A Revival Promise

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JANUARY 11, 1874,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the
dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon your seed, and My blessing upon
your offspring: and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows
by the watercourses. One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall
call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his
hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel" Isaiah
44:3-6.

IN the Christian Church at this moment there is a very general desire
for a revival of religion. You may go where you may among Christian
people and you will find that they are mourning over the present state
of things and saying, one to the other, "When will a greater blessing
come? How can we obtain it? When shall we make some impression upon the
masses of the ungodly? When shall our houses of prayer be filled with
attentive hearers? When will the Lord's kingdom come and His right arm
be made bare in the eyes of all the people?"

I am delighted to hear the inquiry My soul magnifies the Lord as I
discern tokens of growing anxiety about the cause and kingdom of Jesus
and the perishing sons of men. This is an omen of better times. "As
soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." Searchings of
heart, anguish, groans which cannot be uttered and abounding
intercession are the heralds of blessing! They are the sound in the
tops of the mulberry trees which calls Believers to bestir themselves
in hope of victory! May the movement among the saints continue and
deepen till it brings forth a movement among sinners far and wide.

At this time, also, there are manifest the most pleasing signs that God
is about to work among His people. A very notable gathering of converts
has taken place in the town of Newcastle and the two Brothers whom God
honored to be the means of it have now moved to the city of Edinburgh.
There the ministers of all denominations are united in helping them and
in earnestly imploring the Divine blessing of the gracious visitation
which has already come upon Edinburgh is such as was probably never
known before within the memory of man. The whole place seems to be
moved from end to end! When we hear of many thousands coming together
on weekdays, to quite ordinary meetings, and crying, "What must we do
to be saved?" there is, we are persuaded, the hand of God in the
matter!

Now, there is among earnest Christians a general feeling that what has
been done for Edinburgh is greatly needed for London and must be done
for London if prayer and earnest effort can obtain it. Our prayers must
go up incessantly that God will be pleased to send forth His saving
health among the people of this great city of four million souls and
turn many to righteousness, to the praise of the glory of His Divine
Grace. Our growing anxiety for Christ's Glory and our faith in the
energy of His Spirit will be two hopeful signs of a coming blessing. As
a Church we have always felt a delight in any work which has to be done
for God of this kind and we have enjoyed, for many years, a continuous
visitation of the Holy Spirit.

That which would be a revival anywhere else has been our ordinary
condition–for which we are thankful. By the space of these 20 years,
almost without rise or fall, God has continued to increase our numbers
with souls saved by the preaching of His Truth. Unto Him be all the
praise! But now we are anxious to take a part in a yet further
advance–we want a greater blessing! What we have had has not
decreased, but rather stimulated our appetite. Oh, for more
conversions! More hearts for Jesus! Would God that the dews of Heaven
would fall in sevenfold abundance upon us and our fellow
Christians–and the past be put to the blush by the future! That this
desire may be fanned to a flame in all our hearts is my earnest prayer.

I have taken this text as one which is full of encouragement, that we
may be all moved with hope and excited with expectation. I shall handle
it in this way. First, we have before us the great Covenant blessing of
the Church. Secondly, we

have the glorious result of that blessing described. And when we have
spoken thus, we shall spend the rest of our time in speaking of the
conduct which is consistent with the desire, that this blessing and its
results may come to us.

I. In our text we have THE GREAT COVENANT BLESSING OF THE CHURCH. It is
the gift of the Holy Spirit. Whatever metaphor is used, this is the
meaning of it. He is the refreshing, life-giving, fertilizing
water–the living water of which Jesus spoke. The first promise of the
text, "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the
dry ground," is explained by the second, "I will pour My Spirit upon
your seed, and My blessing upon your offspring." While speaking upon
this, it is well for us to remember, first, that this blessing has been
already given. We must never underrate the importance of the ascension
of our Lord and the gift of the Spirit which followed.

God forbid that we should think lightly of Pentecost–the Holy Spirit
then descended and we have no record that the Spirit has since ascended
and departed from the Church. He is the Church's perpetual heritage and
abides with us always. I like to sing–

"The Holy Spirit is here,

Where saints in prayer agree, As Jesus 'parting gift He's near Each
pleading company. Not far away is He,

To be by prayer brought near, But here in present majesty, As in His
courts on high."

