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What a poor, uncertain, dying world is this! What a wilderness in itself! How dark,
how desolate, without the light of the Gospel and knowledge of Jesus! It does not appear so
to us in a state of nature, because we are then in a state of enchantment, the magical
lantern blinding us with a splendid delusion.
Thus in the desert's dreary waste, By magic pow'r produc'd in haste,
As old romances say, Castles and groves, and music sweet,
The senses of the trav'ller cheat, And stop him in his way;
But while he gazes with surprise, The charm dissolves, the vision dies;
'Twas but enchanted ground: Thus, if the Lord our spirit touch,
The world, which promis'd us so much, A wilderness is found.
It is a great mercy to be undeceived in time; and though our gay dreams are at an end,
and we awake to everything that is disgustful and dismaying, yet we see a highway through
the wilderness, a powerful guard, an infallible guide at hand to conduct us through; and we
can discern, beyond the limits of the wilderness, a better land, where we shall be at rest
and at home. What will the difficulties we met by the way then signify?
The remembrance of them will only remain to heighten our sense of the love, care, and
power of our Saviour and leader. O how shall we then admire, adore, and praise him, when
he shall condescend to unfold to us the beauty, propriety, and harmony of the whole train
of his dispensations towards us, and give us a clear retrospect of all the way and all
the turns of our pilgrimage!
In the meanwhile, the best method of adorning our profession, and of enjoying peace
in our souls, is simply to trust him, and absolutely to commit ourselves and our all to
his management. By casting our burdens upon him, our spirits become light and cheerful; we
are freed from a thousand anxieties and inquietudes, which are wearisome to our minds, and
which with respect to events, are needless for us, yea, useless.
But though it may be easy to speak of this trust, and it appears to our judgement
perfectly right and reasonable, the actual attainment is a great thing; and especially so
to trust the Lord, not by fits and starts, surrendering one day and retracting the next, but
to abide by our surrender, and go habitually trusting through all the changes we meet, knowing
that his love, purpose, and promise are unchangeable. Some little faintings perhaps none are
freed from; but I believe a power of trusting the Lord in good measure at all times, and living
quietly under the shadow of his wing, is what the promise warrants us to expect, if we seek
it by diligent prayer; if not all at once, yet by a gradual increase. May it be your
experience and mine!
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