Cheer for Despondency

Cheer for Despondency

(No. 3183)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1910.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"You know not what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1.

[Another Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon, upon the whole verse is #94, Volume
2–TOMORROW.]

WHAT a great mercy it is that we do not know "what a day may bring
forth"! We are often thankful for knowledge, but in this case we may be
particularly grateful for ignorance. It is the Glory of God, we are
told, to conceal a thing and it most certainly is for the happiness of
mankind that He should conceal their future. Supposing that bright
lines were written for us in the book of destiny and that we could read
those bright lines now, and be sure of them–we would probably loiter
away our time until we arrived at them–and would have no heart for the
present. If, on the other hand, we knew that there were dark days of
trouble in store for us, and had a full conviction as to when they
would come, probably the thought of them would overshadow the present
so that the joys which we now drink would be left untasted by reason of
our nervous fears as to the distant future! To know the good might lead
us to presumption–to know the evil might tempt us to despair. Happy
for us is it that our eyes cannot penetrate the thick veil which God
hangs between us and tomorrow, that we cannot see beyond the spot where
we now are and that, in a certain sense, we are utterly ignorant as to
the details of the future. We may, indeed, be thankful for our
ignorance!

Although, however, we do not know what a day may bring forth or though
we cannot see into what I may call, "the immediate future," yet we have
reason to be thankful that we do know something about what is to come
and that we do know what is in the far-reaching future. We differ from
the animals in this respect. When, two or three nights in the week, I
pass on my way home a flock of sheep, or a little herd of bulls–all
going down to the butcher's, travelling in the cold, bright moonlight
towards the slaughterhouse–I feel thankful that they do not know where
they are going, for what would be their misery if they knew anything
about death? The lamb's thoughts are in the fold and all unconscious of
the shambles. It licks the hand that kills it, not knowing of its
coming speedy death. It is the happiness of the brute not to know the
future!

But in our case, we know that we must die–and if it were not for the
hope of the Resurrection and of the hereafter, this knowledge would
distinguish us from the brutes only by giving us greater misery. There
must be an intention on God's part for us to live in a future state or
else He would, out of mere benevolence, have left us ignorant of the
fact of death. If He had not meant our souls to begin to prepare for
another and a better existence, He would have kept us ignorant, even,
of the fact that this one will pass away. But having given us an
intellect and a mind which, both from observation and inward
consciousness must know that death will come, we believe that He would
have us prepare for that which will follow and look out for that which
is beyond. We do know the future in its great rough outlines. We know
that if the Lord comes not first, we shall die. We know that our soul
shall live forever in happiness or in woe and that, according to
whether we are found in Christ or without Christ, our eternal portion
shall be one of never-ending agony or of ceaseless bliss! We may be
thankful that we do know this, so that we may be prepared for it. But
still–to return to that with which we started–we may also be thankful
that we do not really know the great future in its details, that it is
shut from our eyes lest it should have an evil influence upon our life.

Now, Solomon, in the Book of Proverbs, applied the Truth that we know
not about tomorrow to the boaster, the man who said, "Tomorrow I will
go into such a city and buy, and sell, and get gain, and then go to
another city, and get

more gain, and then, when I have amassed so much wealth, I will say,
'Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take your ease–eat,
drink and be merry.'" Solomon seems to come in and put his hand upon
the man's shoulder and to say, virtually, "You fool, you know nothing
about all this! You do not know what shall be on the morrow–your goods
may never come to you, or you may not be here to trade with these goods
at all. So you build a castle in the air! You think your fancies are
true. You are as one that dreams of a feast and wakes to find himself
hungry! How can you be so foolish?" Solomon dwells upon the text very
solemnly and says, "Boast not yourself of tomorrow, for you know not
what a day may bring forth."

I do not intend, however, to use the text with this objective tonight.
It struck me that as Solomon uses it here with one design, it might be
very properly used for another. That as he intends to shame our growing
pride and certainty of prosperity, so it might be used especially to
cheer those who have a tendency to gloom–and to shed a ray of light
into the thick darkness of their fear.

