A Happy Christian
A sermon
(No. 736)
Delivered by
C.H.SPURGEON,
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
"And the Lord shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in
drought, and make fat your bones; and you shall be like a watered
garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."- Isaiah
58:11
IT is very important that our preaching should sometimes give
descriptions of Christians in an unhealthy and sickly state. So many
are in this condition that when we describe their symptoms they may
discover themselves, and by Divine Grace be led to desire escape from
it. The proper remedies being pointed out, and the Christian being
earnestly exhorted to the use of them, I am quite sure that such
ministry as describes the unhealthy state of the Christian's experience
will be found useful. But I have sometimes thought–and I think you
will, some of you, have noticed the same thing–that such preaching as
continually dwells upon inward corruption and the innate baseness of
the heart is very apt to lead men to think that it must always be so
with them. The prevalence of unbelief, depression of spirit,
backsliding and indifference to heavenly things becomes chronic, and
they grow so familiar with reflecting upon it that they regard it as a
state in which a Christian man may well be content.
Now, when men come to think so, such ministry has done them a serious
injury. When they flatter themselves that they outstrip their fellows
in the humiliating experience of their own sinful passions. When they
grow proud of those things which should cause them shame and begin to
look down upon others who talk of holy joys and gracious liberties as
mere recruits in the army of which they are the veterans, then I say
that the ministry has been poison to them and the descriptions of
carnal and devilish lusts they have listened to have fostered a
wretched imagination! Instead of urging them to fight against sin, the
sermons they have heard have only been rocking the cradle of their
sloth, sewing pillows to their armholes, and saying to them, in some
degree, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace.
It is not so popular a thing to do, but it is better in its influence
to frequently hold up before the eye of the Christian the portrait of a
Believer in a healthy state–to let all who belong to the Church
understand that it is not necessary that we should be weak in faith, or
that our hands should hang down, and our bones be feeble. There is a
holier, happier, and more exalted state of triumphant faith, of sweet
communion, and of hallowed earnestness! And such a state is attainable,
no, it ought to be attained by all Christians! And when attained it
ought to be their constant ambition never to backslide from it. Having
once been placed upon the high mountain by a Divine hand, they should
ever pray to be kept there, to the praise and glory of the Grace of
God.
We cherish a hope this evening, that by means of this text we may be
able to give an humble portrait of what the Christian is in his
happiest times! When the candle of the Lord shines round about him!
When the visitations of the Holy Spirit refresh him, and when he
rejoices in God with all his heart! Will you please observe in what
connection this sunny sketch of prosperity occurs? It is set in a frame
that excites the strong prejudice of some professing Christians. The
setting is a framework of duties. You will perceive that the blessings
are not promised to every Christian unconditionally, but it is fenced
in with terms: "If you do this, and if you do that, then shall
such-and-such blessings be yours."
We are told that the heart is to be drawn from evil and that the soul
is to be purged from the love of oppression, ostentation, and
hypocrisy. There is to be a true and holy fast kept before the Lord,
the soul being humbled and brought down to seek the Lord according to
the spirit of righteousness, and not merely after the letter of the
ordinances. Then, and not till then, shall the blessings here promised
be enjoyed. Though salvation is of Divine Grace, the happiness of the
Christian does depend upon his obedience.
Our ultimate safety is of Sovereign Grace. No man shall exceed me in
the plain declaration that in this respect works of any sort cannot
touch our salvation! We are saved upon another footing than that of our
personal graces. But it is quite as plainly the teaching of Holy
Scripture that answers to prayer, the enjoyment of the Presence of God
and a healthy state of spirit are very much dependent upon our cautious
walking and our holy obedience to the Divine will.
There is an "if here, and should any of us neglect and despise it, and
fancy that we can still have our souls like "watered gardens," it will
not be long before we shall find out our mistake!
Suppose, however, dear Friends, that by Divine Grace we have been
brought into communion with God. Suppose we have been clothed in the
sackcloth of true penitence before Him, and girded with the garments of
salvation. Suppose it has been our desire, as in God's sight, to walk
as becomes the saints. Suppose, I say, we have been enabled by
Grace–and it cannot be otherwise–to keep ourselves "unspotted from
the world"–then that same Spirit who has sanctified us will, I am
sure, fulfill to us the promises of the text.
