HELPERS OF YOUR JOY.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14889, 31 January 1914, Page 16

HELPERS OF YOUR JOY.

; ; ' (By Dr. J. H. Jowett.) v : f When ', the Apostle .uses this. phrase,. i'P ".helpers of-your, joy," what is it fills ■ -his mind? What does he mean by ; > joy? And. having asked the question, " I ; feel I am incompetent to give an adequate answer. I have not sufficient . r plumb-line to isound the depths, for to cully appreciate- the. Apostle's conception of joy I must be ablo to comprehend the roominess and the experiences of his soul.. xVrid one of. our standing ; tlifficultiesin the interpretation of this great-Apostle is, that we just loso ourselves in his moral and spiritual magnificence.' We just wander about in a benso of vastuess. When I turn to Mimo of the more exalted passages in : tho Apostle's letters, I feel as I do when I listen.to some stupendous piece .-. of music; I feel the power of it, and 1 realise the wonder of it, and at the tamo timo I am conscious that it is far bovbnd mc. I would like to know just -what Wagner meant by that inarrellous phrase—what was in his soul when it was born! But to know it adequately T should hare to bo Wagner aimself. So I have to listen, and „ Yonder, and lose myself in the largo and astonishing glory. And so it is with the Apostle's usage of such words as "peace" and "faith" '.'.- and "grac*" and "joy."' They are significant of experiences which demand a large.lifo for their understanding. . Take the word "joy," with which we are" immediately concerned.- What do we mean by the word? A man's pleasure defines his measure. That is a very sure and serious test in life. And therefore, to enter even into tho "jo;" of the Apostle"Paul, it is ueedful that X should sliare tho fullness of his spiritual life. But de-spite all this, and otir own feebleness of wing to soar to these'heavenly heights, there are some things .which" may be positively said about the Apostle's conception of joy. ; First of all, it most certainly is not what is oomraonly called happiness. There are many people who may claim to have happiness who cannot claim to havo joy. Happiness is often only good spirit. *It is frequently nothing more than physical exuberance, or it may bo • something;a; little higher—it may be emotional warmth, a feeling of light--1 and congeniality. I do not for a "moment• disparage this disposition. It u> itself a areat gift for which anybedy

