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What Saith the Scripture?
http://www.WhatSaithTheScripture.com/
Delighting in the Lord
by Charles Grandison Finney
President of Oberlin College
from "The
Oberlin Evangelist" Publication of Oberlin College
Lecture XI
July 2, 1845
Public Domain Text
Reformatted by Katie Stewart
.
Text.--Ps. 37:4: "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
In speaking from these words I shall,
I. Show what is implied in delighting ourselves in the Lord.
II. What is implied in the promise "He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
III. Why this promise is thus conditioned.
I. What is implied in delighting ourselves in the Lord.
II. What is implied in the promise "Delight thyself in the Lord, and he
shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
The promise implies that we shall have those things on which we set our affections,
or in other words that our desire, our really cherished desires shall be gratified.
If we delight ourselves in the Lord we shall have all things on which we set our
hearts. "He shall give thee the desires of thine heart"--here is no limit,
but it is plainly implied that what we set our hearts on, and that which we pray
for shall be granted. It seems to me that the text is to be understood, not that
every transient desire or awaking of appetite shall be gratified, but that the supreme
desire of the soul, that on which we can properly be said to fix our affections and
our heart shall infallibly be granted to us.
III. Why this promise is thus conditioned.
REMARKS.
1. Those who delight themselves in God, will of course manifest great cheerfulness
of mind.
(1.) Because this delight in God is of itself a cheerful state of mind, and
(2.) Because they have the desires of the heart.
An unsatisfied craving of mind, that produces unhappiness, gloom, despondency,
and despair, is not the portion of the mind that delights itself in God. The soul
that delights itself in God, is pleased with whatever comes to pass. It has no way
or will of its own, and therefore cannot be disappointed. It has no craving or lusting
of a selfish nature, and therefore is not made unhappy by being crossed, and denied
things on which its affections are set, because its affections are set on nothing
but God. While it delights itself in God it is of course cheerful and happy under
all circumstances, and can rejoice evermore, and pray without ceasing, and in every
thing give thanks.
2. From what has been said, we may see why so few prayers prevail with God. The fact
is, there is so much dissatisfaction with God and so much lusting after other things,
that God cannot fulfill the desires of such souls; it would be infinitely unwise
and unsafe to do so. Then, as a condition of prevailing prayer, we must delight ourselves
in the Lord, and when we do this our prayers will be dictated by God's Spirit, and
of course will be answered.
Now look around over the world. How few seem to have their supreme delight in God.
How few are seeking communion and fellowship with God. How few make union with God
the supreme end of their lives. It is not strange then that our prayers are not answered.
The conditions of prevailing prayer are not fulfilled. Many pray because they are
pressed up to it by conviction, not because their soul pants after communion with
God, and delights itself in God. Instead of loving to dwell in the Bible, and in
the house of God, and in the closet--in short, instead of delighting itself in God,
it is constantly roving about here and there, to see if it cannot find some good.
"Who will show us any good?" seems to be its constant inquiry. Now those
who are in this state cannot have their desires granted.
The reason why so many desires are ungratified, is, because they are not the right
kind of desires. The truth is, where an individual delights himself in the Lord,
he will have the desires of his heart. Instead of being wretched all the time, and
setting his heart on some thing he cannot get, when he comes to delight himself in
the Lord, all this scrambling and lusting after what is beyond his reach, will be
gone; he will be like a weaned child, all peace. When the mind has God, it has enough.
Much prayer, or that which is called prayer, is after all, nothing but lusting in
the Bible sense of the term. It is a craving of the mind after some selfish good.
Much prayer is nothing else but the pouring out of these cravings of the selfish
heart. The Apostle James speaks of this state of mind; "Ye lust, says he, and
have not; ye kill and desire to have, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war, yet ye
have not because ye ask not; ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye
may consume it on your lusts."
3. When there is delight in God, the supreme desire of course, will be for union
and communion with God. This will be the all-absorbing desire of the mind. It will,
as it were, swallow up all other desires. I will explain a little. We often see one
state of mind or desire that comes to swallow up all others. The mind becomes so
engrossed with one object of desire as to care for little else besides. We see this
state of mind often in this world. One desire seems to eat up and swallow up all
the rest. We see this too sometimes in the case of individuals that are very wicked.
The drunkard's appetite for strong drink sometimes, will kill and completely destroy
every other appetite; even natural affection seems to be annihilated by it. Sometimes
a husband's affection for his wife is so strong, that he cares for almost nothing
else. If the object of his affection is lost, he says, "what have I more? I
have nothing to care for now." His interest in every thing else is destroyed.
Now let this illustrate what I mean here. When the mind becomes acquainted with God
and the sensibility is rightly developed towards him, as it always must be before
it can be at rest, and all the desires center in God, he comes to be the supreme
end of the soul in such a sense, that take any thing that you will, and leave his
God, and you cannot affect his happiness; this one desire so swallows up all the
rest. With such a soul, nothing else weighs a straw in comparison to the love of
God. Christ was so swallowed up at one time with this one great idea, that when it
was told him saying, "Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring
to speak with thee;" He replied, "Who is my mother? and who are by brethren?
