Genesis xxxii. 26 (continued)
And he said, I will not let thee go unless thou bless me.
. WE read, in 2 Kings xiii. 14, that Elisha, that great and remarkable prophet, at length fell sick, and drew near his end. Joash, the king of Israel, came and visited him: and when he saw how dangerous his illness was, the king wept, and exclaimed, ‘O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof !y Thou art near death, who wast more to Israel than a whole army, and often delivered it out of its distresses! What a loss! especially at a time when the Syrians were pressing Israel sorely.
The sick prophet had pleasing news from the Lord for the sorrowing king, which he communicated to him in a symbolical manner. He told him to open a window, and shoot out of it. The king shot, and the prophet said, This is an arrow of the Lord’s deliverance from Syria.’ He then told the king to take other arrows, and smite upon the ground with them; which was again intended as a pre-intimation of successful occurrences; as Joash might have inferred from the first sign. But he smote only thrice, and then ceased. The man of God was then wroth with him, and said, ‘Thou shouldst have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.’
Such is the history. What does it teach us? That we should not stop half way in the spiritual course, but press forward to the mark. Even in spiritual things we may stop, after having smitten thrice, when we ought to have done it six times. Some satisfy themselves entirely with the externals of religion; and are contented with having smitten once, so to speak. Propriety of conduct, going to church, and the reception of the sacrament, constitute the whole of their religion. They ought, however, to go on to repentance and faith, and thus smite five or six times. Some smite the ground twice, and add to their outward observances, attendance at meetings, and a greater degree of prayer; they also feel a little distressed, and are then a little relieved, and are like the foolish virgins who carry lamps without oil; are ever hearing and learning, and yet do not attain to the knowledge of the truth. Others possess genuine grace, poverty of spirit, sorrow for sin, and a hungering and thirsting after righteousness; and yet, like Joash, they do not obtain a complete victory, although they obtain salvation: their faith rests upon their feelings, and is as mutable as the latter. It depends upon the consciousness of the characteristic marks of a state of grace, and is founded more upon the grace in them, than that which is in Christ Jesus; and hence they are never comfortable; they smite the ground twice or thrice; they do not proceed in a direct line towards Jesus; and resemble a man who looks at a star through a telescope held by a trembling hand — he sees it sometimes, but not at others, and must then seek it again.
There are also some who, like the Corinthians whom Paul reproves, are soon satisfied. They have had some experience in religion, their acquaintance with which induces them to reckon themselves amongst the children of God, notwithstanding all their present coldness and estrangement from Jesus; and to regard it as faith, and even strong faith, that they do not doubt of their state of grace. But believing in Jesus is certainly something else than the belief in our own state of grace; and salvation is promised, not to the latter, but to the former. If we are in the vine, where is the sap 1 They have ceased to smite, when they ought to have continued to do so.
But there are others who look steadfastly unto Jesus, and do not receive him half, but entirely; not occasionally, but continually; and maintain an uninterrupted intercourse with him. They are wholly sinners in their own esteem, and let Jesus be their entire Savior; and thus they smite five or six times, until they consume the Syrian host.
Jacob, terrified at the wrath of his brother Esau, has recourse to the Lord in prayer. Scarcely has he begun to do so, when a man lays hold of him, in the darkness of the night, and struggles with him. He endeavors not only by bodily strength to expel him from the place, but also to drive him from the throne of grace, by setting before him his sins; both, however, solely with the intention of exercising his faith, and occasioning him a new victory. Jacob resists with his bodily powers, and especially by his tears and prayers, according to Hosea. (xii. 4.) The struggle becomes more violent, so that the patriarch’s thigh is dislocated by the touch of his antagonist. But the very moment in which he was unable to continue the conflict, in consequence of being deprived of his strength, and when compelled to sink down completely overcome, so that he must necessarily fall into the hands of Esau, he throws himself upon the neck of his opponent, who then declares himself vanquished; thus he is in Jacob’s power, and cannot depart unless the patriarch voluntarily releases him. Wonderful procedure! As long as Jacob possessed strength he was overcome, and conquers at the moment when it forsakes him. ‘When I am weak, then am I strong.’ To them that have no might, increased power is given, whilst the strong grow weary and fall. Who can understand it, or comprehend the wonders of the kingdom of God? Only they to whom it is given. To others it is a stumbling-block, and foolishness. Jacob perceived very clearly what was implied in the words, ‘Let me go;’ he perceived that his opponent was in his power, yielded himself to him, and virtually said, ‘Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession.’ And he faithfully took advantage of this when he answered, ‘I will not let thee go unless thou bless me.’ We consider,
What the blessing implied:
Jacob’s resolution not to let the Son of God go, before bestowing it; and lastly,
The result.
