Lifting up the downcast10/31/2022 To seek to comfort others in the same twilight. What is our spiritual work? To seek him with our whole heart. ‘He leaves us enough light to work by.’ This is a great encouragement and challenge. Though God hides his face from his people for a time, so they are in the dark, it is never pitch black. ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust him!’ĥ. What purpose does the Lord have in forsaking us for a time? Do we need to ask? Can we not trust that he has a purpose of love, a purpose to bless us, a purpose to bring great good from this apparent evil? Has he not said that he delights to do us good? It is one of his great instruments of our sanctification in three ways:Ī) He withdraws himself from us that he may draw us closer to himself.ī) He withdraws for a moment that we might die to this world and long more vehemently for heaven.Ĭ) He withdraws that we might die to the walk of sight and live to a walk of faith. He will always return at the time of his choice.Ĥ. Thus it is for all believers in our daily pilgrimage – Christ leaves us for a season but he never forsakes us utterly. But how thankful we are when we enjoy seasons of his presence. All preachers know what it is when preaching to be sadly aware of the Holy Spirit’s absence. If we appreciated his presence more, we would grieve over his absence more deeply. Desertion is not losing our union with him, but losing the blessings of his felt presence with us. Other Puritans used the word ‘communion’ rather than ‘vision’ to express this particular truth.īridge is reminding us – and how much we need the reminder – that although we may and do lose our enjoyment of Christ and the salvation he gives us, it is not that in desertion we become non-Christians! We may not have the enjoyments of Christ but we still have our union with Christ. In regard to vision he forsakes us only for a time – he will always return to us. In regard to union he never forsakes his children. In other words, either in regard to union, or to vision. We must remember that God is said to forsake man, either in regard of his power, grace and strength, or in regard of the comfortable feelings of his love. ‘Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.’ģ. Let’s listen to Luther! ‘When God seems to be my enemy and to stand with a drawn sword against me, then I do cast and throw myself into his arms.’ That is a truly spiritual response, a response of faith to this severest of trials. Satan seeks to persuade us this is the real situation. Without the sunshine of his smile upon us he seems to us to be our enemy, and not just an absent friend. Bridge begins by stating that this feeling of desertion is a not uncommon spiritual experience and it is one of the worst of the many afflictions of the righteous for two very obvious reasons:Ī) It is harder to bear all our other trials if we no longer feel the Lord is with us.ī) Just as the presence of Christ sweetens all our comforts so his absence embitters all other sufferings.Ģ. My other reason for wanting you to read this article is that I hope it will result in your reading the book – it is a wonderful feast of spiritual refreshments.ġ. It is titled ‘A Lifting Up in the Case of Desertion’. LIFTING UP THE DOWNCAST FREEWhat follows is a very free summary of chapter six of A Lifting Up for the Downcast by William Bridge, one of my favourite Puritan authors. YOU KNOW YOU REALLY SHOULD READ THIS ARTICLE! ‘Why, because I wrote it? No, but because the subject is a vital one it is a neglected one, and we can learn a great deal from a Puritan preacher who addressed it with rare skill in one of his sermons. Seven encouraging reminders by a Puritan physician of the soul. Humphrey Mildred, the pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Edinburgh (and formerly with the Banner of Truth Trust for over forty years) provides an introduction to and comments upon A Lifting Up for the Downcast 1 by William Bridge.
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