I must, therefore, address myself to those who are living in the faith
and are walking conformably to their profession while I depict their
happy state. Five distinct features of their felicity are mentioned.
They are described as enjoying perpetual guidance, inward satisfaction,
spiritual health, flourishing fruitfulness, and unfailing freshness of
supply.
I. These people who are thus full of God's Spirit are described as
possessing CONTINUAL GUIDANCE. "The Lord shall guide you continually."
There come to them, as to other men, dilemmas in Providence. Walking
along the road of life you may suddenly reach a turn–two roads meet.
Which is the way? Is it to the right hand or to the left? Possibly both
may appear to be equally right. You ask friends or neighbors. They will
readily enough mislead you with the best intentions. You consult your
own heart, and if you follow its counsels you will discover yourself to
be a fool! But, if your heart is true, and God's Grace is flourishing
in your soul, you will not be long held in the dilemma.
You will take the case before God. You will say as David did, "Bring
here the ephod," and your Urim and your Thummim shall be with the Holy
One and you shall hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way,
walk you in it." It may be Providence will block up one of the two
roads and point to the other. Or your judgment being further
enlightened, you shall see that the one is right and the other wrong.
Or, perhaps some stress shall be put upon your soul so that, though you
hardly know why, you will feel that you must choose the right and leave
the wrong. There are no dilemmas out of which you shall not be
delivered if you live near to God and your heart is kept warm with holy
love. He goes not amiss who goes in the company of God! Like Enoch,
walk with God and you cannot mistake your road.
The path of doctrine, also, is sometimes difficult. He who understands
Divine Truth will, I am sure, be led to confess that he does not know
everything. It is only the man who knows nothing about the Truth of God
that thinks he can twist the doctrines around his finger and in a
moment tell what is orthodox and what is heterodox. The true disciple
of Jesus Christ often approaches a statement of the revealed Word with
awe and reverence, desiring to ascertain what is the mind of God about
it. A Truth often so nearly verges upon an error that the path is as
narrow as a razor's edge, and only the Spirit of God can lead a man
there.
There is a path which the eagle's eye has not seen, the penetration of
intellect cannot discover, the lion's whelp has not trodden–all the
force of a man's mind has not been able to lead him into it–but if we
wait upon God, He will show us the way! I believe that a spiritual mind
is an orthodox mind. There is not much fear of our embracing any
serious errors in the head when the heart is not in error, for there it
is that heresies are born and bred–in that witch's caldron of our
heart! Let the heart be constantly kept at the foot of the Cross, and
let the Holy Spirit bedew it with His sacred influence, and though we
may for a little time, through our lack of mental capacity, fail to
understand the Truth, it will not be for long. The Holy Spirit will
lead us into all Truth, and thus the text shall be fulfilled, "The Lord
shall guide you continually," whether as relating to matters of
Providence or to matters of doctrinal instruction.
So shall it be likewise in matters of spiritual experience. Our
experience often seems to be as though it had no rule. There is method
in some men's madness, but it does appear as if there were no method in
our experience. Today we are on the mountain, blessed of God with full
assurance. Tomorrow we are in the glens beneath the dark shadow,
wondering why, and asking if God has forgotten to be gracious. As when
a child on a slate draws zigzag lines everywhere, but straight lines
nowhere, so has it seemed with our life–as if we were farther back now
than when we started! Our path has been like that of Israel in the
wilderness, when the Lord led them about–but yet it is added that He
guided them and instructed them.
Brethren, if we are enabled by Divine Grace to seek close and vital
union with Christ, and to live upon Him daily and continually, we may
rest assured that whether our experience is gloomy or delightful,
whether our inward conflicts or joys or sorrows, He will still be at
the helm and will guide us continually. As I turned over this sentence
I could not help feeling that it was like a wafer made of honey! It is
all honey! "The Lord shall guide you." Not an angel, but JEHOVAH
shall guide you! He said He would not go through the wilderness before
His people–an angel should go before them to lead them in the way. But
Moses said, "If Your Presence go not with us, carry us not up from
here."
