I pray that all of us in heart and soul, and life and utterance and. labor, may always be kept fresh and may God grant that we do not backslide, for that would kill our freshness, and put in the place of its sweet smell the foul odors of sin. Oh to be holy, sweet, and vigorous even to the end. The Lord grant that we may make large drafts upon himself for greater faith, greater love, and greater joy, then shall we have greater freshness. May we also be sustained from within by his blessed Spirit, and so may our freshness continue to our dying day.
III. I close with the third point, which is this precious word which gives us HOPE OF ITS RENEWAL.
Let us not think that we must grow stale and heavenly things grow old with us: For, first, our God in whom we trust renews the face of the year. He is beginning his work again in the fair processes of nature. The dreary winter has passed away. The time of the singing of birds is coming on, and the sweet flowers are peeping out from their graves, enjoying a resurrection of’ glory and beauty. Now, this is the God whom we serve; and if we have been passing through our winter-time, let us look out for our spring. If any of you have been growing cold of late, if any of you have grown stale and mechanical, and have fallen into ruts, come, look up: look up, and pray the great Renewer to visit you.
“Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
With all thy quickening powers.”
“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” It will not take the Lord long to restore you. “His word runneth very swiftly.” He speaks even to ice and frost, and by his word they pass away. He has but to will it, and all the genial days of spring and summer come hastening on, and the banner of harvest is waving. “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” Be hopeful: be joyful. There are better days for you. Put your trust in God, who renews the face of the earth, and look for his Spirit to revive you.
Moreover, there is an excellent reason why you may expect to have all your freshness coming back again: it is because Christ dwells in you. Do you not know it? Christ is formed in you the hope of glory; and, if so, your glory will be fresh about you, for he never grows stale. It is God that said of him, “Thou hast the dew of thy youth.” Oh, the doctrine of the indwelling of Christ in the believer–let us never forget it! As long as that is a truth there is always a hope for us.
Then there is the other grand doctrine of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. He dwells in you. If your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, shall he not be always to you a fountain of new life–a spring of fresh delights? Why, it must be so. The Holy Spirit is not exhausted. His power is not even lessened in any degree whatever. He can make your face to shine again, and your tongue to sing again. He can make thy heart to leap again with joy unspeakable. Come, ye that sit in dust, begin to rejoice, for God the Spirit is still with you, and shall be with you–the Comforter whom Christ has given never to be taken away. Rejoice in him, and ask him now of his mercy to restore your soul; and he will do it.
Oh, what a blessing it is to get right deep down into God’s word, for that word also is ever new, and the source of new thoughts in those who feed upon it. This is the Book of yesterday, to-day, and for ever: the Book which, though many of its verses were written thousands of years ago, is as new as though it were only written yesterday. From the mouth of God the promises come at this moment, full of life and freshness and power. Come to it: it is all yours: every acre of this blessed land of Canaan is yours, and will yield you corn and wine and oil. There is not a star in the great firmament of Scripture but shines for you; not a text in all this mighty treasury of God but you may take it and spend it, and live upon the produce thereof. Therefore, whilst the word of the Lord is so fresh and so full, it cannot be that you shall be stale in thought and conversation. You shall be anointed with fresh oil. God himself is with you, and he is ever full. God himself is with you, and he is ever living. God himself is with you, and he is ever fresh, and he shall refresh your spirit. Wherefore come away: come away from all that is stale and flat, and from all the dead past, and enter into eternal life, where flowers for ever bloom, and fruits for ever ripen, and the fresh springs for ever flow. Come and eat the new corn of the land, and drink the new wine of the kingdom; and the Lord make you glad in his house of prayer for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
