086. Chapter 81: Concerning Experience
------------ CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE ------------ Concerning Experience
Experience is a matter only few are acquainted with and is utilized by even less. However, it is of much benefit. The proverb says: “Experience is the best teacher.” When we intend to hire someone, we ask, “Does he have experience?” A doctor, captain, or craftsman who has experience will be most in demand. Such is also true in the spiritual realm. Experience engenders the prosperity of the Christian, and thus we also wish to say something concerning this.
Experience is a godly exercise, consisting in a gathering of numerous noteworthy incidents for the purpose of using them to our benefit and that of others.
It is a godly exercise. “A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this,” says the psalmist in Psalms 92:6. However, it is one of the activities of the godly who do gather such a treasure. The righteous shall see it, and rejoice, the wise will observe these things, and “they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord” (Psalms 107:42-43). They exercise themselves in this in a godly manner: with a godly heart, with godly intent, and with a godly objective. This exercise consists in a gathering of numerous noteworthy incidents. God not only gives commands and promises to His children. These must be heeded with much attention and an obedient heart, for: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22); “Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments” (Psalms 119:6). However, God also manifests Himself by numerous works. He frequently delivers His people and specific individuals in a remarkable manner. He comforts them when they grieve most bitterly, and executes extraordinary judgments upon the oppressors of His people. He preserved Noah in the ark, delivered His people Israel with a mighty hand out of Egypt, and fed them forty years in the wilderness with bread rained down from heaven. He delivered David out of the hand of Saul, Daniel from the lions’ den, his companions out of the fiery oven, and Peter out of prison. He destroyed Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, and slew 185,000 men in one night by the hand of an angel in the army which had besieged Jerusalem. Yes, the entire Bible is filled with numerous accounts of deliverances of His people as well as of judgments upon their oppressors. God’s children will bring together all such and similar deeds of God. They seek them out, meditate upon them, and analyze them carefully. They imprint them in their memories and, so to speak, establish a mental file. The Objective of Remembering God’s Dealings The objective is not to be inquisitive only in order to be knowledgeable and able to talk about them. Rather, their objective is to derive personal benefit from such reflection in order to be comforted and strengthened. The church does so to help and comfort others by recounting God’s dealings with the godly when in need; and also to warn others thereby, relating to them God’s common dealings with such sinners, and thus to arouse them and bring them to repentance.
First, the Lord wills that His people gather together a treasure of experiences and make use of them at all occasions: “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness” (Deuteronomy 8:2); “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee” (Deuteronomy 32:7); “Remember His marvellous works that He hath done; His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth” (Psalms 105:5).
Secondly, we know this to have been the practice of the saints who have given examples to be followed by us. David was thus engaged: “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Thy works; I muse on the work of Thy hands” (Psalms 143:5). Asaph did likewise: “I will meditate also of all Thy work, and talk of Thy doings” (Psalms 77:12). “Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).
Thirdly, we can infer this from the purpose for which God has performed these deeds, has caused them to be recorded, and has decreed that they should be told to others, namely, that the following generation would know them and thus be dissuaded from sinning, be exhorted to godliness, and be strengthened by trusting in God’s help. “I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He hath done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments” (Psalms 78:2-7).
If to that end God has done so many great deeds for His people, and has caused these deeds to be recorded for this purpose as well, it is our duty to give heed to them, attentively take note of them, and commit them to our memories, so that we may have them readily at hand when they are applicable to our circumstances. The Sources from Which Experiences May Be Gleaned: Scripture, Church History, and Personal Experience This treasure of various incidents, judgments, deliverances, and divine comforts are gleaned first of all from the Word of God; a great variety of divine deeds has been recorded there. We human beings are but of yesterday, and our experience pertains to but a very small time frame. The goodness of the Lord has provided us, however, with a history of His deeds which originates at the beginning of this world and will continue until its very end. We ought to make a study of all God’s dealings with His people by attentively examining them one by one. We would thus immediately have an example at hand for every event that occurs, and this would be subservient for instruction or encouragement. Many of the Scottish divines exercised themselves in this in an exceptional manner, and have shown a marvelous ability to bring forth a history from the Bible and to apply it.
Secondly, this treasure can also be derived from church history, books about martyrs, and the biographies of the godly by Melchior Adamus in Latin, by Corput in Dutch, and by Koelman, who has added several biographies as an appendix in The Christian’s Great Interest. We may observe the good hand of God in the fact that so many incidents have been recorded and have come into our hands. In all our encounters we time and again conduct ourselves as fools; but such recorded incidents immediately yield light, counsel, comfort, and courage. Add to this the experiences of the godly with whom you have fellowship. In the Lord’s providence you may have the privilege of enjoying such company, enabling you to hear how the Lord has dealt with them and what manner of deliverances they have experienced -- so that you would take note of it and derive benefit yourself from it.
