The Secret of Abiding Peace
by
R. A. Torrey
(1856-1928)
“Enoch walked with God;
then he was no more,
because God took him away.”
Genesis 5:24
Our
subject is “The Secret of Abiding Peace. Abounding joy, and Abundant Victory in
War Times and at All Times.” You will find the text in Genesis 5:24, “Enoch
walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” In the
description of Enoch’s walk given in our text, we find the secret of abiding
peace, abounding joy, and abundant victory in war times and at all times. To my
mind, the text is one of the most fascinating and thrilling verses in the
entire Bible. It sounds more like a song from a heavenly world than a plain
statement of historical facts regarding a humble inhabitant of this world of
ours, but such it is, and it is possible for each one of us to so live and act
that it may be recorded of us, “He walked with God,” and later, “then he was no
more, because God took him away.”
The
position of this verse in the Bible is significant and suggestive. There has
been, in the verses immediately preceding, a very ordinary, commonplace, and,
at first sight, long recital of how one man after another of the olden time
lived so many years, fathered a son, continued to live so many years, and
fathered other sons and daughters, and then died. Then suddenly Enoch is
introduced and the story begins just as the other stories begin and goes on just
as the other stories go on, and seems about to end just as the other stories
end, but, no, there is this fresh breath from heaven and these melodious tones
sound out: “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him
away.” Then the story goes on again in the same old strain. Remember that this
account belongs to a far-away time, thousands of years before Christ, and about
a thousand years before the Flood, and yet what depth of truth and beauty there
is in it. Are there not lessons for us to learn from that far, far-away olden
time?
The
entire authentic history of Enoch is contained in nine verses in the Bible, six
in the Old Testament, three in the New. History outside of the Bible is utterly
unacquainted with him, yet he stands out as one of the most remarkable and
admirable men of whom history speaks, a man whom God honored as He has honored
but one other member of the entire race. Enoch’s greatness was the kind that
pleases God. We are told in the 11th chapter of Hebrews and the fifth verse
that “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience
death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was
taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.” Quite likely his greatness did
not win very hearty commendation from his contemporaries. However, that was not
of much consequence. His greatness did not consist of military renown,
political power, profound scholarship, successful statesmanship, splendid
artistic or architectural genius, or even of magnificent philanthropic
achievement. It was greatness of a more quiet and less pretentious and visible
nature, but of a far more real and lasting nature; it was greatness of
character. “He walked with God,” and God so enjoyed his fellowship that He took
Enoch to be with Himself permanently.
I
wish to make clear to you all three things: first, what it is to walk with God;
second, what are some of the results of walking with God; third, how we may get
into such a walk ourselves.
First of all, I think I may safely say that for some of us
here this morning that question needs no answer. God Himself has answered it to
us in blessed, unspeakably blessed, experience. But for others of us--yes, many
of us--it does need an answer. We have read the words of the text before;
perhaps we have read them often. They have charmed us, soothed us, thrilled us,
and yet often the question has arisen in our hearts, just what do they mean?
This
question receives a very plain and simple answer:
To
walk with God means to live one’s life in the consciousness of God’s presence
and in conscious communion with Him, to have the thought constantly before us,
“God is beside me,” and every now and then to be speaking to Him, and, still
more, listening for Him to speak to us. In a word, to walk with God is to live
in the real, constant, conscious companionship of God.
We
read that Enoch walked with God, not on a few rare occasions of spiritual
exaltation, such perhaps as most of us have known, but for three hundred
consecutive years after the birth of Methuselah (Genesis 6:22). It is possible
for us to have this consciousness of the nearness and fellowship of God in our
daily life, to talk with Him as we talk with an earthly friend; yes, as we talk
with no earthly friend, and to have Him talk to us, and to commune with Him in
a silence that is far more meaningful than any words could be. I would gladly
linger here in this sweet and holy place, but let us pass on to the results of
walking with God.