Christian, God has not left you in your earthly pilgrimage to an
angel's guidance! He Himself will lead the van! You may not see the
cloudy, fiery pillar, but Jehovah shall never forsake you. Jehovah
shall guide you continually. Notice the word shall–"The Lord shall
guide you." How certain this makes it! How sure it is that God will not
forsake us! His precious "shalls" and "wills" are better than men's
oaths. "I will never leave nor forsake you." In one place He puts in
five negatives, "I will not leave you; I will never, never, never,
forsake you."–
"The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes.
That soul, though all Hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake." Then observe that adverb
"continually." We are not to be guided only sometimes, but we are to
have a perpetual Monitor. Not occasionally to be left to our own
understanding, and so to wander–but we are continually to hear the
guiding voice of the Great Shepherd!
And as we follow close at His heels we shall not err, but be led by a
right way to a city to dwell in. You have been, perhaps, in a maze and
you know how difficult it is to find your way to the center. But
sometimes there is one perched aloft who sees the whole of the maze
spread out before him like a map, and he calls out to you to turn
either to the right or to the left. And if you attend to his directions
you soon find the way. Even so the maze of life is only a maze to us,
but God can see it all! He who rules over all looks down upon it as men
look down upon a map. And if we will but look to Him, and if our
communion is constantly kept up, we shall never err, but we shall come
to the goal of our hopes right speedily by following His voice.
Now, Brothers and Sisters, were this the whole of my sermon, and were I
now to send you away, I think you would have heard enough if your faith
can only grasp it. Never be afraid, my dear Friend, if you have to
change your position in life! If you have to emigrate to distant
shores. If it should happen that you are cast into poverty, or uplifted
suddenly into a more responsible position than the one you now
occupy–if you are thrown among strangers, or cast among foes, yet
tremble not, for–"the Lord shall guide you continually." This is more
than the statesman can say with all his craftiness! This is more than
all the cunning men can say who use their wits to plunder their
fellows! This is more than the wisest man can say who trusts in his own
judgment! You have Infallible wisdom to direct you, Immutable love to
comfort you, and eternal power to defend you. "Jehovah"–mark the
word–"Jehovah shall guide you continually."
II. The second blessing promised in the text is one which I trust we
have enjoyed, and which some of us are enjoying even now–it is INWARD
SATISFACTION. "And satisfy your soul in drought." It is a blessed thing
to have the soul satisfied, for the soul is of great capacity. The
whole world, someone has said, cannot fill a man's eye, because a man's
eye can see so much. How much more, if it is the expression of his
inward perception, is it true that the world cannot fill it? The soul
is like the grave, it is never satisfied. It is like the horseleech
which ever cries, "Give, give!" Lay your moneybags to your heart, and
see if they will satisfy you! Your poor soul will say, "How can I be
satisfied with this dull earth? What is there here to feed the soul
with?"
As well bring stones to a horse, as bring gold to a soul. There is
nothing for a soul to feed upon in all the pomp of kings and pride of
men–these are no food for the soul! As well feed eagles upon clods, as
hope to feed immortal souls upon anything that is earth-born. The soul
nerds more than all this! But the Christian has what his soul wants. He
has, in the first place, a removal of all that which marred his peace,
blighted his prospects, and made his soul empty and hungry. His sin is
pardoned! He is reconciled to God! He is at peace with the Most High!
The soul is never satisfied till it can place its head in the bosom of
the Great Father of Spirits, and this the Christian can do.
He is satisfied with God's dispensations. He believes that the present
will work for his good and the future, too, even as the past has done.
He is satisfied with God's love. It is a rich feast to him to know that
God loves him. It is an infinite joy to the Christian to believe that
he is one with Christ. That he is accepted in and through Jesus. That
he is a member of His body and is united to Him–part of His flesh and
of His bones. It is a satisfaction to the Christian to know that the
Holy Spirit dwells in him, and that his body is a temple for the
indwelling of Deity. He is satisfied with promises that can never be
broken, with covenants that can never be violated, with oaths that
stand fast like mountains, and with the Words of God which are great as
the fathomless sea. He is satisfied with his God.
