Where Go You?

Where Go You?

DELIVERED ON LORD'S DAY MORNING, AUGUST 4, 1889,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"But He knows the way that I take: when He has tried me, I shall come
forth as gold." Job 23:10

On several Sabbath mornings of late I have earnestly handled spiritual
subjects which I trust may have been for the edification of the people
of God. But it will not do to continue in that line. I am a fisher of
men as well as a shepherd of the flock. I must attend to both offices.
Here are souls perishing, sinners that need to be saved by Christ, and
therefore I must leave the flock and go after the wanderers. I must lay
down the crook and take up the net.

By a simple sermon, full of earnest expostulation, I would reason with
the careless. At this moment I have not so much to expound doctrine as
to arouse hearts. Oh, for the power of the Holy Spirit, without which I
must utterly fail in my design! We have this morning been praying for
the conversion of many–we expect our prayers to be heard. The question
is not, Will there be any converted under this sermon? But, Who will it
be? I trust many who have come here with no higher motive than to see
the great congregation and to hear the preacher, may, nevertheless, be
met with in God's infinite mercy and placed in the way of eternal life.
May this be the spiritual birthday of many–a day to be remembered by
them throughout eternity!

Job could not understand the way of God with him. He was greatly
perplexed. He could not find the Lord, with whom at some prior time he
constantly abode. He cries, "Behold, I go forward but He is not there.
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him: on the left hand, where He
does work but I cannot behold Him: He hides Himself on the right hand,
that I cannot see Him." But if Job knew not the way of the Lord, the
Lord knew Job's way.

It is a great comfort that when we cannot see the Lord, He sees us, and
perceives the way that we take. It is not so important that we should
understand what the Lord is doing as that the Lord should understand
what we are doing and that we should be impressed by the great fact
that He does understand it. Our case may be quite beyond our own
comprehension, but it is all plain to Him who sees the end from the
beginning and understands the secrets of all hearts.

Because God knew his way, Job turned from the unjust judgments of his
unfeeling friends and appealed to the Lord God Himself. He pleaded in
the supreme court, where his case was known and he refused the verdicts
of erring men. He that does right seeks the light. And as Job saw that
the light was with God, he hastened to that light, that his deeds might
be made manifest. Like a bird of the day, which begins to signal the
return of the morning, he could sing when he stood in the light of God.
He was glad that the Lord knew his way, his motive and his desires. For
from that truth he inferred that he would be helped in his trials and
brought safely through them–"When He has tried me, I shall come forth
as gold."

These words afford rich consolation to the saints. And if I were to use
them for that purpose, I should expect the Lord's people greatly to
rejoice in the Lord, whose observant eyes and gracious thoughts are
always upon them. Our whole condition lies open to Him with whom we
have to do. Though never understood by men, we are understood by our

God–

"It is no surprising thing That we should be unknown– The Jewish world
knew not their King, God's everlasting Son."

As the Son of God was known to the Father, though unknown to all the
world, so are we hidden from the knowledge of men but well known of the
Most High. "The Lord knows them that are His." "You have known my soul
in adversities."

I quit the design of comforting the people of God for the more
presently pressing work of arousing the unconverted. Their way is evil
and the end thereof is destruction. Oh, that I could arouse them to a
sense of their condition! To that end I shall ask four questions of
every man and woman within reach of my voice. God knows the way that
you take. I will ask you first–Do you know your own way? Secondly–Is
it a comfort to you that God knows your way? Thirdly–Are you tried in
the way? And, if so, fourthly–Have you confidence in God as to the
result of that trial? Can you say with Job, "When He has tried me, I
shall come forth as gold"?

I. My Hearer, I ask you, first–Do You have a way? There is a way which
you have taken, chosen, selected for your-self–there is a way which
you follow in desire, word and act. So far as your life is left to your
own management, there is a way which you voluntarily take and willingly
follow. Do you know what that way is? It is not everyone who does know
as much as that. It is a very simple question to put to you. But yet it
is a very needful one to a great many. For many walk on as in a dream.

Do you know where you are going? "Of course," says one, "everybody
knows where he is going." Do you know where you are going and do you
carefully consider your end? You are steaming across the deep sea of
time into the main ocean of eternity–to what port are you steering?
Where go you, O Man? The birds in the Heaven know their time and place
when they fly away in due season. But do you know where you are
speeding? Do you keep watch, looking ahead for the shore? What shore
are you expecting to see? For what purpose are you living? What is the
end and drift of your daily action?

