The shape of people’s lives tells you what’s important to them. They must believe that certain things matter, based on where they focus their attention and where they spend their energies. From the little interest they pay to other things, even if they notionally concede their importance, it becomes clear from the absence of any practical impact or consequences in their lives that they don’t really believe in them at all. Over a couple of generations, we have as a society successfully insulated ourselves from meaningful concerns about God and our eternal destiny. In his preaching, the young Covenanting preacher James Renwick points out five things the majority of people simply don’t believe in, as far as anyone can tell from their lives. Yet their failure to reckon with these realities is a terrible mistake. In the following updated extract, Renwick goes on to outline five practical responses that we should be encouraged to make on the basis of really accepting the existence of the one living and true God and the availability of salvation.

Five realities we disregard

Beloved, there are five things that are little believed by the most part of this generation.

God

The first thing that is little believed by the world is the being of a God. This is apparent by the little fear of God that is in the land. O, if you knew and believed the being of a God, you would certainly fear Him more!

Heaven

The second thing that is little believed by the most part of this generation is that there is a heaven, a place of rest for the souls of the godly. If they did, there would be more labour and diligence to get it for their dwelling place, and there would be more holiness in you, and hungering after it, so that you would enjoy the pleasant inheritance that is above, where the service of God cannot be interrupted and marred by spiritual or temporal enemies, as it is often here below.

Hell

The third thing that is little believed by the most part of the world is that there is a hell, a place of torment, where the souls of the wicked go to after death, even a place of endless torment where there is no mitigation of the pain for evermore.

O friends! If this were believed, people would make much more effort to avoid this place. You would not carry on entertaining idols in your hearts as you do. You would not comply with the sinful courses of the time as you do. There would not be such a compliance with these slaves of the enemy, neither would there be such a running in to them, if you believed that there was such a place as hell, where all impenitent sinners must receive what their sins justly deserve through all eternity.

Death

The fourth thing that is not seriously believed by this generation is the certainty of death. Of course we all say that we believe we will die! but it is only with a natural or rational faith. But if serious thoughts of this possessed our hearts, we would be more in believing it, and more preparing for it.

O friends! Live well, and labour to die well, for after death there is no repentance; there is no turning to God in the grave, for as the tree falls, so it must lie to eternity. O friends! strive to get a right sight of this.

Judgment

The fifth thing that is little believed by the most part of this generation is the certainty of judgment. O friends! believe that you must appear before the tribunal of God, who is, and will be, a just and terrible judge. Consider that when you come there, you will be either justified or condemned there, and no excuses will admitted, neither will there be any oversight in the matters handled there, but all will be done justly.

Oh, labour then to be ready to meet with God in mercy, and with joy in that day of accounts! There are some, I believe, to whom it will be a day of joy, and a merciful meeting. But there are others, even the wicked and reprobate, to whom this will be a terrible day. Oh! Oh! it will be a sad and dreadful day to all of them, but, oh! it will be a pleasant day to all true believers, and those who are in Christ Jesus.

Five responses we should have

In reality, it is those who are in covenant with Christ who have nothing to fear on the day of judgment. How can we respond to this truth?

Reckon with reality

O friends, take instruction! Labour to attain to faith in this, that all the promises in the Bible, and all the privileges of heaven, shall be fulfilled to you at the day of judgment, if you are a believer. In that day, when the book shall be opened, and all things shall appear as they are, naked and bare before Him, and when the judge shall sit, and give out sentence, then the experience of believers will be that they reap the advantages of all these privileges, to their everlasting comfort for evermore.

Accept the invitation to come to Jesus

Come and enter into covenant with Christ. You will find that all I’ve been telling you about is true! If you have already come to Christ, be encouraged to think that the day of judgment will be a joy to you. If you have not yet come, be entreated to come and embrace Jesus Christ, on His own terms, as He is offered to you in the gospel, and all shall be well! I earnestly beg you, by all the joys in heaven, and all the torments in hell, to come and embrace Him. Come and take Him to be your God, and offer yourselves away to Him to become His people.