The consequence of such a satisfaction as this is that the Christian is
as well-satisfied at one time as at another if his soul is right. You
see, the text says that he shall be satisfied in times of drought.
Louth, I believe, translates the word, "severest droughts." The word
seems to apply to places constantly subject to lack of moisture, as
well as seasons exceptionally dry. Yet it is in the plural–the Hebrew
plural being used to intensify as well as to multiply, so that it
really reads thus: "In the worst times of distress the Christian is
still satisfied."
There are some houses in London which would tumble down if you were to
remove those on either side that help to support them, but there are
other houses which are self-contained. You might pull all the houses in
the parish down if you liked, but it would not hurt them. Now, the most
of men in this world are like houses in a row–they lean, one upon
another. They are kept up by carnal comforts. But the Christian is
self-sustained, and does not lean upon any arm of flesh. You ask, "What
about his wealth?" He is rich in faith, and if all his property were
gone he would still say, "I have not lost my God!"
"But what about his family?" Well, he loves them, and if they were
taken away he would weep as other men weep– no, he would weep, but not
as other men would weep–I may correct myself–for he would say, "The
Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the
Lord." He would still feel that he had not lost his Elder Brother. That
he had not lost his heavenly Father. And that he was not an orphan in
the world. "Well, but how about his health?" Well, he prizes that, but
if pains of body distress him and he should be stretched upon a sick
bed, he has a little secret which he cannot tell you, but which he
knows himself, and which enables him to be more healthy when he is sick
than he is when he is in health!
And he can sing God's praises more sweetly, sometimes, in a cage of ill
health than he did when he was in the open field of vigor! For many of
God's birds sing best in cages, fly best when their wings are broken,
get nearest to Heaven when they are rolled right down to the earth, and
discern most of God, and see most of Him when they have lost the tokens
of His love. You know we can see many things in the dark which we
cannot see in the light. I question, indeed, whether we do not see even
more in the dark than we do in the light–that is to say, we can see
all those starry worlds, those unnumbered orbs floating in distant
space–we can see them when the light is gone, but we cannot see them
by day. So, when outward lights are taken away, the Christian often
perceives more instead of less, through the inward light and the light
of Heaven which God is pleased to give him.
Is it not a blessed thing, dear Friends, to have a heavenly
constitution, a satisfaction which does not depend upon outward
circumstances? To be satisfied in times of plenty, why, any fool can do
that! But to be satisfied in days of drought–this is the Christian's
privilege, for he can say, "Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail,
and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the
fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in
the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
When the rancher walks out among his cattle, and sees them all in good
health, and promising a good return–a fine investment for his
labors–it is very easy for him to say, "Bless the Lord!" But when the
cattle plague comes and empties all his stalls, and there are great
heaps out in the field to show where the cattle are all buried, and
there has been no compensation for them–how now, rancher? Can you now
praise God and be satisfied in times of drought? And you, Friend, when
you are in good full employment, and wages are high, and the house is
well-furnished, and the cupboard is full–it is very easy, then, for
you to kneel down at family prayer and thank God for His kindness.
But how about when the husband is sick, when the funds have got very
low, and when the little children look at their father wondering where
the next meal will come from? To be satisfied even then that it is all
right! Oh this is a grand thing! This is just the mark of difference
between the Christian and the worldling. The worldling blesses God
while He gives him plenty, but the Christian blesses Him when He smites
him! The Christian believes God to be too wise to err and too good to
be unkind! He trusts Him where he cannot trace Him. He looks up to Him
in the darkest hour, and believes that all is well.
O Christian, if your heart is right, you will understand this spiritual
satisfaction, and your soul will be satisfied in times of drought!
III. The next blessing is SPIRITUAL HEALTH AND HAPPINESS. "And make fat
your bones." Note the figure. It is not "make fat your flesh." I am
anything but sure that that would be a blessing in any sense. Certainly
it is rather baneful than blessed, understanding it metaphorically, for
when Jeshurun waxed fat he kicked. Sometimes abundance in
earthly things makes poverty in heavenly things. External richness and
strength are often the signs of weakness in the inner man.