I fear that many in this vast congregation are not prepared to give a
deliberate answer which will be pleasant to utter and to think upon. Is
not this suspicious? If I were to go out tomorrow by sea, I should not
walk on board a steamboat and then enquire, "Where are you going?" The
captain would think me a crazy fellow if I embarked before I knew where
the vessel was going. I first make up my mind where I will go, and then
select a vessel which is likely to carry me there in comfort. You must
know where you are going.

The main thing with the captain of a steamer will be the getting his
vessel safely into the port for which it is bound. This design
overrules everything else. To get into port is the thought of every
watch, every glance at the chart, every observation of the stars. The
captain's heart is set upon the other side. His hope is safely to
arrive at the desired haven and he knows which is the haven of his
choice. He would not expect to get there if he did not set his mind on
it. How is it with you, dear Friend? You are speeding towards Heaven or
Hell–which of these is your port?

I know of no ultimate abode of souls except the brightness of the
Father's glory, or the darkness of Jehovah's wrath–which of these will
be your end? Which way are you intentionally going? What is it you are
aiming at? Are you living for God? Or are you so living that the result
must be eternal banishment from His Presence?

Surely, to press this inquiry upon you needs no eloquence of speech.
The question is vital to your happiness and self-interest should induce
you to weigh it. I shall not use a single metaphor or illustration. For
I am not here to please, but to arouse. I charge every man and woman in
this house now to consider this question–Where are you going? What
will be the end of the life you are now leading? Do not cast away the
inquiry. It is not impertinent. It is not unnecessary. In the name of
the Lord, I beseech you, answer me.

If you answer that question, allow me to put another–Do you know how
you are going? In what strength are you pursuing your journey? If you
feel able to say, "I am seeking that which is right and good," I then
press the inquiry, In what strength are you pursuing it? Are you
depending upon your own power, or have you received strength from on
High? Do you rely on your own resolves and determinations, or have you
received help from the Spirit of God? Remember, there are days in every
life-voyage in which the storm-fiend puts all human power to a nonplus.
Even in the fairest weather we are all too apt to run on rocks or
quicksand.

But the voyage of life is seldom altogether a pleasant one and we must
be prepared for tempests. Our own unaided strength will not endure the
waves and the winds of the ocean of life. And if you are trusting to
yourself, disaster will befall you. The Lord brings men to the desired
haven. But left to themselves, they are no match for the thousand
dangers of their mysterious voyage. Is God with you? Has the Lord Jesus
become your strength and your song? Do you sail beneath the blood-red
flag of the Cross? If you are trusting in the Lord alone,
disappointment, failure and shipwreck are impossible.

But if you are hastening on without God for your Guide and Protector,
then will your weakness and folly be made clear before long to your
inevitable ruin. You may put on all steam and forge ahead in the teeth
of the wind. But all in vain–you will never reach the fair havens. Are
there any here who decline to answer my question? Will you not tell us
where you are going? When a great vessel is crossing the sea and
another comes within sight, they propose the question, "Where are you
bound?" If the other vessel took no notice, gave no answer whatever, it
would look suspicious.

A craft that will not say where it is going! We don't like the looks of
it. If one of Her Majesty's vessels were about and it challenged a sail
and received no reply to the question, "To what port are you bound?" I
think they would fire a shot across her bow and make her heave to, till
she did answer. Might not the silent craft prove to be a pirate? When a
man confesses that he does not know where he is going, or what his
business may be, the policeman concludes that he is probably going
where he ought not to go and has business on hand which is not what it
should be. If you are afraid to consider your future, your fear is a
bad omen.

The tradesman who is afraid to look into his accounts will before long
have them looked into for him by an officer from the Bankruptcy Court.
He that dares not see his own face in the glass must be an ugly fellow.
And you that dare not behold your own characters, have bad characters.
Not know where you are going? Ah me, do you wish to find yourselves in
Hell all of a sudden? Would you, like the rich man, lift up your eyes
in hopeless misery? I am suspicious of you who cannot tell where you
are going. And I wish you would be suspicious of yourselves. You who do
not like self-examination are the persons who need it most. You who
shun awkward questions are the very people who need to face them.