Be realistic

It’s at the last day that all shadows will vanish away. Take note though, and be firmly persuaded, that never till then will they be gone. Till then, the flesh will war against the spirit, and an unrenewed part will remain in you till then. So you must learn to submit to His will in this, that you will continue to have clouds and shadows, as well as sunshine and good weather.

Be encouraged

All the godly may be encouraged in this. For, at that day, all shadows shall be gone, all your sufferings and sorrows, and even your sinning, shall have an end. In that day, faith shall dissolve into fruition, and hope into possession, and love, that ambitious grace, shall be the believer’s companion for ever, even to all the ages of eternity.

Take comfort

All God’s people who are in trouble and difficulties for Him and His cause can take comfort. Comfort yourselves with the fact that this day is coming, and fast approaching, when all these shadows shall flee away, and you shall be made more than conquerors in Christ, through Him who has loved you.

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When the last day comes, it will expose and bring an end to all the wrongdoing and injustice and evildoing in the world, however secret, or open, or ineradicable it seems for now. It will also, at last, bring into the present the now-future ‘wrath which is to come.’ For these reasons that day is something that sinners dread and prefer not to think about. But for those who are sheltering in Jesus, whose guilt has been taken away by Him and who take His side in the controversy against evil and sin, it will be a day of astonishing blessing and honour. In the following updated extract, James Renwick identifies ten privileges which will be bestowed on believers in the day of judgment. His closing words are a plea to us to make sure now, while we still have opportunity, that we will share in these blessings on that day.

I will show you the excellency of the day of judgment by showing you some privileges and benefits that the believer shall partake of in that day.

Togetherness

The first privilege that the godly shall partake of at the day of judgment is that they shall be gathered from the four winds of heaven, and from the four corners of the earth, by the sound of the last trumpet.

O friends! There is a great scattering among believers now; some are killed, some banished to foreign lands, some dead in their banishment, and some dead in their imprisonment, and many drowned in the sea; in fact, some cast into the sea when dying on the journey, and some cruelly tortured, their bodies quartered and put into pieces.

But at that day, the Lord will gather, so that not one pile of that dust of theirs shall be lost, but with these bodies with which they endured these scatterings, tortures, or death, they shall appear, and be united to the soul again.

Reunion

The second privilege is that they shall be caught up from the earth to meet the Lord in the air. O friends! The King is coming! The great Judge is coming! He is on his way. O prepare for Him! Prepare to meet with Him, for if you are godly, you shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air with joy and gladness.

Triumph

The third privilege that believers shall partake of at the last day is that they shall be set on the right hand of the great Judge, a place of invaluable or inestimable honour, a place of high renown.

It is true that the wicked shall be gathered, but they shall not share in this honourable privilege of sitting at the right hand of Christ with His true sheep. Nor, indeed, do I think that they shall be caught up at all, but shall remain below, and when sentenced, they shall go to hell, there to remain to all eternity.

But the righteous shall have a place at His right hand, a place of honour, a place of pleasure, and a place of delight, where they shall be made sharers of His victory and triumph, and shall join heartily in giving sentence against the reprobate angels and men. They shall not then be partial. The believing father shall give out sentence against the unbelieving child, and the child against the father, and the husband against his loving wife, and that without any reluctance or hesitation at all.

Recognition

The fourth privilege of the true believer is that they shall be acknowledged by the Lord. They shall be acknowledged by Him before His Father, and before all the angels in heaven.

O then, friends! Don’t be afraid to obey Him. Don’t be afraid to confess Him here below, for you shall be acknowledged by God at the last day, and get His approbation, and that is of more worth than if you had the applause of angels, and all saints that ever lived or shall live on the earth. For even if you had these, if you lacked His, you will not partake of the joy of being acknowledged and approved of God at that day.

Cleansing

The fifth privilege is that they shall be freely freed from the guilt and power of sin.

O but the believer has many a black mark while here below! But at that day he shall be freely freed, and clearly cleared, and cleanly washed from all the spots and blemishes that sin has brought on his soul, and shall be clothed with pure and white raiment, even the righteousness of Christ. O friends! What do you think of that glorious garment that shall be put on you at that day?

