Delivered by
C. H. SPURGEON,
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
"I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, keep not
back."–Isaiah 43:6.
IN THE FULLNESS of the promised days when the Jews shall be restored
from their wanderings, and all the seed of Jacob shall again meet in
their own land, God in his mighty providence will speak to all the
nations, saying: "To the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not
back;" and at the divine bidding free passage shall be given, all lets
and hindrances shall be removed, and his own people shall come to their
own land. Entailed on Abraham's seed by a covenant of salt, the Holy
Land shall receive again its rightful heritors, the banished shall come
to their own again, and no nation or people shall keep them back. So
much for the literal meaning. I am unable to indulge you with fuller
details, for I have no skill in guessing at the meaning of dark
passages, but leave such things to those to whom it is given, or who
think it is given to them. We shall now pursue the spiritual teaching
of the passage.
At this moment, my brethren and sisters, we who follow the footsteps of
King Jesus are soldiers of an army which has invaded this world. This
land belongs to our great Leader, for he made it. It was right that
everywhere, all round the globe, his name should he honored, for he is
the King among the nations, and the governor thereof: But our race has
revolted, set up another monarch, and bowed its strength to support
another dynasty–the dynasty of darkness and death. Our race has broken
the good and wholesome laws of the great Lord, the rightful King, and
set up new laws and new customs altogether opposed to right and truth.
This is the Great Rebellion the Revolt of Manhood, the Sedition of
Sinners. Now, no king will willingly lose his dominions, and therefore
the Great King of kings has sent his son to conquer this world by force
of arms, though not by arms of steel, or weapons that cut and kill, and
wound, yet by arms more mighty far; and this earth is to be yet subdued
to the kingdom of the Crown Prince, the Prince Imperial of heaven,
Jesus Christ, the Lord. We, his regenerated people, form part of the
army of occupation. We have invaded the land. Hard and stern hath been
the battle up to this point. We have had to win every inch of ground by
sheer push of pike. Effort after effort has been put forth by the
church of God under the guidance of her heavenly leader, and none has
been in vain. Hitherto the Lord hath helped us, but there is much yet
to be done. Canaanites and Hivites, and Jebusites have to be driven
out; yea, in fact, the whole world seems still to lie in darkness, and
under the dominion of the wicked one. We do but hold here and there a
sacred fortress for truth and holiness in the land; but these we must
retain till the Lord Jesus shall send us more prosperous times, and the
battle shall be tamed against the foe, and the kingdom shall come unto
our prince. Nor is there any fear but that such a time will come,
therefore let us have courage. Soldiers of the cross, have faith; have
faith in your great leader, for behold he is still at the head of you,
and is still omnipotent. The hour of his weakness is past. His sun set
once in blood, but it has risen to go down no more. Once was it
eclipsed at noon day; but now the Sun of Righteousness ariseth with
healing beneath his wings. He who died once for all, is now life's
source, center, and Lord. The living Christ is present among us as the
commander-in-chief of the church militant. Let us refresh our souls by
drawing, near to him by the power of the Holy Ghost.
The text has two grand matters in it:–First, here is the royalty of
the word–where the word of this king is there is power. Secondly, here
is the word of royalty, and that word we may well consider, for where
the word of this king is there is wisdom.
I. First, here is THE ROYALTY OF THE WORD. It is more than an imperial
edict; it is the fiat of onmipotence. Jesus Christ saith to the north,
"Give up," and it does give up; and to the south, "Keep not back," and
it cannot keep back.
