THE CASE OF THE CHRISTIAN UNDER THE HIDING OF GOD'S FACE.
1. The phrase scriptural.--2. It signifies the withdrawing the tokens of the divine favor.--3 chiefly as to spiritual considerations.--4. This may become the case of any Christian.--5. and will be found a very sorrowful one.--6. The following directions, therefore, are given to those who suppose it to be their own: To inquire whether it be indeed a case of spiritual distress, or whether a disconsolate frame may not proceed from indisposition of body,--7. or difficulties as to worldly circumstances.--8, 9. If it be found to be indeed such as the title of the chapter proposes, be advised--to consider it as a merciful dispensation of God, to awaken and bestir the soul, and excite to a strict examination of conscience, and reformation of what has been amiss.--10. To be humble and patient while the trial continues.--11. To go on steadily in the way of duty.--12. To renew a believing application to the blood of Jesus. An humble supplication for one under these mournful exercises of mind, when they are found to proceed from the spiritual cause supposed.
1. THERE is a case which often occurs in the Christian life, which they who
accustom themselves much to the exercise of devotion have been used to call the
"hiding of God's face." It is a phrase borrowed from the word of God, which I
hope may shelter it from contempt at the first hearing. It will be my business
in this chapter to state it as plainly as I can, and then to give some advice
as to your own conduct when you fall into it, as it is very probable you may
before you have finished your journey through this wilderness.
2. The meaning of it may partly be understood
by the opposite phrase of God's "causing his face to shine upon a person, or
lifting up upon him the light of his countenance." This seems to carry in it an
allusion to the pleasant and delightful appearance which the face of a friend
has, and especially if in a superior relation of life, when he converses with
those whom be loves and delights in. Thus Job, when speaking of the regard paid
him by his attendants, says, "If I smiled upon them, they believed it not, and
the light of my countenance they cast not down," (Job 29:24) that is, they were
careful, in such agreeable circumstances, to do nothing to displease me, or (as
we speak) to cloud my brow. And David, when expressing his desire of the
manifestation of God's favor to him, says, "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy
countenance upon me;" and, as the effect of it, declares, "thou hast put
gladness into my heart, more than if corn and wine increased." (Psa. 4:6,7) Nor
is it impossible, that, in this phrase, as used by David, there may be some
allusion to the bright shining forth of the Shekinah, that is, the lustre which
dwelt in the cloud as the visible sign of the divine presence with Israel,
which God was pleased peculiarly to manifest upon some public occasions, as a
token of his favor find acceptance. On the other hand, therefore, for God "to
hide his face," must imply his withholding the tokens of his favor and must be
esteemed a mark of his displeasure. Thus Isaiah uses it, "Your iniquities have
separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you,
that he will not hear." (Isa. 59:2) And again, "Thou hast hid thy face from
us," as not regarding the calamities we suffer, "and hast consumed us because
of our iniquities." (Isa. 64: 7) So likewise for God "to hide his face from our
sins?" (Psa. 51:9) signifies to overlook them, and to take no farther notice of
them. The same idea is, at other times, expressed by "God's hiding his eyes,"
(Isa. 1:15) from persons of a character disagreeable to him, when they come to
address him with their petitions, not vouchsafing, as it were, to look toward
them. This is plainly the scriptural sense of the word; and agreeably to this,
it is generally used by Christians in our day, and every thing which seems a
token of divine displeasure toward them is expressed by it.
3. It is farther to be observed here, that the
things which they judge to be manifestations of divine favor toward them, or
complacency in them, are not only, nor chiefly of a temporal nature, or such as
merely relate to the blessings of this animal and perishing life. David, though
the promises of the law had a continual reference to such, yet was taught to
look farther, and describes them as preferable to, and therefore plainly
distinct from "the blessings of the corn-floor or the wine-press." (Psa. 4:7)
And if you whom I am now addressing do not know them to be so, it is plain you
are quite ignorant of the subject we are inquiring into, and indeed have yet to
learn the first lessons of true religion. All that David says, of "beholding
the beauty of the Lord," (Psa. 27:4) or being "satisfied as with marrow and
fatness, when he remembered him upon his bed," (Psa. 63:5,6) as well as "with
the goodness of his house, even of his holy temple," (Psa. 65:4) is to be taken
in the same sense, and can need very little explication to the truly
experienced soul. But those who have known the light of God's countenance, and
the shinings of his face, will, in proportion to the degree of that knowledge,
be able to form some notion of the hiding of his face, or the withdrawing of
the tokens he has given his people of his presence and favor, which sometimes
greatly imbitters prosperity; as, where the contrary is found, it sweetens
affliction, and often swallows up the sense of it.
