Chapter Eight: Concerning the Dropping of Honeycombs

Chapter 8.
Concerning the Dropping of Honeycombs 'Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.' (Genesis 15:1).

Turn to the nineteenth Psalm, and the tenth verse, and there read, in our version, 'sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.' This is applied to 'the judgements of the Lord,' which are 'true and righteous altogether.' The expression sets forth David's esteem of the law of God, and we may fitly apply it to Holy Scripture. The Hebrew hath it, 'sweeter than the dropping of honeycombs.' Whereupon good Mr. Brooks observes, 'It is sweeter than that which drops immediately and naturally without any force or art, which is counted the purest and the sweetest honey.'

There are texts of Scripture which are exceedingly sweet, and marvellously free in the giving forth of their sweetness, needing little study or meditation. Children have their drops, and their little candies, which melt away in their mouths; and, even so, certain Scriptures are prepared for the Lord's little children; they have only to receive them by the mouth of faith, and their enjoyment is great. Some words of the Lord are as nuts that need cracking, or grapes that need treading in the winepress, for their meaning lieth not upon the surface; but those to which I refer are ready for use: they are simple sweetnesses, prepared pleasures; in fact, drops of delight. To enjoy these, one does not need to be a theologian or a grammarian, much less a philosopher or a mystic. The honey of the meaning flows out of the comb of the words as fluid consolation, liquid love, pure joy, and perfect truth. The student does not need to pore over his book, or the preacher to consult his library, or the hearer to collect his knowledge; the dainty comfort offers itself to the palate, and goeth down sweetly, spreading its savour over the whole inner man without effort.

I should like, as the Holy Spirit opens up the Word to me, to give my friends, every now and then, a drop of honey out of the rock, by dwelling upon certain easy texts as they yield themselves to my heart. I would not so much think as enjoy, and then give to you that which has been precious to my own heart. There are some preachers, whose main business seems to be to lead people among the thorns, where they are torn with perplexities; it is mine, on this occasion, to run by way of the plain, along the level road of evident teaching. On the Sabbath, it is well to rest the mind as well as the body. We do not so much want deep problems to make our heads ache as holy consolations to quiet our hearts. Those who use such long words that they cannot be understood without a dictionary go very near to breaking the Sabbath themselves, and compelling their hearers to do the same. At any rate, on these occasions, I shall neither perplex my readers, nor cause them any mental labour. Honey-drops are for pleasure, not for labour; and they are for children rather than for students. Many a sweet truth in God's Word is so very simple that it does not need excogitating so much as enjoying. When you get a honey-drop, you just put it in your mouth, and let it lie there, or turn it round with your tongue till it dissolves. Let us do this, as occasion offers, with several simple passages; and just now with these words from the Book of Genesis, fifteenth chapter, and first verse. Bees, and their hives and combs, are very plentiful in Palestine, and here we have good store of sweetness. The one sentence which I have pitched upon is full, and rich, and simple, and we will try to enjoy it. It is God's word to his servant Abraham:

'Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.'

'Fear not, Abram.' Alas! fear is an ague which haunts these marshlands. When shall we get to higher ground, and dwell above? Fear is a complaint common among the Lord's people; we might be sure that it was so when we learned that Abram suffered from it, for he was the most vigorous of believers. Does Abram need a 'fear not'? Then we may be pretty sure that we require it, too. I am afraid that, wherever there is faith, there will also be a measure of fear; though the less of it there is, the better will it be. How tenderly the Lord quiets the fears of his children! 'Fear not, Abram.' As much as if he had said, 'You are all alone; but fear not, for I am with you. You are in much labour; but fear not, I will help you. You have no portion in this strange land; but fear not, for I am your God. Do not fear in the present; do not fear in the future. Fear neither the failure of friends nor the fury of foes. Be brave, calm, hopeful, trustful, joyful. 'Fear not, Abram.' You have just been fighting the kings; you felt yourself to be a man of peace, and not accustomed to the deadly strife; but I have given the plunderers, like driven stubble, to your bow, and you have brought back Lot and all his train of servants that were taken prisoners. You need not even fear for your relatives; I will bless them for your sake. Beside that, you have not touched a thread or a shoe-latchet of the King of Sodom's goods, but you have borne yourself in a right royal manner; therefore, fear not to enjoy your success, you shall be safe from all attacks, and you shall live in the respect of the great ones around you.' This blessed 'Fear not' was a quietus to every form of alarm which might come near the man of God. But the Lord seemed to think that, after his conflict and his victory, Abram might begin to sink. It is often so with bold men; it was so even with Elias, the prophet of fire. Men are not afraid when the battle rages, their spirit is equal to the danger and the struggle; but when all is over, then a reaction comes, and they greatly need the Lord's 'Fear not.' Have you never felt yourself strangely supported under the direst afflictions, so that they seemed not to be afflictions at all? And yet, when pressure has been removed, you have been ready to faint, like Samson after he had slain the Philistines. Fear is apt to be greatest when the reason for it is smallest.

We are often quiet in a storm, and distracted in a calm. We are singular beings, mysteries to ourselves, and riddles to our neighbours. Our constitution and disposition are made up of odds and ends, and gatherings from all manner of beasts, and birds, and fishes, and no one can understand us except the Lord; but, blessed be his name, he knows us altogether, and therefore he brings forth the right consolation at the right moment, saying, 'Fear not,' in the instant wherein we are most likely to fear.

