DELIGHTING IN THE SUNLIT UPLANDS OF
GRACE: Spurgeon on Joy
By CH Spurgeon
Christian Focus. 139 pages. £7.99
ISBN 978 1 781 915 868
We all struggle with a lack of joy from time to time – some of us more often than not. Rejoicing always can seem like a tall order, and Christian joy can seem like hard work rather than a natural thing.
If joy in the Lord seems elusive, then this collection of Spurgeon’s sermons on the subject may be just what you need. Spurgeon was no stranger to the highs and lows of the Christian life. He knew deep sorrow and knew what it was to labour when his heart was breaking. For that reason his teaching on joy has a particular weight.
The book begins by introducing joy as a duty. We are commanded to rejoice, but this duty is also to be our delight. God commands us to rejoice because it is for our benefit. As Spurgeon puts it: ‘holy joy will oil the wheels of your life’s machinery.’ He goes on to explore the joy of the Lord, which he says springs from God and has God as its object. This is the essence of what Scripture teaches and what we need to grasp, that true joy is found only by turning and gazing on the beauty of our God and making him our delight.
In a practical chapter entitled ‘The Joy of Holy Households’ Spurgeon brings a challenge to husbands, wives, young people and the newly married to stoke the fires of joy. A happy household, he says, is one where family Bible reading and prayer are a priority and joy is a reality in the daily events of our lives.
Perhaps the most helpful focus of this book is on the joy of Jesus. As in everything else, we can look to him as our highest example in the matter of joy. Although he was the Man of Sorrows, he had a peaceful and joyful spirit that came from unbroken fellowship with his Father. He rejoiced in what God his Father was doing in the world and in the eternal salvation he had come to bring. Through the Spirit’s ministry in our lives, that same joy can be ours as we look to him.