Exoneration

The sixth privilege that true believers shall share in at the last day is that they shall be cleared, by God, of all the scandals and aspersions or calumnies that have been cast on them by other people. At the last day He will rid them from all the scandals and reproaches they have met with here in this life. As I say, they shall be freely freed before all their adversaries on that day, and acquitted for evermore .

Welcome

The seventh privilege is that they shall be kindly entertained and received by the Lord Himself. He who is king of heaven and earth will welcome and entertain them with this lovely invitation, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the world.”

O that glorious, pleasant, and profitable inheritance, where you shall enjoy that glorious company! and your activity then shall be a continual praising of God without intermission. O! who can tell what it is! O! who can speak of it with anything approaching relevance! O! that soul-ravishing inheritance which they shall enjoy at that day!

Concurring

The eighth privilege is that they shall sit with Christ, concurring with Him in judgment, judging the world. Many unjust sentences have been given out against the godly in this world, but at that day the believer shall give his consent to that just and terrible judgment given out against the fearful, disobedient sinners who did not want Christ to reign over them in this world. And at that day, the love of believers shall be so great towards Christ that they will concur with Him in judgment, and shall accuse and condemn their nearest kinsfolk or relations according to the flesh, and that without any reluctance or hesitation.

Possession

The ninth privilege is that they shall be invited to come and take possession of the grand dwelling place which has been prepared for them from all eternity. O come and take possession and ownership now of your kingdom!

It would only darken the glory of it to you, for me to begin to speak of it. For who is able to describe that holy place? The privileges of it cannot be told you, neither by angels nor spirits of just men made perfect, who are now in possession of it, far less by me! Not all the angels and saints who have been in possession of it these many years, would not be able to describe it to us! But what we may say is that it is a rest without a rest. There they are for ever quit of trouble, of sin, sorrow, or misery, and there they are for ever restless in giving praise to God.

Contrast

The tenth privilege is their sense of their happiness, or the happy condition they are in, when they think of the wicked in torment and find themselves freely freed from that miserable and woeful condition that the wicked are entering into, that shall never have an end.

Our response

How should we use these facts? O consider what you are doing, while you have time, and while you have opportunity! O strive to be made sharers of these privileges! O seek to enjoy Him!

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So many things take the colour out of life and leave things grey and despondent. Under these clouds and shadows, the wrong response is to distract ourselves with shiny toys and the glittering baubles which the world dangles in front of us. The Christian response is to recognise the clouds for what they are, whether earthly limitations or sinful interruptions, and find hope in how Jesus is going to scatter them eventually. The young field preacher James Renwick, who laboured intensely and suffered greatly for his work for the Lord, and was eventually executed in the Grassmarket, preached a sermon on the church’s longing for Jesus to come, expressed in the Song of Solomon, “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away …” (Song 2:17). In the following updated extract, Renwick lists eight things that depress believers and obscure their view of the Lord Jesus, and explains for each how He will chase them away while for the time being we persevere in faith and obedience.

Though there are many shadows now between Christ and believers, yet there is a day coming when these shadows will flee away. We are still “in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Pet. 1:19).

To open this a little to you, I shall show you some shadows that are now betwixt Christ and believers, which at that day shall be taken away.

Infirmities

The first shadow is the shadow of the believer’s infirmities. O friends! This is a dark cloud betwixt Christ and believers, which hides His countenance, and makes many a sad day and night to poor believers while here.

But at that day, there shall be a pleasant change, for then believers shall be freed from all their manifold infirmities, and be perfected for ever. Then there shall be no sinning any more. Then shall this mortal put on immortality, and corruption shall put on incorruption — then shall all be changed!

Suspicious thoughts about Jesus

The second shadow that overshadows the believer while here, and which will be taken away at that day, is the shadow of jealousy. Here we are often very jealous of Christ, for oft-times we cannot see Him acting, or perceive things as they are. We become so suspicious of the love of Christ, even though it is unspotted and unchangeable, that we often think He doesn’t love us, and therefore we will not bestow our love on Him.