I. It will, first, comfort THOSE WHO ARE FEARING AND TREMBLING
CONCERNING SOME EVIL WHICH IS YET TO COME.

My Friend, you are afraid tonight. You cannot enjoy anything you have
because of this terrible and fearful shadow which has come across your
path of an evil which you say is coming tomorrow, or in one or two
months' time–or even in six months. Now, at least, you are not quite
certain that it will come, for you know not what may be on the morrow.
You are as alarmed and as afraid as if you were quite certain that it
would appear. But it is not so, "You know not what a day may bring
forth," and since it is uncertain whether it shall be or not, had you
not better leave your sorrow till it is certain? And meanwhile, leave
the uncertain matter in the hands of God, whose Divine Purposes will be
wise and good in the end, and will be even seen to be so! At the very
least, slender as the comfort may be, yet there is still comfort in the
fact that you know not what may be on the morrow!

Let us expand this thought a little to those of you who are fearing
about tomorrow. We very often fear what never will occur. I think that
the major part of our troubles are not those which God sends us, but
those which we invent for ourselves. As the poet speaks of some who–

"Feel a thousand deaths in fearing one"– so there are many who feel a
thousand troubles in fearing one trouble, which trouble, perhaps, never
will have any existence except in the workshop of their own misty
brain! It is an ill task for a child to whip himself–it might be good
for him to feel the whip from his father's hand, but it is of little
service when the child applies it himself! And yet, very often the
strokes which we dread never come from God's hand at all, but are the
pure inventions of our own imagination and our own unbelief working
together. There are more who have to howl under the lash of unbelief
than there are who have to weep under the gentle rod of God's
Providential dispensation. Now, why should you go about to fill your
pillow with thorns grown in your own garden? Why so busy, good Sir,
about gathering nettles with which to strew your own bed? There are
clouds enough without your thinking that every little atom of mist will
surely bring a storm. There are difficulties enough on the road to
Heaven without your taking up stones to throw into your own path to
make your own road more rough than there was any need that it should
be! You know not what may be on the morrow. Your fears are absurd!
Perhaps your neighbor knows they are absurd, but certainly you ought to
know it is so! Do you not know that the trouble you are dreading, God
can utterly avert? Perhaps tomorrow morning there will come a letter
which will entirely change the face of the matter. A friend may
interpose when least you could expect one, or difficulties which were
like mountains may be cast into the depths of the sea. "You know not
what a day may bring forth," and the trouble which you so much dread
may never occur at all!

Moreover, do you not know that even if the trouble should come, God has
a way of overruling it?So that even you, poor Trembler, shall stand by
and see the salvation of God and wonder at two things–your own
unbelief and God's faithfulness! You say that the sea is before you,
that the mountains are on either side and that the foe is behind
you–but you know not what shall be on the morrow! Your God shall lead
you through the depths of the sea and put such a song in your mouth as
you never could have known if there had been no sea, no Pharaoh and no
mountains to shut you in! These trials of yours shall be the winepress
out of which shall come the wine of consolation to you! This furnace
shall rob you of nothing but your dross, which you will be glad to be
rid of–but your pure gold shall not be diminished by so much as a

drachma, but shall only be the purer after it all! The trouble, then,
may not come to you at all, or if it comes, it may be overruled.

And there is one thing more. Supposing the trial does come, your God
has promised that as your days, so shall your strength be. Has He not
said it many times in His Word, "I will never leave you, nor forsake
you"? He never did promise you freedom from trouble. He speaks of
rivers and of your going through them! He speaks of fires and of your
passing through them! But He has added, "When you pass through the
waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not
overflow you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon you." What matters it to you, then,
whether there is fire or not if you are not burned? What matters it to
you whether there are floods or not if you are not drowned? As long as
you escape with spiritual life and health and come up out of all your
trials the better for them, you may rejoice in tribulations! Thank God
when your temptations abound! And be glad when He puts you into the
furnace because of the blessing which you are sure to receive from it.
So then, since you know not what may be on the morrow, take heart, you
fearing one, and put your fears away! Do as you have been told–
delight yourself in the Lord–and He shall give you the desires of your
heart. Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you. He will
never suffer the righteous to be moved. Did not David say, speaking by
the Holy Spirit, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the
Lord delivers him out of them all"? I charge you, therefore, to be of
good comfort since you know not what may be on the morrow. This is the
message to fearful saints.

