A Word in Season
A sermon
(No. 731)
Delivered by
C.H.SPURGEON,
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
"When men are cast down, then you shall say, There is lifting up; and
He shall save the humble person."- Job 22:29.
ALTHOUGH we cannot take everything that Eliphaz the Temanite happened
to say as being of Divine authority– the immediate Inspiration of the
Holy Spirit–yet in this case he evidently gives utterance to such a
great and important Truth of God that we may regard these words of his
as being the words of God, confirmed as they are by like sentiments to
be found in other parts of the Scriptures. If you read the verse
carefully you will sympathize with the perplexity of expositors who
have been not a little puzzled to know which, out of three meanings, is
the one intended. I shall not presume to pronounce an arbitrary
decision, but after mentioning the three different constructions, I
shall dwell upon the last, and amplify it for practical uses.
The first is that this verse may be read by way of discrimination. When
other men–the wicked and ungodly–are cast down, Believers, resting
upon their God, shall be able to say, "There is lifting up." And
instead of harboring a thought of despair, they shall cling to the
promise that God will save the humble person. The text may thus
indicate the distinction there is between the righteous and the wicked.
When the flood came, the ungodly world was bowed down by fear, but Noah
could say, "There is lifting up." And as the ark began to float upon
the waters, his mind was perfectly convinced that God would save the
humble.
When the fiery sleet began to fall upon Sodom and Gomorrah, the wicked
were wise too late, and they, too, were filled with dismay. But Lot, as
he escaped out of the city, could feel that there was for him "lifting
up," and that God had saved out of the midst of destruction that
"humble person," whose ears and heart had been vexed with the ungodly
speeches of the Sodomites. Let us learn, therefore, and so leave this
aspect of the text, that the Lord has put a difference between Israel
and Egypt–a difference never so conspicuous as in time of trouble. He
will not mete out the same measure to His friends as to His enemies.
The black side of the pillar of Providence shall be turned towards the
Egyptians, while the bright side shall shine fully and cheerfully into
the faces of the Israelites.
Just as the Red Sea is swallowing up God's foes, His friends upon the
other bank shall be singing their psalms of victory and magnifying His
power to save. Humble Christian, whatever may occur, you need never
fear! If all the predicted tribulations which some men delight in
anticipating should be fulfilled tomorrow, it would not matter to you.
If the earth should rock and reel, if the sun should be turned into
darkness and the moon into blood, and the stars should fall like fig
leaves from the tree–you, if you could no longer be safe under
Heaven–would be caught up into Heaven! But anyhow, God would be sure
to preserve you. When the wicked are bowed down you shall be able to
sing, "There is lifting
up."
The second way of reading the text is full of personal consolation.
"When men are cast down"–appropriating the calamity when we,
ourselves, are cast down, and leaving out the discrimination between
the righteous and the wicked. When we, in common with the rest of
mankind, suffer by the adversities incidental to all men–when we find
out that we are "born to trouble as the sparks fly upward"–then our
Father comes to our relief, cheers us with comfort and inspirits us
with hope, sweetly whispering in our ears, "There is lifting up. Hope
in God." After all the waves and billows had gone over the Psalmist's
head, Hope rises up out of the deep and sings, as the waters stream
from her hair, "Hope you in God, for I shall yet praise Him."
And as her countenance glistens in the sun, and is made bright by the
brine into which she has dived, she adds, "He is the help of my
countenance and my God." Christian Brother, possibly you are at this
very hour sorely cast down. You are reflecting upon yesterday's ills,
or foreboding worse ills on the morrow. "What shall I eat? And what
shall I drink?" may be questions which are pressing grievously on your
mind. Parents may be here whose dear children are sick, or it may be
worse than that. Perhaps there is a father whose rebellious son is
vexing his heart and making his hair turn gray.
You are bowed down, many of you. Some from one cause and some from
another. Oh that your trials may bring your faith into exercise!
You are in your Father's hands. He is the God of hope! Yes, and He is
the God of patience and consolation. The Lord reigns–all things work
together for good to them that love God. You may safely conclude that
there is lifting up. Though you may now feel very humble under these
afflicting dispensations, yet, as certainly as God's Word says, "He
shall save the humble person," so certainly will he send salvation unto
you. Be of good courage, then! Perhaps the text is God's message to
your sinking spirits–"It is I. Be not afraid."
