With Golden Band Girded

With Golden Band Girded

(No. 3555)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 1917.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"He was girded about the chest with a golden band." Revelation 1:13

[The original title of this sermon was WITH GOLDEN GIRDLE GIRT.]

BE assured, my Brothers and Sisters, the more real Jesus Christ is to
us, the more power there will be in our religion. Those men whose
religion lies in believing certain doctrines and contending for certain
modes of expression, may be strong enough in bigotry, but they often
fail entirely in developing the spirit of true Christianity. There may
be minds so constituted that they can live under the power of an idea
and they might possibly be able to die for it. But these, I think, must
be comparatively few. To draw out enthusiasm among men, there must
generally be a man as leader and commander in whom the people can
implicitly trust, to whom they will voluntarily tender obedience.
Individual men have worked wonders. The thoughts which they incarnated
may have been, in themselves, strong, yet their strength was never so
forcible as when the men who represented those thoughts were present to
give them currency. Then the blood of the many was stirred and every
man's heart beat high. The presence of Oliver Cromwell in a regiment
was equal to any ten thousand men. He had only to appear and all his
soldiers felt so sure of victory, they would dash upon the cavaliers as
some mighty tornado, driving them like chaff before the wind! The
presence of Napoleon at any moment in a battle was almost always
sufficient to turn the scale. Let but "the little corporal" appear and
wave his sword, and men seemed to lose all sense of their own personal
danger and rushed into the very mouth of death to gain the victory! In
those old days of the Huguenots when they were warring for their
liberties, what shouts there were, what beating of hearts, what a
glamour of trumpets, what exultation, when Henry of Navarre came riding
down the ranks! Then each man felt he had a giant's arm and, as he rode
to battle, struck home for God and for the truth as he gave out his
watchword, "Remember St. Bartholomew!"

Now the force of the religion of Jesus, under God the Holy Spirit, it
seems to me, is never fully brought out except when our faith greets
the Lord Jesus Christ as a Person and holds to Him as a personal Leader
and Commander, loving Him and devoting ourselves to Him as an
ever-living, ever-gracious Friend. It is not by believing a set of
ideas and trying to be enthusiastic over them, that our courage rises
or our prowess succeeds. Rather let us feel His Presence, though we
cannot see His face, and remembering that there is such an One as Jesus
of Nazareth, who became a Baby in Bethlehem for us–who lived, and
toiled, and suffered for us–then laid bare His chest to the spear and
gave up His life for us. We grow strong when we thus think of Him as
our Savior, when His thorn-crowned head rises before our mind's eye,
when we look into that face so marred with shame, and pain, and
cruelty, till we are compelled to cry out, "Oh, my Savior, I love You,
and for the love I bear Your name would gladly learn what I can do to
honor You, and I will do it! Point out to me how much of my substance I
should place upon Your altar, and I will be glad to place it there! Put
me into the place of suffering, if necessary, and I will account it a
place of honor, for if You are there, I can look into Your dear face
and think that I am suffering for You–fire shall be then like a bed of
roses to me–and death, itself, seem far sweeter than life!"

We need to have more open testimony concerning the Person of our Lord
Jesus Christ! I am persuaded of that and we have need, private
Christians, to live more in fellowship with Him, the Son of God, the
Man, Christ Jesus, who has redeemed us from wrath, and through whose
life we live! To Him now–to Him exclusively let all your thoughts be
turned. Oh, that you may discern the Image which stood on that Lord's
Day clearly before the view of John, the eyes of your understanding
being opened, and your whole soul being attentive to the Revelation! It
is but one part of John's description of our Lord Jesus Christ in
Heaven to which I propose to direct your attention. "He was girded
about the chest with a golden band." What did this golden band signify?
And what are the golden lessons to be gathered from it? I. THE GOLDEN
BAND.