And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold my mother and
my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in Heaven, the
same is my mother, and sister and brother." He meant to rebuke the idea that
our blood relatives are to be considered so much dearer than our spiritual relatives.
He would say to those who sustain this relation to God, "Ye are my mother and
my brethren." Now whoever has his sensibility much developed towards God, comes
to feel that every thing must sustain some relation to this end, or it is of no value.
Nothing else pleases. It must bear a relation to God, to his government, and to his
glory, to make it of any regard to such a mind. The thing nearest and dearest to
men naturally, if it does not sustain this relation, will be cast off as of no value.
Said an individual some time since to another, "I am praying that the Lord would
destroy your influence." "Well," remarked the other, " I hope
the Lord will answer your prayers, if my influence is not good; for it is of no use
to me unless it can glorify God, and if it does no good, I hope it will be destroyed."
Now I suppose that individual answered just as he felt. He felt that his influence
was worth nothing. Unless it would do some good to the universe, he cared nothing
about it. Now when an individual comes into this state of mind, he regards every
thing in this light. I must be valuable to God or he cares nothing about it.
We oftentimes see persons so much attached to others in this world as to seem really
to enjoy nothing only as it sustains some relation to the object of their affection.
Husbands and wives sometimes sustain this relation so that every thing is valued
or not valued according to the relation it sustains to the one or the other. Now
I suppose the mind becomes so completely swallowed up in God, so "sick in love,"
and so ravished with the love of God, and comes to take such delight in him as to
say with the Psalmist, "Whom have I in heaven but thee, O God." The Psalmist
knew what he said, "Whom have I in heaven but thee!" His father and mother,
and many whom he had greatly loved, had gone to heaven, but still he exclaims, "Whom
have I in heaven but thee?" His children, and those to whom he was greatly attached,
were all around him, and yet when he comes to think of God, his whole soul cries
out, "There is none upon earth that I desire besides thee." Now this will
be the case with a mind that is so ravished, so carried away with the love of God.
There is such a dying of the mind to all other things, to self, to the world, to
friends, to every thing, that the individual comes to care for nothing, not even
to take his food, unless for the glory of God. He is dead to all but God. How safe
it is, then, for God, to make such a promise as this, to an individual who thus delights
himself in God!
4. An individual who delights himself in the Lord, will postpone every thing that
comes in competition with communion with God. You will not find him making excuses
for not attending prayer meetings, for not spending time in his closet, and holding
much communion with God. You see persons who seem to be really honest, in saying
they would like to commune with God, they would like to attend the prayer meeting,
but they have worked very hard to day, or they have so much to do, or there is some
good excuse, and they cannot attend. Now I have learned that when persons come really
to delight themselves in the Lord, that such excuses don't appear to be really important.
Show me a man whose soul is panting after God, who can say with the Psalmist, "As
the hart panteth after the water-brook, so panteth my soul after thee, O God,"
such a man will love to go where he can have communion with God. He will as naturally
postpone every thing else that interferes with his communion with God, as he draws
his breath. The truth is, when persons make such excuses about reading their Bible
and attending meetings, the secret is, they have lost their keen relish for communion
with God, and are beginning to lose their delight in him.
5. If we delight ourselves in God, he will delight himself in us; and he will delight
himself in us just in proportion as we delight ourselves in him. As we seek communion
with him, so will he seek communion with us. God loves society--the society of the
holy. If we embrace him, he will embrace us. If we pant after him, he will pant after
us. If we are drawn to him, he will be drawn to us. This is a law of mind. It is
impossible that he should not delight in the soul that delights in him; impossible
that he should not seek after the soul that seeks after him. It would be the same
thing as denying himself, not to delight in those that delight in him. Whenever a
mind seeks union with God, God sets his heart on that soul. It is as dear to him
as the apple of his eye. He loves it as he loves his own soul. Why should he not?
It is like him; it is a part of himself; it is, so to speak, flesh of his flesh,
and bone of his bone. It has come to be assimilated to his own nature. He comes to
love it as he loves the man Christ Jesus, and for the same reason. And he will no
more turn from it and not hear it than he would turn from his own beloved Son, Jesus
Christ.
Now we ought to understand this, that whenever we find ourselves strongly drawn to
God, God is infinitely drawn towards us; when our heart is panting after God, he
is panting after us. More! it is God panting after us, that draws us towards him!
This should be understood. It is of great importance that we should get this thing
fixed in our mind, that when our mind is tending towards God, he is tending towards
us. "Draw nigh to me," says God, "and I will draw nigh to you, Turn
unto me, and I will turn unto you." Love me, and I will love you.