1. The first result of walking with God is great joy,
abounding joy. “In Your presence,” sings the Psalmist, “You will
fill me with joy” (Psalm 16:11).
There
is no greater joy than that which comes from right companionship. Who would not
rather live in a hut with congenial companions than in a palace with
disagreeable associates? Who would not rather live on a bleak and barren isle
among real Christians than in the fairest land the sun ever shone upon among
infidels, blasphemers, drunkards, hoodlums, and the sexually immoral? The most
attractive feature of heaven is its society, especially the society of God and
the Lord Jesus. Samuel Rutherford said: “I would rather be in hell with Christ
than in heaven without Christ: for if I were in hell with Christ that would be
heaven to me, and if I were in heaven without Christ that would be hell to me.”
But when we have the conscious presence and companionship of God on earth, “we
have two heavens, the heaven to which we are going and a heaven to go to heaven
in.” In one of the loneliest hours of His lonely life, Jesus looked up with
radiant joy and said, “Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me” (John
6:32).
Can
you remember some ecstatic hour of your life when you walked, and sometimes
talked and sometimes were silent, with an earthly companion whom you loved as
you loved no other? Oh, happy hour! but only faintly suggestive of the rapture
that comes from walking with God, for He is an infinitely dearer and better and
more glorious companion than any earthly one could be. How the homely details
of everyday life are transfigured if we have the constant fellowship of God in
them. There lived in the Middle Ages a lad named Nicholas Hermann. He was a
raw, awkward youth, breaking all things that he touched, but one day the
thought was brought to his mind with great force that God was everywhere and
that he might have the constant thought of God’s presence with him and do all
things to God’s glory. This thought transformed his life. He soon took a job
where his duty was of the most menial character--in the kitchen, washing pots
and kettles, but, to use his own way of putting it, he “practiced the presence
of God” in the midst of his humble toil. That kitchen became so holy a place
that men took long journeys to meet Nicholas Hermann and to converse with him.
2.
The second result of walking with God is a great sense of security, of abiding
peace.
In
the Psalm already quoted the Psalmist sings again: “I have set the LORD always
before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (16:8).
Certainly not. How can we be moved if God is with us? What harm can befall us?
How often God says to His servants as they begin to tremble before approaching
danger: “Do not fear, for I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10). How safe the trusting
child feels with father or mother by its side. A little girl was once playing
in a room below while her mother was above, busy about household duties. Every
little while the child would come to the foot of the stairs and call up:
“Mamma, are you there?” “Yes, darling, what is it?” “Nothing, I only wanted to
know if you were there.” Then again a little while: “Mamma, are you there?”
“Yes, darling, what is it?” “Nothing, I only wanted to know if you were there.”
Ah! is not that all we want to know, that God is here, right here by our side?
There
may be plagues, there may be war, there may be famine, there may be thugs on
the street, there may be burglars in the house, there may be houses of sin, and
unprincipled men and women on every hand; yes, our wrestling may not be with
flesh and blood but “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against
the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms,” but what does it matter? God is with us. Oh, if only we bore
in mind at every moment the thought of His presence with us, if only we could
hear Him saying, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am
your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand,” there would never be one single bit of fear in our
hearts under any circumstances.
No
matter how the war increases, no matter how near it may come to our own doors,
there would be unruffled calm, abounding peace. We could constantly say, under
all circumstances, “The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men
advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.” No wonder the
Psalmist wrote in this connection, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I
seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to
gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” The conscious
companionship of God is the great secret of abiding peace.
3.
The third result of walking with God is spiritual enlightenment.
Communion
with God rather than scholarship opens to us the mind and thought of God. There
is no hint that Enoch was a man of science or letters. I am very sure he was
not a higher critic, and yet this plain man by walking with God and talking
with God got such an insight into the purposes of God as no other man of his
time had. In the Epistle of Jude, the 14th and 15th verses, we learn that even
in that far-away day, a thousand years before the flood, Enoch got hold of the
great truth of the second coming of Christ. So today some old washerwoman, or
some humble cobbler, who walks with God may know more of the mind of God than
many an eminent college professor, or even a professor in a theological
seminary. The important question concerning points in dispute in religion and
spiritual life is not, what do the scholars say, but what do the men and women
who walk with God say.