I understand from reading this declaration, that there is a general
opposition in the world to the cause and kingdom of God; for until he
saith, "Give up,"' and "Keep not back," men do not crowd to Immanuel's
feet, and even the chosen of God do not come forth from their hiding
places. All the world over there is a general opposition to the cause
of Christ, to the doctrine of truth, to the throne of God. Go where you
may, in the highest places of the earth, you shall find true religion
despised; among the lowest of the land you shall find that same
religion blasphemed; and in the middle classes, where some seem to
fancy that all virtue resides, you shall find carelessness about the
things of the world to come, and carking carefulness about the
selfishness of this present life. Jesus Christ is everywhere despised
in comparison with the things that perish. They will not have this man
to reign over them. The trees of the wood reject heaven's cedar, and
choose hell's bramble. Even the eleven sell the true Joseph into Egypt,
nor is there one found who will defend the chosen of God. Go amongst
savage nations, and there the idol is worshipped, but Jesus is not
known. Go among civilised nations, and, lo, they have only changed
their idols; they have rebaptised their imates, given new names to the
objects of their superstitious reverence, but the true Christ is
misunderstood and rejected. Go you to the swarthy Hindoo, the man of
deep philosophy and sophistry, and you shall find his heart set against
the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth; and then sail over the blue sea to the
islands of the deep, and man in his simplicity worships he knows not
what, but not the incarnate God. Traverse the central parts of
continents where as yet civilization has scarcely reached, and you
shall find that man is still opposed to his Maker, and hates the name
of the only begotten Son of God. Nor need we travel or even look
abroad; the opposition is universal among ourselves, among the old,
among the young. Striking is that text, "They go astray from the womb,
speaking lies." An old Puritan puts it; "They go astray before they go:
they speak lies before they speak;" and so it is. Before it comes to
acts, the evil propensity is in the heart; and before the lips can
frame the falsehood, there is the lie within the soul. From the
earliest infancy to palsied age, nothing seems to cure manhood of its
rebellious disposition; the carnal mind is enmity against God, and is
not reconciled to God, neither indeed while it remains what it is can
it be. There is a general opposition to the cause and kingdom of
Christ.
But the text seems to hint that there is a particular form of that
opposition in each case. There is a word to the north, a different word
from that which is given to the south. The north holds fast, and
therefore the word is, "Give up:" the south retires, is despairing,
therefore it is said, "Keep not back." The opposition takes different
shapes, and there is a different word to meet its ever varying forms.
How true is Dr. Watts's verse–
"We wander each a different way,
But all the downward road."
As each land has its own tribes of wild animals, so has each heart its
indigenous sins. All land will grow weeds, but you will not find the
same sort of weed equally abundant in every soil: so in one heart the
deadly nightshade of ignorance chokes the seed, and in another the
prickly thistle of malice crowds out the wheat. There are difficulties
in reaching the heart of any man, but not the same difficulties in all
men. Some, for instance, cannot be influenced because of their want of
intelligence; others because of their supposed learning. Some cannot be
come at because of their presumption; others because of their
despondency. Some spend their all upon the pleasures of this world,
others spend nothing, but find their pleasure simply in hoarding, yet
are they equally averse to heavenly things. Whatever form sin takes, it
is the same opposition, but yet it may need a different mode of
treatment, and by a different weapon will it have to be overcome. My
dear brother in Christ, you perhaps have a different personal,
spiritual difficulty from mine. I have no wish to change with you, and
I should not advise you to change with me. The same is true with our
trials in winning souls. We have each our difficulties, but they are
not precisely alike in detail. You have to fight the north perhaps, and
I the south; but the same Lord and Master can make us victorious, and
without him we shall be equally defeated. The opposition which we
encounter in serving our Lord is the same, depend upon it. You need not
say, "Mine is a peculiarly hard task," or if you do, I may say the same
of mine. After all, both tasks are impossibilities without God, and
both labors shall be readily performed if Jesus speaks the divine fiat,
and saith "to the north, Give up; arid to the south, Keep not back."
