The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1882-06-21
Comfort in the Thought That
we Shall Have to be Alone.


parent fellowship save that of their
pains. Sometimes sick people have no
friends who can be with them; and
sometime friends can stay with us only
very little while; for life is busy, and
there are few who have not work press
ing upon them which must be done.
1t is no wonder if some heart-sinkings
accompany the loneliness of illness. Man
was made by God for companionship, and
not for solitude. 1t is not sinful, it is
quite natural, that we should feel dis
tressed at this thought of solitude
But there is much comfort to be had,
if we think that solitude is far from
being all evil-that it has its good
things. The earths surface peopled with
life, with waving trees and grazing oxen
and busy men, has unnumbered forms of
beauty, too there are to be seen, in its
corals and shells, and what we call
weeds, and in its living inhabitants,
many forms of beauty-unike, indeed,
to those which belong to the surface of
the earth, but beauty, both in form and
color, still
Let us now search in our lonely time
Cor rather in our times of being alone
for we may be alone without being lonely)
for some of its beautiful things let us
draw our comforts from itself. Look
first at your Lord and Master Jesus
Christine was alone. He was alone in
his great temptation In all that wilder
ness time he saw no human face, he
heard no human voice. He-undoubted
man, with mans sympathies, and mans
needs-was cut off from men. He was
with the evil spirit but as regards hu-
man fellowship-alone. And you have
fellowship with his suffering. Strengthen
yourself in the honor of being in some
small measure even as Christ was. When
we go into the crowd we must expect the
temptations of the crowd and when into
solitude, then the temptations of solitude;
but in each case we may have fellowship
with Jesus.
And Jesus was alone from all human
applause. In one sense he was always
alone from 1t, for he was out Of sympathy
with 1T; but he actually Withdrew from
the was away, himself alone"
We think that there are some sustain
ments In human applause, and so there
are; but they are sustainments which do
not penetrate the depths of our nature,
and which can never hold us up to do
any thing abidingl y great. In missing
them we miss them less than we suppose.
Human applause did not carry Jesus
through any thing; what he did he did
without it, and we may do the like.
Here, then, are you in fellowship with
Jesus throw yourself into oneness with
him, and though none may appreciate
your patience, none understand your po-
sltlon, as it was with him, or shall it be
with you; your circumstances are like
his, ne will make you in your measure
like himself.
He was alone in his agony. Those
who might at least have watched with
him slept. Heaven only heard his
groans, and saw his bloody sweat; and
when he was strengthened, it was not by
human sympathy but by an angel from
heaven. We have to be alone in much
OF our pain. 1t would be a great solace
to us to have hand to press-it would
be even comfort to feel that our sigh.
or our groan, or our long-drawn breath
tell upon some sympathetic ear and
awoke an echo in some sympathetic
heart; but that cannot be, we must be
NASi ACO IlS Sdy L III my small
measure am even as thou vert, o my
Lord
Jesus was very often alone, in want of
sympathy, and in the loneliness of not
beng understood. Depend upon it,
however little sympathy you may have
you have more than he had however
often you may be misunderstood YOU are
not as often as he was. You may often
say to yourself "Ah, how much better
OFT am l than thou vast, o my Lord T.
and Jesus will allow us to be one with
him. Though we cannot enter into the
depths Of his suffering in any one form
OF 1T, still we can be in fellowship with
it as regards kind !" and to be in felt
fellowship with him will brighten any
lonely hour.
But being alone is not of necessity
I0G1eSl1'ess. We cannot help being alone
the circumstances in which we are placed
probably necessitate that we should be
so but much Of the feeling Of loneliness
may come simply from ourselves. Jesus
when most alone as regards the world,
was IN communion with the Father. To
be alone In the fearful sense of the word
ls one thing, to be alone with God is
another. You may cultivate the thought
OF a presence" and that presence your
Fathers. And that presence You will
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