For or Against?
(No. 2773)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, APRIL 6, 1902.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING MARCH
24, 1878.
"And the guards shook for fear of him, and became as dead men. And the
angel answered and said unto the women, Do not be afraid, for I know
that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for He is
risen, as He said." Matthew 28:4-6.
THIS twofold incident, the trembling of the guards and the comforting
of the women, seems to me to have a great deal about it in the form of
a type. I think it may be looked upon as an illustration of what has
often occurred and will probably occur again and again. And it teaches
us how Divine and angelic manifestations have their dark and
threatening side for the ungodly, and their bright and cheering side
for the people of God. Just as the pillar of cloud which came between
the Israelites and the Egyptians, was dark to the Egyptians but gave
light to the children of Israel, so, in this case, the appearance of
the angel of the Lord made the Roman soldiers shake and swoon away
while it brought comfort and encouragement to the humble women who were
the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It will be thus all through the history of the world–the most cheering
subjects to saints will be the most gloomy subjects to sinners and, at
the last, "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with His
mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not
God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ," "He shall
come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that
believe." When He shall be welcomed by the joyful acclamations of all
His faithful followers, the wicked shall say to the mountains and
rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the
Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." That face, which will be to
His own people as the rising of the sun which will usher in the
everlasting day, will be to the wicked as the flaming sword of certain
vengeance smiting them to their eternal overthrow!
I bring this incident, therefore, before your notice for the purpose of
showing you that the swooning men, on the one side, in the presence of
the angel, represent the terrifying effect of many a glorious Truth of
God upon the ungodly. While the women, comforted by the cheering words
of the angelic messenger, set forth the way in which many a Truth of
God, terrible to the wicked, has, nevertheless, its sweet and cheering
side to seeking souls.
My first division will be this, all things have a black look for
ungodly men. And the second will, naturally, be that all things have a
smile for seekers after Christ.
I. First, I have a stern duty to perform in reminding everyone who is
not reconciled to God by Jesus Christ and who, therefore, is still
living in sin, that ALL THINGS HAVE A BLACK LOOK FOR HIM.
Whether you know it or not, you who are enemies to God are out of gear
with the entire universe. If God did not hold His creatures in with a
strong leash, they would turn upon you and tear you in pieces. The very
earth groans under the burden of having to bear you up and the bread
you eat is unwilling to feed an enemy of God. The wind, air, sun, moon,
stars would, if they could, decline to be of service to you as long as
you remain at enmity against Him whom they so gladly serve. The
Believer in God is informed that he shall be in league with the stones
of the field and that the beasts of the field shall be at peace with
him. All things work together for good unto him–but to you who are a
rebel against your God, nothing is working for good! The great wheels
of Divine Providence are continually revolving and the day is coming in
which they will grind you to powder! Whatever little discomfort or
inconvenience you may have suffered in the
past–and, perhaps, you have fretted and fumed, and even blasphemed
against God because of it–it is nothing compared with what you will
have to suffer in that day when God shall permit the forces of Nature
to work their just and righteous will upon you–and to inflict upon you
the due penalty for your evil deeds.
If an unconverted man were really in his right senses, so that he could
accurately understand the position in which he stands, he would be
alarmed to the last degree. Though he may not have outwardly
transgressed the Law of God by enormous crimes against the law of man,
yet it is guilt enough for him to have lived in rebellion against his
God–guilt enough to have forgotten God–guilt enough to have no love
for Him! I think I see you now, O ungodly man! You are standing above
the pit of everlasting wrath upon a single plank and that plank is
snapping beneath your feet–you are hanging over the awful precipice by
a single rope and each moment the strands of that rope are
breaking–and the last one of them will snap before long! And if you
are then unsaved, you will learn what eternal destruction from the
Presence of the Lord and the Glory of His power will mean. O God, save
us all from being any longer opposed to You! Deliver us from the guilt
of the past and the sin of the present, and reconcile us unto Yourself
through the death of Your Son. This is the one great need of each
unsaved soul in the whole world!