Further, as there is in all an opposition, and as there is in each a
distinct opposition, so no power can in any case subdue any part of the
world to Christ apart from him. It is possible that you may fall in
with a family which seems to be naturally religious: you may even meet
with tribes of people who appear to he spontaneously inclined to
godliness; but if you bring the religion of Christ to them, you will
find that their very religiousness is the greatest difficulty you have
to deal with. Some, on the other hand, never could be superstitious:
the conformation of their mind is that of practical, sound, common
sense; but do not deceive yourself with the idea that their conversion
is any the easier. You may preach the gospel in the most forcible way
to them, and you will find that this very common sense of theirs will
be the main difficulty to be overcome. Believe me, however intent you
may be in winning souls to Christ, you shall never meet with one who
can be subdued to him by any persuasions of yours apart from the
working of his own power. I know the preacher has thought within
himself, "I have only to put the truth in a reasonable way, and the man
will see it." Ah! sir, but sinners are not reasonable: they are the
most unreasonable of all creatures: none are so senseless, none act so
madly us they do. "But," saith one, "if I were to tell them of the love
of Christ in an affectionate loving way, that would reach them." Yes;
but you will find that all your affection and your tears, and earnest
delineation of the love of Jesus, will be powerless against human
hearts, unless the Eternal Spirit shall drive home your appeals. We
know some who have been reasoned with, and if logic could win them,
they ought to have been won long ago: they have also been persuaded,
and if rhetoric could reach them, they ought to have turned away from
their evil ways years ago; but all human art has been tried and tried,
and tried in vain; yet there is no room for despair, for Jesus can
conquer the unconquerables, and heal the incurables. Do not be
disappointed, dear brother, if you have hitherto failed in your
efforts; you have but proved that "vain is the help of man." You see
now by experience that "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." It is yours to try and bring
that soul to Jesus; but it lies with him to perform the work. Duty is
ours, the result is God's. If the soil of the field committed to me
will never yield a harvest, I am yet bound to plough it, if my Lord
commands. If I could foresee that my child would never turn to the
Lord, yet I ought not to slacken my efforts for its conversion. I have
to do with my Master's command, and what he bids me do I am bound to
do. Never let us be surprised when we are defeated, for we ought to
know that old Adam is far too strong for us, if we assail him
single-handed. We cannot expect to cast out the devil: he laughs us to
scorn if we attempt to exorcise him in our own name. We may speak as we
will, but if it is only we that speak, the devil will say, "Jesus I
know, and the Holy Ghost I know–but who are ye? I do not yield to you.
I will not go out of this sinner, through all your persuasions and all
your talkings." Do not forget then that there is a general opposition
to the kingdom of Christ–such opposition as no human power can by any
possibility overcome.
But, my brethren, here is the point of the text. That opposition,
whatever form it assumes, though not to be subdued by our agency alone,
shall assuredly yield before the fiat of our great King, when he saith
"to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back." His word is a
word of power wherever it comes. Let us rejoice then, whatever place we
dwell in, that we have only to ask the King himself to come there, and
to speak with power, and we shall see conversions, conversions most
numerous, that shall glorify his name. I fully believe that the darkest
time of any true Christian church is just the period when it ought to
have most hope, for when the Lord has allowed us to spin ourselves out
till there is no more strength in us, then it is that he will come to
our rescue. What could have been lower than the condition into which
we, as a church, had sunk some seventeen years ago? But a little
faithful band used to meet in that dreary chapel in Park Street, and
cry unto the Lord, never ceasing their prayers. And, oh! how soon the
house began to fill, and how speedily our tent was too strait for us,
and we broke forth on the right hand and on the left, and God made the
desolate places to be inhabited. Members of other churches, you have
the same God to go to. Go to him, for he can work the same wonders for
you. Look to the Most High, and not to man, or ministers, or modes, or
methods, but only to him, and the guidance of his Spirit. "Well, but
ours is a village," saith one. And is not he the Lord of the villages?