The Lord, in his word, has opened the door of grace to us to an astonishing extent. If we had faith, and, like Jacob, made a due and bold use of it, we should experience marvellous things. It is said in general, * Ask, and ye shall receive. Ask, and it shall be given you, that your joy may be full.’ And there is no limitation prescribed, either in asking or in giving; on the contrary Christ says, ‘What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them;’ and adds, ‘Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall belive those things which he saith shall come to pass: he shall have whatsoever he saith.’ What a bill — if I may speak in a mercantile manner — has He whose name is Amen, here drawn upon himself! — and since his riches are unsearchable, there is no doubt of the payment. Yes,’ says Paul, he is rich unto all that call upon him.’
It is however said, ( Have faith in God!’ and there is great want of this upon earth. The testimony of man is received; but the testimony of God, which is greater — dreadful thought! — no man receiveth. But he that receives it, sets to his seal that God is true; and he that does not, deprives himself of eternal life. (John iii. 32, 33.)
In how many different ways the Savior seeks to encourage boldness in prayer! He asks parents whether they would give a stone to their children when asking for bread, or poison instead of food; and teaches us to draw the conclusion, that God who is gracious, and even love itself, is certainly ready to bestow blessings which cost him nothing, since men are capable of doing good, though they are evil, and though it costs them something. Is it possible, that a friend can show kindness to another, when urgently entreated, although it occasion him trouble; and you will not place a similar confidence in God, who, by a mere nod, can communicate the greatest blessings to you, without being the least incommoded by it? You think it possible that a haughty and unrighteous judge, who neither fears God nor regards man, may be induced, by the persevering entreaties of an inconsiderable widow, to grant her request; and yet imagine that your kind and gracious Father will unfeelingly suffer you to supplicate him in vain? — He who says, ‘Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee.’ Be ashamed of your incredulity! If he has given up his Son — the best, and dearest, and most excellent of all he possessed — shall he hesitate about infinitely inferior benefits? Will he not rather, with him, freely give us all things? Is it not irrational, absurd folly and sin to cherish the smallest doubt of it? Ah, Lord, teach us how to pray! for it is a wonderful art to be able to pray aright.
We know neither how we ought to pray, nor what we ought to pray for as we ought. But the Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. And certainly prayer is a very different thing to the sound and arrangement of the words that are used; and it is a question, with respect to many, whether ever they prayed in their lives, however often they thought they prayed and seemed to pray; whilst others pray very powerfully who believe they cannot pray at all. ‘But if ye abide in me, says the Savior, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ (John xv. 7.)
Jactfb understood all this. He perceived that he had the Son of God in his power, and could request as great a blessing of him as he wished. Hence he declares that he will not let him go unless he bless him.
But what is the meaning of blessing?
It means, amongst men, wishing them every good, particularly of a spiritual kind, from God through Christ, in a praying and believing frame. The blessings which Isaac, and afterwards Jacob, pronounced upon his sons, were prophetic announcements, and therefore of a very peculiar kind. The first-mentioned description of blessing is pleasing and salutary.
Pleasing are the good wishes of one towards another, when springing from a loving heart, which is turned towards God through Christ; for they are proofs and signs of love, and consequently expressions of the image of God. They are therefore beautiful .and sacred, and only true Christians know how to bestow them — and they do so too. How many salutations does the New Testament contain! The sixteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans consists almost entirely of them; and saluting or greeting means nothing more than affectionately blessing, and consists not in the sound of words, but in the emotion of the heart. It is an exercise becoming Christians; for they are priests, whose province it is to bless. Hence Paul took pleasure also in mentioning the salutations of others, which he by no means looked upon as inconsiderable trifles. St. John likewise does not fail to communicate the salutations of pious children, with which he had been charged, as his second Epistle proves. But he looks upon such salutations very earnestly and closely, when, in the same Epistle, he enjoins that those who do not bring with them the doctrine of Christ — the doctrine of the Father and the Son — shall not be received into the house, nor even be wished God speed; for John possessed as much holiness as love, respecting which we must not imagine that it consents to every thing, although it doth not behave itself unseemly. God himself is a sea of love; and yet his anger burns, his lips are full of fury, and his tongue a consuming fire. For even as love attracts that to it which is like itself; so also it violently rejects that which is unlike. Hence Jesus also, on the day of final judgment, will say, 4 Depart from me, ye evil doers; I never knew you.’ Even as he also said to Satan, ‘Get thee behind me.’