He is permanently resident in the midst of the Church. But when are
have received that Truth of God, we may still go on to use the language
which is very frequent among us and pray for the outpouring of the
Spirit. If the language is not exactly accurate, the meaning is most
excellent. So far as any one assembly or person is concerned, we may
request the Holy Spirit to be poured forth upon us in His gracious
operations. We desire to see the Spirit of God working more mightily in
the Church–we long, each one of us, to be more completely subject to
His influences and more filled with His power–so that we may be full
of faith and of the Holy Spirit.

We want the Holy Spirit poured upon those who have Him not–upon the
dead in sin that they may be quickened, upon the desponding that they
may be consoled–upon the ignorant that they may be illuminated and
upon seekers that they may find Him who, alone, is our peace. We, being
evil, give good gifts unto our children, and therefore we are persuaded
that our heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
Him. We do but enlarge upon the prayer of the Apostolic benediction
when we cry for the blessing peculiar to the Holy Spirit. It is the
Spirit that quickens–neither the letter of the word nor the energy of
our manner can give life! Therefore we feel that when we have
prophesied to the dry bones we must also prophesy to the Wind, for
unless the Divine Breath shall come, the dry bones will never live.

Notice, Beloved, that this great Covenant blessing of the Spirit is, in
our text, the subject of a promise. "I will pour water upon him that is
thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon
your seed, and My blessing upon your offspring." We may always be
confident of receiving those blessings which are promised by the Lord.
The general promise, "No good thing will I withhold from them that walk
uprightly," is very comforting. Under its broad cover we are encouraged
to plead for many favors for which we have no special note of
promise–but when we can put our finger upon a plain and specific word,
by which a certain good thing is guaranteed to us, our faith rises to
full assurance, and we feel confident of receiving an answer to our
prayer!

"You have said, 'I will pour My Spirit upon your seed,' therefore, O
Lord, fulfill this word unto Your servant, in which You have caused him
to hope." You have God's word for it–place your finger upon it and on
your knees beseech the Lord to do as He has said. He cannot lie, He
will never revoke His Word. Has He said and shall He not do it?–

"As well might He His being quit As break His promise or forget." He
has spontaneously made the promise and He will Divinely make it good.
Upon every promise the blood of Jesus Christ has set its seal, making
it, "yes and amen" forever. Test Him here, then, and you shall find Him
faithfulness itself! A promise of God is the essence of the Truth of
God, the soul of certainty, the voice of faithfulness and the substance
of blessing. What a right royal promise it is! How lofty and full of
assurance is the language! "I will pour water upon him that is
thirsty." It is for God to say, "I will" and, "I will."

We may venture as far as declaring, "I will if I can." But there are no
limits to His power. Our wisdom is to say, "I hope I shall be able to
do as I desire." But there are no impossibilities with the Almighty.
His Spirit falls upon men as a dew from the Lord, waiting not for man,
neither tarrying for the sons of men. When the time has come for a
shower, God asks not the potentates of earth to give their consent, but
down come the blessed drops! When the season for spring has arrived,
the Lord does not ask man to help Him to remove the ice from the
streams, or the snow from the hills, or the dampness from the air. He
asks no human aid in quickening the seeds and awaking the plants, so
that the sleeping flowers may open their lovely eyes and smile on all
around. He does it all!

His mystic influences, as Omnipotent as they are secret, come forth,
and the work is done. And so, glory be to God, we have a promise, here,
which is the word of Omnipotence, and when we plead it we need not be
at all dismayed by the question, "Can such a thing be?" We know that
dry bones can live when the Spirit breathes upon them and we are
equally well persuaded that the life-giving Spirit can so breathe, for
we have a Divine promise that He shall be given to the people. We hear
the double "I will, I will," and we are certain that the Lord can and
will "pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry
ground."

It becomes us also, Brothers and Sisters, to notice that this gift,
which is the subject of a promise, is a most necessary blessing. I have
sometimes heard it sneeringly remarked that we know very well we need
the Holy Spirit, but there is no need to be everlastingly talking about
it. But, Brethren, we need to make frequent acknowledgment of this
Truth–it is due to the Holy Spirit, Himself, that we should do so. If
we do not honor the Holy Spirit, we cannot expect Him to work with us.
He will be grieved and leave us to find out our helplessness. Moreover,
I fear that, however generally the doctrine of the necessity of the
Spirit's work may be believed as a matter of theory, it is not acted
upon–and what is not believed in practice is, in fact, not believed at
all.