Is he the Lord of the cities, and not the Lord of the hamlets? "But our
chapel is ugly, and built in a back street," saith one. "Nobody knows
of its existence. We shall never get the people within its obscure and
dreary walls." Is God the God of the wide thoroughfares and not of the
lanes? Does not the Lord know the back streets as well as the broad
ones? Was not that the question in dispute of old? Is he the God of the
hills, and not the God of the valleys? I have already put it in another
shape to you. In his name I ask you, can anything be too hard for the
Lord? Perhaps in your sphere of service you have grown so dispirited
that you are inclined to say, "I may as well give up all further
effort; no good will result from my endeavors." But what have you told
the Master, and what have you sought at his hand? Have you told him all
your discouragements? Have you asked him to speak with power, and has
he refused you? If so, then give it up, but not till then, for he can
even now "say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back;"
and as when he said to the thick primaeval darkness, "Let there be
light," and the light leaped into being, and the darkness fled, so can
he, amid the gross darkness of our huge city, or the not less dense
darkness of our villages, create light to our astonishment and to his
glory. It is the king's word we want–nothing short of it, and nothing
more. We must get that by prayer: we must wait upon him with
importunity. If there be only two or three whose hearts break over the
desolations of the church, if we have only half a dozen that resolve to
give the Lord no rest till he establish and make Jerusalem a praise in
the earth, we shall see great things yet. A handful of people who
resolve if a blessing is to be had they will have it, and that if souls
are not saved it shall be the sovereignty of God that prevents it and
nothing else: such a mere handful shall win the day. If they will have
souls saved; if so they plead and agonize, oh! then the Lord will turn
his gracious hand, and send a plenteous stream of blessing upon their
district; for where he wills it the blessing must come, and he always
wills to display his grace where and when he leads his people to pray
for it.
Before I leave this point, let me say the power of the King's word is
always exercised in full consistence with the free agency of man. You
must not think when we say that Christ has his will, and works
omnipotently in men's hearts, that we imagine that he violates the free
agency which he has created. He says to the north, "Give up," and that
word does it; for a word is a suitable instrument by which to rule a
free agent. The way to make blocks of timber move would be to drag
them, and if we wish to shape them we must hew them with the axe, or
cut them with a saw; but the way to deal with men is to speak with
them. That is how Jesus operates. His power is exerted in conformity
with the laws of human mind. He does not violate the free agency of
man, though he does as he wills with man: His word is an instrument
consistent with our mental nature, and he uses that word wisely. He
says to the north, "Give up:" he says to the south, "Keep not back."
His word touches the secret spring, and sets all in motion. No man is
ever taken to heaven against his will, though I do not believe any man
ever went there of his own free will till God's sovereign grace
enlightened him and made him willing. You must not suppose that Christ
conquers human hearts by physical compulsion, such as the King of
Prussia used, for instance, in subduing France, or such as a man uses
in driving a horse. The Lord knows how to leave us free, and yet to
make us do his bidding, and therein lies the beauty of gospel
influences. Suppose man's will to be a room; if you and I want to open
it, we break in the lock; we do not understand the true method; but the
Lord has the key, and knows how to open the door without a wrench.
Without violating even the most delicate spring in the watch, the maker
knows how to regulate it. Grace draws, but it is with hands of a man;
it rules, but it is with a scepter of love. The fact is, the great
dispute between Calvinists and Arminians has arisen very much through
not understanding one another, and from one brother saying, "What I
hold is the truth"–and the other saying, "What I hold is truth, and
nothing else." The men need somebody to knock both their heads
together, and fuse their beliefs into one. They need one capacious
brain to hold both the truths which their two little heads contain; for
God's word is neither all on one side nor altogether on the other: it
overlaps all systems, and defies all formularies. It lays the full
responsibility of his ruin on man, but all the power and glory of grace
it ascribes to God; and it is wise of us to do the same. The great King
doeth as he wills among men as well as among the armies of heaven. Who
shall stay his hand or say unto him, "What doest thou?" He rules men as
men, and not as inanimate stones. He has a scepter which is adapted to
mind and spirit. The weapons of his warfare are not carnal: his forces
rule the heart, the mind, the whole manhood as he has made it; and so
he conquers, and becomes the happy king of willing subjects, who,
though subdued by power, are happy to own his sway. Thus much on the
first point–the royalty of the word.