I usually speak out–pretty plainly–and those of you who are used to
me are not displeased. But sometimes strange hearers are offended and
say that they will not come to be spoken to in such a fashion. Ah, my
Friend! Your ill humor shows that you are in an ill condition and do
not care to be corrected. If you were honestly desirous to be set
right, you would like straight talk and honest rebukes. Do you prefer
to go to a doctor who is known to say, "There is not much the matter–a
little change and a dose of medicine, will soon put you all right"? Do
you pay your guineas to be flattered?

No.

The man who is wise wants to know the truth, however alarming that
truth may be. The man who is honest and hopeful, desires a thorough
examination and invites the preacher to deal truthfully with him, even
if the result should cause distress of mind. If you decline to see
where you are going, it is because you are going down into the pit. If
you decline to answer the question, What is your way? I fear your way
is one that you cannot defend, whose end will cause you endless lament.

Is anyone here compelled to say, "I have chosen the evil road"?
Remember, the Lord knows the way that you take. I am anxious that you
should, yourself, know the truth about your condition and prospects. I
dread much your going on in ignorance. I wish every man here who is
serving Satan to be aware that he is doing it. "If Jehovah is God,
follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him"–be hearty one way or the
other. If you have chosen the service of sin, own it like a man, to
yourself, at least. Choose your way of life in broad daylight. If you
propose to die without hope in Christ, say as much.

If you resolve to let the future happen as it may, and to run all
risks, then put down in black and white your daring resolution. If you
believe that you shall die like a dog and see no hereafter, do not at
all conceal from yourself your doggish degradation but be true to your
own choice. If you choose the way of evil pleasures, do it
deliberately, and after weighing all that can be said on the other
side.

But there is this comfort to me, if it does not comfort you–that if
you have chosen the wrong way, that choice need not stand. The Grace of
God can come in and lead you at once to reverse your course. Oh, that
you may now say, "I had not thought of it but I certainly am going in
the wrong direction and, God helping me, I will not go an inch
further!" Through our Lord Jesus Christ the past can be forgiven. And
by the power of the Holy Spirit the present and the future can be
changed. The Grace of God can lead you to turn away from that which you
have eagerly followed, and cause you to seek after that which you have
disregarded.

Oh, that today your cry might be, "For holiness and Heaven!" You have
not been up to now on the Lord's side but now enlist in the army of the
Lord Jesus. I would gladly stay your vessel in her evil voyage. I am
firing a shot across your bow. I solemnly warn you to consider your
ways. Think, what will the end of these things be? Break off your sins
by righteousness. For it is time to seek the Lord. "Turn you, turn you;
why will you die, O house of Israel?" This is the voice of God's own
Word to you–hear it and be admonished and, God helping you, turn at
once.

But, my Friend, are you drifting? Do you say, "I am not distinctly
sailing for Heaven, neither am I resolutely steering in the other
direction. I do not quite know what to say of myself"? Are you
drifting, then? Are you like a vessel which is left to the mercy of the
winds and the waves? Ignoble condition! Perilous case! What? Are you no
more than a log on the water? I should not like to be a passenger in a
vessel which had no course marked out on the chart, no pilot at the
wheel, no man at watch. Surely, you must be derelict, if not
water-logged. And you will come to a total wreck before long.

Yours is a dark prospect. Some time ago, I read in a paper of a
gentleman being brought up before the magistrate. What was the charge
against him? "Nothing very serious," you will say. He was found
wandering in the fields. He was asked where he was going and he said he
was not going anywhere. He was asked where he came from and he said he
did not know. They asked him where his home was and he said he had
none. They brought him up for wandering as– what?–a dangerous
lunatic. The man who has no aim or object in life but just wanders
about anywhere or nowhere, acts like a dangerous lunatic and assuredly
he is not morally sane.

What? Am I aiming at nothing? Have I all this machinery of life, making
up a vessel more wonderful than the finest steamboat and am I going
nowhere? My heartthrobs are the pulsing of a Divinely arranged
machinery–do they beat for nothing? Do I get up every morning and go
about this world and work hard and all for nothing which will last? As
a being created of God for noble purposes, am I spending my existence
in a purposeless manner? How foolish! Why, surely, I have need, like
the prodigal, to come to myself. And if I do come to myself, I shall
ask myself, Can it be right that I should thus be wasting the precious
gifts of time and life and power? If I were nothing, it were congruous
that I should aim at nothing. But, being a man, I ought to have a high
purpose and to pursue it heartily.

Do not say that you are drifting. It is a terrible answer, implying
grievous danger and casting a suspicion upon your sanity. If you have
reason, use it in a reasonable way and do not play the fool.