I am very suspicious of a man who tires of a Truth of God so vitally
important and dares to call it a platitude. We shall not hesitate to
repeat the doctrine again and again–and we feel persuaded that God's
people will not tire of it. Without the Spirit of God we can do
nothing! We are as ships without wind, or chariots without steeds,
without the Holy Spirit. We are like branches without sap, we are
withered without the Holy Spirit! We are like coals without fire. We
are as useless as an offering without the sacrificial flame, without
the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we are unaccepted. I desire
both to feel and to confess this fact whenever I attempt to preach. I
do not wish to get away from it, or to conceal it, nor can I, for I am
often made to feel it to the deep humbling of my spirit.

I pray that you who teach in the Sunday school, you who visit the poor,
you who work in any way for God may acknowledge your impotence for good
and look for power from on high. To our hands the Holy Spirit is the
force, to our eyes He is the light. We are but the stones and He the
sling, we are the arrows and He the bow. Confess your weakness and you
will be fit to be strengthened. Acknowledge your emptiness and it will
be a preparation for receiving Divine fullness. For, observe, the
promise of the living water is to "him that is thirsty," or, as it may
be better rendered, and the figure would be more clear, "I will pour
water upon it (the land) that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry
ground."

The blessing is to come where it is needed–upon the desert, the
parched places which are as the Valley of Death till the rain comes. If
you think yourself to be as the well-watered plain of Sodom, God will
pour no food upon you. It is upon the thirsty land, upon the heart
which laments its barrenness and confesses its own unworthiness, that
the Spirit of God shall come! I do pray that as a Church we may never
imbibe the idea that we have a lock on God's blessing, or a monopoly on
His benediction, so that He is sure to grant His approval to any one
particular ministry, or any form of Church government.

The Lord might leave us, and will, unless we lie low before Him and
acknowledge our nothingness. Remember His Word which He spoke to His
erring people when they boasted of their pedigree and called themselves
His temple–"Go you, now, unto My place which was in Shiloh, where I
set My name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness
of My people Israel." He may leave His garden to be overgrown with
briers, and His vineyard to be marred with stones. God is not tied to
any one place or people–He can remove the candlestick and set it up in
another chamber–let the seven churches of Asia Minor serve as a
warning to us in this thing. O blessed Spirit of the living God, we do
confess the barrenness of our soil and the drought of our land, and we
beseech You never to withdraw Your dew, or cause Your rain to depart
from us! What greater curse could You inflict than to let us alone? Oh,
come upon us, we beseech You, and let the Divine promise be fulfilled!

It should be very comfortable to us to reflect that, while we need the
Spirit of God, His working is most effectual to supply all our needs
when He does come upon us. In the east, you can generally tell where
there is a stream or a river by the line of emerald which marks it. If
you stood on a hill, you could see certain lines of green, made up of
grass, reeds, rushes and occasional trees which have sprung up along
the watercourses. Nothing is required to make the land fertile but to
water it. We are told by travelers that they have seen plains looking
completely barren, apparently covered with dry dust and powder–yet a
heavy shower has fallen, and in a space of time which seems incredible
in our colder climate–the most lovely flowers and the most refreshing
verdure have clothed the plains till the wilderness and the solitary
places have been glad–and the desert has rejoiced and blossomed as the
rose! Yes, it has blossomed exceedingly–and an excellency as of Carmel
and Sharon has been upon it.

Even thus, let the Spirit of God come upon any Church, and He is all
that it needs to make it living and fruitful! Church machinery, apart
from the Spirit of God, lacks the motive power. The motive power
coming, your machinery will do its work. Of course, if it is imperfect
machinery, the Holy Spirit will not make it do all the work which
better organizations have done. Still, even the most imperfect shall
accomplish so much as to astonish all who behold it! What a blessing it
is when the Church does really receive the Spirit of God abundantly!
Her minister may be slow in utterance– like Moses, the leader of the
people may be a man of stammering speech–or, like Paul, his personal
appearance may be mean and his speech contemptible. But this matters
not when the Spirit of God is upon the man and in the people! The
Church may be very small, the members may be very poor, and many of
them illiterate, too, but as the barley cake of the soldier's dream
smote the royal pavilion of Midian, so that it lay along, so the Lord,
by the hands of the most feeble, shall do His greatest deeds and get to
Himself renown! Where the Spirit of God is, there is the majesty of
Omnipotence!