II. How we will consider THE WORD OF ROYALTY. The King saith "to the
north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back."
We will not spend many minutes over these words, but just briefly hint
at what meaning may be drawn from them. There are some persons to whom,
when the powerful word of grace comes, it speaks in this way–"Give up;
give up." There are other persons in another state of mind to whom,
whenever the word of salvation comes, it says, "Keep not back; keep not
back." Now, to some we find that it comes in this way: "Give up; give
up." You say, "I am righteous; I am no worse than others. I have broken
the law, but not much; my sins are trivial. I cannot deserve to be cast
into hell for my small offenses. I have been–not perfect, but as
righteous as most. I have done this, I have done that, I have done the
other." Ah, dear friend, the sword of divine grace will kill all this;
and the message that God's mercy sends to you to-day is, "Give up."
Renounce your fancied goodness and deceitful self-esteem. Oh, give up
that spinning; it is a poor trade to spin cobwebs. Give it up. Your
father, Adam, taught you to make aprons of fig-leaves; but it was after
he had fallen. It is a bad business: give it up. Your own works will
never cover you as you should be covered; there is a better
righteousness than yours to be had; there is a better footing to stand
before God upon than anything you have done. Your refuges are all
refuges of lies; give them up. That pretty righteousness of yours,
which fools so white, is only white because your eyes are blind; if you
could see it, it is all as black as filth can make it. You conceive
your robe to be new and fair, but it is all riddled through and through
with holes. The worms have devoured it; it is all moth-eaten and
decayed. Give it up. Oh, give up that Pharisaic mouthful, "God, I thank
thee," and betake thyself to the publican's prayer, "God be merciful to
me, a sinner." Give up thy selftrust; it is a painted lie, a rotten
plank, a foul deception, a false traitor; it promises salvation, but it
brings sure damnation. Jesus is the sinner's only hope. Give up every
other reliance.
Then, too, you have an opposition in your hearts to the gospel.
Concerning that also the word saith to you, "Give up." Perhaps you were
prejudiced against it foolishly and ignorantly; before you ever heard
it you felt persuaded you should not like it. Possibly you have been
brought up to a religion of forms; you hardly think that salvation can
be by simple faith in Jesus Christ; you feel a great deal of attachment
to that regeneration of yours which was wrought in your baptism, and to
that confirmation of yours bestowed by the bishop's fingers. Besides,
you have been so regular in your religion up till now, that you can
hardly brook to be told that the whole bundle of it is mere rubbish,
not worth the time you have spent on it. You cannot endure to be told
that–
"None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good."
But rest assured, the sooner you give up all those flattering reliances
of yours, the better for you, for there is nothing in them. Even
ceremonies that God has commanded are only of spiritual use to
spiritual men, and since you are not a spiritual man they cannot profit
you. Have you in your heart an opposition to Christ? Can you not yield
to him as God? Can you not stoop to be saved entirely by his merits,
and acknowledge him for your Lawgiver, and Teacher, and Guide? Then as,
the text saith so would I say, and may the Lord apply the word: "Give
up; give up." There is no salvation for thee till thou "give up" all
ceremonial hopes and formal confidences. Strike the colors, man, before
a broadside goes through thee; for depend upon it, if thou yield not in
one way thou wilt in another. Thou shalt either break or bow; thou
shalt either turn or burn; that is the alternative to every man of
woman born: he must turn away from his enmity to Christ, and yield
himself up to his love, or else he shall find the power of God in
Christ to be his destruction.