Every unconverted person ought to learn, from the connection of our
text, that the great throes of Nature are always against the ungodly.
These Roman soldiers who were on guard at the door of the sepulcher,
were probably not any worse than most other men of their time. Possibly
they were better than a good many others but they were not Christians,
so they were opposed to God and they were doing the devil's work. While
they were at their post, the earth suddenly began to rock under their
feet. They may have had some experience with earthquakes before, for
they had lived in regions where earthquakes were not uncommon, but this
was "a great earthquake" and, as they felt the ground moving beneath
them, as though they were on the sea rather than on the land, they were
full of fear. There is, in most men, a consciousness of the power of
that which is supernatural. You may hear them swear, or talk in
atheistic fashion until there comes a sudden flash of lightning so
vivid that they start–and as it is followed by a tremendous
thunderclap, they are alarmed and they cry out, "O God!" If they happen
to witness such a violent phenomenon as a tropical tornado or an
earthquake, they are so alarmed and distressed that they know not what
to do.
Men on board ship, in times of terrible storm and peril, who never
thought of praying before, believe in God straight away and cry to Him
for mercy when the yawning wave threatens to swallow up the vessel in
which they are sailing. I think that there are few sailors who really
remain atheists. At any rate, I cannot imagine that they will continue
to be so if, on some lonely night, when the ship is gently moving over
the sea, there should happen to be one of those strange lights that
will sometimes come and which I have seen, lighting up every spar and
sail with wonderful magnificence for a moment, and then all sinking
into darkness again. The man who witnesses such a sight as that, stands
aghast and all his doubts concerning the existence of God are driven
away by the inward conviction that, somehow or other, the great and
terrible forces of Nature are ranged against the man who is living in
opposition to his God!
Another thing is also very clear from this narrative and we may state
it as a fact, that all mysterious beings are against the ungodly. These
Roman soldiers evidently though so, or they would not have trembled and
become as dead men. They had never seen an angel before, though they
may have had some sort of belief that there were such mysterious
beings. But, on this occasion there appeared to them the angel of the
Lord–"his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as
snow"–and they were so astonished and alarmed at the sight of him that
they quaked and became as dead men! It has become a custom, in this
evil age, for certain persons to attempt to communicate with familiar
spirits. If it can be done, it is strictly forbidden in this Book, yet
there are some who try to have dealings with those who are in the land
of spirits. Well, if they will trespass on that forbidden ground, it is
possible that, one of these days, somebody will appear to them. I
should not greatly wonder if their father, the devil, came up and ran
away with them! They go so near his door and do their utmost to enter
that they ought not to be surprised if he should appear and claim his
own!
But let every unconverted person be sure that whatever spirits there
may be in the unseen world–and there are good angels and bad
ones–they will, none of them, work for the good of the ungodly! The
evil angels may tempt and mislead, and help to destroy, but they can do
no good, even if they wished to do so, to the ungodly. And as for the
pure and holy spirits that behold the Father's face in Glory, I think
that their flaming swords must often be ready to start from their
scabbards as they hear God's holy name profaned and see how mortal men,
puny creatures as they are, dare to provoke the majesty of Heaven! If
angels are capable of experiencing horror, I think they must often be
horrified into burning
indignation at the transgressions which they behold among the sons and
daughters of men! Ah, you who try to pierce the veil which hides these
mysterious beings from view, be sure of this, that whatever of mystery
there is in the world of spirits, it is all arrayed against you! Even
if you can see the hand that is writing on the wall, you cannot see the
body of the writer who is inscribing the letters of fire upon the wall,
and though those letters are a mystery to you, you need not think twice
as to the purport and meaning of the message, for you may be sure that
it is against you. Whenever there is a manifestation from the spirit
world at all, God cannot have sent it in your favor as long as you
remain His adversaries. There is a black and threatening side of every
angelic face towards everyone who will not be reconciled to God.
