The Modern Dead Sea and the Living Waters
(No. 1852)
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JULY 19, 1885,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"The waters shall be healed." Ezekiel 47:8.
Ezekiel is robed in dreadful tempest and his whole book is "as the
terrible crystal" for brightness and for mystery, yet he often gives us
visions of exceeding comfort. For instance, who can think without joy
of that tender branch of the cedar which is to be planted by God in the
mountain of the height of Israel–which shall grow so exceedingly that
all fowl of every wing shall dwell in its branches? Do we not all
rejoice that, whatever may become of the institutions of modern
society, we have received a Kingdom which cannot be moved? The Kingdom
of our Lord Jesus, which began as a tender slip, is yet to increase
till it is likened to a goodly cedar "upon a high mountain and
eminent"–is not this an unspeakable joy? Think, also, of that other
vision, so weird and strange, of a valley full of dead bones, "very
many" and "very dry." What an answer does that vision give to the
question of unbelief! "Can these dry bones live?" How plainly does the
Lord answer–"I will put My Spirit in you and you shall live"! When I
think of that goodly cedar, I see that the Kingdom will come unto
Christ. And when I think of the valley of dry bones, I am comforted
concerning the masses around me. We, too, as we walk through this
morgue of a city, may hope that life will conquer death and an
exceedingly great army, quickened by the Spirit of our God, shall yet
rise from these dry bones!
The remarkable vision which lies open before us, is exceedingly
reassuring to those who are troubled by reason of the dreadful
condition of the times–and which of us is not? The Prophet bids us
think of those waters, dreary and dreadful, known by the suggestive
name of the Dead Sea! This was the "Chamber of Horrors" of the land of
Canaan! Travelers describe it as a place of utter desolation. Lying in
a deep hollow, some 1,300 feet below any other sea, the Dead Sea may be
described as a deep sunken into the earth, like the mouth of the abyss.
Masses of bitumen float upon its surface and line its shores. Sulfurous
exhalations abound and on its banks are hot sulfuric springs. Bathing
in its thick brine is not pleasant, for it causes the skin to tingle
with its acrid salts long afterwards. Neither is it desirable to linger
upon the brink of it– there is nothing to attract you to do so. Very
scanty is the vegetation; few are the birds and rare the living things.
It is the domain of destruction! The sea is so salty that no fish can
live in it and though it has been asserted that smaller organisms exist
in it, these have seldom been found–on the contrary, the fish that
come down into it from the Jordan die at once–and drifted shellfish
are washed up dead upon the bank. Nothing of life loves the brine, the
sulfur and the bitumen of the Dead Sea. The slimy lake is, at seasons,
dangerous to health, and even to life. Travelers have, of late, crossed
it safely at the right season–but formerly those who made a voyage
upon it rarely returned to tell the tale, or, before long, sickened and
died.
The doomed lake bears dark mysteries in its bosom–down deep in its
depths lie the drowned cities of the plain, whose infamies provoked the
wrath of Heaven and brought upon them a fire-shower such as earth has
never known before or since. It may be that the briny waters hide
mysteries of sin which were better hidden–for modern crime is fertile
enough in inventions of filthiness and needs no aid from the rottenness
of antiquity. Thus, the Dead Sea is a place most dread and dismal–the
bath of death, the haunt of despair, the home of desolation–and in
these respects it is a fit picture of our fallen humanity, a truthful
symbol of the whole world which lies in the Wicked One. The world of
men is cursed by evils of dreadful name. "The dark places of the earth
are full of the habitations of cruelty." There are no mysteries of love
in this lost world, but mysteries of sin, of judgement and of the wrath
of God are plentiful! The world is a veritable Dead Sea upon a gigantic
scale!
Such, also, is the city in which we live–must I call it "modern
Sodom"? Every wave that breaks upon the shore of this human lake now
seems to wash up remains of monstrous things unearthly, inhuman,
beastly, devilish! Fair islands, here and there, rise out of its dark
deeps–the bright creations of God's Grace–but all around them the
waters cast up mire and dirt. God is at work creating new heavens and a
new earth and, in the process, forms of beauty are developed. But to
this day the old unrenewed city remains a reeking copy of the Hell
which burns below. Those who have dared to look into its depths return
with horror upon their faces to say that it were not lawful for a man
to utter what they have seen! London is a simmering cauldron of vice
and crime. O God, how long shall it be?