'Fear not, Abram.' Were there not two things about which the patriarch might have feared? First, about his own safety. This was met by the assurance, 'Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield.' When he had no other guard, Abraham was shielded by his God. He was like a sheep in the midst of wolves, a lone stranger surrounded by hostile nations; but a spell was upon the Canaanites, for the Lord had said, 'Touch not Mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.' The protected of the Lord needed not to wear armour, nor bear a sword, for Jehovah had said, 'I am thy shield.' Abraham possessed no fortress, he commanded no army; he did not even dwell in a house, and yet he was safe enough. His tents were no defence, and yet no one ever broke into them, or dared to threaten those who dwelt within: no assassin waylaid him, no marauder attacked him; he dwelt at ease behind the broad shield of the Almighty. He was as safe as if he had been enclosed within walls that reached to heaven. The armour of God covered him from head to foot.

So, dear friends, when we seem to have nothing visible to protect us, what a blessing it is to know that we are guarded by the invisible and omnipotent God! The visible must always of necessity be finite, but the invisible God is infinite, there is no searching of his understanding. You are infinitely safe if you are a believer in the living God, your beginnings and your endings, your wakings and your sleepings, your journeyings and your restings, your sufferings and your doings, your slander or your honour, your poverty or your wealth, your all for ever and ever is most secure when the Lord is your Keeper, and your shield upon your right hand. Be it ours to leave our cares, and give our hearts up to the repose of faith. Come, sing with me that verse of the beloved Toplady;

'Inspirer and Hearer of prayer, Thou Shepherd and Guardian of thine, my all to thy covenant care I sleeping and waking resign.

If thou art my shield and my sun, The night is no darkness to me; And fast as my moments roll on, They bring me but nearer to thee.'

We are safe if God be with us. We may be in the midst of cruel adversaries, but no weapon that is formed against us can prosper if God be our shield. Please to notice that the Lord does not say, 'I will shield you;' but, 'I, the Almighty, am your shield; it is not alone my power, my wisdom, my love, which will protect you, but I myself will be your shield.'

Then Abram may have thought, 'I shall be protected; but, after all, shall I not spend my life in vain?' He might have feared for his success. He had led the life of a gypsy, roaming through a land in which he owned no foot of ground; therefore the Lord added, 'I am thy reward.' He does not say, 'I will reward you;' but he says, 'I am thy reward.' Dear brother-ministers, if souls are saved, they are a form of reward to you; but, nevertheless, rejoice not in them, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven. I have quoted an old text, first spoken to chosen men who had healed the sick and cast out devils in Christ's name. Yes, dear brethren, if many receive our word, it is our joy that they have received it; but, still, we may be disappointed in our estimate of conversions; and, at the best, our success will not equal our desires. The only reward that a Christian can fully rejoice in, without any reservation, is this assurance of the Lord, 'I am thy reward.' Did not the father, in the parable, say to the elder son, when he grumbled and growled at the reception given to his brother, 'Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine'? That was reward enough, was it not? It is wealth enough to a believer to possess his God, honour enough to please his God, happiness enough to enjoy his God. My heart's best treasure lies here: 'This God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our Guide even unto death.'

'Oh, but people have been so ungrateful to me!' True, but your God does not forget your work of faith and labour of love. 'Ah, sir, I am dreadfully poor!' Yet you have God All-sufficient; and all things are yours. 'Alas! I am so ill.' But Jehovah Rophi is the Lord that healeth thee. 'Alas! I have no friends left to me.' Yet the best of friends changes not, and dies not. Is he not better to you than a host of other friends? How great is your God? He filleth all things. Then, what more can you seek? Would you have two persons occupying the same place? If God fills all, where is there room for another? Is not God's grace sufficient for you? Do you bemoan a cup of water which has been spilled at your feet? A well is near. Did I hear you cry, 'I have not a drop in my bucket'? A river flows hard by; the river of God, which is full of water. O mournful soul, why art thou disquieted? What aileth thee, that thou shouldst fret thy life into rags?

Very fitly does the Lord say to Abram, 'I am thy exceeding great reward.' He is infinitely more as a reward than we could ever have deserved, desired, or expected. There is no measuring such a reward as God himself. If we were to pine away in poverty, it would be joy enough to know that God gives himself over to us to be our portion. The tried people of God will tell you that, in their sharpest sorrows, their joys have reached flood-tide when they have known and felt that the Lord is their Covenant God, their Father, their all. Our cup runs over when faith receives Jehovah himself as the crown of the race, the wages of the service. What more can even God bestow than himself?

Now you see what I meant at the beginning, by honey-drops. I have not strained after novel thoughts or choice words; but have persuaded you to taste the natural sweetness of the Scripture. Receive it as God gives it; and go your way, and let the flavour of it fill your mouths all through the week. Fear not, Mary; fear not, William; fear not, Sarah; fear not, John. The Lord saith to thee, even as to Abraham, 'I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.' No Scripture is of private interpretation; you may take out the name of Abram, and put your own name into the promise if you are of Abraham's spiritual seed, and do not stagger at the promise through unbelief. 'If children, then heirs,' applies to all the spiritual family. The ground whereon thou liest, the Lord thy God has given thee; if thou canst rest on this Word, it is thine to rest upon. The Lord is thy Defender and Rewarder, and by the double title he shuts out all fear, making thy rest to be doubly sure. Wherefore, cease thou from all anxiety. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. This day he bids thee dwell at ease, and delight thyself in him.