The salutation or blessing of real Christians is likewise something salutary and powerful, when it is bestowed as it ought, with a believing elevation of the heart to God through Christ. We believe in the communion of saints. It consists not merely in that sincere and heart-felt love which so infallibly prevails amongst real Christians, that John adduces it as a characteristic of having passed from death unto life; and adds, ‘He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.’ It consists not merely in contributing to their support with our outward substance, and ministering to them with our spiritual gifts, such as instruction, encouragement, and consolation; but we have also reason to believe that our labor is not in vain in the Lord, when you bless me in spirit, and I, in return, bless you, and when we mutually supplicate for each other grace and salvation from God. For the Lord fulfils the desire of them that fear him. Nay, it is even a reciprocal duty. 1 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,’ it is said in Psalm cxxii. — an expression synonymous with wishing prosperity to it. ‘They shall prosper that love thee.’ We bless you in the name of the Lord,’ is the conclusion of Psalm cxxix. And Paul says, ‘Pray for one another;’ and also requests the intercessions of the church on his own behalf. Let us also mutually exercise this, that the body of Christ may be edified. Our blessing, however, is powerless in itself, and is only effectual when our hearts are incited to it by the Lord, and accord with His will.
Jacob desires to be blest by the Lord himself; and the blessing of the Lord does not consist in mere words, but in the real communication of grace and gifts. The Lord left this world whilst lifting up his hands in the act of blessing; but we do not read that he uttered any thing on the occasion. He imparted real life to his disciples; which enabled them to return to Jerusalem without the visible presence of Jesus — not with sorrow, but with joy.
Every thing, in the kingdom of God, has reference to that which is real and substantial. The world, on the contrary, is a kingdom of falsehood. It promises pleasure and delight, and even rest; but it does not keep its word. What it gives is shadow, which may for a season deceive, so that the mistaken individual himself imagines that he is wonderfully well satisfied. But before he is aware, the delusive prospect fades from his view, and he finds himself enveloped in darkness. The world deprives him again of all the dignities, pleasures, property, and happiness it had afforded him, in order to bestow them upon others. It pays no attention to his ardent desire for the further possession and enjoyment of them, nor to his great unwillingness to part with them. Inexorable death deprives him of every thing; reduces him to dust; and hurries him, naked and bare, into another world, where he meets with none of the objects which had been lent him for a time; where the man in authority is no longer respected, and where the rich man no longer possesses anything; because nothing avails then, but the new creature, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, which he does not possess; and in faith which worketh by love, of which he is destitute. Poor deceived mortal!
Thus the world is a kingdom of lies, and we ourselves are also full of deceit, which misleads the understanding as well as the desire to seek happiness in vanity. Hence the individual must be born again; from being carnal, must become spiritual; from being earthly, must become heavenly; and from being an unbeliever, must become a believer; and thus enter into the kingdom of God, which consists solely of truth and reality. When in the latter, anything is termed good or evil, it is really so, and will manifest itself to be so. The things are really as it describes them. When it says, t Seek that !J it is really worth while. When it says, set not your affections upon that particular object,’ it is hot worth the while striving for it. In short, it always advises us for the best. Its -promises also are true and sure. When it says, “The blood of Christ cleanses the conscience from all sin, and renders us happy,” it proves itself to be so in our minds; even as many thousands, in every age, have found it confirmed in their own experience. If it tells us, “The Lord careth for you,” it proves that it is the case in all who receive the saying. Its joys are real and substantial; and when once it will appear what we shall bej all ‘our expectations will be exceeded. In short,
“Who seeks this world, a burthen finds,
Which firmly on his back he binds.
Upon the chaff and wind he feeds,
And a most wretched life he leads,
Until at length he feels, too late,
The misery of such a fate.
A friend in need, in death a stay,
A comfort during all the way,
Unfailing, thou wilt find in none,
On earth or heaven, but God alone.”
With all its wisdom, the world is nothing but deceit, when it presumes to put in its word upon spiritual things, because it knows nothing of Christ. But upon him who enters into the kingdom of God the true and marvellous light arises, and he sees what was otherwise hidden from his eyes. When Jesus blesses, he actually imparts ’ all things that pertain to life and godliness.’
What is it, therefore, that we call blessing? It is the opposite of curse. As the latter comprehends in it all that is evil,. with respect to body and soul, in time and eternity; so blessing, on the contrary, comprises in it all inward and outward temporal and spiritual prosperity. Outward prosperity, that is, perfect health, .disturbed by no sickness, pain, or indisposition; in the enjoyment of which, the body possesses all possible perfection, so that no weariness oppresses it, no tedium troubles it, and every sense is capable of uninterrupted and exalted enjoyment. We must certainly take into account, at the same time, the infinite period after the resurrection; but in the kingdom of God a thousand years pass for a day, and Jesus as a perfect Savior renders at length both body and soul perfectly healthy and happy; as an infallible pledge of which we know that he himself dwells in heaven with body and soul.