In certain respects, such is every man's natural heart until he is
renewed by Grace. The heart is deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked–and may be well typified by the Sea of Death. If we
could but look into it with such eyes as God has, what would we not
see? When we are led to gaze on it through our tears because the Holy
Spirit has anointed our eyes with eye salve–and we perceive things in
their naked truth–we are distressed beyond expression. What a thing is
human nature! Mr. Whitefield used to say that man is half beast and
half devil. But to my mind he is all beast and all devil if God does
not hold him in check by the restraints of fear and the fetters of Law.
Let him alone and who can imagine what man would grow to? All manner of
iniquities, such as lust, greed, oppression, drunkenness, falsehood,
cruelty and murder lurk within the human heart, like wild beasts in the
jungle! No man knows what villainy he is capable of–he only needs to
be placed under certain circumstances and he will develop into a very
fiend!
Thus the world, the city, the heart are each symbolized by the Dead
Sea. Can they ever be purified? Can these waters be healed? According
to our text, the Lord says expressly, "the waters shall be healed." Let
us believe His promise and take heart of hope from this good hour! Here
is room, my Brothers and Sisters, for the faith which, like charity,
"believes all things, hopes all things." If any of you desire to
exercise a faith by which you can glorify God, believe that the world
can yet be delivered from sin–believe that London can yet be made a
holy city! Believe that your own heart, by the power of God's Spirit,
can be purified even as Christ is pure! Even when it seems to be
furthest off from hope; even when we are staggered at the sin which
surrounds us, we are still to believe that the Lord shall reign forever
and ever–and sin and Satan shall be crushed under our Redeemer's feet!
Let us believe in God as God deserves to be believed in. Let us rely
implicitly upon Omnipotence and trust without a doubt in that strong
will which can never be turned from its purpose of Grace. "The waters
shall be healed"–all the brine and bitumen of the Dead Sea shall not
stop the Divine work. The putrid waters of London shall be made sweet
as the well of Bethlehem! The atrocities of war and oppression shall
cease and the reign of evil shall end, for the Lord has purposed it and
it shall be done! The kingdoms of this world must become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of His Christ– London must be won for Jesus and our
own hearts must be wholly His! "The waters shall be healed."
Ezekiel saw in vision the means of the healing of the dreary Lake of
Death–the method was simple, but effectual. What he saw represented
the Gospel dispensation. The whole system of Divine Grace–the Gospel
attended by the Power of the Holy Spirit, the Cross and all the Truths
of God that come out of it, the message of salvation, the preaching of
faith, the testimony of God the Father to the redeeming work of His
Son–all this is the river which flows down into this desert world by
its own force and is now making its way into the most horrible guilt
and corruption, with set purpose– that the waters may be healed!
I want to encourage your faith, this morning, in a time when that faith
is very sorely tried. Be of good courage, for the waters, of which we
all loathe to drink, shall be purified! "The waters shall be healed."
I. And, first, to encourage your faith, I bid you to CONSIDER THE
PROMISE. The place where the promise is written, in plain black and
white, upon the sacred page, is opened before your eyes. Put your
finger on it and let it rest there. Thus says Jehovah, "The waters
shall be healed."
We feel sure that this Word of prophecy shall be accomplished to the
letter in due time because He that made the promise is able to fulfill
it. Apart from us and all our weaknesses; apart from man and all his
wickedness, God, who has spoken the Word, will perform it without fail.
The Lord knows what He says. He speaks advisedly and not after the
manner of the rash and boastful. Neither do His hands neglect to do
what His lips have promised. He brings His supreme power and Godhead to
carry out the Word of His mouth. The promise of Grace is the fiat of
Omnipotence–"The waters shall be healed." One "shall" of God is worth
all the legions of an empire! Yes, all the forces of the universe.
