Consulting With Jesus
(No. 2778)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, MAY 11, 1902.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, MARCH
31, 1878.
"And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning
the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions…So
Solomon answered all her questions: there was nothing so difficult for
the king, that he could not explain it to her" 1 Kings 10:1-3.
Those of you who were here last Thursday evening will recollect that I
spoke to you upon our Savior's words, "The queen of the south shall
rise up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; for she
came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." [Sermon No.
2776, Volume 48–
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA, A SIGN]. I tried, then, to prove that the queen of
Sheba is a condemning sign to those who do not believe our report
concerning Him, or who do not act upon it so as to seek His face.
Tonight we will follow the queen of the south little further.
As our Lord has given the queen of Sheba for a sign, it would be
unbecoming if we did not try to learn all that we can from that sign.
She came "to hear the wisdom of Solomon." But Christ is "greater than
Solomon" in every respect. He is greater in wisdom, for, though Solomon
was wise, he was not Wisdom, itself, and that Jesus is. In the Book of
Proverbs Jesus is referred to under the name of Wisdom and the Apostle
Paul tells us that He is made of God unto us wisdom. They who really
know Him know something of how wise He is and how truly He may be
called Wisdom. Because He is with the Father and knows the Father, He
has such wisdom as no one else can have. "No man knows the Son, but the
Father. Neither knows any man the Father, save the Son, and he to
whomever the Son will reveal Him." He knows the deep things of God, for
He came down from Heaven bringing His Father's greatest secrets in His
heart. To Him, therefore, men ought to come if they wish to be wise,
and ought we not to wish for wisdom? To whom else can we go if we go
not to Him "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"?
In speaking of the queen of Sheba coming to Solomon as a type of our
coming to Christ, I will, first, call upon you to admire the queen's
mode of procedure. Then, secondly, we will try to imitate it in
reference to Christ And, then, thirdly, we will close by answering
certain questions of a truly practical character
I. First, then, I call upon you to ADMIRE THIS QUEEN'S MODE OF
PROCEDURE WHEN SHE CAME TO SOLOMON. We are told in the text that "she
came to prove him with hard questions."
She wanted to prove whether he was as wise as she had been led to
believe and her mode of proving it was by endeavoring to learn from
him. She put difficult questions to him in order that she might be
instructed by his wisdom. And if you want to ascertain what the wisdom
of Christ is, the way to know it is to come and sit at His feet and
learn of Him. I know of no other method–it is a very sure one and it
will be a very profitable and blessed one if you adopt it. He has
Himself said, "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls."
Jesus came forth from God to be "the faithful Witness" to the Truth of
God and, therefore, we are bound to believe what He says and,
certainly, we shall never fully appreciate His wisdom unless we are
willing to receive His testimony. The Psalmist says, "O taste and see
that the Lord is good," but, in this case we must test and prove that
the Lord is wise. There are some who despise the wisdom of Christ and
if you probe them, you will discover that they were never willing to
learn of Him. His own words are, "Except you are converted, and become
as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven."
The wisdom of Christ cannot be known by those who refuse to be
disciples, that is, learners. We must learn of Him before we are
competent to judge whether Christ is wise or not–and never did a
disciple sit humbly at His feet, never did one, in the spirit of a
little child, sit with Mary at the feet of the great Teacher, without
saying, as he listened to the gracious words that proceeded out of His
mouth–"The half was not told me. Oh, the depth of the riches both of
the wisdom and the knowledge that are to be found in Him!"
The queen of Sheba is also to be admired in that, wishing to learn from
Solomon, she asked him many questions– not simply one or two, but
many. Some people say, though I do not know how true it is, that
curiosity is largely developed in women. I think I have known some men
who have also had a tolerably large share of it. In this case, however,
the woman's curiosity was wise and right. It was a wise thing, on her
part, when she was in the presence of such a man of wisdom, to try to
learn all that she could from him and, therefore, she questioned him
about all sorts of things. Very likely she brought before him the
difficulties connected with her government, various schemes relating to
trade, the modes of war, or the arts of peace. Possibly she talked to
him concerning the beasts of the field, the fish of the sea, and the
fowls of the air. But I am persuaded that she also talked about higher
things–the things of God–and I am led to that conclusion by the
expression in the first verse of my text, "When the queen of Sheba
heard of the name of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came
to prove him with hard questions." The report that came to her had to
do with Jehovah, the God of Israel, as well as with Solomon! So we may
rest assured that she put to him many difficult questions concerning
the state of her heart, her character, her present position before God
and her future relationship to Israel's God. Questions on those points
are not easy to answer, but she took care to ask them so that when she
reached her home, she might not have to say, "I wish I had asked
Solomon about that matter–then I would no longer be in doubt."