The same is true concerning the Resurrection of Christ. These Roman
legionaries saw the Savior rise from the dead, or, at least, they
witnessed as much of that great act as could be beheld by men. And it
made them tremble as they saw the dead man, whose corpse they were
guarding, suddenly emerge from the grave in life and resurrection
beauty! Well might they be alarmed at the Resurrection of Christ–and
there will be another resurrection, both of the just and of the
unjust–and that great Truth of God has a dark side to everyone who is
the adversary of God! You might be glad to get rid of that body of
yours and to suffer only in your spirit, but you cannot do so and,
therefore, I charge you to "fear Him who is able to destroy both soul
and body in Hell."
"Those are hard words," someone says. I know they are, but they are not
mine–they are the words of the tenderhearted Christ who never said
anything more harshly than it was necessary to. You cannot get rid of
that body of yours–you will have to wear it in another world and it
will have to smart if you die unsaved. The members of your body that
you have made members of unrighteousness and servants of sin, will have
to bear the fury of Divine Wrath even as the spirit which now inhabits
that body will have to bear it! Yes, the truth of the resurrection has
a dark side to the ungodly. If you could creep into your beds of dust
and be there and rot–if there were some dens and caves where you could
hide yourselves from the face of God–or if there were for you the
annihilation which some false teachers promise you, then you might
continue in sin without fear of consequences. But now you have but one
way of hope and that is repent and be reconciled to God, for if you
will not, neither Heaven, nor earth, nor Hell can hide you from the
face of Him that sits upon the Throne, nor can either time or eternity
find you a place of shelter from the wrath of the Lamb!
Rest assured that you must rise again and that you must appear before
the Judgment Seat of Christ and receive from His lips the righteous
sentence for the things which you have done in your body. I beseech you
to give heed to this message and to be warned by it, all you who are
living ungodly lives! The Second Coming of Christ will be a time of
terror to you, whatever of bliss there may be about it for His own
people. I am not going to enter into any details of the great
conflagration, when the heavens and the earth shall pass away in
flaming fire, or of the wondrous renovation in which there shall be new
heavens and a new earth. I will not attempt to describe what the coming
of Christ will be like, but I will just remind you that the Day of the
Lord will be one of darkness–not light–to everyone who remains out of
Christ!
To those who bow the knee and kiss the Son, and accept God's Grace in
His Son, Jesus Christ, everything about Christ's coming will be joyous.
But to those who reject the Mediator and trample on His precious blood,
everything about His coming will be black as a sackcloth of hair. Their
sun shall be turned into darkness and their moon into blood! Their
stars shall wither like unripe figs and their sky shall pass away like
a scroll. There shall be no hope, or light, or comfort left for them in
that tremendous day of Christ's appearing! Everything–and I make no
exception–from God's all-piercing eyes that shall burn with holy
indignation against those who have rejected His Son, even to the
glaring eyes of devils in Hell–all shall shed baleful beams of
blackness upon those who have refused to believe in Jesus and who have
remained the enemies of God!
I have no doubt that these men who kept watch at the Savior's tomb,
were strong men–Caesar did not pick dwarfs and weaklings for his
armies. I have no doubt that they were also cruel men. Soldiers often
are and Roman soldiers certainly were of that character. They were
brave men, too. No men who have ever lived have been braver than were
the soldiers of old Rome. They were also hardy, I do not doubt. Many of
them had passed through arduous campaigns and they were probably all
familiar with bloodshed and the sad sights and sounds of the field of
battle. They had stood firm amid the shock of arms in deadly combat,
but now, just as the morning dawned, they were witnesses of the
wondrous spectacle of the Resurrection of Christ and the descent of the
angel of the Lord–"and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and
became as dead men." Well, now, if it was so with the bravest of the
brave when they saw only one angel, what will be the condition of any
of us who remain unsaved, when we shall see the heavens all aglow with
myriads of bright
spirits? And when we shall not merely see Christ in the Glory of His
Resurrection, but in the Glory of His Father and of His holy angels?
When the archangel's trumpet shall ring out o'er land and sea and there
shall peal forth that soul-piercing message, "Awake, you dead, and come
to judgment"? When the earth shall rock and reel to and fro, and the
sea shall give up her dead? Ah, what dismay will seize the unsaved
sinner then!