I, here, call your attention to the fact that the promise in our text
is liberal and unstinted. "I will pour water upon the thirsty land, and
floods upon the dry ground." The Lord does not need to stint His gifts.
When He gives a blessing He gives it like a king. His treasury will not
be exhausted by giving, or replenished by withholding. I have seen in
Italy the fields watered by the processes of irrigation–there are
trenches made to run along the garden and smaller gutters to carry the
lesser streams to each bed–so that each plant gets its share of water.
But the gardener has to be very careful, for he has but little water in
his tank, and only an allotted share of the public reservoir.

No plant must have too much. No plot of ground may be drenched. How
different is this from the methods of the Lord! He pours the water. He
deluges the land! "The parched ground shall become a pool, and the
thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of dragons, where each
lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes." Oh that He would pull up
the sluices, now, and let a torrent of Divine Grace rush through this
Tabernacle! Oh that at this moment He would open the windows of Heaven
and send us a flood of Grace, like the deluge of vengeance in Noah's
day, till the tops of our loftiest expectations should be covered! He
is able to do exceeding abundantly above what we ask, or even think. He
gives liberally, and upbraids not!

Our abounding sin and death need abounding life and power! In such a
city as this the largest blessing will be none too great. Let us open
our mouths wide, that He may fill them. The Lord is illimitable in His
wealth of Grace and boundless in His goodness and power. Let us take
the promise as it stands, and plead it at the Throne of God, "Have You
not said, 'I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon
the dry ground'? Lord, do it, to the praise of the glory of Your
Grace." One other remark and I leave this point. This Covenant blessing
is, in our text, peculiarly promised to a certain class of persons who
are especially dear to us. "I will pour My Spirit upon your seed, and
My blessing upon your offspring."

Parents, lay hold greedily upon these points of the promise! I am
afraid we do not think enough of the promise which the Lord has made to
our children. Grace does not run in the blood–we have never fallen
into the gross error of birthright membership, or the supposition that
the child of godly parents has a right to Christian ordinances! We know
that religion is a personal matter and is not of blood nor of birth. We
know, also, that all children are heirs of wrath till the Grace of God
regenerates them. But still, there is some meaning in that gracious
saying, "The promise is unto you and your children, even to as many as
the Lord your God shall call."

Paul was assuredly not wrong, but sweetly right, when he said to the
jailer, in answer to his question, "What must I do to be saved?"
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and your
house." Lay hold of those words, Christian parents, and do not be
content to get half the promise. Pray to God to fulfill it all. Go to
Him this very day,

you mothers and fathers, and implore Him to have pity upon your
offspring. Cry unto Him, and say, "You have said, 'I will pour My
Spirit on your seed, and My blessing upon your offspring.' Do it, Lord,
for Jesus Christ's sake."

II. We are now to consider THE GLORIOUS RESULT OF THIS COVENANT
BLESSING. The certain result of the outpouring of the Spirit is the
springing up of spiritual life. Wherever the water comes in Palestine,
as I said before, the grass will be sure to follow and vegetation
becomes at once lively. Wherever the Spirit of God comes, there will be
life in the Church and life in the ministry, life in prayer, life in
effort, life in holiness, life in brotherly love. The next effect will
be seen in the calling out of numerous converts by the Holy Spirit.
"They shall spring up as among the grass, and as willows by the
watercourses."

Who can count the blades of grass? They are a fine symbol of the
greatness of number and might as justly be used for that purpose as the
sands of the seashore. Where the Spirit of the Lord comes, converts are
not few as the cedars of Lebanon, but they flourish like the grass of
the earth! They fly as a cloud and as doves to their dovecots. Can we
be satisfied with having in a year a dozen or so added to the Church?
Yet do I meet with some of my Brothers–and far be it from me to judge
them–who say they have had a happy year and are very comfortable
though they have had only three or four persons added to the Church.
Surely, however small the congregation, that must be a very
unsatisfactory reward for a year's ministry!

My Brothers and Sisters, where, in this day, do we see results
attending the Gospel which should satisfy us? Hundreds may be added to
the Church in a year, as has been our common blessing, but what are
hundreds? If 400 were brought into our fellowship last year, what is
that out of four million? What are these saved ones among so many? The
headway made by the Church is next to nothing! It hardly keeps pace
with the growth of the population. We need more of the Spirit of
God–and if we had it–I have no doubt, whatever, the converts would at
once be counted by thousands and tens of thousands! And there is no
reason whatever why the Church of God, which is now in a pitiful
minority, should not become in many a district a triumphant
majority–and the influences of the Divine Grace of God be felt far and
near!