Blessing, in a spiritual sense, is a perfectly tranquilized mind, an. understanding endowed with all perception, a heart thoroughly pervaded by God, and entirely one with God, which may be experienced even here below, in a good measure. It is true we live here by faith and not by sight, and are saved and sanctified by hope, and are not yet m perfect possession and enjoyment. The blessing, the life, however, which takes its commencement here, .is an eternal blessing, an eternal life; and becomes in us a well of water springing up to everlasting life. Let it suffice you, that you are kept, through faith unto salvation; and that all tilings shall work together for good to them that love sod. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven, and that a mansion it already prepared for you. The heavenly Joshua is able to conduct you through the wilderness, and not to let you want either bread or water; and even if you must have flesh, he knows how to procure it; only take care to leave the world its onions and its garlic.
What has been premised sufficiently proves, that blessing comprehends in it the entire appropriation of salvation, from the first gentle inclination of the man’s will towards God — of which he himself may perhaps be unconscious — to perfect felicity before the throne of the Lamb; from the being called with a holy calling to the being glorified in heaven 5 for it is one blessing, something entire. Hence Paul represents it, in Rom. viii., as in a chain or series of blessings; ‘Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. Whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he a:: o glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?’
Earthly benefits are also a species of blessing, which certainly ought not to be overlooked. The abundant harvest of the present year forcibly draws our attention to this view of the subject. The field and the garden preach to us concerning the goodness of God, by presenting us with the enjoyment of it, with respect to which we ought not to be unsusceptible, but to lift up our eyes to the God of blessing, who opens his liberal hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing, and on whom our temporal prosperity as much depends as our spiritual. But we call whatever belongs to our temporal prosperity only a species of blessing; because even the wicked partake of it, whilst the godly not urifrequently obtain only a small share. God causes his sun to shine upon the evil and the good, and his rain to descend on the just and the unjust. Temporal benefits are only a curse to the wicked; and in the end they fall into the most bitter poverty, as-we see in the example of the rich man. What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What avails all participation in the things of the present world, without having part in that which is to come? And how lamentable is the folly of neglecting eternal blessings, whilst seeking after transitory good; and yet, alas! how common!
The triune God is the source of all blessing. c The Lord bless thee and keep thee! The Lord cause his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious to thee! The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon thee, and grant thee peace!’ From him, as the Father of lights, comes down every good and perfect gift. No man can receive anything, except it be given him of the Father. It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy, and of his free will. It is in vain to rise early and sit up late, unless the Lord give his blessing with it. In vain is the watchfulness of the watchman, unless the Lord keep the city; or the industry of the builder, unless the Lord co-operate. With all his rapidity, the swift may fail in the race, because he either applies it too early or too late. With all his ability, the merchant may miscalculate, and fail, notwithstanding all his prudence. Strength alone is not sufficient to secure victory in the combat, nor does expertness in anything render the individual acceptable.
Success belongs to a jurisdiction which receives no laws from princes, since they are themselves the subjects of that which men call time and chance; but we Christians, ‘Divine Providence.’ Be careful for nothing, and know at least that it is of no avail. The case is the same with spiritual things, and in a still greater degree. The Lord bless thee! Thou art then blessed indeed.
The real cause of blessing is Christ crucified — his priesthood — and, primarily, his expiring on the cross. The blessing had departed from us, and it was necessary to regain it for us. The curse had come upon us, and must be removed. Both were too great and too difficult for us to accomplish. The price was such, that we should never have been able to procure it. God then sent his Son into the world. He came attired in such a manner that no one regarded him for what he really was but he to whom the Father revealed it. A simple son of man, in fashion as other men, few only beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. In the form of a servant, it was easy to take him for any thing else than the Lord from heaven. And what was the end of him? He died in the flower of his years — died without having apparently accomplished any thing — died in the most wretched, painful, and ignominious manner, as a condemned malefactor, as a defamer of Divine and human majesty, and was buried. What shall we say to these things? The disciples knew not what to say, and wept. The Jews thought they understood it. “If he were not a malefactor; if there were any truth in the thing; if it were only half true what he affirmed as entirely so with an oath, that he was the Son of God; he could not possibly have been crucified.” But a mystery lay, and lies, in the whole affair — a mystery that was hidden from the beginning of the world; but which is revealed to us by the Apostles; a mystery which was unknown to the rulers of this world; a wisdom of God with them that are perfect; in one word, the mystery of the cross of Christ. And what mystery is that? Paul declares it in Gal. iii. 13, when he says, ( Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us, which is proved by the manner of his death; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.’ And Christ hung upon the tree, that we might receive the blessing already promised to Abraham. Jesus is therefore, by virtue of his death, the true high priest, who pronounces the blessing upon us; from Him we must seek it, even as Jacob did.
