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SUBJECT: 29 MAT 15:28 The Perseverance of Faith
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The Perseverance Of Faith
October 30, 1890
by
C. H. SPURGEON
(1834-1892)
"Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be
it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from
that very hour."-- Mat_15:28.
I have frequently spoken to you concerning the faith of this Canaanitish
woman, of the way in which Christ tried it, and of the manner in which,
at length, he honoured it, and granted all that the suppliant sought. The
story is so full of meaning, that one might turn it this way, and that way,
and the other way, and always see jewels in it. But I am not going to use
it with only one aim, namely, to encourage those who have faith enough
to seek Jesus, but have not yet, to their joy and peace, been quite able to
find him.
This woman had come to her last word. I do not see what more she could
have said. When Christ had likened her to a dog, she had consented to it,
and said, "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from
their masters' table." She had come to her last word, and now Christ
gives her his best word. It is his way, sometimes, to make us wait till we
are completely exhausted, and can say and do no more; then he comes in
with the fulness of his divine power, and gives to us what we have
importunately sought at his hands. Our extremity is his opportunity.
I. The first remark which I shall make, and enlarge upon, is that FAITH
ALONE CAN KEEP A SOUL SEEKING AFTER CHRIST UNDER DISCOURAGEMENT. Other
causes may send us a certain distance along the road, but only faith will
bring us to the goal of assured rest.
That which made this woman seek the Saviour was, first of all, parental
love. She loved her daughter. She longed to have the devil cast out of
her, that her daughter might not be so grievously vexed. That started her
going, and carried her some way towards the blessing; but she would
have stopped short of the boon she desired if she had relied upon natural
love alone.
Her earnestness also to a large extent urged her forward. When she
desired healing for her daughter, she meant what she said. When she
cried, "Have mercy upon me, O Lord, thou Son of David!" it was with a
shrill and piteous voice. She could not bear to be refused. Nobody ever
came to Christ who pleaded more from the heart than did this poor
Canaanite. She was not an idle repeater of forms of prayer. Her prayer
leaped, red-hot, from her soul--"Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of
David!" But her earnestness alone would not have upheld her under the
ordeal through which she was called to pass. It would have given way if
she had not had the believing conviction that Christ could heal her
daughter, and that he would do so.
Her humility also helped her greatly. Had she been a proud woman, she
would have stood upon her dignity when she was called a dog; but
humility came to her help, and she did not resent even the harsh word
the Lord used, but still pleaded for her poor child. Now, parental love
and earnestness and humility are good things, but they are not enough to
enable a soul to cling to Christ, and never let him go. Something more is
needed.
This Canaanite woman was a very sensible woman, wise and prudent.
She knew how to turn the hard words of Christ into arguments in her
own favour. She would not be put back. If he had not answered her, she
would have pleaded with him again. When he did answer her, and say
that it was not meet to give the children's bread to dogs, she found even
in that dry bone some little marrow on which to feed her heart. But wise
as she was, and prudent as she was, she would not have held out to the
end, and obtained the blessing she desired for her daughter, if it had not
been for her faith.
We may be quite sure that the one thing specially noteworthy in this
woman's case was her faith, first, because we have Christ's word for it.
He said unto her, "O woman, great is thy faith!" He did not say, "Great is
thy love to thy child;" nor, "Great is thy earnestness;" nor, "Great is thy
importunity;" but he put his finger on the power that had urged her
forward, and he said, "O woman, great is thy faith!" And not in this case
alone did Christ trace the blessing to faith, but in nearly every instance
where a suppliant obtained favour from him, faith was the medium of
securing the mercy. Faith is mightier than all other available forces.
Besides this, we know that faith supports the other graces. If other graces
can help a soul to plead with Christ, they all owe their power to faith. If
it had not been for the faith which she had to support it, parental love
would not have helped this woman much. If it had not been for faith, she
would not have been earnest and importunate. Faith hangs on to Christ
in the dark, it holds to a silent Christ, it holds to a refusing Christ, it
holds to a rebuking Christ, and it will not let him go. Faith is the great
holdfast that hooks a soul on to the Saviour.
Faith is thus powerful because of its effects. Faith enlightens, enlivens
and strengthens. It is written of some of old that "They looked unto him,
and were lightened." Faith shed a light upon many things, and lets us see
that even if Christ has a frown on his face, he has love in his heart. Faith
looks right into the heart of Christ, and helps us to perceive that he
cannot mean anything but mercy to a seeking soul. Faith also enlivens,
and when the heart begins to faint, faith brings its smelling bottle, and
revives it. David said, "I had fainted, unless I had believed." Believing is
the cure for fainting, and you must do one of two things, either believe or
faint. Faith is thus a great help to one who is seeking Christ, because it
both enlightens and enlivens the soul. Faith also strengthens. It makes
the lame take the prey. Beloved, it is because faith thus enlightens and
enlivens and strengthens, that it is the grace most useful to a soul that is
seeking to lay hold upon Christ, and yet cannot get a comfortable look at
his blessed face.