"Shall," says
God, and the event is sure. What can resist the thunder of His Word?
Who shall stay His hand, or frustrate His design? Hear, O unbelief, and
doubt no more–"The waters shall be healed!"
The Lord will fulfill this Word thoroughly. This promise shall not be
kept to the ear only, but it shall be fulfilled in the largest
conceivable sense. The Prophet, in vision, saw the waters of the Dead
Sea so completely healed that there were fish in it–yes, swarms of
fish, and these fish so many that there was occupation for all those
who cast the net, so that they stood from one shore to the other! Where
there had been no life before, living things literally swarmed and
teemed, as in the great main ocean itself! Brothers and Sisters, when
God speaks of what He is about to do in the world, by way of Grace,
interpret it very broadly–get no narrow ideas into your minds
concerning the Grace of the Infinite! When our Lord Jesus sees of the
travail of His soul and is satisfied, He will not have seen a handful
of men, here and there, gathered to Him, but He will have seen a
multitude that no man can number, worshipping the Father, each one of
whom shall eternally bless His name for deliverance from sin! What
hosts have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb! Ah, Beloved, God will cleanse London perfectly clean when He puts
His hand to it! Even this Augean stable shall yet be sacred as the
temple of Jehovah! No cleansing of the outside of the cup and platter
will God make–He will purge out secret sins, both in high places and
in cottages–and He will create for Himself, in this place, a city of
priests! Glory be to His name for such a hope! Blessed be the Lord God!
He will sanctify our hearts and spirits–in the secret parts He will
implant truth and in the hidden parts He will make us to know wisdom!
Observe that when God makes the promise on which my finger is still
resting–for I love to press the very words, "The waters shall be
healed"–He gives us an idea of how He will do it. He will fulfill this
Word in connection with the present dispensation. To my mind this is
clear enough from the fact that these waters flowed forth from Mount
Zion. They flowed originally from that ancient hill of which God had
said, "Here will I dwell forever." The healing stream proceeded from
that sacred place, the Holy of Holies, on Mount Zion, which is the type
of God's indwelling in His Son Jesus and in His Church. The rising
river flowed hard by the altar of burnt-offering and became visible to
the prophetic eye as it trickled forth from under the closed door at
the east end of the Temple. These waters, in vision, were seen to flow
towards the east–to create greenery in the desert and to melt into the
Dead Sea. From this I gather that our God means to use His Church for
His purposes of Grace. "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has
shined."
We believe that He means to win His ultimate triumphs by the preaching
of the Gospel. Whenever the coming of our Lord shall be–and oh, that
it were today, for we never needed Him more than now–whenever His
Second Advent shall take place, yet it shall not be a dishonor to the
Church, but it will be her glory to triumph with the King at her head.
It may be that by His personal appearing, she shall win the victory. If
our Lord delays His coming, He will send the wondrous influences of the
Divine Spirit in much greater abundance than today–and then His Church
shall work marvels in the land and salvation shall adorn her! The King
shall marshal His troops around the central city of His choice and His
Church shall be glorious in the eyes of all men because of the splendor
of her Lord!
Do not throw down your weapons and say, "Christ must come and wage this
war." Perhaps so, but still He will carry on the battle by His chosen
people. It is ours to stand fast like British squares in the day of
battle. Hold the fort because your Lord is coming! Do not abandon it
under some idea that He will work after a novel fashion and dispense
with the Gospel and the testimony of His saints. I believe that the
Lord Jesus will win the battle on the old lines–"Up, Guards and at
them!" Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into
spears, for you must fight as long as you live since the Lord has sworn
to have war with Amalek from generation to generation. If you die at
your posts, so be it–but never desert them! Till Jesus comes, gird
yourselves and fight His battles. Your rest remains and it will be a
full reward to you, but you have not yet come to it. By the river of
God, which flows this day, the waters shall be healed.