4. And give me leave to remind you, my Christian
friend, (for under that character I now address my reader) that to be thus
deprived of the sense of God's love, and of the tokens of his favor, may soon
be the case with you, though you may now have the pleasure to see the candle of
the Lord shining upon you, or though it may even seem to he sunshine and high
noon in your soul. You may lose your lively views of the divine perfections and
glory, in the contemplation of which you now find that inward satisfaction. You
may think of the divine wisdom and power, of the divine mercy and fidelity, as
well as of his righteousness and holiness, and feel little inward complacency
of soul in the view: it may be, with respect to any lively impressions, as if
it were the contemplation merely of a common object. It may seem to you as if
you had lost all idea of those important words, though the view has sometimes
swallowed up your whole soul in transports of astonishment, admiration, and
love. You may lose your delightful sense of the divine favor. It may be matter
of great and sad doubt with you, whether you do indeed belong to God; and all
the work of his blessed Spirit may be so veiled and shaded in the soul, that
the peculiar characters by which the hand of that sacred Agent might be
distinguished, shall be in a great measure lost; and you may he ready to
imagine you have only deluded yourself in all the former hopes you have
entertained. In consequence of this, those ordinances in which you now rejoice,
may grow very uncomfortable to you, even when you do indeed desire communion
with God in them. You may hear the most delightful evangelical truths opened,
you may hear the privileges of God's children most affectionately represented,
and not be aware that you have any part or lot in the matter; and from that
very coldness and insensibility may be drawing a farther argument that you have
nothing to do with them. And then "your heart" may "meditate terror," (Isa.
33:18) and under the distress that overwhelms you, your dearest enjoyments may
he reflected upon as adding to the weight of it, and making it more sensible,
white you consider that you bad once such a taste for these things, and have
now lost it all. So that perhaps it may seem to you, that they who never felt
any thing at all of religious impressions, are happier than you, or at least
are less miserable. You may, perhaps, in these melancholy hours, even doubt
whether you have ever prayed at all, and whether all that you called your
enjoyment of God, was not some false delight, excited by the great enemy of
souls, to make you apprehend that your state was good, that so you might
continue his more secure prey.
5. Such as this may be your case for a
considerable time; and ordinances maybe attended in vain, and the presence of
God may be in vain sought in them. You may pour out your soul in private, and
then come to public worship, and find little satisfaction in either, but be
forced to take up the Psalmist's complaint, "My God, I cry in the day-time, but
thou hearest not; and in the night- season, and am not silent;" (Psa. 22:2) or
that of Job, "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I
cannot perceive him: on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold
him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him." (Job, 23:8,9)
So that all which looked like religion in your mind, shall seem as it were to
be melted into grief or chilled into fear, or crushed into a deep sense of your
own unworthiness; in consequence of which, you shall dare not so much as lift
up your eyes before God, and be almost ashamed to take your place in a
worshipping assembly among any that you think his servants. I have known this
to be the case of some excellent Christians, whose improvements in religion
have been distinguished, and whom God hath honored above many of their brethen
in what he hath done for them, and by them. Give me leave, therefore, having
thus described it, to offer you some plain advice with regard to it; and let
not that be imputed to enthusiastic fancy which proceeds from an intimate and
frequent view of facts on the one hand; and from a sincere affectionate desire
on the other, to relieve the tender, pious heart, in so desolate a state. At
least I am persuaded the attempt will not be overlooked or disapproved by "the
great Shepherd of the sheep," (Heb. 13:20) who has charged us to "comfort the
feeble-minded." (I Thes. 5:14)
6. And here I would first advise you most
carefully to inquire whether your present distress does indeed arise from
causes which are truly spiritual, or whether it may not rather have its
foundation in some disorder of the body, or in the circumstances of life in
which you are providentially placed, which may break your spirits and deject
your mind. The influence of the inferior part of our nature on the nobler, the
immortal spirit, while we continue in this embodied state, is so evident, that
no attentive person can, in the general, fail to observe it: and yet there are
cases in which it seems not to be sufficiently considered; and perhaps your own
may be one of them. The state of the blood is often such as necessarily to
suggest gloomy ideas, even in dreams, and to indispose the soul for taking
pleasure in any thing; and when it is so, why should it be imagined to proceed
from any peculiar divine displeasure, if the soul does not find its usual
delight in religion? Or why should God be thought to have departed from us,
because he suffers natural causes to produce natural effects, without
interposing, by miracle, to break the connection? When this is the case, the
help of the physician is to be sought, rather than that of the divine; or at
least, by all means, together with it; and medicines, diet, exercise and air,
may in a few weeks effect what the strongest reasonings, the most pathetic
exhortations or consolations might for many months have attempted in vain.
