The Hinderer
Satan hindered us. — 1 Thess. ii. 18.
It may be profitable to remind ourselves of two or three things bearing upon the non-fulfilment of our best purposes. We have schemes which come to nothing; wishes which perish in disappointment; and even vows and oaths which fall so far short of realization that they afflict our hearts with a sense of selfperjury and self-contempt. What is that malign power which encircles us with hindrances whensoever we would set forth on the holy errand of sympathy or instruction? Why is there not a clear path to our sou?s feet so that we may even 7mn in the way of the Lord without obstruction and without difficulty? The question is of infinite importance to spiritual beings. If we know the hinderer we may address ourselves to the speciality of his power; on the other hand if we misconceive his individuality or his resources, we may exhaust our strength in labour without profit.
I. There is a Hinderer. — Not only are there hindrances; there is a personal liinderer. He is not visible, he is not ‘persuadable — {resist is the word, not jpersuade) — is the tiger ever jpersuaded to spare the prey? GOD can be entreated; the devil must be resisted; he is spiritual.
One man says there is no devil. Who is that one man? Where does he live? What has he done for the race? Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who is this? The devil ‘^ tempted ‘’ Jesus; the devil “entered into ‘’ Judas; the devil “desired ‘’ to have Peter; the devil hindered Paul, I prefer that my faith should run in the line of these statements, not- “withstanding all their mystery, than that it should espouse the suggestions of speculators who have not yet, by any revelations of wisdom or agonies of sacrifice, established their claim to the supreme confidence of souls. I shall trust them wherever they cannot by any possibility deceive me; but when they oppose Jesus and Paul, I shall, without curtailing their liberty, decline their leadership. This being so, I must repeat as the first head — There is a personal hinder er in the spiritual life of men.
II. This Hinderer assails the most eminent WORKERS IN THE Church. — He assailed the Saviour Himself! In this case lie hindered Paul. We are apt to think that the greatest men in the church escape temptations which fall to the lot of others. The greater the man, the greater the temptation. It is so in other things. The more refined the taste, the more sensitive to vulgarities.
1. Our temptations show our unity as members of a common race. 2. Our temptations should awaken our sympathy as partakers of a common suffering.
III. This Hinderer seeks to eoil the aggressive intentions of the Christian. — In being a hinderer, the enemy has a decided advantage: 1. It is easy to hinder; that is, easy to do mischief, to suggest difficulties,, to magnify obstacles, etc. 2. It is easier to hinder than to counteract. Once let the seed be sown, etc. Once let a good impression be produced, etc.
Did Satan ever hinder a man from doing a had action? When we were about to give a pound to a ‘good cause, did Satan ever say, ^’ Give tiuo ^’?
Remember that the enemy deals with the purposes of man, and not only with the performances. He fights battles in the mind. What a wreck is the inner life of some of us!
Application: 1. Satan comes to us sometimes through the medium of had men, 2. Sometimes through the gratification of apparently harmless wishes. (” There is no harm in it/^) 3. Sometimes through friendly but incapable advisers — men who are so far below our level as utterly to miscalculate and misunderstand us. ’
The concluding word must be one of hope: there is a Heljoer! “Jesus, refuge of my soul/^ etc. The Holy Spirit can alone overcome the spirit of evil. “If ye being evill etc.