ought to be deeply grateful. But it is a very transient thing and very uncertain in its tenure. A whiff of cold adversity or/a sudden sickness and it is frequently gone. Happiness is too oi ten. like an oil lamp —a storm can blow it out. But joy is like radium, nnd it is unaffected by the severest blast. Therefore we have the most paradoxical statements concerning spiritual joy Jiiven us in tho Word ot (/od: "As sorrowful, yet always re]oicin-'"- "We also rejoice in tribulation. JtTv is evidently something which persists throu-h Jay and night, through calm and tempest, on rough seas ami when the sea is calm as an inland lake. But not for a moment is it suggesteS that the. Christian life is one of ceaseleieinsv. God docs not feed us on £ko but bread; not on. stimulating wines but on water. If Mc *«c one continue"* rapture we shonW bo cpecdilv exhausted, whereas tne joy 01 the Ivord is our strength. . And another thing that can tivelv said about the apostolic joy is {h&t ilwav* has.a Godward aspect. It nlways concerns the kingdom of communion *>th ™c " Rko v "Reioice in tne A#or«. ■- t+ ,<, olive trees that sent tm.ir "Tot!'we n.,5- !**»!>> K***"^ toys He is ambitious that his xelaShip with the Corinthian Christians should*help to deepen and' lie do enrich their joy. And how ca* JJ. ™ it? And how can wo share his services and bo his fellow-labourers m this nliehclnl ? ministry? Well what about the people whohaj eaireaaj found this ioy? How can we b? their Twiners? We can help their joy ny sto it you double it. On the other hand, if you let «ft£ c £ r iov with you, yon double thens. vveu, then! we aro face to face with a very simple ministry of helpfulness. We let people tell .us their joys. Vtfi can offer them wiUing ears and i; y liswming to them "we shall multiply their pleasure. But oh, these reticences of our modern life' These frigid silences about ttie highest things! These- impoverishing restraints! One of the great needs of our Christian life is that we be more open with one another about the things that matter most; more receptive and more mutually confident. And what about-those who have not vet found this joy? Well, wo can be helpers of thoir joy by helping them to find it. And .where is the joy to bo found? 'Because if wo.know some of -the road* that lead to it, we can offer ourselves as helpful guides. Here, then, is a sentence which will give us our first counsel: ?'Truth- illuminates and gives joy." There isvfirst- tho illumination and. then tho joy that is born of it. There is first the dawn and then the bird-song.. i.Tputh shines about a soul and tho- soiil beghis to sing- *Ahd; ? that is .theViteiiching of tho Word of • God, and the- record of human lifo is crowded with witnesses.- »Some. ray of divino truth, falls upon a. bewildered man, and it is liko a beam .of light from a friendly cottage window falling tipon a tired and belated traveller vfho has lost his' way upon, a; moor. Truth is tho parent of joy. Or some ray of a Divine promise falls uj?on a brokenhearted widow, just like a shaft of sunlight bursting through-the black clouds and the rain; and wind of a tempestuous twilight) and the silenced birds begin to sing again. The truth of the I promise "makes the widow's heart to sing for joy." Now. can we ibe the; helpers of such joy by being ministers of this ;truth? HavcMVo no experimental knowledge of God which wb have gained in our oqrn rugged ways of discipline? Are wo in any sense the children: of light? Then'lot us lot our light so shine that the darkened mind of others shall be illumined, and- tho heavy, groping heart shall bo made to sing for joy. And hero is a sentence from an old book of devotion' which shall give us our second counsel: "Now I am.sure all mall's happiness is his- holiness." Is that really so? Tlien,the profound sprihgs of joy aro found in tho fields of holiness: Purity is the hiding place of gladness, as impurity is tho'lurking-, placo of woe. I recently stood near the workers who were building a new organ.' It Saturday nigbt,. and they were tuning the "pipes in readiness for the services .next day. Ono of the notes gavo a miost "discordant sound. The, builder, who -was. standing near mc, quietly remarked: "That sounds liko dirt,"*and tho pipe was examined and the dirt removed. Tho pipe was unclean, and thereforo tho : note was discordant. So. that even in an organ,, purity is the parent of harmony, as in the soul holiness is the condition of joy. And now I remember the prayer of the Psalmist in tho fifty-first Psalm,----i "Restore unto mc tho joy of ray salvation." But the prayer for the joy. was preceded by a prayer > for cleansing: "Create in- mo a clean heart." Thero must be the clean pipe before thero can be the and there must bo a pure heart before there can be the Lord's.joy. Well,.now, can we bo helpers of this kind of joy. by leading people into a pure and holy life? Let us drop a great many .of our little* human' prescriptions.^nnr man-devised Dledges and conventions, and -let us lend these joyless people to the fountains that are open for sin and uncfeanness. And here is a further guiding sentence from the Word of God: "And the song of the Lord began when the burnt-offering began." The song began with the sacrifice. Joy is wedded to consecration. When life beenmo sacrificial, song awakened in the soul. This also is a part of the Divine plan for tho children of men. - Song breaks out iv service. There are motor-cars fitted with electric light, but the light i*. conditioned upon . movement. Tho ear generates the power as J it runs; a long stop and the light goes out. Joy dies oiit when we are idle. We generate it as we serve. We begin to sing the song of the Lord when we spend ourselves in the labour of His kingdom. Well, cannot wo bo helpers of thnt kind of joy by constraining people into His service? L«t us induce them to take up some bit of work —the personal care of somebody else, or some service in the city, or some kind of interest among needy people far away. Let us get them to tako up the yoke of the Lord Jesus, and draw their share of the world's burden, and so "enter into tho joy of the Lord."