7. In other instances, the dejection and
feebleness of the mind may arise from something uncomfortable in our worldly
circumstances. These may cloud as well as distract the thoughts, and imbittter
the temper, and thus render us in a great degree unfit for religious services
and pleasures; and when it is so, the remedy is to be sought in submission to
Divine Providence, in abstracting our affections as far as possible from the
present world, in a prudent care to ease ourselves of the burden so far as we
can, by moderating unnecessary expenses, and by diligent application to
business, in humble dependence on the divine blessing; in the mean time,
endeavoring, by faith, to look up to him who sometimes suffers his children to
be brought into such difficulties, that he may endear himself more sensibly to
them by the method he shall take for their relief.
8. On the principles here laid down, it may
perhaps appear, on inquiry, that the distress complained of may have a
foundation very different from what was at first supposed. But where the health
is sound, and the circumstances easy; when the animal spirits are disposed for
gayety and entertainment, while all taste for religious pleasure is in a manner
gone; when the soul is seized with a kind of lethargic insensibility, or what I
had almost called a paralytic weakness with respect to every religious
exercise, even though there should not be that deep terrifying distress, or
pungent amazement, which I before re-presented as the effect of melancholy, nor
that anxiety about the accommodations of life which strait circumstances
naturally produce; I would in that case vary my advice, and urge you, with all
possible attention and impartiality, to search into the cause which has brought
upon you that great evil under which you justly mourn. And probably, in the
general, the cause is sin--some secret sin, which has not been discovered or
observed by the eye of the world; for enormities that draw on them the
observation and censure of others, will probably fall under the case mentioned
in the former chapter, as they must be instances of known and deliberate guilt.
Now the eye of God hath seen these evils which have escaped the notice of your
fellow-creatures; and in consequence of this care to conceal them from others,
while you could not but know they were open to him, God has seen himself in a
peculiar manner affronted and injured, I had almost said insulted by them; and
hence his righteous displeasure. Oh! let that never be forgotten, which is so
plainly said, so commonly known, so familiar to almost every religious ear, yet
too little felt by any of our hearts, "Your iniquities have separated between
you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not
hear." (Isa. 59:1,2) And this is, on the whole, a merciful dispensation of God,
though it may seem severe, regard it not, therefore, merely as your calamity,
but as intended to awaken you, that you may not content yourself, even with
lying in tears of humiliation before the Lord, but, like Joshua, rise and exert
yourself vigorously, to "put away from you that accursed thing," whatever it
be. Let this be your immediate and earnest care, that your pride may be
humbled, that your watchfulness may be maintained, that your affections to the
world may be deadened, and that, on the whole, your fitness for heaven may in
every respect be increased. These are the designs of your heavenly Father, and
let it be your great concern to cooperate with them.
9. Receive it therefore, on the whole, as the
most important advice that can be given you, immediately to enter on a strict
examination of your conscience. Attend to its gentlest whispers. If a suspicion
arises in your mind that any thing has not been right, trace that suspicion,
search into every secret folding of your heart: improve to the purposes of a
fuller discovery the advice of your friends, the reproaches of your enemies;
recollect for what your heart hath smitten you at the table of the Lord, for
what it would smite you if you were upon a dying bed, and within this hour to
enter on eternity. When you have made any discovery, note it down; and go on in
your search, till you can say these are the remaining incorruptions of my
heart, these are the sins and follies of my life; this have I neglected; this
have I done amiss. And when the account is as complete as you can make it, set
yourself in the strength of a God, to a serious reformation; or rather begin
the reformation of every thing that seems amiss, as soon as ever you discover
it; "return to the Almighty, and thou shalt be built up; put iniquity far from
thy tabernacle, and then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt
lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall
bear thee; thou shalt pay thy vows unto him, and his light shall shine upon thy
ways." (Job 22:23,26,27)
10. In the meantime, be waiting for God with the
deepest humility, and submit yourself to the discipline of your heavenly
Father, acknowledging his justice, and hoping in his mercy; even when your
conscience is least severe in its remonstrances, and discovers nothing more
than the common infirmities of God's people; yet still bow yourself down before
him, and own that so many are the evils of your best days, so many the
imperfections of your best services, that by them you have deserved all, and
more than all that you suffer: deserved, not only that your sun should be
clouded, but that it should go down, and arise no more, but leave your soul in
a state of everlasting darkness. And while the shade continues, be not
impatient. Fret not yourself in any wise, but rather, with a holy calmness and
gentleness of soul, "wait on the Lord." (Psa. 37:8,34) Be willing to stay his
time, willing to bear his frown, in humble hope that he will at length "return
and have compassion on you." (Jer. 12:15) He has not utterly forgotten to be
gracious, nor resolved that "he will be favorable no more." (Psa. 77:7,9) "For
the Lord will not cast off for ever; but though he cause grief, yet will he
have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies." (Lam. 31:32) It is
comparatively but "for a small moment that he hides his face from you;" but you
may humbly hope, that with great mercies he will gather you, and that "with
everlasting kindness he will have mercy on you." (Isa. 54:7,8) These suitable
words are not mine, but his; and they wear this, as in the very front of them,
"That a soul under the hidings of God's face may at last be one whom be will
gather, and to whom he will extend everlasting favor."