Note, carefully, that this Divine promise, "the waters shall be
healed," will not put aside instrumentality, but when it is fulfilled,
it will call forth more abundant agencies. The waters run into the Dead
Sea and purify its waters. Then fish begin to multiply and man's part
comes in–"The fishers shall stand upon it from En Gedi even unto En
Eglaim." Rest assured that there will be plenty of fishers when, by His
healing process, the Lord makes plenty of fish–we shall be fishers of
men in right earnest when the times of refreshing shall come from His
Presence! The Lord does not intend to put the fishers on one side any
more than He will dismiss the reapers in the time of harvest. Mark how
the Lord Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
He never intends the Gospel net to be laid aside till all His elect are
taken in it and drawn out from the waters of sin and death.
Those will be happy days when the Lord will cause the people to long
for the Gospel–when those horrid wretches who are now lying asoak in
the sulfurous lake of sin shall become wholesome fish and invite the
fisher to cast his net! In those days many of you, my Brothers, who
never handled a net before, will be moved by a holy call to catch men!
And you, my Sisters, will have to help us with the rope to draw the net
on shore! You slothful Christian men and women who have never gone to
sea in this fishery, will then be moved to the work and will say, like
Peter, "I go a-fishing." All round the lake, the Prophet saw fishermen
and he says of the waters, "They shall be a place to spread forth nets;
their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great
sea, exceeding many." Oh, for the day when every Believer will be
fishing for the souls of men! God send us that blessed time right
speedily!
On the strength of the promise now before us, if there were nothing
else, let us look for such a consummation. "The waters shall be
healed"–purity shall prevail–the Kingdom of God shall come. Our daily
prayer shall not go up to Heaven in vain. Let us again cry–"Your will
be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. For Yours is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen!"
II. Having asked you to consider the promise, I invite you, next, to
CONSIDER THE WONDER OF THE HEALING WATERS that we may be helped,
thereby, to believe that healing will come, even to the Dead Sea of
this present evil world, this present sinful Babylon, this present
deceitful heart.
The wonders of the waters which Ezekiel saw, lay in many things. First,
consider, from where they came. These waters sprang from the midst of
Jerusalem, from the secret place of God's Throne–and this was why they
were so potent. The 12th verse ascribes the fruit-producing power of
the waters to this–"because they issued out of the sanctuary." In that
sanctuary was the Throne of Jehovah–Eternal Sovereignty is the
fountainhead of those gracious decrees in which the Lord has purposed
to do good to the sons of men. He will have mercy on whom He will have
mercy and in the freeness of His sovereign will He has purposed that
this Dead Sea of humanity shall yet be healed! The healing waters flow
from the Throne of God and of the Lamb. As God is God, He has decreed
and purposed to redeem His people–and in that decree and purpose is
the fountain of good to men.
These waters flowed, in the vision, hard by the Altar of
Burnt-Offering. Learn from this that the one channel of mercy to the
sons of men is by the Sacrifice of Christ. By that Altar, where our
great High Priest offered up Himself once and for all, there flows the
River of Life. Since Christ has died, the world must yet be blessed.
Those drops of blood that fell on Calvary were never gathered up and
they have left the broad crimson mark of the redeeming Lord upon this
globe of ours and, therefore, His it must be! Mankind shall be
delivered from utter destruction because in Christ Jesus, our God has
found a Ransom. There is hope in this, that "the waters shall be
healed."
These waters, though they flowed unseen across the Temple area,
presently bubbled up from under the threshold of the door of the house.
You know who is the Door of the Temple of God–by Him we enter in unto
God–and by Him God comes forth in blessing unto us. The waters flowed
from below, welling up from "the deep that lies under," in the Person
and work of our Lord. Salvation comes not to us from any of the sons of
men, but from the deeps of God's own heart. Streams of ever-flowing
mercy flow to us through our Lord Jesus Christ! Blessed be His name!
