Rehoboam the Unready
(No. 2749)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, OCTOBER 20, 1901.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, MAY
11, 1879.
"And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the
Lord." 2 Chronicles 12:14.
You have probably noticed that, as a general rule, the sacred
historians, at the end of each king's reign, sum up the character of
the monarch and describe him as either doing evil in the sight of the
Lord or doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord. They give
a summary of his whole life in one or other of these sentences–and
there will come a day when there will be a summary of your life, and
mine–and when it is given, it will run on this wise, "He did evil in
the sight of the Lord," or else on this blessed fashion, "He did that
which was right in the sight of the Lord." There is no other course
beside these two! These characteristics comprehend all of us and the
summary given in our case, as it was in the case of Rehoboam, will be
given with great accuracy. It will be Infallible and it will be
irreversible. This man Reho-boam was not half as bad as some other
kings, still, the Inspired historian was compelled to say, "He did
evil." He was not such an obstinate and outrageous sinner as some were.
He was not an Ahab. He was not even a Manasseh–he did not live as that
king did in his evil time, yet, "he did evil." That is the summary of
his whole career.
There were some good points about him, as I shall try to show you
presently. He sometimes did good, still, when it is all added up, this
is the total of it, "he did evil." And the reason why he did evil is
given. One reason, I should think, was that he had a bad mother.
Observe how it is written, just before the summary of his life, "His
mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess"–one of Solomon's numerous
wives–one whom he favored most of all. But she was an idolatrous
woman, "an Ammonitess." And there is little wonder that when the father
was no better than he should have been, and when the mother was
exceedingly bad, the summary of the son's life should be, "he did
evil."
This makes marriage a most important step, though it is often taken
without a single serious thought. See how a woman's life projects
itself and either casts a ray of brightness over her children's
characters, or a cloud of shame over their entire being. What some of
us owe to our mothers, we shall never be able to tell. If we had to
write down the choicest mercies that God has bestowed upon us, we would
have to first mention the mother who prayed for us and taught us to
trust in Jesus, by the Holy Spirit's blessing upon the sweet way in
which she spoke to us about the Savior. But a mother, trained in the
school of Satan, and who has become a mistress in the art of sin is a
terrible source of evil to her children. May God have mercy upon any of
you mothers who have sons growing up to follow the evil example which
you are setting them! Mothers, by the love you bear your children–and
there is no stronger love, I think, on earth–if you will not think of
your own soul's best interests, I do pray you, for your children's
sake, consider your ways and seek the Lord with the purpose in your
heart that your children may, if possible, live in the Presence of God.
But the Scripture does not give this as the reason why Rehoboam did
evil. It does not say that he did evil because he had a bad mother, nor
because his father had not walked with God as he ought to have done.
No, the reason was, "because he did not prepare his heart to seek the
Lord." The Hebrew proverb was, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes and
the children's teeth are set on edge." But the Lord said to His ancient
people through the Prophet Ezekiel, "You shall not have occasion any
more to use this proverb in Israel. . ."The soul that sins, it shall
die." God will judge each one according to his own deeds and if you
should, unhappily, have been born of the most ungodly parents who ever
lived, there is no reason why God's Grace should not begin to work in
your family with you. If all your training has been adverse to
godliness, the Sovereign Grace that takes one of a city, and two of a
family and brings them to Zion, may select you as its objective. I know
several Brothers and Sisters here who have each one said to me with
great sorrow, "I am the only one out of my family, as far as I can
judge, that knows the Lord. Looking back, I can trace no pedigree of
saints. And looking around me, neither brother, nor sister, nor uncle,
nor cousin seems to have any fear of God."
Ah, my dear Friend! If you have been so distinguished by the Grace of
God, you ought to love Him much and praise Him much! And as you will be
sure to be watched and pecked at, like a speckled bird, mind how you
live. May your light so shine before men that they, seeing your good
works, may glorify your Father who is in Heaven. No, though Rehoboam
walks in an evil way, it is not set down to the examples of his father
and mother, but it is written, "he did evil because he did not prepare
his heart to seek the Lord." What does this expression mean? I am going
to try to find out because I feel sure that the same reason is
operating upon a good many other people. It does not say that Rehoboam
did evil because he was of a vicious temperament, or because he had
strong passions, or because he was a downright thoroughly bad fellow.
