is all-impor- 
 tant, then, that the dividing - line between the 
 church and the world be plainly drawn and well 
 understood. Said Dr. Cuyler in his Heart-Life, 
 " Where does the dividing-line run between true 
 religion and the world ? We answer that it runs 
 just where God's word puts it; and a conscience 
 which is enlightened by the word and by prayer 
 does not commonly fail to discover it. Where 
 God is honored is the right side ; where God is 
 dishonored, or even ignored, is the wrong side. 
 Where Christ would be likely to go if he were 
 on earth, is the right side ; but where a Christian 
 would be ashamed to have his Master find him, 
 there he ought never to find himself." " Bear in 
 mind," said the same excellent author, " that 
 every jpure pleasure which an unconverted heart 
 can enjoy, such as the joys of home and of friend- 
 
156 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 ship, the love of letters, or art, the sight of beau- 
 ty, or the delight of relieving sorrow, all these 
 the Christian can have and enjoy likewise. They 
 are not sinful, and the child of God can partake 
 of them with a clear conscience. But just where 
 a Bible-conscience tells us to stojp, the license of 
 the world begins. The word of God draws that 
 dividing- line. Over that line lies the path of 
 self-indulgence. Over that line lies self-pamper- 
 ing, frivolity, slavery to fashion. Over that line 
 God is ignored and often defied ! Christ is wound- 
 ed there and often crucified afresh. Over that 
 line the follower of Jesus has no business to go ; 
 for if he goes at all he must go as a participant 
 in the pleasures of the world, or as a protestant 
 against them. If he goes to partake, he ofienda 
 Christ; if he goes to protest, he ofi[ends his ill- 
 chosen associates." 
 
 Says another excellent author : " Conformity to 
 the world implies resemblance to it; and when a 
 professed Christian begins to look like a world- 
 ling, and live like a worldling, how dwelleth the 
 love of God in him. There is a complete and 
 irreconcilable antagonism between what the Bible 
 calls 'the world' and the grace of Christ." 
 
 There is nothing which so effectually destroys 
 from the heart all true spirituality as worldliness 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 157 
 
 in spirit, life, and association. It brings leanness 
 upon the soul, and condemnation and death here- 
 after. The only effectual remedy for this evil is 
 that designated by the apostle in Komans xii. 1, 
 2 : " Be not conformed to this world : but be ye 
 transformed hy the renewing of your mindJ' If 
 Christ dwell in the soul in all the fullness it is 
 our privilege to have him dwell there, we will 
 have no desires for the frivolities and pleasures 
 of the world, nor for any pleasure or pursuit into 
 which we can not take Christ with us ; but will 
 heartily subscribe to the following sentiment : 
 
 " Oh, can I quit celestial good, 
 
 The growth of life's immortal tree, 
 And feed, instead of angel's food, 
 On earth's poor dust and vanity." 
 
 As another step in preparing a garden there 
 will be — 
 
 III. The breaking up of the soil, and its former 
 worthless productions destroyed. 
 
 In the preparation of the heart for the recep- 
 tion of divine grace, it must be broken up by the 
 plowshare of truth. This can be done only by 
 the Holy Spirit in the use of that truth. 
 
 As a thorough conviction of sin is necessary 
 to a th^ rough conversion, and a thorough con- 
 ve. 9.VIJ1 18 necessary to a decided, whole-hearted, 
 
158 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 and consistent following of Christ, as well as to 
 entrance into heaven at last, it is all-important 
 that conviction be thorough and radical. Said 
 Hutherford, " Many lay false and bastard founda- 
 tions, and they get Christ for as good as half 
 nothing, and never had a sick night of sorrow 
 for sin. This maketh loose work." 
 
 Says Cuyler : " Half-way converts make half- 
 way Christians. Some men's boughs hang on 
 the church-side of the wall, but their roots are on 
 the world's side. Such bear nothing but leaves. 
 * ^ * Unless conversion is radical and thorough, 
 unless the submission of the soul to Christ ia 
 without compromise and conditions, there will 
 be half-heartedness and halting to the last." 
 
 In regeneration the heart is renewed, and the 
 plants of sin are cut down and destroyed. These 
 plants are enumerated by the apostle in Galatians 
 V. 19-21, as follows : " Adultery, fornication, un- 
 cleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, ha- 
 tred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, 
 heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revel- 
 lings," etc. Truly a fearful crop to grow in a 
 human heart! These all flourish spontaneously, 
 and without cultivation and care, in the natural 
 heart, as weeds grow and flourish without culti- 
 vation in wild, neglected soil. They must be de- 
 
CLUSTEES FROM ESHCOL. 159 
 
 fitroyed from the heart before the plants of grace 
 can be made to grow and flourish therein. 
 
 TV, Gardens are intended to raise choice and 
 useful plants, which must be implanted therein. 
 
 In Solomon's Song in the same connection 
 from which the scripture I am illustrating is 
 taken, the fruits or productions of the garden of 
 the renewed heart are stated as '' an orchard of 
 pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, 
 with spikenard ; spikenard and saffron ; calamus 
 and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; 
 myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices." (Sol- 
 omon's Song iv. 13, 14.) These beautifu% rep- 
 resent the graces of the Holy Spirit in the hearts 
 of believers. They are stated by the apostle — in 
 Galatians v. 22, 23, — as follows: "Love, joy, 
 peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
 meekness, temperance," etc. 
 
 As spices are not native to oriental gardens, 
 but are planted therein, so the graces of the 
 Spirit are not natural to the human heart. They 
 do not spring forth spontaneously, but are among 
 the blessed results of regeneration. 
 
 Y. Constant care and attention are necessary to 
 cultivate and bring to perfection these implanted 
 fruits. 
 
 The Scriptures unmistakably teach that how- 
 
160 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 ever radical and thorough the work of regenera- 
 tion, there yet remains in the renewed heart a 
 corrupt principle, inherited from the first Adam, 
 the tendency of which is to sin. This principle 
 is variously termed in the Scriptures as '' the old 
 man," " the body of sin," " the carnal mind," and 
 " a root of bitterness." (See Romans vi. 6, viii. 7 ; 
 Hebrews xii. 15.) This evil principle, this remain- 
 ing root of bitterness, springs up and brings forth 
 fruit unto sin, unless carefully watched and kept 
 down. Hence the admonition of. the apostle in 
 the same connection. The developments from 
 this root are seen in the evil tempers so often 
 manifest in professed Christians, as pride, self- 
 will, self-esteem, coveteousness, etc. These must 
 be carefully guarded against ; and the root from 
 which they spring should be eradicated from the 
 Boil of the heart. This is entire sanctification. 
 The occasional cutting down of weeds as they 
 appear in our gardens, and hinder the growth of 
 the implanted fruits, is not the best way to de- 
 stroy them; they should be plucked up by the 
 roots and cast out. The provisions of the gospel 
 contemplate a remedy not less radical for the de- 
 struction of the weeds of sin which grow in the 
 garden of the heart. 
 
 " Tear from thy heart the poisonous weed 
 Of self and sin that's growing there ; 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 161 
 
 And plant, instead, celestial seed ; 
 And thus eternal fruitage bear. 
 
 *' Not by the wayside shall it grow ; 
 Not in a hard and rocky soil ; 
 But where it shall not fail to know 
 The cultivator's tears and toil." 
 
 VI. GardenSy to be vigorous and productive^ must 
 be well watered. 
 
 In oriental gardens streams and fountains of 
 waters are considered a necessity. One of the 
 advantages of Eden was its plentiful supply of 
 water. (Gen. iii. 10, 11.) In paradise regained, 
 as it appears in the apocalyptic vision, the Eiver 
 of Life, clear as crystal, prominently appears. 
 (Rev. xxii. 1, 2.) 
 
 In the garden of the soul this necessity of water- 
 ing is fully provided for. In it are '' a fountain, 
 a well of waters, and streams from Lebanon. (Sol- 
 omon's Song iv. 15.) These streams and fount- 
 ains beautifully represent God's Holy Spirit in 
 the hearts of believers. Said Jesus upon that 
 last great day of the feast at Jerusalem, ^' If any 
 man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He 
 that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, 
 out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 
 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that 
 believe on him should receive.") (John vii. 37-39.) 
 To the woman at Jacob's well he said, " Whoso- 
 11 
 
162 CLUSTEES FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 ever drinketli of this water shall thirst again : but 
 whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give 
 him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall 
 give him shall be in him a well of water spring- 
 ing up into everlasting life." (John iv. 13, 14.) 
 
 The importance of the Holy Spirit in the devel- 
 opment of the Christian graces can not be over- 
 estimated. Some of the strongest declarations 
 and most expressive symbols of the word of God 
 are employed to represent this fact. 
 
 " Ho ! ask of me, and I will give, 
 
 From my own life, thy life's supply; 
 
 I am the fount ; drink, drink, and live ; 
 
 No more to thirst, no more to die." 
 
 YII. The unobstructed rays of the sun are also 
 needed to develop the fruits of the garden. 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ is the sun in the moral 
 heavens. And as vegetation will not grow and 
 flourish to maturity without the rays of the sun, 
 so the plants in the Lord's garden can not flour- 
 ish and mature without this moral Sun. 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ is an examplar after 
 which we are to copy. To become daily more 
 like him we must be in constant intercourse with 
 him. It is communion with the person of Christ 
 that brings spiritual prosperity ; and the want of 
 this communion with a personal Christ brings 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 163 
 
 leanness and barrenness. Said an eminent writer, 
 " There are not a few who are so occupied with 
 truth that they forget ' the True One ; ' so occupied 
 with faith that they lose sight of its jpersonal 
 object; so given to dwelHng upon the work of 
 Christ that they overlook his person. They seem 
 to regard the latter as a matter, if not beyond 
 them, at least one about which it will be time 
 enough to concern themselves when they see him 
 face to face. What He is, seems a question of 
 small importance, provided they know that he 
 has accomplished a work by which they may 
 secure eternal life. They take little interest in 
 the person of Him who has purchased their bless- 
 ings. The redemption is all, and the Redeemer 
 is nothing — or. at least very little. The sufficiency 
 of the work is all; the glory and excellency ot 
 his person nothing. They get all the benefit they 
 can out of the work of Christ, and then leave 
 Christ himself alone. What is all this but selfish- 
 ness ? And this selfishness is a constant hinder- 
 ance to spiritual prosperity." In full knowledge 
 of this fact of the all-importance of daily inter- 
 course with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and of its absolute necessity to spiritual growth 
 and maturity, Satan interposes many obstacles 
 between the soul and Christ. It may be the love 
 
164 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 of tlie world, or of the creature, or of man's ap- 
 plause. Or it may be even religion itself, in 
 its round of ordinances, sacraments, and duties. 
 These, however right and proper, interpose be- 
 tween the soul and Christ, and become instru- 
 ments for exalting self and lowering the Savior. 
 (Bonar.) 
 
 Cultivate, then, daily intercourse and commun- 
 ion with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, if 
 you would grow in grace. Without it, the plants 
 of grace in the heart will become lean and tender 
 and wilted. 
 
 YIII. Oriental gardens are places of frequent 
 resort to those having access thereto. 
 
 It was probably in the splendid hanging-garden 
 which E^ebuchadnezzar built that he was walking 
 when, in the pride of his heart, he exclaimed, 
 " Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for 
 the house of the kingdom by the might of my 
 power, and for the honor of my majesty?" (Dan- 
 iel iv. 30.) 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly gardener, 
 IS represented in his word as often visiting, yea, 
 as dwelling in the heart of the pure and holy. 
 That he takes great delight in the precious fruits 
 which their hearts produce is also well estab- 
 lished. In all the relations in which he is repre- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 165 
 
 Bented as sustaining to the believer — whether of 
 the Shepherd, or the Vine, or the Husbandman, 
 or the Husband, — the expressions of his love to 
 his people are strong and tender, — stronger even 
 than theirs to him. 
 
 Says the happy believer in the connection which 
 I am elucidating, "Let my beloved come into his 
 garden, and eat his pleasant fruits." . To this he 
 replies, "I am come into my garden, my sister, 
 my spouse : I have gathered my myrrh with my 
 spice." Again he says, "I went down into the 
 garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and 
 to see whether the vine flourished, and the pome- 
 granates budded." 
 
 The bride again speaks, and says, " My beloved 
 is gone down into his garden, to the beds of 
 epices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies." 
 
 Again she speaks unto her companions and 
 says, " "While the King sitteth at his table, my 
 spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. . . . 
 My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire 
 in the vineyards of En-gedi." 
 
 Says Jesus to his bride, " I am the rose of Sha- 
 ron, and the lily of the valleys." 
 
 The bride responds, "As the lily among thorns, 
 80 is my love among the daughters. As the apple- 
 -tree among the trees of the wood, so is my be- 
 
166 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 loved among the sons. I sat down under his 
 shadow with great delight, and his fruit was 
 sweet to my taste." 
 
 Again the heavenly Bridegroom speaks, " Come 
 with me from Lehanon, my spouse, with me from 
 Lebanon : look from the top of Amana, from the 
 top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, 
 from the mountains of the leopards. Thou hast 
 ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse ; thou 
 hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, 
 with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy 
 love, my sister, my spouse ! how much better is 
 thy love than wine ! and the smell of thine oint- 
 ments than all spices ! Thy lips, my spouse, 
 drop as the" honey-comb : honey and milk are 
 under thy tongue ; and the smell of thy garments 
 is like the smell of Lebanon." 
 
 This is precious language, indeed; and those 
 who walk in close intimacy with Jesus will have 
 no difficulty in understanding it. But again : 
 
 LK. Gardens are designed to he useful as well 
 as ornamental. Though hedged about to prevent 
 intrusion, the precious fruits and spices thereof 
 send forth their fragrance to benefit others. It is 
 said that in the countries where spices are culti- 
 vated the sweet fragrance thereof is carried by 
 the winds to a considerable distance. So there 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 167 
 
 are some Christians who bring forth the fraits of 
 the Holy Spirit so abundantly that they fill the 
 air with their fragrance, as orchards in October 
 fill the air with the perfume of ripe fruit. 
 
 God intends that his children, while being hap- 
 py in his service, should, by their spirit, temper, 
 and lives, shed forth a precious fragrance to bene- 
 fit and bless others. Gloom and melancholy are 
 not their portion. " The lines are fallen unto us 
 in jpleasant places." Said one, " We need not 
 hide our peace any more than we should hide our 
 <3ross. Let the world see both, and learn how 
 well they agree together." Says one, " When the 
 winds blow upon the cinnamon-bushes, it is from 
 the hushes themselves that the odors flow out. The 
 softest zephyrs can not draw fragrance from a 
 pig-weed. The Holy Spirit may waft odors from 
 a true Christian life ; but the Christian must do the 
 living. Dead trees yield no spices. >k ?}: ^ The 
 measure of a Christian's power is the measure of 
 that Christian's piety. Grace must be in the soul 
 before it can come out of the soul. * ^ * As 
 long as any member of Christ's church lives a 
 hollow life of mere profession ; as long as he aims 
 to please himself and not his Savior; as long as 
 he is grasping and self-seeking and self-indulgent 
 and coveteous and a lover of pleasure more than 
 
168 CLUSTEBS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 a lover of God ; so long the professed cinnamon- 
 bush is not a whit better than the Canada thistle. 
 A church full of such professors, whatever their 
 creed, is only a patch of weeds." But even in 
 genuine Christians there are latent graces, which 
 require to be drawn forth. The delicious odors 
 of grace may lie unexercised and undeveloped; 
 and sonie wind of adversity, some sore trial, is 
 needed to develop those odors. Hence the prayer 
 of my text, — " Awake, north wind ; and come, 
 thou south ; blow upon my garden, that the spices 
 thereof may flow out." 
 
 There are two winds mentioned in this script- 
 ure. God may send either or both, as seemeth 
 unto him good. I, will consider them separately. 
 There is — 
 
 1. The south wind. 
 
 The wind from the south is always soft, gentle, 
 and warm. It may represent the calm, peaceful 
 influences of the Holy Spirit filling, and at times 
 overflowing the hearts of believers. Or it may 
 represent the lighter and ordinary trials to which 
 all Christians are constantly liable. These ta 
 some extent develop the spirit of the inner life of 
 the believer, and by them he may glorify God 
 and benefit his fellow-men. 
 
 We have then, also, — 
 
 2. The winds from the north. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 169 
 
 The winds from the north are always fierce, 
 boisterous, and cold. They clearly symbolize 
 ifflictions and trials of more than an ordinary 
 jharacter. 
 
 It is these northern blasts which more fully 
 ievelop Christian character. Then there are some 
 graces which can be developed only in affliction, 
 — patience being one of them. Said Dr. Cuyler, 
 " Sometimes God sends severe blasts of trial upon 
 his children, to develop their graces. Just as 
 torches burn most brightly when swung violently 
 to and fro; just as the juniper-plant smells sweet- 
 est when flung into the flames ; so the richest 
 qualities of a Christian often come out under the 
 north wind of suffering and adversity. Bruised 
 hearts often emit the fragrance that God loveth 
 to smell. Almost every true believer's experience 
 contains the record of trials which were sent for 
 the purpose of shaking the spice-treeJ' 
 
 *' Who bears a cross prays oft and well ; 
 Bruised herbs send forth the sweetest smell; 
 Were plants ne'er tossed by strong wind, 
 The fragrant spices who would find ?" 
 
 The history of the church abounds with in- 
 stances of eminent saints under affliction, whose 
 patient, uncomplaining, and often happy submis- 
 sion has done more to magnify the grace of God 
 
170 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 than all the labors of their previous lives. The 
 spirit and conduct of Abraham, of Moses, of Jos- 
 eph, of Job, of David, of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, of 
 St. Paul, of Bunyan, of Wesley, and numerous 
 others under afflictions, trials, and persecutions, 
 have gone out to the ends of the earth to glorify 
 God and to encourage other afflicted and tried 
 ones. Had their lives been spent in active service 
 only, and not at times under severe trials and 
 chastisements, the fragrance of the graces they 
 emitted would not have been spread so widely. 
 Then how much does the church owe, for its best 
 and most useful literature, to its afflicted chil- 
 dren. It seems that some of our best devotional 
 books, as well as some of our best and most en- 
 during hymns, were prepared in the room of 
 affliction. A few instances will be cited. 
 
 John Bunyan was locked up in Bedford jail for 
 twelve years, by that royal scoffer Charles II. 
 He could not, as previously, preach to the listen- 
 ing thousands who attended his ministry; but in 
 the quiet and retirement of his cell he wrote the 
 Pilgrim's Progress, a book which for usefulness 
 stands next to the Bible. Bunyan was deprived the 
 privilege of preaching for a period of twelve years; 
 he has been preaching for centuries by his writ- 
 ings, and will continue to preach by the same 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 171 
 
 means until the end of time. Bichard Baxter, in 
 tlie furnace of affliction, was led to look away 
 from earth to heaven, and sung so sweetly of its 
 joys and sweet rest that the odors thereof yet 
 survive to bless and encourage God's afflicted 
 saints. 
 
 In the time of Queen Elizabeth a prisoner was 
 shut up in the dreary old tower of London. He, 
 too, caught a vision of the better country, and 
 composed that hymn which will survive until the 
 Lord shall come, — 
 
 " Jerusalem, my happy home, 
 When shall I come to thee ? 
 When shall my sorrows have an end. 
 Thy joys when shall I see? " 
 
 A Presbyterian clergymen in N^ew Orleans once 
 called to visit a young Scotchman who was lying 
 very ill. The young stranger paid but little at- 
 tention to what was said to him about his soul. 
 During one of his visits the minister began to 
 hum over to himself the lines, " Jerusalem, my 
 happy home." The youth burst into tears, and 
 exclaimed, " I used to hear my mother sing those 
 lines when I was a child." His heart was melted, 
 and he received the truth with penitence and joy. 
 The sweet odors from the dreary tower of Lon- 
 don reached down the ages to this poor wanderer 
 in a strange land. 
 
172 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Sarah F. Flower, afterward married to Wil- 
 liam B. Adams, in a season of peculiar trial wrote 
 that inimitable hymn, ^'I^earer, my God, to Thee." 
 It is a favorite with all of God's scattered and 
 suffering flock ; and it, too, will live until the end 
 of time. Professor Smith says that Hitchcock 
 and Park, as they wound their way down the' 
 foot-hills of Mount Lebanon, came in sight of a 
 group of fifty Syrian students, standing in a line, 
 singing in full chorus. They were students of 
 the new college of Beirut, at Abieh, and they 
 were singing in Arabic to the air of " Bethany." 
 As the professors drew nearer they caught the 
 sublime words, — 
 
 ** Nearer, my God, to thee; 
 
 Nearer to thee ; 
 E'en though it be a cross 
 
 That raiseth me, 
 Still all my song shall be, 
 
 Nearer, my God, to thee, 
 
 Nearer to thee." 
 
 Surely in the case of the gifted writer of this 
 beautiful hymn, the rough wind of affliction waft- 
 ed the odors from her pious heart to a great dis- 
 tance. 
 
 Then there are the productions of that prince 
 of sacred poets, — Cowper. The church but little 
 knows the severity of the affliction under which 
 lie wrote the two h3^mns commencing as follows: 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 173 
 
 " There is a fountain filled with blood, 
 Drawn from Immanuel's veins; 
 And sinners plunged beneath that flood 
 Lose all their guilty stains." 
 
 , And, — 
 
 " God moves in a mysterious way, 
 His wonders to perform ; 
 He plants his footsteps in the sea, 
 And rides upon the storm^" 
 
 Dr. Doddridge, the eminent scholar and writer, 
 was afflicted in a similar manner to Cowper. 
 The north winds of affliction in his case, as in 
 that of Cowper and others, caused the fragrance 
 from the Lord's garden to be wafted very far off, 
 to cheer and comfort the hearts of God's saints. 
 
 Instances like the foregoing might be given 
 without number; but let these suffice. They 
 demonstrate the fact we wish to make prominent 
 in this chapter. 
 
 It will be seen, then, that while in other chap- 
 ters in this book we have shown the beneficial 
 results of affliction to the afflicted believer him- 
 self, in this chapter, and under the similitude of 
 the scripture we are considering, the benefits of 
 affliction to others is our main object. Times of 
 affliction are the believer's best opportunities for 
 glorifying God. Patient, uncomplaining submis- 
 sion, or joyful acceptance of the affliction, which 
 it is our privilege to attain unto, will do more to 
 
174 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 promote the divine glory, by magnifying God's 
 grace in its power to save, to sustain, to deliver, 
 and to lift above the pain and depression incident 
 to severe affliction, than all the active service we 
 can possibly render in health and prosperity. To 
 be tossed by tempests and severe storms, and yet 
 cleaving fast to God; to be in a condition of 
 severe suffering, and yet calm, peaceful, and even 
 joyful, — this brings more glory to God than all 
 else we can do. 
 
 Says the pious Bonar, " Angels can glorify God 
 much in heaven amidst its glory and blessedness; 
 but oh, not half so much as we can do on earth 
 amid suffering and shame." 
 
 Says Macduff, "In affliction you can glorify 
 God in a way angels can not do in a world where 
 no trial is. They can glorify God only with the 
 crown; you can glorify him with the cross, and 
 the prospect of the crown together." 
 
 But it is sanctified affliction only which brings 
 the precious results we have stated. If God's 
 chastenings are not willingly accepted and pa- 
 tiently borne they will tend neither to our own 
 advantage nor to the good of others. Let all, 
 then, who are passing through seasons of severe 
 affliction see well to it that they do not fail to 
 secure a larger share of "the peaceable fruits of 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 175 
 
 righteousness," a more advanced degree of God's 
 holiness, which they are intended to produce, as 
 well as grace to exemplify the patience, submis- 
 sion, and even joyful acceptance of trials, by 
 which God is glorified and others benefited. 
 
 Dear afflicted saint, art thou called to suffer 
 long and severely upon the bed of languishing, 
 and have wearisome days and sleepless nights 
 been " appointed " to thee ? Have thy worldly 
 possessions, upon which perhaps thou wert lean- 
 ing too strongly for thy soul's good, been swept 
 away from thee by the devouring fire, or the 
 wickedness or frailty of thy fellow-men ? Or has 
 the light of thine eyes, the desire of thy heart, 
 gone to the grave, no more to be seen until Jesus 
 comes and brings all his loved ones with him, 
 turning thy earthly home into a wilderness, lest 
 its joys and blessed associations should steal away 
 thy heart from the house of many mansions in 
 the skies? Has prop after prop of the earthly 
 scaffolding, upon which thou hast been relying, 
 been forced to totter and fall, leaving thee to 
 learn that the peace of the world will suffice only 
 for days of health and prosperity, but is utterly 
 inadequate in the hour of adversity? These are 
 some of the rods which our heavenly Father is 
 laying upon us. They have been familiar to the 
 
176 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 saints in every age. The path of suffering and 
 sorrow is not an unfrequented way. All God's 
 saints in every age have trodden it. Their foot- 
 steps can yet be seen. "Do not look, then, for a 
 situation without crosses. Be not anxious about 
 * smooth paths,' immoderate earthly enjoyments, 
 unbroken earthly prosperity. Write upon them, 
 ^BewareJ You may live to see them become 
 your greatest trials." God loves us too much to 
 permit us to have an unbroken sunshine upon 
 our earthly life. His chastisements may seem to 
 speak of wrath; but they are all of love. The 
 rod of wrath is never used upon his children ; it 
 is reserved for incorrigible sinners only, and then 
 but sparingly. Oh, how it sweetens," said one, 
 " all Our blessings, and alleviates all our sorrows, 
 to regard both as emanations from a loving Fa- 
 ther's hand." 
 
 But will God permit his children to suffer un- 
 necessarily, or any severer, or longer than the 
 object he has in view may require ? " He know- 
 eth our frame ; he remembereth that we are dust." 
 " He stayeth his rough wind in the day of the 
 east-wind." He has said, " I will not contend for- 
 ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the 
 spirit should fail before me, and the souls which 
 I have made." (Isaiah Ivii. 16.) 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 177 
 
 My reader, are you, with the writer, drinking 
 affliction's bitter cup ? Have the north-winds of 
 adversity been let loose upon thee? Then thy 
 God contemplates some greater good, some more 
 advanced state of grace for thee. Or, perhaps, 
 the sphere of thy usefulness heretofore has been 
 too limited, and God intends, by these cold winds, 
 to enlarge it. Be not then afraid of the cold 
 blasts which beat upon thee. Thou as much 
 needest the sharp blasts of trial to develop thy 
 graces, as thou needest the south- wind of love and 
 mercy to foster and increase them. Canst thou 
 not, then, respond to the invocation of our text 
 and say, — " Awake, north wind ; and come, 
 thou south ; blow upon my garden, that the spices 
 thereof may flow out." 
 
 I will close this chapter with the following ob- 
 servations : 
 
 (1.) God's sovereignty, or right to use his chil- 
 dren so as to promote his glory and lead others 
 unto himself, is absolute and unquestioned. 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ is the world's only hope. 
 He is yet on trial before the children of men, and 
 his professed friends are his representatives. The 
 world will judge of Christ and his religion by 
 what they see in the spirit, conduct, and lives of 
 his professed friends. Hence Jesus says, " Ye are 
 
 12 
 
178 . CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 my witnesses ! " If, then, God can be glorified 
 and souls be saved by subjecting believers to cir- 
 cumstances of trial and affliction, in wbich the 
 advantages of religion and the preciousness of its 
 graces are manifested, it is his indisputable right 
 so to do. Believers thus used to promote the 
 divine glory, and the welfare of their fellow-men, 
 should count it an honor. 
 
 . (2.) Every individual who takes upon him a 
 profession of religion is under obligations to so 
 avail himself of the provisions of grace as to 
 have them do for him all they possibly can, that 
 he thereby may be the better able to glorify God 
 and benefit his fellow-men. He should also be 
 willing to undergo any course of discipline, how- 
 ever severe and afflictive, which tends to the re- 
 sults stated. . . 
 
 (3.) How inexpressibly precious must that 
 grace be which can accomplish results so great, so 
 grand, and fraught with interests extending into 
 all future time and eternity. 
 
 Consider the symbols employed in the Script- 
 ures to represent man's moral state without grace. 
 A diseased body from the crown of the head to 
 the sole of the foot (Isa. i. 6.) ; a body dead, and 
 in a state of corruption (Eph. v. 4.) ; a cage filled 
 with unclean birds (Jer. v. 27.) ; a fountain send- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 179 
 
 ing forth all manner of uncleanness and impurity 
 (Mark vii. 21-23.) ; a blasted, cursed soil, bearing 
 only pernicious and deadly weeds (Gal. v. 19-21). 
 Consider then the symbol used to represent that 
 same heart, under the influence of God's Holy 
 Spirit, — a garden, producing the precious and fra- 
 grant spices already enumerated, sending forth 
 their fragrance to bless and save others. Consider 
 all this, in connection with the great events of. 
 the interminable future, for which the process of 
 discipline, by the methods we have stated, are 
 but preparatory ; and then weigh against this the 
 comparative fewness of thy trials, the lightness 
 thereof as compared with those of the Savior 
 and some of his followers in other ages, and the 
 shortness of time in which they are to be endured 
 as compared with the eternity of bliss beyond; 
 and then decide whether or not trials and afflic- 
 tions are blessings rather than evils. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A ROYAL SUFFERER. 
 
 " But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit 
 done unto him." (II. Chron. xxxii. 25.) 
 
