The Seed Upon a Rock

The Seed Upon a Rock

(No. 2844)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 1903.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
SEPTEMBER 16, 1888.

"Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and
forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and
when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root,
they withered away." Matthew 13:5, 6.

ON another occasion I hope to preach from the words, "because they had
no root," but, at this time, my subject is, "They sprang up, because
they had no deepness of earth." Every farmer knows the wonderful effect
of heat below the soil, how quickly it makes things grow. I do not
gather that this was a stony piece of ground, but that it had a mass of
stone not far from the surface. It was ground where the soil was very
shallow and underneath it was a hard pan of rock that had never been
broken up, so that, when the sun shone upon it, the rock reflected the
heat and what with the sun above, and the heat below, the seed was very
soon made to sprout and up came the green blade almost immediately. But
this very shallowness of the soil which made the seed spring up so
quickly was the cause of its ruin, for the sun had not long shone upon
it before that which made it grow also killed it. The heat scorched it
and it withered away.

Those people who are represented by this soil which has no deepness of
earth, very soon make the Good Seed to appear to grow in them. They
hear a sermon, are apparently converted and they fancy that they are
saved. Or there is a revival meeting where some earnest addresses are
given by different speakers, and they at once profess to be Believers.
They are brought forward as converts and there is great rejoicing over
them–but after a very little while, days of trial arise and there
being no depth in them, they wither away and their names are struck
from the church roll. The hopeful success, as it seemed, becomes a
bitter failure. Men ask, "Where are those converts?" And echo can only
answer, "Where?" for nobody knows but the Lord–who was never deceived
by them.

I want you to clearly understand that the fault did not lie in the
suddenness of their supposed conversion. Many sudden conversions have
been among the best that have ever happened. Take, for instance, the
case of Saul of Tarsus, struck down on the road to Damascus. Within
three days his sight is restored to him and he is baptized as a true,
real, out-and-out Christian. There was great depth of earth in him, yet
the seed sprang up very rapidly! And we have hundreds and even
thousands of instances of persons who have been suddenly converted and
yet who have been truly converted. The work has been very
thorough–nobody could doubt its genuineness–yet it took place quite
unexpectedly and was looked upon as a wonder.

Do not judge the reality of your conversion either by the suddenness of
it or by the length of time which it occupied, for it is true that
superficial conversions are usually sudden, although all sudden
conversions are not superficial. There are many who, in the sight of
God, are not converted at all, who appeared as if they were the
subjects of a great, remarkable and complete change. Where there is no
depth, there is no durability. That familiar proverb is a true one,
"Easy come, easy go." As a general rule, those persons who have, as
they say, "found religion" all of a sudden, without any mental struggle
and who have never found it in their heart and soul, are the very
people to let it go quite as readily whenever a time of trial comes.

In case there should be any persons of that sort here unwarned, I am
going to speak of them and to them now, answering these three
questions. First, what is meant by having deepness ofearth?Secondly,
what is meant by the scorching

of the sun?'And, thirdly, how can we avoid the evil of having no
deepness of earth and so being withered by the scorching of the sun?

I. First, then, WHAT IS MEANT BY HAVING NO DEEPNESS OF EARTH?

I think it is, with some people, a general superficiality of character
There are some persons whom you ought to be able to see through, for
there is so little substance in them. I do not say that you can always
see all there is in them, for a pool, if it is not deep, may be very
muddy and you may not be able to see to the bottom of it, even though
it is quite shallow. And I think I know some people in whom there is as
much deception as there is superficiality. Probably we all know some
persons who, from their very early days, have always been superficial
and changeable, like the man described by Dryden–"Everything by starts
and nothing long." Even in business they have been about 20 different
things, "Jack of all trades and master of none." Nobody knows what they
are going to be next and they, themselves, have no idea. The
weathercock does not shift more often than they do! When they went to
school, they pretended to learn a thing, but they forgot it the next
day. Even in their play, they never put any heart–there never was any
earnestness about them in anything! And now they are just thin,
shallow, vapid, empty. Like the baseless fabric of a vision, "such
stuff as dreams are made of," there is nothing in them.