No, he was not quite that, but he did evil because of something which
he did not do–
"Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do"–
and as Rehoboam "did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord," Satan
found him evil to do and he did it!
I. So I judge that this expression means, first, that HE DID NOT BEGIN
LIFE WITH SEEKING THE LORD.
His father, Solomon, did when he found himself lifted up to the throne
of Israel while he was yet a young man. Solomon spread his case before
the Lord and asked for wisdom and, in consequence, taking it as a
whole, his reign was a grand one, and his kingdom attained to a high
state of prosperity. He was faithful to the worship of Jehovah, in the
main, though there was a sad turning aside to idols. But he acted
wisely in most of his ways, so that the wisdom of Solomon became
proverbial. That result was due to the fact that God gave him "wisdom
and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the
sand that is on the seashore." He asked of God wisdom and God gave it
to him. But this foolish son of his asked not for wisdom. The scepter
was there, so he grasped it! There was an empty throne, so he sat down
upon it. I daresay he fancied it was a very fine thing to be king over
Israel and his thoughts did not go much beyond the mere external pomp
and splendor of royalty. He did not intend any ill, but he was not very
determined upon doing that which was right. And probably he never
thought of commencing his career by asking the blessing of God upon it.
I hope no one whom I am addressing would resolve to lead a bad life,
but, mind you, it may happen to you, as it did to Rehoboam, that the
summary of your life will be, "he did evil because he did not prepare
his heart to seek the Lord."
So much in life depends upon how we begin that I could wish that no boy
ever left his home to go to school–that no boy ever left school to go
to a clerkship, or to serve his apprenticeship to a business–without
stopping a while and praying the Lord to guide him in every step so
that he might act wisely. And I might add that it would be well if
older men would do the same and, in beginning anything fresh, prepare
their hearts to seek the Lord.
This young man Rehoboam felt that he needed some kind of guidance, yet
he did not seek the Lord, but he called together a number of
counselors. Now, it is quite right to seek counsel of men who are wiser
than we are, but he who trusts to earthly counselors instead of to God
is guilty of great provocation against Him who is full of wisdom and
who ought to be the Guide of our youth and of our whole lives. Calling
his father's wise counselors together at the beginning of his reign,
Rehoboam submitted the people's grievances to them, but, like the fool
that he was, he rejected their counsel and followed the foolish advice
of the younger men like himself–the fops about the court, the swells,
the gilded youths of the period–and so committed a gross act of folly.
It usually happens that when men will not ask counsel of God, if they
go to other sources for guidance, they generally accept the very worst
form of advice. When men trust in men, it is strange how often they
trust in the worst and not in the best of men! Yet I know not that it
is strange, for that same infatuation which leads a man to reject his
God, almost necessarily leads him to despise those upon whom God has
bestowed any measure of light and wisdom. So this young prince asked
counsel of others who were as foolish as he was and the result of
following their advice was that 10 tribes out of the 12 were torn away
from him and formed into an independent kingdom. What a different life
there might have been, not only for himself, but for those who were
dependent upon him, if he had but humbly waited upon God for guidance
and had given the people a gentle reply to their very reasonable
demands, and had ruled them, not with a rod of
iron, but with gentleness and kindness! There might have been two
Solomons succeeding each other which, perhaps, is too much to expect
among kings and princes, for Solomons are rather scarce in that
direction. However, so it was, because he did not begin by seeking the
Lord, he made a fool of himself and a failure of his life.
Perhaps some of you young people say, "Well, we are not going to give
our hearts to God, yet we shall not be fools." Ah, but you are already
fools, or else you would not talk like that! And the probability is
that before long, in the plenitude of your self-sufficient wisdom, you
will take a step which seems plain enough to you, but which will lead
you into a world of sorrow and to no end of trouble! Blessed is that
young man who says, "My Father, You shall be the Guide of my youth."
Blessed is that young man who gets God on board the vessel of his life
at the start, with His hand on the rudder, to steer the vessel through
a safe and prosperous voyage till he reaches the Fair Havens and casts
anchor in the Port of Peace!