How will he put his hands upon his loins in the bitter anguish of his
spirit! How will he wish–all in vain–that he had never been born! But
I must stop, for the subject is too great and too terrible for human
language. God grant that you may be born-again! Then you will not have
to wish that you had never been born! May you, by faith, see Christ on
His Cross, or else the sight of Christ on His Throne will overwhelm you
with eternal despair!
II. Now, in the second place, I have to speak of something more
pleasing. The second part of my discourse is to be upon this theme–ALL
THINGS SMILE UPON SEEKERS AFTER CHRIST.
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you
seek Jesus, who was crucified." From these words, I gather that true
seekers after Christ are those who seek Jesus, ' ' who was crucified."
They are those who understand that Christ died upon the Cross as a
Sacrifice for sin, and they seek Him in order that He may put away
their sin. They have heard that He has made an atonement for sin by the
shedding of His precious blood and they want to have blessings bestowed
upon themselves, so they seek to have Him as their Substitute and
Representative, to stand forever before God on their behalf and to put
away their guilt by His great Sacrifice. Now, dear Friends, you know
whether you are seeking Christ in that way or in some other fashion. To
seek Christ simply as your Example, or as a sort of make weight for
your own goodness and merit is no good whatever! That is no better than
not seeking Him at all. But to seek Christ as the Crucified One, to
recognize Him as the appointed Victim offered up for His people's
guilt, and to want to have Him to be a Substitute for you–that is the
right sort of seeking and you have no need to fear if you are so
seeking Jesus.
I learn, also, from this narrative, that there are some seeking Jesus,
who was crucified, who have known Him long. Mary Magdalene and Mary,
the mother of James and Joses, were old familiar friends of Jesus, but
they had lost Him for a little while. He had been hidden away from them
in the sepulcher, so they were seeking Him. So, dear Friends, are you
seeking Christ, not for the first time, but because you have known Him
for many years and you need again to enjoy the light of His
Countenance? Then I say to you, as the angel said to the women, "Do not
be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not
here, but He still lives and loves you, and will graciously appear unto
you."
Possibly, some whom I am now addressing are seeking the Lord for the
first time. Happy are the people who are led truly to seek Him! How
good He is to those who seek Him rightly! I am speaking now of what I
know, for I know how good He was to me when I first sought Him. There
was nothing in me that could have won His heart–it was because He was
so good in Himself that He had pity upon such an unworthy one as I was
when I began to seek Him. But, oh, He was so tender, so gracious and so
good to me that I cannot help telling you about Him, and trying
especially to cheer you who are seeking His face! He is not hard to
find, for He is not far from any of us. He is not One with whom it is
difficult to plead, for He is full of compassion and mercy. He has a
great heart and there is an easy way to get at it, for the soldier's
spear opened a road right up to it! And any sigh, or tear, or cry, from
a heart that truly longs for Him will touch His heart and His soul will
go forth in pity towards you who are seeking Him! I am so glad that you
have begun to seek Him, for everything will smile upon you, now, if you
are really, heartily and earnestly seeking the Savior.
This, then, is the kind of seekers to whom all thing look fair. So,
Beloved, if you are a seeker of this sort, if you are really seeking
the crucified Savior, then every mysterious being is on your side. I do
not suppose that you ever saw an angel. You need not wish to do so, but
if you did, the angel would say to you, "Do not be afraid, for I know
that you seek Jesus who was crucified." The angels know a great deal
about us. I have no doubt they can read our hearts in the way in which
one spirit can read another spirit. They certainly rejoice when you
begin to pray, and to repent, and to believe in Jesus. Do not be afraid
of them, for they will not hurt you. Get rid of all fears concerning
mysterious beings, for, in the first place, they do not appear to men,
now, unless under very exceptional circumstances, so you need not be at
all afraid that they will appear to you. But if they did, would it
matter in the least to me or to you if we are in Christ Jesus?
