Large Standing
“* He brought me forth also into a large place.”
PSALM xviii. 19. THAT is always the end of the Lord’s leadership. He brings us out of narrow places, where we have but little standing, and He sets our feet in a large place. He gives us big ground to stand upon. We have been cramped in a small expediency and He leads us into the enlargement of a spacious purpose. Or we have been cribbed in a petty rule and He brings us into the fine air of a splendid principle. Or we have been dwelling in little sentiments, and He leads us forth into a vast and holy love. Or we have lived in party prejudice, and He has brought us into a comprehension of truth. This is the way of the Lord. It is His gracious will that the soul should have fine standing, and should move in the glorious liberty of the Son of God.
It is easy to tell when a soul has been wonderfully led into a large place, as it is easy to know when a soul is held captive in a tiny cabin. In politics it is the difference ius Large Standing 29
between the politician and the statesman. In religion it is the difference between the ecclesiastic and the saint. It is the difference between the poetic and the prosaic, between severely conventional living and a large life of spiritual vision and aspect. Who does not know the difference between a man who takes up a thing from small motives and the man who stands upon big ground in all his enterprises and ambitions? It is the difference described by our Lord: some are ‘** from above,” and others ‘‘ from beneath.’’
It is the man who stands upon big ground who alone can tackle matters of tremendous moment. He alone can endure through the dark and cloudy day. The very largeness of his standing protects him from the fears which are bred of unproportioned thoughts. He looks out upon affairs with a true and fine perspective, and he does not confuse the early battle with the long campaign. He does not fear ‘“‘ when heat cometh.’ He has the calmness which is the offspring of magnanimity. He has the fear of the Lord, and in that large fear no other fear can breathe.
Our God is the God of the large places!
It is the wonderful privilege of the believer to sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus and to think and labour in the very mind of Christ.