MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
The Secret of a Happy Life.
Happiness is not found in anything external. It is a certain state of the soul when it is filled with the peace of God and lit up with the sunshine of heaven. It is a mockery to talk about cultivating happiness. It is not a potato to be planted in mould, and tilled with manure. “Happiness is a glory shining far down upon us out of heaven. It is a divine dew which the soul, on certain of its summer mornings, feels dropping upon it from the amaranth bloom and golden fruitage of paradise.” An aged divine once gave this advice to a newly married pair: “Don’t try to be happy. Happiness is a shy nymph, and if you chase her, you will never catch her; but just go quietly on and do your duty, and she will come to you.” In these verses we have revealed to us the secret of a happy life.
I. The secret of a happy life is found in the constant and faithful discharge of Christian duties.—
1. It is our duty continually to rejoice. “Rejoice evermore” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). To rejoice is not only a privilege, but a duty; the believer is as much obliged to rejoice as he is to believe. It seems a mockery to direct people to rejoice in the midst of a world of sin, sorrow, and death, and in a Church which is sorely tried; and yet such was the condition of things when these words were penned, and when similar counsel was given to the Philippians (1 Thessalonians 4:4). Religion is never recommended by sour looks, sepulchral tones, and suppressing every external manifestation of gladness. No wonder the Christian is able to rejoice continually, when we remember the inexhaustible sources of joy he possesses in his relations to Christ, to God, and to the Holy Ghost, in the promises of the divine word, and in a loving, beneficent, and holy life. By becoming religious, a man does not lose his joys, but exchanges them—transitory, fading, earthly joys—for joy unspeakable, glorious, and that fadeth not away.
2. It is our duty to pray always.—“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). As we are every moment in need, so should we every moment seek help in prayer. The Lord requires not only frequency in prayer, but also unwearied importunity. We must guard against the error of the Euchites, who flourished in the fourth century, and who regarded all other exercises of religion than inward prayer as unnecessary and vain. Live in the spirit of prayer. Let the whole work of life be as prayer offered to God. He who prays the most lives the best. Prayer surrounds the soul with a golden atmosphere, through which is sifted the sunbeams of heavenly joy.
3. It is our duty to be ever grateful.—“In everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Prayer should ever be accompanied with thanksgiving. What we may pray for, for that we must give thanks; and whatever is unfit matter for prayer is unfit for thanksgiving. The Christian can meet with nothing in the way of duty that is not a cause for thankfulness, whatever suffering may be entailed. When we think of the ceaseless stream of God’s mercies, we shall have ample reasons for unintermitted thanksgiving.
II. The secret of a happy life is in harmony with the divine will.—“For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). It is the will of God that His people should be rejoicing, praying, and grateful; and this will is revealed by Christ, as declared in His gospel, as received in His Church, and as observed by those in communion with Him. What a revelation is this, not of an arbitrary demand of the impossible state of the affections towards God, but a beautiful and consolatory discovery of the largeness of His love and of the blessed ends for which He has redeemed us in Christ. The will of God supplies constant material for gratitude and praise.
Lessons.—Learn the three indubitable marks of a genuine Christian:
1. To rejoice in the mercy of God.
2. To be fervent in prayer.
3. To give thanks to God in all things.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1 Thessalonians 5:16. Rejoice Evermore.
I. In the exercise of faith.—
1. In the truths of God.
2. In the promises of God.
II. In the practice of Christian hope.
III. In performing the duty of charity.—Barrow.
1 Thessalonians 5:17. On Self-recollectedness and Ejaculatory Prayer.
I. Mental prayer consists in gathering up the mind from its wanderings, and placing it consciously in the presence of God.
II. In breathing out the mind towards God.
III. Materials for ejaculatory prayer.—
1. Found in daily portions of Scripture.
2. Stated prayer cannot be dispensed with even where ejaculatory prayer is practised.
3. Ejaculatory prayer helpful in striving after a life of sanctity.—E. M. Goulburn.
1 Thessalonians 5:18. The Perpetual Thanksgiving of a Christian Life.
I. Its difficulty.—
1. From our fancied knowledge of life.
2. From our unbelieving distrust of God.
II. Its motive.—God’s will is so revealed in Christ, that, believing in it, we can give thanks in all things.
1. Life the perpetual providence of a Father.
2. That perpetual providence is a discipline of human character.
3. The discipline of life is explained by eternity alone.
III. Its attainment.—It is the gradual result of a life of earnest fellowship with God.—E. L. Hull.