If there were a thousand devils in my way, and I had to go where they
were, I would drive them all away. They would fly, like chaff before
the wind, from the face of any man who did but mention the name of
Jesus! And if all the angels of Heaven stood in serried squadrons in
front of you, you must just say to them, "Ah, blessed servitors! I am
glad to see you,
now go about your business," and they would soon be gone. There is
nothing, in angel or devil, for a man to fear who is trusting in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He shall have the angels to smile upon him and,
whatever mysterious beings or things there may be in the heavens above,
or on the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth, they are all
on the side of the man who is on the side of God!
This is also true concerning all the mysterious doctrines of Scripture.
"Well," says someone, "there are many doctrines in the Bible that I
cannot understand." That is quite likely, for there are a good many
things, out of the Bible, that I cannot understand–in fact, to tell
the truth, I do not know that I really understand anythingcompletely,
and I have, a long while ago, given up trying to do so. I can see a
great many things and I can believe a great many Truths of God, but
understandingis another thing altogether from either seeing or
believing! And it is my conviction that the most of things that exist
in the world are beyond all understanding. I think you must have heard
the simple story of the two young men who said that they would never
believe what they could not understand. "Well," someone said to them,
"let me tell you what I saw as I came here. I passed by a field and I
saw some geese there, and they were eating grass. I also saw some
sheep, and they were eating grass. And I saw some oxen and they, too,
were eating grass! Do you believe that?" "Yes," the young men said,
they believed that. "Well," said the other, "but I noticed that on the
geese, there grew feathers. And on the sheep, there grew wool. And on
the oxen, there grew hair! Do you believe that?" "Yes," said the young
men. "Well," replied the other, "seeing that they all eat grass, do you
understand how it is that, in one case, it turns to feathers, in
another, to wool and in the other, to hair? Of course, you do not, so
that, after all, you do believe a great deal that you cannot
understand."
It is perfectly clear that every man must believe a great deal which it
will remain forever impossible for him to be able fully to comprehend,
but, whatever there is in the Bible that you do not understand, you can
be sure that if you truly seek Jesus, who was crucified, there is no
dark, mysterious decree of reprobation which shuts you out from finding
Him! And, on the other hand, there is no bright, lustrous decree of
election which blocks your way in coming to Christ! There are many
grand and sublime Truths in the Word of God, and among them is the
Doctrine of Election, which is most certainly true, but it is not a
barrier against any sincere seeker of the Savior. The Lord said, as
long ago as the days of Isaiah, "I have not spoken in secret, in a dark
place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek you Me in
vain." Nor will He say so to you if you seek Him with all your heart.
Whatever secret decree there may be, or may not be, it cannot be
contrary to the plain words of the Lord Jesus Christ, "He that believes
and is baptized shall be saved; but He that believes not shall be
damned." That is the all-important question for you to consider and, if
you have believed in Jesus, you may rest assured that all the decrees
that are unknown to you must be on your side.
Is there anything else that is mysterious in the world? There are many
mysterious Providences. Possibly some of you have been the subjects of
very remarkable Providences. Ever since you began to seek the Lord, you
have had more trouble than you ever had before. You say, "When I was
altogether ungodly, I seemed to get on better than I have done since I
became a hearer of the Word, and a seeker after Christ." That is one of
the mysterious Providences which have puzzled many people, but you may
depend upon it that it is wholly on your side. It may be that the Lord
sees that there is no way of saving you except by making you pass
through what seems like a sea of trouble. The day will probably come
when you will thank God that things did not go smoothly and pleasantly
with you. You see, as long as you are going downstream, your boat
glides along easily enough with the current–but now that you are
beginning to pull upstream, it is not a cause of wonder that you find
the current to be contrary and the spray breaks over you–and now you
have to pull with all your might to escape from the waterfall, the
roaring of which you can distinctly hear! But you will be helped,
depend upon it. Do not marvel, however, if the dispensations of
Providence should appear to you to be very mysterious. Just say in your
soul, "It is all right, for every Providence says to me, 'Do not be
afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus.'" Every Doctrine of Scripture
says to you, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus." And
every angel in Heaven says, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek
Jesus." So all must be well with you!