But can you say, "Yes, I am bound for the right port"? It may be that
your accents are trembling with a holy fear. But none the less I am
glad to hear you say as much. I rejoice if you say, "Christ commands
me. I am trusting to His guidance. He is my way, my life, my end." Dear
Friend, I congratulate you. We will sail together, as God shall help
us, under the convoy of our Lord Jesus, who is the Lord High Admiral of
the sea of life. We will keep with His squadron till we cast anchor in
the glassy sea.

But now that you know your way and are assured that you are on the
right tack, put on all steam. Exert your strength in the work to which
your life is consecrated. Waste not a single moment. Let no energy lie
dormant, arouse every faculty. If you are serving the Lord, serve Him
with all your might. Is it not written, "You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength"? Those words sound to me like great strokes
of the soul's paddle wheels! They urge us to press forward in the holy
voyage.

Brothers and Sisters, we must run, for our life is to be a race. It
must be hard running, too. "Let us lay aside every weight and the sin
which does so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race
that is set before us." If we really are on the right way, let us press
forward with all our powers. And may God help us that we may win the
prize! Answer this first question and know of a surety whose you are,
and where you are, and where you are going.

II. Secondly, IS IT A COMFORT TO YOU THAT GOD KNOWS YOUR WAY? Solemnly,
I believe that one of the best tests of human character is our relation
to the great Truth of God's omniscience. If it startles you that God
sees you, then you ought to be startled. If it delights you that God
sees you, you may reasonably conclude that there is within your heart
that which is right and true, which God will approve of. You are among
those who know the truth, for you come to the light and cry, "Search
me, O God."

Allow me to apply the test to you now, by asking what you think of the
Truth of God that the Lord knows you altogether. Remember, if your
heart condemns you, God is greater than your heart and knows all
things. But if your heart condemns you not, then have you confidence
towards God. Dear Friend, it is quite certain that God does know the
way that you take. The Hebrew may be read, "He knows the way that is in
me," from which I gather that the Lord not only knows our outward
actions but our inward feelings. He knows our likes and dislikes, our
desires and our designs, our imaginations and tendencies. He knows not
only what we do but what we would do if we could.

He knows which way we should go if the restraints of society and the
fear of consequences were removed. And that, perhaps, is a more
important proof of character than the actions of which we are guilty.
God knows what you think of,

what you wish for, what you are pleased with–He knows not only the
surface of your character but the secret heart and core of it. The Lord
knows you altogether. Think of that. Does it give you any joy, this
morning, to think that the Lord thus reads all the secrets of your
bosom? Whether you rejoice therein or not, so it is and ever will be.

The Lord knows you approvingly if you follow that which is right. He
knows them that put their trust in Him. That is to say, He approves of
them. If there is in you even a faint desire towards God, He knows it
and looks with pleasure upon it. If you practice private prayer, if you
do good by stealth, if you conquer evil passions, if you honor Him by
patience, if you present gifts to Him which nobody ever hears of–He
knows it all and He smiles upon it. Does this give you pleasure,
greater pleasure than if men praised you for it? Then it is well with
you. But if you put the praise of men before the approval of God, you
are in an evil way. If you can say this morning, "I am glad that He
knows what I do, for His approval is Heaven to me," then conclude that
there is a work of Grace in your heart and that you are a follower of
Jesus.

God knows your way, however falsely you may be represented by others.
Those three men who had looked so askance upon Job, accused him of
hypocrisy and of having practiced some secret evil. But Job could
answer, "The Lord knows the way that I take." Are you the victim of
slander? The Lord knows the truth. Though you have been sadly
misunderstood, if not willfully misrepresented by ungenerous persons,
yet God knows all about you. And His knowledge is of more importance
than the opinions of dying men. If you are not afraid to put your
character and profession before the eyes of the Lord, you have small
reason for disquietude, though all men should cast out your name as
evil.

The Lord knows the way that you take, though you could not yourself
describe that way. Some gracious people are slow of speech and they
have great difficulty in saying anything about their soul affairs.
Coming to see the elders of the Church is quite an ordeal. I am half
afraid that they even feel it a trial to see me, poor creature that I
am. They are timid in speech, though they would be bold in act. They
could die for Jesus but they find it hard to speak for Him. Their heart
is all right. But when they begin to talk, their tongue fails them.
They are unable to describe their conversion, though they feel it. They
love repentance but can barely describe their own repenting.

