by Arthur W. Pink
by Arthur W. Pink
Philologos Religious Online Books
Philologos.org
by Arthur W. Pink
August, 1940
PATIENCE.
“As I gathered from your letter that the Lord Himself had been your Teacher, in an immediate way, not by the usual means, He, no doubt, continues that good work He has begun, and in His own way, for His work is all of a piece and, like His Word, is perfect; and in no two does it appear alike in all its circumstances, though in substance the same. Every man has his peculiar measure of faith and grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Some have trials different from others, but all have a corrupt nature, a never-ceasing adversary, and a wicked world to pass through and contend with. Many set off to run through this host in hope of obtaining the prize at the end, for it is the good thing at the end that sets all off who run in the race that is not to the swift. Legal obedience never made a man run. The fear of destruction drives them to their service, and the terrible majesty of God, clothed in clouds and darkness, urges them to their duty, and self-will and self-pleasing help them on. David says, 'I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart.' It is a sense of the Lord's goodness, felt now, that animates us to run after His everlasting favour and life. But this must be run with patience: 'Know ye not that they which run in a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain.'
“Many have started with me whom I have envied, and looking at one and another, have secretly and openly repined that I have not this man's strength, and that man's liveliness; making sure that they must obtain. Then one has outstripped me a vast way, and I have apparently lost ground by looking at the different competitors, and have concluded that let him who might receive the prize, I never should; so has my heart fretted against the Lord, because He has not given me what I have seen and admired in others. But after a while I have seen the strongest stand still, unable to go on; and finding they could not succeed, out of envy and malice, through disappointment, have given up, and wandered from the way of understanding; others have held on, but gradually grown feeble, lost their vigour and alacrity through the entanglements of the world, and at last, when almost apparently at the point when they should receive, have been left destitute of that faith by which we enter into rest.
“Some keep on, as Paul says, from mere envy and strife, and are never so much alive, so strong, so zealous, and so earnest, as when they have a saint to revile, to oppose; and all of this in pretense of love to Christ, supposing to add affliction to our bonds. And after all this I remain, and am obliged to look within at the work of the Lord in me, and every examination and proof only serves to make me satisfied from myself, not with myself, but from myself, from that fountain of Israel, which, in Christ Jesus, I have ever found when needed in my heart; and I believe some of it has run out and refreshed others also.
“And now I find that I much need patience, to let everyone go on his own pace, envying none, but to be content with the portion appointed for me, and to bear up under all the disappointments, vexations, burdens and troubles I meet with, often thinking I stand quite still, or rather am driven back, but, upon the whole, find this to be true, 'Having obtained help of God, I continue to this day.' But nothing does allure, animate, or communicate strength save our Lord Jesus Christ; therefore I look to Him as the Author and Finisher of my faith, through the grace that is given unto me, and a view of His love in undertaking and finishing for me the whole of my salvation, attended with a rich experience in my soul, which wonderfully charms, draws, and invigorates my spirit, till I forget the difficulties, in the kindness of Him who bears me up and bears me along.
“As to perplexing ourselves with anything beside (if there were anything beside them) the keeping these two commandments, it is fruitless: 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,' and 'love one another' as He hath given us commandment; these are the only two things which John says are not grievous, they bring no trouble nor disappointment in themselves, though to keep them must be in opposition to the most dreadful enemies of our Lord. But He who gives us power to believe, and teaches us to love, also keeps us, and that as the apple of the eye. We are made the tenderest part of Himself, by union with Him; and in us and through us the glory of God and of His Son shines forth with lustre to all eternity, all His perfections being in us—'out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.' It is His gentleness which is His eyelid, and which preserves or keeps us. How insensible is the twinkling of the eye, yet most effectual. We do not always observe it, because it is momentary.
“The Lord preserved David withersoever he went, and he says it was His gentleness made him great. But when observed, there is a sweet peace, quietness, and unction attended with a clear and blessed discovery and vision of the goodness of the Lord, and we can plainly make out what the Psalmist means, when he says, 'The Lord's eyelids try the children of men'—since His gentleness, goodness, and peaceableness have never met with any other return than perverseness, rebellion, enmity, and ingratitude. The hardness and impenitence of the heart none know but they who understand the goodness of the Lord, and are brought to loathe themselves for their iniquity, and then they can see and feel that of all injured beings, God stands first and most; yet does this place Him in the most honourable and admirable of all points of view, secures to Himself a full justification, and brings all the guilt of sin and all the charge of destruction upon the sinners among men; so that all flesh must be silent when He rises up out of His holy habitation.”—Letter by W. J. Brook.
Spiritual patience is something more than a passive grace which enables us to meekly endure trials and quietly wait the Lord's deliverance. It is also an active principle which causes us to run the race set before us, which prompts us to persevere in the face of discouragements, which moves us to hope unto the end. It must not be mistaken for that natural listlessness or fatalistic inertia which is often wrongly termed “patience.”—A.W.P.
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