What did it mean? It was designed, first, to set forth our Lord's
exceelence in all His offices. He is a Prophet. The Prophets of old
were often girded about with leather bands, but our Savior wears a
golden band, for He, above all other Prophets, is vested with
authority! What He declares and testifies is true. Yes, it is the pure
Truth of God, unalloyed with tradition or superstition. He makes no
mistakes. There is no treachery to taint His teaching. Sitting at His
feet, you may accept every word He utters as Infallible. You need not
raise a question about it. The band of golden truth is round about Him.
He is also a Priest. The high priest of old wore a band of many colors
for glory and for beauty. Our Lord Jesus Christ wears a band superior
to this. It is of the pure gold, for among the priests He has no peer.
Of all the sons of Aaron, none could vie with Him. They must first
offer a sacrifice for their own sins. They needed to wash their feet in
the laver, and to be touched with the cleansing blood. But Jesus Christ
is without spot, or blemish, or any such thing–

"Their priesthood ran through several bands For mortal was their race."

But Jesus is Immortal and about Him, He wears the golden band to show
that He excels all the priests of Aaron's line. As for those persons
who, in modern times, pretend to be priests, our Lord Jesus Christ is
not to be mentioned in the same day with them. They are all deceivers!
If they knew the Truth of God, they would understand that there is no
class of priests now. All caste of priesthood is forever abolished!
Every man that fears God, and every woman, too, is a priest according
to the Word of God which is written, "He has made us kings and priests
unto God." The priesthood is common to all the saints–not confined to
some! But He wears a golden band among them. Their priesthood would be
nothing without His. He has made them priests. They derive their
priesthood entirely from Him, neither could they be acceptable before
God if they were not accepted in the Beloved. He is a King as well as a
Prophet and a Priest, and that band, being made of gold, signifies His
supremacy over all other kings! He is mightier far than they–"the Lord
mighty in battle." "King of Kings" is His name, and the burden of the
music of Heaven is this, "King of kings, and Lord of lords." The day
shall come when He shall grasp His scepter and break the kingdoms of
earth like a potters' vessels with His rod of iron! He is this day King
of the Jews, but He shall openly be so proclaimed. In that day kings
shall bow down before Him and He shall gather up sheaves of scepters,
while many crowns shall be upon His glorious brow! There is no kingdom
like the Kingdom of Christ. Other kingdoms come and go like the
hoar-frost of the morning, or the sheen upon the midnight waves, but
His Kingdom stands forever and ever! It shall endure from everlasting
to everlasting! As Prophet, Priest and King, He wears a band of gold to
show His supremacy in office above all others!

The golden band, moreover, bears witness to His power and authority.
Men were often girded with bands when they received office. The Prophet
Isaiah said of Eliakim that he received a band of power and dominion.
Keys were hung upon the band. The housewife's band with her keys
signified her authority over her servants. The keys at the band of
great men signified their power in their various offices, and when we
sometimes sing–

"Lo, in His hand the sovereign keys Of Heaven, and death, and Hell," we
recognize this meaning of Christ's golden band, that all power given
unto Him in Heaven and in earth. He is the universal Lord. Up in Heaven
He enjoys an authority that is undisputed. Angels bow before Him–and
on the sea of glass they cast down their crowns and cry, "Hallelujah!"
Here on earth all Providence is ruled by the Man whose hands were
pierced. All this dispensation is an economy of mediatorial government,
over which Jesus Christ presides. He puts down one and sets up another.
He makes the wheels of Providence revolve. Everything occurs according
to His decree and purpose. In all things He rules and He overrules them
for the good of His Church, even as Joseph governed Egypt for the good
of the seed of Abraham! What a comfort it is, Beloved, for us to think
of the authority and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ! He who had not
where to lay His head. He who was despised and rejected of men. He who
was a working Man–the carpenter's Son. He who felt the pangs of
hunger, endured the pains of weariness, was neglected, condemned,
opposed and cast out by His countrymen and His kinsmen–it is He who is
now undisputed Master and unrivalled Lord everywhere! No name is as
famous as that one once branded with infamy–the name of Jesus–whom
sinful men rejected, holy angels now adore! On earth He was condemned
and crucified. In Heaven He is hailed with highest honor. Look up to
that golden band! See how He descended, step by step, into the meanest
depths of humiliation. Then mark how He ascended with rapid flight to
the towering heights of exaltation! Follow Him. With Him take your lot.
Be willing to be made of no repute in this day of reproach that you may
be a partaker of His Glory in the day of His appearing!