Now, Beloved, if you want to know the wisdom of Christ, you must ask
Him many questions. Come and inquire of Him about anything you please!
There is nothing which He does not know of earth, of Heaven and of
Hell. He knows the past, the present, the future–the things of every
day and the things of that last great day of days! He knows the things
of God as nobody else knows them, for He is One with the Father, and
with the Spirit–and He can tell us all that we need to know. Come to
Him, then, with every question that has ever puzzled you, and with
every doubt that has ever staggered you. Resort not so much to your own
thoughts, or to the counsels and arguments of your fellow creatures,
but consult with Him who spoke as never man spoke, and whose wisdom,
like Alexander's sword, can cut each Gordian knot and end, in a moment,
all the difficulties that trouble your spirit!
But the main reason which I admire the queen of Sheba is that she
proved Solomon "with hard questions. "Was she not wise? If she had
asked Solomon questions which a schoolboy could reply to, it would have
been almost an insult to him. No, if Solomon's wisdom is to be tested,
let him be proved with "hard questions." If a man is really wise, he
likes to have inquiries put to him which a man with less wisdom could
not answer. If the queen's questions had been such as she could answer
herself, why need she have gone all that long way to ask Solomon to
reply to them? Or if she had somebody at her home, wherever it was, who
could have replied to her questions, why need she have gone to
Jerusalem? It was because she had no one else to help her that she
brought her questions to the one who, because of his superlative
wisdom, would be able to answer them. This would relieve her mind and
send her home satisfied upon many points that had previously troubled
her–so she did well to bring her "hard questions" to Solomon.
But I have known some–I think I still know some–who seem as if they
could not ask Christ a hard question. For instance, they feel that they
are great sinners and they think that if they had not sinned so much,
He might be better able to forgive them, so they do not like to bring
their hard questions to King Jesus. Others have a hard struggle to
conquer some fierce passion, or some reigning lust–and they think they
must overcome that evil themselves. Do you think that my Master is only
a little Savior? He is the great Physician! Will you only bring to Him
a cut finger or an aching tooth to cure? Oh, He is such a Savior that
you may bring to Him the worst, the most abject and depraved of men,
for they are those who can best prove His power to save! When you feel
yourselves most lost, then come to Him! When you are at your worst
state–when you think you are almost damned and wonder that you are not
altogether so–then come to Him! If yours is a hard case, bring it to
the almighty Savior. Do you think He only came into the world to save
those who are decent and good? You know what He, Himself, said, "They
that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
And, Beloved, listen yet again. Are you in some very sharp trial? Is
your spirit terribly depressed and have you, because of that, kept away
from Christ? Have you felt that you could go to Him with your everyday
burdens, but not with that special load? But why not also take that to
Him? Prove Him with hard questions–the harder, the better! Do you not
remember the Indian nurse who said to the invalid lady who seemed as if
she did not like to lean too heavily upon her, "If you love me, lean
hard"? That is what your Lord says to you, "if you love Me, lean hard
upon Me." The more of your weight you rest upon Him, the better pleased
He will be. The more you trust Him, the more you prove your confidence
in Him, the closer will be the union between you. Christ is the Bearer
of a world's iniquities, so He may readily enough be the Bearer of your
most extraordinary grief! Prove the Lord Jesus in every possible way
for He loves to be proved. The more needy the outcast, the louder does
the Gospel trumpet blow that they who are ready to perish, may come and
be saved.