 In considering the spirit and conduct of the 
 Old Testament saints as examples of patience 
 under affliction, as directed by the Apostle James 
 (v. 10.), we have learned that while those eminent 
 men possessed much of the grace of patient sub- 
 mission, they also exhibited much dejection and 
 other evidences of human weakness under suffer- 
 ing. The circumstances connected with the case 
 of Hezekiah, king of Judah, his weakness under 
 affliction, his restoration in answer to prayer, and 
 his subsequent inconsistences, are given with so 
 much minuteness in the Scriptures as to suggest 
 the propriety of devoting a chapter to a further 
 consideration thereof. 
 
 In order that we may have all the facts con- 
 nected with the case of this eminent servant of 
 God, a careful perusal of the following scriptures 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 181 
 
 is necessary : II. Kings xx.; II. Chron. xxxii. 24, 
 25; Isa. xxxviii. 
 
 "We quote from II. Kings as follows : "In those 
 days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the 
 Prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, 
 and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine 
 house in order ; for thou shalt die, and not live. 
 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed 
 unto the Lord, saying, I heseech thee, Lord, 
 remember now how I have walked before thee in 
 truth and with a perfect heart, and have done 
 that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah 
 wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was 
 gone out into the middle court, that the word of 
 the Lord came to him, saying. Turn again, and 
 tell Hezekiah the captain of my people. Thus 
 saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I 
 have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears : be- 
 hold, I will heal thee : on the third day thou shalt 
 go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will 
 add unto thy days fifteen years ; and I will de- 
 liver thee and this city out of the hand of the 
 king of Assyria ; and I will defend this city for 
 mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 
 And Isaiah said. Take a lump of figs. And they 
 took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. 
 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah. What sV>oll r.-< 
 
182 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I 
 shall go up into the house of the Lord the third 
 day ? And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have 
 of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that 
 he hath spoken : shall the shadow go forward ten 
 degrees, or go back ten degrees ? And Hezekiah 
 answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go 
 down ten degrees : nay, but let the shadow return 
 backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet 
 cried unto the Lord : and he brought the shadow 
 ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down 
 in the dial of Ahaz." 
 
 We call attention to the following facts con- 
 nected with this case : 
 
 I. Good and useful men, in the height of their 
 usefulness, and at a time when, according to hu- 
 man judgment, their life and presence are indis- 
 pensable to the success of the particular work in 
 which they are engaged, are not exempt from 
 disabling afflictions and death. Hezekiah was to 
 the Jewish people what Luther was to the Chris- 
 tian church and people of the sixteenth century. 
 He was evidently one of those chosen instru- 
 ments of God who appear at times upon the arena 
 of human life for the accomplishment of some 
 great work. His special mission was to reform 
 the evils which Ahab and others of his wicked 
 
 -==_i^'' 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 183 
 
 predecessors' had introduced into the Jewish wor- 
 ship. For a full account of his piety, his zeal 
 for true religion, his labors to reform the idola- 
 trous practices of the nation, to re-establish the 
 pure worship of Jehovah, and to save the people 
 from their powerful eneniies, — the Assyrians, who 
 were at that time invadiDg the land, and threat- 
 'ening Jerusalem itself, — see II. Kings xviii., xix., 
 II. Chron. xxix., xxxii., and Isa. xxxvi. 
 
 And now, right in the midst of his usefulness, 
 and when his presence and authority seemed so 
 necessary to complete the good work in which he 
 was engaged, he was visited by sore affliction, 
 «ven unto death. Strange, indeed, are the provi- 
 dences of God. How many men have been 
 taken from the ministry in the height of their 
 usefulness, while others whose inefficiency and 
 v^ant of consecration, rendering them hinderan- 
 ces rather than helpers, are left to cumber the 
 ground? 
 
 "We learn from this that no one, however use- 
 ful, is indispensable to God ; and that though his 
 workmen may be laid aside or removed by death, 
 Tiis work will still be carried forward by others, 
 vrhom he will call to his service. 
 
 II. The approach of death does not find every 
 good man fully prepared. 
 
184 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 It sometimes occurs that God's laborers are so 
 intent upon the work that their own hearts are 
 neglected. Working more than thej pray, as 
 did the church at Thyatira (Rev. iii. 19.), or car- 
 ing for the Lord's vineyard while their own is 
 neglected, as is stated in Solomon's Songs, i. 6, is 
 sure to entail spiritual leanness. Real heart-piety, 
 while developing its life and vigor in active, ear- 
 nest Christian labor, is best promoted by closet 
 duties, — as self-examination, Bible-reading, and 
 secret prayer. These duties are often crowded 
 out into a small space by men actively engaged 
 in religious as well as in secular work. In all such 
 cases the unexpected approach of death, as in the 
 case of Hezekiah, requires a further setting of 
 the house in order, a closer heart-examination, a. 
 more unreserved commital to God, and a clearer 
 apprehension of his favor. Then it is that, like 
 the good man whose conduct we are considering, 
 they turn their faces to the wall, weep over their 
 neglect, and call upon God for mercy. And then 
 it is, too, that they call to their bedside some 
 faithful Isaiah to intercede for them. 
 
 The reflections of Hezekiah in his distress are 
 given by his compeer and fellow-laborer, Isaiah 
 (Isa. xxxviii. 9-22). They are the reflections of a 
 man looking into the open grave, and not up into 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 185 
 
 heaven as did St. Paul just before his execution 
 (Titus iv. 6-8). The latter had his work all well 
 done, and his house fully in order. Hence his joy- 
 ful readiness to depart. The former was called 
 to face death unexpectedly, and while his house 
 was somewhat in disorder. Hence his confusion. 
 "We learn from this the necessity of looking well 
 to our own hearts, lest we, too, meet with a simi- 
 lar surprise. 
 
 III. The solemn retrospect which, if the men- 
 tal state does not preclude, is sure to come at the 
 approach of death. 
 
 The Savior himself when approaching the pe- 
 riod of his death, looked hack over his earthly 
 life, as well as to the future, and exclaimed, " I 
 have glorified thee on the earth : I have finished 
 the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, 
 Father, glorify thou me with thine own self 
 with the glory which I had with thee before the 
 world was." (John xvii. 4, 5.) 
 
 St. Paul — in what is probably his last written 
 words — said to Timothy (II. Timothy iv. 6-8.), 
 " I am now ready to be ofi:ered, and the time of 
 my departure is at hand. I have fought a good 
 fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the 
 faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
 of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
 
186 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Judge, shall give me at that. day : and not to me 
 only, but unto all them also that love his appear- 
 ing-" 
 
 Hezekiah's retrospect was; "I beseech thee, 
 
 Lord, remember now how I have walked before 
 thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have 
 done that which is good in thy sight." (II. Kings 
 XX. 3.) 
 
 His prospect has been given already, as previ- 
 ously quoted. It was written by himself, though 
 recorded in the sacred annals by Isaiah. Had his 
 illness terminated in his death, as was expected, 
 doubtless his victory over all his fears would have 
 speedily followed his prayers and tears. 
 
 It will be observed that each of these persons, 
 while recalling their past labors in the cause of 
 God with evident pleasure and comfort, did not 
 urge them as the ground of their hopes for the 
 future. They looked for their reward as a gift 
 rather than as the price of their work. ''The 
 wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal 
 lifer 
 
 All men will at the approach of death — unless 
 their mental state is such as to preclude it — have 
 this solemn retrospect and prospect. Then, if 
 never before, will their judgment upon their past 
 actions be honest and sincere. To the devoted 
 
CLU&TERS FROM ESHCOL. 187 
 
 and faithful it will be the source of untold com- 
 fort. To the unfaithful and unconsecrated it will 
 be the occasion of deep self-condemnation and 
 penitence. To the wicked it will cause unuttera- 
 ble confusion and remorse. Oh, at that moment- 
 ous hour to be able to say with the Savior, "i" 
 have finished the work which thou gavest me to do^^ 
 or with St. Paul, '''-I have finished my course^^ will 
 occasion more comfort than if we had the uni- 
 verse at our disposal. 
 
 " How pleasant 'tis, when life is run, 
 
 And never more our steps shall roam, 
 To say with joy, our work is done, 
 And we are going home. 
 
 " How pleasant 'tis, our sorrows past, 
 
 With better, brighter worlds in view. 
 To give one parting look, the last, 
 And say with joy, Adieuy 
 
 TV. The resort of the righteous, at the ap- 
 proach of death. 
 
 St. James says, " Is any among you afflicted ? 
 let him pray." Desiring to be undisturbed by the 
 world, from which he was about to be separated, 
 Hezekiah " turned his face to the wall and pray- 
 ed." And, as is the case everywhere under such 
 circumstances, other good men came to his bed- 
 side to sympathize and pray with him. United 
 in their labors for the reformation of the people, 
 
188 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 and in their prayers for deliverance from their 
 enemies (11. Chron. xxxii. 20.), Isaiah and Heze- 
 kiah now conjointly called upon God for the life 
 of the latter. God heard and regarded their cries^ 
 and the king's life was prolonged. . 
 
 y. Notwithstanding Hezekiah's life was spar- 
 ed in answer to prayer, the proper means must 
 still be used. 
 
 By Isaiah's direction figs were applied to Heze- 
 kiah's boil, which occasioned his illness. God 
 sometimes works independently of means; but 
 usually in connection with them. We have no 
 warrant in the Scriptures to expect divine inter- 
 position while the necessary means are unem- 
 ployed. " God is a very present help in trouble." 
 This promise of divine assistance does not super- 
 sede the necessity to help ourselves. To neglect 
 the usual means, expecting God to interpose mi- 
 raculously, is presumption. 
 
 VI. Hezekiah, like many others, betrayed his 
 incredulity and unbelief. 
 
 When Isaiah informed him that he was about 
 to die he accepted the statement, and set about 
 the work of preparation. When, by God's direc- 
 tion, the prophet informed him that his life would 
 be prolonged he refused to believe it, and desired 
 some sign to confirm the statement. Strange 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 189 
 
 weakness of human nature ! It is a peculiarity 
 as universal as the race. Said Hezekiah, " What 
 shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me?" 
 ** What sign shewest thou that we may see and 
 believe?" said the quibbling Pharisees to Jesus. 
 God is worthy to be believed upon his own verac- 
 ity, without signs and pledges in confirmation of 
 his word. 'No greater insult could be offered to 
 any one than to question his veracity ; yet even 
 good men — like Hezekiah — are guilty of this 
 crime against God. 
 
 VII. Under peculiar circumstances, like those 
 under which Hezekiah was placed, God some- 
 times condescends to gratify even the weaknesses 
 of his servants. He made the shadow go back- 
 ward ten degrees upon the dial of Ahaz, as de- 
 manded by the king. 
 
 For an account of a similar condescension to 
 satisfy the credulity of another eminent servant 
 of God, see Judges vi. 36-40. 
 
 YIII. The resort of the righteous when raised 
 up from a bed of affliction. 
 
 Hezekiah went up to the house of God on the 
 third day thereafter, to render public thanksgiv- 
 ing to God for his restoration. It is right and 
 proper that God's merciful deliverances should be 
 pu^Mly and formally acknowledged; and the 
 
190 CLUSTEKS FKOM ESHCOL, 
 
 house of God is the proper place to make such 
 acknowledgment. 
 
 IX. Persons restored to health from severe 
 affliction sometimes are guilty of great indiscre- 
 tion. 
 
 The king of Bahylon sent messengers with a 
 present and congratulations to Hezekiah upon his 
 recovery, when he very imprudently showed them 
 the rich contents of his treasure-house. For this 
 indiscretion the land was afterward invaded, and 
 the people and their treasures were carried cap- 
 tive into Babylon. (II. Kings xx. 12^1 8.) 
 
 X. Yows and resolutions made in affliction 
 and at the supposed approach of death are not 
 always kept after restoration to health. In II. 
 Chronicles xxxii. 25 it is recorded, " But Heze- 
 kiah rendered not again according to the benefit 
 done unto him ; for his heart was lifted up : there- 
 fore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah 
 and Jerusalem." 
 
 XI. Notwithstanding all the weakness betray- 
 ed by Hezekiah during and after his affliction, he 
 finally died in peace and honor, and now rests 
 with his fathers. (II. Kings xx. 21.) 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 god's PROVIDENTIAIi CARE OF HIS PEOPLE. 
 
 " The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears 
 are open unto their prayers." (I. Peter iii. 12.) 
 
 The Scriptures abound with assurances of God's 
 fatherly compassion and care for his children 
 under all the circumstances of trial and want and 
 danger through which they are called to pass in 
 this life. These assurances are usually clothed in 
 language and metaphor of the most tender and 
 expressive character, evidently for the purpose of 
 impressing us with the minuteness of that atten- 
 tion and the unfailing constancy of his love. 
 
 Having considered, under appropriate heads, 
 many of the scriptures which relate to the per- 
 sonal and bodily afflictions of believers, it seems 
 right and proper to devote a chapter to the con- 
 sideration of some of those which relate more 
 especially to God's providential dealings with his 
 children. This class of scriptures is so large 
 and varied, embracing almost every exigency 
 
192 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 which can befall the Christian, that it will be 
 necessary to utilize them in the following sum- 
 mary manner : 
 
 I. There is a class of scriptural promises and 
 assurances which are to be understood as condi- 
 tional; that is to say, their fulfillment may not 
 always be in the precise manner we might expect, 
 or that the phraseology in which they are clothed 
 would lead us to anticipate. 
 
 The following are of this class : 
 
 " Thou shalt preserve me from trouble ; thou 
 ehalt compass me about with songs of deliver- 
 ance." (Psalms xxxii. 7.) 
 
 " Call upon me in the day of trouble : I will 
 deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." (Psalms 
 1. 15.) 
 
 "He shall deliver thee from the snare of the 
 fowler, and from the noisome pestilence." " A 
 thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand 
 at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh 
 thee." " There shall no evil befall thee, neither 
 ehall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." (Ps. 
 xci. 3, 7, 10.) 
 
 These scriptures, and all others of a similar 
 character, promising exemption from trouble, af- 
 fliction, or prevailing epidemic, are conditional to 
 the will of God) for it is a fact that the righteous 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 193 
 
 have many and severe trials, meet with the acci- 
 dents usual to this life, and fall a prey to epidem- 
 ics, as well as the wicked. Joh and David and 
 Jeremiah and Daniel and the apostles were all 
 good men, and yet they were sorely afflicted, per- 
 secuted, and tried. The fact taught in these 
 scriptures is, that in all cases of affliction or trial 
 the righteous have the advantage over the wicked, 
 that when it will be for the greater good of the 
 individual to be exempted he shall have exemp- 
 tion ; and when his best interests can be best pro- 
 moted by suffering for a time, suffering will be 
 permitted, but overruled in the end for his eter- 
 nal gain. In either case, it is the greatest good of 
 the individual that determines the question of suf- 
 fering or exemption. "Were it not so, and were 
 these promises of Grod absolute and uncondi- 
 tional, the Christian would fail to receive the rich 
 blessings which only -come through affliction. In- 
 finite love and wisdom, securing us against error 
 or loss or undue suffering, holds our destiny. 
 Under all circumstances, then, however threaten- 
 ing the storm, however afflicting the providence, 
 however severe the epidemic, we have the assur- 
 ance that God's eye of compassion is upon us, 
 and his providence orders and controls every- 
 thing relating to us. The word chance is not 
 found in God's vocabulary. 13 
 
194 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 " O God, thou knowest what is best ; 
 And as my weakness can not see 
 What things will make my spirit blest, 
 Help me to leave my choice with thee^ 
 
 II. There are promises which are absolute, as, — 
 
 " The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppress- 
 ed, a refuge in Crimes of trouble." (Psalms ix. 9.) 
 
 " In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his 
 pavilion : in the secret of his tabernacle shall he 
 hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock." (Ps, 
 xxvii. 5.) 
 
 " Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy 
 presence from the pride of man : thou shalt keep 
 them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of 
 tongues." (Psalms xxxi. 20.) 
 
 " The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: 
 he is their strength in the time of trouble." (Ps. 
 xxxvii. 39.) 
 
 " Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall 
 sustain thee : he shall never suffer the righteous 
 to be moved." (Psalms Iv. 22.) 
 
 " He shall cover thee with his feathers, and 
 under his wings shalt thou trust." "He shall 
 give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in 
 all thy ways." " He shall call upon me, and I 
 will answer him : I will be with him in trouble ; I 
 I will deliver him, and honor him. "(Ps.alms xci. 
 4, 11, 15.) 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 195 
 
 "He giveth power to the faint; and to them 
 that have no might he increaseth strength." (Isa. 
 xl. 29.) 
 
 " The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of 
 trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him." 
 (JSTahum i. 7.) 
 
 " As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, 
 so the Lord is round about his people from hence- 
 forth even forever." (Psalms cxxv. 2.) 
 
 These passages, with all others of a similar 
 character, are absolute; and their fulfillment in 
 every case may be relied upon. They are like so 
 many checks upon the divine fullness, which we 
 may present at any time in full confidentje that 
 they will be promptly honored. These absolute 
 promises differ from those of a conditional char- 
 acter in this, that the thing specially promised 
 shall be given. In the former, God reserves the 
 right to decide what will be best for us. An emi- 
 nent writer remarks that if we ask God for silver, 
 and silver is not given, it will be gold ; if we ask 
 for gold, and gold is withheld, God will give us 
 diamonds. He is always as good as his promises, 
 and often still better. 
 
 III. God's fatherly concern for his children 
 expressed by symbols. 
 
 "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the 
 
196 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he know- 
 eth our frame ; he remembereth that we are dust." 
 (Psalms ciii. 13, 14.) 
 
 ^' I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be 
 my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Al- 
 mighty." (II. Cor. vi. 18.) 
 
 . " Can a woman forget her sucking child, that 
 she should not have compassion on the son of 
 h^r womb ? yea, they may forget, yet will I not 
 forget thee." (Isa. xlix. 15.) 
 
 Traveling once in the cars, I observed a woman 
 sitting near me who had her child nicely laid on 
 the seat in front of her, which she had turned 
 toward her. It was sweetly sleeping; and her 
 eyes were constantly upon it. At a late hour in 
 the night the child awoke, and, perhaps, alarmed 
 at the strange scenes around it, began to cry. The 
 mother took it in her arms and pressed it to her 
 heart, and by those ways which only a mother 
 can use, soothed and calmed it, and soon it fell 
 asleep again. I thought of the scriptural use 
 made of parental and maternal love to express 
 God's concern for his children, especially of the 
 words of Isaiah Ixvi. 13 — " as one whom his 
 mother comforteth, so will I comfort you." 
 
 It is related that at the time of the wreck of 
 the steamer Kent every mother on board instiGct- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 197 
 
 ivelj caught to her arms her youngest child. A 
 minister of the gospel relates that having occa- 
 sion to move his library from a room on the 
 ground-floor to an upper room, his little son in- 
 sisted on helping him. He at length gave him a 
 small book to carry; but he insisted on having a 
 larger one. To satisfy him he gave him a larger 
 book, which he succeeded in carrying to the foot 
 of the stairs, when, unable to carry it farther, he 
 began to cry. The minister was compelled to 
 carry both the boy and the book. So God often 
 carries both his children and their burdens. 
 
 "Would we know the scriptural estimate of the 
 strength and tenderness of paternal love? Eead 
 our Lord's own delineation of it in Luke xv. 
 
 IV. God's providential interposition for the 
 safety of his children. 
 
 "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and 
 under his wings shalt thou trust." (Psalms xci. 4.) 
 
 " The angel of the Lord encampeth round about 
 them that fear him, and delivereth them." (Psalms 
 xxxiv. 7.) 
 
 "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, 
 so the Lord is round about his people from hence- 
 forth even forever." (Psalms cxxv. 2.) 
 
 From a book published by the Society of the 
 Friends, entitled, " Musings and Memoirs," I con- 
 
198 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 dense the following statement: A gentleman 
 residing in Philadelphia was about to go upon a 
 journey to a distant place. Taking a seat in a 
 car at the Kensington depot he felt a strong im- 
 pression to change his seat. Without stopping 
 to reason about the impression he at once obeyed 
 the inward monitor, and at considerable difficulty, 
 because of the crowded condition of the cars, took 
 another seat. Just as the train was leaving the 
 depot a stone, hurled by some one, came crashing 
 through the window, breaking the glass to pieces 
 and destroying the panel on the opposite side. A 
 fellow - passenger, who had observed the man 
 changing his seat, and seeing that thereby his 
 life was no doubt saved, went to him and asked 
 him why he left that seat. He told him of the 
 impression wrought in his mind, and attributed it 
 to the providence of God. 
 
 "William Penn relates in his writings that when 
 in Ireland he met a Christian woman who told 
 him that when the city of Cork was invested by 
 King William's army she and her little daughter 
 were sitting at a certain place, when she was 
 strangely seized with a sudden fear and a strong 
 impulse to move away from where she was sit- 
 ting. Immediately after she and her child had left 
 the place a cannon-ball struck the seat, tearing it 
 
CLUSTEHS FROM ESHCOL. 199 
 
 all to pieces. She also attributed her preservation 
 to the providential interposition of her heavenly 
 Father. 
 
 Horace Bushnell, in his "ITature and the Super- 
 natural," relates that a wealthy man of Califor- 
 nia — Captain Yount — twice dreamed in one night 
 that he saw a company of emigrants perishing in 
 the snow on the mountain. He related his dreams 
 to an old hunter, and described to him the ap- 
 pearance of the place where the emigrants were 
 snowed in, as it appeared to him in his dream. 
 The hunter at once recognized the place as Car- 
 son-Yalley Pass. To the astonishment, and against 
 the protests of many. Captain Yount dispatched 
 a company of men with mules, blankets, and 
 provisions to the place designated, — one hundred 
 and fifty miles distant. Arriving there, they found 
 a company of emigrants in exactly the perilous 
 condition in which they appeared to Captain 
 Yount in his dream. The emigrants were rescu- 
 ed, and ever after looked upon Captain Yount as 
 their deliverer. Of the truthfulness of this occur- 
 rence it is said there is no doubt, as many of the 
 emigrants and their descendants are yet living 
 witnesses. 
 
 It is related of an eminent Christian, whose 
 name has escaped my memory, that he dreamed 
 
200 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 that having died, he was ushered into an ante- 
 room before entering into heaven. While there, 
 he was astonished to see a panoramic history of 
 his own hfe pictured upon the walls of the room. 
 Having satisfied himself after examination of the 
 faithfulness of the record, and remembering that 
 he had come near losing his life by having been 
 thrown from his horse, he sought in the proper 
 place in the panorama for this event. Great was 
 his surprise and gratitude to God when he saw it 
 faithfully depicted, and God's guardian angels 
 shielding him from harm. 
 
 Y. God's providential care for his children in 
 times of want. 
 
 " Behold the fowls of the air : for they sow not, 
 neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet 
 your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not 
 much better than they ? " (Matt. vi. 26.) 
 
 " Are not &ve sparrows sold for two farthings, 
 and not one of them is forgotten before God? 
 But even the very hairs of your head are all 
 numbered. Fear not therefore : ye are of more 
 value than many sparrows." (Luke xii. 6, 7.) 
 
 The following illustrations of God's providen- 
 tial care of his needy children are taken from the 
 book previously referred to : A number of fami- 
 lies emigrated from Pennsylvania to Canada, 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 201 
 
 where, during their first winter, owing to the 
 severity of the cold, the depth of the snow, and 
 the scarcity of provisions, they were in danger of 
 starving.. Their only resource for a long time 
 was the bark of the slippery elm and bass-wood, 
 from which they made a kind of jelly which suf- 
 ficed to support life. At the approach of spring 
 their affliction increased, for the jelly made of the 
 elm and bass-wood sickened them. In their ex- 
 tremity they collected together and called upon 
 God in prayer to deliver them from impending 
 starvation. Whilst thus sitting together and call- 
 ing upon God a pigeon alighted on a tree near 
 by. It was caught, and the broth made from it 
 kept them alive. The next day another pigeon 
 was taken, and so on for fourteen days in s acces- 
 sion. On the fifteenth day no pigeon came. One 
 of the children who was lying in bed from weak- 
 ness occasioned by the want of food, inquired if 
 the Great Spirit was angry that he did not send 
 any more pigeons ? Death again seemed inevita- 
 ble, when one of the men returned from a neigh- 
 boring stream and reported that the ice had given 
 way, and fish enough to sustain life could be 
 caught. In this way God kept those pious emi- 
 grants from starving until the return of spring 
 and summer, when their wants were supplied by 
 the ordinary means. 
 
202 CLUSTEBS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Thomas Fuller in his writings relates the fol- 
 lowing incident : " When the city of Exeter was 
 besieged by the parliamentary forces, so that 
 only the south side thereof toward the sea was 
 open into it, incredible numbers of larks were 
 found in that open quarter, for multitudes like 
 quails in the wilderness, though, blessed be God, 
 unlike them both in cause and effect, as not sent 
 for man's destruction, nor with God's anger, as 
 appeared by the safe digestion into wholesome 
 nourishment; whereof I was an eye and mouth 
 witness. I will save my credit in not conjectur- 
 ing any number, knowing that then, though I 
 should stop beneath the truth, I should mount 
 above belief. They were as fat as plentiful; so 
 that being sold for two-pence a dozen and under, 
 the poor, who could have no cheaper, or the sick 
 no better meat, used to make pottage of them, 
 boiling them. Several natural causes were assign- 
 ed hereof. How.ever, the cause of causes was divine 
 Providence." 
 
 It is related that during the stormy period of 
 the Reformation, when Luther was confined in 
 the Castle of Wartburg, he one evening took a 
 seat at a window in his room, and sat down to 
 meditate. His great heart was troubled by the 
 rumors of war and bloodshed, in opposition to 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 203 
 
 the truth, which reached him. To add to his soli- 
 tude, night was approaching; and the distant 
 thunder and lightning gave evidence of a night of 
 storm and tempest. While thus musing in sadness 
 a rohin, which had its nest in a neighboring tree, 
 sat upon a twig and warbled forth its evening 
 song of thanksgiving to God; and then, seating 
 itself in its nest, and placing its head under its 
 wing, it went fast asleep, all unalarmed by the 
 approaching darkness and storm. The great re- 
 former thought of God's declared care for his 
 children, as well as for the birds, and felt that 
 like the robin, he could commit all to his heav- 
 enly Father. In this way his fears were allayed. 
 
 There is one other class of afflicted ones to 
 whom special promises are given, with the con- 
 sideration of which we will close this chapter. 
 
 YI. God's very special and tender regard for 
 the fatherless and widows. 
 
 " Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve 
 them alive; and let thy widows trust in me." 
 (Jer. xlix. 11.) 
 
 "A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the 
 widows, is God in his holy habitation." (Psalms 
 Ixviii. 5.) . 
 
 " The Lord preserveth the strangers ; he reliev- 
 eth the fatherless and widow." (Psalms cxlvi. 9.) 
 
204 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 There is no class of afflicted ones that appeals 
 more strongly to the sympathies and watchful 
 care of the church than the widows and children 
 of deceased servants of God. Certainly some of 
 the most assuring and tender promises of the 
 Scriptures are given to such. 
 
 As an illustration of God's watchful care of 
 these, the following narrative I condense from 
 the statement which I find in the hook previously 
 referred to. The facts are related by a missionary 
 in Canada, and are said to he strictly reliable. A 
 farmer dying, left a very amiable and pious wid- 
 ow and three children. Desiring to disincumber 
 herself of the care of the farm she sold all of 
 her effects which she could dispense with, pro- 
 posing to take up her residence in a neighboring 
 village. A friend learning of her intention con- 
 gratulated her upon her decision, and remarked 
 that she would be much more comfortable and 
 safe in her new home than in the country, where 
 she would be unprotected. " Oh," said she, "not 
 unprotected ! Far from it. You forgot that I am 
 now under the special care and protection of Him 
 who careth for the fatherless and widows. I feel 
 confident that He will protect us." 
 
 The farm-house, in which she remained until 
 after she had made sale, was in a solitary place, — • 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 205 
 
 not another house being within half a mile of it. 
 The night after, the public sale the widow, her 
 three children, and her maid-servant were alone 
 in the house. The night was stormy, and the 
 wind howled fiercely, shaking the house at every 
 blast. Unable to sleep, the widow thought she 
 heard in the pauses of the tempest some unusual 
 noise. Then she heard the barking of a dog, 
 apparently on the other side of the house from 
 where the first sounds were heard. This increased 
 her alarm, as she had no dog of her own. Awak- 
 ening the maid, they quietly went to where the 
 dog was, and opening the door a large black dog 
 rushed into the house, and without stopping pro- 
 ceeded to the back window, where stood two 
 men trying to effect their entrauce. The dog 
 leaped through the window and pursued the men. 
 After a time, during which the inmates of the 
 house could distinctly hear a scuffle between the 
 dog and the would-be robbers, the dog returned 
 and was admitted. The house was made as secure 
 as possible, and all Avaited anxiously for daylight, 
 the dog sleeping on a rug prepared for him. 
 In the morning the dog eat a hearty breakfast, 
 which was gratefully given him, he expressing 
 his gratitude by wagging his tail and fondling 
 them. Having eaten, he left the house, and was 
 
206 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 never seen afterward. It was supposed that the 
 robbers expected to find the widow unprotected 
 in her house, with a large sum of money — result- 
 ing from the day's sale. The dog it was thought 
 had followed some one to the sale, and was lefb 
 there. The true solution, however, is this : God 
 in that way interposed to save this widow and 
 her fatherless children from being robbed and 
 probably murdered. Truly, there are none so 
 safe as those who are under the protection of 
 God. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 GOD IN EVERYTHING. 
 