When the waters first appeared, the Prophet saw them trickling from
under the closed door and this suggests another interpretation. The
east door was shut, according to the vision recorded in the previous
chapter, but the waters gushed forth from under the threshold. Old
Judaism had its door closed against us Gentiles and yet the Gospel came
from it to the nations! Israel's door is now shut till the Prince shall
come and enter through it, yet from under its threshold, the river of
the Gospel flowed to us Gentiles! Holy men of Jewish race came forth to
tell of salvation bought with blood and justification perfected for
faith–and by their means the heathen received the Light of the
knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ! The stream
began in the eternal purpose, it flowed through the sacrifice of Christ
and proceeded out of the midst of that old Temple whose gate was shut!
In Abraham's seed, all the nations of the earth are blessed! Surely
that which comes from God's purpose through the sacrifice of Christ
cannot be in vain. If God could make old Judaism to bud and blossom
with the Gospel, what can He not do? If from under the shut gate the
waters came gushing forth in gladsome stream to us perishing heathen,
they can still flow to the vilest of the vile!
Note next, as a wonder in connection with these waters, how they
increased. They deepened so fast that, although there was but a little
stream at the beginning, within less than a mile there were waters to
swim in! Yes, they had become so deep and broad that the Prophet had to
use an expression in the dual, signifying a double stream–the flood
had be-
come too deep and wide to be passed over! These waters were not fed by
rivulets running into them, but they miraculously grew of themselves.
In the vision they advanced from being ankle deep to being up to the
knee and then up to the loins, and then they rose to be deep,
unfathomable waters! All this the Prophet tested by his own wading into
them.
Now, if this happened by God's power, and if this happened so speedily,
we may look for other marvels! "The waters shall be healed"–the Dead
Sea shall yet teem with life! You and I have waded into these waters,
have we not? If so, we know how they have increased upon us. Do you not
remember when you rejoiced to have received a little Grace, so that it
washed your feet and your life was cleansed? Do you not remember how
very speedily these waters were up to your knees and you had power with
God in prayer? It was but a few hours, more, before your heart was
comforted and your inmost spirit was made glad–for the waters were up
to your loins. Very soon, perhaps within hours, you were swimming in
streams of heavenly love as you found that Christ was yours, your God
your Heaven, your All! Do you not see that the God who has done all
this for you can do as much for others? Can He not heal the waters of
the Dead Sea of our day? Let us hope on, work on and believe in God to
the end!
Putting our finger, again, upon that promise, let us rest assured that
"the waters shall be healed."
Rapidly–for I have to be brief where there is so much to be
said–notice what these waters produced. They began to flow and very
soon vegetation came into the wilderness. They flowed into the desert
and into the Acacia Vale, as Joel calls it. And soon, on both sides of
the river, there were trees and, all of a sudden, the trees were
bearing fruit! Wherever the Gospel goes, it carries life, growth and
fruit with it. The fruits were for man's nourishment–these were the
ordained food of Paradise, the best provender for man at his best! What
food there is in the Gospel! Wherever it flows, the famine of the soul
ceases. The Gospel contains all manner of fruit, for all sorts of
seasons and appetites. It provides food for the young and food for the
old; food for the feeble and food for the strong; food for the happy
and food for the sad! This Tree of Life brings forth fruit abundantly,
constantly and speedily. The leaves of the Trees of Life contained
medicine, full of mystic virtue–they were for the healing of the
people. Whatever diseases afflict men, they have but to pluck these
leaves, and apply them, and health follows! Oh, that blessed Gospel! It
has had a double effect for our good, for it has fed our souls and
healed our infirmities! Well might its waters be called a double
stream!
Do you not know that it is thus singularly useful? If you have never
eaten of its fruit, I must seem to be talking nonsense to you. If you
have never been sick and felt the healing power of its leaves, I must
seem to mock you with decisions. But if you have been hungering and
thirsting, you know what these streams and these fruits are–and if you
have been sick unto death–you have found, in God's Grace, a medicine
better than the balm of Gilead–and it has made you whole! If the
Gospel can thus cause Trees of Life to grow, the waters shall be
healed– the horrible Dead Sea of lust shall yet be purified, the
sulfurous breath of vice shall yet be blown away, the death of sin
shall yet give place to holy life–and the Lord, alone, shall be
exalted where before He has been dishonored!