But what are the means for obtaining the blessing 1 Not works. If you seek it thus, you will nevertheless continue under the curse; (Gal. iii. 10) and though you torment yourselves day and night, you will advance no further. Jacob had also wrestled mightily; and such must be the case, and it must be continued with all earnestness, as long as we are able to accomplish anything. At length we are obliged to stand still. Jacob had at last no alternative, after his thigh was put out of joint, than passively to cast himself upon the neck of the Son of God; and then only it was that * he blessed him there.’
By faith, says Paul elsewhere, we are to receive the promised Spirit; and calls the Galatians, who had understood it otherwise, foolish and bewitched. Read the chapter in which this occurs — yea, the whole Epistle; but do it as a humble scholar, do it with a prayerful looking unto the Lord, that you may learn from himself the true method of becoming a partaker of his blessing; for our own reason will be here of no avail, but the. sentiment conveyed in the words, ‘I thank thee, Father, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.’
We need say little respecting the necessity of this blessing. It might be imagined, that every one would clearly perceive it. Or are ye the people, who, after having sown or planted any thing, can yourselves cause it to spring up and ‘increase? Or are there princes anywhere, to whom we may apply, in order to obtain -sunshine, rain, or healthy seasons? Are you yourselves the wise, and able, and powerful people on whom the direction of success and the seasons depends? If so, we will confess that you are little gods. Can you impart to yourselves the impulse .to all ‘that is good, and hatred to all that is evil? Are you able to expel from yourselves sin, self-love, envy, self-interest, and unbelief? Can you render yourselves meek, humble, benevolent, patient, heavenly minded? If so, we must confess that you are really the whole that need not a physician, and the righteous, who require no repentance; confess that you have some other progenitor than Adam the sinner, and that consequently you can reasonably do without the second Adam; that Paul’s assertion, that ’ there is no difference, for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,’ does not extend to you; and that you make an unheard-of exception. As for us, we believe that it is God who worketh in us both to will and to do; that we are not sufficient as of ourselves to think anything good, but that our sufficiency is of God; are of opinion that it is the work of God/when we believe on the name of the Son of God; and think that Jesus is quite in the right, when he says, ‘Ye are not able to make a single hair either white or black.’
When we call ourselves sinners, we do so because w» really know not by what other term to designate ourselves, and thus nothing is left us but to have recourse to Him, on whose neck Jacob hung; and to declare with him, * I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me!’ Do you know any better way 1 God himself said, I know of none.’
Finally, we have still to remark the possibility of obtaining this blessing, and the certainty of it for all who are of Abraham’s faith. ‘Seek, and ye shall find.’ This cannot be said with so much certainty of earthly blessings, otherwise we should have a greater number of rich people. But with respect to this blessing, we are empowered by supreme authority, even by the King of kings, to assert that he that seeketh findeth. Let him therefore, who esteems it a matter of importance, betake himself to the search; and let him who is seeking it, say with Jacob, ‘I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.’ Of this, therefore, we have still to speak: but this we will leave till another time.
See to it, therefore, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. There is something terrible in the words, 6 He refused the blessing, and chose the curse, therefore it shall come upon him.’ Terrible are the words which are spoken of every transgressor of the law: ‘;Let him be accursed.’ * This people that knoweth not’the law is accursed.’
.. Beware of esteeming earthly blessings too highly, and spiritual ones too meanly y and know that you have long lain under the curse, unless you believe in Jesus Christ. See to it betimes, that the sentence of death and damnation already pronounced upon you be not executed, and that by the mediation of Christ it be transformed into a sentence of justification unto life. What will otherwise become of you? Wrestle for the blessing like Jacob, with all your strength, and with all your energy. Say, I must and will know how it stands with reference to my soul’s salvation; otherwise I will not rest.. You will never repent the labor, although it may be painful to you, even as Jacob also experienced labor and pain. But how glorious was the result; when it is said, ‘He. blessed him there.’ How happy you will esteem yourselves; with what thankfulness and joy you will point out the hour, the opportunity, the place, where you will be assured of the blessing, become partakers of it, and be translated from the kingdom of -lies mto the kingdom of truth, and yourselves experience its wonders! The Lord will then remain with you, and guide you safely through the wilderness, until at -length you are present with the Lord. Amen.