When the night is darkest, ask Him for His Light! When the way is
roughest, lean more than ever upon His arm! When the storm is the most
fierce, trust the Pilot of the Galilean Lake! When all around you rocks
and reels to and fro like a drunken man, find a sure shelter and hiding
place in the Rock of Ages! Prove the Lord Jesus in every possible way,
for He loves to be tested! You blackest sinners who are here, come and
put my Lord to the Test!–
"The poorer the wretch, the more welcome here." The more hungry men
are, the more fit they are for the Gospel feast! The more needy the
outcast, the louder does the Gospel trumpet blow, that they who are
ready to perish may come and be saved!
II. Now, secondly, LET US IMITATE HER EXAMPLE IN REFERENCE TO CHRIST
WHO IS "GREATER THAN SOLOMON." Let us prove Him with hard questions.
Let us bring to Him some nuts to be cracked, some diamonds to be cut,
some difficulties to be solved. I do not know what hard question may be
resting upon the mind of any of you, but I will briefly mention 10 hard
questions which Jesus answers. They are only 10 out of ten thousand
that might be put to Him, for there is no hard question which He cannot
answer. He is far wiser than Solomon, of whom we read that he,
"answered all her questions: there was nothing so difficult for the
king, which he could not explain to her."
Here is the first hard question. How can a man be just with God It
stands in the Book of Job and it seems to stand there unanswered–"How
should man be just with God?" There is nobody on the face of the earth
who could have answered that question if it had not been made possible
by our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no way of being just in the sight of
God except through Him. But if we come to Him, He will tell us that we,
ourselves, must stand in the place of condemnation and confess that we
deserve the wrath of God for our sin. We must always admit that no
merits of ours can ever win His favor– that, in fact, we have no
merits of our own, but are undeserving, ill-deserving, Hell-deserving
sinners. And when we occupy that position, then, of His own abounding
Grace and mercy, God will reckon us as just through Christ Jesus.
Our Lord Jesus also tells us how a man can be just with God as He
reminds us that He is the Covenant Head of His believing people, that,
as in Adam, the first head, all men fell, so those who are in Him, who
is the Second Adam, the Lord from Heaven, all rise again. "As by one
man's disobedience many were made righteous." Righteousness in the
sight of God comes through the Headship of Christ to all who are in
Him. Christ has honored the Law of God, He has obeyed every jot and
tittle of it and His obedience is reckoned as the obedience of all who
are in Him. "Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes not
iniquity." And blessed is that man to whom there comes a righteousness
which is not of the Law and which comes not because of circumcision,
but which comes to those who believe–as it is written, "Abraham
believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness." The
question, "How can a man be just with God?" is, therefore, answered
thus–Jesus says, "I have stood in the place of the guilty and have
rendered to God's Law a perfect obedience. This is imputed to all who
believe and God regards them as just through My righteousness." Oh,
glorious Doctrine of Imputation! Happy are all they who believe it and
rejoice in it.
Here is another hard question. How can God be just, and yet the
Justifer of the ungodly?. If He is just, surely He must condemn the
ungodly! Yet we know for sure many who have been ungodly whom God has
been pleased to meet with and to justify so completely that they have
been heard to say, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's
elect? It is God that justifies." How can this be? Only Jesus can
answer the question, and He answers it thus–"I have borne the penalty
that was due to sin. I have stood in the sinner's place and suffered
that which has fully satisfied the claims of Divine Justice on his
behalf. I have paid the sinner's debt, so the Law may well let him go
free." "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His
stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the
iniquity of us all." Therefore, by the knowledge of Him shall God's
righteous Servant justify many, for He has borne their iniquities. The
great Sin-Bearer has suffered in the sinner's place–the sword of
Divine Justice smote Him, for He stood in the sinner's place willingly
bearing the sinner's penalty and now that sin has been punished upon
Him, God can be just, and yet be the Justifier of all who believe in
His dear Son!
The next question is one which has puzzled many. How can a man be saved
by faith alone without works, and yet no man can be saved by a faith
that is without works? Some have thought that there is a contradiction
between the teaching of Paul and that of James, and have even gone so
far as to say that the Apostle James was not Inspired when he wrote,
"Faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone." They had no right
to say this, for James was as much Inspired as Paul was. The Truth of
God which James teaches is as certain and as valuable as the Truth of
God which Paul taught. James did not teach other than Paul taught and
Paul did not teach other than James taught. Whenever they met, I have
no doubt that they had blessed communion with one another, for they
both meant the same thing, though they expressed it differently.