This, then, was the folly of Rehoboam, that he did not begin life by
seeking God and, therefore, he began it foolishly.
II. But our text means more than that. It means, next, that REHOBOAM
SHOWED NO HEART IN DOING
WHAT WAS RIGHT.
He did what was right at the first but he had no heart in doing it. The
Prophet came to him when he had mustered his forces, and forbade him to
go to war with the followers of Jeroboam–and he disbanded all his
troops. That was, truly, a most worthy thing to do, and you and I,
looking on at the scene, would have said, "That is a noble young
prince. If he obeys the voice of a Prophet like that, surely he fears
God." But he did not. He did right because from the training his father
had given him, he had a high esteem for Prophets of God. He had seen
his father entertain Prophets with great honor and he did not like to
despise them.
There is many a young man, nowadays, who has great regard for God's
ministers, though he is not, himself, a Christian. He remembers the
times when they used to be at his father's house, when they slept in
the Prophet's chamber. He remembers many happy evenings he had, as a
boy, when they were guests at his home–and he could not bring his mind
to despise them, or to make a jest of what they say. No, to some
extent, he gives heed to what they have to say, and he tries to shape
his moral character according to their teaching, yet he does not yield
himself to Christ–so nothing comes of it all.
If it had been a prophet of Baal who had come to him, I am afraid that
Rehoboam would have done just what he told him to do. And there are now
many young men who appear to be excellent simply because they are in
good hands, but if they had been under the influence of evil men, they
would have been as bad as could be, for they have no individuality–
they have no heart in doing the right thing. It is well to come to the
House of God, my dear Friends, but I like to see people come because
they wantto come. I observe some people, even on the Sabbath, walking
along to their place of worship with their books under their arm in a
most solemn manner and all the while looking as if they were going to
be flogged! And when they come out, they look just as if they had
passed through that experience!
I like to see people go tripping to God's House with sacred joy, as if
it were the merriest place in all the world. When I come into the
Tabernacle, I often repeat those lines by Dr. Watts–
"Peace be within this sacred place,
And joy a constant guest!
With holy gifts and heavenly Grace,
Be her attendants blest!
My soul shall pray for Zion still,
While life or breath remains!
There my best friends, my kindred, dwell,
There God my Savior reigns."
It is well to worship the Lord heartily, with a zest, with holy fervor,
to do it because you like to do it and take a delight in it. It is one
thing to be right in appearance and another thing to be right in your
soul. "But," says one, "I thought it was best to do right when you do
not like to do it. I thought there was something very meritorious if a
person was religious though he could not endure it." No. That is
hypocrisyand nothing else!
When a person puts on the garb of religion, all the while feeling that
he would gladly take it off if he could–only pretending to be a
Christian. When, if he could have his own way, he would have a
Continental Sabbath–he is nothing but a hypocrite! When he does get
his own way, he manages to have his Continental Sabbath and he just
amuses himself
all that he possibly can on God's holy day. No matter what the
foreigners do, he is among them in the very thick of it, and he thinks
they have a very blessed kind of Sunday. When he is at home, he does
not do such naughty things–oh, no, certainly not! And this hypocrisy
is what you think is virtue? Because you do not like true godliness,
you think it must be good for you to pretend to imitate it–but that
will never do. The Psalmist rightly says, "Blessed is the man whose
strength is in You; in whose heart are the ways of them." He is the man
who runs in the way of God's commandments with intense delight! But
this Rehoboam did not do so. When he was doing right, he did it because
he felt some respect for the Prophet, but that was all.
It was soon evident that his heart was not right towards God, for he
imitated his father Solomon in his faults. His father's great fault was
the multiplication of wives and into this evil, Rehoboam fell. And,
moreover, all the strength of Rehoboam's heart and soul went in what
was a very proper direction in itself, namely, in the building of
cities and the storing of them with provisions, and fencing and
garrisoning the towns. Yet that direction was a very bad one because it
took him away from God. I like to see a young man, whatever he does,
throw his whole soul into it, but not so act that he throws his soul
away from God by it. There was some force in what the first of the
Rothschilds is reported to have said when he had been making money.