Girded thus about with a golden band, we have a vivid representation of
His activity. The band was used by the Easterns to bind up their long
flowing robes. The Hebrew did not usually wear a band indoors. It was
only when on a journey, or when engaged in some manual labor that he
thus adjusted his attire. So our Lord's having a golden band signifies
that He is still ready to serve His servants, to engage on their
behalf. You remember how He once took a towel and girded Himself. That
was with kind intent to wash their feet. Now it is no more with a linen
towel, but with a band of gold that He prepares Himself to work on the
behalf of His beloved! He stands not in Heaven with flowing garments,
as though all work were done, but He stands there girded about the
chest that He may be still ready and show Himself strong on behalf of
His people. Be this your comfort–Jesus has not forgotten to plead for
you before His Father's Throne. He never holds His peace, and never
will. As long as you have a cause to plead, Christ will be your
intercessor! Whatever you need, He is waiting to supply. As long as you
have a sin to confess, Christ will be your Advocate with the Father to
purge your guilt and purify your souls. As long as you are persecuted
on earth, there will be a Christ to represent you in Heaven. As long as
you are in this vale of tears, He, girded with a golden band, will be
the Angel of God's Presence to succor and to save you! In all your
afflictions He was afflicted, and He will still bear and carry you as
in the days of old.

Oh, my Brothers and Sisters, how people do sometimes talk about the
Christian Church, as if Jesus Christ, who died for us, were still dead!
What gloomy forebodings I have read during the last few months! Not
that I have believed a word, or taken dreams for disasters. I have not
even credited their sadness with too much sincerity! I rather thought
they wrote for a party purpose, with motives of policy. Were we to
believe half we read, Protestantism, in a few years, would become no
more! We might have the Pope preaching in St. Paul's Cathedral! Not a
few would be doomed to burn in Smithfield, and we know not what pains
and penalties we shall be subject to! Evidently the Church of Christ is
quite unable to take care of herself. Unless she is provided with so
many hundreds or thousands of pounds, she must go to the dogs–for
money, the love of which used to be the root of all evil–somehow or
other, is now found out to be the root of all good! As for the good men
who have prayed earnestly and worked so zealously, they are all going
to leave off praying and preaching, too, when the State pay is stopped!
So all the piety towards God and all the good will towards men will
come to an end! Well, I suppose this would be very likely if Jesus
Christ were dead, but as long as He is alive, I think He is quite able
to take care of the golden candlesticks Himself! And the Church of God
will probably be no worse in the next few years than it has been in the
years that have passed. No, I will venture to prophesy that the less
help she seeks from the world, and the more she leans upon her God, the
brighter will be her future! Should the very foundations of society be
shaken and the worst calamities befall us–such as we hope will never
come–yet over the ashes of all earthly renown and government
patronage, the supernal splendor of the immortal Church of God would
glow forth with clearer brilliance and brighter glory! She has Long
been like a ship tossed in the tempest and not comforted. She has
plowed her way, and the spray that has broken over her has been
blood-red with martyr's gore–but she has still kept on her course
towards her desired haven! He that is with her is greater than all they
that are against her! So shall it be till the world's end!