When such people become affected by religion, they are just the same.
They hear, yet they do not hear, for they are looking around the place
half the time. If anyone else is affected by the preaching of the Word,
they may be affected too, or may appear to be so. They are the kind of
people who are always ready, like a flock of sheep, to follow the
leader, but their following is only temporary, their affection is mere
affectation. They profess to be Christians, but they will give up that
profession before long. As far as they can be, they are sincere–what
little there is of them–but their sincerity is, after all, a poor,
feeble, fickle thing. They will soon be as sincerely wrong as they are,
for the moment, sincerely right! You know the kind of people that they
are–they were born without any backbone, and it is very hard to grow
one if you do not possess one! They seem to go through the world soft,
plastic, like Mr. Pliable, who figures in the early part of Bunyan's,
"Pilgrim's Progress." He resolved to go to the Celestial City, but,
very soon he was quite as determined to get out of the Slough of
Despond on the side nearest to his own home. You know the sort of
people that I am trying to describe.

Next, the lack of deepness may mean something else–not so much
superficiality of character, as lack of knowledge. I believe that, at
this present time, we are in great danger of being burdened with a
crowd of so-called converts who do not really know anything as it ought
to be known. They attended a revival meeting, were much excited and
thought they were converted–but just ask them to explain to you the
simplest Truths of the Gospel and you will soon discover how little
they know. Could they explain the three R's–ruin, redemption and
regeneration? Do they know what the ruin is? Do they know what the
remedy for that ruin is? Do they understand at all what it means to be
born-again? Do they comprehend what the new nature is, or what,
"justification by faith" means? Perhaps someone says, "They do not
comprehend your theological terms." I do not mind whether they know the
meaning of the terms that are familiar to many of us, but do they know
the Truths, themselves?

There is a certain degree of Christian knowledge which is absolutely
necessary to salvation. David said, "The Lord is my light and my
salvation" and we must always have light first. The first word of the
spiritual creation, as of the natural, is, "Let there be light." Where
there is no light, there is no life. Where there is no knowledge of
God, there is no peace with God. O dear Hearers, if you think you are
converted, I trust that it will prove to be so, but do not be content
unless you really know the Truth! Search the Scriptures! Try to sit
under an instructive ministry. You need not seek to make yourself a
Doctor of Divinity, but do learn all you can of the Truth of God. "Grow
in Grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
Know yourself. Know Christ Jesus as your Savior. Know the work of the
Holy Spirit. All this is knowable and must be known, or else, before
long, you will wither away because you have no deepness of earth. Some
atheist or infidel will come along and turn you aside. Someone will
lead you to trust in a priest, or in some false doctrine and if you do
not know the Truth, you will be bowled over at once!

Sometimes, this lack of deepness of earth means lack of thought,
because there may be people who have knowledge, but who have never used
their knowledge to any proper purpose. Knowledge is the food of the
mind, but thought is the digestion by which we turn knowledge into true
mental nutriment. I believe in a serious thoughtful conversion and I
hardly think that any other kind can be real. You have sinned against
God. Thinkof that great fact. You are lost. Think

of that. "God is angry with the wicked every day" and He must punish
them. Think that over most solemnly. "Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners." Think that over and try to understand what is meant
by that declaration. Thinkhow He stood in the sinner's place, how He
suffered in the sinner's place. While you are thinking all this over,
it will look very different to you from what it did before you thought
it over! Hearing of these Truths with the ear may just be a useless
process, but when you get them into the mind–when you read, mark,
learn and inwardly digest them–then your conversion will be like the
Good Seed sown in deep, prepared soil and that which springs up in your
heart will not wither away because there was no depth of earth.

So do, I pray you, especially before you make a profession of religion,
think what you are doing. In joining a Church, I would try to find out
what that Church believed and I would not join it if I did not believe
its doctrines. I would also want to know what I, myself, believed, for
I would be afraid to profess that I believed what I did not believe. I
like to see a convert who thinks at every step and who does not put his
foot down without first considering whether it is a right place to set
his foot. Think, carefully, what the Lord would have you to do and,
then, when you come to Him, you will come in deed, and of a Truth. Much
thought produces much deepness of earth.