Someone said to him, "You are bringing up your sons to make money, I
suppose?" He answered, "Of course I am, what else should they do?"
"But, still," said the other, "I am sure that you must wish them to
look to something higher and something better." "No," he replied, "I do
nothing of the kind! If a man wants to make money, he must give his
heart and his soul to it–and that is what these young men have to do.
And they must not have their minds distracted from the one pursuit they
have in life, namely, to make money, or else they will never succeed at
it."
I have no doubt there is much truth in that remark which also applies
to higher things. There is such little real force in man, at his best,
that he must put all of it into one thing if he is to have success in
it. So this Rehoboam put his whole soul into one thing and, therefore,
"he did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord,"
but prepared his heart to seek after other things. "But," someone asks,
"may not a man be attentive to business?" He ought to be! He should be
diligent in business, but always with this higher motive outreaching
everything else–that he may win Christ and be found in Him and that
his life may bring glory to the God who made him and to the Christ who
redeemed him with His precious blood. But, oh, young man, if you do not
prepare your heart to seek the Lord. If what you do that is good, is
done in a happy-go-lucky style. If you are good because you happen to
be in a good connection and you stay right because Christian people
around you keep you right–and you would not like to grieve your father
and vex your friends–then there is nothing in it at all! You will go
to the bad, one of these days, when you get into other circumstances
and meet with new temptations.
A man ought not to live depending upon somebody else's backbone–he
should have one of his own–and if he has none, one of these days he
will be crushed. If you profess to be a Christian, throw your whole
soul into it and say, "Let others do as they will–as for me, I will
serve the Lord and not feel it a bondage, but take a delight, in it.
And I will serve Him with all my heart!"–
"Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone! Dare to have a purpose firm,
Dare to make it known!"
III. There is a third point about Rehoboam contained in the words of
our text, "He did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the
Lord," that is, HE WAS NOT FIXED AND PERSEVERING IN HIS RELIGION. The
original bears that sense.
He began well and, in the first three years of his reign, the nation
worshipped God. I do not suppose that he really did so himself, but,
still, he was on that side. He was one of the evangelical party. He was
one of the God-fearing party and, therefore, he prospered. His apparent
reverence for God brought the Levites to live in his dominions and
brought others of the best people of Israel to come there and to
strengthen his hands. Thus he prospered and you might have thought that
as his religion brought him prosperity, he would stick to it. Not he!
There was no "stick to it" in him.
As soon as ever he prospered, he began to grow proud. He was a fine
fellow, he had splendid kingdom, a very attractive dominion. Did not
all the good people come there? So growing proud, he began to forsake
the Lord and the people, following his evil example, worshipped in
groves instead of coming to the Temple at Jerusalem. Worse than that,
they set
up graven images and idolatrous pillars. And their heart went aside
from God and they practiced the most accursed sin that ever stained and
defiled the face of the earth! You know the sin for which God sent the
judgment of fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah–and there were some of these
people who thus sinned, making an act of worship out of the most
bestial crime. Yet Rehoboam did not trouble himself about that. When
the people feared God, he was willing, then, they should do so, but
now, if they followed Ashtaroth, they might do as they liked. He was,
after all, but a young ruler who thought that the principal business of
a king was to enjoy himself–so he let things go just as they could. He
was king, but, still–well, if God was good, it was proper for good
people to reverence Him–but if other people did not, he did not
trouble his head much about that matter–it sat very lightly upon him.
In consequence of this, God brought up Shishak from Egypt with
multitudes of chariots and horsemen and an innumerable host of people.
Then were the Jews in a state of great alarm and Rehoboam, who was
easily molded any way– for he had a sort of India-rubber
heart–humbled himself and the princes of Israel humbled themselves.
God knew that these other people were sincere in humbling themselves,
so He allowed their sincerity to season the whole bulk and He,
therefore, accepted the humiliation of king and people and delivered
them.