The third way of understanding the text, however, is that upon which I
wish to dwell. A practical obligation is here enforced. "When men are
cast down"–that is, when other men are cast down, either by spiritual
anxieties or by peculiar troubles of a worldly sort–then the
Christian's business is to act the part of a comforter. He is to step
in and say to his brethren or his neighbors, "There is lifting up." It
should be his occupation to tell out this good news–this panacea for
heart-troubles–God saves humble souls. There is no necessity for
despair this side of Hell. As long as a man is in this trial state
there is hope that his sackcloth may be put off, that he may be girded
with gladness and made partaker of the fullness ofjoy!
You will see then, Friends, that my intention is to address myself to
Christians–earnestly exhorting them to look after opportunities for
usefulness, that they may tell others of the glad tidings.
I. To this end, FAVORABLE SEASONS, a well-timed occasion, a suitable
hour should never be lost sight of. "When men are cast down." You
cannot talk with some men until you find them cast down. They are too
shy and reserved, too proud and unapproachable, or perhaps too profane
and blustering to allow you to say a word to them about eternal things.
But you can catch them sometimes. When sorrow has plowed the soil, the
good seed may get, perhaps, into the heart that always was so hard.
Now, Brethren, as you read it, "When men are cast down," you will do
well to remember that these seasons frequently occur in the life of
every man. Sometimes men are cast down because they have had losses in
business, or have had sickness in the house. Or death has come and
taken away a child, or they are infirm in body. Or maybe the cholera
has been down the street, or something or other has occurred to alarm
and agitate and dispirit them. They feel that this world is not the
happy world they thought it was.
Now is your opportunity! Now is your time! When men are cast down, then
go to them and say, "There is lifting up." Tell them that there is
another Lamp that was never kindled in this world, and never blown out
in this world, either, which will gild the darkness of their poverty,
of their sickness, and of their sorrow. Be sure not to let a single
Providential opportunity escape you, but plunge in, now that God has
made the breach in the sinner's city wall. Make haste now! Dash in, you
soldiers of the Cross, sword in hand!
Sometimes men are cast down when they have been listening to a very
solemn sermon. God has helped the minister to sketch their portraits
and they have sat and wondered at it. And though they have been
careless before, yet now they begin to quake. Have you ever found your
friends leaving the House of God thoughtful and serious–not chatting
about a thousand frivolities, but saying to you, when you get
home–"What a striking sermon!"? Why, such things occur here every day!
The tear of penitence often waters this floor, and when it does not
amount to that, though the sinner's goodness may be as the morning
cloud and as the early dew, yet there are frequent times when our
hearers are impressed and depressed.
They sit in the pew and begin to think it is all wrong with them. Their
soul is cast down, and they wish that they could find salvation. Now is
your time, Christian! Now is your time! Do not lose it! Do not let them
go behind those curtains, or outside those doors till you have told
them that there is lifting up. When the darkness is around their
spirits, point them to the great Light of the world. Tell them that
"there is life for a look at the Crucified One," that there is life at
this very moment for everyone who casts himself upon the Redeemer's
finished sacrifice! These opportunities are very frequent, and if you
think for a minute you will see that they are not to be despised by
those of you who wish to win souls.
If David would win the battle he must take care to remember God's
advice. "When you hear the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry
trees, then shall you bestir yourself." When you see the sign of an
impression in a man's mind, then you should be active to seek to bring
the Truth of God home to him, and to lead him to the Cross! For at such
times
men are willing to hear. They would stop their ears before, but now
they will give you a comparatively cheerful audience. No, they are
often even anxious to hear!
They will send for the minister when they are sick. And at a funeral,
what an opportunity the Christian minister may often have, and not the
Christian minister only, but any of you! When God's great minister,
Death, comes into a house, then remember they will want to hear you. A
man's fellow workman, who chaffed the Christian and laughed at him,
will be pleased enough to see him when the wife gets ill. And he will
even ask him to come and tell her of the things which make for her
peace. Never be slow to go, my Brothers and Sisters! If you can but
find time, never miss one of these opportunities!
