Canst Thou Bind the Cluster Of
The sermon teaches that God is sovereign over both the joys and difficulties of life, and that we must learn to trust in His goodness and control.
F.B. Meyer explores the duality of life's experiences through the metaphor of the Pleiades and Orion, emphasizing that while the Pleiades represent joy and hope, Orion symbolizes the storms and challenges we face. He illustrates that both the sweet influences of spring and the tempests of life are under God's sovereign control, reminding us that we cannot bind or restrain either. Meyer encourages believers to embrace both the joyful and difficult seasons, recognizing that they serve a purpose in God's plan. Ultimately, he reassures that God's presence is our refuge during life's storms, and both joy and sorrow are essential for spiritual growth.
Text
Canst thou bind the cluster of
the Pleiades? Job xxxviii. 31 (R.V.).
THE seven stars of the Pleiades always stand for the sweet influences of spring; Orion for the storm and tempest. In this sublime catechism, Jehovah asks Job if he has any control over the One or the other. As it is with the year, so with our life.
There are times when the PLEIADEs are in the ascendant. The winter is over and gone, the time of the singing of birds is come. Doves coo their love notes in the trees, and the flowers gem the soil. Days of hope, of radiant light, of ecstatic joy! Days in which God seems to be making a new heaven and a new earth within us! Days when our Beloved shows Himself through the lattice‑work, and says, "Come, my beloved!" Oh, tender influences of the Pleiades, we would that ye might ever stay, filling us with immortal youth! When God bids them shine, no one can bind them. When He gives joy, none can give sorrow. No mortal man can restrain the outburst of Nature's spring. You might as well stay the resurrection of the Son of God and his saints!
But ORION has his work as well. Storms come; the drenching rain veils the landscape; the mighty billows are lashed to fury. But all works for good. The blast in the forest snaps off dead wood. The rain fills up the wells. Frost pulverises the earth. When God binds Orion, man cannot unloose him; "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper." But when the Almighty unlooses Orion, like another Samson, he does his work of devastation, before which we must find refuge in the cleft of the Rock.
"God sendeth sun,
He sendeth shower,
Alike they're needful for the flower."
Sermon Outline
- The Question of Control
- Can we control the influences of spring (Pleiades)?
- Can we control the storms (Orion)?
- The answer to both questions is no
Key Quotes
“God sendeth sun, He sendeth shower, Alike they're needful for the flower.” — F.B. Meyer
“When God bids them shine, no one can bind them.” — F.B. Meyer
“When God binds Orion, man cannot unloose him; 'No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.'” — F.B. Meyer
Application Points
- We must learn to trust in God's sovereignty over both the joys and difficulties of life.
- We must recognize that both joy and difficulty are necessary for growth and development.
- We must find refuge in God during times of difficulty and challenge.