 " The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord : and he 
 delighteth in his way." (Psalms xxxvii. 23.) 
 
 The Scriptures abundantly teach that God is in 
 every event that befalls his children, — either in 
 sending, permitting, or directing and controlling 
 it for their good. This is true also of all those 
 events which occur from some plainly-seen sec- 
 ondary cause. 
 
 Under the influence of divine grace it is not 
 hard to submit uncomplainingly to trials and 
 afflictions which are clearly traceable to the hand 
 of God ; but when we feel that we are suffering 
 from our own indiscretion or folly or sin, or from 
 the design, malice, or ignorance of others, it is 
 not so easy. Almost every event which befalls 
 us in life, whether favorable or otherwise, comes 
 to us through or by some human instrumentality ; 
 and nearly all our trials result from our own or 
 some other's inadvertence. !N'ow, we know that 
 
208 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 God can not be the author of evil, — nor can he 
 approve of it in others ; and yet in some way he 
 must be the agent in every event that befalls his 
 children, or the numerous scriptures which de- 
 clare his watchful care and guardianship over his 
 children, his ordering all their paths, choosing all 
 their ways, directing all their steps, and causing 
 everything to work for their good, are without 
 truth, meaning, or comfort. If the righteous are 
 liable to the wicked designs of Satan, or of the 
 ungodly, independently of the divine cognizance 
 or permission, then the class of scriptures express- 
 ing God's constant care and attention, and the 
 fact of their absolute safety under all circumstan- 
 ces, is meaningless. 
 
 Wicked men may devise evil concerning the 
 Christian, and their designs and actions may be 
 disapproved by God; but by the time the result 
 reaches the believer it has become the will of God 
 concerning him, and should be accepted as such. 
 Joseph was sold by his brethren into bondage, in 
 a strange land. The act was theirs. It was 
 wicked. It was contrary to God's own declared 
 order touching our relations with each other. 
 But yet Joseph says of it, " God did send me be- 
 fore you to preserve life." (Gen. xlv. 5.) God 
 did not incline the hearts of Joseph's brethren to 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 209 
 
 sell Hm into bondage ; but be permitted tliem to 
 do itj bowever wicked and unbrotberly it was, 
 and overruled it all for good, not only to Josepb 
 bimself, but to tbe Egyptians and all tbe neigb- 
 boring nations, and tbis in barmony witb bis 
 general purpose to elevate Josepb and make bim 
 tbe instrument of tbe salvation of tbe people 
 from famine. All tbis God did witbout approv- 
 ing of tbe wickedness of tbe agents by wbom it 
 was effected. 
 
 Tbe cbild in its fatber's arms is safe, and no 
 barm can come to it witbout tbe fatber's notice 
 and permission, unless be is unable to prevent it; 
 and even tben tbe fatber suffers tbe barm bimself 
 before it reacbes tbe cbild. God is our Fatber. 
 We are bis cbildren. Our place is in bis arms. 
 We are dearer to bim tban eartbly cbildren are 
 to tbeir parents. His wisdom, love, and power to 
 detect and turn aside evil aimed at us are all in- 
 finite, and are all pledged by oatb and promise 
 for our safety. (Heb. vi. 10-18.) Wbat tben bave 
 we to fear ? Wbo can barm us ? Wbo is able to 
 pluck us out of bis band ? Wbo is able to set in 
 motion any train of circumstances designed for 
 our burt, witbout tbe notice, detection, and inter- 
 vention of our beavenly Fatber ? No power of 
 eartb or bell can toucb us witbout first obtaining 
 
 14 
 
210 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 permission of God, or forcing him to stand aside, 
 or passing through him. 
 
 The believer is represented in the Scriptures as 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is in Christ as the 
 branch is in the vine ; as the member is in the 
 body ; as the wife is in the husband. He, as it 
 were, is absorbed in Christ, loses his identity in 
 him — Christ standing for him. If he suffers, 
 Christ also sufters. Is he tempted, tried, perse- 
 cuted? Christ also suffers, is tempted, tried, and 
 persecuted. (Acts ix. 4, 5.) How safe, then, how 
 absolutely safe is the believer in Christ ! I^oth- 
 ing can harm him without harming Christ, in 
 whom he abides. ISTo pain, no affliction, no be- 
 reavement, no accident, no sorrow can come to 
 him without afflicting the great loving heart of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. Are there plottings of 
 evil against the Christian? 'No evil formed against 
 the child of God shall prosper, so long as he is 
 a follower of that which is good. Is his name 
 cast out as evil, and is the tongue of slander let 
 loose against him? God shall hide him in the 
 secret of his presence from the pride of man, and 
 shall keep him secretly in his pavilion from the 
 strife of the tongue. (Psalms xxxi. 20.) Does 
 pestilence, or famine and want threaten thee? 
 Thou needest fear no evil ; for thy God has given 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 211 
 
 Ms angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all 
 thy ways; and no evil shall befall thee, neither 
 shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. Do 
 storms and tempests of affliction and sorrow 
 threaten thee? God shall cover thee with his 
 feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust. 
 (Psalms xci.) 
 
 This precious fact of the believer's absolute 
 safety in Christ is one of the great facts of divine 
 revelation. It is one of the unseen things which 
 human reason can not comprehend, and is re- 
 vealed to the eye of trusting, confiding faith. 
 The armies which the king of Syria sent against 
 Israel, and which sought the life of Eiisha, be- 
 cause he, by the spirit of prophecy, foreknew and 
 forewarned of all their designs, comprised a great 
 and mighty host. They encompassed the city in 
 which this servant of God was, cutting ofi", to all 
 human expectation, all means of escape, and caus- 
 ing his servant to exclaim, "Alas, my master! 
 how shall we do ? " He saw with his natural 
 vision only, and only natural objects. Eiisha, 
 seeing with the soul's interior eye, perceived that 
 the mountains all about the city were girdled by 
 a mighty host of horses and chariots of fire. He 
 had seen at least one of these before, when in it 
 Elijah ascended into heaven; and in the fullness 
 
212 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 of his confidence lie calmed his servant's fears 
 with the assurance, " Fear not : for they that be 
 with us are more than they that be with them." 
 (II. Kings vi. 14-16.) 
 
 A devoted Christian lady says that during one 
 part of her religious life she was much troubled 
 with fear and doubt, and found it difficult to live 
 a life of implicit trust, especially under God's 
 chastening rod, with which she was often and 
 severely afflicted, because of the many secondary 
 and evil causes, as she supposed, which seemed 
 to control nearly everything which concerned her. 
 She carried her perplexities to God in prayer, and 
 was enlightened and delivered in the following 
 manner : She dreamed that she was in a perfect- 
 ly dark place, and that there advanced toward 
 her from a distance a body of light, which sur- 
 rounded and enveloped everything around her. 
 As it approached a voice seemed to say, " This is 
 the presence of God, This is the presence of God," 
 While surrounded with this presence, all great 
 and awful things in life seemed to pass before her 
 — fighting armies, wicked men, raging beasts, 
 fearful storms, pestilence, sin and suffering of 
 every kind. She shrunk back at first in terror ; 
 but she soon saw that the presence of God so sur- 
 rounded and enveloped her and each and every 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 213 
 
 one of these things, that not a lion could reach 
 forth its paw, nor a bullet fly through the air, ex- 
 cepting as this presence moved out of the way to 
 let it pass. And she saw that, let there be ever 
 so thin a sheet, as it were, of this glorious pres- 
 ence between herself and the most terrible vio- 
 lence, not a hair of her head could be rufiled, nor 
 anything touch her, unless the presence divided 
 to let the evil pass through. Then all the small 
 and annoying things of life passed before her; 
 and equally she saw that these also were so com- 
 pletely enveloped by this presence that not a 
 cross look, nor a harsh word, nor petty trial of 
 any kind could reach her, unless God's great and 
 glorious presence moved out of the way to let it 
 reach her. Her difficulties vanished. Her ques- 
 tion was answered forever. God is in everything; 
 and to her she knew no secondary causes. She 
 saw that her life, day by day, and moment by 
 moment, came directly from her heavenly Fa- 
 ther's hand, let the agencies be what they may. 
 This lady from that time entered upon a new and 
 better experience, in which all tormenting fear 
 was completely banished, and she found no diffi- 
 culty in seeing God in every event of her life. 
 
 Is it not true that nearly all the troubles and 
 perplexities with which believers are afflicted are 
 
214 CLUSTEKS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 prospective^ and really never do occur? Instead 
 of walking by simple faith, as the word of God 
 directs, trusting God moment by moment, and 
 dismissing all anxious thoughts for the future, we 
 seek to reverse or set aside God's order, and walk 
 by sight. And, not content with bearing the 
 necessary burdens of the present, we not only 
 carry with us those of the past, but attempt also 
 to carry those of the future, and failing to bear 
 up under the weight we complain of the want of 
 divine support. Cast from thy shoulders the 
 burdens of the past ; attempt not to anticipate 
 the probable burdens of the future ; accept each 
 and every occurrence of thy life as an expression 
 of thy Father's will concerning thee, and thou 
 Bhalt realize that God is in everything to thee, 
 and that all things are working together for thy 
 good. 
 
 A Christian man who had met with a severe 
 misfortune, by which he lost nearly all his earth- 
 ly possessions, was much overwhelmed with grief. 
 He could not see the hand of God in an affliction 
 which reduced him and his family from affluence 
 to want. Sitting in the house of God one Sab- 
 bath, the minister preached from the text, " All 
 things shall work together for good to them that 
 love God." The man of God illustrated the idea 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 215 
 
 of the events in a Christian's life working together 
 — one event influencing another, and this still 
 another, until a gracious result is wrought for 
 the afflicted one, — by a person looking on the 
 wrong side of a clock, lie sees a number of 
 wheels, some larger and some smaller; some 
 turning one way and some another, and all seem- 
 ingly in confusion and without purpose or design. 
 He then saw. the same clock in the face; and he 
 saw that all those wheels were working together 
 for one purpose — to mark time upon the face of 
 the clock. " So," said the minister, " God's provi- 
 dences, however afflicting and perplexing and 
 seemingly confused and purposeless, are all work- 
 ing together to produce one result, — thy highest 
 and eternal good. "We may not be able to see 
 how one dispensation of affliction and loss oper- 
 ates on another to produce this result; but God 
 overrules and controls it all, and he will bring it 
 to pass." The distressed man was relieved of his 
 burden. He accepted the fact that God permitted 
 designing men to rob him of his worldly posses- 
 sions for the express purpose of securing to him 
 some greater good. He rested in that confidence, 
 was relieved of his burden, and in a few years 
 was enabled to bless God for the loss he had sus- 
 tained, because of the richness of divine grace 
 bestowed upon him. 
 
216 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 An aged colored woman was thus addressed by 
 a lady who was troubled and perplexed by almost 
 everything around her : " Ah, ITancy, it is well 
 enough to be happy now, but I would think that 
 the thoughts of your future would sober you. 
 Suppose, for instance, that you would have a 
 spell of sickness, and be unable to work; or, sup- 
 pose your present employers should move away 
 and no one else would do anything for you ; or, 
 suppose — " " Stop," said IlTancy, "I never sup- 
 poses anything. De Lord is my Shepherd, and I 
 know I shall not want. Ah, honey, it's dese sup- 
 poses which is makin' you so miserable. You'd 
 better give dem all up and trust de Lord." 
 
 It is the privilege of the believer, then, to see 
 God in everything, in every event of his life, and to. 
 receive everything as coming directly from his 
 hand, with no intervening secondary cause. If he 
 attempts to discriminate between events, trying 
 to submit to what is plainly from God's hand, and 
 fretting over those which seem to be the result of 
 his own or other's inadvertence, his peace mus- 
 be disturbed. But when he can rise to this, ti 
 see God in everything, irrespective of secondary 
 agencies, to feel that every event of his life^ 
 whether pleasant or otherwise, no matter what 
 the apparent intervening cause may be, comes 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 217 
 
 to Mm directly from God, is tlie expression of his 
 will toward him, and is intended for Ms good, 
 then, and then only, will he have abiding peace 
 and perfect trust. 
 
 Child of God, accept the fact that thy God is 
 in every event of thy life ; that there is not a 
 single occurrence which can be attributed to 
 chance; that not a single event can befall thee 
 without his notice and permission; that there 
 is a ''needs be" for all the afflictions and disap- 
 pointments and trials through which thou art 
 called to pass. " Oh," said an eminent saint, 
 "what a pillow is this * needs' be' on which to 
 rest an aching head ! " "What we know not now 
 concerning God's providential dealings with us, 
 we shall know hereafter, — " when the mists have 
 rolled away." Said Thomas Brooks, " The great 
 Counselor puts clouds and darkness round about 
 him, bidding us follow at his back, through the 
 cloud, promising an eternal and uninterrupted 
 sunshine on the other side." 
 
 Said Jeremy Taylor, "iTothing does so estab- 
 lish the mind amidst the rollings and turbulence 
 of things as both a look above them and a look 
 beyond them, — above them, to the steady and 
 good hand by which they are ruled; and beyond 
 them, to the sweet and beautiful end to which. 
 
218 CLUSTERS FROM BSHCOL. 
 
 by that hand, they will be brought." On that 
 other side, when all shall be made plain to us, we 
 shall see how every affliction, every bereavement, 
 every disappointment, and every adversity was 
 needful for us, and without them we could never 
 have reached that blissful place. 
 
 Dearly beloved in the Lord, do not be over- 
 anxious about the roughness of your voyage ; for 
 every apparently rough and unfriendly blast 
 which beats upon you is but hastening you to 
 the desired haven. And do not attempt to an- 
 ticipate grace for trials which are yet in the 
 future ; for this is not God's order, nor in accord- 
 ance with his declared method. He has promised 
 to give the grace at the time and to the degree 
 it is needed. The proper attitude of the saint in 
 which to bear up under present troubles and in 
 prospect of the probabilities of the future is ex- 
 pressed in the following lines : 
 
 " ' Tis a great lesson which we learn, 
 In this our weak and trying state, 
 To see God's hand at every turn, 
 And patiently to wait. 
 
 " Concealed in mysteries sublime, 
 
 When painful months and years are past. 
 The things, deep hidden for a time, 
 Are all revealed at last. 
 
 *' We know them then, but know not now; 
 We walk by faith, and not by sense; 
 
CLUSTJilRS FROM ESHCOL. 219 
 
 And cheerfully and humbly bow, 
 Before Thy providence. 
 
 ** O God, this blessedness impart, — 
 
 This foretaste of a heavenly state,— 
 The gift of a believing heart, 
 Which patiently can wait," 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SPECIAL GRACE FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 
 
 " As thy days, so shall thy strength be." (Deut. xxxiii. 25.) 
 
 "We liave in the pilgrimage of the children 
 of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, in connection 
 with which the scriptural promise above quoted 
 stands, a symbol of the pilgrimage of believers 
 from the Egypt of sin to the Canaan of heaven. 
 The deliverance of that people from bondage, 
 their passage through the Red Sea, their mi- 
 raculous supply of bread and water, the fact that 
 their clothing and sandals did not wear out, the 
 abiding presence, protection, and guidance of 
 God in the pillar of cloud and fire, their final 
 crossing of the Jordan and entrance into the 
 promised land, all were typical of the pilgrimage 
 of Christians through this life, and all were de- 
 signed to impress the people with their constant 
 and entire dependence upon God. 
 
 Was it not infinitely better for the Israelites 
 when called to pass through a barren wilderness, 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 221 
 
 where neither bread nor water could be had by 
 ordinary means, that God supplied their needs 
 day by day rather than by one endowment of the 
 whole at the commencement of their journey ? 
 And is it not better for Christians that God 
 pledges himself to supply their daily needs, as 
 their circumstances may require, rather than by 
 one endowment when first they enter upon their 
 Christian life ? Were it otherwise, many, if not 
 all, would, through unfaithfulness, lose the need- 
 ed grace and be left to lament their folly in the 
 day of trial. 
 
 God, then, has wisely ordered that grace shall 
 be meted out to his children at the time and in the 
 proportion it is needed. Ordinary grace for ordi- 
 nary, and extraordinary grace for extraordinary 
 trials, are fully assured. This is the fact I wish 
 to impress in this chapter. The children of Is- 
 rael had their extraordinary as well as daily and 
 ordinary trials ; but in them all the divine inter- 
 position was equally ample and opportune. The 
 childi^n of God in all ages have their special 
 as well as ordinary emero^encies, and have ever 
 found that grace is equal to each and everj trial. 
 There is no condition or contingency possible to 
 the Christian, within the bounds of duty, in 
 w)> 'vh the divine protection, su]Dport, and deliv- 
 
222 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 erance are not abundantly promised. And it is 
 only when lie wanders where neither duty or 
 consistency- call him that he places himself out- 
 side of the divine care. A circumstance in the 
 history of the apostles will illustrate this point. 
 The multitude, after having been miraculously fed 
 by the Savior, proposed in their enthusiasm to 
 make him their king. Having dismissed the peo- 
 ple, he sent the apostles across the Sea of Galilee 
 in the ship to a designated place, where he was 
 to rejoin them in the morning. The twelve evi- 
 dently went alone with reluctance; for it is said 
 that he constrained them. In trying to obey his 
 directions a fearful storm drove them from their 
 course, out to sea, and they were in danger of 
 perishing. When all their efforts appeared to be 
 in vain, and they were giving up in despair, the 
 Master came to their rescue. ]^ow, had the apos- 
 tles gone upon that voyage without the Savior, by 
 their own choice, they might have had some 
 ground for fear; but having obeyed his com- 
 mands, the responsibility of their safety was with 
 him, and he, ever faithful, appeared for their de- 
 liverance just at the critical time. (Mark vi. 45.) 
 
 Among the many emergencies in life to which 
 the believer is subject, and in which more than 
 ordinary grace is needed, are the following : 
 
 I. Straitened worldly circumstances. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 223 
 
 Does God take cognizance of the worldly in- 
 terests of his children; and does he ever inter- 
 pose for their deliverance in times of want and 
 distress ? 
 
 The case of Elijah, who was fed by the ravens 
 (I. Kings xvii.), of Hagar and her child, who 
 were miraculously preserved from death (Gen. 
 xxi.), and of the widow of Zarephath, whose oil 
 and meal were multiplied in a time of famine (I. 
 Kings xvii.), are to the point. 
 
 The following instances of God's interposition 
 in the worldly concerns of his people are taken 
 from Musings and Memories, formerly referred to. 
 One winter morning a gentleman of Boston, while 
 in attendance at a daily religious meeting in that 
 city, had his mind strangely directed toward a 
 stranger in the meeting, and he was impressed to 
 hand him some money. The stranger was appar- 
 ently in no need himself, and the gentleman felt 
 reluctant to approach him. But at the close of 
 the meeting he yielded to the strong impression 
 and quietly slipped a five-dollar bill in his hand, 
 telling him to use it as he saw fit. The next morn- 
 ing that stranger arose in the meeting and said 
 that in former days he possessed means, and de- 
 lighted to use them in relieving the needy, but 
 that owing to reverses he was not able to do as 
 
224 CLUSTERS ■ FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 formerly. He also said that wliile on his way to 
 the meeting the day before he saw a Christian 
 woman, sick and poor, with neither food nor fuel 
 in the cold weather, and that he earnestly desired 
 five dollars to relieve her. At the close of the 
 meeting a strange brother had slipped that 
 amount into his hand, telling him to use it ac- 
 cording to his own judgment, and that he went 
 right from the meeting to that woman's house, 
 and gave it to her, telling her that the Lord sent 
 it. She thankfully received the timely gift and 
 attributed it to her heavenly Father's love and 
 care. 
 
 Henry Erskine of Cornhill, Northumberland, 
 in his writings says that one evening, when re- 
 siding in Dryburg, Scotland, with his large fami- 
 ly, they had eaten their last morsel of food and 
 were without a penny to purchase more. In the 
 morning his children were clamoring for bread ; 
 but there was none in the house. After a time, 
 while he was silently looking to God for help, a 
 knock was heard at his door, and a man asked 
 assistance to take from his horse a very heavily- 
 loaded sack, which he was directed to leave there. 
 It proved to be a plentiful supply of provisions. 
 The donor was unknown. 
 
 On another occasion he says he was in Edin- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 225 
 
 burg, and without the means of purchasing food. 
 "While walking along the street he was stopped 
 by an individual who asked him if his name was 
 not Erskine. Replying that it was, a letter was 
 handed him containing a considerable sum of 
 money. It was signed, "From a sympathizing 
 friend." Mr. Erskine says he never knew who 
 the generous donor was. 
 
 One other case we condense from the account 
 in this book. A man residing in Philadelphia 
 was under the necessity of borrowing five thou- 
 sand dollars, to enable him to prosecute his busi- 
 ness. He efiected a loan of three thousand dollars 
 from a friend and two thousand from an insur- 
 ance company. A time of panic and failures 
 came on, and this man was informed by both the 
 parties of whom he had borrowed money that it 
 must be returned the next day. The poor man 
 was panic-stricken, — for at this time many busi- 
 ness houses were paying as high as one per cent 
 a day for the use of money, — and he knew not 
 where he could obtain relief. He carried his case 
 to God in prayer, spent a sleepless night over it, 
 and arose in the morning in much distress. It 
 was the day of the week on which he usually met 
 with his brethren in the house of God for wor- 
 ship, and notwithstanding his depression he re- 
 
 15 
 
226 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 sorted to tlie diurch. As he sat in silence and 
 sadness an aged minister arose and strangely 
 spoke for the comfort of those in financial dis- 
 tress. In the course of his remarks, and entirely 
 ignorant of the condition of his deeply interest- 
 ed auditor, he said, "Art thou in need? The 
 money will come before thou needs it." 
 
 The afflicted man felt that the discourse was 
 intended for him, and that God was about to in- 
 terpose in his behalf; but as to how, he knew 
 not. After the meeting he went to the office of 
 the person of whom he had borrowed the three 
 thousand dollars, to see if he could not in some 
 way get an agreement for further time. To his 
 astonishment he was told that the man had that 
 day sailed for Europe, and left word that he could 
 repay the money when it suited him. Greatly 
 encouraged, he started to see about what he owed 
 the insurance company ; and on the way he met 
 a friend who inquired of him if he wished to bor- 
 row two thousand dollars. Upon telling him of 
 his circumstances the two thousand dollars were 
 handed him, with which he at once canceled the 
 loan to the insurance company. Was not the 
 providence of God in this man's deliverance? 
 Was it not in all the cases we have cited ? ]N"one 
 but skeptics and unbelievers could question it. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 227 
 
 Probably the fault with us is, that we do not 
 carry to God our daily secular trials and difficul- 
 ties as we should, under the mistaken notion that 
 he does not feel concerned in them. " In all thy 
 ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy 
 paths." (Prov. iii. 6.) 
 
 " Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall 
 sustain thee." (Psalms Iv. 22.) 
 
 There are also special distress and trial ; as, — 
 
 n. Severe personal affliction. 
 
 Upon this point so much has been written in 
 other chapters that we do not deem it necessary 
 to reproduce it here. The cases of the eminent 
 Bible saints under personal affliction, already con- 
 sidered, abundantly prove that the grace of God 
 is sufficient for any emergency, and that it is 
 always bestowed when the exigency demands it. 
 
 Before me lies the biography of an excellent 
 Christian lady, who was called to her eternal re- 
 ward at a comparatively early age. Previous to 
 her affliction, which resulted in her death, she by 
 mistake took an overdose of deadly aconite, and 
 was brought down to the gate of death ; but she 
 finally recovered from it. She thus describes her 
 feelings when in that critical condition : " I did 
 not lose my consciousness, though my whole body 
 became rigid and cold. My sight left me, and 
 
228 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 even my tongue stiffened in my mouth. The cold 
 perspiration stood on my forehead; and I thought, 
 Truly this is death. For more than one hour I 
 thought every breath would he my last. * ^H * 
 For five hours I lay very low, suffering the most 
 intense agony, — indeed, the suffering was more 
 fearful than anything I had ever dreamed of; but 
 I can truly say that it .loas ivorth it all to realize 
 what a i^rfect Savior Jesus is in time of trial. I 
 wish I could tell you of the heavenly calm he 
 granted me during those hours of dreadful suf- 
 fering. I have always from my childhood had an 
 almost morbid fear of death; and even since I 
 have put my trust in Jesus I have sometimes 
 been tempted to fear that when the trying hour 
 <3ame I should feel frightened, even though I 
 knew that through a crucified Redeemer I was 
 going to our eternal home in bliss. But when I 
 thought each moment was my last, and the shad- 
 ows of the dark valley were about me, every fear 
 was taken away and a heavenly joy and peace 
 filled my soul. Jesus waiS with me, and I was not 
 afraid." 
 
 Some time after her recovery from this poison- 
 ing this same young lady was taken with con- 
 sumption, from which she subsequently died. 
 During that illness she thus wrote to a friend: 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 229 
 
 "For days past the thought of dying in consump- 
 tion has been very painful to me ; but it was glo- 
 rious when I felt that Jesus was able for this also. 
 He will bring me through, and even make me 
 triumph over it. And now the thought of a lingering 
 death is not painful ; it even looks cheerful." 
 
 There are also — 
 
 III. Times of epidemic, or plague. 
 
 The ninety-first psalm appears to have been 
 written for such occasions as those under consid- 
 eration. This psalm was the special and favor- 
 ite portion of scripture of the late Bishop D. 
 Edwards. He appropriately termed it " The 
 Christianas Life- Insurance Policy." Read it ; and 
 carefully consider the strong expressions used, 
 assuring of absolute safety even under the trying 
 circumstances stated. 
 
 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the 
 Most High shall abide under the shadow of the 
 Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my 
 refuge and my fortress : my God ; in him will I 
 trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare 
 of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 
 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under 
 his wings shalt thou trust : his truth shall be thy 
 shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for 
 the terror by night ; nor for the arrow that flieth 
 
230 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in 
 darkness ; nor for the destruction that wasteth at 
 noonday. A thousand shall fall at .thy side, and 
 ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall. not 
 come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt 
 thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 
 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my 
 refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation ; there 
 shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague 
 come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his 
 angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy 
 ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, 
 lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou 
 shalt tread upon the lion and adder : the young 
 lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under 
 feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, 
 therefore will I deliver him : I will set him on 
 high, because he hath known my name. He shall 
 call upon me, and I will answer him : I will be 
 with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and 
 honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, 
 and shew him my salvation." 
 
 As stated in a previous chapter, absolute ex- 
 emption from the pestilence and other ills of life 
 may not in every case be granted the Christian. 
 The chief fact taught is, that he will either be 
 exempted or afflicted, as will be for the best, the 
 the Lord himself being the judge. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 231 
 
 The domestic figure of the hen shielding her 
 chickens under her wings in time of danger is of 
 such a nature that it might seem sacrilegious to 
 use it as relating to God and his children had not 
 God himself in this instance, and the Savior 
 afterward, employed it. (Matt, xxiii. 37.) 
 
 As another occasion calling for special grace 
 we refer to — 
 
 TV. The approach of death. 
 
 It is often the case that devoted and pious 
 Christians, when under deep affliction, shrink 
 from the idea of dying, and because of this fear 
 write bitter things against themselves, as well as 
 distress their anxious friends. There are others, 
 also, of whom the apostle writes in Heb. ii. 14, 
 15, who " through fear of death are all their life- 
 time subject to bondage." In all such cases of 
 the former, this fear will disappear and complete 
 victory will be given at the proper time. In the 
 latter, all tormenting fear, whether of death or 
 anything else, will disappear when the experience 
 of perfect love shall have been attained. (I. John 
 iv. 18.) This experience is attainable by all at 
 any time. 
 
 While it is the privilege of believers to live 
 above all tormenting and peace-disturbing fear of 
 death, there is yet needed special dying grace. 
 
232 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 wliicli, like grace for all special purposes, is only 
 conferred when the exigency is near at hand. An 
 illustration of this important fact has often occur- 
 red as follows: The writer has had frequent 
 occasion to travel by railroad to the city of New 
 York. The ticket entitling him to a passage over 
 the road to the city, purchased at the commence- 
 ment of the journey, secures to him all that it 
 promises; but as he approaches the end of his 
 journey the conductor in charge of the train 
 passes through the cars and distributes to each 
 one entitled to receive it another ticket, which 
 passes him over the Hudson River, on the steam 
 ferry-boat. This ferry-ticket was not given with 
 the passage-ticket, although included in the con- 
 tract, but was distributed when it was about to 
 be needed. ]^either was it given to any but to 
 those who were entitled to it, or could show their 
 passage-ticket. So God dispenses to his children 
 dying grace only when it is needed. Were he to 
 confer it with converting and living grace many 
 would lose it, like unto some who would lose 
 their ferry-tickets, and be left in a dilemma at a 
 critical time. And as it would be highly unrea- 
 sonable for those having traveling tickets to 
 trouble themselves as to how they would get 
 across the river at the end of their journey be- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 233 
 
 cause they were not then in possession of the 
 ferry-ticket, so it is unreasonable for believers, 
 who have all -needed living grace, to perplex 
 themselves as to how they will get across the 
 river of death. God will see to it that the needed 
 grace shall be given when it is needed. In the 
 interval it is safer in his care than in ours. 
 