Observe that the text tells us that the converts called out by the
Spirit of God are vigorous and lively. "They shall spring as the
grass." Now the grass in the east springs up without any sowing,
cultivating, or any other attention. It comes up of itself from the
fruitful soil. There is the water–and there is the grass! So where the
Spirit of God is with a Church there are sure to be conversions, it
cannot be otherwise. True, we are bound to use all agencies that are
fit and right for the promotion of the good end. But where the Spirit
of God is we shall often be astonished to find the life has extended
far beyond the usual result of agencies! The willows, also, are
mentioned, to indicate great vitality. How rapidly the willow grows!

There is a proverb in Cambridgeshire that a willow will buy a horse,
where an oak won't buy a saddle, because the willow grows so quickly
and yields such frequent boughs to the cutter. You may cut it this
year, and in a short time you may remove its pliant boughs again, for
they will come anew. So truly saved ones will bear discouragement and
trial but still spring up. If you cut every bough from the willow tree
it will be green again next spring–and if you even cut it down to the
root it does not matter–at the scent of water it will bud! Do you not
remember when you were children taking little twigs of willow to make
hoops around your little garden? You thought them dead and used them as
a little fence. But in a short time, to your astonishment, they were
all sprouting out with green! The willow is full of life.

Now, where the Spirit of God is, the newly converted are full of life.
You may check them, but they will not be repressed. You orthodox
people, who happen to have surly tempers, may go round with your
pocketknives and snip at their boughs cruelly, and say, "We do not need
these young people. We do not need revivals," but they will grow in
spite of you! Blessed be God, you elder Brothers and Sisters cannot
turn the penitent prodigals out of doors! Should you even be so unkind
to the newly grown willows as to cut them right down, they will spring
up again, for if they are plants of the Lord's own right hand planting,
and of the Spirit's watering, they will outlive the worst of usage!
They will grow as the grass and as willows by the watercourses.

We may expect, then, if the Spirit of God shall work among us, that
there will be an abundance of converts, and those of the most vigorous
kind. These conversions will come from all quarters. The text says, one
shall say, and another shall call, and another shall subscribe. Here is
one who is the son of a deacon–we expected him to give his heart to
Jesus. Here is another–he is not the child of a religious professor,
but comes from an ungodly family. Ah, here is another, he

had grown up and come to ripe years, having followed after folly and
confirmed himself in sin–yet he comes forward, for the Grace of God
has called him! One comes from the wealthy, another comes from the
poor, a third comes from nobody knows where–but they will and must
come–for God knows His own and will call them!

They shall come from all trades and occupations, from all churches and
denominations! From these little boys below me, I hope, and from you
gray-headed people over yonder–one here, another there! We shall be
wonderstruck as we hear from all corners, and parts, and places, "I am
the Lord's." And again, "I am called by the name of Jacob." And again,
"I am surnamed this day by the name of Israel." The vessel of Divine
Grace does not run in a groove, but breaks out where it seems least
likely to do so! At one time it creates a revival at Samaria. At
another time it saves a widow at Joppa, or the eunuch on the road to
Gaza. Lord, call whomever You will, but do call many, for Jesus' sake!

One memorable thing about the conversions worked by the Holy Spirit is
this–that these converted people shall be led to acknowledge their
faith. They shall not, like Nicodemus, come to Jesus by night. They
shall not hope to go to Heaven creeping all the way behind the hedge,
but they shall avow their allegiance. "One shall say, I am the Lord's;
and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another shall
subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name
of Israel." The God of Israel shall be their God and the people of
Israel shall be their people. I love to see both these things in young
converts. Some appear to dedicate themselves to God, but they feel
themselves such superior beings that they do not join with any Church.
Rather they hold themselves in the isolation which practically means,
"Stand by, I am holier than you."