Further, I think that in truly gracious conversions, the deepness of
earth, at least in part, lies in deepness of emotion. I often regret
that I do not see so many converts of the old-fashioned sort as I used
to meet with. I know that emotion does not save the soul, but I believe
that those who are saved are usually filled with emotion. We are saved
by faith, but that faith produces very decided feelings. For instance,
where there is true deepness of earth, there is generally a deep sense
of sin. A man does not usually truly say, "I believe in Christ," until
he has first of all felt, "I need a Savior." In the present day, far
too many seem to come out of the City of Destruction without any burden
on their backs–and I am afraid that means that they never really come
out at all. Some of us had the burden on our backs much longer than we
need have, and we do not hold ourselves up as examples to others. But
I, for my part, have often blessed God for those bitter years of
conviction, because now I know what others may have to endure and I can
help other poor souls who are deep down in the dungeons of Giant
Despair. But where there is no true sense of sin, or very little of it,
there is generally a very poor sort of conversion.

If that kind of man ever tries to preach, and he may do so, he never
says much about Free Grace and dying love. He is the man who talks a
great deal about the dignity of human nature and the evolution of Grace
out of man's own sinfulness. He does not know any better, so he talks
according to his light, which is darkness. But, my dear Hearers, may
God give you to have so much depth of earth that you may be pricked in
your hearts and may be weighed down with a sense of your own
sinfulness! May the great steam-plow of the Law of God go right through
the rock that lies at the bottom of your heart! May God's almighty
Grace change the rock into good, soft soil which will be suitable to
the Good Seed!

Where there is very little feeling, there is generally only a poor
conversion, for, as a general rule, where there is no great sense of
sin, there is no great sense of love. It is a grand thing to see a
converted Pharisee–but a converted harlot may bring more glory to God.
Look, she is washing the Savior's feet with her tears, and wiping them
with the hairs of her head! And why is that? Because she has had much
forgiven and, therefore, she loves much! When publicans and sinners are
converted, we find what precious metal there is in them. They love
their Lord so fervently and oh, how they pray, and how they praise, and
how they serve, and how they delight in God! You who have broken hearts
on account of sin can indeed give joy to Christ when whole hearts do
not. Bruised and mangled sinners glorify the Great Physician who sets
their broken bones and binds up their gaping wounds. Poor bankrupt
sinners who have not a rag left to put on their backs cannot help
magnifying Him who paid all their debts and clothed them with the
spotless robe of righteousness which He had, Himself, worked for them!
But if any of you think that you do not owe Him much, I fear that
thought comes to you because you have not much depth of earth and that
you may be like those converts who soon wither away in the sun.

Another mark of those who are without much depth of earth is that they
do not count the cost when they are converted. They never expect to
meet with any difficulties, or troubles, or persecutions, or doubts or
fears–and when they have, afterwards, to count the cost of being
Christians, they turn back to the world.

This lack of depth of earth also means lack of reality. There is no
soul in what they do and he who is not converted in his whole soul
needs converting over again. He that does not go in for it with body,
soul and spirit, all for Christ, and Christ all to him, needs to go
back to the wicket-gate and start on the heavenly journey once more.
The fact is, depth of

earth means heart–putting our heart into whatever we do. But where
there is no faith in the heart, no repentance in the heart, when
everything is from the lips and outward, instead of being from the very
heart, and upward, then it all comes to nothing in a very short time!

II. I shall only occupy a few minutes in trying to answer the second
question, WHAT IS MEANT BY THE SCORCHING OF THE SUN?

Our Lord told His disciples that it meant that tribulation arises. The
man was so joyful and felt so happy at being converted that, on the
next Sunday, he shut his shop up. But, on the Monday night, he said to
himself, "I lost so much yesterday that I shall not close my shop next
Sunday." So he returns to his Sunday trading, or in some other way, if
there is any trouble for the sake of the Gospel, the sudden convert who
has not much depth of earth finds that he has made a mistake and he
tries to retrieve his position and to get back to where he was before.

The scorching of the sun also means persecution. Yes, the man professed
to be converted, but there was not much depth of earth in him so, when
he went into the workshop where he was employed, he heard one of the
men ask another, "Were you at such-and-such a place, the other night?"
"No," replied the other, "I was not there, but I heard that some of
your mates were there and that one of them was converted. He is a
full-blown saint this morning, the very man who used to swear and drink
as much as any one of us." And the men chat away among themselves, all
the while hitting side blows at him–and they say some very cruel,
nasty, sarcastic things. And as he has not much depth of earth, he
says, "I can't stand this chaff. If I lived in a Christian family, I
should go to Heaven with the rest, but, as I have to work with the men
in this shop, I shall have to do as they do. The old saying is, 'If you
go to Rome, you must do as the Romans do.' Therefore I shall do just
the same as the other men do." He was going to run with the hare, but
the hounds barked so loudly that he must run with them, so away he
goes! You know the gentleman, do you not? There are plenty of that sort
all round us.