But fatness here is to be upon the man's hardest and most necessary
part of his frame. A man is really built up when his bones, the solid
pillars of the house of his manhood, have been strengthened. Vigor has
been put into his constitution where it was most required. His bones
have been renovated and made strong. Oh, it is a grand thing when the
soul is thus in spiritual health, when the bones are made fat! Do you
know what it means, Christian? It is when you take a promise and it is
applied with power, and you can feed on it! When you take a precept and
feel the strength granted, by God's Grace, to go and fulfill it! When
you turn to God's purposes and decrees and rejoice in them, seeing that
you have a fair portion in them! Or turning to God's testimonies
concerning your daily walk, you find just as much comfort in these as
you did in those, and can bless God for ability given you to serve as
well as for power to enjoy!
I have lately read in the newspaper–I am sure I do not know whether to
believe that it is true–an account of a youth in France, twenty years
of age, who has been laying sleeping for a fortnight, nourished only
upon a little gruel given with a spoon, and that he was in the same
state a year ago for nearly a month. Whether this has actually occurred
to anybody or not, I have known many cases of Christians who have hid
like that spiritually, not for a fortnight only, but for a whole year!
No, and not for a year only, but it is their general state. They come
on Sunday and we have to feed them a little gruel with a spoon, and
this lasts them till the next time there is a service.
They live on nothing but thin liquid, and as might be expected, they
have no strength. If you listen to them, you will hear them saying such
words as these–
" 'Tis a point I long to know, Oft it causes anxious thought: Do I love
the Lord or no, Am I His, or am I not?"
They have no more health than that! Oh, that they could get strong! Oh,
that God would make fat their bones, and then they would be able to
sing Toplady's hymn–
"My name from the palm of His hands,
Eternity cannot erase.
Impressed on His heart it remains,
In marks of indelible Grace.
Yes, I to the end shall endure,
As sure as the earnest is given;
More happy, but not more secure,
Are the glorified spirits in Heaven." May we get out of a state of
spiritual sickness, and may our bones grow fat so that we may be strong
in the Lord and in the power of His might!
The figure seems to me to indicate two or three things in one. There is
health here–the soul is purged from its vices, sicknesses, and
unbelief, pride, sloth, and such like. There is vigor here–no
lukewarmness, being neither cold nor hot, no laxity nor indifference.
There is growth–the man is not stunted–he does not think that he has
come to perfection, and may therefore stop where he is. His bones grow
fat. Inward satisfaction seems to be couched in the figure. The man is
happy, perfectly happy! He is always rejoicing. He is not lean with
fretting, but fattened with the oil of joy.
Now, dear Christian Brothers and Sisters, I would earnestly ask you not
to be content without the enjoyment of this blessing. The more one
looks upon the world, the more one is convinced that Christian joy is,
after all, Christian strength. Doubts and fears cut the very
foundations of Christian power. Strong faith is that which wins the
victory, while unbelief deprives us of all hope of conquest, and lays
us groveling in the mire beneath the feet of our own very weakest foe.
Oh, for more of this holy joy! I have told you how to get it. Fulfill
the conditions we referred to in the former part of this discourse and
then you shall have your bones made fat.
IV. The fourth blessing is this, "AND YOU SHALL BE LIKE A WATERED
GARDEN." This figure of a garden is a very sweet and attractive one. I
need not tell you how much taste may be displayed and how much pleasure
may be derived from the cultivation of such plots of ground. Our fancy
is soon at work to invent a picture of flower beds, and fruit
trees, shady walks, and pleasant fountains laid out close to some grand
mansion and opening its fairest views to the best apartments of the
palace.
Such a garden needs constant care, and then, although it may be more
beautiful at one season than another, it will never be like a wild
heath, or totally bereft of charms. But alas, some professors of
religion are not like this–there is little evidence of diligent
cultivation in their character. Instead of flowers of some kind all the
year round, it is hard to say that they ever show much bloom. Fruits
you would never expect from them. But, dear Brethren, you know that it
is a common thing for every Christian Church, whether it is a large
mansion or a little villa, to have a garden surrounding it so that you
may look out from the windows and see the various walks and the
different plants that flourish there.