It is possible, dear friends, that your opposition to Jesus Christ has
taken the form of the love of a favourite sin. Now, there is nothing
more certain than this, that you cannot be saved and keep your sins:
they must be parted with. No man can carry fire in his bosom and yet be
safe from burning. While you drink the poison, it must and will work
death in you. The thief cannot expect mercy while he keeps the goods he
has stolen. John Bunyan says that one day, when he was playing "cat" on
a Sunday, on the village green, he thought he heard a voice saying to
him: "Wilt thou have thy sins and go to hell, or leave thy sins and go
to heaven?" That question is put to every man who hears the gospel
faithfully preached. Most men in their heart of hearts would like to
have their sins and go to heaven too. But that cannot be; while God is
just, and heaven is holy, and truth is precious, it cannot be. What
then? "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Give up, give up;
give up your sin. What is the sin? The drunkards cup? Away with the
bewitching draught. Is it the drunkard's company? That is as damnable
as his cup; renounce such society at once. Is it blaspheming? O man,
God rinse thy mouth our of such black stuff as that! Have done with a
sin for which there cannot be any excuse, for it cannot bring thee any
pleasure or profit, nor can there be any necesssity for it: it is a
degrading, useless, senseless. God-provoking crime. Is it some secret
sin that must not be named lest the cheek of modesty be reddened? Give
it up, friend; it will be much better for thee to lose it though it
were as precious as thy right arm or thy right eye, than to keep it and
be cast into hell fire. The chamber of wantonness is the gate of death,
flee from it without delay. The sins of the flesh are a deep ditch, and
the abhorred of the Lord fall therein; but as thou lovest thy soul, O
young man, escape like a bird from the fowler's snare. Here is the
message of God to thee: "Give up, give up thy sin." Perhaps though you
hear the summons, you trifle with it, and reply, "Yes; I mean to give
them all up, and I hope by so doing I shall find my way to heaven. I
shall deserve well of my Maker when I have denied myself all sinful
pleasures." But stop; let me not deceive you: this is not all. I fear
that some men are not improved in their hearts when they are altered in
their outward behavior. I am glad of the outward improvement, but I
have sometimes fancied that they have only changed their sins, but not
given them up. They show no leprosy in their skin, but it dies in their
bone and their flesh. It is little use merely to shift the region in
which sin sets up its throne if its dominion is still undestroyed. It
reminds one of the verse–
"So when a raging fever burns,
We shift from side to side by turns;
And tis a poor relief we gain
To shift the place but keep the pain."
What if the man does not go to hell as a drunkard, it will not mend it
if he is ruined by being self-righteous: so long as he is lost I do not
see that it materially matters how. Many and many a man has given up
outward sins and set up a self-righteousness of his own, and said,
"These be thy gods, O Israel;" and so he fled from a bear, and a lion
slew him; he leaned on a wall, and a serpent bit him. All sin must be
cast out of the throne of the heart, and whatever righteousness that is
not Christ's righteousness must go with it. I would fain put the
sword-point to thy heart, O sinner, and say, "Give up all that opposes
Christ;" for if thou do not give it up, thy soul will be lost.
In fine, dear friends, speaking to the children of God as well as to
such as are not converted, I say, give up all and have Christ; give up
all attempts to save yourself, and let Christ save you. Work
afterwards, because he worketh in you to will and to do, but now do
nothing either great or small, to make yourself righteous, for Jesus
did it, did it all, long, long ago. Do nothing by way of straining for
merit, but begin to do everything by way of gratitude. "Give up;" that
is, give up yourself to Christ, whatever his will may be. If it be his
will that you be sick, that you be poor, that you die, give all up, and
say, "Thy will be done. I resign all to thee, my God." Doth Jesus
command you to do anything? Let it not be irksome to you. Whatsoever he
saith unto you, do it. Let there be no back-stair by which to play the
truant; no keeping back of part of the price as though you would not do
Christ's will, except in some points. Give up unreservedly, and make no
provision for the flesh. Let his will be your will. Yield entirely; and
if you have anything in this world of substance, of talent, of
opportunity, "Give up." Begin with resignation, go on to obedience, and
finish with consecration. "Give up, give up" till all is given up,
body, soul, and spirit, a reasonable sacrifice to him, till you can
say:
"Now Lord I would be thine alone,
And wholly live to thee."