Thirdly, the history of your own life -- if you would but attentively take notice -- would yield you a treasure of experiences. I shall show you the way as to how you may glean many experiences from your own life. Answer for yourself the following questions:
(1) From whom have you descended? Who were your father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, uncles, aunts, and cousins? What is your status in the world -- high or low? In what city, village, or on what street or lane were you born? Were they rich or poor, honorable or despised, ungodly or godly? At what occasion did your ancestors or you come to this country, city, or village?
(2) How were you raised -- in simplicity or luxuriously? What did your parents do to earn a living? Was there peace or discord in your home? What was their religious persuasion? Was God’s Word read in your home? Were you instructed in the knowledge of the truth? How did you conduct yourself in your parental home?
(3) What specific events transpired in your parental home? What difficulties, perplexities, fears, and concerns have there been, and what was the ultimate outcome?
(4) Where did you attend school, where were you employed, and what did you encounter there? With whom have you resided? With whom have you kept company? What trade have you plied? What did you encounter there and how did you conduct yourself? What trials and accidents did you have, and what was the ultimate outcome?
(5) How did you live during your childhood, during your teenage years, and in your marriage? To what sins have you cleaved? In what manner did the Lord deliver you from your perplexities, and by what means?
(6) If you are converted, have you been a changed person from your youth? If not, what thoughts did you entertain about your present and future state? By what means were you brought under an efficacious ministry? By what occasion did you come into the company of godly people? How did you come to the knowledge of the truth, and how did you come under conviction? What transactions did you at first have with Christ? What anxious strife and assaults did you endure and in what manner were you delivered from them? What comforts, strengthenings of your faith, and assurances have you enjoyed? What vicissitudes have you experienced? Do you still remember some encounters? Do you still know those places where you were in great distress, were enabled to pray in an extraordinary manner, and where all was made exceptionally well? What bodily discomforts have you encountered? In what manner were you strengthened in them, how did the Lord grant deliverance, and by what means did He do so?
Failure to Reflect upon God’s Dealings Rebuked
If you had taken careful note of and remembered all these things, or if as yet you would betake yourself to bring all these to remembrance and record them, how great a collection of experiences you would now have! How useful they would now be to you, and how great would be the benefit you would derive from them!
How have you fared, however? Did you already gather a treasure of experiences? How many of the godly will be ashamed when they perceive that such was their duty, having had a large field from which they could have gleaned a large supply! Yes; you ought to be ashamed, for:
First, God sharply rebukes you for this. “They soon forgat His works” (Psalms 106:13). This was a sin of the disciples, and this sin has been described: “For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened” (Mark 6:52).
Secondly, it being a sin, it likewise issues forth from sin, namely:
(1) The sin of inattentiveness. One permits God to work, chastise, and bless, and yet no one gives heed to it. This is the sin of the unconverted: “They regard not the work of the Lord” (Isaiah 5:12); “A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this” (Psalms 92:6).
(2) The sin of unbelief; when evil befalls man, he considers the secondary causes. Even though he does not deny God’s hand in it, he does not believingly note it to be such. If God blesses and grants a person his desire, he then acts as if it came about by chance and as if the matter would have come about even if he had not prayed -- and thus he disregards God. “If I had called, and He had answered me (by granting me the matter for which I prayed); yet would I not believe that He had hearkened unto my voice (namely, that God did so upon my prayer)” (Job 9:16).
(3) The sin of forgetfulness; we then carefully take note of the matter as it occurs, but make no use of it, and do not deeply impress it upon our heart. It therefore does not come to mind when it would suit our situation: “Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the Rock of thy strength” (Isaiah 17:10).
Thirdly, this gives birth to many of your unseasonable spiritual conditions, as well as the fact that you remain in them for such a long time. You are ignorant concerning God’s dealings with His children and with yourself, and you thus remain in the dark. This in turn engenders the instability regarding your spiritual state, your excessive inner turbulence, your discouragements, and many other evil frames and sins. How grievous it then is to you that you have stored away so few experiences! How grievous it will be to have kept yourself in such a low and childlike condition for such a long time, considering that you could have been a steadfast, stable, and strong Christian! Oh, how grievous it is to you that you have given so little heed to God’s dealings; that you have let Him work, so to speak, in vain, and that you have not manifested any gratitude to Him for this! Humble yourself before the Lord and seek forgiveness.