As a further wonder, note where the stream flowed. One would have
thought that such a clear crystal stream as this, proceeding from the
Throne of God and of the Lamb, would have sought a pure channel for
itself among the gardens of the Lord. But instead we are told, "These
waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert,
and go into the sea which, being brought forth into the sea, the waters
shall be healed." What a mercy it is that the Gospel goes into the
desert! Think of what this island used to be, when our ancestors
wandered about in their nakedness among its oak groves. Think of the
times when the great wicker image was set up and the Druids surrounded
it, and that image was crammed full of hundreds of men and women who
were all to be consumed in one dread fire while the people stood by to
see their fellow creatures offered to their national Moloch!
That is all over now. No longer is the mistletoe cut with the golden
sickle, or the fierce deity appeased with blood of men. The missionary
came and preached the Gospel and the Druids ceased out of the land.
They were both the legislature and the hierarchy, but they could not
stand before the Divine Truth of God! They were everybody then, but
they are nobody now. I do not know what may yet happen here, but I do
know this–when the Gospel comes, the images, the idols, the filthy
things, the cruel things, the horrible things must go. The Gospel is
still sent to sinners and it will save sinners. We are to preach the
Gospel to every creature, "beginning at Jerusalem," and He who bade us
do this will not permit us to labor in vain. The River of Life once
purified Britain and it will cleanse it yet again–"The waters shall be
healed."
The waters ran down into the horrible sea. You would have said, as you
stood there, "No! No! Do not waste these pure floods in that Hell lake!
Do not let them disappear in pollution! Jordan, for many years, has
been lavishing her sil-
ver streams upon this Dead Sea and it has absorbed them all, but it has
not been made a whit the purer–and every fish that has drifted down
the Jordan has died as soon as it has touched this detestable lake! Do
not pour the heavenly river into such a Pandemonium." Many speak thus
nowadays–"Do not meddle with this vice and wickedness. Do not even
hear about it, for it will pollute you! Forget its foul flow, it is
sulfurous as Tophet–the smell of such iniquity will choke you!" This
avoidance of evil is natural and safe, but what is to become of this
Dead Sea if the precious crystal stream does not flow into it? Will God
abandon our race to the devil? Would He have His Church abandon her
function of salting the earth? I do not believe it! I tell you, there
is to be a link made by almighty Grace between the Temple at Jerusalem
and the very site of Sodom and Gomorrah–a silver stream is yet to
traverse the space between the Throne of the Most High and the foul
Dead Sea–mercy is to triumph over judgement and righteousness is to
conquer sin! It shall yet be said on earth and sung in Heaven,
"Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!"
Blessed be His name, that to the very chief of sinners this life stream
has flowed and will continue to flow till time shall be no more! Who
can diminish this flood? Not even he that glories to drink up Jordan at
a draught! Who can divert it? It is not to be turned by the will of
man. Who can destroy its saving force? Not even the Dead Sea, itself,
shall be able to contend against the healing energy of this wondrous
river. Let us begin to sing of the river whose streams make us glad.
Let our spirits break out with exultation, for, "the waters shall be
healed."
III. Thirdly, for a moment or two I want you to CONSIDER THE EFFICACY
OF THE WATERS. I will quit the
figure in some measure in order to explain how the Gospel is adapted to
heal the wickedness of men. "What does the Gospel do?" asks one. I
answer–In the Gospel we set before men the horrible nature of sin and
thus we lead them to turn from it. He does not preach the Gospel who
fails to declare that sin slew the Son of God! The Cross unveils the
baseness and ingratitude of sin and makes it to appear exceedingly
sinful. The Gospel brings men to know the unchangeableness of the
Divine Law and that sin is the transgression of that Law–and that
every sin will have its just recompense of reward. There is no
preaching the Gospel unless you declare the terrors of the Lord. God
has winked at the times of man's ignorance, but now commands all men,
everywhere, to repent, for sin is not a thing to be played with, but a
deadly enemy to be shaken off into the fire, as Paul shook off the
viper from his hand. All this tends to the removal of human sin.