I perceive that my text has grown from a word to the sinner who has to
be conquered into a word directed to Christ's nearest and dearest
friends, even to those who are the soldiers of his army. It is in
effect a lofty, far-reaching precept, and would to God we could live up
to it, by presenting our all to Jesus our Lord.
Let us now spend a minute or two on the second word of the King: "Keep
not back." Is there some person within this assembly who feels within
his heart, the desire to come and confess his sins to his God? Standing
at the filthy swine-trough, does the prodigal say within himself: "I
will arise and go unto my Father, and say unto him, Father, I have
sinned"? "Keep not back:" quench not that holy flame. If thou hast a
desire to come and acknowledge thy transgressions unto the pardoning
Savior, let nothing keep thee back–neither fear, nor shame, nor
procrastination, but rest not till thou hast reached the bosom of thy
God and acknowledged all thy guilt before him. A repulse need not be
feared, nor even an upbraiding–a rich, free, loving welcome is sure.
"Keep not back."
But is there another who has confessed his sin, but yet has found no
peace? Dost thou see yonder Christ on the cross? "Yes," sayest thou; "I
know there is life in a look at him, but may I look?" My Master's
message to thee is, "Keep not back; keep not back," for whosoever
looketh shall be made whole, and none are forbidden to look. Does the
crowd around the Savior hinder thee, thou sick and dying soul? Be not
baffled by difficulty, but persevere. Press into the thickest of the
throng for if thou do but touch the hem of his garment thou shalt be
made whole. "Keep not back; keep not back." Thou mayst believe in Jesus
now! Mayst! Nay, thou art commanded to do it; and thou art threatened
if thou do not, which proves that thou hast permission and something
more. It is written: "He that believeth not shall be damned." O man, it
is but another way of saying thou hast a full permission to do it, for
thou art threatened if thou do it not. Come thou, then, come thou, now,
right joyfully. "Keep not back." Confess thy sin with repentance, and
lay it on Christ by faith, and thou shalt be saved.
Dear brethren and sisters, many of you have come to Christ and have
been saved, and to you the text says, "Keep not back," in another
sense. Do not keep back from confessing Christ. If you have the love of
Jesus Christ in your soul, confess it, tell it to others. Never be
ashamed of your Lord and Master. Come and unite with his church and
people. It is due to the church; it is due to the preacher who was the
means of your conversion, it is due especially to your Lord and Master
that you "keep not back." I have heard of some who keep back because
the church is not perfect. And you are very perfect I dare say! Why, if
the church were perfect we should not endure you in it, my captious
friend. I have no doubt whatever that you will find the church quite as
perfect as you are. There are others who keep aloof from the people of
God because they feel they are not perfect themselves. My dear friend,
if you were perfect we should not want you, because you would be the
only perfect member among us, and having a very imperfect pastor, I do
not know what we should do with you; we should find you such a speckled
bird among us, that we should probably pray the Lord to take you home
to heaven at once. I should like to have you become perfect, and the
nearer perfection the better–but still if you make no profession of
faith till you are sinless, it will not be this side the grave. Nay,
confess Christ, for is it not written: "He that with his heart
believeth, and with his mouth maketh confession of him, shall he be
saved"? Do not forget the confession of the mouth. "Keep not back." And
when you have done that, if there be any Christian excellency that can
be reached, do not despair of reaching it. "Keep not back." And if
perfection itself be attainable, never be content till you get it. If
you are a child of God you never will be self-satisfied, you will be
always crying: Not as though I had already attained, either were
already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for
which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." O that you may never be
content with yourself! Self-satisfaction is the death of progress. You
have come into the lowest seat at the feast, but Jesus saith: "Friend,
come up higher;" and when you get into a higher room, and enter into
closer communion with him, he will say to you, "Friend, come up
higher." Do not hesitate to climb higher in grace and fellowship. Let
your prayer be, "Nearer to thee, my God, nearer to thee." Be insatiable
in the longings of your soul; hunger and thirst after righteousness;
covet earnestly the best gifts. Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of
your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "Keep not back." There is no point
in grace which we are prohibited from aiming at. We ought none of us to
say, "I am all I can ever be." Oh, no, let us reach to the front ranks
by God's grace; for he says, "Keep not back."