II. But now we will use the text to another class of Christians whose
painful position really deserves more pity than that of those who only
invent their fears, or who are troubled about the future. I mean THOSE
WHO ARE AT THE PRESENT MOMENT DISCONSOLATE THROUGH IMMEDIATE DISTRESS
AND PRESENT AFFLICTION.

We little know, my Brothers and Sisters, when we gather here, how many
cases of distress may be assembled in this house at any one time.
Verily the poor have not ceased out of the land! The poor we have
always with us and some of the poor, too, who need to have other mouths
to speak for them, since from their very independence of spirit and
their Christian character they are slow to speak for themselves. There
may be a trouble in my neighbor's heart which is almost bursting it
while I am sitting peacefully enjoying the Word. We should remember
those who are in bonds, as bound with them–and sympathize with those
who are troubled as being ourselves, also, in the body.

It will not be a waste of time, then, if I say to you who are troubled
about worldly matters that there is comfort for you in this passage.
"You know not what a day may bring forth." You say, "It is all over
with me! I will give up in despair." No, Friend, do not do so for one
day longer, for you know not what a day may bring forth! And if
tomorrow bring you not deliverance, hope on at least for one day more,
for, "you know not what a day may bring forth." And I would keep on
with the same advice till the last day of life! At least for one day
more there is no room for despair. You cannot conclude that God has
forsaken you, or that Providence has utterly turned against you! At
least you know not what may be on the morrow, so wait till you have
seen that day out! Give not yourself up as a hopeless victim to despair
till you have seen what tomorrow may bring you!

What unexpected turns there have been in the lives of those who have
trusted in God! You who are trusting in yourselves may help yourselves
as best you can, but you who are trusting in God have ample reasons to
expect that God will come to your assistance! It is yours to watch and
yours to work as if everything depended upon you, but it is yours,
also, to remember that everything does notdepend upon you! Sometimes
God has come in to help His servants so exactly at what we call, "the
nick of time," that they have hardly been able to believe their own
senses! "Strange," they say, "it is like a miracle!" And so, indeed, it
is, for the difference between the old dispensation and the new is that
God used to work His wonders by suspending the Laws of Nature, whereas
now He does greater things than this, inasmuch as He achieves His
purposes quite as marvelously and lets the Laws of Nature remain as
they are! He does not make the ravens bring His people bread and meat,
but He lets them have their bread and their meat when they need them.

God does not, nowadays, make the manna drop down from Heaven. No doubt
some people would like Him to do so, but still He brings the manna, for
all that–there is the bread and there are the clothes–and therewith
should the Christian be content! He supplies His people's needs by
ordinary means and herein is He to be wondered at and to be adored!
Look up, then! Wipe away that tear. Do not talk for a moment of
murmuring against God. Do not go home with that sorry tale to your wife
and children and tell them that God is not faithful to you. Wait till
tomorrow, at any rate, for "you know not what a day may bring forth."

And to you who are disconsolate about spiritual things I might quote
the same text. You say, "Ah, I have been hearing the Word a very long
time and all that I have got from it is a sense of sin, or hardly that.
Oh, how I wish that God would bless the Word to my soul! I am longing
to be saved! What would I not give to be a Christian–a true and
sincere Christian–one in whom the Spirit of God has worked a new heart
and a right spirit! Oh," you say, "I have sought it by listening to the
Word and I have sought it in earnest prayer–but months have passed and
I have made no advance. I have no more hope, now, than I had long ago!
I seem as far off the attainment of eternal life as I was when first I
heard the Word. No, if possible, I am further off! The Word has been a
savor of death unto death to me, and not a savor of life unto life."
Well, my dear Friend, do not give up listening to the Word! Do not give
up treading the courts of the Lord's house, for if you have up to now
got no blessing, yet, being in the way, the Lord may meet with you–for
you know not what may be on the morrow!