The scorching of the sun, however, comes in many other forms.
Sometimes, it is in the form of great depression of spirit The woman
professed to be converted and she felt oh, so happy. But, after about a
week or so, she was perhaps not in good health, or something happened
that crossed her and she felt oh, so unhappy! "Oh, dear," she
exclaimed, "I thought I was always going to travel in the sunshine." Do
any of you think so? If so, you are mightily mistaken! If you fancy
that all the way to Heaven it will be hosannas and palm branches, we
may as well correct your mistake at once. There are lions to be faced
and giants to be fought with! There is the Slough of Despond, the
Valley of the Shadow of Death and Vanity Fair! The pilgrim's way lies
through them all and if you are not prepared for these experiences, I
do not wonder that, having no depth of earth, you say, "I shall give it
all up." As for myself, I am resolved that if I never have a ray of
comfort between here and Heaven. If I live to be 80 years of age in
darkness, I will still follow Christ! "Though He slay me, yet will I
trust in Him." If that resolution is not in your mind, I fear that you
have not much depth of earth and that you will very soon wither away.

Sometimes the scorching of the sun comes in another form, namely, that
of outward debate and discussion. The young convert meets with somebody
who says to him, "But you know that what Mr. Spurgeon tells you is not
philosophical. Many discoveries have been made of late and the learned
Dr. So-and-So says just the very opposite of what you hear at the
Tabernacle." You do not know how to answer him and I do not suppose
that anybody else does, because any fool can raise difficulties and it
may not be easy, at once, to answer them, though they can be answered.
Now, if you have much depth of earth, you will say to yourself,
"Difficulty or no difficulty, I trusted my soul to Christ and I mean to
do so to the very end." But if you have not much depth of earth, you
will be staggered by the objections that you hear. "I cannot answer
this man," you will say, "so I do not know what I shall do." Well, if
you cannot answer him, do not try to answer him–is there any reason
why you should? If nobody is to go to Heaven until he can explain all
the difficulties that anybody can suggest to him, who will ever go
there? What you need is not the wisdom which can answer puzzling
questions, but the faith which clings to Christ through thick and thin.
That is the deepness of earth which will keep the Good Seed alive
within your soul.

I know another kind of scorching of the sun which many poor souls
cannot endure, and that is difficulties arising from Christian people.
"Well," you say, "when I was anxious about my soul, Mrs. So-and-So was
very kind to me, but now that I trust I have believed in Christ, she
does not take any notice of me." Well, what if she does not? Of course
we nurse the babies, but when you begin to run alone, we do not keep on
nursing you, for we are looking after other babies!

A young man said, "When first I joined the Church, the members paid me
great attention, but now I seldom get anybody to speak to me." Well,
suppose it is so–have we not something else to do beside be always
looking after you? We expect you now to be looking after other people!
I have before mentioned to you that I had the portraits of my two sons
taken on their birthdays for many years. The first year they were in a
baby carriage. I did not object to that. But suppose that, at the age
of twenty-one, they had still been in a baby carriage? I would have
thought myself a very unhappy parent! And are we always to have
Christians in baby carriages and, because we begin to treat you as you
ought to be treated, namely, make you look to yourselves a little, is
that to cause you to go away from us? Well, if it does, then it is
evident that you have not much depth of earth.

"Ah," says another, "but I have not found Christian people to be all
that I thought they were." I daresay you have not! Nor have I and, more
than that, I have not found myself to be all that I ought to be, or
hoped to be. And I should not wonder if it has been the same with you.
But, after all, in this matter of cleaving to Christ, are you to
forsake Him because you do not quite admire all His disciples? If they
prove unworthy of your admiration, give it all to Him! If they do not
write a good fair hand, imitate the style of the great Writing-Master,
for then you will write correctly. The inconsistencies of Christians
ought not to make you shrink back from following the eternal Son of
God, but should rather cause you to cling the more closely to Him!