Moreover, faith lays hold on Christ. It is like the Greek Antisthenes, who
went to a philosopher to learn; but he was a dull scholar, and the
philosopher bade him go away. The next time the class met, Antisthenes
returned, and the philosopher thereupon sent for a man with a club to
drive the stupid scholar away; but he was overcome by his scholar; for
Antisthenes said, "There is no club that was ever made that is heavy
enough to drive me away from you. Here I mean to stay, and learn
whatever you can teach me." Oh, may we have a faith like that, a faith
that will say to Christ, "I will not go away from thee. I can but perish if
I stay with thee, and if I go from thee, I must perish; therefore I will
abide with thee evermore, and learn all thou wilt teach me"! Faith is like
the Greek in the days of Xerxes, who seized the boat with his right hand.
When they chopped off the right hand, he seized it with the left hand;
when they cut off the left hand, he laid hold of the boat with his teeth,
and did not let go until they severed his head from his body. Soul, if thou
canst lay hold of Christ with thy right hand, or with thy left hand, it will
be well with thee. Cling to Christ, and say to him with that holy boldness
that is the result of faith, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me."
Faith, then, holds on to Christ.
Further, I would say that faith does this best without help. How often we
try to assist faith! We want faith to have some works, some prayers,
something or other of our own to help it. It is as if somebody were to try
and help me to walk by giving me a big chair to carry. I should not walk
so well with the burden, as without it. Have you ever heard this parable
concerning faith? She had to cross a stream, and the current was strong,
and there came one to her who said, "" faith, I will help thee! Come with
me up the river till we can find a place where we can ford it." Faith said,
"No; I was bidden to cross the river here." So another came, and said, "I
will build a bridge for you, that you may go over the river with ease;"
and he laid hold of a few stones, but not much ever came of it. Yet
another said, "I will go and find a boat." But there were no boats about;
therefore they asked faith to wait till they build a boat for her. What did
she do? She took off her vestments, and plunged into the water. "Thanks
God," said she, "I can swim;" and so she swam across, and reached the
other side without boat, without bridge, and without ford. That is what I
should like to see every sinner here do--begin to swim. Do not wait for
help. Cast yourself into the stream of everlasting love. Believe in Christ
Jesus, and have no more confidence in the flesh, with its bridges and
boats. Commit thyself to the stream of eternal grace, and swim across.
Faith can enable you to do it. Nothing else can. Take that lesson home to
yourselves, you who are seeking to Saviour at this time.
The only thing that will help you to follow after Christ till you find him,
is faith. All your groaning will not help you. All your doubting and your
trembling will be of no avail; your feeling that you are too vile to be
saved, and that faith would be presumption in such a sinner as you are,
will not aid you. But believe that Christ can save you, and trust to his
power and love, and he will save you. Come to him as the woman of
Canaan came, with her importunate cry, "Have mercy on me, O Lord,
thou Son of David," and he will have mercy on you even as he had upon
her. Believe, believe, believe! Thou wilt never come into light by
doubting and fearing. The way to liberty lies through this one door of
faith. Therefore believe and live.
Thus much upon our first remark, that faith alone can keep a soul seeking
after Christ under discouragement.
II. Secondly, FAITH IS EXCEEDINGLY DELIGHTFUL TO CHRIST.
What he said to this woman began with an exclamation, as if he were
struck with something in her that delighted him. He said, "O woman,
great is thy faith!" Notice that he spoke of her faith, and of that alone.
He knew about her love; he knew about her earnestness; he knew about her
humility; but he said nothing at all about them; his one word of
commendation was for her faith. "O woman, great is thy faith!" That is
what my Lord is looking for now. He comes round and looks at you, who
are sitting in these pews, to see whether you have faith in him. There are
several thoughts suggested by this, that should encourage you who are
seeking Christ.
He can spy out the beginnings of faith. "If thou hast faith as a grain of
mustard seed," he will see it, and he will accept it. If thou hast only now
begun to believe that Jesus is the Christ, and to trust him, though thy
faith be feeble as a babe that cannot stand, but can only cling to its
mother's breast, Jesus will se the beginnings of it. He is the "Author" as
well as "the Finisher of our faith." Be thou comforted, then, concerning
that tiny trust thou hast in him.