They have believed in the Lord Jesus but it would puzzle them to tell
what faith is. Trembling One, fall back on this–"He knows the way that
I take." If I cannot express my faith, yet He accepts it–if I cannot
describe His work in my soul, yet He discerns the work of His own
hands. Another great mercy is that God knows the way we take when we
hardly know it ourselves. There are times with the true children of God
when they cannot see their way, nor even take their bearings. It is not
every saint that knows his longitude and latitude. No, it is not every
saint that is sure that he is a saint. We have to ask, "Is my
repentance real? Is my faith true? Have I really passed from death to
life? Am I the Lord's

own?"

I do not wish you to be in such a state–it is a pity that such a
question should be possible. But I know full well that many sincere
saints are often put to the question and not altogether without reason.
Herein is comfort–the Lord knows His children and He knows the truth
of their graces, the preciousness of their faith, the heavenliness of
their life. For He is the Former, the Author of them all. He knows His
own work and cannot be deceived. Therefore, dear Friends, let us feel
confident in God's knowledge of us, since He is greater than our hearts
and His verdict is more sure than that of conscience itself.

Once more, remember that at this very moment God knows your ways. He
knows not only the way you have taken and the way you will take, but
the way you are now choosing for yourself. He knows how you are acting
towards the sermon you are hearing. It may be you conclude that the
preacher is very tiresome. Be it so–but still the subject is one which
ought to be pressed upon your consideration. Therefore, bear with me.
But if you reply, "No, it is not that. But I do not want to be probed
and pressed in this way." Well, the Lord knows that you are taking the
way of resisting His Spirit and hardening your neck against rebuke. Do
you like that fact?

I think I hear one say, "I really wish to be right and I am afraid I am
not right. Oh, that I could be made so!" God knows that
feeling–breathe it into His ear in prayer. If you can say, "I am
willing to be tested. I know to what port I am going. I am no pirate. I
am bound for the New Jerusalem," then I rejoice. Well, well, the Lord
knows. He dearly sees your present thoughts, your present wishes, your
present resolves. He knows your heart. Is that a comfort to you? If it
is, well. But if it saddens you that God should know your present
condition, then be afraid, for there is something about you to be
afraid of.

He that sews fig leaves together, as Adam did, that he may hide himself
from God, must know that he is naked. If he were clothed in the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus, he would seek no concealment but would
be willing both to examine himself and to be examined of the Lord. Thus
have I handled these two questions–Do you know your way? Is it a
comfort to you that God knows your way?

III. Thirdly, DO YOU MEET WITH TRIALS IN THE WAY? I anticipate your
answer. Out of the many here present, not one has been quite free from
sorrow. I think I hear one saying, "Sir, I have had more trouble since
I have been a Christian than I ever had before." I met with such a case
the other day–a man said to me, "I never went to a place of worship
for many years and I always seemed to prosper. At last I began to think
of Divine things and I attended the House of God. But since then I have
had nothing but trouble." He did not murmur against God but he did
think it very strange. Friend, listen to me. These troubles are no
token that you are in the wrong way. Job was in the right way and the
Lord knew it. And yet He allowed Job to be very fiercely tried.

Consider that there are trials in all ways. Even the road to
destruction, broad as it is, has not a path in it which avoids trial.
Some sinners go over hedge and ditch to Hell. If a man resolves to be a
worldling, he will not find that the paths of sin are paths of peace.
The wicked may well be ill at ease–for God walks contrary to them
because they walk contrary to Him. No man, be he on the throne, or on
the woolsack, or up in a mill, or down in a coal pit, can live without
affliction.

In a cottage near a wood there are troubles as well as in the palace by
the sea. We are born to trouble–if you look for a world without thorns
and thistles, you will not find it here. Then, remember, the very
brightest of the saints have been afflicted. We have in the Bible,
records of the lives of Believers. Can you remember the life of a
single Believer who lived and died without sorrow? I cannot. Begin with
father Abraham–the Lord did try Abraham. Go on to Moses, a king in
Israel. Were not his trials many and heavy? Remember David and all his
afflictions.

Come down to New Testament times. The Apostles were so tried that one
of them said, "If in this life only we have hope, we are of all men
most miserable." Through much tribulation they reached their rest. If
the saints of God confessed that theirs was a troublous way, you need
not suppose that you are out of the road because your way is full of
difficulty. Is there any ocean upon which a ship can sail in which it
shall be quite sure that no storms will arise? Where there is sea there
may be storms. So where there is life there will be changes,
temptations, difficulties and sorrows.