If you are puzzled by this question, our Lord Jesus Christ will tell
you, in this Book, through which He still speaks to us, that we are to
believe in Him for salvation, and not to bring any works of our own as
the ground of our trust–not even our own faith, so far as it is a
work–for a man is saved by Grace, that is, by God's free favor, not by
works of righteousness which he has done. "For by Grace are you saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not
of works, lest any man should boast." That Truth of God is as clearly
taught in Scripture as it can possibly be! But then it is equally true
that no man may claim that he is saved unless the faith which he
professes to have, is an active, living faith which makes him love God
and, consequently, do that which is well pleasing in His sight. If I
say that I believe in God, yet continue to live in sin willfully and
knowingly, then I have a faith no better than the devils have, for they
"believe and tremble."
There are some men who profess to believe in God, yet who do not
tremble before Him, but are impudent and presumptuous. That is not the
kind of faith that saves the soul! Saving faith is that which produces
good works, which leads to repentance, or is accompanied by it, and
leads to love of God, to holiness and to a desire to be made like unto
the Savior. Good works are not the root of faith, but they are its
fruit. A house does not rest upon the tiles on its roof, yet it would
not be fit to live in if it had not a roof and, in like manner, our
faith does not rest upon our good works, yet it would be a poor and
useless faith if it had not some of the fruit of the Spirit to prove
that it had come from God. Jesus Christ can tell us how a man can aim
at being as holy as God is holy, and yet never talk about his holiness,
or dream of trusting in it. We should live as if we were to be saved by
our own works, yet place no reliance whatever upon them, but count them
as dross, that we may win Christ and be found in Him, not having our
own righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is God by faith.
Here is another hard question which once greatly puzzled a ruler of the
Jews. You know his name, Nicodemus, "The same came to Jesus by night."
This was his hard question– "How can a man be born when he is old?" At
first sight, it seems as if that were unanswerable, but Jesus Christ
has said, "Behold, I make all things new." Even under the old
dispensation, God's promise to His people was, "A new heart also will I
give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of
flesh." All this is impossible with man, but it is possible with God.
The Holy Spirit regenerates a man, causes him to be born-again, so
that, though his bodily frame remains the same, yet his inner spirit
becomes like that of a little child and, as a newborn babe, he desires
the unadulterated milk of the Word that he may grow. Yes, there is a
total change worked in men when they believe in Jesus Christ. He said
to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born-again, he cannot see the Kingdom of
God." And men who are old can be born-again, "by the Word of God, which
lives and abides forever." Graybeard, you can be born-again! Leaning on
your staff for very age–though you have outnumbered three score years
and ten, you can be born-again! And if you were a 100 years of age, yet
if you would believe in Jesus, by the power of the Eternal Spirit, you
would at once be made a new creature in Christ Jesus!
Here is another hard question. How can God, who sees all things, no
longer see any sin in Believers?That is a puzzle which many cannot
understand. God is everywhere and everything is present to His
all-seeing eyes, yet He says, through
the Prophet Jeremiah, "In those days, and in that time, says the Lord,
the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none." I
venture to say that even God Himself cannot see that which no longer
exists. Even His eyes rest not on a thing that is not! And thus is it
with the sin of those who have believed in Jesus–it has ceased to be.
God Himself has declared, "I will remember their sin no more." But can
God forget? Of course He can, as He says that He will! The work of the
Messiah was described to Daniel in these remarkable words, "to finish
the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness." To make an end of sins? Well, then, there is an end of
them! And, according to that other gracious, Divine declaration, "I
have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a
cloud, your sins." Oh, what blessed words! Therefore they are gone,
they have ceased to be, Christ has obliterated them and, therefore, God
no longer sees them! Oh, the splendor of the pardon which God has
bestowed upon all Believers, making a clean sweep of all their sins
forever!
Here is another hard question. How can a man see the invisible God Yet
Christ said, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
And the angel said to John, "His servants shall serve Him and they
shall see His face." This hard question is putting in another form, the
difficulty which Philip brought to Jesus–"Lord, show us the Father,
and it will satisfy us." Jesus answered Him, "Have I been so long with
you, and yet have you not known Me, Philip? He that has seen Me has
seen the Father." In the Person of His dear Son, God the Father has
displayed Himself before the eyes of men, as John says, "The Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father), full of Grace and truth." Jesus
Himself said, "I and My Father are One," so that we can see the
invisible Father in the Person of Jesus Christ His Son.