If
one is considering going to some one for spiritual instruction, the first
question is not how much of a scholar he is, not how much does he know of Latin
and Hebrew and Greek and Syriac and philosophy and psychology, but does he walk
with God? This is the great condition of spiritual insight, wisdom, and
understanding.
4.
The fourth result of walking with God is purity of heart and life.
Nothing
else is so cleansing as the consciousness of God’s presence. Things that we
have long tolerated become intolerable when we bring them into the white light
of the presence of the Holy One. How many things we do in the darkness of the
night, yes, even in the broad light of day, that we could not for a moment
think of doing if we realized God was right there by our side looking. Many
deeds we now do would be left undone if we realized this. Many words we now speak
would be left unspoken, many thoughts and fancies we now cherish would be
speedily banished. There are certain things that we do in the absence of
certain holy friends that we would not for a moment do in their presence, but
God is always present, whether we know it or not, and if we walk in the
consciousness of His presence, if we walk with God, our lives and hearts will
speedily whiten.
I
have a friend who in his early life, though he professed to be a Christian, was
very profane. He tried hard to overcome his profanity, but failed. He felt he
must give up his attempt to be a Christian, but one day a wise Christian to
whom he appealed for help, said to him, “Would you swear if your father were
present?” “No.” “Well, when you go to your work tomorrow, remember that God is
with you every moment. Keep the thought of God’s presence with you.” At the end
of the day, to his amazement, he had not sworn once. He had had the thought of
God with him through the day and he could not be profane in that presence. The
consciousness of the presence of God will keep us from doing all the things
that we would not dream of doing in His presence. Herein lies the secret of a
holy life.
5.
The next result of walking with God is closely akin to this, beauty of
character.
We
become like those with whom we habitually associate. How like their parents
children become. How many mothers and fathers have been startled by seeing
their own imperfections and follies mirrored in their children. Husband and
wife grow strangely like one another, thus also the one who associates with God
becomes like God. If we walk with God, more and more will His beauty illumine
and reflect itself in our lives. Moses’ very face shone as he came down from
the forty days and forty nights of conversation with God. So will our whole
life soon shine with a heavenly glow and glory if we habitually walk with God.
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being
transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
6.
The next result of walking with God will be eminent usefulness.
Our
lives may be quiet and even obscure; it may be impossible to point to what men
call great achievement, but the highest usefulness lies not in such things but
in the silent, almost unnoticed but potent and pervasive influence of a holy
life, whose light illumines, whose beauty compliments, and whose nobility
elevates all who come in contact with it. Enoch has produced immeasurably more
good for man than Nebuchadnezzar, who built the marvelous structures of
Babylon, than Augustus who “found Rome brick and left it marble,” than the
Egyptian monarchs who built the pyramids to amaze and mystify the world for
thousands of years to come; and today the man or woman, no matter how humble or
obscure, who walks with God is accomplishing more for God and man than Morse
with his telegraph, Fulton with his steamboat, Stevenson with his locomotive,
Cyrus Field with his Atlantic cable, Roebling with his marvelous bridges,
Marconi with his wireless telegraphy and telephony, Edison and Tesla with their
electric and electrifying discoveries, or any of the renowned political
reformers of the day, with all their futile schemes for turning this world into
a terrestrial paradise. Friends, if you wish to be really, permanently,
eternally useful, walk with God.
7.
But there is a still better result than this from walking with God--we please
God. Before his translation Enoch had this testimony borne to
him, that he “was commended as one who pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). This is
more than being useful. God wants our company, God wants us to walk with Him,
and He is well pleased when we do. God is more concerned that we walk with Him
than that we work for Him. Martha was taken up with her service for her Lord,
but Mary was taken up with her Lord Himself, and He testified that Mary had
chosen the better part. It is quite possible today to be so occupied with our
work for God that we forget Him for whom we work. If we would please Him, we
should first see to it that we walk with him.
