of spirit, to be very tender with these weak ones. Far be it from the man of courageous disposition, of stern resolve, and of unbending purpose, to be harsh towards those who are timid and despairing. If we have a lion-like spirit, let us not imitate the king of beasts in his cruelty to those timid fallow deer that flee before him, but let us place our strength at their service for their help and protection. Let us with downy fingers bind up the wounded heart; let us nourish their fainting spirits with oil and wine. In this battle of life, let the unwounded warriors bear their injured comrades to the rear, bathe their wounds, and protect them from the storm of war. Be gentle with those who are desponding. Alas, it is not every man who has learned this lesson. There are some who deal with others with rough handed thoughtlessness. “Ah,” they say, “if such a one is so foolish as to be sensitive let him be.” Oh do not speak like this; to be sensitive, timid, and desponding, is bad enough in itself, without our being harsh and cruel towards those who are so afflicted. Go out, and do to others as you wish that they would do to you; and as you wish that others should in your hours of despondency deal with you tenderly and comfortingly, so deal tenderly and comfortingly with them.
2. But my text, especially commands the minister to deal tenderly with those of Christ’s people who are in such a condition, and these are not a few, for although religion changes the moral temperament of men it does not change the physical temperament. A man who is weak in health before conversion will probably be as weak afterwards, and many a spirit that has a tendency to despondency, has exhibited that tendency after conversion. We do not profess that the religion of Christ will so thoroughly change a man as to take away from him all his natural tendencies; it will give the despairing something that will alleviate that despondency, but as long as that is caused by poor health, or a diseased mind, we do not profess that the religion of Christ will totally remove it. No, rather we do see every day that among the best of God’s servants, there are those who are always doubting, always looking on the dark side of every providence, who look at the threatening more than at the promise, are ready to write bitter things against themselves, and often put the bitter for sweet, and the sweet for bitter, erring against their own spirits and robbing themselves of comforts which they might enjoy. To those then, I shall have to speak this morning in the words of our text, “Strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.”
3. There is a metaphor used in the text, and I shall keep to it. First, I shall attempt to show the importance of hands and knees in going to heaven. In the second place, I shall observe the bad results of having weak hands and feeble knees; then I shall note the causes of those weak hands and feeble knees; for in so doing I hope I shall be able to apply a cure.
4. I. And, now, first, we find in our text hands and knees mentioned. We may be quite sure that THEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN GETTING TO HEAVEN. The hands and knees, we must remember, are those parts of the body in which the effects of fear are the most easily seen. Of course the root of despondency and fear must lie in the heart; it is what is first moved with terror. But afterwards these extremities, these limbs of action, these modes of expressing the will of the heart begin to feel the weakness also. The hands hang down in terror, and the knees begin to tremble. We are always accustomed to describe a man when he is greatly frightened, when some overwhelming danger appals him, as hanging down his hands or wringing them in despair, and as feeling his knees knocking together in the moment of his terror. Just so the prophet means, that wherever the Christian displays most his timidity and his dismay there we must be careful to apply the remedy of comfort. Now, it is the fact that when the Christian’s heart begins to tremble, his hands of action grow weak, and his knees of prayer begin to tremble also; he becomes unable to do and unable to pray. He is weak in active service, and he becomes weak also in wrestling with his God. Hands and knees are the exhibitors of inward power. Now, there are some men whose fears are so great that they have become visible, and can no longer be concealed. There was a time when these sons of mourning were able to mask their sorrow with an outward cheerfulness, but now they cannot. The fear of the heart has glided into their hands and descended into their knees; and we see them hiding from us, as the hind, when hit by the arrow, retires from the herd to bleed alone. To such as these, oh sons of consolation, you are sent with words of pity and deeds of love.
5. But, note, the hands and knees are of the first importance because they represent active duty and supplication. The way to heaven is, through faith in Christ; but after we have believed in Christ the legitimate tendency of faith is active service. Although the Christian shall go to heaven through the blood of Christ, yet as a pilgrim he must walk there; and although he overcomes through the blood of the Lamb, yet as a warrior he must fight if he wishes to reign. Active service is expected from every Christian. Christ does not put his children on a bed, and then carry them to heaven along a lazy road; but he gives them life and bids that life develop itself; he gives them strength, and commands them to use the strength in working out their own salvation. While he works in them, they are passive; but he then bids them be active and work out what he has beforehand worked in. He is no Christian who does not seek to serve his God. The very motto of the Christian should be “I serve.” Christ’s people are Christ’s servants, and as the angels in heaven delight to fly at God’s behests, so do the children of God delight to run in the way of his commands. Hence, then, if the knees are weak and the hands are weak, it is little that we can do. We cannot run with the weak knee; we cannot labour with the weak hand. How can you, the servants of Christ, how can you lift the heavy burdens which you have to carry, if your hands are weak and your knees totter? How can you pull down the walls of your enemies if your hands tremble? How can you strike your foes with the sword of faith if your arm is weak? Then pay attention to this, for if you lose power and strength in active service, then your loss is exceedingly great.
6. Again, the knees may signify prayer. When a man becomes timid and desponding, his closet very soon becomes the chamber of woe. Our closets are either Bethels or Bochims, — the house of God or else the house of weeping. Let a man become timid, distrustful, doubting, fearing, trembling — what little power he has when he comes before the mercy seat! He wishes to believe in God, but he cannot appropriate the promise. He wishes to lay hold on the angel, but all his sinews shrink, and he cannot wrestle. He wishes to plead the promise, but his hand refuses to clutch it with an iron grasp. And he goes away crying, “Oh that I could pray! oh that I could believe in God! Oh! that I could succeed with God in prayer, and become as a prevailing prince. Alas! I am as weak as water, and I can do nothing.” Herein lies the importance of having a strong hand that we may serve God, and of having a strong knee that we may wrestle with him in prayer, and get the blessing from him.
7. Note again, that we may readily see what the prophet means by hands and knees, if we observe that a Christian although his hopes are in heaven, stands upon the earth. It is with the hand of faith that the Christian lays hold upon what is not seen, and endeavours to climb upwards to the skies; it is with his foot that he spurns the earth and all that it calls good or great. Let the Christian’s foot be weak, and then he cannot despise the things that are seen: but he will be fixing his affection on things on earth and not on things above. On the other hand, let his hand of faith grow weak, and he cannot lay hold of the things that are in heaven. He will find it difficult to fix his hold above the stars, and feel that he is surely anchored, and very hard to climb the ladder Jacob saw. The foot represents the manner in which we deal with earth, we tread upon it boldly and courageously, despising its threats, despising its riches, despising its honours. The weak knee cannot do this; we are then apt to bend, and cringe, and fawn before a wicked world to be slaves, where we ought to be freemen, and vile where we ought to be noble. Here again we see the importance of the hands and the knees.
8. But you will remember also that there are certain parts of the spiritual pilgrimage where hands and knees are absolutely required. John Bunyan represents Christian as coming to the foot of the hill Difficulty, and he says, “I saw Christian going up the hill, and I saw him stop running and start walking, and from walking to crawling on his hands and knees, because the hill was very steep.” We too have been in many similar situations. Once we could run along the walls of salvation with triumphant faith; at other times we could even
