Mithcah
And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah.”
This twenty-fourth encampment has also a pleasingname, which signifies sweetness. Truly a delightful. encampment. Let us therefore consider something of the sweetness of the kingdom of God, its sources, and its nature.
The world imagines itself in the possession of those things which are able to afford pleasure and joy, and considers godliness as a thing destructive to, and utterly destitute of joy. This we by no means admit, but maintain, on the contrary, that godliness is the necessary condition of all true joy, and that the latter without the former, is mutable, insufficient, and impossible.
The world speaks much of allowable sensible pleasures. We admit their existence, but assert that their extent is carried far beyond the bounds of propriety and the limits’of the word of God. “Flee,” it is said, “from the corruptible pleasures of the world.”” Love not the world, nor the things of the world, the lust of
’ the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Whosoever loveth the world, the love of the Father is not in him.*’ Nor do we wish to conceal the fact, that true godliness always begins with sorrow, and is continued under it in a variety of ways. Christ unceremoniously announces to them who wish to follow him, a daily cross, which they must take up. This cross crucifies and slays the love of the world. They that laugh are commanded to weep, their joy is to be turned into mourning, and their laughter into tears. And what is the joy there meant? Certainly not the joy of the Holy Ghost, which is a constituent part of the kingdom of God; consequently such joys as do not belong to it.
The source of godly joy does not lie in earthly things. Where true godliness exists, the latter have lost much of their value, and continue to do so. The being properly rooted and grounded in Christ, the being strengthened by his Spirit in the inner man, and having Christ dwelling in the heart by faith, is the aim after which the heart more and more ardently longs. However, we by no means say, that a truly godly man ought to regard every thing of an earthly nature with a melancholy look, and act according to such a feeling. O no! On the contrary, true godliness places the individual in a state in which he can be heartily glad of all these things, and delight himself in them in a manner that ungodly men are unable to do or to comprehend. They taste and see God himself in his creatures, and whichever way they turn, the image of their Heavenly Father presents itself to them.
They therefore enjoy divine delight, even in earthly things; but a man must be himself godly, in order to understand how widely different is this pleasure from the earthly and carnal-mindedness with reference to the same object. The righteous alone are told to rejoice evermore; and as long as an individual is not reconciled to God, he ought not to have a single happy moment.
But the true sources of the sweetness of the kingdom of God here upon earth lie,
First, ill the word of God, of which the 11 9th Psalm justly says, when manifested, “it rejoiceth the heart,” and David, in Psalm xix. says, that it was “sweeter to him than honey or the honeycomb.” And from whence should we know that there is forgiveness with God, that he keeps mercy for thousands, that “it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners,” and that “whosoever cometh unto him shall not be cast out?” Whence should we know the other truths relating to salvation, on which the whole comfort of sinful men depends, but from the word of God? O what an exquisite feast does the hungry soul frequently find prepared in the word: and how often do not even a few words of a sermon divest a soul of all its sorrows, and restore to it the peace of God! What pleasing wonders has not frequently a verse of a hymn effected! Therefore, as long as there is a Bible upon earth, the people of God have a Mithcah, a source of sweetness to soothe every sorrow.
Another of these sources lies, secondly, in the corn- ?nunion of saints, in the associating of Christians with one another. Christians have, even here below, in this respect, a taste of their eternal fellowship in heaven, and an experimental proof of the verification of the promise, “Wherever two or three are met together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” An unspeakable blessing frequently rests upon social intercourse and the mutual intercession of believers, so that they saw with Jacob, ‘* The Lord is in this place,” and their silence is often not less replete with unction than their converse. This sweetness is enjoyed particularly in places where Christians, on account of their small numbers, rarely meet.
Slreet to the true Christian is, thirdly, pleasing intelligence coucerfiing the extension of Christ’s kingdom, both generally and individually. Thus, when Paul and Barnabas came to Jerusalem, and told the church how much God had done by their m.eans, and how he had opened the door of faith to the heathen, “they caused great joy unto all the brethren.” (Acts xv. 3.) And is it not the case with us also, when we receive credible accounts of the progress of the truth in our own or distant countries? And when a single sinner repents, there is joy not only in heaven, but on earth also; and on such occasions it is meet to make merry and be glad, when he that was dead and lost, is found and alive again. The Lord grant us frequently this joy!
A fourth source of sweetness to the children of God arises from remembrance. “I call to remembrance the days of old,” says David, and most believers have experienced remarkable events in their history, the remembrance of which causes them joy. This may arise either from a retrospect of all the way by which the Lord hath led us, and in which so many instances of his loving kindness and tender mercy have been experienced, or from the temporal favours and deliverances with which the Lord often causes his people’s cup to overflow; so that they burst forth into accents of praise and thanksgiving, saying with David, ‘’ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits!”