I have seen some gardens attached to small houses where the owner has
portioned off little plots to each member of his family. And thus I
believe the home has been made more pleasant and happy. And oh, it is
always a good thing when every member of the Church has a spot to
engage his heart and hands, and when they can all look with so much
more satisfaction upon the tender blossoms and the full-blown flowers
because they have watched and tended and watered the plants with a
ministry of love. This, though, is merely a hint by the way. It is not
the exact meaning of the passage before us.
Your own soul is to be under cultivation. The heavenly gardener shall
rejoice in your bloom. An African traveler tells us that he has often
seen the contrast between an unwatered garden and a watered garden, and
has been much surprised at it. In the case of the watered garden there
may be a spring just outside of it, and the master has diligently
brought in the water every morning, or every evening. He has poured it
into a trench, and made it run along, and so the plant receives the
moisture, and bears fruit, forming a pleasant contrast to the arid
desert outside.
But there is another garden, with similar plants, apparently selected
with the same care, but as it has not been watered. The traveler says
that he has frequently observed the holes where the plant should be,
without a vestige of the plant that has been perceptible. There was the
trench where the water should have flowed. There were the paths in the
garden. There was everything except this–there was no life, because
there was no water. O Christians, you know what this means! When the
Holy Spirit visits God's people, they are like a garden that is watered
every day. They are green and flourishing, and their graces are an
honor to the God who nourished them.
But, if the Holy Spirit is taken away from them how different it is! If
He were utterly withdrawn from us–which, thank God, He will not be–we
should be just like the wilderness from which we were taken, and not a
vestige of Divine Grace would remain. Christian, as all depends upon
the watering of the Spirit, so make it a matter of soul-concern with
you to be watered continually by God's Grace! Oh, do not trust to the
stock you have, for it will fail you! Do not rely upon what your soul
may find within itself as being its own wisdom and strength, or you
will be deceived! Go to the Lord and pray that you may be as a watered
garden–not as a garden only–but as a watered garden. So may each one
of us do.
V. Furthermore, there is the blessing of CONTINUED STRENGTH, CONTINUED
FRESHNESS, AND CONTINUED SUPPLY. "As a spring of water whose waters
fail not." There are many wells in the East which do fail, and many
apparent springs which deceive the traveler. I observe that the margin
has it, "whose waters deceive not, or lie not." When a caravan comes to
a well, if there is no water in it the travelers are deceived. And if
the farmer should come to a reservoir and find that the water is all
gone, then the reservoir has lied unto him and deceived him.
And how many a man who has appeared like a Christian has been but a
mere deceiver? We looked into his conversation where there should have
been a savor of godliness, but we found none. We hoped that in his
actions he would be like the Master whom he professed to serve, but we
saw none of that Master's likeness. We trusted that when he came into
communion with the Church, he would add to its comfort and its
usefulness, but he has merely added to its numbers, and has been an
encumbrance upon its march. He has been a deceiver! His waters have
lied to us.
Not so God's true people–they shall not deceive. They shall have so
much Divine Grace that when a Christian friend expects to find Grace in
them, he shall not be disappointed. He shall be refreshed by their
conversation. He shall be encouraged by their holy example. A spring of
water is not dependent upon anything beyond itself. Deep down in the
caverns of the earth great treasures of water have been prepared by God
and the spring subsists upon its own secret source. And so does the
Christian! God has provided in the covenant a depth of living water! It
is one of the blessings pronounced upon Israel's sons.
Christ Himself has declared that he who drinks of the water of life
shall find it in him, "a well of water springing up into everlasting
life." The reservoir must be filled at certain times, and then it gets
dry, but the spring is filled from itself. So the Christian is not
dependent upon the ordinances. He thrives upon them, but he is not
dependent upon them. If, by Providence, he is denied the use of them,
he has a spring within. No, he has a spring in the secret depths of the
eternal love of God which wells up within him at all times, so that he
becomes as "a spring of water, whose waters fail not."