But perhaps the fiery trial comes to you in this form. You are
surrounded by evil examples. You say, "I do not know how I am to be a
Christian at home–and in the circle in which I move, I do not know how
I am to hold out." Ah, such talk as that proves that you have not much
depth of earth. May I beg you, in laying hold on Christ, to lay hold on
Him with both hands for yourself? Do not be a sort of, "lean-to"
Christian–you know what that expression means? A man built a lean-to
house resting against his neighbor's wall and, when his neighbor took
his wall down, his house went down too! Build your house with every
wall of it your own, on your own ground, so that whoever pulls his wall
down, your structure will stand! God help us to avoid being dependent
upon other people about these things! Let us not have a second-hand
religion which we bought from somebody else, but let us go direct to
Jesus Christ, Himself, and get it for ourselves and believe in Him for
ourselves. Then shall we have much depth of earth and, let the sun
shine as fiercely as it may, its beams shall only cause us to grow and
we shall give God all the Glory!

III. Now I must turn, for a little while, to the third question–HOW
CAN WE AVOID THIS EVIL OF BEING SO SHALLOW, THEREFORE WITHERING IN THE
SUNSHINE?

Dear Friends, above all things, dread insincerity and, next to that,
above all other things, dread superficiality in religion. You know that
the beginning of all godliness is believing in the Lord Jesus Christ,
so mind what and why you believe. Do not be content to say, "I
believe," but reallybelieve and, in order to this, know whatyou believe
and whyyou believe it. Get a clear view of who Christ is, what He did,
what right you have to trust Him and the way in which what Christ did
avails for your salvation. Clear out the space for the foundation of
your building. Get right down to the solid rock before you lay a single
brick or stone. That is to say, let your faith be real faith, clear,
distinct, Scriptural faith in what God has revealed and in the Savior
whom God has set forth as the Propitiation for our sins. Begin, in that
way, with real faith–and you will begin with a good depth of earth.

Then, as repentance comes with faith, see that you have real
repentance. Think much of the evil of sin and of the consequences of
sin both in this life and in that which is to come. Pray to God, with
Charles Wesley–

"Before me place, in dread array, The pomp of that tremendous day, When
You with clouds shall come To judge the nations at Your bar. And tell
me, Lord, shall I be there, To meet a joyful doom?"

Think of what would result from your appearing there red with your
guilt! And when you have thought that over most seriously, pray to God
to make you really hate sin, every sin. If you do not hate every sin,
you do not, with all your heart, hate any sin. They must all go. Sin,
as sin, is to be abhorred, repented of and practically quitted in your
life. Oh, may God help you to make sure work of your repentance! Make
no profession of faith if you have not real faith–and have no
repentance at all rather than sham repentance.

Then, in every spiritual Grace, and in every religious duty, be
thorough. If you pray, really pray. If you praise, do praise. I like
the thought of a holy man of God who said that he would never give up
praying till he had prayed. When he came to be instructed in the
reading of the Scriptures, he would read till he was instructed. And
when he praised God, he said, he would not cease from the holy exercise
till he felt that his heart did truly praise God. O Brothers and
Sisters, let us beware of leaving our heart out of our worship or
service! You never read, in the Old Testament, that anybody ever
brought a fish to be offered upon God's altar. Why not? Because you
could not bring it alive–and every victim must be brought to the altar
alive. God loves living worship. Among the old Romans, when they killed
a bullock as a sacrifice, if they did not find its heart, or if the
heart was shriveled, they never offered that animal, for they
considered that it was an omen of evil when the heart was not there in
full vigor. So must it be with all the sacrifices that we bring to the
Lord–

"God abhors a sacrifice

Where not the heart is found."

I pray you never to go beyond reality in any part of your worship. If
you do not really pray, do not pretend to pray. If you have no
experience of the things of God, do not talk as if you had. To be a
liar anywhere is hateful–but to lie in religion is the most abominable
form of lying that can be! God make us straight as a line about all
these things! Then, we shall soon come to much depth of earth.