Now that the fish are ready to take the bait, you Galilean fishermen
let the nets be cast and the hooks laid, and seek if you can to catch
souls! These opportunities, be it remembered, are sent by God for this
very purpose. No doubt Providence is the handmaid of Grace. If
Christians were but wide awake they would soon see that the wheels of
Providence are all working to assist the Church of God. To an earnest
Christian laborer everything is a tributary of labor. He knows how to
use the roughest instruments. I will venture to say that the beasts of
the field are in league with him and the stones of the field are at
peace with him. For him cholera is less to be dreaded than to be turned
to account–it will give him an entrance where he found none before.
Even poverty, with all its drawbacks, may help the man of God who
sincerely desires to bring souls to Jesus. Greatly as you dread the
evils which are before you, yet may you have a holy skill to use them,
as the mariner does an ill wind, just tacking about, and putting the
sail so that the wind, which seemed to drive in his teeth, may help him
towards his desired haven. At such times, then, when men are cast down,
I say it to you, Brothers and Sisters, and especially would I say it to
myself, let none of these favorable seasons be lost!
II. The ACCEPTABLE TIDINGS we have to announce may now, for a few
minutes, engage our thoughts. Do any of you say, "If we speak to these
people, what are we to tell them?" You are to tell them that, "There is
lifting up." That is the best and most opportune news you can bring
them, after all. When men are not cast down we have to tell them that
they ought to be. We have to deal out to them the Law of God, as the
seamstress takes the sharp needle first and then draws the silken
thread afterwards.
But in this case, when a man is cast down, the needle has gone through.
Men are impressed, thoughtful, anxious, and now the Gospel which we
have to take to them is that there is lifting up. Of all things in the
world to be dreaded, despair is the chief. Let a man be abandoned to
despair and he is ready for all sorts of sins. When fear unnerves him
action is dangerous. But when despair has loosed his joints and
paralyzed his conscience, the vultures hover round him waiting for
their prey. As long as a man has hope for himself you may have hope of
him. But Satan's object is to drive out the last idea of hope from men
that then they may give themselves up to be his slaves forever.
Brothers and Sisters, let me just say to you who are in trouble–and I
hope every faithful Christian will repeat what I say again and
again–THERE IS HOPE. There is hope about your pecuniary difficulties,
about your sickness, about your present affliction. God can help you
through it. Do not sit down with your elbows on your knees and cry all
day. That will not get you through it. Call upon God who sent the
trouble. He has a great design in it. It may be that He has sent it as
a shepherd sends his black dog to fetch the wandering sheep to him. It
may be He has a design in making you lose temporal things that you may
gain eternal things. Many a mother's soul had not been saved if it had
not been for that dear infant which was taken from her bosom–not till
it was taken to the skies did God give the attractive influence which
drew her heart to pursue the path to Heaven!
Do not say there is no hope! Other people have been as badly off as you
are. And even if it should seem as if you have come to the end of your
rope, yet still there is hope. Go and try again on Monday morning,
[Prayer Meeting at the Tabernacle] my good Friend. God's Providence has
a thousand ways of helping us if we have but the heart to pray. Are you
in despair about your character? It may be that there is somewhere here
a woman who says, "I have fallen. my character is gone. There is no
hope for me." My Sister, there is lifting up! Some who have fallen as
terribly as you have done have been restored by Sovereign Grace.
And there may be one here who has been a drunkard, or about to become a
thief–no one knows it, perhaps, but he is conscious of great
degradation–and he says, "I shall never be able to look my fellow men
in the face." Ah, my dear Friend, you do not know what Christ can do
for you if you but rest and trust in Him! Supposing you should be made
into
a new creature, would not that alter the matter? "Oh!" you say, "but
that can never be!" No, say I, but that shall be, for Christ says,
"Behold, I make all things new." "If any man is in Christ Jesus, he is
a new creature."
There was an old fable about a spring at which old men washed their
faces and then grew young. Now there is a spring which wells up from
the heart of the Lord Jesus, and if an old sinner washes there, not
only his face, but his whole spirit shall become like unto a little
child, and shall be clean in the sight of God! There is hope still.
"Ah," says one, "but you do not know my case." No, my dear Friend, and
I do not particularly desire to know it, because this sweeping truth
can meet it no matter what it may be!