I do not know how some people who believe that a Christian can fall
from Grace, manage to be happy. It must be a very commendable thing in
them to be able to get through a day without despair. If I did not
believe the doctrine of the Final Perseverance of the Saints, I think I
should be, of all men, the most miserable because I should lack any
ground of comfort. Certainly I should not be able to understand this
text. I could not say whatever state of heart I came into, I should be
like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
I should rather have to take the comparison of an intermittent spring
that might stop on a sudden, or a reservoir which we had no reason to
expect would always be full. If I speak to any Brother who has not
received the doctrine of Final Perseverance, I ask him to look it once
more in the face. Do you not think that when the Savior says, "But
whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst;
but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life," the interpretation of the figure
necessitates the belief that Divine Grace is an enduring thing which
cannot be destroyed?
Does not the metaphor of the text, to understand it fully, seem to
require you to believe that the Grace which God puts into men will
continue there, will have in itself, through its Divine origin, a force
and a vitality which will make it continue to spring up as the well
does, without any outward pumping, or without any need of fresh supply
from the depths of Deity? The Christian should be satisfied, and his
piety should never come to an end! Come then, let us wrap our cloak
about us with a word of joy and comfort, and go our way into the cold,
bleak world rejoicing that if our hearts are right, we are resting upon
the source of every precious thing!
Let us go forth and rejoice that we have within us a life that can
never die! That we have a something within us that can satisfy us in
the worst of times! That God is with us, to be our Guide and our dear
Companion! Being the favored sons of Heaven, and the heirs of
immortality, let us eat our bread with joy! Let us cheer our poverty
with hope! Let us make glad our times of trial with holy rejoicing! Let
us rejoice in the Lord always, and shout for joy, and so may His
blessed Spirit help us to live to His glory!
I can only regret that such a text as this can have no bearing upon
some of my Hearers. There are some of you to whom we shall have to read
the text in the negative. "You shall not be guided by God, for you
shall follow your own devices, and they shall lead you down to death
and to the gates of Hell." O unconverted Sinner, tremble at this! You
shall not be satisfied! There shall come a day of drought that shall
dry up your body, though you flourished as a green herb. There shall
come a time when your pleasures shall be of no use to you, when the
hollow cheek and the blinding eye shall bring no comfort to you from
without, but shall only work the end of all your joy.
The text does not say that your bones shall be made fat–your flesh may
be made fat–but only that you may be fattened for the slaughter! You
may have outward good, but only that you may be more wretched when you
have to go and leave it. There shall be no inward peace, no spiritual
joy. There is no promise to you that you shall be a watered garden. You
will not ask of God, and you shall not have. You do not knock, and the
door shall not be opened. You do not seek, and you shall not find. You
shut your ear against God and He will shut His ear against you. You
refused the Cross of Christ, and therefore you shall lose the crown of
Heaven and shall not know joy because you do not know heart-sorrow.
You do not hate sin, you shall not, therefore, enjoy the bliss of
righteousness. And you shall not be as a spring of water whose waters
fail not. The little joy you have, all brackish as it is, shall be
denied you at the last. You shall cry for a drop of water to cool your
tongue, but you shall find none. Oh, terrible is your present state,
but more terrible by far is the future which looms in the distance! Do
you not hear the breaking of the waves of the unknown sea? You must go
down into it! Do you not even now hear the booming of its awful billows
upon the cliffs of time? What if it should be a sea of fire to you
forever? What if every billow in that sea of flame should break over
you, and you be cast into it, but not drowned, shipwrecked and
lost–and not annihilated? What if you must be drifting forever across
that fiery sea, with the word of Divine wrath driving you on, never to
find a haven?
Sinner, there is hope yet! This is not the realm of despair! Not yet
has the great iron key grated in the lock to shut you forever in the
dungeon! It is said of Christ that, "He opens and no man shuts." He can
open Heaven to you! Trust Him with your whole heart, mourning for sin
and hating it. Rest in His blood! Find a shelter beneath His Cross, and
He will not, cannot cast you away, for "He is able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by Him." May you so come, and then may
your Christian life be filled with happiness, and overflowing with joy,
so that you may sing in the words of David, with which I close–"Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
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God–All in All
A sermon