Moving upward in Christian experience, here is another hard question.
How can it be true that "whoever is born of God sins not," yet men who
are born of God do sin? Ah, that is a question which has puzzled man,
but we must remember that every man of God is two men in one. That new
part of him, which is born of God, that new nature who was implanted in
regeneration, cannot sin because it is born of God. It is the
incorruptible seed which lives and abides forever, but, as far as the
man is still in the flesh, it is true that "the carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed
can be." The old nature sins through the force of nature, but the new
nature sins not because it is born of God.
This helps, also, to answer another hard question. How can a man be a
new man, and yet be constantly sighing because he finds in himself so
much of the oldmanl The Holy Spirit guided the Apostle Paul to instruct
us upon this matter. There is the new man within us which leaps for joy
because of the heavenly life. But, alas, there is also the old man.
Paul calls it "the body of this death." There it is and you know that
it is the older of the two, and that it will not go out if it can help
it. It says to the new nature, "What right have you here?" "I have the
right of Grace," answers the new nature–"God put me here and here I
mean to stay." "Not if I can prevent it," cries the old nature! "I will
stamp you out, or I will smother you with doubts, or puff you up with
pride, or kill you with the poison of unbelief–but out you shall go
some way." "No," replies the new nature, "I never will go out, for I
have come to stay here. I came in the name and under the authority of
Jesus Christ and where Jesus comes, He comes to reign, and I mean to
reign over you."
He deals some heavy blows at the old nature, and smites him to the
dust, but it is not easy to keep him under. That old nature is such a
horrible companion for the new nature, that it often makes him cry, "O
wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?" But even while he is thus crying out, he is not afraid of the
ultimate issue–he feels sure of victory. The new nature sits and
sings, as it were, within the ribs of death, with the stench of
corruption in its nostrils–but it still sits and sings, "I thank God
through Jesus Christ our Lord," and triumph still in Him. We are not
going to be overcome, Beloved. "Sin shall not have dominion over you:
for you are not under the Law, but under Grace." But, my Brothers and
Sisters, it is a tremendous struggle and if our Lord had not instructed
His servant Paul to tell us about his own experience, some of us would
have been obliged to cry, "If it is so, why am I thus?"
Christ knows all about the inner life of His people and His Word
explains what may appear mysterious to you, so, when next you feel this
conflict raging within your spirit, you will understand it, and say,
"It is not because I am dead in sin, for, if I were dead, I would not
have this fighting. It is because I have been quickened that this
battle is going on."
Here is one more of these hard questions. How can a man be sorrowful,
yet always rejoicing? That is one of the Apostle Paul's riddles of
which he gives us a great number! Such as these–How can a man be poor,
yet make many rich? How can a man be cast down, yet not destroyed;
persecuted, yet not forsaken? How can a man be less than nothing and
yet possess all things? The explanation is that while we are in this
body, we must suffer, and smart, and pine–but thanks be to God! He has
also taught us to glory in tribulation and to expect the great reward
that awaits us, by-and-by, so that if we are full of sorrow, we accept
the sorrow joyfully. If we are made to smart, we bow beneath the rod
and look for the later blessed results from it. And so we can sigh, yet
at the same time sing.
I have one more hard question. How can a man's life be in Heaven while
he still lives on earthh May you all understand this riddle by learning
what Paul means when he says, "For you are dead, and your life is hid
with Christ in God." Who "has raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Even now the heavenly
life may be enjoyed by us, although we still live upon earth and,
sometimes, we are half inclined to say with the Apostle, "Whether in
the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows." Yet we soon
discover that we are in the body, for we have physical needs,
temptations and trials. And then we cry, "Woe is me, that I sojourn in
Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!" Yet, perhaps, the next
moment, we say, "My treasure is all packed up and gone on before me.
And I stand on tiptoe, waiting to be called away, for, where my
treasure is, there is also my heart, and they are both above the skies
with my dear Lord and Savior."
There are the 10 hard questions. I might have asked a great many more,
and He, "who is greater than Solomon," could have answered them all!