8.
There is one result of walking with God still left to be mentioned, that is,
God’s eternal companionship. “Enoch walked with God; then he
was no more, because God took him away.” The man who walks on earth with God,
God will sooner or later take to be with Himself forever. “Whoever serves me,”
says Christ, “must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.” If we
do not walk with God on earth, we are not likely to live with God in heaven. If
we do not care to cultivate His society now, we may be sure that He will not
take us to be in His society forever.
These eight immeasurably precious results come from
walking with God: abounding joy, abiding peace, spiritual enlightenment, purity
of heart and life, beauty of character, eminent usefulness, pleasing God, God’s
eternal companionship. Do we not all then long to walk with Him? To come then
face to face with the great practical question, what must we do that we
ourselves may enter into this joyous, blessed walk with Him? The question can
be plainly and simply answered.
1.
First of all, we must trust in the atoning blood of Christ. “By
faith,” the record reads, “Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not
experience death” (Hebrews 11:5). Comparing this with what is said immediately
before about Abel, we see that the faith by which he pleased God and was
translated was faith in what God said about the blood. God is holy and we are
sinners. Sin separates, as a deep and impassable gorge between us and Him.
There can be no walk with Him until sin is put away and the gorge thus bridged,
and it is the blood, and the blood alone, that puts away sin (Hebrews 9:22). It
is vain for us to attempt to cultivate the presence of God until we have accepted
the provision that God Himself has made for putting away sin from between us
and Himself. Indeed, if we have any real thought of God’s holiness and our
sinfulness there could be no joy, but only agony, in fellowship with Him,
unless our sin was covered up, washed away, blotted out by the blood. There are
many today who are spurning the blood and still attempting to walk with God.
Vain attempt! It is utterly impossible.
2.
If we would walk with God, we must obey God. Jesus said, “If anyone
loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come
to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). Obedience to God, absolute
surrender to His will, is necessary if we are to walk with Him. We cannot walk
with God unless we go His way. Two cannot walk together unless they be agreed
(Amos 3:3). There are many who once knew the presence of God every day and
every hour. They know it no longer. The old and heavenly joy has faded from
their lives. They wonder why it is. Ah! there is no mystery--disobedience. Come
back, get right with God, surrender again and absolutely to His will.
There
is but one thing more to say. If we would walk with God, we must cultivate the
thought of His presence. As Nicholas Hermann, or Brother Lawrence, put it, we
must “practice the presence of God” constantly. Call to mind the fact that God
is with you when you are about your work. Often say to yourself, “God is with
me.” When you lie down at night say, “God is with me.” If you wake at night,
remember “God is here with me.” So in all the relations and experiences of
life.
There
are four great aids to this:
(1)
First, the study of God’s Word. When we open this Book we realize, or
ought to realize, that God Himself is speaking to us.
(2)
Second, prayer. In prayer we come face to face with God.
(3)
Third, thanksgiving. In intelligent and specific thanksgiving to God He
is more real to us than even in petition.
(4)
Fourth, worship. In worship we bow before God and contemplate Him. Oh,
how near He gets at such a time.
It
is the Holy Spirit who will make our walk with God true and real. It is in
connection with the coming of the Spirit that Christ speaks of His own
manifestation of Himself to us and of the coming of the Father and of Himself
to be with us (John 14:16, 17, 18, 21, 23). Look, then, to God Himself by His
Spirit to make His presence known and felt.
Brethren,
shall we walk with God? God is saying to each of us today, “Come, take a walk
with me.” If we accept the wondrous invitation He will lead us on as long as we
will let Him, and some day it will be true of us, as some one has quaintly said
of Enoch, we will walk so far with God that we will not come back, and so shall
we ever be with the Lord.