Look, then, Beloved, to the golden band of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
as you perceive that He is still active to maintain His own cause, to
deliver His people and to prosper His Church, you need not be afraid!
And does not the golden band imply His enduring love? The heart was, in
old times, and still is among ourselves, supposed to be the dwelling
place of the affections. What, do you think, is the ruling passion in
the heart of Christ? What is it that inflames the bosom of Him who was
once the Man of Sorrows, but now is King of kings and Lord of Lords? He
is girded about the chest with a band of gold. He never ceases to love
His people. The band is an endless thing–it goes right around a man.
Christ's heart always keeps within the sacred circle of undiminished,
unchanging, undying affection for all whom His Father gave Him, for all
whom He bought with His precious blood! Never doubt the faithfulness of
Christ to you, Beloved, since faithfulness is the band of His loins.
Never think that a promise will fail, or that the Covenant will be
broken. Trusting in Him, you will never be allowed to perish. It cannot
be! While He wears that golden band, He cannot prove faithless. That
heavenly decoration is a goodly order. Invested therewith, He cannot
forget or prove untrue to those whom He has engaged to protect. Though
Heaven and earth shall pass away, not one Word of Grace shall fall to
the ground. The sun and moon shall expire–dim with age, they will
cease to shed their light abroad–but the love of Jesus Christ shall be
as fresh and new as in the day of His espousals, and as delicious as
when you first tasted of it! Yours shall it be forever and ever to
inherit and enjoy!

In days of yore, moreover, the band was the place where the Eastern
kept his money. It was his wallet. Some of the Orientals keep their
cash in their turbans–in our Savior's day it was carried in the band.
When our Lord speaks in Matthew about His disciples going without purse
or scrip, He mentions there that they are not to carry silver or gold
in their bands. This golden band, then, to use a simple word, may
represent the wallet of the Lord Jesus, and we infer from its being
golden that it is full of unequalled wealth and unsurpassed riches.
Jesus Christ bears about Him all the available supplies that can be
needed by His people. What a multitude of people He has to support, for
on Him all His saints depend! They have been drawing upon Him all their
lives and so they always will. They are "gentlemen commoners," as one
used to say, upon the bounty of God's Providence. We are pensioners
upon the beneficence of our Lord Jesus Christ! He has supplied us until
now. Oh, how much Grace you and I have needed to keep us from starving,
from sinking, from going down to the pit of Hell! And we have had all
we needed! In fearful temptations our foot has not slipped. We have
passed through many trials, but without being crushed. Arduous has been
our service, but as our day, our strength has been. We should long ago
have broken any earthly bank and drained the contents, but Christ has
been to us like an ever-flowing fountain, a wellhead, a redundant
source communicating enough and to spare! What a source! What ready
relief for every emergency Christ has at His command! Oh, Brothers and
Sisters, have you but little Grace? Whose fault is it? Not your Lord's!
Oh, you who have no spending money! You who are full of doubts and
fears! You who have slender comfort and little joy! You who are saying,
like the elder son in the parable, "You never gave me a kid that I
might make merry with my friends"!–whose fault is it? Does not your
Father say, "Son, you are always with Me, and all that I have is
yours"? It you are poor in spiritual things, you made yourselves poor,
since Christ is yours and with Him all things are yours! Do enjoy what
God has given you! Take the good that God provides! Seek to live up to
your privileges. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!
As that golden band gleams from afar, say in your spirit–

"Since Christ is rich, can I be poor? What can I need besides?"

And now let me briefly point out to you–

II. THE GOLDEN LESSONS to be gathered from these five meanings of the
golden band.

It will refresh your memories if I remind you that we showed how the
golden band set forth the excellency of Christ in all His offices. The
golden lesson, then, is–Admire Him in all His offices! He who loves
Christ will never be tired of hearing about Him. Doubtless when Jacob's
sons came back and told him that Joseph was lord over all Egypt, after
hearing the story once, the old man would be sure to say, "Oh, tell me
that again!" I will be bound to say that as he sat in that tent of his,
he would ask first one, and then another, to tell the tale–and so he
would try to pump them with questions. "Tell me, Judah, now how did he
look? Has he grown stouter or thinner since the day he left me and I
never thought to see or hear of him anymore? Tell me, Simeon, did he
sit on a throne? Was he really like a king? Tell me, Levi, what did the
Egyptians seem to think of him? Had they a high estimation of his
character? Tell me, Zebulon, how did he speak? In what terms did he
speak of his old father? Was there a tear in his eyes when he referred
to Benjamin, your other brother, the little one whom his father would
not spare?" Surely I might draw that picture without being suspected of
exaggeration. It would be all true. He loved his son so dearly and
doted upon him so fondly that he could not know too much– no, he could
not know enough about Joseph! Anybody that had anything to tell about
Joseph would be sure to be welcome! So with every renewed heart–if
there is anything to be learned about Jesus, you will want to know it!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us cultivate this spirit more and more.
Let us live in the study of the life of Jesus. These are things the
angels desire to look into. Do you not desire to look into them, too?
Watch your Master. Let your experience, as it alters and ripens, reveal
to you fresh beauties in your Lord. As you turn over page, after page,
of Scripture, search after Jesus in it as men search after gold–and be
not content unless you see your Savior's face revealed on every page!