Let me add if there be a brother who could do more for Christ than he
is doing, let him "keep not back." Could you preach? Well, there are
plenty of places needing occasional minister, and others that are quite
destitute. I do not know a nobler occupation for a man who is in
business in London than for him to be maintaining himself by his shop,
or whatever else his calling may be, and going out to suburban villages
on the Sabbath to preach. I often wonder more persons do not imitate
the example of some good brethren, whom I could name, who are in their
business diligent, and who are also fervent in spirit in their Master's
work. What reason can there be that for every little church there
should be a pastor specially set apart for the work? It is a very
desirable thing wherever there are enough Christian people to be able
to support the minister that there should be such; but I believe we
very much hamper ourselves in our Christian work through always
imagining that a paid person set apart to preach is necessary for every
Christian church. There ought to be more farmers who educate
themselves, and preach in their own barns or on the village greens.
There ought to be more men of business in London who seek to improve
their minds, that they may preach acceptably anywhere the gospel of
Jesus Christ; and I hope the time will come when our dear friends, the
members of churches in London, will not be so backward as they are, but
will come forward and speak to the honor of the Lord Jesus. If you
cannot edify a thousand, perhaps you can influence ten; if you cannot
with a regular congregation continue to find fresh matter year after
year (and believe me that is a very difficult thing), yet you can
preach a sermon here and a sermon there, and tell to different
companies the same story of the Savior's love. I do not know what
special work you can do, but something is within your power, and from
that "Keep not back." Besides, there are all our street corners. In
spring and summer, how delightful to stand in the thick of the throng
and uplift the Crucified One! Of course, you are sure to have a
congregation out of doors, and a congregation that is rather attentive,
and sometimes rather inquisitive, and do not need to be so
inconveniently crowded as we are in this Tabernacle. Take the wide
sweep, cast the big net, and hope for fish. If you have any grace or
gift, "Keep not back." "Alas!" murmurs the glowworm, "I mean to shut up
my lamp, and hide under those damp weeds, and never shine again." What
is the matter with you? "Why," says he, "I have seen the sun; I shall
never shine again after seeing the sun." That glowworm is stupid. If it
were wise, it would say, "I have looked upon the sun; and I perceive
with shame that my lamp is but a poor light, but for that reason I must
use it the more diligently. The sun may well hide its light after
twelve hours are over; but I must try to glimmer during the whole
twenty-four hours, and so give as much light as I can, little though it
be." You complain that you have but one talent; that is the reason for
being doubly diligent with it. If you had five, they ought to be fully
used; but if you have only one, you must put all your wits to work to
make something more of it. At any rate, "Keep not back."
"Well," says one, "I think I could do something, but I am of a retiring
disposition." I am afraid if I had been in the French army in the late
war, I should be very much of the same disposition; but in a soldier,
as a rule, a retiring disposition in the hour of battle is not much
commended by his captain. You who are so modest (shall I say so
cowardly?) that you cannot do for Christ what you ought to do, will
have an account to settle with your consciences one of these days,
which will cost you a world of sorrow. Break through this bashfulness,
this laziness (for it comes to that in the long run), this silly,
wicked, shame. Pride must also be slain, for this hinders many. They
cannot be so prominent as others, and therefore shun the work
altogether. Get rid of all that cripples you, shake all off by the
power of the Holy Spirit, my dear brethren, and "Keep not back," for
who knows but that you may yet bring sinners to Jesus, may save a soul
from death, and hide a multitude of sins, through God's eternal Spirit.
May it be so, for Christ's sake. Amen.
PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Isaiah 43.