How many years these poor creatures waited around the pool when they
expected that an angel would, at a certain season, come and trouble the
water! There they waited. And though they were disappointed scores of
times by others stepping in before them, yet, seeing it was the only
hope they had, they waited! Now, it is in the use of the means that you
are likely to get a blessing. "Faith come by hearing, and hearing by
the Word of God." Do not, therefore, be persuaded to cease hearing, for
you know not what may be on the morrow! The very next sermon you shall
hear may be the means of your enlightenment! The very next address at
the Prayer Meeting may give you encouragement. The very next time the
Gospel trumpet sounds, you may obtain your liberty–and what a blessing
will that liberty be! When you do find it, you will say it was well
worth waiting for.

Let me add another exhortation. Do not give up praying! It is a common
device of Satan to say to the seeking soul, "The Lord will never hear
you. You are one of the reprobate! He has never written your name in
the Book of Life." Soul, pray as long as you have breath! Let it be
your firm resolve to remain at the Throne of Grace! Say to yourself–

"If I perish, I will pray, And perish only there."

It is not said that the gate of Mercy will open at the first knock. If
it were, there would be no room for the virtue of importunity! But the
Lord, who delights in our importunity, encourages us with the promise
that one day the gate will be opened. "Ask and it shall be given you;
seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." And
who knows how soon this may be? Why, before you close your eyes
tonight, you may be able to look to Christ Crucified and find joy and
peace in believing! Instead of the weeping prayer at the bedside, there
may be a happy prayer of another kind–not with tears of sorrow, but
with tears of holy joy–to think that the Lord has enlightened your
darkness, that you have looked unto Christ and now your face is not
ashamed! Why should it not be so tonight? Why should it not be so on
the morrow? God grant, poor disconsolate one, that it may be so very
speedily!

At any rate, will you let me repeat the advice I have already given?
Since you cannot know that God will not hear you. Since it never was
revealed to any man and never will be, that God will notregard his cry,
if you can get no further than the king of Nineveh did, yet go on and,
"who can tell" what may be, for you know not what a day may bring
forth! I will tell you one thing and you may take it as being God's own
Truth–if you go to Christ empty-handed, guilty, yet willing to take
all your salvation from Him as a free gift–and if you cast yourself
upon Him, I will tell you what the day willbring forth! It will bring
forth eternal life to you–salvation, joy and peace! It will bring
forth adoption, for you shall be received into the Divine Family! It
will bring forth to you the foretaste of the Heaven which God has
prepared for His people! You shall know a blessed day here that shall
be a foretaste of a never-ending day hereafter–a day that shall be as
one of the days of Heaven upon earth!

I wish that the Lord would bless these words of mine to disconsolate
ones. I think there may be some who may be sustained for a while and
kept up by what I have said. But it will be better, still, if they
shall now be filled with a desperate resolve to cast themselves at the
foot of the Cross. Then little do they know what the day will bring
forth! They cannot imaging the joy they shall have, nor the peace they
shall receive! The pardon which Christ shall give them is far more rich
than they have thought it could be–and the success with which their
prayers shall be crowned is far more marvelous than even their best
hopes have conceived! "You know not what a day may bring forth."

III. Now thirdly, turning this time not to those who are fearing the
future, nor yet to those who are disconsolate about present affliction,
I thought of addressing a few words to THOSE WHO ARE WEARIED IN THE
MASTER'S

SERVICE.

I can scarcely sympathize, as I could wish to do, with those who have
worked for Christ unsuccessfully. To say, "Master, I have toiled all
the night and have taken nothing," has never been my lot and,
therefore, I can only speak from what I suppose to be the feeling of
unsuccessful men. For these many years I have been preaching the Gospel
in this great London and I know not that at any time God has blessed us
more than He is blessing us now! Neither can I say that at any time He
has blessed us less, for it seems as if He has always been giving us
more than we can receive and blessing the Word exceedingly above what
we asked or ever thought! There is room for nothing in my case but
gratitude and encouragement, for humble dependence upon God for the
future and adoring joy for the past and the present.