You see how readily Rehoboam went–first towards God, then towards
idols–and then back again towards God. He was always ready to shift
and change. He worked no great reforms in the land–we do not read that
he held a great Passover, as Hezekiah did, or that the high places were
taken away, And, as soon as Shishak was gone, he felt perfectly
content. There was not anything real and permanent in his religion–it
did not hold him. He held it sometimes, but it never held him.
O dear Friends, is not this Rehoboam a specimen of a great many people
who are now living? They get into a warmhearted meeting and they feel
the power of it. They meet a friend and he takes them into different
society altogether, where there are merry songs and plentiful jokes,
and they feel the power of that. They hold with the hare and they run
with the hounds. They are "everything by starts, and nothing long." And
the result is that they do evil, for, when a man is not fixed in his
resolve to do good–when he does not take his stand, in the name of
God, with a life and death determination, it is not doubtful which way
he will go!
IV. The last point involved in this description of Rehoboam is this–HE
HAD NO CARE ABOUT SERVING
GOD.
He did not care whether he served the Lord or not and, as to serving
Him in a right spirit, that never entered into his head. He never
"prepared his heart." If he went to a service–well, he was there, but
that was all. Some people who have come here tonight never thought of
breathing a prayer before they came, nor after they entered the
building. They would even venture, if we allowed them, to partake of
the Communion at the Lord's Table without self-examination and without
prayer–they do everything without any preparation of the heart.
But look, Sirs, if there is no care about making the heart go right, it
must go wrong because the natural tendency of our mind is toward evil.
If you leave your heart to follow its own natural impulse, it is
impossible that it should seek the Lord. It is only when it is prepared
to seek the Lord that it ever seeks Him–and that preparation of the
heart is from God, so that if we do not ask the Lord to prepare our
hearts to seek Him, we shall never seek His face at all!
And look yet again, all the current in which we are found runs the
wrong way, s o that if there is no preparation of the heart, we know
which way it will go. Company will draw it, not towards right, but
towards wrong. And the set of the age–the general current of the
period–is not towards God but away from Him. If you put a barge in the
middle of the river, I know which way it will go–it will go with the
tide. It is only by adjusting the rudder, and by wise steering, and
hard rowing that it could be made to go against it. So, if your heart
is not prepared to seek the Lord, it will not seek Him and it is sure
to go in the opposite direction. What is preparing the heart to seek
the Lord? I should say that it is something like this.
First, to feel my need of God. What can I, a creature, do without my
Creator? What can I do without a Father in Heaven? I have offended Him.
I have sinned against Him. I have gone far away from Him, but I want
Him to forgive me and to save me. We must be conscious of this
need–may the Spirit of God prepare us to seek the Lord by giving us a
deep sense of our desperate need of God's mercy!
The next thing is to cry unto God for help–"Lord, save me! God be
merciful to me a sinner! Renew my heart, change my nature, subdue my
stubborn will and make me Your child!" Prayer prepares the heart to
seek the Lord and you will never seek Him if you do not pray to Him. In
fact, prayer is an essential exercise in seeking the Lord.
Then, further, if we would be prepared to seek the Lord, there must be
a submission of ourselves to His guidance–a coming to Him and saying,
"Here I am, Lord. Make me what I ought to be. I agree to Your
Commandments. I delight in them, help me to run in them. I yield my
proud self and lay down at Your feet my prejudices and my willfulness
and ask You to guide me in the right way."
There must also be the acceptance of God's plan of salvation. He who
would live the right kind of life must come to God and say, "My God,
You save them that believe. Help me to believe. You give eternal life
to as many as believe in Jesus Christ, Your Son. Lord, I believe. Help
You my unbelief." This is the true way of preparing the heart to seek
the Lord.
And even when that faith is given, the right preparation is to serve
God always with thoughtfulness and care–not to go blundering on any
way, hit or miss, as some do. It is a terribly sad thing to pretend to
serve God without thought, without watchfulness, without care, for God
is not such an One that we may rush into His Presence whenever we like,
without premeditation, solemnity, or reverence. If you were to go to
visit a king, you must be prepared to enter the royal presence under
court regulations–and behave yourself in a seemly manner. And much
more is this necessary when we seek the Lord. Every holy duty ought to
be thought over carefully. Every prayer, every almsgiving, every
attempt to serve God should be done with due consideration–and with
holy anxiety to do it in the right manner, at the right time, and in
the right spirit.