But don’t be like this! For that day that is coming, even the day of accounts, which will take away all your suspicious thoughts about Christ’s love, and you shall then see that he has had love, and heart-love too! In that day there shall be no place left for doubting.

Little sense of God’s presence

The third shadow that over-clouds the believer is the dark shadow of deadness and desertion which sin has drawn down on believers. How many a sad complaint the poor believer is forced to make by this dark cloud, when the Lord withdraws His countenance, and lets the poor thing sink beneath the stream!

Yet be encouraged, for it is oft-times the lot of the Lord’s people to find themselves crying out, “O, He has withdrawn! He is gone! He is gone, and we don’t know where to find him!”

But at that day it will be turned over to another tune. “O, He is present, He is here!” And so that dark day, or cloud of desertion, will be utterly dispelled, and you shall see Him face to face, and see Him as He is.

Being incapable of having a better relationship with Christ

The fourth shadow that overclouds the believer while here is the dark shadow of incapacity to receive Christ, or to entertain Him. O! do you not perceive this, even much of this, in yourselves? O! how feeble, how lazy, how carnal and coldly indifferent you are in commanded duties! Is not His service oft-times a weariness to you? Is not it a burden to you? even as it were intolerable to you to bear!

But at that day, all fainting shall be done away with, and all discomposure of spirit, and it will become your pleasant labour always to be taken up in the endless work of praising and wondering for evermore, and that without wavering.

Being unable to get to Christ directly

The fifth shadow that comes over the believer while here is the shadow of ordinances.

The ordinances themselves are means in Christ’s hand, and do not hide Him from the believer, but rather give a representation of Him. Yet it is only a small and dark glance that they give of Him (1 Cor. 13:12). In the ordinances we do see Him, but only as in a glass darkly, or behind the wall, or through the lattice unclearly.

But, O believers! at that day, that cloud of ordinances shall be removed away, and you shall enjoy the immediate presence of Christ — even lovely Christ, without this shadow!

Indeed it is very comforting to poor things to get a sight of Him in ordinances. O! what joy some of His people have found in His manifesting of Himself in the gospel! Sometimes they have been made to cry out at the ordinances, “Lord, hold Thy hand, for we are only poor clay vessels, and can hold no more!”

But yet, how far below the eternal enjoyment of Him is this enjoyment which is had in ordinances! O friends! Words fail to speak of this eternal happy condition!

Being unable to see Christ directly

The sixth shadow that is now upon believers is the shadow of faith. Again, faith itself is not a shadow, or something which mars or hinders the believer’s enjoyment. Yet that noble grace is not without a shadow, for in the last day, faith shall dissolve into sight.

For even at our best it is only a dark sight that we get of Him here by faith. “We know but in part, we see but in part;” but when that which is perfect is come, then “that which is in part shall be done away, and then we shall see him as he is.”

Having to make do with lesser things than glory

The seventh shadow that must be taken away is the shadow of “sensible presence,” which we seek so much after. Being able to sense the presence of Christ is very joyful to believers, but O! it is only an obscure sight of Him here, in respect of that which shall be to eternity! It is like the night beside the day, which is why I include it in among the shadows which will be taken away.

But O, that eternal enjoyment of Christ! That pleasant inheritance is preferable to present enjoyment. When Peter was in the presence of the transfigured Christ, he only wanted to enjoy more of it! (His response was mistaken to the extent that he would have been content to quit his public post, and public spirit, and so to have been hidden from the church as far as her public edification went, for the sake of enjoying Christ’s sensible presence on that mountain.) Yet even that manifestation was only a shadow, in respect of the glory which shall be revealed at the last day.

Having the last enemy ahead

The eighth shadow that overclouds believers is the shadow of natural death. They must all die, or be changed, and then death shall be swallowed up of life. We have many symptoms of death, by sickness and diseases, that draw clouds between Christ and us.

But these shall all vanish in that day, when we shall have victory over death. Death is the last enemy, or the last fighting adversary, that the believer has to encounter, but at that day it shall be taken away, and they shall be made to cry out, “O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory?”