 In further illustration of this fact the following 
 cases are introduced. The first is that of our 
 Lord himself. The mental sufierings of the Sav- 
 ior were greater in Gethsemane than at any sub- 
 sequent time ; for, in addition to the bitter cup 
 of anguish and distress which every individual 
 would have to experience because of sin, all of 
 which at one time was pressed to his lips, he had 
 before him the physical agonies of crucifixion 
 which he was to undergo. No wonder, then^ 
 that under this accumulated agony his sensitive 
 nature found utterance in the exclamations, " My 
 soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death ! '* 
 " my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pas& 
 from me ! " But after the appearance of an angel, 
 strengthening him (Luke xxii. 43.), a decided 
 change was apparent, and throughout the whole 
 of the bitter process lamb-like submission char- 
 acterized him. As it was with the Master, so it 
 is vdth his disciples. 
 
234 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 It is related of an eminent Christian tliat while 
 under sentence of death for his faith he was vis- 
 ited by some of his friends, one of whom inquired 
 of him if he was ready to be burned? "]^o/' 
 *' I would not like to be burned now ; but then I 
 am to be bui^ned to-morrow, and don't need 
 burning grace 'till then; and I know it will be 
 given when needed." 
 
 Another martyr, of a timid, sensitive nature, 
 while being led to the stake was somewhat alarm- 
 ed, and exclaimed, " Oh, I can't burn ; I can't 
 burn ! " Some priests near him, hearing these 
 words and supposing that he was willing to re- 
 cant to save his life, spoke to him and offered him 
 life. Indignantly refusing this offer, and coming 
 in sight of the place of execution, and receiving 
 abundant evidence of the presence of God, he 
 exclaimed, " Kow I can burn ! ]!!Tow I can burn I " 
 
 A young lady, the daughter of pious parents, 
 one of whom — her mother — had already preceded 
 her to heaven, was afflicted with consumption. 
 Although long a consistent Christian, she shrunk 
 from the idea of dying. Her devoted father did 
 all he, could by his counsels and prayers to pre- 
 pare her for the trying event which it was evi- 
 dent was near at hand. Entering her room one 
 morning, her father saw that a change had come 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 235 
 
 upon Ms daughter. Her countenance gave evi- 
 dence of a calm, resigned, and joyful frame of 
 mind. Perceiving her father she said, " father, 
 I had such a sweet dream last night. I dreamed 
 that I came to a river over which I had to pass. 
 It was wide and deep, and the wind was blow- 
 ing, making the waves roll very fearfully. As I 
 stood on the brink, fearing to enter, I saw a per- 
 son coming down a hill on the other side; and 
 standing on the bank and stretching out her 
 hands she said, ' Sister, come.' I looked, and saw 
 it was my sister. The river did not seem so wide, 
 nor dark, nor stormy. Presently I saw another 
 person come down ; and standing beside sister, 
 she stretched forth her hands and said, * Come ! ' 
 I saw that it was mother. It got much lighter; 
 and the river seemed so narrow that I thought I 
 could easily go over. Then a shining person 
 came and stood between mother and sister ; and 
 reaching out his hands he said, ' Daughter, come !' 
 Oh, it was Jesus ! I forgot the river, for he 
 stretched forth his hands and lifted me over. O 
 father, I am not afraid to die now." 
 
 The two following cases came under the writ- 
 er's own observation. I was present once when 
 the physician informed the family that one of its 
 members, a person well advanced in life, and 
 
236 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 long an humble Christian, was in a critical con- 
 dition. The afflicted one saw by the anxious 
 countenances of the friends that her case was 
 critical, and became much alarmed. " Oh," said 
 she, " must I die and go into vast eternity — so un- 
 expectedly ! " One who stood by thus addressed 
 her : " The doctor says there is no immediate 
 danger. Do not become alarmed and confused. 
 Look the matter squarely in the face, and all will 
 be. well. Don't stop to reason with the enemy as 
 to whether or not you have been converted and 
 are a Christian, and have been faithful or unfaith- 
 ful, but go right to Jesus as you are, leaving all 
 perplexing questions to him. Throw yourself 
 upon his mercy, upon his promises, and trust him 
 to save you, — not for what you have been, or 
 have tried to do, nor for what you are now, but 
 for his own sake — for what he has done and prom- 
 ised." The advice was followed, and in a few 
 hours all fear was gone and great peace filled her 
 heart; and she exclaimed repeatedly, "jN"ow I 
 feel that I ana not afraid to die." 
 
 An aged man, a professed Christian for many 
 years, upright and honest, but not very clear or 
 demonstrative in his religious experience, was 
 brought to the gate of death by a lingering dis- 
 ease. Said he to the writer, while great peace 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 237 
 
 was depicted upon his countenance, "All the days 
 of my life I was afraid of death, and always put 
 it as far from me as I could. 'Now, when* I am 
 up with it, and am brought to look it in the face, 
 I find for the first time that I have no fear what- 
 ever. God has done so much for me and has 
 taken all fear away so completely that I desire, 
 yea long to depart to be with Christ." 
 
 Instances like the foregoing might be given 
 without number; but let these suffice. In our 
 concluding chapter — Crossing the Jordan of 
 Death — testimony to the power of divine grace 
 in death will be given, by which it will be seen 
 that in the fact, as well as in the prospect, death 
 is shorn of its terror to the believer, and that all- 
 sufficient grace is always given for that trying 
 emergency. I conclude this chapter with the 
 following beautiful lines, expressive of the fact 
 of all-sufficient grace given at the near approach 
 of death, even to the disrobing it of its terrors, 
 and that to those who feared and trembled when 
 viewing the monster at a distance : 
 
 " These Border-Lands are calm and still, 
 And solemn are their silent shades ; 
 And my heart welcomes them, until 
 The light of life's long evening fades. 
 
 " I heard them spoken of with dread, — 
 As fearful and unquiet places ; 
 Shades, where the living and the dead 
 Look sadly in each other's faces. 
 
2S8 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 " But since Thy hand hath led me here. 
 And I have seen the Border-Land; 
 Seen the dark river flowing near, 
 Stood on its brink as now I stand, 
 
 " There has been nothing to alarm 
 
 My trembling soul ; how could I fea? 
 While thus encircled in thine arm ? 
 \ I never felt Thee half so near." 
 
CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 SALVATION COMPLETED, 
 
 " Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath be- 
 gun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus 
 Christ." (Phil. 1.6.) 
 
 An elucidation of tlie scripture placed at the 
 head of this chapter seems to be necessary to 
 complete the general subject of this book. I re- 
 mark, then, — 
 
 I. Eeligion in the soul is a work. 
 
 By a work, I mean that true religion is a living, 
 acting, working, and assimilating principle im- 
 planted in the soul, and kept alive therein by the 
 Holy Spirit, and not a faultless observance of 
 the ordinances, ceremonies, and duties of religion. 
 The latter may exist without a single element 
 of saving grace in the heart. The former, though 
 small in its beginnings, will, if the conditions of 
 spiritual prosperity are observed, enlarge and 
 increase until its final consummation in heaven. 
 
 II. Religion in its operation in the heart is a 
 good work. The quality of a given thing is esti- 
 
240 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 mated bj wliat it cost, or for what it will do for 
 its possessor. Religion tested by this standard is 
 of inestimable value. It cost the highest price in 
 all the universe of God, even the life of his only- 
 begotten Son; and it secures for its possessor 
 deliverance from the guilt, condemnation, and 
 power of sin here, and eternal life and glory in 
 the life to come. It is good, too, for what it 
 does for individuals, for families, for communities, 
 and for nations ; good in its origin, good in its 
 objects and designs, good in its present results, 
 and good in what it proposes to do in the life to 
 come. It is good in its beginnings, good in its 
 constant progression, and doubly good in its final 
 results. It is good for the young and it is good for 
 the old ; it is good in health and it is good in 
 sickness ; it is good in prosperity and it is good 
 in adversity ; it is good in life and it is good in 
 death. It is good, supremely good, for what it 
 saves us from, as well as what it saves us too. 
 Oh, it is indeed a good work. Lord, evermore 
 give us more and still more of it. 
 
 III. True religion has its origin in God. 
 
 Our salvation in its commencement, as well aa 
 in its completion, is entirely of God. He first 
 entertained purposes of mercy concerning us; 
 and the expression of those purposes was the 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHGOL. 241 
 
 gift of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And 
 by the complete and perfect satisfaction which 
 Christ made to the law upon Calvary, every ob- 
 stacle in the way of the salvation of the soul of 
 every individual of our race, so far as God is con- 
 cerned, has been entirely taken away; and it may 
 now be said to us as it was declared to the church 
 at Philadelphia, ^' Behold, I have set before thee 
 an open door, and no man can shut it." 
 
 The only difficulty now is with man himself. 
 He rejects and neglects the all-sufficient remedy 
 which .Heaven has provided, and which is so free- 
 ly proffered and urgently pressed upon his accept- 
 ance. Hence says the Son of God, " Ye will not 
 come unto me, that ye might have life." 
 
 In proof of the fact that all the difficulties in 
 the way of man's salvation are with himself alone, 
 and that God is already reconciled in Christ and 
 only waits the sinner's acceptance of the proffered 
 mercy to pass upon him the evidences of perfect 
 reconciliation and pardon, let the following script- 
 ures be considered : " And all things are of God, 
 who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, 
 and hath given to us the ministry of reconcilia- 
 tion ; to-wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling 
 the world unto himself, not imputing their tres- 
 passes unto them; and hath committed unto U3 
 
 16 
 
242 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 the word of reconciliation. Now then we are 
 embassadors for Christ, as though God did be- 
 seech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, 
 be ye reconciled to God." (11. Cor. v. 18-20.) 
 
 The difficulty in the way of the salvation of 
 each and every individual may now be said to be 
 lodged in his will. It is the controlling faculty of 
 the mind; and as it determines, so will be the 
 moral state of the individual. God will not co- 
 erce the will; for to do so would destroy the moral 
 agency and reduce us to mere machines. He will 
 only enlighten the understanding, convict the 
 conscience, and influence the judgment. But the 
 will is left free to choose or refuse ; and so long 
 as it retains its perverseness, God himself may be 
 successfully resisted. If the will chooses God and 
 his service, our salvation is assured ; if it refuses, 
 our damnation is inevitable. This explanation 
 gives the true import of the words of the apostle 
 in II. Corinthians viii. 12 — '^ If there be first a 
 willing mind, it is accepted according to that a 
 man hath, and not according to that he hath not." 
 
 lY. Salvation, while originating with God, is 
 first developed within the heart of the individual. 
 
 Man's method is to commence the work of 
 reformation on the outside and work inwardly; 
 God's method is to commence inside and work 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 243 
 
 outwardly. This fact is exemplified in the case 
 of the Pharisees, to whom our Lord said, '* Woe 
 unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for 
 ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the 
 platter, but within they are full of extortion 
 and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first 
 that which is within the cup and platter, that the 
 outside of them may be clean also." (Matt, xxiii. 
 25, 26.) Again he said on another occasion, 
 " That which cometh out of the man, that defileth 
 the man. For from within, out of the heart of 
 men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornica- 
 tions, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, 
 deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, 
 pride, foolishness : all these evil things come from 
 within, and defile the man." (Mark vii. 20-23.) 
 The seat of the moral disease, it will be seen, 
 is within the heart; and the remedy, to be effectual, 
 must always be applied where the disease is seat- 
 ed. Phariseeism always has, and yet does, work 
 on the outside. It offers to cleanse the heart by 
 ordinances, sacraments, the wearing of peculiar 
 garbs, etc. God's plan is to work from within, 
 where the disease is seated. He makes the fount- 
 ain clean and the stream will be clean of neces- 
 sity. He cleanses the heart, and the life will be 
 right as a consequence. With propriety, then, 
 
244 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 he said, '' The kingdom of God is within you." 
 It is the leaven which a woman hid in the meal, 
 and which leavened the whole lump. The grace 
 of God in the heart will always make the life 
 right. Outward reformation only leaves the heart 
 as foul as a cao:e of unclean hirds. 
 
 But I remark again, and lastly, - 
 
 Y. God, who commenced this work of grace 
 in our hearts, ivill carry it on to full completion, at 
 the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 The word ''^e//o?^m," as it is used in the text 
 we are considering, means to perfect, to complete, to 
 finish. The truth it teaches is that God, who has 
 commenced this work within us, will also com- 
 plete, perfect, and finish it. This completion will 
 take place in " the day of Jesus Christ;'^ that is, 
 when Christ shall come again in the clouds of 
 heaven at the last day, termed pre-eminently the 
 day of Jesus Christ, for then he shall appear in 
 his own proper glory, and not as the man of sor- 
 rows as formerly. When Christ shall thus ap- 
 pear in his glory, his saints, living and dead, shall 
 be changed into the same glory and be made like 
 unto him. This glorification of the saints is what 
 the Savior meant in his intercessory prayer when 
 he said, " And the glory wliich thou gavest me / 
 have given them; that they may be one, even as we 
 
CLUSTERS FllOM ESHCOL. 245 
 
 are one." (John xvii. 22.) When this consumma- 
 tion shall have been reached, then, and then only, 
 may it be said that grace has. completed its work 
 for us. But shall it then have done for us all it 
 can do ? We know not. The Bible reveals noth- 
 ing further than the resurrection, glorification, 
 and exaltation of the saints. Anything beyond 
 this is left for future revelation, as the intermina- 
 ble future of the redeemed and saved may de- 
 mand. 
 
 Jesus Christ, then, is the model after which the 
 saints are to be fashioned; for God has predes- 
 tinated us "to be conformed to the image of his 
 Son, that he might be the first-born among many 
 brethren." (Kom. viii. 29.) We may become 
 like him, as he now is, only after the similitude 
 of his earthly life, of which sufiering composed a 
 large part. We shall be made like him, as he 
 now is, hereafter, at the last day. And as Christ 
 was perfected through suffering (Heb. ii. 10.), and 
 as suffering is the common lot of the family of 
 God, and through suffering the redeemed shall 
 reach their final destination in heaven (Rev. vii. 
 14.), and as Christ has promised that those who 
 share in his sufferings here shall partake of his 
 glory hereafter, we should rather rejoice in our 
 tribulations as the true evidences of our divine 
 
246 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 relationship, as evidences that we are in the true 
 way to life everlasting hereafter, and as the cer- 
 tain pledges of the glory which awaits us. "We 
 need not, then, count upon bright days here, nor 
 expect to pass through life without storms and 
 tempests. Peace within we may expect — this is 
 promised us; but peace without is not our lot. 
 It was not the Master's lot. It has never been 
 the lot of his followers. It can not be ours. Trib- 
 ulations and trials are the common heritage of 
 the family of God. It is the family badge and 
 the mark by which they are to be known, for by 
 it they are most like their Elder Brother. 
 
 God, then, is mercifully preparing his children 
 here for their proper place in the kingdom, to be 
 revealed at the last day. And as the material for 
 the first temple was all shaped, squared, smooth- 
 ed, and polished on the ground where it was cut, 
 or quarried, so that when it was brought together 
 each piece fitted the place it was designed for so 
 completely that the sound of hammer or saw was 
 not heard in further preparation in the erection 
 of the sacred edifice, so God is shaping, squaring, 
 smoothing, and polishing his material here for 
 the temple hereafter, of which they shall form a 
 part; and when all the scattered household of 
 God shall be gathered together in the skies, per- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 247 
 
 feet unity and harmony will prevail, and each, 
 one will he found to he just fitted for the place 
 intended. To accomplish this work of prepara- 
 tion, the saw, the hammer, and the file are needed; 
 and by them we are being made more and more 
 like unto the perfect pattern after which we are 
 to be conformed. Are we undergoing extraor- 
 dinary trials and afflictions ? Extraordinary care 
 bestowed upon any of the material of which the 
 temple was composed implied extraordinary hard- 
 ness and unfitness, or that it was designed for 
 more than an ordinary position in the sacred 
 edifice. The analogy points to exaltation in 
 heaven in proportion to our suffering here. Had 
 not Paul this fact in his mind when he declared 
 that " our light affliction, which is but for a mo- 
 ment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and 
 eternal weight of glory." (II. Cor. iv. 17.) And 
 also in that other of his sayings, " I reckon that 
 the sufferings of this present time are not worthy 
 to be compared with the glory which shall be re- 
 vealed in us." (Rom. viii. 18.) 
 
 Upon this last passage Hannah More has re- 
 marked : " ' I reckon,' says Paul, like a man 
 skilled in spiritual arithmetic. ^ I reckon,' after 
 a due estimate of their comparative value, ' that 
 the sufferings of this present time are not worthy 
 
.248 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 to be compared with the glory which shall be 
 revealed in us.' " " 'No man," she continues^ 
 Of the suflerings of the present world he had 
 shared more largely than any other man. Of the 
 glory that shall be revealed, he had a glimpse 
 granted to no other man. He had heard the words 
 of God and seen the vision of .the Almighty ; and 
 the result of this privileged experience was, he 
 * desired to depart and be with Christ;' he desir- 
 ed to escape from this valley of tears ; he was 
 impatient to recover the celestial vision, eager to 
 perpetuate the momentary foretastes of the glo- 
 ries of immortality." 
 
 If there is any one fact more than another that 
 I would want to be assured of beyond the possi- 
 bility of a doubt, it is whether the work of grace 
 commenced in my heart shall be carried on to its- 
 completion ? Or shall I, by reason of my weak- 
 ness or unfaithfulness, prevent this consumma- 
 tion ? The apostle, as if anticipating this very 
 anxiety, and intending to meet it, uses language 
 which precisely meets the case, — " Being confi- 
 dent of this very thing, that he which hath begun a 
 good work in you will perform it until the day of 
 Jesus Christ." He doubtless bases his confidence 
 upon God's own declared purposes, as well a& 
 upon his invariable method of always completing 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 24^ 
 
 every work which he commences. This work, 
 then, will have its completion when our Lord 
 comes again in the clouds of heaven at the last 
 day, called by pre-eminence " the day of Jesus 
 Christ.^' St. Peter referred to this day when he 
 declared that " the day of the Lord will come as a 
 thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall 
 pass away with a great noise, and the elements 
 shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and 
 the works that are therein shall be burned up." 
 (II. Peter iii. 10.) 
 
 The Apostle John referring to that day declar- 
 ed, " Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and 
 it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we 
 know that, when he shall appear, we shall he like 
 Mmr (I. John iii. 2.) Said St. Paul, " Our con- 
 versation is in heaven ; from whence also we look 
 for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ : who shall 
 change our vile body, that it may be fashioned 
 like unto his glorious body, according to the 
 working whereby he is able even to subdue all 
 things unto himself." (Phil. iii. 20, 21.) 
 
 The same apostle again says: "For ye are 
 dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 
 "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then 
 shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Col. 
 iii. 3, 4.) 
 
250 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 St. Paul speaks still further of the coming of 
 Christ and the glory to be revealed at that time, 
 as follows : " If we believe that Jesus died and 
 rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus 
 will God bring with him. For this we say unto 
 you by the word of the Lord, that we which are 
 alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord 
 shall not prevent them which are asleep. For 
 the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with 
 a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with 
 the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall 
 rise first : then we which are alive and remain 
 shall be caught up together with them in the 
 clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall 
 we ever be with the Lord." (I. Thess. iv. 14-17.) 
 
 In his Epistle to Titus, St. Paul, speaking of 
 the coming of our Lord and the glorification of 
 the saints as the great motive to patience, faith 
 fulness, and diligence, uses this language : ''Teach- 
 ing us that, denying ungodliness and w^orldly 
 lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and 
 godly, in this present world ; looking for that 
 blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the 
 great God and our Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus 
 ii. 12, 13.) 
 
 In the apocalyptic vision the second coming of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ and the glorification of the 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 251 
 
 saints and their gathering together at the mar- 
 riage-feast in the skies is placed in Revelations 
 xix. 1-9. The rejoicings of the redeemed hosts at 
 that event will be found in Revelations vii. 9-17. 
 
 Dear afliicted followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 let us be patient in all our afflictions. Our God 
 will not inflict one stroke more than is necessary 
 to accomplish his purposes concerning us. And 
 when those purposes shall have been accomplish- 
 ed, and we shall have been made fit for our place 
 in the heavenly temple, the shaping, the cutting, 
 the polishing, shall cease, and we shall be gather- 
 ed to our proper place. Then our trials will have 
 ended forever. Then God himself, as if unwilling 
 to commit this pleasant duty to other hands, will 
 wipe away all tears from our eyes. Then we 
 shall abide forever where there shall be " no more 
 death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 
 there be any more pain, for the former things are 
 passed away." 
 
 "Until the day break, and the shadows flee 
 away," let us go up into the " mountain of myrrh, 
 and to the hill of frankincense," and with the 
 gifted Bickersteth, in his " Yesterday, To-day, and 
 Forever ^'^ catch a view of the coming glory. 
 
 '* In a glimpse, 
 In the individual twinkling of an eye, 
 The ground on which we stood, trembled and clave; 
 
252 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 And I, a sense of rapture like new life 
 Through every limb discoursing, found myself 
 Appareird in celestial robes, what once 
 "Was mortal clothed in immortality, 
 What was corrupt in incorruption lost. 
 ******** 
 " The Bridegroom met the Bride alone. Himself 
 In glorified humanity supreme, 
 Incarnate Light ; and she like him in glory, 
 No spot or wrinkle on her holy brow, 
 No film upon her robes of dazzling white, 
 Most beautiful, most glorious ; every saint 
 Perfect in individual perfeetness ; 
 And each to each so fitly interlink'd, 
 Join'd and compact, these countless millions seem'd 
 One body by One Spirit inspired and moved. 
 The various members knit in faultless grace, 
 The feeblest as the sti-ongest necessary. 
 Nor schism, nor discord, nor excess, nor lack; 
 The Ideal of all beauty realized. 
 The Impersonation of delight and love." 
 
CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS FROM THE DELECTABLE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 " Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get 
 me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankin- 
 cense." (Solomon's Song iv. 6,) 
 
 It was upon a mountain that the Savior stood 
 when Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the 
 world and the glories of them, and offered to 
 give them unto him if he would fall down and 
 worship him. It was upon a mountain that ,^f 
 
 Moses stood when- he viewed the promised land, 
 into which he was not permitted to enter because 
 of his disobedience at Meribah. It was from "a 
 mountain great and high" that the revelator 
 stood when the apocalyptic vision of the ]^ew 
 Jerusalem, descending out of heaven, was shown 
 him. It was doubtless upon an eminence that 
 Abram stood when the Lord said unto him, "Lift 
 up now thine eyes, and look from the place where 
 thou art northward, and southward, and east- 
 ward, and westward : for all the land which thou 
 seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for- 
 
254 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 ever." It was from the top of Lebanon and 
 Amana and Shenir and Hermon, and from the 
 mountains of the leopards, and the lions' dens, 
 that the heavenly Bridegroom called his spouse 
 to follow him to the mountain of myrrh, and to 
 the hill of frankincense, there to abide until the 
 day break and the shadows flee away. And it 
 was from the Delectable Mountains — the same, 
 doubtless, as the mountain of myrrh of Solo- 
 mon's Song, — that the pilgrims to Mount Zion 
 had such an extended and delightful view of the 
 Celestial City. The author of PilgrMs Progress 
 properly locates the Delectable Mountains at a 
 late stage in the believer's pilgrimage, and near 
 the end of his journey. Symbolizing, as it does, 
 an advanced state of Christian experience, this 
 mountain affords a favorable position for exten- 
 sive observation, both retrospective and pros- 
 pective. Taking a position upon one of its 
 highest peaks, all of which have been appro- 
 priately named by the shepherds who reside 
 there, and who are always ready to entertain 
 and instruct pilgrims, as Knowledge, Experience, 
 "Watchful, and Sincere, we invite the reader to 
 share in our observations. 
 
 The Delectable Mountains, with their gardens, 
 vineyards, meadows, orchards, pleasant fruits. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 255 
 
 dainty flowers, and fountains of clear and spark- 
 ling waters, were all provided by the king of the 
 Celestial City for the accommodation of pilgrims. 
 Here they may find rest, soul-refreshment, and 
 precious companionship. Here the Heavenly Je- 
 rusalem is in full sight. Here the kind shep- 
 herds are ever delighted to entertain pilgrims, 
 and show them things which will be to their 
 profit and edification. Oh, it is truly, as its name 
 indicates, a delightful place indeed. Here we 
 love to linger, and feel loath to leave, were it not 
 that our King has provided something still better 
 for us. 
 
 But before we proceed on our farther journey 
 let us go up into the mountain's highest peak 
 and take some observations. We turn first to 
 retrospect the way by which we have come. We 
 recall to our remembrance the difficulties we 
 encountered, the discouragements we met, the 
 enemies we contended"*with, and the victories we 
 were enabled to achieve. These solemn retro- 
 spects are common to pilgrims; and they are 
 fraught with comfort or reproach, according as 
 life has been faithful or otherwise. 
 
 « J rj^ig good to cast a look awhile 
 Upon the troubles of the past; 
 When heaven and earth, Avithout a smile, 
 With clouds and storms were overcast." 
 
256 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 A traveler in South America relates that he 
 ascended a mountain through what he suppcsed 
 was an undergrowth of weeds. But in the morn- 
 ing, looking back from the mountain's summit, 
 he saw that what he supposed were weeds was 
 the sensitive plant, and that the crooked, zig-zag 
 way by which he had come was plainly marked, 
 even down to the foot of the mountain. So from 
 the position we occupy, our past wanderings, 
 from the commencement of our pilgrimage to 
 the present, are all plainly marked, and we will 
 have no difficulty, but much cause for humilia- 
 tion, and also for great rejoicing, in tracing out 
 our past course. 
 
 Far away in the distance is the City of De- 
 struction. What cause for gratitude to God that, 
 from our earliest recollection, we were dissatisfied 
 with that place and desired to become a pilgrim. 
 These early impressions, under God, are the re- 
 sult of the godly example and faithful instruc- 
 tions of pious parents. They were pilgrims, and 
 have crossed the river and now rest in heaven. 
 After our pilgrim life is ended we expect to join 
 them in the pilgrim's home. 
 
 At a very early period of life we entered upon 
 our pilgrimage. Well do we remember the dis- 
 couraging struggle we had in the Slough of De- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 257 
 
 spond. Some of its filth adhered to us for a long 
 time afterward ; and even yet it is sometimes seen 
 upon our garment. At the wicket-gate we long 
 waited for entrance. It was at length opened, 
 and we entered in and became a pilgrim indeed. 
 There, too, stands the cross, at the sight of which 
 the burden fell from our back. The House of 
 the Interpreter stands in the same region, where 
 we found pleasant lodging, and where we received 
 wholesome instruction. Its chief inmate, the 
 Holy Spirit, kindly volunteered to accompany us 
 upon our pilgrimage. We have found him a 
 pleasant and useful companion. He is perfectly 
 familiar with all the way, and even guides our 
 feet, as well as protects and comforts us. The 
 Hill of Difficulty lies away in the distance. We 
 succeeded in climbing it; and mercifully, by tak- 
 ing heed to the instructions of our guide, escaped 
 the danger of losing our roll by resting in the 
 arbor, placed there by Satan. There, too, in that 
 same neighborhood, we found entertainment in 
 the house called Beautiful. Its associations, its 
 privileges, as well as its opportunities for Chris- 
 tian labor, have all proved to be very agreeable; 
 and we have never felt like going elsewhere for 
 either companionship, pleasure, or a field of use- 
 fulness. 
 
 17 
 
258 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 " I love thy kingdom, Lord, — 
 The house of thine abode, — 
 The church our blest Redeemer saved 
 With his own precious blood." 
 
 " For her my tears shall fall ; 
 For her my prayers ascend ; 
 To her my cares and toils be giv'n 
 Till toils and cares shall end." 
 
 There, in the same locality, just this side of 
 the Hill of Difficulty, we, too, met Mr. "Worldly 
 "Wiseman, who directed us to Mr. Legality for 
 deliverance ; and had not Evangelist come to our 
 assistance, and directed us to the right way, the 
 thunderings and lightnings of Sinai would have 
 overwhelmed us. Mr. Worldly Wiseman still 
 lives and misleads many pilgrims. We caution 
 others to be on the lookout for him. He will 
 offer you the church and her ordinances instead 
 of Christ. Beware of him. He has ruined many 
 pilgrims. St. Paul doubtless fell into his hands ; 
 and the seventh chapter of Romans details his 
 struggles for liberty. The eighth chapter assures 
 us that Evangelist directed him aright, and that 
 he took his counsel. 
 
 Soon after meeting Evangelist and heeding his 
 counsel, we were joined by a fellow-traveler, one 
 Faithful. He long journeyed with us, was an 
 excellent companion and instructor, but long 
 since has crossed over the river to the Celestial 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 259 
 
 City. God has given ns many others since. They 
 have proved pleasant traveling companions ; but 
 our heart yet delights to cleave to Brother Faith- 
 ful. "We shall meet him on the other side. We, 
 in company with Brother Faithful, passed through 
 Vanity Fair. By taking heed to the instruction 
 of the Interpreter, we passed through this place, 
 so fatal to many pilgrims, without harm. "We, 
 too, came in sight of the lions, and found, as have 
 all other pilgrims, that they were chained by the 
 side of the road, and could not reach us unless 
 we deviated from the path. !N"o lion nor ravenous 
 beast can ever go upon the King's Highway. 
 There, too, we met the great Apollyon in fearful 
 conflict; but Immanuel came to our rescue. Then, 
 in Doubting Castle, Giant Despair long held us a 
 prisoner. Oh, we shudder at the remembrance 
 of the bitterness of our experience while in his 
 dreary prison. Despair, indeed, settled down 
 upon us, and, like Christian and Hopeful under 
 similar circumstances, life became a burden and 
 death desirable. But our Immanuel again inter- 
 posed and delivered us. Blessed be his name. 
 Our experience during this dreary part of our 
 pilgrimage is fitly expressed in the following lines: 
 
 ** It was a dark, untravel'd road, 
 
 In which my steps were called to go ; 
 The path of many a weary load, 
 And where it led I did not know. 
 