Yet once more, beloved Friends, the truth that Jesus Christ has risen
from the deadis altogether on your side if you are seeking Him. The
angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek
Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said."
I would like to speak to anybody here who is really seeking the Savior,
just as I would have liked to have been spoken to when I was seeking
Him. Dear Friend, let me assure you that there is still a living
Savior. It is true that Jesus died upon the Cross, but He is not dead
now. If you really want a Savior, He is to be
found. He has not given up His office, He is still living and working.
He is as full of power as He ever was and, by His Spirit, He is still
working effectually upon all who seek Him. There is a living Savior!
The Lord Jesus Christ still lives and there is great meaning in His
Resurrection. You see, He died to pay our debts and He would never have
risen again if those debts had not been paid! He died because of our
transgressions and He has risen again to declare that we are fully and
forever justified! Now that the crucified Christ lives again, the
greatest sinners who come to Him will most certainly be justified in
the sight of God, since Jesus Christ was not only, "delivered for our
offenses," but He was also "raised again for our justification."
Do you seekers know what it is for which Jesus now lives? Paul tells us
that "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them." The chief
thing that He does up there in Heaven is to plead for poor souls such
as you are! If you are really seeking Him with all your heart, seeking
Him as your crucified Savior, listen, and by faith you will hear Him
pleading for you, "Father, forgive him. Accept him. Save him. He is
seeking Me–O My Father, bless him!" Such are His pleas before the
Throne of God, and you may rest assured that they will prevail for you!
So, be of good courage, and be not afraid. "He is not here." Be
thankful that He is not! "He is risen." He has gone into Glory where He
can serve your turn far better than He could if He were still down
here. He said to His disciples, "It is expedient for you that I go
away," and He must say the same to you. If you are really seeking
Him–if you will come, now, and trust Him–if you will just cast
yourself upon Him–then, fear not, for His Resurrection is full of
comfort to you.
I think I hear someone say, "My fear is that I shall never find Him."
Perhaps you would not if it were left with you, but He will find you!
If you are seeking Him and cannot find Him, remember that He is also
seeking you and that He will find you. I hope He will find you this
very hour. I wish He would bring you to this pass–that you would say,
"I will not rest until I do find Him." I do not think He would let
another night go over your head without your discovering that He is
very near you. Only trust Him! Only trust Him and you have already
found Him! May His mighty mercy bring you to that blessed position! Do
not be afraid, for you shall surely find Him if you sincerely seek Him
and diligently search for Him with all your heart.
"But I am afraid," says another timid one, "that He is not for me." Do
not indulge such foolish fears! Do not say, "He is not for me," until
He tells you so Himself. If there is any text of Scripture that
declares that your name is left out of the Lamb's Book of Life, then
believe it. But there is no such text in the whole Bible. On the other
hand, there are many passages that should encourage you to trust in
Jesus, like that one I quoted a little while ago–I cannot help
repeating it–"Him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." And
this one, "Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." Therefore, there is no justification for you to say, "Christ is
not for me," if you truly trust in Him.
"But," says another friend, "I am afraid that He would not receive me
now. He may be changed from what He was on earth." If Jesus Christ
stood on this platform tonight, poor troubled Soul, would you not come
and cast yourself at His feet, and say, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on
me"? Well, now, He is the same Christ that He was when He was upon the
earth and He is just as really here as if your eyes could behold Him. I
do not ask you to do with your body what you would do if His body were
here, but do with your soul what you would do if you felt that Jesus
were here. Will you not say in your heart, knowing that He can hear you
even if you do not utter the words audibly, "Jesus, have mercy on me. I
believe that You can and that You will save me, and I trust You to save
me"? You are saved as soon as you have thus trusted Him–you are saved
now! All your transgressions are forgiven you. If you can truly say
that this is the utterance of your soul. If you do really cast yourself
upon Him, He says to you, "Son, daughter, your sins are forgiven you.
Go in peace." "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are
in Christ Jesus." "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life."