They do not think any Church good enough for them, but my private
opinion is that they are not good enough for any Church! On the other
hand, some will join a Church, but do not seem to have had enough
respect to the inward, vital part of religion in giving themselves up
to the Lord and, therefore, no Church will find them to be any great
gain. There must be the two together–a surrender to God and then a
union with the people of God. Consider the first of these points–One
shall say, "I am the Lord's." He shall confess that from head to foot,
body, soul and spirit–he is not his own, but Christ's. He will feel,
"I have been washed in His blood. I have been pardoned all my sins and
been renewed in heart. And now I am the Lord's, and I desire to live to
His praise. Tell me what I can do, and how I can serve the Lord, for I
am His and mean to be His forever." This is delightful. Oh, to hear
hundreds of you saying this! I would give my life to see it!

Another convert is said to subscribe with his hand to the God of Jacob.
He gives himself over to God and he does it deliberately–as
deliberately as a person who signs a deed by which he makes over an
estate. He writes his name and places his finger on the seal, and
calmly says, "This is my act and deed." We do not recommend persons to
write out covenants with God and sign them–they are apt to gender unto
bondage–but we do recommend them to make such a covenant in their
hearts before the Most High, saying–

"'Tis done, the great transaction's done!

I am my Lord's and He is mine!

He drew me, and I followed on,

Charmed to obey the voice Divine." The text may have another rendering,
for, if you notice, the word "with" in the text is in italics, to show
that it was inserted by the translators. It might run thus–"Another
shall subscribe his hand unto the Lord." This alludes to the custom
which still exists, but which was more common in those days, of a
servant being marked or tattooed on the hand with his master's name.

So was it with soldiers–frequently, when they were enthusiastic for a
leader, they would print his name on some part of their body, but very
often upon the palms of their hands. There are constant allusions to
this in the classics. We know that devout worshippers dedicated
themselves to the god they worshipped and were stamped with a secret
mark. Paul alludes to this when he says, "Henceforth let no man trouble
me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus," as much as to
say, "I am Christ's–I have had His name branded upon me." When he
suffered from being scourged and beaten with rods, he called it bearing
the marks of the Lord Jesus, and did as good as say, "Flog away, you
will only engrave His name into my flesh, for I am Christ's."

Now it would be a very superstitious and foolish thing for any man to
be tattooed with the name of the Lord, or with a cross, for all that
such an act meant in those who did it of old, we ought to mean, namely,
that we are forever and beyond recall, the property of Jesus. Our ear
is bored. We are servants, as long as we live. to our dear Master. They
may

sooner kill us than lead us away from Him whose we are, and whom we
serve. Who shall separate us from the love of

God?–

"High Heaven that heard the solemn vow, That vow renewed shall daily
hear, Till in life's latest hour I bow, And bless in death a bond so
dear." There was dedication to God of the fullest kind, but side by
side with it went unity with the Church, for the declaration, "I am the
Lord's," was parallel with, "calling himself by the name of Jacob." Now
the name of Jacob was the first, the lower, the common name of God's
people–they were the seed of Jacob. "Ah," says the man who is
converted, "I do not care what they call Christian people, they may
call me by the same title if they will, and I will not complain. They
may call us Puritans, Methodists, Ranters, Quakers–or whatever they
like–I am one of them."

I have read of a certain nobleman who was also a saint, that when he
heard religious persons scoffed at as Puritans, he was accustomed at
once to declare, "I am a Puritan, too. I glory in being one of them!"
They felt that it was of little use to mock at him–he was too stout a
soldier and too bold a speaker. It is a grand thing when a man can say
in company, "It does not matter what you think of religion, I belong to
such-and-such Christian people, and I am not ashamed of it. I know
their name is a mockery and their minister is despised, but it does not
matter, I am one of them." It is mentioned, also, that one surnamed
himself by the name of Israel. That was the grand name of the Church in
those days–Israel, the prevailing prince.

We ought to feel that to be a Christian is to possess a patent of
nobility second to none. Duke, earl, knight, esquire–we covet none of
these–call us by the name of Christ and we have honor enough! The name
of Caesar is a poor thing compared with the name of Christ! Better be
known as a disciple of Jesus than as an emperor of emperors! Oh, may
the Spirit of God be poured out upon this place, that many of you may
be savingly converted, and then say, "I will give myself to the Lord,
and will also cast in my lot with His people. Where they dwell I will
dwell. Where they die there would I die. Their people shall be my
people, since their God has become my God." Pray, dear Brothers and
Sisters, that the promise before us may be fulfilled in this Church,
and in all the Churches of our Lord Jesus Christ.