6. The soul that delights in God, will greatly mourn, if for any reason, communion
is withheld. Those will be days of mourning to that soul, when, for any reason God
withholds the light of his countenance. It is impossible for him, then, to be cheerful
and happy. He may have confidence, and say with David, "Why art thou cast down,
O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet
praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." Now in this case
the Psalmist had confidence in God, but he mourned. In such a case, the soul is ready
to cry out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
I have thought many times that there was not so much mystery in what Christ said,
at the time, as many would make us believe. The Christian, that knows what it is
to commune and walk with God, and to have God withdraw his countenance from him,
will naturally use this same language. And he will cry out with the Psalmist, "Will
the Lord cast off forever? and will he be favorable no more? Is his mercy clean gone
forever? doth his promise fail forever more? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath
he in anger shut up his tender mercies?" It is not strange that Christ should
cry out, as he did. God's countenance was withdrawn from him, and he could not help
crying out to God to know why this was so.
Where an individual has come to delight himself in God, and falls into this state
of mind in which he mourns, his mourning will be very submissive and very peculiar.
It will be nothing like the mourning of this world. Not a rebellious, complaining
state of mind; it will be the mourning of a "weaned child," very submissive,--a
peculiar kind of mourning, and a peculiar kind of submission. It is not rebellious
nor complaining, and yet it is not joyful. It is not distrustful. "Hope thou
in God," is its language, "for I shall yet praise him." It expects
good from God. "I shall rejoice! Yes, for my Father will not always hide his
face from me."
When these seasons last long, they head the soul into such a state, and so show the
individual to himself, that he is filled with such deep grief, and is led to utter
such unearthly, heart-rending groans, and at the same time has such an expression
of holy submission, such a child-like dependence on God and confidence and hope in
him,--O if the sinner could only hear him, could listen to such an individual when
he supposed none but God near, he would go away and say, "Now I know, as I exist,
I know there is such a thing as communion with God. O such expressions! such language!
I know God was there!"
When I was an impenitent sinner, I had been out to attend to some law business. Returning
and passing by a school-house, I heard a man praying. That prayer did more to impress
my mind with the subject of religion, than all I had heard before, from my birth.
I have not the least doubt but that such a prayer would affect almost any man of
reflection, could he hear it. The man did not know that any one could hear him. He
had left his work in the field, and had retired to the school-house for secret communion
with God. And as I rode along, I heard him and stopped, and listened to what he said.
And Oh! It set my mind on fire! That was what I had never witnessed before, It seemed
as if I was brought right into the presence of God! The very tones of his voice,
before I could understand what he said, seemed to come down upon me, like the voice
of God from heaven. Every word he spoke seemed to come right from the bottom of his
heart. His voice was frequently choked with groans, and sighs. It was the voice of
a man pleading with God!
When an individual is in this state of mind I am speaking of, when he has fallen
into darkness from any reason whatever, although he mourns, he will not betake himself
to any other source of happiness. He has gone too far in this way, to go anywhere
else for happiness. When a person has but little grace, he will sometimes betake
himself to other objects, run into company, and go here and there, trying this thing
and that, to get happiness; but when one has come to delight himself in God, and
the supreme desire of his soul has centered in God--now let him fall into such circumstances
as I have mentioned, and he will not betake himself to such and such places and scenes,
to make himself happy! No. Indeed he will not. He will say, "O God, I cannot,
I will not go anywhere else for happiness. O God, thou hast taught me to love thee;
thou hast weaned my soul from everything else, so that I cannot love anything but
thee, and now, wilt thou take thyself, thou who are my all, from me? O my God, I
will find my joy in thee, or joy I will never have." Such will be the language
of a soul in this state.
Hearer, do you know what this is? You will know if you will give yourself up to God,
so as to be all absorbed in him, so that your whole being will be given up to God.
If this is not the case with you, you need to be crucified.
7. The happiness which the soul, that delights itself in God, finds in Him, is so
different from all other delight, so peculiar, it is like no other happiness in the
world. All other joy is nothing at all like it. It has such a peculiarity, such purity,--there
is nothing else that can compare with it. The intelligence, the heart, the sensibility,
the whole being is so satisfied in God. Oh! I wish I had some unspeakable word to
express this! For we need some unearthly language to express what every Christian
has, when he comes into such a state of mind with God. He is so elevated in God.
He is drinking the very river of which God drinks. There is such a peculiarity, such
sweetness in this, that the soul abhors all other joy. It cannot go and sip, and
sip, in the polluted fountains of this world. What are they! What are they? Shall
a man, who has bathed in the very atmosphere of heaven,--shall he go about to sip
of the filthy cups of this world? Never! never! Only as he delights in God can he
find any delight whatever. He cares for nothing else but what comes from God.
8. Be sure when you pray, that you fulfill these conditions, that you delight yourself
in God.
9. He that will be content with God, and will really be satisfied with God, may have
as much of God as he will. And just in proportion, as we give ourselves up to find
our delight in God, just in that proportion shall we have delight in God. Go the
universe over, and you will find, just in proportion as the soul gives itself up
to God, just in that proportion, it finds its fullness in God. If you divide your
enjoyment, how can God fill your cup? Just empty your whole heart of self and of
everything else, then hold it up to God, and he will fill it with his own purity,
with his own love and blessedness. Yes, you will have it filled with the ocean of
God.
GLOSSARY
of easily misunderstood terms as defined by Mr. Finney himself.
Compiled by Katie Stewart
.
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