260 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 " A weary road with rivers high ; 
 
 Wild beasts were standing on the rocks ; 
 And clouds came drifting through the sky, 
 Fill'd deep with fires and thunder shocks. 
 
 *' But through the clouds, and through the flame, 
 And foaming floods, as on I went, 
 A voice of hope and cheering came, — 
 * Fear not to go where God has senV " 
 
 But now we are upon the Delectable Mountains. 
 Strange that they are so near Doubting Castle, 
 and that so many pilgrims are caught therein. 
 Here, however, all is beautiful and delightful. 
 Here in the gardens and vineyards we find many 
 pilgrims, all of whom have much to say of the 
 many deliverances wrought for them by Imman- 
 uel. Here, too, the shepherds tell us that the 
 heavenly Jerusalem can be seen on a bright day 
 through their perspective-glass. "We will ask the 
 shepherds to permit us to look through it, and 
 tell our readers what we may see. 
 
 Oh, how delightful is this place ! How inspir- 
 ing and invigorating is the pure atmosphere! 
 How sweet and nourishing the clusters from these 
 vineyards, and the fruit from these orchards! 
 How pure and reviving is the water from, these 
 fountains, — foretastes, doubtless, of the Fountain 
 of Life in heaven. And, then, how grand, how 
 inspiring, the view from these lofty peaks ! TVe 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 261 
 
 feel like restiDg here awhile ; but a voice says to 
 us, "Arise ye, get ye hence; for this is not thy 
 rest!" 
 
 " I see a hand you can not see, 
 Which beckons me away; 
 I hear a voice you can not hear, 
 
 Forbidding me to sta3\" 
 
 But before we proceed farther let us erect a 
 monument of thanksgiving to God for bringing 
 us safely thus far upon our heavenly pilgrimage, 
 and upon it write, — 
 
 " Here I'll raise my Ebenezer; 
 Hither by thy help I've come ; 
 And I hope by thy good pleasure, 
 Safely to arrive at home.' 
 
 "We now turn in the direction of the heavenly 
 Jerusalem, and see just ahead of us, and adjoin- 
 ing the Delectable Mountains, indeed but a con- 
 tinuance of them, the land of Beulah. (See Isaiah 
 Ixii. 4, 12.) Here it is that the sun shines day 
 and night. Here the air is pure, sweet, and 
 fragrant with the odor of camphire, spikenard, 
 saffron, calamus, cinnamon, frankincense, myrrh, 
 and aloes of the king's gardens. Here are the 
 king's orchards and vineyards, the fruit of which 
 the pilgrims are ever permitted to eat. Here is 
 no lack of corn and wine, for all is in abundance. 
 Here the singing of birds is ever heard, and here 
 
262 CLUSTEES FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 the bells of the Celestial City are ever heard to 
 ring. Here the noise of the heavenly trumpeters, 
 with the eft'ects of the fruit they eat, prevent the 
 pilgrims from sleeping, and yet they receive as 
 much refreshment as if they slept ever so soundly. 
 Here they are in sight of the Celestial City, the 
 inhabitants of which occasionally come over and 
 walk with the pilgrims. Here the pilgrims walk 
 to and fro, their eyes filled with celestial visions, 
 and hearing nothing, seeing nothing, feeling noth- 
 ing, smelling nothing, nor tasting nothing that is 
 offensive. Here the weary pilgrims betake them- 
 selves to rest, and have more rejoicing than in 
 any part of their past pilgrimage. Here the 
 Slough of Despond, the Yalley of the Shadow of 
 Death, and Doubting Castle can not so much as 
 be seen. Here, on the borders of heaven, the 
 pilgrims have a better view of the Celestial City 
 than at any other time. Here the contract be- 
 tween the bride and the Bridegroom is renewed ; 
 and here voices from out of the city are heard, 
 saying, " Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, 
 thy salvation cometh ! behold, his reward is with 
 him." Here all the inhabitants of the country 
 call them, " The holy people, the redeemed of the 
 Lord." Surely, this is the place of which we 
 sing,— 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 263 
 
 ** I've reached the land of corn and wine, 
 And all its riches freely mine ; 
 Here shines undimm'd one blissful day, 
 For all my night has pass'd away. 
 
 Chorus : 
 " O Beulah land, sweet Beulah land, 
 As on the highest mount I stand, 
 I look away across the sea, * 
 
 ' Where mansions are prepared for me, 
 
 And view the shining, glory shore. 
 My heav'n, my home for evermore. 
 
 " The Savior comes and walks with me, 
 And sweet communion here have we ; 
 He gently leads me with his hand. 
 For this is heaven's border-land. 
 
 ** A sweet perfume upon the breeze. 
 Is borne from ever- vernal trees, 
 And flow'rs that never fading grow, 
 Where streams of life forever flow. 
 
 " The zephyrs seem to float to me. 
 Sweet sounds of heaven's melody. 
 As angels with the white-robed throng, 
 Join in the sweet redemption's song." 
 
 "But what is Beulah land, where is it, and 
 what does it symbolize in Christian experience ? " 
 
 Beulah means married. The Christian experi- 
 ence which it indicates is that deep, abiding, and 
 all-satisfying intercourse between Husband and 
 wife — the Lord Jesus Christ and his bride. 
 
 " But," it may be inquired, " are not all believ- 
 ers married unto Christ; and have not all this 
 experience ? " 
 
264 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 All truly converted persons are married unto 
 Christ ; but many do not fully realize their divine 
 relationship, and as a consequence do not abid- 
 ingly possess the precious experience of full sal- 
 vation. Failing to obtain, by reason of their 
 worldliness and want of consecration, a satisfying 
 portion in Christ, they seek in the world, and in 
 worldly vanities, pursuits, and associations, for 
 what they feel to be necessary to complete and 
 perfect happiness. Hence their dissatisfaction, 
 inconsistencies, and legal entanglements. But 
 where Christ is fully and constantly accepted, 
 and the world, his foe and rival, is entirely for- 
 saken, the experience of complete and perfect 
 satisfaction will be attained and retained. This 
 is entire consecration. This is entire sanctifica- 
 tion. This is Beulah-land experience. 
 
 This experience is found throughout the entire 
 Scriptures. Some books, and chapters of others, 
 are entirely devoted to it. That precious portion 
 of God's holy "Word, the Song of Solomon, is the 
 Beulah land of the Scriptures. Indeed, it can 
 be understood only by those in the enjoyment of 
 the experience it details. 
 
 But let us hear some of the expressions which 
 fall from the lips of the happy inhabitants of this 
 delightful r»lace. Says one: " The winter is past, 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 265 
 
 the rain is over and gone ; the flowers appear on 
 the earth; the time of the singing of birds is 
 come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our 
 land." Says another : " As the apple-tree among 
 the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among 
 the sons. I sat down under his shadow with 
 great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my 
 taste." '' My beloved is unto me as a cluster of 
 camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi." 
 
 " The voice of my beloved ! behold, he cometh 
 leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the 
 hills." 
 
 " My beloved is mine, and I am his : he feedeth 
 among the lilies." 
 
 " I sleep, but my heart waketh : it is the voice 
 of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to 
 me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled : 
 for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with 
 the drops of the night. " 
 
 "I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, if 
 ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am 
 sick of love." 
 
 " His mouth is most sweet : yea, he is altogether 
 lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, 
 daughters of Jerusalem." 
 
 Says another happy pilgrim : '' The Lord is my 
 shepherd ; I shall not want." 
 
266 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Says one : " This is the bleating of Messiah's 
 sheep — I shall not want ! I shall not want ! ! " 
 
 " He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : 
 he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restor- 
 eth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of right-' 
 eousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I 
 walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
 I will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod 
 and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest 
 a table before me in the presence of mine ene- 
 mies : thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup 
 runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall 
 follow me all the days of my life: and I will 
 dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalms 
 xxiii.) 
 
 This is the language of entire consecration. 
 This is the experience of entire sanctification. 
 This is the Beulah land of the Christian's pil- 
 grimage. Contrast these utterances, and the evan- 
 gelical spirit which they breathe, with the utter- 
 ances of the seventh chapter of Eomans, and the 
 legalism which it expresses, and the difference 
 will at once appear. 
 
 The distinguished author of the ^'Pilgrim's 
 Progress " locates the Land of Beulah at a late 
 period of the believer's pilgrimage and near the 
 end of his life. We claim that while this experi- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 267 
 
 ence is usually attained at this period, it may be 
 obtained and retained at any time after entering 
 into the wicket-gate. There is a by-way to hell, 
 as the immortal dreamer has shown us in his 
 allegory; and there is a nearer way to the Land 
 of Beulah than by the Yalley of the Shadow of 
 Death and Doubting Castle. This nearer way is 
 Entire Consecration and Faith. 
 
 "A highway shall be there, and a way," says 
 Isaiah (xxxv. 8.). The way is one; but it is a 
 highway to those only who consecrate themselves 
 fully, and believe for it ; and a way only to those 
 who do not comply with these conditions. 
 
 In the prophecy of Ezekiel (xlvii.) the stream 
 of salvation is represented as but ankle-deep; 
 then up to the loins ; then a great and mighty 
 river, which no man can cross over. The stream 
 is one; but it will be deep or shallow, according 
 to the faith exercised. To full consecration and 
 strong faith, it is a mighty river, — even " waters 
 to swim in;" to the weak and partially conse- 
 crated, it is but ankle-deep. 
 
 Then there are some who locate the Land of 
 Beulah at the commencement of the Christian's 
 pilgrimage, claiming that the soul is entirely sanc- 
 tified when it is regenerated. These make no 
 distinction between being sanctified in part, and 
 
268 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 in whole, or wholly, as tlie apostle states it in L 
 Thessalonians v. 23. This view finds no eucour- 
 .agement in either God's word or the universal 
 faith of the church of the past. It is of recent 
 origin; is an innovation upon the faith of the 
 church, and is contrary to the analogy of the 
 Christian's life as taught in the Pilgrim's Prog- 
 ress. 
 
 "We turn now to resume our observations, and 
 see in the distance a river through which we 
 must pass. We will not, however, consider here 
 the passage of this river, reserving this for our 
 next and concluding chapter. Beyond this river, 
 upon the everlasting hills of Zion, the Holy City, 
 the New Jerusalem is faintly visible. That city 
 is the dwelling-place of God. To it the Savior 
 ascended from the mount of Olives. Into it 
 Enoch and Elijah also ascended, without passing 
 down through the dark river of death. To it 
 patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and all 
 other pilgrims who have preceded us, have gone. 
 There they now abide; and there our pilgrimage 
 will end, for this is the pilgrim's home. 
 
 But little, comparatively, is known of heaven. 
 The Bible, while revealing with unmistakable 
 distinctness the way to reach heaven, discloses 
 but little of its interior excellences. Said a trav- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 269 
 
 eler as he approached the city of Baltimorej by 
 the Chesapeake Bay, " That light in the distance 
 can not he a light-house, for it does not show us 
 Baltimore. It does not reveal its streets and 
 buildings, and its inhabitants and their mode of 
 living." The light-house is not intended to re- 
 veal Baltimore, but to lead us safely to it. So 
 God's word; it does not propose to disclose all 
 the glories of heaven, but rather to guide us to 
 it. Like the light-house, the Bible points out the 
 true way, as well as reveals the shoals and rocks 
 and quicksands which threaten our safety. 
 
 A missionary who labored in some far-western 
 field said once in our hearing, that one Sabbath 
 he left his home to preach in a distant village. 
 His way lay through a large prairie, which was 
 grown up with tall grass. While crossing this 
 prairie a snow-storm came down upon him and 
 he lost his way. !N'ight set in and he was yet lost 
 in this trackless field. Remembering that he had 
 a compass in his pocket, he struck a light and 
 took his bearings by that compass, and regulated 
 his course accordingl3^ In a short time he reach- 
 ed his destination. God's word is the sure com- 
 pass ! Consult it, obey its teaching, and it will 
 lead you to heaven. 
 
 It is said that ^' on the shores of the Adriatic 
 
270 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 the wives of fisliermen, whose husbands have 
 gone far oat upon the deep, are in the habit at 
 eventide of going down to the sea-shore and 
 singing, as female voices only can, the first stanza 
 of a beautiful hymn. After they have sung it 
 they listen till they hear, borne by the winds 
 across the desert sea, the second stanza, sung by 
 their faithful husbands as they are tossed by the 
 gale upon the waves. Perhaps, if we could listen, 
 we too might hear in this desert world of ours, 
 some sound, some whisper, borne from afar, to 
 remind us that there is a heaven, a home, and 
 that our departed friends have not forgotten us." 
 
 A traveler crossing the Atlantic Ocean says 
 that on approaching the shores of Europe, one 
 bright and beautiful morning he observed a pe- 
 culiar fragrance in the atmosphere. Inquiring of 
 the captain of the vessel as to what caused it, he 
 was informed that it was the odor from the or- 
 chards and vineyards along the coasts which they 
 were approaching. So the land-breezes from 
 Canaan are wafted to us, and increase our desire 
 to reach that happy place. We welcome these 
 precious breezes as harbingers of the fruitfulness, 
 the grandeur, and the glory of that better land. 
 
 Probably the reason why the Scriptures reveal 
 no more of the glories of heaven, and the bright 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 271 
 
 visions thereof, which have been granted to a 
 few, and these only in their dying hours, are not 
 permitted to be made known, is, that if the full 
 glories of the heavenly state were revealed here, 
 travelers thitherward would become dissatisfied 
 with their wilderness life and become unduly anx- 
 ious to depart. Bunyan, in his Pilgrim's Prog- 
 ress, tells us that Christian and Hopeful caught 
 a glimpse of the heavenly Jerusalem when near- 
 ing the River of Death ; and both fell into a spell 
 of home-sickness, desiring to depart at once and 
 be with Christ, and were for a time unable to 
 proceed on their pilgrimage. God, then, properly 
 withholds these transporting scenes until so near 
 the end of the journey that they do not perma- 
 nently injure pilgrims, reserving the full vision 
 of eternal glory for immortal eyes. 
 
 And yet visions of heaven, in some few cases 
 so glorious, so transporting, and so encouraging, 
 have been given, and we narrate them here. 
 
 St. Paul was caught up into the " third heav- 
 en," " into paradise," " into heaven," and heard 
 and saw things which he declared he was not 
 permitted to reveal. (II. Cor. xii. 4.) Rev. Wil- 
 liam Tennent, a godly minister of the gospel, 
 above a century ago, was favored in a like man- 
 ner with St. Paul, and like him, he was not per- 
 
272 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 mitted to tell what lie liad seen or lieard. Pay- 
 son, that eminently holy man, was highly favored 
 in his, last hours with visions of heaven and of 
 its angelic inhabitants. Even the sweet music of 
 the redeemed was wafted to his eager and en- 
 raptured ears. 
 
 Senator Foote, who died some years ago in 
 Washington, caught a glimpse of the everlasting 
 city just before his redeemed spirit left the shore 
 of time for its home in heaven; and he exultingly 
 exclaimed, " I see ! I see ! ! Beautiful I Beauti- 
 ful ! ! The pearly gates stand open wide ! " 
 
 E.ev. H. Y. Humelbaugh, of our own church, 
 when dying, exclaimed in holy ecstacy, " Doc- 
 tor, what a beautiful laud lies just before my 
 eyes ! " 
 
 " Oh, heaven is nearer than mortals think, 
 When they look with trembling dread, 
 At the misty future that stretches on, 
 From the silent home of the dead. 
 
 " ' Tis no lonely isle on a boundless main, 
 
 No brilliant, but distant shore, 
 
 When the lovely ones who are called away, 
 
 Must go to return no more. 
 « 
 
 " No, heaven is near us ; the mighty vail 
 
 Of mortality blinds the eye, 
 
 That we can not see the angel bands 
 
 On the shores of eternity. 
 
 " Yet oft in the hours of holy thought, 
 To the thirsting soul is given 
 The power to pierce through the mist of sense, 
 To the beauteous scenes of heaven." 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 273 
 
 We come now to consider heaven as it is re- 
 vealed in the Scriptures, and inquire, — 
 
 I. What does the word of God reveal as to the 
 splendor and glory of heaven f 
 
 Is heaven a place, or is it only a state, or con- 
 dition ? Says Dr. Howard Crosby, " We are 
 accustomed to say that space and time are only 
 conditions of our finite and composite natures, 
 and that to unfettered spirits there would be rec- 
 ognition of neither time nor space. Whether 
 this be so or not, no man can tell. It is a tran- 
 scendentalism that it is folly to talk about. Time 
 and space are absolute necessities to our thinking. 
 Every conception of our mind is formed on them 
 as a foundation ; and we can have no idea of God 
 himself except as in time and space. However, 
 we must — whether we will or not, — take the word 
 * place,' as used in the words of our Lord, John 
 xiv. 3, in a literal sense. Even if it be not liter- 
 ally a place, we think of it as a place — for we can 
 not think of it in any other way. And, moreover, 
 from the words being used when our Savior 
 might have said simply, * I go to prepare for you,' 
 we may infer that it is actually a place, as we 
 understand the word, that is meant here." 
 
 The scriptural representations of heaven, to 
 our mind, clearly teach that heaven is a place — a 
 
274 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 city; and as such, its splendor and glory are de- 
 scribed as follows : 
 
 1. The external glory of heaven. 
 
 The E^evelator says of the angel, " He carried 
 me away in the spirit to a great and high mount- 
 ain, and shewed me that great city, the holy 
 Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 
 having the glory of God : and her light was like 
 unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper- 
 stone, clear as crystal ; and had a wall great and 
 high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates 
 twelve angels, and names written thereon, which 
 are the names of the twelve tribes of the children 
 of Israel : on the east three gates ; on the north 
 three gates ; on the south three gates ; and on the 
 west three gates. And the wall of the city had 
 twelve foundations, and in them the names of the 
 twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked 
 with me had a golden reed to measure the city, 
 and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And 
 the city lieth four-square, and the length is as 
 large as the breadth : and he measured the city 
 with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The 
 length and- the breadth and the height of it are 
 equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hun- 
 dred and forty and four cubits, according to the 
 measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 275 
 
 building of the wall of it was of jasper : and the 
 city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And 
 the foundations of the wall of the city were gar- 
 nished with all manner of precious stones. The 
 first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; 
 the third, a chalcedony ; the fourth, an emerald ; 
 the fifth, sardonyx ; the sixth, sardius ; the sev- 
 enth, chrysolite ; the eighth, beryl ; the ninth, a 
 topaz ; the tenth, a chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, 
 a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the 
 twelve gates were twelve pearls ; every several 
 gate was of one pearl." (Rev. xxi. 10-21.) 
 
 "We notice, — 
 
 2. The internal glory of heaven. 
 
 " And the street of the city was pure gold, as 
 it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple 
 therein : for the Lord God Almighty and the 
 Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no 
 need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in 
 it : for the glory of God did lighten it, and the 
 Lamb is the light thereof." (Eev. xxi. 21-23.) 
 
 " And he shewed me a pure river of water ot 
 life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne 
 of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the 
 street of it, and on either side of the river, was 
 there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner 
 of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month : and 
 
276 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the 
 nations. And there shall be no more curse : but 
 the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in 
 it; and his servants shall serve him: and they 
 shall see his face ; and his name shall be in their 
 foreheads. And there shall be no night there ; 
 and they need no candle, neither light of the 
 sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light." (Rev. 
 xxii. 1-5.) 
 
 " And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled 
 with fire : and them that had gotten the victory 
 over the beast, and over his image, and over his 
 mark, and over the number of his name, stand on 
 the sea of glass, having the harps of God." (Rev. 
 XV. 2.) 
 
 Thus we have heaven described as a city of 
 twelve thousand furlongs in extent, each way; 
 that is, it is fifteen hundred miles in width, in 
 length, and also in height, — for " the length, and 
 the breadth, and the height of it are equal." Its 
 walls, built of jasper, — blood-red, — are "a hundred 
 and fifty and four cubits ; " that is, two hundred 
 and sixteen feet high. These stand upon twelve 
 foundations, — most likely twelve ranges or layers 
 of precious stones, the names of which are given, 
 — and upon each of which is engraved the name 
 of an apostle. The gates — twelve in number, 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 277 
 
 three on each side, — are each of one pearl. The 
 streets are paved with pure gold, clear and trans- 
 parent as glass or crystal, which reflected the 
 glory of the Lamb like unto " a sea of glass 
 mingled with fire." 
 
 Such is the material splendor of heaven, if ma- 
 terialism applies at all to anything connected 
 with the abode of the redeemed. Can the human 
 imagination conceive of anything so grand, so 
 transcendently magnificent as this? Even if it 
 be but symbolical, the glory and splendor of the 
 place will be great, as the reality always exceeds 
 the symbol. Says Dr. Crosby, '' Imagery may be 
 valuable as a help, provided we do not rest our 
 hope and affections and desires upon the images, 
 but upon the ineffable and indescribable beyond." 
 But is heaven a city only ; and is there not variety 
 there in scenery and landscape as here ? It seems 
 clear from the Revelator's account of the new 
 heaven and new earth succeeding the present, 
 which is burned up at the descent of the Judge, 
 at the last day, into which the new Jerusalem 
 descends, that a new and vast world shall succeed 
 this upon which we now live, and that the heav- 
 enly Jerusalem, as already described, is but the 
 metropolis of this new world. 
 
 There seems to be a want of harmony betwieen 
 
278 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 the statement made in Matthew xxv. 34, and John 
 xiv. 2, 3. How can it be explained? In the 
 former the Judge is repriasented as saying to the 
 righteous at his right hand, in the last judgment, 
 "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
 the world;" in the latter, Jesus said to his disci- 
 ples, when about to leave them, " I go to prepare 
 a place for you." In the first, the kingdom — the 
 place — has already been jjrepared ; in the second, 
 it is yet incomplete. It will be seen that the lat- 
 ter quotation stands in connection with the words 
 — "In my Father's house are many mansions.'* 
 These " many mansions," doubtless, are the innu- 
 merable worlds in the vast universe, called here, 
 " My Father's house." To these worlds the re- 
 deemed from earth may hereafter be permitted to 
 go, and with the inhabitants of which they may 
 mingle. But as some of these worlds may have 
 become disorganized by sin, like our own, their 
 reconstruction, at the expiration of their proba- 
 tion, may be the preparation to which the Savioi 
 referred. 
 
 But where is heaven? The theory held by 
 some eminent men upon this question is worthy 
 of consideration, — that as the sun is the center of 
 our solar system, around which other plajiets and 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 279 
 
 their satellites revolve, so somewhere in the vast 
 universe of God there is a great central world, 
 around which all the other systems, revolve ; and 
 in this central world God specially dwells, and 
 directs and controls all his works. That central 
 world is heaven. It is the dwelling-place of the 
 redeemed. Speaking of heaven as a city, Thomas 
 Guthrie said, " It is a city never built with hands, 
 nor hoary with the years of time ; a city whose 
 inhabitants no census has numbered; a city 
 through whose streets rush no tide of business, 
 nor nodding hearse creeps slowly with its burden 
 to the tomb; a city without griefs or graves, 
 without sin or sorrow, without births or burials, 
 without marriages or mournings ; a city which 
 glories an having Jesus for its King, angels for 
 its guards, saints for its citizens ; whose walls are 
 salvation, and whose gates are praise." 
 
 " Never eye 
 Of mortal man had seen, nor ear had heard, 
 Though ravish'd with the distant fame thereof, 
 Glory like this ; the handiwork of God, 
 And fashion'd of heaven's choice material, light 
 Through which the Light of lights translucent shone ; 
 The mansion of creation's Architect ; 
 The palace of the everlasting King ; 
 Its gates of pearl, its edifice of gold; 
 Its walls on twelve foundations superposed 
 (Of which the divine realities the earth 
 Can only lend its feeblest semblances), 
 
280 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 The jaspei' screak 'd with many a tender dye, 
 
 The sapphire of celestial blue serene, 
 
 The agate once Chalcedon's peerless boast, 
 
 The fathomless repose of emerald, 
 
 The ruby, and the blood-tinctured sardonyx, 
 
 The chrysolite like amber sheathing fire, 
 
 The beryl emulous of ocean's sheen, 
 
 The opal-tinted topaz clear as glass, 
 
 The soft, pale purple of the chrysoprase, 
 
 The Meliboean hyacinth, and last 
 
 The lucid violet of amethyst. 
 
 But not of pearly gates, or golden streets, 
 
 Or bulwarks, or foundations built of jewels. 
 
 Thought we that day, or lingered to admire ; 
 
 For we were on our way to meet our God." 
 
 But what can we learn from the Scriptures of — 
 II. The condition of the redeemed in heaven f 
 In order to consider this question with the 
 care which its importance demands, I shall take 
 up the following points in the order stated. 
 
 1. Do the spirits of departed saints go imme- 
 diately into the presence of God, and do they 
 enter into a state of conscious happiness; or do 
 they go into a state of unconsciousness, and thus 
 remain until the resurrection, at the last day ? 
 
 In every age of the Christian church, from 
 the apostolic age until the present, it has been 
 held that the spirits of departed saints go imme- 
 diately into a place of conscious, happy exist- 
 ence, and remain there until the resurrection of 
 the body, at the last day, when soul and body, 
 reunited and glorified, dwell forever in heaven. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 281 
 
 That the place into which the spirits of depart- 
 ed saints go at death, though sometimes called 
 paradise, is heaven, is proved hy the following 
 scriptures. 
 
 The Redeemer said to the dying malefactor at 
 his side, " To-day shalt thou be with me in para- 
 dise." (Luke xxiii. 43.) St. Paul, in narrating 
 his wonderful vision, uses the terms "third heav- 
 en" and "paradise" synonomously, thereby prov- 
 ing by inspired authority that paradise is heaven. 
 
 That the spirits of departed believers do not, 
 at death, go into a state of unconsciousness, and 
 thus remain until the resurrection, as is taught 
 by materialists, but do go at once into the pres- 
 ence of Jesus, and there abide in conscious, happy 
 existence, is established by the same inspired au- 
 thority. St. Paul, in writing to the church at 
 Philippi (Phil. i. 21-23.), declares of himself what 
 is equally applicable to all Christians, — " For me 
 to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live 
 in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor; yet 
 what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a 
 strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and 
 to be with Christ ; which is far better." 
 
 In his epistle to the church at Corinth, the 
 same apostle says (II. Cor. v. 6-8.), " We are 
 always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at 
 
282 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Lome in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 
 .... we are confident, I say, and willing rather 
 to be absent from the body, and to be present with 
 the Ijordr Here the apostle recognizes the fact 
 of his body being but the tenement in which 
 himself — that which constituted his own person- 
 ality — dwelt. This tenant is the spirit ; and while 
 it remained in its tenement — the body — it was 
 absent from the Lord; but to depart from its 
 fleshly tenement was to be at once in the pres- 
 ence of the Lord. Plainly the apostle knew of 
 no intermediate and unconscious state. Materi- 
 alists alone hold to the heterodoxy of soul-sleep- 
 ing. It is a pernicious doctrine, and belief in it 
 leads to other and greater departures from sound 
 orthodoxy. 
 
 But it may be inquired, — 
 
 2. Is the home of the souls of the redeemed — 
 the heaven into which the spirits of departed 
 saints go at death — the same where the glorified 
 shall ever abide, after the resurrection and glori- 
 fication, at the last day ? 
 
 There is a difterence of opinion, held by good 
 men, upon this question. Some claim that our 
 present earth, after its destruction by fire, in the 
 last day, will be reconstructed and refitted for 
 the abode of the saints, and that the new Jeruaa- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 283 
 
 lem, as described in Eevelations xix., will be its 
 metropolis. While I incline to this latter opin- 
 ion, I am willing to await the developments of 
 that momentous period, assured that our God will 
 make it all right for us. 
 
 3. "What will be the outward appearance of 
 the glorified saints ? 
 
 The saints are to be changed and glorified and 
 made like unto the glorified Kedeemer. We now 
 bear the image of the earthly, — the first Adam ; 
 we shall then bear the image of the heavenly, — 
 the second Adam, the Lord from heaven. (Phil, 
 iii. 20, 21 ; I. Cor. xv. 43-49 ; I. Thess. iv. 13-17.) 
 Would you know what is the appearance of the 
 glorified Redeemer, after whom the saints shall 
 be conformed ? Read the description in Rev. i. 
 12-18; Daniel vii. 9, 10, x. 5, 6; Matt. xvii. 2. 
 
 This is the consummation of the Christian's 
 hope. This is awaking in the likeness of Christ. 
 This is the salvation completed. This is the 
 consummation for which the Redeemer prayed. 
 (John xvii. 22.) This is the realization of the 
 promised glorification with Christ, because we 
 suffered with him in this life. (II. Tim. ii. 11, 12.) 
 This is walking with Christ, dressed in white, 
 emblematic of purity, and bearing palm-branches, 
 emblematic of victory and eternal peace, because 
 
284 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 we walked with him here in shame and reproach. 
 This is sharing the kingdom, appointed unto 
 those who continued with the Redeemer in his 
 temptations. (Luke xxii. 28, 29.) This is the cor- 
 ruptible putting on incorruption. This is being 
 conformed unto the heavenly image of our Elder 
 Brother, as we were conformed to his earthly 
 image here. This is the full and complete and 
 ever-abiding glory promised as the consumma- 
 tion of all our hopes and aspirations. We shall 
 be in a city which is appropriately called "glo- 
 ry." The bodies with which we shall enter into 
 that place shall be glorious, — "like unto the glo- 
 rious body of Christ." The garments which we 
 shall wear are "for beauty and glory." The 
 crowns we shall wear are "crowns of glory." 
 The society with which we shall forever associate 
 are the glorified. The songs we shall sing shall 
 be songs of glory. The rest we shall enjoy shall 
 be glorious. The inheritance to which we shall 
 attain is one of glory and honor. The consum- 
 mation to which we are called is " eternal glory." 
 The salvation which we have secured is "salva- 
 tion with Christ, and eternal glory." And in 
 anticipation of all these, we now rejoice with 
 *'joy unspeakable and full of glory." 
 