Believers Exhorted
Therefore, seek to gather a treasure of experiences for yourself from those spacious fields to which we have directed you.
First, this teaches us to discern and acknowledge the dealings of God and to thank and glorify the Lord for this. It is to that end that the Lord has manifested Himself to you by way of His works, and it is your salvation, delight, and felicity to be thus engaged. Observe this in Psalms 18:1-50, for when David reflected upon the mercies of the Lord previously manifested toward him, he concludes, “Therefore will I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto Thy name. Great deliverance giveth He to His king; and showeth mercy to His anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore” (Psalms 18:49-50). He expresses himself likewise in Psalms 103:2 : “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”
Secondly, it humbles you when, on the one hand, you consider your ancestry, insignificance, and sinfulness, and on the other hand the wondrous leadings, protections, and deliverances according to body and soul: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands” (Genesis 32:10); “Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me hitherto” (2 Samuel 7:18). This humble disposition is most pleasing to the Lord and He multiplies His blessings to such. “God ... giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).
Thirdly, it kindles a strong desire in believers for that sweet frame in which they previously were. This will be accompanied with tenderness of heart, considering that they are presently so far removed from this desirable frame and have to do without it. “Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; when His candle shined upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness” (Job 29:2-3); “Lord, where are Thy former lovingkindnesses” (Psalms 89:49); “When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday” (Psalms 42:4). Observe this also in regard to the church: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion” (Psalms 137:1). Oh, how many a tear flows out of our eyes when we consider our previous circumstances and compare our present circumstances to them!
Fourthly, it sustains us in times of distress and it can serve as a means to recovery. We shall then reason as follows: “The Lord does not change, and He will finish the work which He has begun in a person. The fact is that the Lord has previously been gracious to me. How zealously did I seek the Lord at that time and how abundantly was the Spirit of prayer poured out upon me! I still remember how I was enabled to pour out my heart before the Lord with many tears and with much perseverance. I have not yet forgotten how I was able to receive Jesus as my Surety and how I entrusted my soul to Him; how I received assurance concerning my salvation; how I loved Jesus; how I delighted and rejoiced in the enjoyment of my love relationship with the Lord, and how painstakingly I refrained from sin.” Thus the soul, while estranged from the Lord, will encourage herself. She will say, “The Lord remains the same, His love does not change, and He will again come to me.” It is thus that the soul supports and encourages herself with her previous experiences. Observe this with David: “Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Thy works; I muse on the work of Thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto Thee: my soul thirsteth after Thee, as a thirsty land” (Psalms 143:4-6); and also with Asaph: “I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search” (Psalms 77:5-6).
Fifthly, it causes us to trust in the Lord and, while exercising this trust, to be encouraged in the performance of our duty. Paul found strength in his previous experience: “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10). It made David courageous: “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37).
Reflection upon Past Experience Engenders Spiritual Virtues
Sixthly, experience engenders the exercise of all manner of spiritual virtues, such as faith, hope, love, prayer, patience, and holiness.
(1) It engenders a godly life: “What shall I say? He hath both spoken unto me, and Himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul” (Isaiah 38:15). He remembered his previous trial, and this now prompted him to refrain himself from sin and to walk carefully, lest he come into such straits again (Psalms 116:8-9).
(2) It engenders faith. The disciples, who twice had witnessed how the Lord Jesus had fed thousands of people with a few loaves, had not taken note of the miracle of the loaves, and therefore their faith faltered, for their faith was not in exercise when at another occasion they had forgotten to take bread along (Mark 8:14
(3) It engenders hope: “And experience (worketh) hope” (Romans 5:4).
(4) It engenders love: “I love the Lord, because He hath heard my voice” (Psalms 116:1).
(5) It engenders the fear of God. If by way of experience we have accumulated examples of the judgments God has sent upon such sins, we shall learn to refrain ourselves from such sins by way of the fear of God. To that end the apostle holds forth the sins and plagues of Israel in the desert, saying, “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things” (1 Corinthians 10:6).
(6) It engenders zeal in prayer. By remembering previous answers to prayer, we shall approach the Lord with more freedom and plead with an increased faith that our prayer will be answered. We would not be able to do so unless we had taken note of previous answers and remembered them (cf. Psalms 85:6-7). There, the psalmist holds before the Lord various blessings which have previously been bestowed upon him, and upon them he pleads: “Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee” (Psalms 85:6).
(7) Yes, experience not only renders us fit to comfort ourselves, but also others. “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2 Corinthians 1:4). Therefore take careful note of all that transpires, remember everything, write it down, reflect upon it often, tell it to others, and make daily use of what you have previously experienced -- to the benefit of yourself and others.