Now, because Rehoboam did not act thus and did not, indeed, care to
trouble his brain about such things as this, "he did evil." And if any
man here says, "Well, I do not trouble myself about religion. I believe
I shall be all right. I cannot be always sitting down and pulling a
long face and reading the Bible, and trying to find out how I am to
live. I just take the first chance that comes and do the best I can."
If you talk like that, you will do evil as surely as you are a man, for
he who devotes not his whole soul to fighting the battle of life will
certainly lose it. To go to Heaven is not such an easy matter that
every fool may do it before breakfast. It is a thing which, as it
needed the blood of the Son of God to pave the way, and needed the
eternal Spirit, Himself, to give us life to run in that way–is a
matter of serious import and of solemn moment–and the whole heart,
soul and strength must be set upon the attainment of eternal life, or
we shall not secure it. "The kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and
the violent take it by force." So, may God the Holy Spirit help you to
think seriously about Divine things, or else you will do evil because
you prepared not your heart to seek the Lord.
Now I want just two or three more minutes in order to make an
application of my subject. And, first, dear Friends, is it not
possible–I want to whisper this round among the members of this
Church–is it not quite possible that there may be some nominal
professors who come under the description in the text? Their conduct
appears to be admirable and, up to now, has probably been so, but they
have never prepared their heart to seek the Lord! I fear that, in all
our churches, there are people who are called Christians simply because
they were brought up among Christians. They need to be brought down, to
be converted, regenerated, born-again–for they have only been born
after the flesh.
There was an Ishmael in the household of Abraham, so we need not wonder
if there are such people in all our churches. They have never prepared
their hearts to seek the Lord. It has not been heart-work with them.
Perhaps conscience sometimes says to them, "Is it not a pity that you
never joined the church?" I know who will take this question home and
fret over it–it is you good creatures for whom I do not mean it, but
those to whom it applies will say, "Oh, he cannot mean me!" There are,
alas, many such people and they are hardly likely to be converted now
because they entered the church before they were converted and,
consequently, whatever is said, they think, "He cannot mean me." But,
my dear Friend, we do mean the very person who says, "He cannot mean
me," and we do not mean some of those who take home those searching
questions and are troubled by them.
Whenever anybody says to me, "Oh, I am afraid I am a hypocrite!" I do
not think he really is one. I never knew one who was really a
hypocrite, who was afraid he was one! Those who are truly so usually
have no such fear. Still, it will be well for each of us to ask these,
questions, "Is my heart prepared to seek the Lord? Is my heart in my
religion? Do I try to serve God with all my heart? Do I make it a
matter of serious thought, or is my religion all upon the outside?" If
it is so, the probability is that, one of these days, there will come a
sudden temptation to you and over you will go! I have known
ministers, deacons, and elders–gray old men–fall into sins which one
would have thought only silly boys would fall into! And we can only
think, when we see such men apostatize, that they never prepared their
heart to seek the Lord. Their religion was only skin-deep–it was not
that true Christianity which has its root in the soul by the effectual
working of the Holy Spirit.
Now another question. Are there any young men here who are very hopeful
and promising characters, who like religious gatherings and attend to
everything that is of good repute–and yet have not sought and found
the Lord? Shall I tell you what troubled me before I gave my heart to
Christ? It was something which had great influence upon me in bringing
me to decision. There was a boy at school who was some few years older
than I was and he was a very excellent lad. My father (you know that
fathers speak thus, sometimes) used to tell me he wished I was half as
good as that boy was–he was a kind of pattern lad. Well, he grew up
and came to London to a drapery establishment. He wrote home most
delightful letters to his mother, telling her that he was going to hear
such-and-such a minister on Sunday morning, and such another one on
Sunday evening. And I used to hear what a good lad he was. All of a
sudden he came home–he could not be kept in the establishment. There
was money missing and he was suspected of stealing it. He had not been
to those places of worship at all! He had spent his Sundays–well,
Satan knew where–he had been as bad as bad could be all the while he
was there.