I would say finally, Beloved, bring your hearts to God and ask Him to
search you. After many years of looking at one's self, how little one
knows about himself after all! A gray-headed man of long experience
thinks, "Well, now, I really do know something about my human nature."
So you do, Brother, but not much, for "the heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked." And when a man says, of any particular
temptation, "I shall never fall in that way," the probability is that
this is the very way in which the man will fall. I well remember a
lady, whom I would not be slandering if I said that she was as proud as
she was tall, but, on one occasion, when I scarcely knew her, she said
to me, "I always pray for you, Mr. Spurgeon, every day." I said, "I
thank you very much," and she added, "My one prayer for you is that God
will keep you humble." I said, "Thank you, Madam, that is a very wise
prayer. I am sorry that I have not remembered you in that way, but I
will do so in the future." "Oh," she said, "but I do not need it, for I
was never tempted to pride." "Madam," I said, "I shall remember you,
now, twice a day, night and morning, for I think that you are in
greater danger of pride than anybody whom I have met with for a long
time."

There was a person who said that she had not any pride and was not in
danger of being tempted to be proud, yet, if I had asked any half-dozen
of her acquaintances to find me a proud woman, they would have called
on her, and said that I needed to see her–I am sure that they would.
So is it with us! When we think that we are getting over some
particular temptation, it is just then that it is getting over us! When
you suppose that you are master of that temptation, in all probability
it has mastered you. Come, Brothers and Sisters, we had better give
over this kind of folly. This person, whom we are trying to search, is
much too deep for us. I mean, that we are so ready to cheat ourselves,
that we cannot find ourselves out! Let us rather pray to the Lord,
"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and
see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting."

I suggest to you this prayer, "Lord, show me the worst of my case. Put
me in the place where I ought to be. Make me to feel and know what I
really am and then, my Lord, break my heart if it never was broken, and
heal it if it is broken. Empty me of myself and bring me to Yourself.
Turn me upside down till the last drop of my self-sufficiency runs out
even to the dregs–and then pour in the fullness of Your Grace in
Christ Jesus till I am filled even to the brim."

The Lord hear that prayer, and bless every soul here now, for Jesus'
sake! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: MARK9:14-32, 43-48.

Our Lord had been absent from the people and transfigured on the top of
the mountain. When He came down from this manifestation of His Glory,
He was brought face to face with Satan's work at almost the first step
He took. Let us read about what He did.

Verses 14, 15. And when He came to His disciples, He saw a great
multitude about them, and the scribes disputing with them. And
straightway all the people, when they beheld Him, were greatly amazed,
and running to Him saluted

Him. There was a Glory about His face not altogether unlike that of
Moses when he came down from the other mountain, so that the people
were struck with wonder when they looked upon Him.

16. And He asked the scribes, What are you discussing with them? The
battle had been raging between Christ's enemies and His disciples but
now that their Captain has come, He rallies His forces and at once
attacks His foes–"What are you discussing with them?"

17. And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought
unto You my son, who has a dumb spirit We do not know if the scribes
gave any answer to Christ's question and it does not matter at all.
What does alwaysmat-ter is practical, living, earnest prayer. So what
the scribes may have said is not recorded, but the prayer of the poor
father is–"Master, I have brought unto You my son, who has a dumb
spirit." If any of you have come here to quibble, we shall take no
notice of that! But if there is a soul that has come here to pray, the
recording angel will write it down in the eternal book.

18. And wherever he takes him, he throws him down and he foams and
gnashes his teeth, and pines away: and I spoke to Your disciples that
they should cast him out, but they could not No, it was no use going to
the disciples, it is of no use to pray to saints and angels–go to the
Master Himself! "Straightforward makes the best runner." There is
nothing like carrying your case to headquarters. Get to the Court of
King's Bench as soon as you can, for there the matter will be finally
settled.

19. He answered him and said, O faithless generation, howlong shall Ibe
with you? Howlong shall Ibear with you? Bring him to Me. Grand words,
"Bring him to Me." Lord, he has a dumb spirit. "Bring him to me." It is
the devil who is his enemy. "Bring him to Me."

20. And they brought him to Him: and when He saw him, straightway the
spirit threw him down; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
What a dreadful sight! He struggled on the ground, like one in a fit of
epilepsy.

21. 22. And He asked his father, How long is it since this came unto
him. And he said, From childhood. And oftentimes it has cast him into
the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if You can do
anything, have compassion on us, and help us. "Help us," he cries,
identifying himself with his child. Father, Mother, when you pray, use
the plural, as this man did, "Have compassion on us and help us." That
is the way to pray for every sinner whom you bring before Christ. Join
yourself to the poor soul for whom you are pleading and say, "Have
compassion on us, and help us."

23. Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things are possible to
him that believes. Hear that, any of you who have come in here desiring
to be delivered from sin, to be made holy, to break off old habits and
to become new men in Christ Jesus! "All things are possible to him that
believes." So, take courage, trust in Christ and cry unto Him to save
you.

24. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with
tears, Lord, I believe; help You my unbelief There were within him two
men, as it were, a believing man and an unbelieving man–and the two
struggled for mastery. "Lord, I do believe, but there is so much
unbelief in me, I pray You to drive it out, that I may believe in You
wholly."

25. 26. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He
rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, You dumb and deaf spirit, I
charge you, come out of him and enter no more into him. And the spirit
cried, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. It must obey Christ.
The Master bids that dog of a devil to lie down and he must do so. It
shows what an abject creature, after all, the Prince of Darkness is! He
must obey the voice of Christ. Lord, speak to him at this moment and
drive him out of other souls by your Omnipotent Word!

26. And he was as one dead; inasmuch that many said, he is dead. I t
was not a case of "kill or cure," but it seemed to be one of "cure and
kill" and, sometimes, poor sinners, in their struggles with sin and
Satan are brought to such despair that they are afraid that they will
die before they get a glimpse of hope. "Many said, he is dead," but he
was not.

27. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. So
may the Lord come and take by the hand any here who seem to be dead in
despair! A touch of His hand will enable them to stand.

28. 29. And when He was come into the house, His disciples asked Him
privately, Why could not we cast him out? And He said unto them, This
kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. The watchword
for Christ's disciples is, "intensity." Here was the devil in an
intensely terrible form and he could only be driven out by intense
Grace.

There must be prayer and fasting. Even Christ, Himself, must exert the
greatness of His power to work a cure in such a case as this. Oh, for
more intensity in us all! Carry that word in your ear as we read on.

30-32. And they departed from there, and passed through Galilee; and He
would not that any man should know it For He taught His disciples, and
said unto them, The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men,
and they shall kill Him; and after He is killed, He shall rise the
third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask
Him. See how intense He was–always thinking of His approaching death,
that cruel, bitter death–yet He hastened towards it, longed for that
baptism to be accomplished, for the great redeeming price to be paid!
Oh, that you and I were as fully absorbed in the service of God as our
great Master was! Now let us see what intensity He requires of us.

43. And if your hand offends you, cut it off; it is better for you to
enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into Hell, into the
fire that never shall be quenched. Anything is better than the loss of
your soul. It is better to lose the greatest joy, skill, comfort, honor
that you ever had, than to lose your soul forever.

44-46. Where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched. And if
your foot offends you, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life
lame, than having two feet to be cast into Hell, into the fire that
never shall be quenched: where their worm dies not, and the fire is not
quenched. That is the second time He said these words. Our Lord was not
fond of dreadful metaphors and terrible language, but He knew that they
must be used, though some of His servants shrink from the use of them.
Are they more loving than He is? Is it, after all, a greater love for
souls that makes men keep back terrible Truths of God? Is it not more
honest and loving to tell the whole Truth, whatever it may be? It is
harder to speak, but does it not show a tender heart to be able to
speak so as to warn men of their peril? If anything should seem as
necessary to you as your foot, so that you can make no progress in life
without it, yet if it would cost you your soul, give it up! Just as it
would be better to live without a foot than to die, so is it better to
go to Heaven without even the necessities of life on the road than to
perish everlastingly.

47. And if your eye offends you, pluck it out Notice how severe our
Savior is, how deep He goes. He does not say, "Shut it, cover it up
with a green shade," but, "Pluck it out."

47, 48. It is better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one
eye than having two eyes to be cast into Hell fire: where their worm
dies not, and the fire is not quenched. That is the third time He has
uttered those terrible words! Then they must mean something. What do
they mean? Can they mean anything less than everlasting destruction
from the Presence of the Lord? Oh, that we might be prepared to
sacrifice everything rather than be lost forever! Dear Hearts, are you
saved or not? If you are not saved, see first to this all-important
business! Let everything else go sooner than that, in eternity, you
should find yourself forever shut in where hope can never come!