Still, he is greatly pleased when he sees great faith. When a great sinner
says, "I believe that he is a Saviour great enough to save me;" it brings
joy to the heart of Christ. When an old sinner says, "I believe that his
precious blood can take away the sin of seventy or eighty years;" the
Lord's heart is gladdened. Christ loves a great faith. He deserves great
faith, and when he gets it, he is highly pleased. "O woman," said he,
"great is thy faith!"
He is so delighted with faith, that he passes by other things for it. If
that woman's ears had been hung with rings, and her neck had been decked
with pearls, and her hands had been covered with diamonds, he would not
have cared about her ornaments and her beauty. He sees something that he
prizes more than any of these things; therefore he says to her, "O
woman, great is thy faith!" He is charmed with that choice decoration of
her heart. By that treasure "The king is held in his galleries." Christ may
say of faith, "Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thy eyes." When
we can but look straight to Christ, and trust in him, he is charmed and
carried away by our faith.
Why does Christ think so much of faith?
One reason is, because faith glorifies him. He thinks much of it, because
it thinks so much of him. Faith believes him, faith trusts him, faith lives
upon him. He is "the chiefest among ten thousand" and the "altogether
lovely" to faith. Therefore, because faith highly esteems Christ, Christ
highly esteems faith.
Next, he loves faith because it is God's appointed way in which we are to
receive blessing. God might have appointed ordinances as the vehicle of
grace; but, instead thereof, he has made faith to be the medium of
salvation. If thou believest, thou shalt be saved. He that be faith lays hold
on Christ, has laid hold on eternal life. "He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved." To the awakened sinner our word is still, "believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Since God has put faith into
so eminent a place, our Lord Jesus Christ loves to see it; he takes delight
in that which pleases his Father.
Another reason why he loves it is, because faith is the signal which
permits the train of mercy to come to us. Whenever unbelief holds up its
arms, the train of almighty grace stands still. Of a certain place it is said,
"He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Their
doubt blocked the way. But when faith lowers the signal, the great Driver
of heaven's express says, "That road is clear," and he delights to see it,
and drives right ahead. Oh, if thou canst but let that signal go down,
showing that the line is clear of all obstructions, Christ will surely come
to thee! He is glad to come wherever he can bring a blessing, and he
rejoices when faith reveals to him a clear road.
Besides, faith has open arms for embracing Christ. When he comes to
our door, and finds it locked, he stands there till his bitter lament is "my
head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night." But
when he comes and the door is open, the poor sinner is so taken up with
his beauty that he never thinks of shutting him out. "Oh," says the
seeking soul, "if the Lord would but come in!" And as surely as Christ
finds thus door open, he comes in, and dwells there; and makes that
heart and that house happy with his divine presence. Christ loves faith
because faith gives him a hearty welcome; faith receives him; faith
embraces him.
Oh, I would to God you would think of this and exercise faith in the Lord
Jesus! May you see that nothing delights Christ like a sinner believing in
him, that nothing gives him more joy than to have a saint resting
completely upon him without doubt or fear!
Thus have we considered two points; first, that the only way to keep a
soul seeking Christ under discouragement is by faith; and, secondly, that
nothing pleases Christ like believing on his name.
III. The third point is that FAITH WILL, BEFORE LONG, GET A KIND ANSWER
FROM THE LORD JESUS. This poor woman at the first, received no reply to her
petition, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David!" Then, when Christ
did speak to her, he gave her what seemed to be a rough answer. But, after
a while, these notes of heavenly music sounded in her ear, "O woman, great
is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt!"
Now, someone here probably says, "I have been praying ever so long,
and I have received no cheering reply." Well, if thou believest in Jesus,
thou shalt have a good reply before long. If thou canst but hold on to
Christ, determined to plead with him till he answers thee, he will answer
thee kindly ere long. But keep on believing that he can and will give thee
what thou needest, and thou shalt not be disappointed. "Oh," says one, "
you do not know who I am! I am an outcast." So was the woman. She
was a Canaanitish woman, yet she obtained a blessing from Christ; and
thou shalt get one, too, if thou dost follow her in her faith. "Oh, but I do
not think that I am fit!" Did Christ ever say to you that you were a dog?
He did as good as tell this woman that; yet she held on to him by faith,
and prevailed. "Oh, but I have prayed in vain for such a long time!: So
did she. She prayed, and for a while, she received no answer. "Oh, but I
feel worse after I have prayed!" So did she; for instead of getting a
comfortable answer, she heard Christ say, "It is not meet to take the
children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." You cannot be in a worse plight
than she was. "But the devil troubles me," you add. The devil also
troubled her. She pleaded about her daughter, who was possessed with a
devil; and she kept on pleading and believing. She meant to have Christ.