Does the golden band indicate His power and authority? The golden
lesson is that you trustHim. If all power is His, lean on Him! We do
not lean on Christ enough. The remark of the Church was, "Who is this
who comes up from the wilderness, leaning on her Beloved?" Lean on Him!
He will never sink under your weight. All the burdens that men ever had
to carry, Christ carried, and He certainly will carry yours. There can
be no wars and lighting that perplex you which did not perplex Him, for
in the great fight which comprehended yourselves, and the great warfare
for all His saints, He overcame. Nothing, then, can be difficult to
Him. How often we weary ourselves with walking when we might ride–I
mean, we carry our troubles when we might take them to Christ! We fret,
and groan, and cry–and our difficulties do not get any the less. But
when we leave them with Him who cares for us, and begin to trust, like
a child trusts its father, how light of heart and how strong of spirit
we become! The Lord give us to watch that golden band carefully, and as
we see the power of Jesus Christ may we come to lean upon that power
and trust Him at all times.

Or did the golden band signify His activity? The golden lesson is that
we imitate Him. Christ is in Heaven, and yet He wears a band.
Christian, always keep your band round your loins. "Stand, therefore,
with your loins girded about," says the Apostle, "and your lamps
trimmed." This is not the place for the Christian to unbind. Heaven is
the place of rest for us–not this world of temptation and of sin.
Always stand ready to suffer or to serve! At the Master's gate, watch
and wait to do His bidding. Never, on weekdays, and much less on
Sabbath days, let your spirits be out of order for Christian service!
We ought so to live that if called to die at any minute, we would not
need to say a prayer–ready for Heaven, ready for a life of service or
for a death of glory! The true way for a Christian to live in this
world is to be always as he would wish to be if Christ came at that
moment. And there is a way of living that style–simply depending upon
the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ–and then going out into
daily service for Him, moved by love to Him, saying to Him, "Lord, show
me what You would have me do." I wish we always were as I have thus
said we always should be. The Lord can teach us! Let us ask Him to
teach us the lesson.

We told you, moreover, that the golden band indicated His enduring
love, inasmuch as it is girded about His chest. Well, then, the golden
lesson is, let us love Him in return. Let us wear the golden band, too.
Oh, Beloved, love Him with all your heart, and soul, and strength! Let
no rival come between you and Jesus. Keep your heart chaste for the
Well-Beloved. My greatest longing is that I may present you as a chaste
virgin unto Christ, that there may be nothing by way of error in
respect to Doctrine or to holiness of life that may disturb the full
union of your souls with Jesus. Oh, to see that golden band, and as we
see it, to feel that He has belted us about after the same manner! "I
am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine." I am not the world's, nor is
the world for me–I belong to Jesus, and Jesus belongs to me! May that
be the deep feeling and the truthful expression of everyone of you.

And then does the golden band suggest to us the wealth of Christ, as
being His wallet, let it be our golden lesson to rejoice in Him. If He
is so rich, and all that He is and all that He has belongs to us, bring
here your choicest music and let your souls be glad in the name of the
Lord! Why are you bowed down? Why distressed? Has your Lord withdrawn,
or has He changed? Is He deaf, or is His arm shortened that He cannot
deliver? No, but let the children of God be joyful in their King. If
you cannot be glad in what is created, be glad in the Creator Himself!
If you cannot drink of the streams, go and drink of the
fountainhead–the water is sweeter and better there. Blessed wreck
which makes us lose everything and cling to our God, for the loss will
be a gain if we get nearer to God, love Him better and prize His
friendship more!

