The Thoughts of Jesus is a Great Cheer to The Weary Pilgrim

The Thoughts of Jesus is a Cheer to The Weary Pilgrim

"The Christian confesses that he is a pilgrim here. All the children of Zion- all who have ever traveled to the Canaan on high, have acknowledged that they were strangers and pilgrims in this wilderness world. Of those ancient worthies who died in faith- in the bright hope of a blessed immortality beyond the darksome grave, and who are held up in the precious volume of inspiration, for our imitation in the Christian life– it is said, they 'confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.' To this land of shadows and of death, their views were not confined. No. They looked higher than earth. 'They were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a heavenly city for them.' Of Abraham, it is said, 'And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in a tent. And so did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise. Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.'

"The earthly Canaan was but a type of the heavenly; and therefore the patriarchs, overlooking the passing scenes of a sublunary world, elevated their views to the true land of promise beyond the skies. In contemplating his present state, each child of God is ready to exclaim with the Psalmist, when addressing his Heavenly Father in earnest prayer, 'Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don't ignore my tears. For I am a stranger with you—a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.' His feelings with regard to earthly objects are beautifully expressed in the glowing language of the Christian poet–

"'Nothing on earth I call my own;
A stranger to the world, unknown,
I all their goods despise
I trample on their whole delight,
And seek a city out of sight,
A city in the skies!
Not a foot of land do I possess;
No cottage in this wilderness:
A poor, wayfaring man;
I lodge awhile in tents below,
Or gladly wander to and fro,
Till I my Canaan gain!'"