Some Christians are apt to
confound these two things-special joy and abiding communion—and to suppose,
because the first is not always the case, the discontinuance of the latter is
to be taken for granted and acquiesced in. This is a great mistake. Special
visitations of joy may be afforded. Constant fellowship with God and with the
Lord Jesus is the only right state, the only one recognized in Scripture. We
are to rejoice in the Lord always.

The object of Christ’s love is
to take us into the enjoyment of all that He enjoys Himself.

As you enjoy Christ for
yourself, saints will find it out, and that will be your testimony to them.

"Would to God, that not
only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were . . . altogether such as I
am, except these bonds" (Acts 26:29). What happiness and what love (and in
God these two things go together) are expressed in these words! Though he be a
poor prisoner, aged and rejected, at the end of his career he is rich in God.
Blessed years that he had spent in prison! He could give himself as a model of
happiness, for it filled his heart.

The thing that hinders our
rejoicing is not trouble, but being half and half. If the Christian is in the
world, his conscience reproaches him; if he meets spiritual Christians, he is
unhappy there. Thus, in fact, he is happy nowhere.