But, what hard work it must be for a minister or a Sunday school
teacher to go on preaching and laboring positively without success, or
with so little that it is only like a cluster here and there upon the
topmost bough! I can imagine such Brothers and Sisters feeling that
they can speak no more in the name of the Lord. And, as they weep over
their failure, saying with Isaiah, "Who has believed our report, and to
whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" I should not wonder but that my
text may whisper in their ears a comfortable thought, "You know not
what a day may bring forth."

Do not cease from your labor, dear Brother! You are fainting today, but
tomorrow you may arise with new strength. Or feeling as if you were but
weakness, itself, in the morning, though you may hardly know how it
came about, in the evening you may be happy and cheerful! The Divine
Presence may overshadow your heart and drive your fears away, consoling
you in your distress and making you feel as if it were well to be God's
servant even if one had no present reward!

And what if, coming at the back of this, you should find yourself, next
time you go to your work, discharging it with unusual zest and with new
power? What if the pulpit, instead of being, as it has been, a prison
to you, should suddenly come to be a palace? What if, instead of there
being a mere bush in the wilderness, God should dwell in the bush and
make it all ablaze, like that unconsumed burning bush which Moses saw?
What if the stammering tongue should suddenly be unloosed and the cold
heart be all aglow with Divine enthusiasm? What if the poor tongue of
clay should suddenly become a tongue of fire? What a change it would
be! Ah, but "you know not what a day may bring forth."

And what if, while you are yourself thus quickened, there should fall a
like spirit upon the people, upon the children in the class, upon the
hearers in the House of Prayer? What if, instead of the dull, lead eyes
which looked as if Death, itself, were gazing from them–what if,
instead of stony and motionless hearers, there should suddenly be a
holy sensitiveness given to the people–what would you say to that? Yet
why should there not be? Sometimes such Grace comes all at once! The
rock has been long smitten, yet it would not break–but, all of a
sudden there has come a blow of the hammer, and that, perhaps, not so
hard as many that have fallen before, but it has hit the rock in the
right place and lo!–the mass of stone flies to shivers! "Oh!" you say,
"I could keep on at my work if I thought that this would happen." Keep
on at your work, then, Brother, for you do not know what will come
next! Pray for great things and you may then expect them! You may not
make sure of such blessing, of course, if you have not prayed for it!
But, having sought it, why should it not come?

I believe all Sunday school teachers find that sometimes such sudden
melting comes over their classes, and ministers often realize that all
of a sudden, they scarcely know how, but there is a change in the very
aspect of their hearers, so that it is quite a different thing to
preach. I am very conscious of the difference there is between the
various congregations I address. Almost every day, and sometimes twice
a day, I am preaching. Occasionally it is dreadful misery because, say
what we will, we know we have not a sympathizing audience. We feel as
though we were dragging a plow over the rough ground! But when we feel
that the Spirit of God is there, then we realize that we are sowing
this Good Seed, that it is falling on good ground–and we expect the
joyful sheaves which are to be our reward!And yet, Brothers and
Sisters, we are as much the servants of God when we are doing the one
thing, as when we are doing the other–and are as much in His service
when we are unsuccessful as when we are successful! We are not
responsible to God for the souls that are saved, but we are responsible
for the Gospel that we preach and for the way in which we preach it.
And "who can tell" whether those of us who have been least successful
may not suddenly exchange our heavy toil for the most delightful
service, for we know not what a day may bring forth!

And how do you know, my Brothers and Sisters, what may yet happen? You
were saying, this morning, "It is a dark age for the Church." Well, so
it is. You were saying, "I believe it is quite a crisis." So it is.
Every year, in fact, seems to be a crisis. "Ah," you say, "but there
are peculiar dangers now." No doubt there are! And I think the oldest
man here remembers that there were peculiar dangers when he was a
boy–there always have been and always will be peculiar dangers! But if
there is danger from this revival of Ritualism and, no doubt there
is–yet who among us can tell what a day may bring forth? Are we
certain that God will not yet turn back the tide of Romanizing error?
Are we sure that He has not a man somewhere, or even 50 men who shall
be the instruments of accomplishing this? Has it not often occurred
that the very men who have been the hottest advocates of a certain
system have afterwards been the greatest enemies of that system? The
Christian Church could never have expected to get an Apostle from among
the Pharisees and, least of all, could they have supposed that they
would find in Saul of Tarsus, the blood-thirsty persecutor, the great
Apostle of the Gentiles–not one whit behind the very chief of the
twelve! You and I do not know what God has in store. There may be
somewhere at this very moment a man, unknown to you, who is reading the
Word and, as he reads it, he may, like the monk, Luther, get such of
the Light of God through the reading that he who once helped to build
up, will be the instrument in God's hand to destroy! I am getting more
and more hopeful about these matters. I entertain the most sanguine
expectation that the God who has put His enemies to rout in years gone
by will do it now once again! And instead of sitting down in anything
like heaviness of spirit, or oppression of heart, I would speak
hopefully and have you, my Brothers and Sisters, be filled with hope,
for we do not know what a day may bring forth!