 " Oh, happy saints^ who dwell in light, 
 
 And walk with Jesus, clothed in white I 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 285 
 
 Safe landed on that peaceful shore 
 Where pilgrims meet to part no more. 
 
 " Released frotn sorrow, toil, and strife, 
 And welcome to an endless life, 
 Their souls have now began to prove 
 The height and depth of Jesus' love." 
 
 As another feature of the condition of the re- 
 deemed in heaven, I notice, — 
 
 4. The absence of all suffering and distress. 
 
 Suffering and distress are universal in this 
 world. 'No one, however upright and holy, is 
 exempt from this bitter cup. In heaven, how- 
 ever, all suffering will forever have ended. Said 
 the angel to the Revelator, concerning the in- 
 numerable throng which stood around the throne 
 in heaven, " These are they which came out of 
 great tribulation, and have washed their robes, 
 and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and 
 serve him day and night in his temple : and he 
 that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among 
 them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst 
 any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor 
 any heat. For the Lamb ivhich is in the midst of 
 the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto 
 living fountains of waters: and God shall loipe 
 away all tears from their eyes.J^ (Rev. vii. 14-17.) 
 
 Again the Revelator says, "• And I heard a 
 
286 CLUSTEKS FKOM ESHCOL. 
 
 great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the 
 tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell 
 with them, and they shall be his people, and God 
 himself shall be with them, and be their God. 
 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; 
 and there shall he no more death, neither sorrow, nor 
 crying, neither shall there he any more pain : for the 
 former things are passed away.^' (Rev. xxi. 3-5.) 
 
 This blessedness, this exemption from suffering 
 and tears, has been clearly predicted by the proph- 
 ets of old, unto whom visions of the future glory 
 of the redeemed were granted. Said Isaiah, " He 
 will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord 
 God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and 
 the rebuke of his people shall he take away from 
 off all the earth." (Isa. xxv. 8.) 
 
 Again the same prophet says, "And the ran- 
 somed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion 
 with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads : 
 they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow 
 and sighing shall flee away. (Isa. xxxv. 10.) See 
 also Isaiah xxx. 19; Jeremiah xxxi. 12. Oh, the 
 tears that have been shed in this world, — tears of 
 anguish, tears of bereavement, tears of personal 
 suffering, tears of parting, tears of widowhood^ 
 tears of orphanage, tears of homelessness, tears 
 of poverty, tears of want, tears over our own 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 287 
 
 spiritual poverty, and tears of heart-breaking 
 anguish because of the waywardness and sin of 
 loved ones ! Time does not wipe away these 
 tears. Even the society of the redeemed does not 
 do it. Angel hands can not do it. God alone 
 can do it ; and he reserves this task to himself, 
 and with his own hand wipes away all tears by 
 forever banishing all causes for tears. 
 
 " Oh, tell me," said a man, as he came rushing 
 into the street in the city of London, from his 
 house, after the last member of his family had 
 died of the plague which ravaged that city in the 
 seventeenth century, ''is there a place anywhere 
 where people do not die?" Yes, yes, there is 
 such a place, and but one place; and that is 
 heaven. 
 
 " Tell me, ye winged winds, 
 That round my pathway roar, 
 Do ye not know some spot, 
 Where mortals weep no more? 
 Some lone and pleasant dell. 
 Some valley in the west, 
 W^here, free from toil and pain. 
 The weary soul may rest ? 
 
 The loud wind dwindled to a whisper low, i 
 
 And sighed for pity as it answered, No 1 
 
 > '* Tell me, thou mighty deep, 
 
 Whose billows round me play, 
 Know'st thou some favored spot, 
 Some island far away, 
 Where weary man may find 
 
288 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 The bliss for which he sighs, 
 
 Where sorrow never dies ? 
 
 The loud waves rolling in perpetual flow, 
 
 Stopped for awhile, and sighed to answer, No ! 
 
 " And thou, serenest moon, 
 That with such holy face, 
 Dost look upon the earth, 
 Asleep in night's embrace. 
 Tell me, in all thy round. 
 Hast thou not seen some spot 
 i Where miserable man 
 
 Might find a happier lot ? 
 
 Behind a cloud the moon withdrew in woe, 
 
 And a voice sweet but sad responded, No I 
 
 " Tell me, my secret soul, 
 Oh tell me, Hope and Faith, 
 Is there no resting-place 
 From sorrow, sin, and death, 
 Is there no happy spot. 
 Where mortals may be blest. 
 Where grief may find a balm. 
 And weariness a rest ? 
 
 Faith, Hope, and Love, best boons to mortals given, 
 Waved their bright wings, and whispered, Yes, yes ; 
 in heaven. 
 
 There is not only the absence of all sorrow and 
 distress in heaven, but there will be — 
 
 5. The presence of all that is necessary to 
 perfect happiness. 
 
 First, and pre-eminently, there is the personal 
 presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been 
 the joy and life of his people here; he will be 
 equally so in heaven, for the Lamb is the light 
 thereof. Christ will be there as the source of all 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 289 
 
 blessedness to his people; as the interpreter of 
 the dark providences through which he led his 
 flock in this life; and he will he there, like a 
 shepherd, to lead his people to the green pastures, 
 and to the unfailing fountain of life. 
 
 But there will he also all the good and holy 
 from every kindred and tongue and nation, 
 among whom will he patriarchs, prophets, apos- 
 tles, and martyrs. And there, too, will be our 
 own loved ones, from whom we have been sepa- 
 rated here. Says Bonar in his 3Iorning of Joy, 
 " From Abel downward there has been one long 
 scene of bereavement and separation. The griefs 
 of parting make up the greatest amount of 
 earthly suffering among the children of men. 
 And from these griefs the saints have not been 
 exempted. Bitter have been the farewells that 
 have been spoken around the death -bed, or in 
 prisons, or on the sea-shore, or on the home 
 threshold, or in the city among strangers, — the 
 farewells of men who know that they will meet 
 no more till the grave gives up its trust. Death 
 has been the great scatterer, and the tomb has 
 been the great receiver of the fragments. The 
 pain of parting, in the case of the saints, has 
 much to alleviate it ; but still the bitterness is 
 there, and our hearts are made to bleed from the 
 
 19 
 
290 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 wounds thas made. But in heaven is reunion* 
 During the night we have become scattered; in 
 the morning, when day breaks, we shall be gath- 
 ered together. Here it is a smitten Shepherd and 
 a scattered flock ; there it will be a glorified Shep- 
 herd and a gathered flock. Everything connected 
 with this reunion is fitted to enhance its blessed- 
 ness. To meet again anywhere, or at any time, 
 will be blessed ; how much more blessed to meet 
 at such a time, in such circumstances, and in such 
 a home. The dark past will lie behind us like a 
 prison from which we have come forth, or like a 
 wreck from which we have escaped and landed 
 in safety in a quiet haven. We will meet at the 
 marriage-table. We will meet under the shadow 
 of the tree of life. We will meet beside the river 
 of life. We will meet to keep festival, and sing 
 the song of everlasting triumph. Oh, it was 
 blessed to meet here for a day ; how much more 
 blessed to meet there to part no more forever. It 
 was blessed to meet here, even with parting full 
 in view ; how much more where no such cloud 
 overhano^s our future." 
 
 But shall we know our friends in heaven? 
 This has been the great question of the ages, and 
 deserves some consideration here. Says Dr. Wm. 
 Morley Punshon : "The question of the recog- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 291 
 
 nition of departed friends in heaven, and special 
 and intimate reunion with them, scripture and 
 reason enable us to infer with almost absolute 
 certainty. It is implied in the fact that the res- 
 urrection is a resurrection of individuals ; that it 
 is this mortal that shall put on immortality. It 
 is implied in the fact that heaven is a vast and 
 happy society; and it is implied in the fact that 
 there is no unclothing of nature that we possess, 
 only the clothing upon ^*t of the garments of a 
 brighter and more glorious immortality. * * ^ic 
 When God said in the ancient Eden, ^ It is not 
 good for man to be alone/ there was a deeper 
 gignij&cation in the words than could be exhausted 
 or explained by the family tie. It was the decla- 
 ration of an essential want, which the Creator in 
 his highest wisdom has impressed upon the no- 
 blest of his works. * * ^ Life of all kinds 
 tends to companionship, and rejoices in it, from 
 the larva and buzzing insect cloud up to the 
 kingly lion and the kinglier man. It is a social 
 state into which we are to be introduced there, as 
 well as a state of consciousness. Take comfort, 
 then, those of you in whose history the dearest 
 ties of life have been severed by the rude hand 
 of Death, those whom you have thought about as 
 lost are not lost, except to present sight. Perhaps 
 
292 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 even now they are angel watchers, screened by a 
 kindly Providence from everything about, that 
 would give you pain; but if you and they are 
 alike in Jesus, and remain faithful to the end, 
 doubt not that you shall know them again. It 
 were strange if amid the multitude of earth's 
 ransomed ones that we are to see in heaven we 
 would see all but those we most fondly and fer- 
 vently long to see ! Strange if in some of our 
 walks along the golden streets we never happen 
 to light upon them ! Strange if we did not hear 
 some heaven song, learned on earth, trilled by 
 some clear, ringing voice that we have often 
 heard before ! " 
 
 " But," says one, " can I be happy in heaven 
 when I know there that some loved one — some 
 brother, or sister, or wife, or husband, or parent, 
 or child, — is in perdition, or living in sin in the 
 world and on the way to everlasting destruc- 
 tion?" 
 
 This is a mystery that God has not seen fit to 
 make clear to us. We should remember that he 
 is the Father of all men, in a more exalted sense 
 than any parent can be, and that his attachment 
 to his children is greater than ours possibly can 
 be, and that his great heart of love is ever 
 yearning for the salvation of all. And yet, when 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 293 
 
 the period of their probation has expired, and 
 they persist in their rebellion against him, he, 
 consistent with his love and compassion, forever 
 banishes them to hopeless misery. God destroyed 
 the people of the antediluvian world, and the 
 cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; and yet they 
 were his children, and the objects of his love. "We 
 are to be like God. We are to have his Spirit, and 
 to be in perfect harmony with him in all things. 
 If then God can, consistently with his character 
 for love and compassion, consign the wicked to 
 everlasting destruction, we must be, we can be, 
 able to consent thereto. Says Dr. John S. C. 
 Abbott, "If God, our loving, heavenly Father, 
 can be happy on his eternal throne while some 
 of his children are in persistent rebellion against 
 him, and are suffering the rebel's dreadful doom, 
 earthly parents, translated to heaven, sharing 
 God's nature, with soul's ennobled, expanded, 
 illumined with celestial light, will certainly wit- 
 ness nothing in the administration of God's gov- 
 ernment which will thrill their souls with an- 
 guish.''" 
 
 I come now to notice, — 
 
 III. The employments and enjoyments of the 
 heavenly state. 
 
 What the employments of the redeemed in 
 
294 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 heaven will be, and what their enjoyments con- 
 sist in, are but faintly revealed in the Scriptures. 
 In addition to the absence of all causes and con- 
 ditions of unhappiness, there will be the presence 
 of every condition necessary to the most rational, 
 joyful, and permanent happiness. But what 
 these conditions will be is left to their develop- 
 ment. There will be that indispensable condition 
 to perfect enjoyment, the presence of Jesus, the 
 unfailing source of all Christian joy ; for it were 
 unsatisfying to the redeemed and glorified to 
 dwell forever in the midst of the highest conceiv- 
 able splendor without Him who alone can fill and 
 satisfy the soul. " In his presence is fullness of 
 joy, and at his right hand are pleasures for ever- 
 more." 
 
 The Scriptures, however, do reveal somewhat 
 of the felicities of the heavenly state ; and I shall 
 dwell on these and consider the subject in two 
 aspects; as, — 
 
 1. The social condition of the saints in heaven. 
 
 That conception of heaven which considers it 
 a home, a place for sanctified social enjoyment, 
 such as pure and spiritual beings could enter into, 
 is most probably nearest the reality. It will not 
 all be formal and stated worship there. The 
 enlarged relationships of heaven, the renewal of 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 295 
 
 former associations, the recollections of the past, 
 the anticipations of the future, as well as the 
 innate tendency or man's nature for social enjoy- 
 ment, which grace augments rather than dimin- 
 ishes, seem to point to a large degree of social 
 enjoyment in heaven. 
 
 Says Dr. Charles F. Deems : " Will any soul 
 that reaches heaven feel strange there ? Will it 
 seem a foreign country ? Will all its sights and 
 sounds and suggestions be totally unfamiliar? 
 Will they wake no responsive note on any chord 
 of the harp of memory ? Will they shed no ray 
 of light on the lens of hope ? There -are many 
 who are looking forward to a residence in heaven. 
 Will it be more than a residence ? Will it be a 
 home ? We know the difference between the two 
 when applied to places here upon earth. There 
 are many kind of residences ; there is but one home. 
 The only real home a man has upon earth is 
 the spot in which he would rather be than in any 
 other place. The place in which he gets the most 
 rest, most comfort, most solace, most satisfaction 
 to every craving of his nature — that is home. 
 How do we look forward toward heaven? Is it 
 simply the termination of the journey where, in 
 the natural course of things, the pilgrimage ceas- 
 es ? Such a state of affairs may occur to a man who 
 
296 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 has gone from his home, and whose business or 
 duty has taken him across the ocean to a foreign 
 port. There he may have to stay all the days of 
 his life, and behind him leave wife and children^ 
 father and mother. He looks forward with inter- 
 est to his arrival. He would rather be there than 
 on the stormy ocean. But it is not home. I^ow^ 
 how do we feel toward heaven ? Is it simply the 
 end of the road we must travel as Christians, and 
 which we must terminate somewhere ? Or do we 
 have longings for heaven ? Does it come into 
 our dreams ? Do thoughts of it often lift our 
 souls as the tides lift up the seas ? Do we feel 
 that every other residence is a tent, but heaven is 
 our mansion; that we go to every other place 
 because we must, but are stretching ourselves ta 
 be in heaven because we shall be at home in 
 heaven ? It may be so sweet, so delicious, so sat- 
 isfactory, so fulfilling, as to come in sudden and 
 sublime contrast with all our previous experi- 
 ence. In this sense it may, for a brief season, 
 be startling and somewhat strange ; but if we 
 have been spiritually-minded upon earth, each 
 new moment in heaven will bring us the fulfill- 
 ment of some hope, or the completion, in shouts 
 of laughter, of some song which we had begun 
 upon earth, and which had been drowned in sobs* 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 297 
 
 It will be the being ^ forever with the Lord ' that 
 will make our heaven everlasting." 
 
 Says Thomas Guthrie : " Home ! oh, hc,w sweet 
 is that word ! "What beautiful and tender associa- 
 tions cluster around it. Compared with it, house^ 
 mansion, palace, are cold, heartless terms. But 
 Home! That word quickens the pulse, warms the 
 heart, stirs the soul to its depths, makes age feel 
 young again, rouses apathy into energy, sustains 
 the sailor in his midnight watch, inspires the sol- 
 dier with courage on the field of battle, and im- 
 parts patient endurance to the worn-down sons of 
 toil. * * * Grace sanctifies our afflictions, and 
 imparts a sacredness to the homes of earth by 
 making them types of heaven. As a home, the- 
 believer delights to think of heaven* Thus while 
 lately bending over a dying saint, and expressing 
 our sorrow to see him so low, with the radiant 
 countenance rather of one who had just left 
 heaven than one about to enter it, he raised and 
 clasped his hands and exclaimed in ecstacy, ' I 
 am going home ! ' " 
 
 In heaven the redeemed will come into imme- 
 diate and personal intercourse with all God's- 
 family, with whom, though now scattered and 
 unseen, they already stand related. Among these 
 will be our own loved ones, as well as the great 
 
298 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOE. 
 
 company of whom the apostle speaks as being 
 already in our relationship, — " Ye are come unto 
 mount rnon, and unto the city of the living God, 
 the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable 
 company of angels, to the general assembly and 
 church of the first-born, v^hich are written in 
 heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the 
 spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the 
 mediator of the new covenant." (Heb. xii. 22-24.) 
 
 In addition to the persons already enumerated, 
 — surely all that seems necessary to complete 
 and perfect happiness, — there will doubtless be 
 saved ones from other worlds, probably redeemed 
 by the same Savior who redeemed us. With 
 these, saints from this earth will be permitted to 
 associate, and, in company with them, shall visit 
 the worlds from which they have come. This 
 opinion was held by Dr. Dick, the eminent Chris- 
 tian philosopher; and it seems to be implied in 
 the words of the Savior in John xiv. 2. 
 
 Oh, the bliss of the reunions that shall take 
 place in heaven between parents and children, 
 husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, pastors 
 and people, and brethren of the same household 
 of faith. There they shall meet again; there 
 they shall be reunited in bonds that shall never 
 more be sundered ; there shall be re-established 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 299 
 
 a home that shall never he hroken up. Oh, hlisa- 
 ful hope ! Oh, blessed expectation ! 
 
 " A home in heaven ! When our friends are fled 
 To the cheerless gloom of the moldering dead ; 
 We wait in hope on the promise given ; 
 We will meet up there wi our home in heaven.^^ 
 
 I shall consider next, — 
 
 2. Religious, or devotional employments of 
 heaven. 
 
 There is no temple in heaven, no place specially 
 set apart for worship, for all heaven is alike 
 sacred and holy. (Rev. xxi. 22.) The worship 
 there will he spontaneous, habitual, and constant, 
 rather than formal and at stated times and places. 
 
 The following are references to the worship of 
 heaven : " After this I beheld, and, lo, a great 
 multitude, which no man could number, of all 
 nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, 
 stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, 
 clothed with white robes, and palms in their 
 hands ; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Sal- 
 vation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, 
 and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood 
 round about the throne, and about the elders and 
 the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their 
 faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen : Bless- 
 ing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, 
 iind honor, and power, and might, be unto our 
 
300 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the 
 elders answered, saying unto me, What are these 
 which are arrayed in white robes? and whence 
 came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou 
 knowest. And he said to me. These are they 
 which came out of great tribulation, and have 
 washed their robes, and made them white in the 
 blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before 
 the throne of God, and serve him day and night 
 in his temple : and he that sitteth on the throne 
 shall dwell among them." (Eev. vii. 9-15.) 
 
 "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the 
 mount Sion, and with him a hundred forty and 
 four thousand, having his Father's name written 
 in the foreheads. And I heard a voice from 
 heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the 
 voice of a great thunder : and heard the voice of 
 harpers harping with their harps : and they sung 
 as it were a new song before the throne, and be- 
 fore the four beasts, and the elders : and no man 
 could learn that song but the hundred and forty 
 and four thousand, which were redeemed from 
 the earth." (Rev. xiv. 1-3.) 
 
 "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled 
 with fire : and them that had gotten the victory 
 over the beast, and over his image, and over his 
 mark, and over the number of his name, stand on 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 301 
 
 the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And 
 they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, 
 and the song of the Lamh, saying, Great and 
 marvelous . are thy works, Lord God Almighty; 
 just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 
 "Who shall not fear thee, Lord, and glorify thy 
 name ? for thou only art holy : for all nations 
 shall come and worship before thee ; for thy 
 judgments are made manifest," (Rev. xv. 2-4.) 
 
 " And after these things I heard a great voice 
 of much people in heaven, saying. Alleluia; Sal- 
 vation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto 
 the Lord our God : for true and righteous are his 
 judgments. . . . And again they said, Alleluia. 
 . . . . And the four and twenty elders and the 
 four beasts fell down and worshiped God that 
 sat on the throne, sajdng, Amen ; Alleluia. And 
 a voice came out of the throne, saying. Praise 
 our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, 
 both small and great. And I heard as it were 
 the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice 
 of many waters, and as the voice of mighty 
 thunderings, saying. Alleluia : for the Lord God 
 omnipotent reigneth." (Rev. xix. 1-6.) 
 
 It will be perceived from the foregoing quota- 
 tions of God's holy word, concerning the worship 
 of the skies, that it is adoration, praise, and 
 
302 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 thanksgiving, altogether. The time for suppli- 
 cation and prayer will have ended forever; and 
 from thenceforth the harps of the redeemed will 
 be tuned to but one song, — the song of Moses 
 and the Lamb. This is redemption's song, wdiich 
 the redeemed only can sing, and which must be 
 learned here. Neither the four symbolic beasts, 
 nor the elders, nor the angels, can enter into 
 this song, for they have not been redeemed. 
 They, however, respond to it with loud exclama- 
 tions of " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty." 
 " Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanks- 
 giving, and honor, and power, and might, be 
 unto our God forever and ever. Amen." (Rev. 
 vii. 12 ; xiv. 3, etc.) 
 
 Redemption's song can be sung by the redeem- 
 ed only ; for " no man could learn that song but 
 the hundred and forty and four thousand, which 
 were redeemed from the earth." (Rev. xiv. 3.) 
 The Israelites, after having safely passed through 
 the divided waters of the Red Sea, and witnessed 
 the destruction of the pursuing hosts of Egypt, 
 stood upon the shore of deliverance and sung re- 
 sponsively the hymn of thanksgiving and praise 
 recorded in Exodus xv. In like manner the 
 Israel of God, after having safely passed the 
 wilderness of life, and crossed the river of death, 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 308 
 
 their enemies all left behind them, will stand 
 upon the shore of everlasting deliverance and 
 sing redemption's song. The analogy between 
 the two is so striking that the former is the ac- 
 cepted scriptural symbol of the latter. Hence the 
 song of the redeemed in heaven is called '^the 
 song of Moses the servant of God, and the song 
 of the Lamb." (Eev. xv. 3.) And as no one 
 could have entered into the spirit of the song of 
 the saved hosts of Israel, nor adopted its senti- 
 ments truthfully, who had not undergone the 
 previous experience of Egyptian bondage, the 
 hardships and inconveniences of the wilderness 
 life, and the perils of the Red Sea, and the pur- 
 suing hosts of Egypt, and complete and everlast- 
 ing deliverance therefrom, so now no one can 
 enter into the song of the redeemed in heaven 
 who has not undergone the previous experience 
 of bondage to sin, the toils and privations of the 
 wilderness life, the assaults of the devil, and the 
 bitterness of death, and complete and everlasting 
 deliverance from all these by the blood of the 
 Lamb. Redemption's song must, then, be learned 
 here. It is commenced in prayers and sighs ; it 
 is carried on amidst tears and toils, afflictions and 
 sorrows, until it merges into a shout of triumph 
 in heaven. 
 
804 CLUSTERS FKOM ESHCOL. 
 
 " ' Tis said, perhaps it may be true, 
 * Prayer ends with earthly days ; ' 
 Or, rather, that it flows into 
 One ceaseless song of praise." 
 
 That there will be variety in the worship of 
 heaven is seen by comparing E-evelations iv. 8-11, 
 with xix. 1-9. In the former the four symbolic 
 beasts, and the elders, seem to lead in the ascrip- 
 tions of praise. In the latter the exclamations of 
 joy and thanksgiving come from the redeemed, 
 and are responded to by the assembled hosts of 
 angels. 
 
 This last scene — that depicted in Revelations 
 xix. 1-9 — is the first occasion in which all the 
 redeemed have been congregated together. It is 
 the first and final assemblage of the redeemed 
 church, — the bride of Christ, — as she comes up 
 from her resurrection from the dead, clothed in 
 the glorious garments of immortality, and her 
 being placed at her proper place at the table, at 
 the Lord's side, at the marriage-supper of the 
 Lamb. The symbolic woman of Revelations xii., 
 representing the church of Christ, in her collect- 
 ive capacity constituting the bride of Christ, the 
 Lamb's wife, now emerges from her wilderness 
 retreat, at the end of the prophetic period of ^' a 
 time, and times, and half a time," and takes her 
 position by her Lord's side. And now, on this 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 305 
 
 festive occasion, from this vast congregated host, 
 coniposed of the redeemed, the angels, and all 
 the hosts of heaven, now gathered for the first 
 time altogether, goes up the loud acclaim, " Alle- 
 luia ; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, 
 unto the Lord our God." " Alleluia : for the 
 Lord God omnipotent reigneth." This sung from 
 so vast and mighty a host, in which you, my 
 reader, may take a part, and in which the writer 
 confidently expects to have a share, was " as it 
 were the voice of a great multitude, and as the 
 voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty 
 thunderings." 
 
 But will this service of song and praise pro- 
 duce weariness ? l^o ; for though the redeemed 
 "serve God day and night" (Rev. vii. 15.), they 
 " yet rest from their labors." (Rev. xiv. 13.) 
 This ceaseless service proves the necessity for 
 bodies so constituted as to be unsusceptible of 
 weariness or fatigue. This will be provided for 
 in the resurrection and glorification. 
 
 " There, on those high and flow'ry plains, 
 Our spirits ne'er shall tire, 
 But in perpetual, joyful strains 
 Redeeming love admire." 
 
 I come now to notice, lastly, — 
 lY. The qualifications necessary to entrance into 
 heaven, 
 
 20 
 
306 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 This, without doubt, is the most important 
 question we have for consideration, in connection 
 with the subject of the future residence, employ- 
 ments, and enjoyments of the redeemed in the 
 heavenly state ; and, fortunately, upon this par- 
 ticular question the Scriptures are clear and ex- 
 plicit. Everything that relates to Christian char- 
 acter, from regeneration to final glorification, may 
 be considered a qualification for heaven. I will, 
 however, confine myself to but a few of the 
 qualifications stated in the book of Revelation, 
 which are as follows : 
 
 1. The redeemed saints in heaven are all cloth- 
 ed in pure and spotless white. This is emblem- 
 atical of purity and holiness, — Rev. vii. 9, 14; 
 xix. 8, — this "fine linen, clean "and white, is the 
 righteousness of the saints." It was ''granted'^ 
 unto the saints, — that is, it was given unto them ; 
 and like redemption's song, which can be learned 
 only here, it must be secured here, washed white 
 here in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. vii. 14.), worn 
 here, and kept unsoiled and unspotted from the 
 world. Ample provision has been made for this 
 cleansing; for a fountain has been opened "to the 
 house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusa- 
 lem, for sin and uncleanness." (Zech. xiii. 1.) 
 Well will it be if all who profess to be followers 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 307 
 
 of the Lamb avail themselves of this fountain of 
 cleansing, and wash their robes white, and keep 
 them white, until the coming of the Lord. 
 
 A fitness for heaven is indispensable to its en- 
 joyment. That fitness is holiness ; and holiness 
 can be secured only here. Says one, "Place a 
 sinner under the very shadow of the tree of life, 
 and he would say, ^ I don't want to be here.' In 
 visiting an art-gallery, or a conservatory of music, 
 our enjoyment will be in the ratio of our previous 
 training and development of our tastes and sym- 
 pathies in this direction. As those entertainments 
 would be to the blind, or deaf, so would the joys 
 of heaven be to the sinner. Heaven must be 
 begun upon earth. We must carry its bud in 
 our hearts here, or we can never see its full blos- 
 som hereafter. Entrance into heaven is not the 
 result of a projectile force lifting us into an un- 
 known place. It is the result of a process begun 
 in time. The church is God's training-school, 
 where the appetites and afiections for the joys of 
 heaven are developed. Our great work is not 
 merely to get men into heaven, but to prepare 
 them for it. When they are ready they will be 
 there soon enough. Our characters are now 
 catching colors which will survive the judgment- 
 day. What gigantic importance this gives to 
 
308 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 time. As we sit before the artist's camera wMle 
 our photograph is being impressed upon the sen- 
 sitive plate, how important it is that we maintain 
 the right position. A slight move will spoil the 
 picture. So during our brief years on earth our 
 characters are impressed for eternity. Death will 
 be the artist closing the watch, and announcing 
 the process completed ; and the impression there 
 made can not be altered. Death is not a final 
 discharge. It is only a transfer. It takes us to 
 the judgment-seat, and leaves us as it found us. 
 The direction which the main current of our 
 affections and aspirations has taken upon earth 
 will there become fixed. Let us not lose the 
 opportunities now passing or we lose the inher- 
 itance. Let us not miss the tide or it will be for- 
 ever too late." 
 
 2. The redeemed in heaven are said to be 
 "without fault, or guile " (Eev. xiv. 5.) ; that is, 
 they are pure and upright in their life, as Avell as 
 in heart. Their professed love to Christ and to 
 his people is '' without dissimulation ; " and they 
 abhor that which is evil, and cleave to that which 
 is good." (Horn. xii. 9.) 
 
 3. They bear upon their foreheads their Fa- 
 ther's name. (Eev. xiv. 1.) Reference is hereto 
 made to the custom of branding upon slaves the 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 309 
 
 names of their masters, so that all who saw them 
 could tell to whom they belonged. So the serv- 
 ants of God, the sheep of Christ's fold, here in 
 this life, as well as there in heaven, bear about in 
 them, in their spirit, temper, disposition, and 
 life, evidences of their divine ownership, as plain- 
 ly as if their Father's name were written upon 
 their foreheads. 
 