"All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men." "The
blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin." Oh, what a
precious Gospel I have to preach! I have not to preach a little Christ
for little sinners, but a great Savior for great offenders! Noah's ark
was not made to hold a few mites–the elephant went in, and the lion
went in, and the largest beasts of prey went in–and there was found
room for each of them. So my Master, who is the great Ark of salvation,
did not come into this world to save a few of you who are little
sinners–"He is able to save unto the uttermost all them that come unto
God by Him."
See Him yonder? See Him on the Cross in agonies extreme, bearing grief
and torment numberless, and sweating in agony–all for love of you who
were His enemies? Trust Him! Trust Him, for there is hope! There is
lifting up! However bowed down you may be, there is in the Gospel, hope
even for you! I seem as if I were walking along a corridor, and I see a
number of condemned cells. As I listen at the keyhole I can hear those
inside weeping in doleful, dolorous dirges. "There is no hope, no hope,
no hope!"
And I can see the warden at the other end smiling calmly to himself, as
he knows that none of the prisoners can come out as long as they say
there is no hope. It is a sign that their manacles are not broken, and
that the bolts of their cells are not removed. But oh, if I could look
in! I think I can, I think I can open the little wicket gate, and cry,
"There is hope!" He who said there is no hope is a liar and a murderer
from the beginning, and the father of lies! There IS hope since Jesus
died! There is hope anywhere except in the infernal lake. There is hope
in the hospital where a man has sickened, and is within the last hour
of his departure. There is hope though men have sinned themselves
beyond the pale of society.
There is hope for the convict though he has had to smart under the
lash. There is hope for the man who has cast himself away. Jesus is
still able to save! "No hope" is not to be said by any of the mariners
life brigade while he sights the crew of the sinking vessel. "No hope"
is not to be said by any of the fire brigade while he knows there are
living men in the burning pile. "No hope" is not to be said by any one
of the valiant brigade of the Christian Church while the soul is still
within reach of the sound of mercy.
"No hope" is a cry which no human tongue should utter! "No hope" is a
cry which no human heart should heed. Oh, may God grant us Grace
whenever we get an opportunity to go and tell all we meet with that are
bowed down, "There is lifting up." And tell them where it is likewise.
Tell them it is only at the Cross! Tell them it is through the precious
blood! Tell them it is to be had for nothing, through simply trusting
Christ! Tell them it is of Free Grace, that no merits of theirs are
wanted, that no good things are they to bring, but that they may come
just as they are, and find lifting up in Christ!
III. What JOYFUL EMPLOYMENT this is! I should like to go forth
enlisting tonight! I shall not require you to wear scarlet. You shall
wear what you like, but if I may but enlist you I shall be very happy.
Christian men and women, all of you without exception, old and young, I
want you! I know many of you are already engaged but I want you all to
follow out the dictates of my text, "When men are cast down, then you
shall say, There is lifting up; and He shall save the humble person."
I want you to volunteer in this blessed enterprise, this heavenly
mission of saying to cast-down ones, "There is lifting up." If you
engage in this holy adventure there are several things which you will
need. The first will be observation. You must have a quick eye to know
when a man is cast down. Some people are so out of sympathy with souls
that they do not know a broken heart from a hard heart–but there is a
way of getting into such communion with people without even talking
with them–that you know within a little who is impressed and who is
not. I should like to have, all over the Tabernacle, a little lot of
you Christian people like sentries, watching that young man who is here
for the first time tonight.
Watching that young woman who has been here for the last six
weeks–watching your opportunity! As soon as ever you see the first
wave of the Spirit's manifestation–the face is often the tell-tale
sign of what is going on within–to
speak to them. I want you to watch, so as to say, "Now that one is cast
down I will break the ice, I will speak, and I will say, There is
lifting up." You must have keen eyes to watch for the Spirit's work if
you are to be fishers of men! Next to this you have need of deep
sympathy. If you try to speak for Christ, and do it in a rough way, you
had better hold your tongue.