My father never mentioned him to me any more, but I distinctly
recollect feeling, "Well, if So-and-So, whom I thought and believed,
and who seemed to be such a good lad, to whom I used to look up, has
turned out such a downright scamp, may not I do the same?" It seemed to
me that if I did not begin in a better way than he did, by really
getting a new heart and a right spirit, I might morally come to the
same sort of smash as he did. And I may further tell you that among the
things that led me to Christ was the Doctrine of the Final Perseverance
of the Saints. I heard that Jesus would keep the feet of His saints and
I said to myself, "Then, if I give myself to Him, He will ensure the
preservation of my character and He will keep me to the end." And the
only bargain I ever made with Him, when I gave myself up to Him, was
that He would always have me in His holy keeping. O young men, I can
recommend that plan to you! I earnestly entreat you not to commence
life even with the best moral resolutions. Go straight away to the Lord
Jesus and ask Him to grant you Grace that you may give yourself up
wholly to Him. You cannot keep yourself, but He can keep you and He
will keep you even unto the end, for He has said, "My sheep hear My
voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck
them out of My hand."
Lastly, do I address anyone–old or young, it is no matter, who, like
Rehoboam, has not sought the Lord and, like Rehoboam has got into a
world of trouble through it? Have you lost the 10 tribes? Has Shishak
come against you? You did wrong, you know you did, for you forsook your
God, and now, after that, do you still refuse to seek Him? For, mark
you, Rehoboam did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord even after he
had been attacked by the king of Egypt! Chastisements are lost upon
some people! There is someone of Rehoboam's sort here tonight. It is
the first time he has been out since his serious illness. Blessed be
God that you did not die then, my Friend! You know what the angels
heard you say when you were lying on your bed. "Please God, if I am
ever raised up from this illness, I will seek the Lord." That is partly
the reason why you are here and I am very glad to see you! But you must
not think that coming here will save you. It is no use seeking the
Tabernacle–you must seek the Lord! Oh, do not, I pray you, let this
warning be neglected, nor let the vow that was registered in Heaven be
forgotten–but seek the Savior with all your heart!
And you, my Friend, over yonder, were in a shipwreck. There were many
lives lost and you had been a swearing fellow, but you said, "Please
God, if I get ashore, I will turn over a new leaf." Well I do not think
the new leaf is much improvement on the old one! That was not what you
meant, was it? It was that you would become a better man if you were
saved from the jaws of Hell. You were saved from the watery grave, yet
you have not prepared your heart to seek the Lord. O my dear Friend,
God does not send Shishak many times, you know! After He has sent him
once, and there is no softening of the heart, or girding up of the
loins to seek Him, He will send another messenger and it will be
written of you, as it was of Rehoboam, "He slept with his fathers, and
his son reigned in his place." But where was Rehoboam? He never sought
the Lord so, perhaps, when he had passed out of this world, where he
had shilly-shallied and vacillated, where he had been pliable and
plastic to every influence–when he passed into the next world there
was realized by him the terror of that dreadful curse, "Then shall they
call upon Me, but I will not answer. They shall seek Me early, but they
shall not find Me."
Then was fulfilled to him that other terrible prophecy, "Because I have
called, and you refused. I have stretched out My hand and no man
regarded. But you have set at nothing all My counsel, and would none of
my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your
fear comes." Think of God's laughing and mocking at a soul that has
passed into eternity without Him–it is a most dreadful thing, whatever
it may mean, and it will be fulfilled in you– you hopeful people, you
plausible people, you undecided people unless you prepare your heart to
seek the Lord!
It may be that some of you are standing, at this moment, on the very
verge of everlasting life and if the devil can keep you there, he will
be perfectly satisfied, for you will perish if you remain there. Do not
satisfy him, I implore you! O mighty Grace of God, come upon them, now,
and make them, each one, say, "I will stand here no longer! I will
cross the line–I will give myself up, once and for all, to Jesus."
That is right, young man, young woman, cross the river, burn the
bridges, sink your boats and say–
"Tis done, the great transaction's done! I am my Lord's, and He is
mine. He drew me, and I followed on, Charmed to confess the voice
Divine!"
The Lord make it so, for Christ's sake! Amen.