 4. They " follow the Lamb whithersoever he 
 goeth." (Eev. xiv. 4.) Following the Lamb is 
 imitating his example. Like him, they are hum- 
 ble and meek and gentle and guileless. They 
 know the Shepherd's voice and follow him, and 
 a stranger they will not follow. 
 
 5. They have kept the commandments of God,, 
 and the faith of Jesus. (Rev. xiv. 12.) 
 
 They have studied God's word to learn the 
 will of God concerning them; and they have held 
 fast to sound doctrines, and have not been led 
 into the errors and falsehoods which are to pre- 
 vail in the last days. (Rev. xvi. 15.); 
 
 6. They have overcome the great enemies of 
 the soul — the flesh, the world, and the devil, — 
 by the blood of the Lamb, and their testimony 
 for Christ. (Rev. xii. 11.) 
 
 Realizing the cleansing efficacy of the blood of 
 Jesus in their own hearts, they bear testimony ta 
 
310 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 the power of the same by their words as well as 
 by their upright and consistent lives. 
 
 7. They have endured the hardships of their 
 earthly pilgrimage, and been faithful unto death. 
 (Eev. ii. 10.) 
 
 Those who set their hands to the plow, and 
 look back, are declared to be unfit for the king- 
 dom of God. Those who persevere unto the end 
 will be saved, and those only. 
 
 8. They have suffered with Christ in this life, 
 and now share with him in his glory. 
 
 It is one of the peculiarities of the redeemed 
 hosts in heaven — a peculiarity which the angel 
 specially notices, — that they came up there 
 through great tribulation. (Rev. vii. 14.) 
 
 Tribulations and trials are common to all men, 
 both good and bad ; but there are some trials 
 which are peculiar to Christians alone. It is 
 these special trials, and the ordinary trials sanc- 
 tified, that have a relation to and a bearing upon 
 the glory of the redeemed in heaven. Then, 
 when thus crowned and glorified with Christ, 
 will the afflicted saint understand the import of 
 the words of the Savior, "Ye are they which 
 have continued with me in my temptations. And 
 I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father 
 hath appointed unto me?" (Luke xxii. 28, 29.) 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 311 
 
 " If we suffer, we shall also reign with him/' 
 {n. Tim. ii. 12.) 
 
 "For our light affliction, which is but for a 
 moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding 
 and eternal weight of glory." (II. Cor. iv. 17.) 
 
 " For I reckon that the sufferings of this pres- 
 ent time are not worthy to be compared with the 
 glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom. viii. 
 18.) 
 
 Behold, now, the description of heaven as we 
 have sketched it, drawn from the sacred Script- 
 ures ! Behold the redeemed, standing amidst 
 angels and seraphim, forever saved and beyond 
 the reach of harm; with God himself fully re- 
 vealed to their wondering, immortal, and rejoic- 
 ing eyes; palms of victory in their hands, em- 
 blematic of eternal victory ; harps of gold upon 
 which to celebrate the high praises of God and 
 the Lamb; crowns of glory upon their heads, 
 indicating their kingly character as they sit be- 
 side the Savior upon his throne. Add to all this, 
 complete and eternal exemption from all forms 
 of suffering, sorrow, danger, toil, tears, trials, 
 labor, privation, hunger, thirst, poverty, bereave- 
 ment, widowhood, orphanage, old age, and death ; 
 God himself compassionately wiping away all 
 tears with his own almighty hand, as if he spe- 
 
312 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 cially delighted to do it and reserved the task for 
 himself alone ; and Jesus, still in the tender char- 
 acter of a shepherd, leading his flock to living 
 fountains of waters, and to the rich pastures of 
 sweetest hliss ! Oh, this is heaven ! — only in part, 
 however, for " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 neither have entered into the heart of man, the 
 things which God hath prepared for them that 
 love him." (I. Cor. ii. 9.) These words, though 
 relating to the heliever's privileges in this life, as 
 the connection shows, are yet applicahle to the 
 glories of heaven also. 
 
 " What no human eye hath seen, what no mortal ear hath 
 heard, 
 What no thought hath never been, in its noblest flights con- 
 ferred, — 
 
 This hath God prepared in store 
 For his people evermore." 
 
 I now stand upon the Delectable Mountains ; I 
 shall ere long stand upon the Mount of God. I 
 now " see through a glass darkly ; " soon I shall 
 see face to face. I now know in part; then I 
 shall know even as I also am known. Until the 
 daylight of eternity break, and the shadows flee 
 away, I will remain upon the mountain of myrrh, 
 and the hill of frankincense, and with the eager, 
 expectant bride, in anticipation of her Lord's 
 coming, say, "Turn, my Beloved, and be thou 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 313 
 
 like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains 
 of Bether." 
 
 But what will be my rapture when first I see 
 the new Jerusalem, the city of God, the home 
 of the redeemed? With what delight will I gaze 
 upon its streets of transparent gold, its walls of 
 jasper, its foundations of precious stones, and its 
 gates of pearl ? With what relief shall I first 
 realize that now I am forever delivered from all 
 sorrow, tears, afflictions, pain, and distress? With 
 what rapture will I first behold Jesus, fall at his 
 feet, hear him speak to me, and permit me to 
 speak to him? And, oh, bliss of bliss! joy of 
 joys ! shall heaven itself find language fit to ex- 
 press the bliss I shall experience when the Savior 
 places the crown upon my head, and the harp in 
 my hands, and tells me that now I am forever to 
 dwell in his presence ? Then who of all my de- 
 parted friends will first recognize and greet me ? 
 Whom shall I first see and speak to? Shall I 
 know the loved ones who have gone over before 
 me ; and will I need to be told who this one and 
 that one is ; or shall I know them by intuition, as 
 Peter, James, and John knew Moses and Elias 
 upon the mount of transfiguration? And will I 
 not take up the soliloquy of the poet and say, — 
 
 " Aud am I, then, in heaven ? Is this the land 
 To which my yearning heart so often turn'd 
 
314 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Desirous ? This the paradise of saints ? 
 And is it I myself who speak ? The same 
 Who wandered in the desert far astray, 
 Till the Good Shepherd found me perishing, 
 And drew me to hjmself with cords of love ? 
 Has he now brought me to his heavenly fold, 
 Which sin can never touch nor sorrow cloud, 
 Me who hath water'd with my frequent tears 
 The thorny wilderness, and struggled on 
 Foot-sore and weary, — me, the wayward one ? 
 And shall I never wander from him more. 
 And never grieve his brooding Spirit again ? 
 Oh, joy ineffable I I am now in heaven ! " 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 3 THE CROSSING OF THE RIVER OP DEATH. 
 
 "And they are there unto this day." (Joshua iv. 9.) 
 
 The passage of the Israelites, under the leader- 
 ship of Joshua, over the river Jordan, and their 
 entrance into the land of Canaan, with wnich 
 event the scripture qouted stands connected, fitly 
 eymholize the death of believers and their en- 
 trance into heaven. The long and arduous pil- 
 grimage of the desert was about to terminate, 
 the promised inheritance was about to be entered 
 upon, and it only remained that Jordan should 
 be crossed and the fruition of their long-cherished 
 hopes should be realized. So the Christian pil- 
 grim from the City of Destruction to the Canaan 
 of heaven, having safely crossed the wilderness 
 of life, with all its hardships and dangers, rinds 
 only the stream of death between him and his 
 promised rest. This last obstacle overcome, he 
 forever enjoys the glories and bliss of heaven. 
 
 I am aware that the analogy between Canaan 
 
 316 
 
316 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 and heaven is not entirely perfect, for the Israel- 
 ites encountered enemies in Canaan after entering 
 therein, while in the heavenly Canaan no enemies 
 will be found. In this case, as in most scriptural 
 analogies, the symbol falls below the fact symbol- 
 ized, without destroying the analogy. 
 
 By command of God, Joshua directed that 
 twelve men, one from each tribe, should each 
 take up a stone and set it in the midst of Jordan, 
 where the feet of the priests stood who bore the 
 ark of the covenant. Twelve stones they were 
 also to take from the bed of the river and carry 
 them with them and set them up in the place 
 where they lodged that night. It is evident from 
 the connection in which these words stand that 
 these twelve stones were subsequently carried 
 with them, and kept conspicuously in their lodg- 
 ings in all after-time ; and when any one — their 
 children especially — would ask what these stones 
 were designed to represent, they* were to be told 
 that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before 
 the ark of the covenant of the Lord when it 
 passed over the Jordan, and that these stones 
 were to remind them of and keep in perpetual 
 remembrance that event. (Joshua iv. 6, 7.) 
 
 These stones were fitly called " memorial stones;'' 
 and it was said of them, as well as of the twelve 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 317 
 
 stones placed in the midst of Jordan, that, at the 
 time the sacred record was written, " ihey are there 
 until this day.'' 
 
 That these expressive incidents in the history 
 of God's chosen people possessed a significance 
 above the comprehension of the people at that 
 time, and probably of Joshua himself, there is no 
 doubt ; and that they symbolize some things con- 
 nected with the passage of believers over the 
 river of death, is equally clear. Let us consider 
 what this significance probably is. 
 
 Death is a part of the penalty incurred by 
 Adam's transgression ; and as all the race of man- 
 kind sinned in him, in that transaction all be- 
 came equally subject to the penalty. Hence, says 
 the apostle, ^'Wherefore, as by one man sin en- 
 tered into the world, and death by sin ; and so 
 death passed upon all men, for that all have 
 sinned." (Rom. v. 12.) In the atonement made 
 by the Son of God that penalty has been fully 
 met, as well as every other requirement of God's 
 law; and as God will not require it of us and of 
 our Substitute also, it follows that all those who 
 oome under the provisions of the atonement, by 
 compliance with the conditions upon which its 
 benefits are made available, will experience in the 
 mnttrr of dyings as well as in other respects, some 
 
S18 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 advantage, some immuuity, over those who do 
 not comply with these conditions and come under 
 the protection of the atonement. This advantage, 
 this immunity, will be considered in this chapter. 
 
 Death, and the victory achieved over it by our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and the relation which Chris- 
 tians sustain to it and to the victory thus achiev- 
 ed, are set forth in the Scriptures under the fol- 
 lowing symbols : 
 
 I. Death personified as a Jailer^ or Prison-keeper, 
 
 The Jewish and probably pagan idea of the 
 place of departed spirits is that of a vast world 
 called Hades, surrounded, like a x^rison, with 
 huge, impassable walls, and Death, personified as 
 a jailer, standing, key in hand, at its iron gate, 
 admitting all who came, both good and bad, but 
 permitting none to escape. 
 
 Many eminent Christian scholars hold the opin- 
 ion that at death the spirits of the departed all 
 go into one world, both good and bad, but are 
 widely separated by a vast and impassable gulf, 
 and that there they remain in happiness or mise- 
 ry, according to their character and lives here, 
 until the resurrection at the last day, when the 
 spirits come forth to re-inhabit their respective 
 bodies and to appear before the judgment-tri- 
 bunal. 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 319 
 
 This view seems to be in harmony with several 
 passages of God's word, among which are the 
 following : " Death and hell [Hades] delivered up 
 the dead which were in them : and they [the 
 inmates of Hades] were judged every man ac- 
 cording to their works." (Rev. xx. 13.) 
 
 In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, it is 
 said of the rich man that " in hell he lifted up his 
 eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar 
 ojff, and Lazarus in his bosom." (Luke xvi. 23.) 
 If the word here translated hell means, as is 
 claimed, Hades, it does not disprove the fact of a 
 hell of torment for the wicked ; for the rich man, 
 though in the same vast world with Lazarus, was 
 yet widely separated from him, and was in tor- 
 ment while Lazafus was happy in Abraham's 
 bosom. 
 
 In that ancient confession called the " The 
 Apostles' Creed," the fact of Hades is acknowl- 
 edged in the words affirmed of Christ, — " He was 
 dead and buried, and he descended into hell," — 
 Hades. 
 
 Bickersteth in his grand production, '' Yester- 
 day, To-day, and Forever,'' holds this view, which 
 appears in the following quotation : 
 
 " Our mother earth 
 Has but one sepulcher for all. And here 
 One Hades, by us call'd the under world, 
 
4J20 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Receives the spirits of the damn'd and blest ; 
 One world, but widely sunder'd by a gulf 
 Inevitably fixed, impassable, 
 Which severs to the left hand and the right, 
 The prison-house of woe and paradise." 
 
 Whatever may be true in regard to the specu- 
 lations concerning the place and condition of de- 
 parted spirits in the intermediate period between 
 death and the resurrection, the Scriptures unmis- 
 takably establish the fact that the righteous are 
 taken at once into the presence of the Savior, 
 and into communion with other saints, and enjoy 
 conscious happiness, while the wicked go at once 
 into a place of suifering. 
 
 To the penitent and believing malefactor, cru- 
 cified by his side, the Savior said, " To-day shalt 
 thou be with me in paradise.' ^ (Luke xxiii. 43.) 
 That paradise is heaven is proved by St. Paul, 
 who, in giving an account of his vision, uses the 
 words '^paradise" and "third heaven'' synono- 
 mously. (II. Cor. xii. 1-4.) 
 
 " Nor think 
 That paradise, though situate in the deep 
 Which lieth under, is not real heaven ; 
 Heaven is where Jesus is, and he is there." 
 
 That there will be no interval of unconscious- 
 ness, no cessation of activity, no intermission of 
 enjoyment, is equally placed beyond dispute by 
 the confidence with which St. Paul expressed his 
 
CLUSTERS FEOM ESHCOL. 321 
 
 belief that to be absent from the body is to be 
 present, at once and forever, with the Lord. (II. 
 Cor. V. 8; Phil. i. 23.) 
 
 Some sixty-three years after the ascension of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ to the right hand of the 
 Father, he appeared in his glorified human body 
 to the aged and well-beloved John, then in baur 
 ishment upon the Island of Patmos " for the word 
 of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." 
 Notwithstanding their former intimacy, the aged 
 apostle failed to recognize, in the glorious person- 
 age before him, his former Lord and Master, 
 upon whose bosom he formerly laid his head. 
 Having fallen to the earth as dead, the glorified 
 Redeemer lifted the aged apostle upon his feet, 
 and calmed his fears by the precious words, — pre- 
 cious not only to John, but to all God's scattered 
 family of every age and country, — " I am he that 
 liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am alive for 
 evermore. Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of 
 death:' (Rev. i. 18.) 
 
 The key is an lemblem of authority; for he 
 that holds the key to the entrance to any place 
 may be considered as having control over that 
 place. The power of death was formerly held by 
 the devil (Heb. ii. 14); but it has been wrested 
 from him, and is now held by Christ. This he 
 
 21 
 
322 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 did by submitting himself to death, going down into 
 death's prison-house, remaining there for a time^ 
 and then coming forth in victory. 
 
 Among the several books of the first and sec- 
 ond centuries of the Christian dispensation which 
 claimed to be canonical, but were properly reject- 
 ed as uninspired, is one in which it is related that; 
 the soul of the Son of God, immediately upon its- 
 departure from the body, went into Hades, caus- 
 ing much uneasiness among the wicked spirits^ 
 there, and calling forth extraordinary vigilance 
 upon the part of Satan to prevent its departure. 
 But upon the third day after its entrance it went 
 forth, notwithstanding all resistance, crushing 
 down the huge iron gate, and forever placing it 
 out of the power of Satan to restore it. 
 
 The foregoing account is without doubt apoc- 
 ryphal; but it serves to illustrate the fact of 
 Christ's complete and abiding victory over death.. 
 The Son of God, then, is the mighty Conqueror. 
 He now holds, and for all time to come, until 
 Death and Hades shall be abolished (lie v. xx. 14), 
 will continue to hold the power over the great 
 foe of our race. 
 
 The victory achieved by Christ over death ex- 
 tends not only over Hades, the place of departed 
 spirits, but over the grave also, the place where 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 323 
 
 » 
 
 the body is deposited,' for he had the keys of 
 both in his possession. Our Lord Jesus Christ 
 went down into the grave and laid there three 
 days, his spirit being meanwhile in paradise, and 
 then came up again by his own almighty power. 
 And, as if to demonstrate the completeness of 
 his victory over death and the grave, he brought 
 with him many of those who had been sleeping 
 there. (Matt, xxvii. 52, 53.) 
 
 The resurrection of Christ from the dead is the 
 earnest, the first -fruit, of the glorious harvest 
 which awaits the saints ; and his glorious appear- 
 ance as he manifested himself to John on Patmos 
 (Rev. i. 13-16), and as he now appears in heaven, 
 is the model after which all who die in him, and 
 all who are alive and remain at his coming, shall 
 be conformed. 
 
 Oh, precious thought, our Elder Brother, he 
 who in all things, sin alone excepted, was made 
 like unto his brethren, took upon him our flesh 
 and blood that he might sufier as we must suffer, 
 die as we must die, go down into the grave as we 
 must go down into the grave, that through his 
 own death he might destroy him who had the 
 power of death, — that is, the devil,-— and thus 
 prepare the way for our deliverance from the 
 power of this great enemy. (Heb. ii. 14, 15) And 
 
824 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 now, although we and our loved ones must go 
 into the grave, and there hold communion with 
 *^ corruption, earth, and worms," we do not pass 
 beyond the jurisdiction of Christ, nor where his 
 authority does not extend, nor where he has not 
 himself gone; but we shall be under his super- 
 vision and watchful care, until he shall bid us 
 arise. 
 
 " God, my Redeemer lives, 
 And often from the skies 
 Looks down and watches all my dust, 
 ' Till he shall bid it rise." 
 
 As another representation of death, I notice, — 
 
 II. Death is a mighty conqueror. 
 
 This symbol of death is found in Revelation vi. 
 8. The great enemy is there represented as a 
 hideous and ghastly human skeleton, seated upon 
 a pale horse, attended by Hades, the prison of 
 departed spirits, into which he consigns all who 
 fall by his victorious and relentless hand. 
 
 From this symbol of a mighty conqueror, seat- 
 ed upon a pale horse, and riding forth to uni- 
 versal conquest, originated the niore modern idea 
 of the King of Terrors, in the character of a 
 human skeleton, seated upon a throne of human 
 skulls, and swaying undisputed control over the 
 human race. -■This change from a horse to a 
 throne may be due to the fact that the former 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 325 
 
 symbol was designed to represent a special era in 
 the history of the church, in which deaths by 
 plague were widely prevalent, while in the latter 
 the idea of universal and continuous rule is sym- 
 bolized. 
 
 " But that black phantom soon 
 Assum'd a livid pale, most ghastly steed, 
 Best ridden by the King of Terrors, Death, 
 And follow'd by the shades of hell." 
 
 In the character of a king, or a tyrant. Death 
 has exercised almost universal dominion over the 
 human race. Of all the vast multitude of human 
 beings who have lived, but two — Enoch and Eli- 
 jah — have escaped the power of this tyrant. And 
 all who are now living, and all who will yet live, 
 down to the end of the world, except those who 
 may be living when the Savior comes again m 
 the clouds of heaven, must fall before this mighty 
 conqueror. "A conqueror all along he has been, 
 — never yet baffled ; his course one perpetual tri- 
 umph, — the ally of Death following in his foot- 
 steps; not only smiting down the victim, but 
 devouring it, — taking it into his den and con- 
 suming it bone by bone, till every particle is 
 crumbled into dust, as if to make victory so sure 
 that a retrieval of it would be absolutely impossi- 
 ble." 
 
 Oh, who can estimate the agony, the woe, the 
 
326 CLUSTERS FROM BSHCOL. 
 
 heart-aches, the tears, the distress, and the priva- 
 tions which have been occasioned hy the victori- 
 ous arm of this pitiless, relentless tyrant ! What 
 household has been exempted from his unwel- 
 come visits? What homes have escaped his dev- 
 astating power ? What families has he broken 
 up and scattered, — no more to be united till Jesus 
 comes ! What widows and orphans has he sent 
 forth to battle with a pitiless world ! And when 
 has this relentless tyrant, in a single case, been 
 turned aside from his purpose by either age, sex, 
 beauty, wealth, poverty, piety, or usefulness? 
 
 But is there no power than can arrest the vic- 
 torious course of this pale horse and his relentless 
 rider? Is there no one strong enough to wrest 
 the scepter from this enthroned monarch? May 
 we not take up the inquiry of the poet and ask, — 
 
 " How long shall Death, the tyrant, reign. 
 And triumph o'er the just?" 
 
 These inquiries are answered by the Prophet 
 Hosea, who, in his prediction of Christ's victory 
 over death and the grave, uses language which 
 seems to have been formed specially to meet the 
 symbol of the enthroned King of Terrors, — "/ 
 will ransom them from the 'power of the grave; I will 
 redeem them from death: death, I will he thy 
 plagues; grave, I will be thy destruction.^' (Hosea 
 xiii. 14.) 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 327 
 
 Death has now been despoiled of his power by 
 our Lord Jesus Christ; and although he is yet 
 permitted to sway his scepter for awhile, his 
 power has been greatly mitigated in the cases of 
 the saints ; and ere long he, too, as the last enemy 
 of our race, shall be completely destroyed. (I. 
 Cor. XV. 26.) 
 
 But, in what manner did the Redeemer break 
 the power of this great tyrant ? By what means 
 have this horse and his rider been arrested in 
 their victorious career? In what way has the 
 ficepter been wrested from the hand of this en- 
 throned monarch? 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ, the Strong Man armed, 
 met the great conquering enemy on his hitherto 
 'Unchecked course, and threw the horse back upon 
 Ms haunches and wrested the sword from the 
 hand of its rider. He entered into the palace of 
 the King of Terrors, and there wrested the scep- 
 ter from his hand. He is therefore the conquer- 
 ing Hero. But in this mighty conflict he himself 
 was wounded. He received the sword into his 
 ^own bosom, and poured out his life-blood that 
 we might live. The wreath of victorious battle, 
 however, is his ; and under his shield we may 
 rest secure. Death has been arrested in his course. 
 JEe is now a conquered foe. 
 
828 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 One other symbol of death, employed in the- 
 Scriptures, is, — 
 
 III. Death as a deadly serpent. 
 
 Some serpents are inoffensive and harmless ;: 
 this great serpent is armed with a deadly sting, — ■ 
 ^'The sting of death is sin.'' Sin gave unto death 
 its sting, and the law gave sin its strength. (I.. 
 Cor. XV. 55, 56.) 
 
 In the character of a great and deadly serpent^ 
 Death has assailed our whole race, and all who 
 have ever lived, with but two exceptions, have- 
 fallen by his sting. The venom of this sting is 
 first felt at birth, and continues to be felt through- 
 out the entire life ; for life is one unceasing battle 
 with death, and every pain we feel, every tear we 
 shed, and every cry that escapes our lips, is the 
 result of the deadly poison which has been pro- 
 jected into our system. All classes and condi 
 tions of life are alike subject to the fatal results 
 of the sting of this great serpent ; and until the 
 great Deliverer came and plucked away his stingy 
 his sway was universal and undisputed. 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ, the great Deliverer, has 
 taken away from Death his sting, by permitting^ 
 it to pierce himself. He overcame the great 
 enemy by allowing himself to be overcome. He- 
 robbed the grave of its victory by laying there- ' 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 329' 
 
 awhile himself. '' He caused the grave to let go 
 its hold by going down into its precincts and 
 wrestling with it in the greatness of his strength. 
 He brought round the law, which was against us^ 
 to be upon our side, by giving the law all that it 
 sought, so that it could ask no more either of 
 him or of us. Ah, this is victory ! It is not escap- 
 ing by stealth out of the hands of the enemy ; it 
 is open and triumphant victory, — victory which 
 not only routs and disgraces the enemy, but swal- 
 lows him up ; victory achieved in righteousness 
 and in behalf of those who had once been lawful 
 captives." 
 
 In that grand and consoling statement of the 
 victory achieved over death by our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and the fact of the resurrection and glori- 
 fication of the saints, this exultant interrogation, 
 inspired by the greatness of the victory and the 
 certainty of the glory which is to follow, is thus 
 defiantly put: "0 death, where is thy sting? O 
 grave, ivhere is thy victory ? The sting of death is 
 sin; and the strength of sin is the laio. But thanks 
 be to God, which giveth us the victory through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ'^ (I. Cor. xv. 55-57.) 
 
 Death, then, to the believer, is a conquered foe. 
 He is a jailer despoiled of his key ; a monarch 
 without a scepter; a serpent without a sting. 
 
S30 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 But, it may be inquired, must not Christians 
 die and pass into the dominion of death ? 
 
 Believers must pass through the dominion over 
 which the dark shadow of death rests, — called the 
 "^'Valley of the Shadow of Death," — but they will 
 encounter the shadow of the great destroyer only. 
 Shadows may alarm, but they can not harm us. 
 
 In securing this victory over death our Lord 
 Jesus Christ did not meet, as his people will 
 meet, a serpent despoiled of its sting; but he 
 met the great serpent in all its venom and power, 
 receiving in his own person the sting intended 
 for us. In a word, Jesus died as a sinner dies thai 
 sinners might die like saints. In this conflict with 
 the great serpent, the seed of the woman received 
 a wound in his heel, but in turn he crushed the 
 serpent's head. (Gen. iii. 15.) 
 
 The relation which Christians now sustain to 
 death is illustrated by the following incident : In 
 the war between France and Germany a few 
 years ago, all Germans in foreign lands still 
 owing allegiance to the fatherland were called 
 upon to serve in the German army. A person 
 seeing his German friend walking about the 
 streets of London, asked him how it was that 
 he had not responded to the call of his govern- 
 ment, and gone to the war. " Oh," said he, " be- 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 331 
 
 cause I am dead ; the government "has no claim 
 upon me." "What, you dead! Explain your- 
 self." " Well, I did not want to go to the war, 
 and I found a young man who offered to go as 
 my substitute. He went instead of me ; he took 
 my place and was killed. ITow that was counted 
 just the same as though I had been killed; and I 
 am considered by the government as a dead man, 
 and they have no further claim upon me." 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ, moved by love and 
 compassion, became our Substitute. He took ©ur 
 place under the law. He died for us ; and God 
 accepts his death as though we had died. And, 
 now, to all who accept of salvation by Christ, to 
 all who are in Christ, losing thereby their person- 
 ality before the law in him, death is practically 
 ended ; for, as our Substitute has already died for 
 us, God will not require it again of us. But 
 those who refuse or neglect this great salvation, 
 who avail not themselves of the great previsions 
 of mercy, must indeed die, must meet the penalty 
 in their own persons. 
 
 In the light of this explanation, how plain and 
 simple are the following scriptures : " Forasmuch 
 then as the children are partakers of flesh and 
 blood, he also himself likewise took part of the 
 flame; that through death he might destroy him 
 
832 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 that had the "power of death, that is, the devil ; and 
 deliver them, who through fear of death were all 
 their life-time subject to bondage." (Heb. ii. 
 14,15.) 
 
 " Jesus said unto her [Martha], I am the resur- 
 rection, and the life: he that believeth in me, 
 though he were dead, yet shall he live : and who- 
 soever liveth and believeth in me shall never die/* 
 .(John xi. 25, 26.) 
 
 St. Paul, in I. Corinthians xv. 54, declares that 
 death is ^'swallowed up in victory;^' and in II. Timo- 
 thy i. 10, he declares that " Our Lord and Savior 
 Jesus Christ hath abolished death.'' Death, then, 
 Co the Christian is only a sleep; and the church 
 has caught the correct idea of it in .naming the 
 resting-places of their departed ones as "ceme- 
 teries,'' from a Greek word which signifies " sleep" 
 ing-placesJ' 
 
 This advantage, this immunity, be it remem- 
 bered, accrues to Christians only. They alone 
 encounter shadows only. All out of Christ meet 
 and fall by the power of the King of Terrors 
 himself. 
 
 " But," says one, " is not this the doctrine of 
 materialism, which teaches that the wicked shall 
 be destroyed in death, and shall thereafter have 
 jio conscious existence ? " 
 
CLUSTEES FROM ESHCOL. 333 
 
 E'o, by no means. We hold that to Christians 
 Death has been despoiled of his sting, his terror, 
 his power to harm, and may be counted as a 
 friend rather than a foe, an advantage rather 
 than a disadvantage ; for, has not St. Paul includ- 
 ed it among the possessions of Christians, in his 
 enumeration of their treasures ? — " All things are 
 yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or 
 the world, or life, or death, or things present, or 
 things to come ; all are yours.'' (I. Cor. iii. 21, 
 22.) The wicked, however, will not realize this 
 advantage. To them Death is a fearful enemy; 
 and they shall experience his sting, his terror, his 
 power to harm, without a single mitigating or 
 relieving circumstance. 
 
 In the world of departed spirits the souls of 
 the righteous will abide until the resurrection, in 
 paradise, a place of inexpressible joy and happi- 
 ness, while the souls of the wicked shall abide 
 in darkness and misery and wretchedness and 
 woe. In the resurrection, the bodies of both the 
 righteous and the wicked shall be resurrected 
 and re-inhabited by their respective spirits. The 
 righteous, glorified and immortalized, shall go to 
 the place prepared for them from the foundation 
 of the world, ^while the wicked, immortalized 
 and transformed, shall go into the place prepared 
 
334 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 for the devil and his angels. (Matt. xxv. 34-46.) 
 This is the second death referred to in Revela- 
 tion XX. 14. 
 
 In what form and after what likeness the wick- 
 ed shall he made to conform in their resurrection, 
 the Scriptures are considerately silent. As the 
 righteous shall he conformed to the image of 
 Him whom they have served, it is altogether 
 likely that the ungodly will he made to hear, in 
 some respects, the image of him whom they 
 chose here to serve. Oh, horrid thought ! Well 
 is it that God has mercifully hid this from our 
 knowledge. 
 