What is your fear, my Friend? "O Sir, my fear is that if I did find
Jesus, I would soon lose Him!" Well, if I were in your place, I would
find Him, first, before I began worrying about losing Him! The very
best thing in the world, when you are nervous and troubled, is to live
by very short periods. "What do you mean by that expression?" asks
someone. Why, just this–some people try to live a year ahead, so they
always have a heap of trouble. And they often worry themselves about
things that never come to pass–
"Day by day the manna fell, Oh, to learn that lesson well!"
Live by the day, or, better still, live moment by moment. Remember
this, if you once find Christ, or, rather, if He finds you, He is not
accustomed to lose His people and He will never let you go! He had a
strange lot of disciples when He was here, but concerning them all, He
said to His Father, "Those that You gave Me I have kept, and none of
them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be
fulfilled." And as He did not lose one of them, so He will not lose one
of you who truly trust Him.
I know that some of you who have come to Christ will have many
troubles, but you need not have any fears. You have those fears because
you do not think carefully enough upon the matter and examine it in the
light of Scripture. The writer of The Recreations of a Country
Parsontells us of a man who was in great trouble and who very nearly
brought himself into a lunatic asylum. He had £500 a year. He was
obliged to live in a certain house and in a certain style. He could not
increase his income and his expenditure could not very well be cut
down. I suppose neither he nor his wife had been much accustomed to
economize. He felt bound to have a certain number of servants,
everything to match, and he had the fear upon him that he should
"overrun the constable," as people say, and that he would die in a
debtor's prison, for there was such a thing in those days.
So he put down all his payments in a book and at the end of three
months he found that he had actually spent £125. "Now," he said to
himself, "four times £125 is £600. I shall be a hundred pounds in debt
at the end of the year, and I shall go to prison." And that man, for a
long time, troubled, worried and fretted himself, and could not tell
what to do, till it struck him, all of a sudden, that four times £125
was not £600, but £500, and that, therefore, he did not owe anybody
anything! But although he recovered from his former state of
melancholy, the effects of that unhappy experience remained upon him
for years all through his not calculating correctly–tand I believe
that there is many a person who is in distress for reasons quite as
absurd as that!
Now, dear Friend, will you try to calculate and do it correctly? Set
down your sins. "Oh, that is a long task!" says one– "I have not a
roll of paper long enough." Well, use up all you have and then we will
give you some more, but be sure to put them all down. Have you anymore?
Put them all down. "Oh, there are so many, I cannot put them all down!"
Well, then, put them down in a lump–say that they are infinite if you
like. Put them down, in some way or other that will be final. "Oh, the
list is too dreadful! It is too black!" I know it is, but I am not
going to read it, so do not alarm yourself about that. I am no father
confessor! I would not like to make my ear into a common sewer! Well,
now, have you written them all down? If not, take the pencil again and
complete the list–put down something that will comprehend it all. Have
you put it all down? Then, lend me the pencil, for I want to write
something, or I shall be very glad if you will write this sentence at
the end of the list of all your sins–The blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanses us from all sin." It does not matter what the total of your
sin was, for it is now all gone!
If I should owe any person here £5, and he will kindly write at the
bottom, "Received with thanks," and put his name and the date across
the stamp, the debt is paid. Supposing I owed him £500? Well, if he
will write the same words, that debt is cancelled. Supposing I owe Him
£5,000? If he will write the same, that debt is gone. Supposing I owe
Him £50,000–£500,000–£l,000,000–£50,000,000–if he will only put,
"Received," that debt is all done with, it is all gone!
That is what our Lord Jesus Christ has done by His precious blood–He
has put this receipt at the bottom of the whole list of our
transgressions, and they are all gone, and gone forever–"The blood of
Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin." What cause, then, can there be
for fear if you will but trust in Jesus? You will be damned if you will
not! You are "condemned already" if you have not believed on the name
of the only-begotten Son of God–but if you do come to Jesus–if you
believe in Jesus and are baptized on confession of your faith in Him,
you are saved! God grant that each one of you may so come and believe
and be baptized, for Jesus' sake! Amen.