The sacraments are a fifth source of sweetness to the Christian. The ground of faith which baptism presents to us, is perhaps too little attended to. In it, the triune God gives us the seal on our own bodies, that be is our God, and that all the three glorious persons in the ever blessed Trinity are willing to contribute to our salvation — that God is our Father, and is willing to provide for all our necessities, both of body and soul; that all that the Son has done and suffered shall belong to us; and that the Holy Spirit is willing to be our teacher, comforter, and renovator. Hence what a source of delightful contemplation ought this sacrament to afford us! Of the holy sacrament it is said, “And they broke bread from house to house, and did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” (Acts ii. 46.) and certainly, it is still frequently a pleasant bread and a reviving cup to believers. Whilst receiving the visible sign and seal, they feed upon the bread of life, Christ himself, and that frequently in an abundant measure.
A sixth especial source of sweetness flows to believers here below, from the exercise of prayer. O how indescribably sweet it is, to be permitted to converse in a filial and confidential manner with God as our gracious Father in Christ, and believingly pour out our complaints, desires, and whatever oppresses us, before him, in the confidence that the Lord will do for us more than we can ask or think! This sweetens every suffermg, and in such intercourse of spul, the true Christian would gladly continue for hours together.
Seventhly, What Sweetness there is in being breathed upu?i bij the Holy Spirit, and when by his animatingbreath, the fruits of the Spirit pleasingly manifest themselves! Spring, in nature, is something very delightful; in grace, still more so. Then, “beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Then, the old man dare scarcely show himself, and the new predominates. We are then no longer in Marah, bitterness, but encamped in Mithcah, sweetness.
Eighthly, But all this “oil of gladness,” and this sweet honey, flows from Christy the rock that follows us. Jesus can impart himself to the soul, and give us to enjoy him. This is the water of which he spoke to the Samaritan woman, and for which he incited her to ask. He that possesses and enjoys him, enjoys life itself. His flesh may be eaten in a spiritual manner, and his blood may be drunk. We may “taste and see that the Lord is good.” This is heaven itself, and the heaven of heavens; and this made Asaph exclaim, “Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth I desire besides thee!” and Paul considered all things but loss, for the excellence of this experimental knowledge of Christ.
O, if we rightly knew and believed that sweetness, joy, and delight are to be found alone and unadulterated in Christ, how would we hunger after him, and renounce all things for his sake! He that enjoys him, is certainly encamped in Mithcah, even though he were in the midst of a desert.
These are some of the sources of enjoyment to the children of God here below. We have still a few remarks to make on the nature of them.
They are not of a sensible, but of a spiritual kind. The senses are not affected by them, but the mind. The kingdom of God is not seen outwardly, but is within. Nor do we know Christ after the flesh. Nor are they merely intellectual, for this is a pleasure which an unconverted man can enjoy, in the pursuit of some favourite study, the perusal of some beautiful work, the listening to some eloquent discourse, or by the contemplation of noble acts and distinguished performances. Such an enjoyment, though of a more noble kind, is after all but of dubious worth.
The pleasures of which we here speak, are of a spiritual nature; that is, iheir author is the Spirit of Jesus Christ; they therefore presuppose spiritual subjects, regenerated individuals; for no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again. ‘* The natuYal man understandeth not the things of the Spirit.”
These sweetnesses in the kingdom of God are nothing rare or uncommon. We taste them, not only at the commencement, but they also refresh and cheer the heart in the sequel. They are often so overpowering, that the individual has been scarcely able to bear them. Frequently they last a longtime, but often pass rapidly over. They generally succeed sorrow of heart; or give place to the latter.
This sweetness often extends itself far and wide; the wilderness and the solitary place are glad, and the desert blossoms as the rose. Then’, even bodily sufferings are sweet, and pain, poverty, and distress; because the heart rejoices in the Lord. It even glories in tribulation, because it knows its utility.’ It glories in its weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon it; and counts it all joy when it falls into many temptations, convinced that all things shall work together for good to them that love God. His commandments are then easy, and his burden is light.
Finally, we observe, that these sweetnesses do not essentially belong to genuine Christianity. If they cease, grace does not cease. These pleasing mountains may depart and these lovely hills be removed, but “my grace,” says the Lord, “shall not depart from thee, nor the covenant of my peace be broken.” But it is essential to true religion to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus; to hunger and thirst after righteousness, to believe on him and to abide in him. If this be thy path, the requisite sweetness will from time to time be communicated to thee, and if thou continuest therein, and goest forward, thou wilt at length have an abundant entrance ministered to thee, into the kingdom of heaven, where there is fulness of joy in the presence of God, and pleasures for evermore at his right hand.