The Gospel gives man hope and that is a grand thing for the degraded
and self-condemned. To have a hope that you can be a better man is a
great help in escaping from sin. To hope that you can be renewed and
become like the angels of God, though now you are like the devils in
Hell, is a great encouragement to turn to God! My Gospel bids me go to
the very vilest of the vile and bid him hope. I count no man so
loathsome that God may not look upon him in love. What a Gospel this
is, for hope is the beginning of amendment, the first letter of the
alphabet of reform! Where there is no hope, the sinner gives the reins
to his lusts and thinks it wise to enjoy his sin while he may. O Souls,
this is the Gospel, indeed, to you, that there is
forgiveness–forgiveness, even, for loud and crying sins!
The Gospel purifies men because it gives them Christ, Himself, to be
their Savior. It brings them the Son of God to be their salvation. It
says, "Poor Souls, you cannot help yourselves! Here is One on whom help
has been laid, even a mighty One! Here is One that took your sin and
put it away. Here is One that will be a Friend to you in your worst
times of need. Here is One that is bone of your bone and flesh of your
flesh–lay your burdens down at His dear feet, for He has a fellow
feeling for you! Here is a Leader and Commander for you who will lead
you forth from the slavery of sin. Come, buckle on your harness to war
against your sins, for He will give you power to overcome them." I tell
you there is no Gospel like a Gospel that says, "Sinner, here is Christ
for you!" Poor, wearied, burdened, heavy-laden Sinner, take Christ to
be yours and you have all you need between this place and Heaven!
Moreover, the Gospel does not merely tell men certain Truths of God,
but it gives life, power and Grace to them. There comes with the Gospel
an almighty Power which changes the nature of the man. It touches his
understanding and enlightens it. It touches his will and changes it. It
touches his affections and purifies them. This Power is the Holy
Spirit, equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son–nothing less
than very God of very God! This Holy Spirit goes forth with the Gospel,
giving hearts of flesh, causing men to be born again and creating all
things new. The Truth comes not in Word only, but in the Power of the
Holy Spirit. The waters shall be healed by such a Gospel, attended by
such a Power as this!
I heard it said the other day, "We do not need more preachers, for the
supply is more than equal to the demand." But then, the Gospel creates
its own demand! Wherever the Gospel goes, it makes men thirsty for
itself. It makes men hungry
for itself. It does its own work without aid from any foregoing human
preparedness! It does not even ask to be left alone–it will effect its
purpose even though it is tampered with! Its own essential Omnipotence
secures its own preservation, enlargement and success. How I marvel at
those who quit the heavenly stream for their own little brooks and
streams! A certain divine has lately made a discovery by which he is
going to pour a flood of light upon the Bible! The Bible, it seems, has
been a dark, mysterious Book to our forefathers–though martyrs died
for it and saints were comforted by it–yet those poor beings were in
the dark for lack of 19th Century discoveries! At length the hour has
come, and the man with it–a great genius has arisen who has found
light with which to illuminate the Bible! We used to sing–
"A glory gilds the sacred page, Majestic like the sun. It gives a light
to every age, It gives, but borrows none."
Are we to alter our tune and cheerfully accept the contributions of
this uncommon person? I think not! Did you ever hear of a madman who,
with a common match, determined to show up the sun in the middle of the
day? Come here, you that never saw the sun before! It is a dim affair,
but we will strike this match and then you shall see what you shall
see! Brothers and Sisters, this talk is all foolishness–neither the
scientists nor the divines can light up the Light of God! This Book is
clear enough of itself and this Gospel is mighty enough of itself
without the aid of human wisdom! It will not be cleared, but clouded,
by modern doting upon evolution! The river of the Gospel will force its
own way despite modern thought! It will win and conquer, whoever may
oppose!