A person I saw only a day or two ago said that she was standing in deep
thought after a sermon, under which she had been devoutly impressed,
when a good friend accosted her in a gruff voice and with an uncouth
manner, and said, "When are you coming forward to join the Church?" It
was well meant. But it was done in such a way that every good
impression melted before the repulsive tones. Speak gently and kindly,
with tenderness and sympathy. You know what I mean. There is a world of
difference between the putting on of a pretense of kindness and the
real "kindness" which comes right down to a man and makes him feel that
you really do sympathize with him, and can enter into all his griefs.
Ask the Lord, Christian Friend, when you have got a quick eye for
observation, to drop a tear with it, so that you may know how to weep
with them that weep, and to speak gently. Another thing you will want
will be knowledge. How can you tell them about the Savior if you do not
understand, yourselves, how it is that He saves, or never proved the
remedy you attempt to apply? Be well-instructed in the faith, and seek
also to be well-instructed in the twists and turns of the human heart
so that you may know how to follow up these persons when they will try
to escape from their own mercy, and, if possible, to put from them the
comfort which you have to bring them.
In all this you will find great help from your own experience. No luau
is so fitted to bring others to Christ as one who has come himself,
though perhaps the means by which he was drawn may have been peculiar
and somewhat different from the common course. It was said that Martin
Luther was one of the best teachers for a minister. He had been so much
troubled in getting peace for his own soul that he was singularly
well-qualified to assist others who were struggling in the Slough of
Despond. Make good use of your experience! Store up lessons from it so
you will be making yourselves yet more and more serviceable as a helper
to these distressed ones.
Add to your experience assurance. The text does not tell us to say to
these people, "I hope there may be lifting up," but, "There is lifting
up." Full assurance makes a man strong. The Gospel is your lever, but
full assurance must be the arm to work it with. Yes, and the fulcrum,
too, upon which the lever must rest. Know yourselves to be saved! Do
not live in the misty dungeon of doubt, where, "I hope so," is the only
ray of light that breaks through the crevice, while, "I fear it is not
so," is the reflection cast on the opposite wall. Come forth into the
daylight that you may be sure of it. Then you will be able to speak
boldly and so you will be likely to comfort those that are cast down.
And do let me recommend promptness to you. There is nothing like
quickness and decision in speaking when the opportunity presents
itself. If you are about to seal a letter, you must bring down the seal
while the wax is still hot enough to receive the impression. Do not
procrastinate, and say, "Well, I should like to speak to that young
man, but I will put it off till tomorrow." If he has the appearance of
being impressionable tonight, look after him now! As "a bird in the
hand is worth two in the bush," so a present opportunity is worth
unspeakably more than any precarious venture that lies beyond your
present reach. Do not let the time slip.
While, however, it becomes you to be prompt, you need not be in a
hurry. Calm self-possession is very preferable to impetuous haste. I
remember seeing a doctor when there was an accident in the street. He
proceeded immediately to the spot, but do you think he went rushing
down to the man as if he would break his neck? No. On the contrary, he
walked down very quietly and demurely to the chemist's shop where the
man was lying, and I could not help thinking that this was a
common-sense thing to do even in an emergency–for if he had run and
got out of breath, he would not have been able to have done half so
well when he got there as he was able to do by going steadily to his
work.
The feverish excitement of hurry you should avoid–but there must be no
delay. Unseemly haste might spoil your aim because you would not be
able to speak properly. But a senseless hesitancy would miss the golden
opportunity, thwart the purpose altogether and leave you to regret that
you had ever spoken at all. Still nothing will avail unless there is
much prayer. We had need pray that God may give efficacy to the
counsels He has given us, and reward our obedience to them with
abundant fruit. Oh, Brethren, prayer is the grand thing, after all, for
us who have no might of ourselves!
It is wonderful what prayer can do for any of us. A dear Friend said
the other day, "Look at Jacob. In the early part of his life there was
much that was unseemly in his character, and very much that was unhappy
in his circumstances. Crafty himself, he was often the victim of craft,
reaping the fruit of his own ways. But one night in prayer–what a
change it did make in him! Why it raised him from the deep poverty of a
cunning supplanter to the noble peerage of a prince in Israel!"
Bethel itself is hardly more memorable in his history than Peniel. And
what might one night spent in prayer do for some of us? Supposing we
were to try it instead of the soft bed! We need not go to the brook–it
is enough that, like Jacob, we are alone in some place where sighs and
cries would be heard by none but God. One night spent thus in solitary
prayer might put the spurs on some of you, and make you spiritual
knights in God's army, able to do great exploits. Oh, yes, may all
other gracious exercises be started in prayer, crowned with prayer, and
perfected by much prayer.