Trials are no evidence of being without God–many trials come from God.
Job says, "When He has tried me." He sees God in his afflictions. The
devil actually worked the trouble. But the Lord not only permitted it
but He had a design in it. Without the Divine concurrence, none of his
afflictions could have happened. It was God that tried Job, and it is
God that tries us. No trouble comes to us without Divine permission.
All the dogs of affliction are muzzled until God sets them free. No,
against none of the seed of Israel can a dog move its tongue unless God
permits.

Troubles do not spring out of the ground like weeds that grow anywhere
but they grow as plants set in the garden. God appoints the weight and
number of all our adversities. If He declares their number ten, they
cannot be eleven. If He wills that we bear a certain weight, no one can
add half an ounce more. Since every trial comes from God, afflictions
are no evidence that you are out of God's way.

Besides, according to the text, these trials are tests–"When He has
tried me." The trials that came to Job were made to be proofs that the
Patriarch was real and sincere. Did not the enemy say–"Have not You
made an hedge about him and about his house and about all that he has
on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands and his substance
is increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all
that he has and he will curse You to Your face." The devil will have it
that as dogs follow men for bones, so do we follow God for what we can
get out of Him.

The Lord lets the devil see that our love is not bought by temporal
goods. That we are not mercenary followers but loving children of the
Lord, so that under dire suffering we exclaim, "Though He slay me, yet
will I trust in Him." By the endurance of grief, our sincerity is made
manifest–and it is proven that we are not mere pretenders but true
heirs of

God.

Once more upon this point–if you have met with troubles, remember they
will come to an end. The holy man in our text says, "When He has tried
me." As much as to say, He will not always be doing it. There will come
a time when He will have done trying me. Beloved, put a stout heart to
a steep hill and you will climb it before long. Put the ship in good

trim for a storm, and though the winds may howl for a while, they will
at length sob themselves asleep. There is a sea of glass for us after
the sea of storms. Only have patience and the end will come.

Many a man of God has lived through a hundred troubles when he thought
one would kill him. And so will it be with you. You young beginners,
you that are bound for the kingdom but have only lately started for it,
be not amazed if you meet with conflicts. If you very soon meet with
difficulties, be not surprised. Let your trials be evidence to you that
you are in the right, rather than that you are in the wrong way–"for
what son is he whom the Father chastens not?" He that will go to Hell
will find many to help him there. But he that will go to Heaven may
have to cut his way through a host of adversaries.

Pluck up your courage. The rod is one of the tokens of the child of
God. If you were not God's child you might be left unchastened. But
inasmuch as you are dear to Him, He will whip you when you disobey. If
you were only a bit of common clay, God would not put you into the
furnace. But as you are gold and He knows it, you must be refined. And
to be refined it is needful that the fire should exercise its power
upon you. Because you are bound for Heaven you will meet with storms on
your voyage to glory.

IV. Fourthly, HAVE YOU CONFIDENCE IN GOD AS TO THESE STORMS? Can you
say, in the language of the text, "When He has tried me, I shall come
forth as gold"? If you are really trusting in Jesus, if He is
everything to you, you may say this confidently. For you will find it
true to the letter. If you have really given yourself up to be saved by
Divine Grace, do not hesitate to believe that you will be found safe at
the last. I do not like people to come and trust Christ with a
temporary faith as though He could keep them for a day or two but could
not preserve them all their lives. Trust Christ for everlasting
salvation–mark the word "everlasting."

I thank God, that when I believed in His Son, Jesus Christ, I laid hold
upon final perseverance–I believed that where He had begun a good work
He would carry it on and perfect it in the day of Christ. I believed in
the Lord Jesus, not for a year or two but for all the days of my life
and to eternity. I want your faith to have a hand of that kind, so that
you grasp the Lord as your Savior to the uttermost. I cannot tell what
troubles may come, nor what temptations may arise. But I know in whose
hands I am and I am persuaded that He is able to preserve me, so that
when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. I go into the fire
but I shall not be burned up in it–"I shall come forth."

Like the three holy children, though the furnace was heated seven times
hotter, yet the Son of Man will be with me in the furnace and, "I shall
come forth," with not even the smell of fire upon me. Yes, "I shall
come forth," and none can hinder me. It is good to begin with this holy
confidence and to let that confidence increase as you get nearer to the
recompense of the reward. Has He not promised that we shall never
perish? Shall we not, therefore, come forth as gold?