III. Now in closing, let us ANSWER CERTAIN QUESTIONS OF A PRACTICAL
CHARACTER.
Answer, first, this question–How can we come to Christ? He is in
Heaven, so we cannot climb up to Him there. Yes, but He has graciously
said, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." And
though we see Him not, and hear Him not, yet in spirit He is among us
at this moment! You need not stir even a step in order to get to Him.
If Jesus were again upon earth, He could not, in His bodily Presence,
be in all places at once. Suppose He were in London, what would they do
who live in Australia and needed to get to Him? They might die on the
voyage! Or if He were at Jerusalem, how many poor people would never be
able to get to Palestine? It is much better that He is not on earth–it
is more expedient for us, because His Spirit is everywhere and,
desiring to think about Him, wishing to know Him, seeking Him, and,
above all, trusting Him, we have come to Him!
"Well," says one, "supposing that is done, how can we ask Christ hard
questions?" You may ask anything of Him just the same as if you could
see Him. You need not even speak the question–if you think it, He
hears it. Pray to Him, for He hears prayer. Wherever there are the
praying lips of a sinner, there is the hearing ear of the Savior!
"But," you say, "if I ask of Him, how will He answer me?" Do not expect
that He will answer you in a dream, or by any vocal sound. He has
spoken all you need to know in this Book. Read it, study it, that you
may learn what He has revealed. We who preach are not worth hearing
unless what we say is taken out of the Bible. Listen to us when we
preach because, oftentimes, the Words of the Book may seem cold to you.
But if we translate them into warm lip-language, they will go home to
your heart. You will understand them better and feel them better, as
coming from one who loves you and who is a man of flesh and blood like
yourselves.
"Yes," says one, "I would gladly come to Christ with my doubts and
difficulties–and here is one question that I want Him to answer now.
How is it that I read, in the Word of God, that He has limited a day,
and yet you bid me come to Him now?" Yes, I do bid you come to Him now
and, what is more, I tell you that His own Word is, "Him that comes to
me I will in no wise cast out." "But is it not also true that He limits
a day?" Yes, He does, but shall I tell you how He limits it? Again, He
limits a certain day, saying by David, "Today, after so long a time, as
it is said, Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts."
Blessed be His holy name, if He has limited you, He has limited you to
today! And if I live to see your face tomorrow, I will still say the
same to you. The limit is a very gracious one–it is "today." If ever a
soul comes to Christ, when he comes, it is today–and if you come this
day, you will be within the limit, for he has said, "Today if you will
hear His voice, harden not your hearts." Today then, dear Soul, is
within the boundary! This night, before you go to your home, you are
just within the limit. "Today if you will hear His voice, harden not
your hearts." Accept Him now! Trust Him now! Come to Him with your hard
questions now! Come to Him with your hard doubts, come with your hard
infidelity, come with your hard obstinacy! Come just as you are and
cast yourself at those dear pierced feet of His, for there is not a
question that He will not answer, not a difficulty that He will not
overcome, nor a sin that He will not pardon–and send you away
rejoicing!
I think I hear someone say, "What is this all about? Are there really
any people in the world who want God in this fashion?" Yes, there are,
and we are grieved if you are not one of them, for, believe me, Friend,
all who are living as if there were no God are missing everything that
truly makes up life! I heard a young man say, "I would like to see a
little life." Yes, I hope you will, and a great deal of life, too, but
there is no life in the outskirts of vice–that is death, rottenness,
stench, corruption–like the valley of Hinnom and the burning of
Tophet. Flee from it! Life is to be found by coming to God–and by
trusting Jesus you get to God and become the possessor of eternallife!
Then, getting to know God, you help to make the world all alive. The
very times and season will seem to have changed to you, for things are
not what they once were. The wilderness and the solitary places rejoice
and the desert blooms as the rose. If I could live ten thousand years
on earth without my God, and perpetually swim in a sea of sensual
delights, I would beg to be annihilated sooner than have to undergo
such a doom! But let God send or withhold whatever He pleases of
temporal favors, if He will but give me to know that He is mine and
that I am His, it shall be all I will ask of Him! I mean what I say,
and I believe that every child of God who has once enjoyed the full
Light of His Countenance will say the same.