The power of the Gospel to cleanse this horrible Lake of Gomorrah lies
in this–it touches the heart, it moves the affections, it changes the
nature, it renews the entire man! Moreover, it binds men in a holy
brotherhood and leads them back to their Father and their God. Its
torrent bears away the pride which makes one man stand at a distance
from his fellow. It drowns the oppression by which the great man thinks
to trample down the poor. Its waves say, as they flow, "All you are
Brothers and Sisters and One is your Master, even Christ." Thus it
works a holy revolution among men and a restoration of the royal rights
of Jesus. God send it, send it to us, to London and to the entire
world–and to His name shall be the praise!
IV. I must close by noticing, fourthly, THE LESSON OF THE WATERS. What
is their voice to us, today?
I think the first lesson is that God works in very unexpected ways.
There is that Dead Sea. We look down upon it with horror. Can it ever
be healed? It never would have occurred to you or to me that yonder
Temple, so pure and sacred, would have a spring welling up from under
its threshold. Or that it was so little and so tiny that you might
cover it with your hand, at first, and yet from that spring should come
a sufficient purgation even for Sodom's sea! The Lord knows how to do
His own work and He does it by apparently slender means. "Who has
despised the day of small things?" Mark the little band at Jerusalem,
when the number of the men was about 120–that stream grew within a few
days till we read that–"the same day there were added unto them about
3,000 souls." Then another day or so after, we read, "And the number of
the men was about five thousand." That small beginning most rapidly
increased, is increasing and will increase!
The Gospel has the same potency and force about it, today, that it has
had in ages past. Always expect the unexpected! Consider that God has
great things in reserve. He shot yon arrow, but His quiver is still
full! He has scarcely begun the battle! Jehovah of Hosts has stricken
here, a blow and, there, a blow, but behold, He comes forth to do
greater execution by the sword of His strength! O great Prince, "Ride
prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and Your
right hand shall teach terrible things"! Come quickly, we pray You!
What else ought we to learn? As the Dead Sea has to be cleansed by that
stream of water, all that we can do is, first of all, pray. Pray,
"Spring up, O Well!" Pray that out of the midst of each of us may flow
rivers of Living Water. Pray that God would work by His Spirit yet more
abundantly. The Holy Spirit has descended–we do not need Him to be
poured out, but we would realize His power in another fashion–we would
descend into the floods of His sacred influences–we beg of Him to
baptize us into His mighty waters and sweep every sin away before Him!
When we have done that, what next have we to do? Why, begin fishing.
Wherever this stream rushes along, there will be fish. In this London
there are fish. Go and fish in the streets, fish in the street corners,
fish in any little room you can open! Fish in the great crowds if they
will come to you. The stream is breeding swarms of life–be you fishers
of men!
God says to His Church today, "I have much people in this city." Do not
despair! God has an elect company in every parish of London. Get to
work by this sea and stand there from En Gedi to En Eglaim, from
Highgate to Norwood, from Stratford to Kensington, from one end of the
city to the other! God help you to cast the net!
Above all, we must not come to be the marshes of which we read just
now. Certain spots of land were overflowed by the river and the sea,
but afterwards, they were left high and dry as the stream retired, so
that they were neither sea nor dry ground, but marshes. Beware of this!
The most abominable beings out of Hell are Christians without
Christianity, and there are plenty of them! They have "a name to live
and are dead." They have no love to men, nor love to God, nor zeal for
Christ's Glory–and yet they talk of being Christians! Beware of high
professors who are unholy livers! These are jackdaws with peacocks'
feathers stuck upon them–and they shall, one day, be stripped of all
their plumes. These are not the children of the living God, but
children of the devil!
When they are brought before the Judge, to have their true parentage
discovered, they shall be cut in sunder! So the great Solomon will
ordain! Oh, that you and I may be true-born children of God! May we
never be among those mongrels who are neither heathen nor Jews, neither
Christians nor outsiders! May we be one thing or the other! Let us heed
the voice of the Prophet–"If the Lord is God, follow Him: but if Baal,
then follow him." All the blessing that ever comes from Heaven will
never save neutrals, for "the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they
shall be given to salt." God deliver us from such a curse, for Jesus
Christ's sake! Amen.
PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Genesis 98-15; Ezekiel
47:1-12; Revelation 22:1-15.
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