DISCOURSE: 783
MAN’S EXPERIENCE KNOWN TO HIMSELF ALONE
Proverbs 14:10. The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
THE inward experience of men, any further than it is discovered by acts or other outward signs, must of necessity be known to themselves alone. St. Paul puts the question to us, “Who knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him [Note: 1 Corinthians 2:11.]?” Whether a man be filled with sorrow or joy, he alone can be sensible of the measure and extent of his own feelings.
The assertions in my text will be found true,
I. In reference to the concerns of this world—
[Great are the troubles of many, as arising from their own unhappy tempers — — — from their connexions in life — — — or from circumstances of embarrassment in their affairs — — — And who but themselves can fully appreciate their sorrows? — — — On the other hand, the comforts of many are considerable, as flowing from the exercise of benevolence and love — — — from the endearments of domestic life — — — and from that success in their affairs which enables them to supply with ease the wants of themselves and families — — — And of the satisfaction which they feel, a stranger would form a very inadequate conception — — —]
II.
In reference to the concerns of the soul—
[In matters relating to the soul, the feelings are still more acute. None but the person feeling it can tell “the bitterness” which is occasioned by a sense of sin, with all its aggravations — — — by the prospect of death and judgment, whilst the soul is unprepared to meet its God — — — and by temptations to despondency, and perhaps to suicide itself — — — Job’s friends could not at all appreciate his sorrows, as depicted by himself [Note: Job 6:2-4] — — — Nor can any, but the man whose “heart is thus broken,” conceive fully what “a broken and contrite spirit is” — — —
On the other hand, there are in the heart of a true Christian “joys, with which a stranger intermeddleth not.” The peace that is experienced by him, when God speaks peace to his soul, “passeth all understanding [Note: Philippians 4:7.]” — — — And “the joys” with which he is transported, in the views of his Redeemer’s glory, in the experience of God’s love shed abroad in his heart, and in the earnest and foretaste of his eternal inheritance, “are unspeakable and glorified [Note: 1 Peter 1:8. See also Romans 8:15-16 and Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 3:18-19.]” — — — These joys are, “the white stone, with a new name written on it, which no man can read, saving he who has received it [Note: Revelation 2:17.]” — — — Michal could not understand the exercises of David’s mind [Note: 2 Samuel 6:16; 2 Samuel 6:20-22.] — — — Nor can any one fully estimate the blessedness of a soul, when thus admitted to close communion with its God — — —]
Learn from hence—
[Contentment—(the very persons whom you envy, are perhaps even envying you — — —) charity—(we can see the outward act only, and can little tell what passes in the hearts of men, whether in a way of humiliation or desire — — —) and earnestness in the ways of God;—that you may attain the deepest measures of contrition, with the sublimest experience of joy. The lower we lay our foundation, the higher we may hope our superstructure shall be raised — — —]