Suddenly the whole current of the public mind may be turned! There may
come a great tide of conversions which shall be the strength and the
joy of the Christian Church! On a sudden, slumbering Churches may
awake, gracious revivals may come! Upon the land the Holy Fire may once
again descend from Heaven. The Christian Church may start up to find
that the God who answered by fire is still in her midst! The mourning
Christian may put off his ashes and sackcloth, and put on his beautiful
array and a shout ofjoy may go up, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" where you
and I expected to hear nothing but, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

Let us, then, if we are working for the Master, instead of growing
tired with service, hear Him say to us, "Be not weary in well doing,
for in due season you shall reap if you faint not." Let us, my beloved
Brothers, be steadfast, unmov-able, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, for as we know that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. You
know not how soon you shall see this success, for you know not what a
day may bring forth. I hope every city missionary who hears me, every
Bible woman, every minister, every tract-distributor, every Sunday
school teacher, will try and look this very sweet thought in the face!
Expect that God is going to do great things and He will do them, for He
does very much according to His people's expectations. According to
your faith shall it be done unto you!

IV. I will now say a few words, in the fourth place, to THOSE WHO ARE
DISPIRITED IN PRAYER–to some

who have been engaged in special supplication for some objective, but
who, up till now, have received no answer–and are ready to give up
praying. Let me encourage such to persevere by repeating to them the
words of Solomon, "You know not what a day may bring forth."

There is a story I have often heard told by our Methodist friends of a
woman who had long prayed for her husband. She resolved that she would
pray for him every day a certain number of times. I think it was for 10
years and after that, she would pray no longer, supposing that if her
prayer was not heard by that time, it would be an intimation that God
did not intend to grant the blessing. I do not think she was right in
setting any limit to God at all, or that she had any right to act so.
However, on this occasion, God winked at His servant's infirmity and,
so the story goes–and I do not doubt its correctness–on the day on
which she was to cease from prayer, her husband suddenly turned
thoughtful and asked her the question which she had so longed to hear
from him, "What must I do to be saved?" I am sure that those who have
watched over their success in prayer will have met with cases quite as
startling as that–things which your neighbor would not believe if you
were to tell him, but which you treasure up among those inward
experiences which are true to you, however improbable they may seem to
other people! You know, dear Friends, that you have obtained answers to
prayer, very amazing ones, and have obtained them very promptly and
very punctually. You have had your prayers met just as an honest
merchant meets his bills at the appointed time. On the expected day God
has met with you and given you what you wanted and what you sought
for–just at the very time you needed it.