IV. I must now close by noticing some STIMULATING MOTIVES to engage in
this blessed employment. Remember, Christian Friend, your own case.
When you were troubled in spirit did anybody speak to you? Then you are
bound to repay the kindness by speaking to someone who is now in the
same condition. Or do you say that nobody spoke to you? Well, then, I
am sure you blame them for not doing so, and you may well see to it
that you do not incur the same censure yourselves.
I thank God that most of you do try to look after souls. But
occasionally, very occasionally, it happens that a young convert will
say to me, "I have been here six months, Sir, and no one has spoken to
me." I sometimes ask them in what part of the Tabernacle they sit, and
yet I do not like to know when I am informed. However, I will suppose
that I have forgotten it now, or, at least I will forbear to indicate
it tonight, but one of these times I shall make bold to say that there
is a certain corner of the Tabernacle where nobody seems to care for
souls. If I should do that, you know, it will be a cause of blushing
and of shame to some of you!
Do mend your ways before it comes to that. Oh, do not let there be a
single spot in this place where it shall be possible for a person to
sit even for a month without someone earnestly asking him about his
soul! Do it wisely, prudently, gently–not rudely, but lovingly–not
intrusively, but kindly. Who can tell how much good may be done by this
simple means! Let it be done with a gracious motive, remembering how
needful it was in your own case. Let it be done, moreover, with a
grateful recollection of what you owe to Christ. Oh, you owe your own
soul to Him! How can you repay Him but by bringing others?
I beseech you, prove your gratitude–not by bringing the alabaster box
and breaking it upon His head–but by bringing sinners whose penitence
and faith shall be sweeter perfume even than the costly ointment which
the woman poured on her Lord. Watch for souls out of gratitude to Him.
Let me cheer you onward by the prospect of success. Perhaps the very
first person you speak to may be given you for your reward! Possibly
you may meet with a repulse. If so, try again, and yet again and
again–as long as you have breath. But what if you should bring only
one soul to Christ? It were a rich reward for a thousand
disappointments! Remember, dear Friends, that it is for your own good.
While you sleep you do not know whether you love Christ or not–but you
would soon prove the sincerity of your love if you were trying to serve
Him.
You do not know what you can do till you have tried! He who can only do
a little, if he does that little, will soon be able to do twice as
much! If he still perseveres, he will be able to do four times as much
presently, and his labors of love will increase and multiply till I
know not what extent they may reach. You cannot preach, the most part
of you. You could not go out into the street and proclaim the Word of
Life, but you can talk to a neighbor–any or all of you! And since this
is a thing that you can do, do it, I pray you! It may be breaking the
ice for you, and by-and-by you will be able to swim in the deep waters
and serve the Lord right well. To make a beginning, therefore, I ask
you to do this small thing.
Oh, my Christian Friends, shall the blood of souls lie on any of you?
Would you wish to feel that you were responsible for the spiritual ruin
of some person who sits next to you here? I wish I could always feel
that I was clear of the blood of this congregation myself. I do seek to
be. Yet I feel convinced that my own efforts for the conversion of men
are so feeble that if I do not have the assistance of you all, I cannot
reckon upon a blessing commensurate to the great assembly gathered
here. But if you will help me! If you will each of you watch as some of
you do! If you will each pray as some of you do! If you all catch the
holy enthusiasm and are filled with the Divine fire, I know not what
eternal purposes God may here fulfill, nor what glory He may bring to
His name!
You have, many of you, been Christians now for years. You are not
young, raw recruits that need to be trained in the very elements of our
spiritual warfare. You have seen battle. You have been in the midst of
its din. I speak to you as to
veterans–serve your God, now. By the blood that bought you, by the
Spirit that quickened you, by the rest that is in store for you, by the
Hell that awaits sinners if they perish–I charge you by the living
God, the Judge of the quick and the dead–be instant in season and out
of season! Be ever abundant in every good word and work! Be steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord! And may His
blessing descend upon the whole of our efforts, through His Divine
Spirit.
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The Heart–a Den of Evil
A sermon