If Thou Wert Pure and Upright, Surely Now
God's love and righteousness are not measured by our outward circumstances, but by our faithfulness and dependence on Him.
F.B. Meyer addresses the misconception that suffering indicates a lack of purity and uprightness before God, as suggested by Bildad in Job 8:6. He emphasizes that God's deliverance is not solely based on outward circumstances, and many faithful servants endure trials without any reflection on their righteousness. Meyer explains that adversity can strengthen our inner character and deepen our reliance on God, teaching us virtues that flourish in silence and sorrow. He reassures that despite our struggles, God is always attentive and present in our lives, working to make us partakers of His holiness.
Text
If thou wert pure and upright, surely now
he would awake for thee. Job viii. 6.
SO Bildad spoke, suggesting that Job was not pure and upright, since God did not appear to deliver him. The premises from which he argued were that God always delivers and prospers pure and upright men, and that therefore, if a man were not delivered and prospered, he was proved to be neither pure nor upright. The fallacy lay in the premiss. It is not universally true that God delivers his saints from adverse circumstances, or prospers them with outward good. There have been in all ages thousands of devoted servants of God who have been destitute, afflicted, and tormented; and there are thousands of such to‑day in prisons, in hospital wards, in every condition of privation and trial; but in none of these cases can there be the least imputation on the love and righteousness of God, nor necessarily on their fidelity and goodness.
God's arrangements for us are not governed by the superficial philosophy which would make material prosperity a sign of his favour, and adversity of his displeasure. There are many considerations beside. Our privations in the outward strengthen and ripen the inward. As the outward man decays, the inward is renewed day by day. We have to learn and manifest those passive virtues which can only mature in silence and sorrow. We must be taught to be largely independent of circumstances, and to find in God Himself the springs of unfailing supply. We must learn to carry the sentence of death in ourselves, that we may not trust in ourselves, but in the living God. We have to stiffer with and for others. All these things worketh God with us to make us partakers of his holiness. But amid all our sorrows, He is always awake for us.
Sermon Outline
- God's Deliverance and Uprightness
- God's Arrangements for Us
- The Importance of Passive Virtues
- Learning to be Independent of Circumstances
- Finding God as the Source of Supply
Key Quotes
“He would awake for thee.” — F.B. Meyer
“Our privations in the outward strengthen and ripen the inward.” — F.B. Meyer
“We must be taught to be largely independent of circumstances, and to find in God Himself the springs of unfailing supply.” — F.B. Meyer
Application Points
- We must learn to be independent of our circumstances and find our strength in God.
- Our trials and sorrows can help us develop passive virtues and become more like Christ.
- We can trust in God even in difficult circumstances and find His unfailing supply.