Ah, me, the day will come when those of you who do not love Christ will
have to look on Him and you will see that golden band, then, but it
will bring no comfort to you! You despised Him, therefore in that band
there will be no love to you, no blessing for you, no power for you!
But what will there be? Why, that very band, since it is made of
faithfulness, will show Him faithful to His threats! Those who hear
Christ preached and reject Him will find that word true, "He that
believes not shall be damned." Nothing but condemnation can be the lot
of the man or woman who despises pardon and treats forgiveness with
contempt. When simply to trust Christ saves the soul, to distrust Him
is the direst and most damnable of sins! It is suicidal! Unbeliever,
you refuse to pass through the only door that can lead you to Heaven!
Well, if you never enter there, your blood be on your own head. Oh,
that Grace may lead you just now to seek salvation! The Man with the
golden band can save you, and none but He! Look to Him. Behold Him as
He hangs upon the tree with hands and feet fastened there. Look and
trust–trust and live! The Lord incline your hearts to espouse and not
eschew His rich mercy, for His own dear name's sake. Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: MATTHEW 11

Verse 1. And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding
His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and to preach in
their cities. Whatever He commanded, He Himself did. He was always the
example as well as the legislator of His people. How well it will be
for us who are called upon to teach others, if we can teach them as
much by what we do as by what we say! "When Jesus had made an end of
commanding His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and to
preach in their cities."

2, 3. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he
sent two of his disciples. And said unto Him, Are You He that should
come, or do we look for another?Poor John! His spirit was brave enough
amid the wilds when he was by the riverside, but shut up in prison, it
was probably otherwise with him. Those bold spirits, when they lose
liberty, are apt to be depressed. Perhaps, too, John sent the disciples
as much for their sakes as for his own. At any rate, what a question it
was to put to our Lord, "Are You He that should come, or do we look for
another?" I would call your attention to the quietness of our Savior's
mind–the absence of anything like anger. See how He answers them.

4-6. Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those
things which you do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are
raised up, and thepoor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is
he who is not offended because of Me. Now if it had been the very least
of us who had been attempting to do such service for God, and we had
been questioned about what we were doing, should we not have felt hurt
and grieved? And maybe there are some who would not have given an
answer, especially if they were dignified with the name of an office.
But our blessed Lord does not take a huff at it. He is not vexed, but
He answers with the utmost gentleness, not by a word of authority
commanding John to believe, but by an exposition of those blessed seals
of Grace which were the best evidence that He was, indeed, the Messiah.
He pointed to the very miracles which prophecy declared the Messiah
would perform–and He did this with that graciousness of temper which
was always about our Divine Master, in which let us copy Him.

7-11. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes
concerning John, What went you out into the wilderness to see? A reed
shaken with the wind? But what went you out to see? A man clothed in
soft raiment? Behold, they who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
But what went you out to see? A Prophet? Yes, I say unto you, and more
than a Prophet. For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send My
messenger before Your face, which shall prepare Your way before You.
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there has not
risen a greater than John the Baptist notwithstanding he that is least
in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. Never did our Savior bear
a more emphatic testimony to John than on this occasion! And it is
remarkable that it should have followed upon the heels of John's doubt
and John's question! How generously the Master repays His servant–not
in his own coin, but in the heavenly coin of love! He seems to say,
"Through the infirmity of your flesh you have been half-inclined to
question Me, but through the strength of My Grace I turn round and
extol you. Time was when you could say, 'He must increase, but I must
decrease,' and now I turn round and say to those whom you have sent,
and to those who saw your messengers, that there is none like you." Not
even Moses, himself, is greater than John the Baptist! Though he who
has entered into the Light and the Glory of the Kingdom of Grace since
the coming of the Master is greater than he!

12-15. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of
Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the
Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you will receive it,
he is Elijah, who is to come. He that has ears to hear, let him hear
But how many there are that have ears and do not hear! The external
organ is affected, but the internal ear of the soul is not reached at
all! Blessed are they who, having ears, do in very truth, hear.