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Jean Hamilton corresponded with several prominent Covenanting ministers, including James Renwick. Here are updated excerpts from three letters which she received from Renwick while her personal and family circumstances were in turmoil and she was dealing with a lot of uncertainty as to what to do for the best for herself and her children. When the troubles of the moment and the inadequacies within ourselves threaten to obscure God’s plain truth, Renwick’s wise advice helps us to refocus, and to fortify ourselves against the temptation to get so bogged down in problems that we forget we are journeying onwards to meet Christ in glory.

How to interpret providence

31st March 1683

I hope you will not think me so far out of my duty as to be unmindful of your case, for I am very conscious of the circumstances you find yourself in. However, though your trials be many, and your fears not few, yet I do not think your case is strange – similar things have happened to the Lord’s people.

O take it well, whatever comes from the Lord’s hand. Look to His purposes in His providences, and then you will be able to read love to you in the saddest of them. Away with scanty sense, which always interprets God’s heart to be the same as His face. Faith is a noble thing – it soars high, and can read love in God’s heart even when His face frowns. Do you not have reason to think the best of Him? You can depend on getting good from His hand. Your evening of sorrow shall be turned into an everlasting morning of joy.

Let the faith of this sweeten your present situation to you. The Lord be with you all. Remember your friend and servant in the Lord, who sympathises with you in your trials.

How to interpret yourself

20 June 1684

I received your letter, which unbosomed to me a troubled case, which touches me in no small measure. But as I am touched by the trouble of spirit which you express, I am just as much refreshed to see that you are not insensible about your situation. Your great complaint is that you lack light and life. I am convinced, however, that anyone who utterly lacks one or the other of these cannot be troubled to realise that they lack them. Nobody misses what never belonged to them. A horse has no sense of loss about the wings of an eagle, because they never belonged to him, but he would soon notice if he lacked his feet. Those who never knew anything of light and life would never miss them.

But what shall I say to you? Let nothing less than Christ Himself satisfy you. Try to live under the impression of His preciousness, for contemplating this fills the heart with love to Him, and love, you know, is a most active and lively thing.

Do not judge your own state by how you feel about yourself. A very fruitful tree will bear neither fruit not leaves in the winter, but there will still be plenty sap in the root. Do not spend time debating it, but make sincere and serious use of the means that you have of union and communion with Christ. This is both the surest and the shortest way to reach fixedness.

Also, do not seek simply to have your feelings satisfied for the time being – what you need is a well-grounded assurance for the future. So, look to the infinite power and infinite love of Christ. That is a two-edged sword to cut in pieces all your Gordian knots! Infinite power, what can it not do? Infinite love, what will it not do? Never seek anything in yourself to commend you to Christ, for that will keep you continually staggering. Instead I recommend you to the grace of Him who is able to perfect what concerns you.

I remain your ladyship’s soul’s well-wisher, sympathiser, and obedient servant in the Lord.

How to spend your time

18 November 1685

You doubtless think my long silence strange, and it is far contrary to my own resolution, but the abundance of cares and ongoing troubles block me up from doing many things I would like.

I think that when the Lord returns to us again, it will be with such a measure and outpouring of His Spirit that the remnant that are left shall have almost a heaven on earth, and our land shall be made the joy of all lands.

For us today, though, what is there but to make sure of Christ for ourselves, and to spend our days here below admiring the loveliness and condescension of our Beloved, and our own happiness in enjoying such a potion.

But this is a great work! Time isn’t enough for it! That is why we shall get eternity for it. O let us pursue the increase of the beauty of holiness, for happiness is inferior to it. It is by holiness that we are made like God, and is this not true nobility? O what is like it?! If we knew more of this pursuit – and attainment – we would feel less as if we have been deserted by the Lord, and we would enjoy more of the smilings of His sweet countenance, and of the breathings of His Spirit.

Also, while we are in this pilgrimage, let His will be ours in all things. Whatever He may carve out for us, or whatever we are involved in, let us say Amen to it, for if He wills it, it is enough for us. For that matter, let us reckon on the worst that can happen, so that whatever comes, we will not be surprised.

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