III. Now, lastly, I have to speak upon THE CONDUCT SUITABLE IF WE
OBTAIN THIS BLESSING. First, O my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, if we
would obtain these floods of blessing we must confess how dry, how
thirsty, how wilderness-like we are! Humble yourselves, therefore,
under the hand of God, and He will exalt you in due time. "He has
filled the hungry with good things, but the rich He has sent empty
away." Oh, for the spirit of humiliation throughout

the Church!

Next to that let us cultivate prayer. "For this will I be enquired of
by the house of Israel to do it for them." If you have a man's check
for a thousand pounds, it would be very wicked of you to say, "I cannot
get my money, this paper is not paid," if you have never taken it to
the bank. And so, if you have God's promise and have never pleaded it,
it is your own fault if you have not obtained the blessing. The very
least thing God can ask of us is that we shall ask of Him. "Ask and it
shall be given you: seek and you shall find: knock and it shall be
opened unto you." Plead more earnestly in private. Make your Prayer
Meetings more energetic, attend them more often, throw your hearts more
fully into them and God's Spirit will be surely given.

Next to that, if we want the blessing we must put forth our own
personal effort. It would be a most absurd thing for a man to pray for
a harvest, and neither plow nor sow! I cannot conceive anything more
insulting to the majesty of God than for us to pray and meanwhile, fold
our arms! It is not thus that we prove our sincerity. I desire to
preach to you as if the conversion of these sinners around us depended
wholly upon me, but then I delight to fall back upon the Truth of God
that it wholly depends upon the Lord God! Sunday school teachers, use
the means for the conversion of your children! Try and speak personally
to every one of them. If you can find opportunity, pray alone with
them, one by one. You will win young hearts for Jesus in that way.

Try, dear Friends, to get hold of individuals. You who come here
continually, look out for individuals in the congregation and endeavor
to tell them what you have experienced of the love of Christ. If you
cannot speak to them, write letters to them! An earnest letter is as
good as a sermon. Do anything, do everything, to bring souls to Jesus!
While we are working we shall find God working with us, for He is never
slower than His people. If we are building, He will be the Master
Builder, and will build through us. For a man to pray that he may have
a safe journey and then to go to

bed–and not start from home would be wickedness! And to pray to God to
convert sinners and then not to preach or teach them the Gospel would
be a piece of impudent mockery of God. Beloved, see to this. I cannot
pause to stir you up about it, for our time is going, but I pray the
Holy Spirit to stir you, that everyone here may become a soul-winner.

Once more, I have a word to say to those who are not the people of God.
O beloved ones who are not saved, all our concern is about your
salvation! We are always preaching and praying about you! How can you
obtain saving faith? I would urge you to labor after a clear idea of
your real position. O unconverted people, try to know where you are,
and what you are. It might, perhaps, awaken you from your present
indifference. If you would really and distinctly understand that you
are out of Christ, condemned already–an enemy to God by wicked works,
with the wrath of God abiding on you and in danger of eternal Hell–it
might startle you and lead you to desire salvation.

I would think hopefully of you if I knew that you were taking stock and
estimating your condition before God. I ask you, when you get home, to
sit down and write, every one of you, on a piece of paper, "Saved," if
you are saved, and "Condemned," if you are not a Believer. For that is
your condition! I want you to realize whose you are and where you are
going. When you have done so, I pray that a sense of your condition and
prospects may be deepened upon your mind! Sinners, do you think enough?
Do you consider enough? You are busy about a thousand things, but do
you really think about your souls, death, judgment and eternal Hell? Do
you think enough about the Savior's love? Do you ponder your sin and
the blessed fact that it may be pardoned?

Oh, that you would reflect, consider and turn your whole mind to God!
But I am beating around the bush! I have a much more important precept
to which to exhort you. Remember, the Gospel command is, "Believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved." Every minute that you
remain an unbeliever you are adding to your sin! You are increasing
your iniquity and confirming yourself in condemnation. Oh, that you
would believe the Divine Testimony concerning Jesus, for that is the
object of faith! What you are asked to believe is true. He whom you are
commanded to trust in is able to save you–and the promise that you
shall be saved if you trust is a sure and certain one!

Do not, therefore, fling away your souls and despise the mercy of God!
May it please the Eternal Spirit to lead you, at this very moment, to
put your trust in Jesus Christ and to be saved! Then you will be one of
those who spring as the grass, and as the willows by the watercourses.
May God bless you, every one of you, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Isaiah 44. HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN
HYMN BOOK"–98, 95 (SONG II), 67.
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