Oh That I Were as in the Months of Old!
The sermon encourages listeners to distinguish between the fading freshness of their early days and the deeper, more mature love they can experience in their spiritual journey.
F.B. Meyer reflects on Job's lamentation about longing for the past, drawing parallels to the human tendency to romanticize earlier days of faith. He emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between the initial excitement of faith and the deeper, more mature love that develops over time. While the fervor of early faith may fade, it can be replaced by a profound peace and understanding in one's relationship with God. Meyer urges those who feel distant from God to return to their first love, reminding them that Jesus desires to restore their joy and intimacy with Him.
Text
Oh that I were as in the months of old! Job xxix. 2 (R.V.).
WE are irresistibly reminded of Cowper's sad complaint: ‑‑
What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still;
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill."
We are all prone to think that the earliest days were the best; and it is quite possible they were. But we must carefully distinguish between the exchange of the freshness and novelty of our first love for a deepening and maturing love, and the loss of love. The streamlet may not babble so cheerily, but there may be more water in the river. We lose the green Spring, but is it not better to have the intense light of Autumn in which the fruits ripen? There may not be so much ecstasy, but there may be stronger, deeper experience. We should not reckon our position in God's sight by our raptures, and count ourselves retrograding because they have gone; there is something better than rapture: the peace of a settled understanding and unvarying faith.
Still, if it be really so, that you have left the old place on the bosom or at the feet of Christ, that your love is cooling and your spirituality waning, I beseech thee, get back! Remember whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works. Jesus yearns to reinstate thee, and has permitted this restless longing for the past to come, that it may be with thee as in the months of old. Again his lamp shall shine above thy head, and the secret of the Lord shall be upon thy tent; thy steps shall be washed with butter, and the rock pour out rivers of oil; thy roots shall spread to the waters, and the dew shall lie all night upon thy branch.
Sermon Outline
- The Allure of the Past
- The Value of Maturity
- The Danger of Rapture-Driven Spirituality
- Returning to Christ
- Repentance and restoration
- Jesus' desire to reinstate and revive
Key Quotes
“What peaceful hours I once enjoyed! How sweet their memory still; But they have left an aching void The world can never fill.” — F.B. Meyer
“Again his lamp shall shine above thy head, and the secret of the Lord shall be upon thy tent;” — F.B. Meyer
“thy roots shall spread to the waters, and the dew shall lie all night upon thy branch.” — F.B. Meyer
Application Points
- Don't measure your spiritual growth by the intensity of your emotions or experiences, but by the peace of a settled understanding and unvarying faith.
- If you feel like you've lost your spiritual fervor, repent, return to Christ, and do the first works.
- Jesus yearns to reinstate and revive you, giving you back the spiritual vitality you once had.