But now I will suppose that you are tried thus. That dear child of
yours, instead of hopefully rewarding your prayers, seems to be going
from bad to worse! Perhaps, dear Brother, it is your son. And I know
there are many such cases. The devil has told you that it is no use to
pray for him, for God will never hear you. Or else good Sister, it is
your broth-er–and your prayers for him has been incessant–indeed, it
has been a constant burden on your mind. Now, in such cases, I charge
you, I earnestly entreat you never to listen to the malicious
insinuation of Satan that, "you may as well leave off praying, for you
will not be heard," for, at the very least, and I am now putting it on
the very lowest ground, possible, "You know not what a day may bring
forth." You cannot tell but that the hard heart may yet be softened and
the rebellious will be subdued. You would be surprised to go home and
find your son converted, would you not? Well, but such things have
occurred! You would be surprised if your wife came in some Sunday
evening and said, "I have been hearing So-and-So, and God has met with
me." Yet why should it not be so? Is anything too hard for the Lord? Is
His arm shortened that it cannot save? Is His ear heavy that it cannot
hear? Even if you should die without seeing your children converted, or
your dear ones brought in–you do not know, even then, what a day may
bring forth! They may be converted after you are dead–and it will
tend, possibly, to swell the joy of Heaven when you shall see them,
after years of wandering, brought to follow their father, their father
whom in life they despised, but whom after he was gone they came to
imitate! Persevere in prayer, Christian! "Men ought always to pray, and
not to faint." Praying breath is never sent in vain. Still besiege the
Throne of God! The city may hold out for a while, but prayer should
capture it. Beleaguer the Throne of Grace–it is to be taken. Never
raise the siege until you get the blessing–the blessing shall
certainly be yours.

V. And now I cannot talk longer on this matter, so I will close with
just another thought to THOSE OF US WHO ARE CHEERFUL AND HAPPY.

I hope there are many of us who are neither afraid and fretting about
the future, nor depressed about the present, neither worn out with toil
in the Master's service, nor dispirited in prayer. There are some of us
to whom the Lord is so gracious that our cup runs over. Now we may just
put another drop on the top of the full cup. Dear Friend, "you know not
what a day may bring forth." It may perhaps bring forth to you and to
me our last day. What a blessed day that would be–our last day! Our
dying day! No, do not call it so, but the day of our translation–the
day of our great change, the day of our being taken up–that of our
being carried away in the fiery chariot to be forever with the Lord!

You know not but what this may be your case tomorrow. Oh, what joy! I
am doubting and fearing, today, but I may see His face tomorrow! And
see it so as never to lose sight of it again! From my poor tenement of
poverty I am going to the mansions of eternal blessedness! From the
sickbed, where I have tossed in pain, I shall mount to everlasting joy!
The streets of gold may be trod tomorrow and the palm branch of victory
may be waved tomorrow–the streets trod by these weary feet and the
palm branch waved by these toil-worn hands! Yes, tomorrow the chants of
angels may be in your ears and the swell of celestial music may make
your soul glad. Tomorrow you may see the beautiful vision and may
behold the King in His beauty in the land that is very far off. I like
to live in the constant anticipation of being "with Christ, which is
far better." Do not put it off, Christian, as though it were far away!
If we had to wait a hundred years they would soon pass, like a watch in
the night. But we shall not live as long as that. We may be with our
Lord tomorrow! We may sup here on earth and breakfast in Heaven! We may
breakfast on earth and hear Christ, say, "Come and dine," or we may go
from our Communion Table here to the great Supper of the Lamb above, to
be with Him forever!

This is the best of it. When somebody said to a Christian minister, "I
suppose you are on the wrong side of fifty?" "No," he said, "thank God,
I am on the right side of fifty, for I am sixty and am, therefore,
nearer Heaven." Old age should never be looked upon with dismay by
us–it should be our joy! If our hearts were right in this matter,
instead of being at all afraid at the thought of parting from this
life, we should say–

"Ah me! Ah me that I

In Kedar's tents here stay!

No place like this on high.

There, Lord! Guide my way.

Ohappyplace!

When shall I be,

My God, with You,

And see Your face?"

I have not time to say much to others here who are not concerned in
these sweet themes, but I will at least say this. Let thee careless and
thoughtless here remember that they do not know what a day may bring
forth. Tomorrow it may not be that grand party to which you are
intending to go. Tomorrow it may not be that sweet sin of which your
evil nature is thinking. Tomorrow may see you on a sickbed. Tomorrow
may see you on your deathbed. Tomorrow, worst of all, may see you in
Hell! O Sinner, what a state to live in–to be in daily jeopardy of
eternal ruin, to have the wrath of God, who is always angry with the
wicked, abiding on you–and not to know but that tomorrow you may be
where you can find no escape, no hope, no comfort! Tomorrow in
eternity! Tomorrow banished from His Presence forever! Tomorrow to have
that awful sentence thrilling in your soul, "Depart from Me, you
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."