I exhort you to come to the same holy determination. Oh, that Almighty
grace might help you so to do; for in so doing you will surely get an
answer of peace! You will get a comfortable answer before very long,
probably much earlier than you have reckoned upon.
Remember that Christ delays in order to increase your faith. Your faith
will grow by exercise: therefore he tests it that you may use it, and that
thus it may become stronger.
Christ delays in order to increase the blessing itself. While we wait, the
blessing becomes bigger, and our hands become stronger to hold it when it
does come. You may be sure that our blessed Lord will give you a
comfortable answer; for you do not know that he has been sustaining you
while you have been pleading, and as yet have received no answer? Did you
ever notice, when Joseph's brethren went down into Egypt, that he made
himself strange to them, and spoke to them roughly, and put them in prison?
But in spite of that, there was one thing he did: when they went back to
Jacob, he filled their sacks for them. He would not smile upon them, but he
would not starve them; and at last, it is said, "Joseph could not refrain
himself," and he "made himself known unto his brethren. He was obliged to
show his love at last; but even before he did that, he always filled their
sacks for them. Christ will deal with you in like manner; while you are
waiting, he will not let you die. Oh, in what wonderful ways did the Lord
support me when, through weary years, I was seeking his face! I could not
say that I had any comfort that I dared to call my own, and yet there
flowed into my soul, somehow, a secret power that enabled me still to hope,
and still to hold on; for that I now desire to bless his name, and I tell
it for the encouragement of any who may be in soul-trouble as I was. Keep
on seeking his grace, dear friend. Believe still; for he must give you a
comfortable answer one of these days.
Consider well that it is contrary to his nature to refuse to bless. He is
brimful of love; and if he does put a sinner back for a while, it is only
because it is right and kind and wise to do so. But his heart yearns over
every seeking sinner. He wants you more than you want him. He longs
after you. He desires to bless you. He must do so; it is his nature to do
so.
He must give you a comfortable reply before long, again, for it is
contrary to his glory to refuse. If he allowed a seeking sinner to die,
where would his troubles be? Has he not said, "Him that cometh to me I
will in no wise cast out"? Our friend, Dr. Barnardo, announces that in
his refuges no homeless boy will ever be rejected: that no destitute child
shall ever be turned away. Suppose somebody could prove--which, of
course they cannot do--that scores of destitute children were turned
away, all confidence in him would be destroyed. And if it could be
proved that Christ ever cast out a single soul that came to him, it would
take away his honor and glory. We could never believe him any more.
Perish the thought of such a thing!
It is contrary to his word to refuse any seeker, and Christ will keep his
word. "Come unto me," saith he, "all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest." If Christ will not give you rest when you come
to him, what is his promise worth? My friend, Dr. Pierson, sent me, the
other day, an imitation of an American banknote, which they call a
"greenback" over there, and on one side of it were these words, "My God
shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus." A splendid note that! It had our friends name on the back,
"Arthur T. Pierson"; and he said to me, when he sent it, "If the Lord
does not pay you, I will, for I have endorsed the note." I shall never have
to look my brother Pierson up, and tell him that the note he endorsed is
of no value. There it stands, and stands forever/ God will keep his word.
I know it; and I want you poor sinners to know it too. He cannot run
back from his own promise. His word is his bond. To every honest man it
is so; but to the thrice-holy God his oath and his promise bind him
eternally.
Let me add that, if Christ does not give a comfortable answer to you who
believingly seek him, it is contrary to his custom. Here are many of us
who have known our Lord now for forty years, and we can say that his
custom is to hear our prayers, and according to our faith, so is it unto us.
Come along, thou blackest sinner out of hell! Come, and wash in the
fountain filled with blood, and thou shalt be cleansed, as surely as ever
Christ died! Come along, thou lowest, meanest, most self-abhorred, most
self condemned of humankind! Come thou, and look to him, and trust in
him; and if thou dost not find peace at once, yet be sure that thou shalt
have it before long. "The morning cometh." It is not for long that
Christ's mercy can be restrained. He must break forth, like Joseph,
weeping over his brethren. He must manifest himself to you in love, and
tenderness, and kindness. I will be bound for him any day that it shall be
so.