11. But while the darkness continues, "go on in
the way of your duty." Continue the use of means and ordinances: read and
meditate: pray, yes, and sing the praises of God too, though it may be with a
heavy heart. Follow the "footsteps of his flock," (Cant. 1:8) you may perhaps
meet the Shepherd of souls in doing it. Place yourself at least in his way. It
is possible you may by this means get a kind look from him; and one look, one
turn of thought, which may happen in a moment, may, as it were, create a heaven
in your soul at once. Go to the table of the Lord. If you cannot rejoice, go
and mourn there. Go and "mourn for that Savior whom," by your sins, "you have
pierced:" (Zech. 12:10) go and lament the breaches of that covenant which you
have there so often confirmed. Christ may perhaps make himself known unto you
"in the breaking of the bread," (Luke 24:35) and you may find, to your
surprise, that he hath been near you, when you imagined he was at the greatest
distance from you; near you, when you thought you were cast out from his
presence. Seek your comfort in such enjoyments as these, and not in the vain
amusements of this world, and in the pleasures of sense. I shall never forget
that affectionate expression, which I am well assured broke out from an
eminently pious heart, then almost ready to break under its sorrows of this
kind: "Lord, if I may not enjoy thee, let me enjoy nothing else; but go down
mourning after thee to the grave!" I wondered not to hear, that, almost as soon
as the sentiment had been breathed out before God in prayer, the burden was
taken off, and "the joy of God's salvation restored."
12. I shall add but one advice more, and that is,
that "you renew your application to the blood of Jesus, through whom the
reconciliation between God and your soul has been accomplished." It is he that
is our peace, and by his blood it is that "we are made nigh:" (Eph. 2:13,14) it
is in him, as the beloved of his soul, that God declares he is well-pleased;
(Matt. 3:17) and it is in him that "ye are made accepted, to the glory of his
grace." (Eph. 1:6) Go therefore, O Christian, and apply by faith to a crucified
Savior: go, and apply to him, as to a merciful high-priest, "and pour out thy
complaint before him, and show before him thy trouble:" (Psa. 142:2) Lay open
the distress and anguish of thy soul to him, who once knew what it was to say,
(O astonishing, that he should ever have said it!) "My God! my God! why hast
thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) Look up for pity and relief to him, who
himself suffered, being not only tempted, but, with regard to sensible
manifestations, deserted, that he might thus know how to pity those that are in
such a melancholy case, and be ready, as well as able, "to succor them." (Heb.
2:18) "He is Immanuel, God with us," (Matt. 1:23) and it is only in and through
him that his Father shines forth upon us with the mildest beams of mercy and of
love. Let it be therefore your immediate care to renew your acquaintance with
him. Review the records of his life and death; and when you do so, surely you
will feel a secret sweetness diffusing itself over your soul. You will be
brought into a calm, gentle, silent frame, in which faith and love will operate
powerfully, and God may probably cause "the still small voice" of his
comforting Spirit to be heard, (1 Kin. 19:12) till your soul burst out into a
song of praise, and you are "made glad according to the days in which you have
been afflicted." (Psa. 90:15) In the mean time, such language as the following
supplication speaks, may be suitable.
An Humble Supplication for one under the Hidings of God's Face.
