They said to her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "Because
they’ve taken away my Lord," she told them, "and I don’t know where they’ve
put Him." John 20:13
To Mrs. Turner, May 5, 1856.
My beloved friend,
The above was the sorrowful lament of one who had known the presence of
Jesus, and now felt His absence; who had enjoyed His company, and now
mourned the loss of it. All the world was nothing to her without the Lord;
she came to indulge her love and grief by adding "sweet spices" to the myrrh
and aloes which were already wrapped with His precious body--but even that
body was gone, this last solace was denied her. And, oh! what a sinking,
saddened heart she had, when, weeping and wondering, she looked again into
the sepulcher. Methinks it was a hopeless look; she had already seen that
the holy body was not there—but she would look once more at the very spot
where it was laid. And what was her joy when she was greeted by His living
voice calling her by name! She expected not to hear that voice again, she
had no thought of beholding a risen Redeemer; but He had said, "I will see
you again, and your heart shall rejoice," and His words were now sweetly
fulfilled in this seeking soul, who, having much forgiven, loved Him much.
But perhaps you will wonder what all this has to do with
you. Why, my beloved, I have heard from our dear Mrs. N— that you are
depressed, and so I have been thinking that, perhaps, like poor Mary, you
are feeling as if you had lost your Lord. Then, when He stands afar off--all
looks gloomy, afflictions are more painful, trials more perplexing, and even
mercies look less cheering. The poet has truly said—
"I can do all things, and can bear
All sufferings, if my Lord be there;
Sweet pleasures mingle with the pains,
While His left hand my head sustains.
"But if my Lord be once withdrawn,
And I attempt to work alone;
When new temptations spring and rise,
I prove how great my weakness is."
We are so prone to commit these two great evils—departing
from the Fountain of living waters, and hewing out to ourselves broken
cisterns that can hold no water. And our wise and gracious Lord will let us,
for a season, reap the fruit of our doings, in order to make our folly
hateful to us. But He will not always chide nor cast off forever. He will
return unto us with mercies, and with healing in His wings. He is the good
Samaritan, and if we have spiritually fallen among thieves, who have
stripped us of our garments of praise, and robbed us of the joys of His
salvation, and wounded us until we feel half dead; though He may first let
us prove that all "self-helps" and creature helps are vain, yet at length He
will be sure "to come that way," and minister to our needy case, saying, "I
am the Lord who heals you."
But if this be not your case, and that rather in
sovereignty He has been pleased to withdraw His blessed presence, saying,
"It is expedient for you that I go away," and you, like Mary, are sorrowing;
yet, dear friend, you do not sorrow without hope. He has not only said, "I
go away," but also, "I come again unto you;" and by the absence of sensible
enjoyments for a season, He means you to learn more of that life of faith
which is honoring to Him and strengthening to the soul. He says by the
prophet, "Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of His
servant, that walks in darkness, and has no light, (or bright shining)? Let
him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." So whatever be
your case, there is a remedy in Jesus, which the blessed Spirit will
bring home and apply, causing you to sing that dear wilderness song, "He
restores my soul!"
Have you wandered? The good Shepherd will seek you out,
and bring you back. (Ezek. 34:11, 12) Have you sought help from creatures?
He will disappoint you there, and give you all in Himself. (Hosea 2:7, 14,
15) Have you sinned? Your advocate pleads for you, and His precious blood
cleanses you from all sin. (1 john 1:7, 2:1) Has your Beloved withdrawn
Himself? Arise, and seek Him in the Word, in the ordinances of His house,
and in your closet; then before long He will be found of you, and you shall
joyfully say, "I found Him whom my soul loves." It is not in vain to seek
Him, to wait on Him, and to wait for Him; all of which the blessed Spirit
will enable you to do. But should you be tried with an increase of bodily
affliction, your blessed Lord is the Physician of value who can reach and
touch that case also, therefore do not pore over it—but take it to Him with
whom all things are possible; yes, He can even bring you a step higher than
all that has been said, enabling you to rejoice in His will, when most
contrary to the flesh, and to live daily in the spirit of that profound
sentence, "Your will be done." Oh, that is a blessed state! then is the mind
kept in perfect peace, being stayed on Him. May the Lord bring us to it, by
His own power, and for His own glory!
I have been very weak and ill—but am just reviving again
for a season. "My times are in Your hands," and whether it be health or
sickness, if Jesus be but glorified, it shall be well. We are His
dear-bought purchase. Oh, what a price has He paid for us! And will He allow
sin, or Satan, or any circumstances of body or mind, to separate us from
Him, and rob Him of His right? No, never, never! He loves us too well; in
all things we shall eventually be more than conquerors through Him who loves
us. Cheer up, beloved friend; He may allow us to wade deep in our own
corruptions; He may bring us through fire and through water of temptation
and tribulation—but He will bring us out into the wealthy place, and we
shall see His face with joy. "Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do
it." We have you often in remembrance; and I shall be happy if, before this
reaches you, the gloom you have felt be past, and you are filled with praise
and thanksgiving to Him who alone is worthy. Seek for close walking and much
communion; and may you daily "count all things but loss, for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord." May every covenant blessing be
with you.
Kind love from your poor unworthy friend and
fellow-pilgrim,
Ruth Bryan