IV. Lastly, we come to a very glorious thought. FAITH GETTING CHRIST'S WORD
HATH ALL THINGS. Listen to the text again: "Jesus answered and said unto
her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto you even as thou wilt. And her
daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Christ's word was a comforting word. How the look on this woman's face
must have been altered when Christ talked to her so! When he answered
her never a word, she doubtless had a long and sorrowful face, and
probably the big tears stood in her eyes; but not he began to talk in
another strain, how happy she felt! The woman was no more sad. So it is
even to-day. One word from Christ can comfort you, even if they talk
about putting you into an asylum because you are so melancholy. One
word from my Master shall be the balm of Gilead to your wounds. He
will bind up your broken heart. He will comfort you and speak peace to
you, as he did to her. It was a comforting word.
It was also a commending word, "O woman, great is thy faith!" She had
never been praised like that before. I have no doubt that her husband had
praised her. What good husband is there who does not praise his wife,
even as it is written of the virtuous woman, "Her husband also, and he
praiseth her"? but his praise had never been so sweet as this word from
the Lord Jesus. I have no doubt that her daughter had called her all the
sweet names she could think of; for she loved her child, and it was only
natural to believe that her child loved her. But now, when Christ looks
her in the face, and says, "O woman, great"--"ah!" she may have
thought; "he is going to say, 'Great is thy sin,' or else, 'Great is thy
noise.' "What astonishment must have been hers when he said, "Great is thy
faith"! He gave her a gold medal for her faith, ay, something even better
than that, she was put into the class called "Highly commended." "O
woman, great is thy faith!" It was a commending word; and she needed
it.
Next, it was a commanding word. Notice that, well. Listen to it: "Be it
unto thee." He speaks like a king. And if the Lord now speaks his
gracious word with power, as I pray that he may, he will say, "Minister,
comfort that woman, who puts her trust in me." He will say, "Ordinances,
comfort those weary ones. Bread and wine, be sweet to the taste of those
poor troubled ones." He will say, "Prayer-meetings, be a joy to those poor
tried ones." It is a commanding voice with which the Lord of hosts speaks,
when he says, "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye
comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is
accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned."
In addition to being a commanding word, it was a creating word. Why,
it was the very word that God himself used when he made the light! He
said, "Be light." He said to the earth, "Be," and it was. He said to the
heavens, "Be," and they were. The word is a fiat. In the Latin it is
precisely that, a fiat. So here, that same mighty voice says, "Be it unto
thee. Be it unto thee." O God, send forth a fiat at this moment to some
poor weary heart! Create light; create joy; create peace. He can create all
of these in your heart now. Oh, that he might do it by the power of his
almighty grace! The faith of this poor Canaanite thus obtained for its
reward a creative fiat from the lips of Christ.
Further, it was a complying word. You can see all these adjectives begin
with the same letter: it was a comforting word, a commending word, a
commanding word, a creating word and a complying word. "Be it unto
thee even as thou wilt--just as you please, whatever you wish for, and in
the way you wish to have it." Christ capitulates to a conquering faith.
Nothing ever conquered him yet but faith. His love is stronger than
death. Death could not conquer Christ, nor could all the powers of hell.
But here he surrenders at discretion to a soul that can vanquish him by
believing. "Be it unto thee even as thou wilt." Do you want more joy? Do
you want full salvation? Do you want perfect rest? Behold, he says to
each of you who can and do believe in him, "Be it unto you even as thou
wilt."
Thus, lastly, this word became a completing word; "her daughter was
made whole from that very hour." From that very hour she was well
again. Christ finished that work speedily. He was not long about it. It
does not take so long to save a soul as it does for a lightening flash to
become visible. You pass from death to life in an instant. When lost,
ruined, condemned, the man casts himself at Christ's feet, immediately
he is saved. It is not the work of hours or weeks, or years, when you trust
to the finished work of Christ. All that required time, Christ has
accomplished. All that now has to be done, can be done in a moment.
When a man is thirsty, it does not take him long to drink when the water
is there. Remember the invitation with which the Scriptures must
conclude, "Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him
take the water of life freely." The water of life is there, take it. When a
man is hungry, it does not take him long to eat when the bread is on the
table. God can now give you, who came to this Tabernacle afar off from
him, grace which shall enable you to be made nigh at once. He can bring
you immediately out of the blackness of sin, and make you on the instant
whiter than snow."
Believe my Lord and Master. Oh, why do you not believe him? Artful
doubts and reasonings cease! I would now take the hammer and the
nails, and fasten my unbelief and fear to Christ's cross. Hang there, ye
thieves, and die! You destroy men's souls, ye doubts and reasonings!
Come here, simple faith, thou who hast no wisdom! A mere child thou
art, but; O simple faith, thou hast the key of the kingdom! Come, and
welcome, into my heart. Will all of you not also believe, and trust in
Christ, even now? If you do, you shall be saved.. "Be it unto thee even as
thou wilt." God bless you! Amen.
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