16, 17. But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like unto
children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows and
saying, We have piped unto you, and you have not danced; we have
mourned unto you, and you have not lamented. The children would not
agree! Whatever game was proposed, some of them would not follow it. At
one time they imitated the pipers, and then the others would not dance.
Then they imitated the lamentations of a funeral, and then the others
would not join them.

18, 19. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has
a devil The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a
man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.
There was no pleasing them! And there is no pleasing people, now,
whoever it is that God sends. One man is much too homely. In fact, he
is vulgar. Another is much too rhetorical. In fact, his rhetoric runs
away with him. One man is doctrinal. Oh, he is dogmatic! Another man is
practical. He is much too censorious. Another man is full of
experience. He is mystical. Oh, surely God, Himself, cannot please the
evil tempers of ungodly men! One thing is that He does not try to do
so, nor do His servants, if they are truly sent of Him. That is a
matter about which they have small concern.

19. But wisdom is justified of her children.Whoever Christ sends, He
sends in wisdom, and there is an adaptation about each of His servants,
even if men do not perceive it. The day shall come when wisdom shall be
justified of her children.

20-24. Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty
works were done, because they repented not Woe unto you, Chorazin! Woe
unto you Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had
been done in Tyre and Sidon, they wouldhave repentedlong ago in
sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for
Tyre and Sidon at the Day of Judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum,
which are exalted unto Heaven, shall be brought down to Hell for if the
mighty works which have been done in you, had been done in Sodom, it
wouldhave remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment, than for
you.There was a tenderness about the tone of Christ when He spoke thus.
The words are burning, but the eyes were full of tears. He could not
contemplate the possibility of the Gospel being rejected without a
broken heart. He sighed and cried as He bore testimony against those
who refused Eternal Life. With what tenderness must Christ regard some
that are present here tonight, whose privileges from their childhood
until now have been so great that they could scarcely be greater–and
yet they seem determined to reject the admonitions of love and trample
over tenderness in their desperate resolve to perish! God have mercy
upon such.

25. At that time Jesus answered He seemed to answer Himself. He
answered to the thoughts that passed through His own mind. "At that
time Jesus answered."

25-27. And said, I thank You, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth,
because You have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have
revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in
Your sight. All things are delivered unto Me of My father: and no man
knows the Son, but the Father; neither knows any man the Father, save
the Son, and he to whomever the Son will reveal Him. Did the Lord Jesus
Christ, in His address to Bethsaida and Capernaum awaken in His own
mind all those difficulties that hover round about the Doctrine of
Predestination? Did it not seem strange that God should send the Gospel
to people who rejected it, and did not send the Gospel to a people who
would have received it? How can these things be? And the dear Savior
answers the question to His own mind by falling back upon that other
sublime Truth and to Him, full of thanksgiving–the Infinite
Sovereignty of God! I do not know what some of us would do if we did
not believe that Truth of God. There are so many things which puzzle
us–so many questions, but the Judge of all the earth must be right. He
must! He will do as He pleases with His own, and it is not for us to
question the prerogatives of the Most High. Now the Savior at last
seems to give vent to His soul in one grand burst of Gospel preaching!
And whenever you and I get worried about any Doctrine, it is always
well to come back to the simplicity of the Gospel and proclaim it
again.

28. Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. There is no rest in the difficulties of metaphysics!
There is no rest in the labors of human merit! "Come unto Me, and I
will give you rest."

29. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly in
heart; and you shall find rest unto your souls. First He gives rest to
all who come. But afterwards there is a second rest which they find who
become obedient and bear His yoke. The rest that comes of pardoned sin
is sweet, but the rest that comes of conqueredsin through obedience is
sweeter still. The rest He gives is precious, but there is rest upon
rest, as there is Grace upon Grace, and let us go in for the highest
form of that rest! "You shall find rest unto your souls." The very
innermost part of your being shall be full of peace.

30. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. Blessed be His name,
we have found it so!