 But what, it may he inquired, is the analogy 
 between the memorial stones referred to in the 
 scripture placed at the beginning of this chapter, 
 and the victory over death secured to believers ? 
 
 Simply and beautifully this : The priests who 
 bore the ark of the covenant passed on some 
 twelve hundred yards in advance of the hosts of 
 Israel, and as soon as their feet touched the water 
 they divided, and remained divided as long as 
 the ark was kept in the river, and through these 
 divided waters the people all passed over safely. 
 The ark of the covenant was a type of Christ, 
 the true ark of the covenant; and as the former 
 divided the waters of Jordan, and afforded tho 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 335 
 
 Israelites a safe passage through them, so the 
 latter divides the waters of the river of death, 
 and affords God's Israel a safe and triumphant 
 passage through them. And as the waters of 
 Jordan were powerless to harm the Israelites as 
 long as the ark was in their midst, so the waters 
 of the river of death are powerless to harm the 
 spiritual Israel so long as the true Ark, the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, remains therein. And as the stones 
 which were planted in the midst of the river 
 were placed where the feet of the priests stood 
 who bore the ark of the covenant, and were left 
 there when the ark was removed, so the virtue of 
 Christ's presence in the region and dominion of 
 Death remains there, although he himself is no 
 longer there. These memorial stones, then, are 
 intended to symbolize the all-important fact of 
 the perfect, complete, and ever-abiding victory 
 gained over death by our Lord Jesus Christ; and 
 it is of these it is affirmed in our text that 'Hhey 
 are there unto this day," 
 
 The stones taken from the bed of the river and 
 carried with them, and subsequently set up in 
 their lodgings, symbolize the triumphant passage 
 of believers through the river of death, as the 
 stones themselves were intended to keep in per- 
 petual remembrance the safe passage of the chil- 
 dren of Israel through the river Jordan. 
 
S36 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 That I have not misunderstood the significance 
 of these memorial stones, let the following script- 
 ure be considered : " And he spake unto the 
 children of Israel, saying, When your children 
 fihall ask their fathers in time to come, sayiug, 
 What mean these stones ? Then ye shall let your 
 children know, saying, Israel came over this Jor- 
 dan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried 
 up the waters of Jordan from before you, until 
 ye tvere passed over, as the Lord your God did to 
 the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, 
 until we were gone over : that all the people of 
 the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that 
 it is mighty : that ye might fear the Lord your 
 Ood forever." (Joshua iv. 21-24.) 
 ' The stones placed in the midst of Jordan are 
 hidden from our sight; so the great fact which 
 they symbolize, the perfect and ever-abidiug vic- 
 tory over death by Christ /or the benefit of believers, 
 is not visible to natural eyes, but to faith only. 
 The stones carried up from the bed of the river 
 and subsequently kept in their dwellings, were at 
 all times visible, and their significance was ever 
 known ; so the great fact which they symbolize, 
 the happy and triumphant deaths of believers, 
 are among the richest and most precixDus treas- 
 ures of every Christian . family. The one is not 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 337 
 
 realized until the hour of death ; the other is 
 always present and visible, in our dwellings, in 
 our homes, for there it is always needed. 
 
 The annals of the church abound with instan- 
 ces of complete and perfect victory in death, a 
 few of which I will introduce in illustration of 
 our subject : 
 
 John Bunyan, in his Pilgrim's Progress, de- 
 scribes the crossing of the river of death of the 
 pilgrims Christian and Hopeful. After entering 
 into the river, Christian at first became alarmed, 
 and supposed that he would go down under the 
 water. Hopeful encouraged him with the words, 
 *^ Be of good cheer, my brother ; I feel the bot- 
 tom, and it is good." After some time Christian 
 broke forth in exclamations of praise, — " Oh, T 
 see Him again ; and He tells me, ' When thou 
 passest through the water, I will be with thee ; 
 and through the river, they shall not overflow 
 thee.'" Christian, therefore, presently found 
 ground to stand upon; and so it followed that 
 the rest of the way was but shallow, and thus 
 they got over. 
 
 These pilgrims in passing through the river of 
 death found that whatever had become of the 
 stones placed in the midst of the Jordan when 
 Israel passed over, the great fact which those 
 
338 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 stones symbolized — the ever-abiding presence of 
 the great Ark of the Covenant, Jesus Christ, — 
 was still there. 
 
 A traveler to the Holy Land says that at his- 
 first sight of the river Jordan he was made to 
 exclaim, "What! Is this narrow, insignificant 
 stream the great Jordan about which I have 
 heard so much ? I supposed from the prominence 
 given to it in the Scriptures, and the oft-repeated 
 words of the hymn, ^ On Jordan's stormy banks- 
 I stand,' that I would see a wide and deep 
 river!" So, many Christian travelers have found 
 in approaching the river of death that their pre- 
 vious conceptions of it were altogether extrava- 
 gant, and, with a pious lady when dying, exclaim, 
 " OA, its only a brook ! " 
 
 John Janeway, an eminent Christain of En- 
 gland, in the seventeenth century, after a life of 
 eminent piety and usefulness came down to the 
 river of death. When confronting his last enemy 
 he said, " I am ashamed to pray for life. Is there 
 anything here more desirable than the enjoyment 
 of Jesus Christ? Can I desire anything below 
 comparable to that blessed vision? Oh, that 
 crown ! That rest which remains for the people 
 of God ! And, blessed be God, I can say, I know 
 it is mine." 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 339 
 
 To a friend who visited him he said, " I feel 
 the excellences of Jesus Christ; my heart is as 
 full as it can hold in this lower state." 
 
 As the end drew near his language was nearly 
 all adoration and praise. Admiring the hound- 
 less love of God to him he said, " Oh, why this 
 love to me, Lord ? Why to me ? Praise is now my 
 work ; and I shall be engaged in that sweet em- 
 ployment forever. Oh, help me to praise Him ! I 
 have nothing else to do. I have done with prayer; 
 I have almost done with conversing with mortals. 
 I shall soon behold Christ himself, who died for 
 me, and loved me, and washed me in his blood. 
 I shall shortly be in eternity, singing the song of 
 Moses and the song of the Lamb. I shall pres- 
 ently stand upon mount Sion, with an innumera- 
 ble company of angels and the spirits of the just 
 made perfect. I shall hear the voice of multi- 
 tudes, and be one among them who say, * Halle- 
 lujah! Salvation! Glory and honor and power 
 unto the Lord our God.' " In this happy frame 
 and giving utterance to such triumphant expres- 
 sions he passed through the river safely, upon the 
 stepping-stones placed there by our blessed Lord. 
 
 "William Gordan, an eminent Christian and 
 physician of England, well known to scientists 
 as a man of great abilities, when dying, exclaimed, 
 
340 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 *' People have said that death \?> frightful. I look 
 on it with pleasure. I see no monster around 
 me ! Death ! I see no death at my bedside ; it 
 is that benign Savior, waiting to take me. I 
 could not have a fear. Christ, not death, is about 
 to take me. There is no death to the Christian. 
 The glorious gospel takes away death. I don't 
 look at myself. I am a mass of corruption ; but 
 I revel in the atonement. I. shall never see Death, 
 that monster so often talked of. It is Christ! 
 Death? Death? There is none here. It is all 
 swallowed up of life ! I see nothing but Christ." 
 
 Said Bishop Haven, when dying, " It's so de- 
 lightful dying, — it is pleasant, so beautiful. The 
 angels are here ; God lifts me up in his arms. I 
 can not see the river ; it is all light. I am float- 
 ing away from earth up into heaven ; I am glid- 
 ing away unto God." One of his friends inquired 
 of him if it was all right with him ? He replied, 
 " Yes ; I have not a cloud over my mind. I be- 
 lieve the gospel all through, — all through." 
 
 Rev. "W. T. Lower, a minister of the church of 
 the United Brethren in Christ, a man of excellent 
 Christian spirit, died prematurely from excessive 
 labor in the Master's vineyard. His last illness 
 was long and severe; but his submission and 
 patience were perfect and complete. His last 
 
CLUSTERS PROM ESHCOL. 341 
 
 sermon was from the text, "Mark the perfect 
 man, and behold the upright, for the end of that 
 man is peace." (Psalms xxxvii. 37.) It was said 
 to have been a sermon of extraordinary clearness 
 and power. It proved to be prophetic of his own 
 departure, then near at hand. A few days after 
 the delivery of that sermon Mr. Lower took to 
 his bed, from which he never arose, until carried 
 to his grave. During his illness he was always 
 patient, uncomplaining, and submissive, and as 
 the end drew near, often exceedingly joyful and 
 triumphant. Calmly, peacefully, and in perfect 
 confidence in God, this man of God passed away, 
 just as the evening sun sunk behind the mount- 
 ain near at hand. His end was peace. His en- 
 trance was abundant. His feet, too, found a safe 
 passage throng the river, upon the stepping-stones 
 placed there by our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 As an illustration of the power of divine grace 
 to sustain and give victory in death, the case of 
 Hev. H. Y. Humelbaugh is an eminent example. 
 Mr. Humelbaugh was also a minister in the 
 church of the United Brethren in Christ, and 
 died October 13th, 1868, while pastor of the 
 church at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The 
 writer visited him frequently during the several 
 weeks of his illness, and was present with hira 
 
342 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 when he died and heard the expressions of tri- 
 umph as they fell from his dying lips, many of 
 which were written down at the time, lest they 
 would be forgotten. Among all the precious 
 utterances of departing saints none that we have 
 ever heard surpass for beauty and grandeur some 
 of the expressions which fell from the lips of this 
 man of God. They deserve a permanent place 
 in the annals of the church; and, so far as we 
 can, we give them this prominence. 
 
 Mr. Humelbaugh appeared to have a presenti- 
 ment of his approaching death, and often spoke 
 of his . departure, expressing, however, the wish, 
 if consistent with his heavenly Father's will, to 
 recover and live awhile longer for the sake of 
 his family. 
 
 Visiting him early in the evening prior to his 
 death I found him quite ill, but calmly resting in 
 God. To my inquiry if he still enjoyed the pres- 
 ence of the Savior, he replied, " Oh, yes, I am 
 happy, — though at times I have severe trials. 
 Yesterday morning I thought I was going over. 
 Oh, if I could have had strength I would have 
 shouted the praise of God ! Before you go I must 
 tell you the vision I had about two weeks ago. 
 I was alone one day, when four angels came and 
 stood there at the foot of my bed, bearing in their 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 343 
 
 iiands a beautiful white lounge. After standing 
 awhile and looking upon me very lovingly they 
 vrent up again." 
 
 Said I to him : " Are you certain you were not 
 asleep and dreaming?" 
 
 "I tell you I did see them, — I was wide awake; 
 and I thought I was dying, for I felt my heart 
 breaking at the sight." 
 
 Mrs. Humelbaugh informed me that at the 
 time referred to she was absent from the room, 
 but upon returning she found him with closed 
 €yes and very pale. Supposing him to be dead 
 she called to him. Opening his eyes he said, 
 *'Were you frightened?" "Yes," she replied; "I 
 thought you were dead." He then told her of 
 the vision of angels he had seen. 
 
 Returning to the room of the sick man, after 
 meeting with and leading my class, about nine 
 o'clock at night, I found his family in tears. The 
 doctors had just left, telling them that he was 
 fast sinking. I entered his room, and shortly 
 after- some five or six brethren, members like my- 
 self of Mr. Humelbaugh's congregation, came in 
 and remained till his death, some three hours 
 afterward. Desiring to know the doctor's opin- 
 ion of his case he inquired of him, and was told 
 of his critical condition. He replied, " Well, this 
 
344 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 is not what we expected, but it is all right." He 
 was apparently surprised at the nearness of death, 
 and for about a half hour he lay in silence, evi- 
 dently meditating and praying. At length, ob- 
 taining complete victory over all fear, he exclaim- 
 ed, " I have tried to live a religious life ; and now 
 I can say, Saved by grace ! Saved by the grace 
 of God ! " Then turning toward the doctors, who 
 sat by his side, and extending his arm and with a 
 smile of triumph upon his pale face, he exclaimed,. 
 "0 doctor, ivhat a beautiful land lies just before my 
 eyesT^ 
 
 Turning to his weeping wife he said, "0 Fanny,, 
 weep not for me ; I will soon be at rest, — forever 
 at rest from all my troubles. Oh, lead a holy^ 
 life. Train up the children in the fear of God — 
 in experimental religion; and tell them to be 
 humble." Then raising both hands he exclaimed,, 
 " Let people say what they choose against exper- 
 imental religion ; thank God, it saves in a dying 
 hour! " 
 
 After resting awhile he said, "I started to 
 serve God when young, — thirteen years ago; I 
 tried to hold out, and now I am almost home." 
 Inquiring the time of night, he was told it was 
 near twelve o'clock. He then said, " If I could, 
 I would like to sing." " Shall we sing for you ? '^ 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 34S 
 
 I inquired. "It miglit confuse me; you had bet- 
 ter not." Then in a feeble strain he faintly sung, 
 *' I'm nearer, nearer home, — nearer to my happy 
 home." 
 
 During the four hours in which this occurred 
 he labored hard at times for breath, — had several 
 sinking -spells, but was at all times in perfect 
 peace and holy ecstasy. 
 
 Having left the room, about an hour before he 
 died, he inquired where I was. Being called, I 
 hastily returned to his bedside ; and, desiring me 
 to resume my place by his side and hold his hand, 
 as I had done all the evening, he said, supposing^ 
 that I was frightened and desired to get away,. 
 " Don't be alarmed ; this is all right ; it will soon 
 be over !" 
 
 When very near the end he attempted to quote 
 the words, "Though I walk through the valley 
 of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for 
 thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they 
 comfort me." Omitting the words, "I fear no 
 evil," I quoted the whole verse correctly to him, 
 he repeating it after me ; and then, as if inspired 
 with the precious import o..* the concluding words,, 
 he exclaimed, ^'They comfort me! They comfort me! 
 Yes, blessed be God, they comfort me." Then, 
 laying his hand on his breast, he said, " Jesus, 
 
■346 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 » 
 
 precious Jesus, thou art precious to mj soul ! 
 In a few moments, with holy ecstasy, with the 
 light of heaven in his countenance, and with up- 
 lifted hands, he exclaimed, " King of Terrors ! 
 O End of Time ! Oh, all is bright ! I'll soon be 
 
 AT HOME ! " 
 
 With the wor^s, " Farewell, brethren," he clos- 
 ed his eyes and ceased to breathe, his happy 
 spirit released from its tenement of clay, and, 
 doubtless, was escorted to heaven by the four 
 shining ones who had appeared to him a few 
 weeks previously. 
 
 Mr. Humelbaugh while in health often spoke 
 to the writer of the gloom which seemed to come 
 over him when contemplating death. He was 
 then viewing it from a distance; but when he 
 came to test the reality his fears all departed, 
 and he passed triumphantly through the river. 
 
 Before me lays a tract, a book, and a written 
 manuscript, in which the peaceful and triumphant 
 deaths of loved ones are recorded. These were 
 written by husbands for their departed wives, 
 and a sister for a departed sister. They are Me- 
 morial Stones, taken from the river of death, and 
 set up and cherished, as God intends such memo- 
 rials should be cherished, in our families, where 
 they may be constantly seen, and where by con« 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 347 
 
 tinual intercourse therewith we may become fa- 
 miliarized to the fact that death is a conquered 
 foe, that those of our friends who have left us 
 have passed through the river safely, and that the 
 virtue of the presence of the true Ark of the 
 •Covenant — our Lord Jesus Christ — still abides in 
 the river of death, and that our feet, when we 
 come to pass that river, shall find the stepping- 
 stones to be there still. 
 
 A few extracts from these memorials I will 
 give ; and they will demonstrate that triumph in 
 death is not confined to persons of eminent tal- 
 ents, position, or usefulness in the church, but 
 that the humble and lowly can also share therein. 
 
 Mrs. C. A. Castle, wife of Bishop ^N". Castle, 
 whose triumphant death, after a long and severe 
 illness from consumption, has been recorded by 
 her husband, and published in a tract by the 
 Holiness Association in the church of the United 
 Brethren in Christ, has furnished one of the most 
 remarkable instances of the power of divine 
 grace to sustain and give victory to the believer 
 in death which the annals of the Church contains. 
 This devoted Christian lady went with her hus- 
 band to the Pacific coast, to which he was ap- 
 pointed by the General Conference of 1877, and 
 while there was stricken by that fell destroyer — 
 
348 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 consumption. Some time before her death she- 
 received the blessing of entire sanctification ; and 
 from that time until her departure she was un- 
 usually filled with the Holy Spirit, and testified 
 to all with whom she came in contact the power 
 of Jesus to save from alt sin. As the hour of 
 departure drew near she gave utterance to expres- 
 sions of holy triumph and ecstasy which have but 
 few parallels. I will now quote from .the record 
 written by her husband : '' For some two days 
 and nights she was almost incessantly employed 
 in labor for souls and in praise. She would sing, 
 at short intervals, day and night. Oh, the melo- 
 diousness, the heavenliness of that singing! She 
 could never sing much ; but this was unearthly 
 singing. At one time she said, ^ The Lord ha& 
 washed my heart so clean. It is white, yes, whiter 
 than snow. Oh, this sweet peace ; it flows as a 
 river to my soul ! This room is full of glory ; my 
 pillow is covered with glory.' Remaining quiet 
 a few minutes, in which she seemed sweetly rest- 
 ing, she exclaimed, ' Why, I was not breathing,. 
 was I? It seemed that the Lord breathed through 
 me.' After passing away into a motionless and 
 speechless state, in which she remained for quite 
 a period of time, with every indication of death, 
 — limbs cold and brow clammy, — on reviving she 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 349 
 
 fiaid, ' When I was so near gone I stood in the 
 bright rows of heaven, and joined their songs. I 
 wanted to stay; but Jesus said, " Linger a httle 
 while longer."' All the clothes — handkerchiefs, 
 bed - clothing, stand -cover, — had to be pefectly 
 white and free from any signs of dirt ; her mouth 
 and te-eth and finger-nails were cleansed ; 'for,' said 
 she, * since Jesus has washed me so clean, I want 
 everything clean around me.' When the lamp 
 was turned low to save her eyes she said, ' Oh, 
 how full of light this room is ! In heaven they 
 need no light; Jesus is the light of the place. 
 Oh, how beautiful heaven is ! It is all pure. The 
 angels are all pure.' Then she sung, ' Glory, glo- 
 ry fills my soul,' — waving her hand in triumph. 
 Only those who heard this singing can tell of its 
 heavenly melody. At the end of the singing she 
 exclaimed, ' Sweet Jesus, precious Jesus ! Oh, it 
 is nothing to the Christian to die 1 ' 
 
 " Passing away again, as previously mentioned, 
 she quite suddenly aroused with shouts of ' Glo- 
 ry ! Glory I ! ' clapping her hands in great ec- 
 stacy, exclaiming, ' Kow I know why God would 
 not let me go. He told me to come back and 
 tell you to preach this full and free salvation. 
 He says I can not do it, — my lungs are gone; but 
 tell him to do it, — and I will be with him. Oh, 
 
S50 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 that I had found this full salvation years ago t 
 How much good I might have done! I have 
 enjoyed religion all these years! I found Jesus 
 precious to my soul — in my closet; hut, oh, it 
 was nothing to this! This flows as a river; it is 
 constant ! My room is all lighted up with glory/ 
 Then waiving her hand she exclaimed, ' Oh, how 
 bright the cross ! How beautiful the crown ! ' " 
 
 " Here," wrote the bishop, " follow some* won- 
 derful things. This vision occurred in the fore- 
 noon, and was wonderful. 'No tongue or pen can 
 describe the glorious, spiritual presence that 
 seemed to pervade the room where this suffering 
 saint was lying. Heaven came down to earth. 
 It was truly a mount of transfiguration. The 
 countenance, especially the eyes, seemed celestial. 
 A soft, mellow light, or heavenly sweetness, shone 
 from them, — only varying in rich and mysterious 
 deepness as new wonders filled the vision. I was 
 occupying a seat at the foot of the bed at the 
 time, having been in conversation, when I chanc- 
 ed to see a more fixed and entranced gaze, up- 
 ward and onward, as if trying to survey some 
 scene of musical interest. The eyes passed 
 through a certain space, backward and forward, 
 up and down, as if surveying numbers. It must 
 be observed here that the talk was not rapid; it 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 351 
 
 was quite slow and measured, as when one is 
 looking by the aid of a glass into the distance 
 and by slow degrees discovers and relates scenes 
 of thrilling interest. The brilliancy of the coun- 
 tenance increased and the expressiveness of the 
 eyes became more intensely glorious as the scenes 
 detailed increased in interest. Let it be observed 
 how gradually the vision opens and increases in 
 magnitude; especially how the multitude of the 
 heavenly host increased in numbers. After a few 
 moments' gaze she said, ' Oh, heaven is such a 
 beautiful place! It is brighter than a thousand 
 suns ! ' Then gazing a moment she exclaimed, 
 
 * Don't you see those bright ones ? They come in 
 thousands.' A pause, with increasing interest, 
 
 * Oh, what a multitude ! There stands Jesus ! Oh, 
 don't you see him ? Oh, how bright ! The air is 
 filled with bright beings ! They are increasing in 
 numbers ! They are coming nearer! Oh, glory ! 
 See the holy ranks ! Oh, they are coming for me! 
 My heart is made ready for the heavenly com- 
 pany ! Oh, they are coming from all the courts 
 of heaven ! They are waiting for me ! Glory ! 
 Glory ! Glory ! More are coming ! They are all 
 around my bed. I am waiting, waiting. Oh, it 
 is so light in my room; it is filled with angels. I 
 see for miles and miles, and it is all filled with 
 
S52 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 angels, — millions and millions of angels.' While 
 gazing for a time, back and forth, np and down, 
 she said, ^ I have not seen any of my friends yet.* 
 Then lowering her eyes, as if viewing the ranks, 
 she exclaimed, while a heavenly brilliancy filled 
 her eyes, ' There is sister Jane, who died at 
 Elkhart. Oh, how beautiful! There is Jesse — 
 Bweet little angel. He is in mother's bosom. 
 [ This little babe died in Iowa.] There is Sister 
 Kitson. Glory ! Glory ! ! [We were at this sis- 
 ter's house the last night we spent near Warsaw, 
 Indiana.] There is Father Zahring; Josie and 
 Ellie Tuck. They are all angels, sweet angels.' 
 Father Zahring died very suddenly, near Frank- 
 fort, Indiana, the year that I was in charge of 
 Frankfort Circuit. Josie and Ellie, daughters 
 of Rev. H. Tuck of St. Joseph Conference, died 
 at Elkhart, Indiana. 
 
 " But the vision continued, ' There is aunt Katie 
 Lower. She came up through great tribulation. 
 Brother Farmer, Brother Hadley, Brother Had- 
 ley's child. Dr. Linn's little children, — they are 
 all angels. I can't number that multitude; it 
 will take an eternity to number it. It is a multi- 
 tude that can't be numbered.' Rev. Joseph Far- 
 mer of St. Joseph Conference died the year of 
 our marriage, while I lived near Berrien Springs, 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 853 
 
 Michigan. Our sainted wife never saw him. She 
 saw his picture frequently ; and we often stood at 
 the head of his grave; but in person she never 
 saw him. In this vision she knew and named 
 him. Surely, to the pure in heart, heaven and 
 earth are not widely separated. 
 
 " In the midst of these wonderful scenes she 
 broke out into singing, * Glory, glory, glory, 
 glory, fills my soul ! ' Then she exclaimed, ' It is 
 so beautiful ! Such beautiful mansions prepared 
 for all the faithful. Oh, Jesse is so sweet ! Heaven 
 is full of little children. It will take millions and 
 millions of years to count them. My brother 
 Philip, who was killed in the army ; Sister Blinn, 
 Charley Losier, — the dear little boy. Tell Ida 
 [her daughter] to write and tell them.' After 
 this she exclaimed, pointing them out, and won- 
 dering why we could not see them, * See the 
 friends ! There is one ; there is another ; ' and so 
 on." 
 
 In this happy frame this devoted servant of 
 God continued for a few days, and then, suddenly 
 and without affording the friends by her bedside 
 time to say farewell, her happy spirit took its de- 
 parture to be with Christ and with the loved ones 
 whom she saw in vision. Truly, she found a safe 
 passage through the river upon the sure step- 
 ping-stones placed there by our Lord. ^ 
 
854 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 Miss A. "W*., while yet in youth, was called to 
 meet the great enemy, death. Of a timid and 
 retiring disposition, she often expressed her fears 
 of meeting death, especially in the form of lin- 
 gering, painful disease. When in the last stage 
 of consumption she wrote to a friend thus: "0. 
 has told thee, of course, how much worse I am in 
 body ; but I am very happy. I think the thought 
 of just falling asleep in Jesus is perfectly sweet. 
 It is so different from my old view of death ; and 
 this is all that death is to him who trusts in Jesus 
 — just falling asleep on Jesus' breast to awake at 
 the glorious resurrection-morn." 
 
 This young lady when dying " was placed upon 
 a sofa in the center of the room, that she might 
 have the benefit of all the air passing. As she 
 seemed to be sinking into death her parents, sis- 
 ters, and friends gave her the parting kiss, she 
 sweetly smiling and whispering, *Ji^'5 so lovely to 
 be going/ Addressing her father she inquired, 
 * Father, am I dying?' To his words she re- 
 sponded, ^Ifs all right; I want the Lord's will done/ 
 Just before she drew her last breath she folded 
 her hands across her breast, and with a sweet 
 smile, and gazing upward, said, ^My. Beloved is 
 mine, and I am his/ In the act of turning her 
 on her side, her sister said to her, 'Almost home, 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 855 
 
 darling,' when, witli her last breath, she whis- 
 pered, *W-i-t-h the Lord.' The feet of this youth- 
 ful pilgrim found the sure stepping-stones to be 
 Hhere unto this day' " 
 
 Mrs. E. W., an estimable Christian lady, after a 
 sore and protracted illness approached the brink 
 of the river of death. Obtaining, in answer to her 
 many prayers, a perfect victory over the fear of 
 death, she gave utterance to the following beauti- 
 ful words : " dearest Lord, thou hast fully satis- 
 fied the longing desire of thy poor, helpless serv- 
 ant. Oh, how shall I thank thee sufficiently, and 
 praise thy holy name for the fresh and unex- 
 pected display of thy heavenly love and mercy ! 
 Glory ! Glory ! ! Glory ! ! ! Thanksgiving and 
 praise be to thy worthy and adorable name for- 
 ever ! Lord, thou hast fully satisfied ! Come 
 when thou pleasest. Thy servant is ready and 
 willing to be taken to thy holy arms." 
 
 Addressing her husband she said, "I was pray- 
 ing to-day, when suddenly a burst of glory came. 
 Tell all my dear brothers and sisters that I want 
 them to partake with me in the same joy, the 
 same heavenly love, and the same glorious pros- 
 pects which I now feel, and with which my heart 
 and soul are filled." Then, with a countenance 
 beaming with heavenly rapture, she exclaimed, 
 
356 CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 
 
 "Oil, Happy ! Happy ! ! Happy ! ! ! Glory ! Glo- 
 ry!! Glory!!! Language can not set forth a 
 sense of the eternal weight of glory which presses 
 on my happy, happy soul." 
 
 In this frame, and giving utterance to such tri- 
 umphant exclamations, she continued for awhile 
 and then sweetly fell asleep in Jesus. 
 
 These dying triumphs might be continued to 
 almost any extent, for the annals of the church 
 abound with them; but we desist. We might 
 tell of the dying triumphs of the martyrs, of the 
 reformers, of the Wesleys, of Fletcher, of Top- 
 lady, of Locke, of Payson, of Otterbein, of Ed- 
 wards, and of a host of others ; but enough has 
 been given to demonstrate the fact that whatever 
 may have become of the stones set up in the 
 midst of the Jordan, and of those taken from the 
 midst of the river and carried with them and 
 subsequently preserved in their families, the facts 
 which these memorial - stones symbolized — the 
 complete and abiding victory over death achieved 
 by our Lord Jesus Christ, and the memorials of 
 triumphant and happy deaths of samts cherished 
 in our households and families, — yet remain ; for 
 " they are there unto this day" 
 
 My task — if employment so pleasant and de- 
 lightful as the preparation of this work can be 
 
CLUSTERS FROM ESHCOL. 357 
 
 called a task — is finished. I have tried to set be- 
 fore the reader the teaching of God's holy word 
 in relation to the afflictions and trials of believers. 
 And I think it has been demonstrated that in' 
 stead of these being evidences of the Divine dis- 
 pleasure, as we are apt to conclude when afflicted, 
 they are rather evidences of God's special love 
 and regard for us, and that without them we 
 have reason to question our divine relationship. 
 
 And now, in conclusion, and as an expression 
 of our own relation to the subject treated in these 
 pages, and to the kingdom and glory near at 
 hand, the anticipation of which is so delightfully 
 precious in affliction so severe and protracted as 
 that under which these pages have been written, 
 I quote the following expressive and appropriate 
 verses from TJpham's " Christ in the soul: 
 
 " The days of toil soon are over; 
 
 Temptations, darkness, sorrow gone, 
 Already see the shining shore, 
 And let the bark move swiftly on, 
 
 " The waves are dashing round the prow; 
 And hostile clouds are in the sky ; 
 But wave nor cloud can hurt us now ; 
 Behold I The shining shore is nigh," 
 
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