This confidence is grounded on the Lord's knowledge of us. "He knows
the way that I take"–therefore–"when He has tried me, I shall come
forth as gold." If something happened to us which the Lord had not
foreseen and provided for, we might be in great peril. But He knows our
ways even to the end and is prepared for its rough places. If some
amazing calamity could come upon us which the Lord had not reckoned
upon, we might well be afraid of being wrecked. But our Lord's
foreseeing eyes have swept the horizon and prepared us for all
weathers. He knows where storms do lurk and cyclones hide away. And He
is at home in managing tempests and tornadoes.

If His far-seeing eyes have spied out for us a long sickness and a
gradual and painful death, then He has prepared the means to bear us
through. If He has looked into the mysterious unknown of the
apocalyptic revelation and seen unimaginable horrors and heart-melting
terrors, yet He has forestalled the necessity which He knows is coming
on. It is enough for us that our Father knows what things we have need
of and, "when He has tried us, we shall come forth as gold."

This confidence must be sustained by sincerity. If a man is not sure
that he is sincere, he cannot have confidence in God. If you are a bit
of gold and know it, the fire and you are friends. You will come forth
out of it. For no fire will burn up gold. But if you suspect that you
are some imitation metal, some mixture which glitters, but is not gold,
you will then hate fire and have no good word for it. You will proudly
murmur at the Divine dispensations, Why should I be put into the fire?
Why should I be tried? You will kick against God's Providence if you
are a hypocrite. But if you are really sincere, you will submit to the
Divine hand and will not lie down in despair.

The motto of pure gold is, "I shall come forth." Make it your hopeful
confidence in the day of trouble. I want you to have this sense of
sincerity which makes you know that you are what you profess to be,
that you may also have the convic-

tion that you will come forth out of every possible trial. I shall be
tempted, but "I shall come forth." I shall be denounced by slander, but
"I shall come forth." Be of good cheer–if you go into the fire gold,
you will come forth gold!

Once more, he says, "I shall come forth as gold." But how does that
come forth? It comes forth proved. It has been assayed and is now
warranted pure. So shall you be. After the trial you will be able to
say, "Now I know that I fear God. Now I know that God is with me,
sustaining me. Now I see that He has helped me and I am sure that I am
His."

How does gold come forth? It comes forth purified. A lump of ore may
not be so big as when it went into the fire but it is quite as
precious. There is quite as much gold in it now as there was at first.
What has gone? Nothing but that which is best gone. The dross has gone.
But all the gold is there. O Child of God, you may decrease in bulk but
not in bullion! You may lose importance but not innocence. You may not
talk so big, but there shall be really more to talk of. And what a gain
it is to lose dross! What gain to lose pride! What gain to lose
self-sufficiency! What gain to lose all those propensities to boastings
that are so abundantly there! You may thank God for your trials, for
you will come forth as purified gold.

Once more, how does gold come forth from the furnace? It comes forth
ready for use. Now the goldsmith may take it and make what he pleases
of it. It has been through the fire and the dross has been taken away
from it and it is fit for his use. So, Beloved, if you are on the way
to Heaven and you meet with difficulties, they will bring you
preparation for higher service–you will be a better and more useful
person. You will be a woman whom God can more fully use to comfort
others of a sorrowful spirit.

Spiritual afflictions are heavenly promotions. You are going a rank
higher–God is putting another stripe upon your arm. You were only a
corporal, but now He is making a sergeant of you. Be not discouraged.
You that have set out for Heaven this morning, do not go back because
you get a rainy day when you start. Do not be like Pliable. When he got
to the Slough of Despond, and tumbled in, all he did was to struggle to
get out on the side nearest home. He said, "If I may only once get out
of this bog, you may have that grand city for yourself."

Come, be like Christian, who, though he did sink, always kept his face
in the right way and always turned his back to the City of Destruction.
"No," he said, "if I sink in deep mire where there is no standing, I
will go down with my eyes towards the hills from where comes my help."
"I am bound for Canaan and if all the Canaanites stand in the way in
one block, I will die with my face towards Jerusalem–I still will hold
on, God helping me, even unto the end."

May the Lord so bless you, for He knows the way you take. And when He
has tried you, He will bring you forth as gold. Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Psalm 139.