Comfort for the Fearful

Comfort for the Fearful

(No. 2852)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1903.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, OCTOBER
18, 1877.

"He said unto them, Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"
Matthew 8:26.

THE winds were howling, the waters were roaring and the disciples
thought that the little ship must surely be engulfed in the raging sea,
so they awakened their Master from His sorely-needed sleep and cried to
Him, "Lord, save us! We are perishing." Note well the first words that
He speaks to His frightened followers. Generally, when a man is in
trouble, it is best, first, to help him out of it if we can, and then
to give him any rebuke that he may deserve. Yet we may be quite sure
that our Lord Jesus Christ followed the wisest order in every case.
Being awakened because there was danger, He dealt first with the chief
cause of danger–what was that? Not the winds or the waves, but the
disciples' unbelief! There is always more peril, to a Christian, in his
own unbelief than in the most adverse circumstances by which he may be
surrounded. Our Lord did not first rebuke the winds and waves–and then
speak to the disciples–He first dealt with the chief peril by rebuking
their unbelief.

I think I may venture to say–though to Omnipotence all things are
possible–that it was an easier task for Christ to calm the winds and
the waves than to still the tumult raised by doubt in His disciples'
minds. He could more swiftly cause a calm to fall upon the stormy
surface of the Galilean lake than upon the perturbed spirits of His
terrified Apostles. The mental always excels the physical–the ruling
of hearts is a greater thing than the governing of winds and waves. So,
Beloved, when we have to battle with trouble, let us always begin with
ourselves–our own fears, mistrusts, suspicions, selfishness and
self-will–for the chief danger lies there. All the trouble in the
world cannot harm you as much as half a grain of unbelief! Poverty
cannot make you as poor as mistrust can and sickness cannot make you as
sick as unbelief can. The greatest evil to be dreaded is that of
doubting your Lord. May God grant you Grace to take this estimate of
unbelief and, because Christ first rebuked that–and thenthe winds and
the waves–so do you first seek to have yourself under proper control,
so that, afterwards, you may be able to overcome your difficulties,
whatever they may be! He who is, by the Grace of God, enabled to master
his own soul, need not doubt that he shall also be master of everything
that opposes him!

I am going to try, as the Spirit of God shall help me, to minister
consolation to any who are suffering through fear. And I shall speak,
first, to those who are Christ's disciples and who know that they are
His. And then, secondly, I shall speak to those who would not like to
say that they are not His disciples, but who yet dare not say that they
are–the many who would gladly be His, but who hardly dare to hope that
He is willing to have them as His disciples. To them I shall say, as
Christ said to His Apostles, "Why are you fearful, O you of little
faith?"

I. So, first, I shall apply the question in my text to THOSE WHO ARE
REALLY THE LORD'S PEOPLE, those who are in the boat with Christ, His
disciples who follow Him, and stay near to Him–"Why are you fearful, O
you of little faith?"

First, why is it that you doubt His love?He brought you on to this
stormy sea–He bade you take ship and He knew all about this storm
coming on. Do you think, because of your present experience, that He
does not love you? You dare not utter such a calumny! Look back at your
past life and see how patiently He has borne with you. Your slowness in
learning has not made your Divine Teacher angry, but He has still gone
on teaching you. Do you remember when He first

called you, by His Grace, and what you were when He called you? Do you
recollect what you have been since He called you? Yet He has still
continued to love you and has not cast you away. Look back, I pray you,
upon the many times in which He has appeared for you, bringing you
through very severe trials and sustaining you under very heavy burdens.
After all this, do you mistrust Him? Can you do so? Will you imitate
the language of the unbelieving Israelites and say, "Is it because
there were no graves on shore that the Lord has brought us out upon
this stormy sea?" Do you suspect that He has brought you thus far
encouraging you with many hopes, allaying your fears and supplying your
necessities, that He might overwhelm you with disappointment?

Has He been trifling with you in all this, exciting desires and
expectations in you which, after all, are not to be fulfilled, but you
are to be left to perish? Oh, no! Each Believer can confidently sing–

"Can He have taught me to trust in His name, And thus far have brought
me to put me to shame?" It is impossible that He can have done this! It
is altogether unlike He and inconsistent with all His past treatment of
us, and with His well-known Character. Come, child of God, you know
that He loves you! The proofs and pledges of that love rise up before
your memory, so you cannot think that He will suffer you to be cast
away! Will He allow your present troubles to destroy you when so many
others have not been able to hurt even a hair of your head? Trust in
His love and dismiss your fears!

Let me turn to another side of this Truth. Do you doubt your Lord's
power?These disciples ought not to have done so, for they had lately
been eyewitnesses of many remarkable displays of His power. Had they
not seen Him cast out devils? Had they not been with Him when a touch
of His had healed the leper, when, another time, the laying of His hand
upon the fevered brow had raised the sick one from her bed? Had they
not come fresh from a mass of miracles where, in the crowded street, He
had dealt out healing to all manner of sufferers? How could they doubt
His power when, before their own eyes, they had seen it so wonderfully
displayed? Is He Master of devils and not of winds? Can He cast out
diseases and not lull to sleep the roaring billows? It was both absurd
and wicked for them to think of setting a limit to His unbounded power!

And now, you, dear child of God, after the experience you have had of
His goodness, and after what you know the Lord did for you by His
redeeming love in ages past–dare you say that He has not power to
deliver you now? Is anything too hard for the Lord? You say that you
are poor, but can He not supply your need? Are not the cattle upon a
thousand hills His own? Does He not claim the silver and gold as His
treasure? He can feed the universe! He has done it these many centuries
and He is still doing it. The commissariat of the whole universe has
depended upon His perpetual benevolence and care–and yet, from day to
day, the hosts of birds, beasts, fishes and insects are still fed! And
will not He, who supplies the needs of all living creatures by simply
opening His hand, find food enough for His own child? Will you doubt
His power? Is your case a very peculiar and difficult one? Do you draw
a line and say, "This, God can do, but that, He cannot do"? Is that
right? Is it reasonable? Admit that He is Omnipotent–and He is
Omnipotent whether you admit it or not–and you have done away with
difficulties. O you with little faith in God's power, why do you doubt?
He can–He will help you if you will but trust Him to do so!

Perhaps, however, your doubt may touch another point. Have you any
suspicion of God's wisdom?Possibly these disciples may have thought,
"It was very unwise of our Master, just at eventide, to bid us cross
this lake, which, lying low in a hollow surrounded by hills, is subject
to very sudden and fierce gusts of wind that can catch a ship and twist
her round so that no steersman can tell how to cope with the various
currents and winds which are so extraordinary in their course. It was
unwise of Him to bring us here." Yet, if they did talk like that, they
ought to have known better, for they had sat at His feet and listened
to the wondrous wisdom which poured from His lips. They knew that He
was supremely wise–how, then, could they doubt?

And do you, O child of God, think that the Lord is dealing unwisely
with you? Dare you charge the All-Wise Jehovah with folly? Whatever
Infinite Wisdom does, must be right. You err continually–what are you
but a mass of mistakes? What is your life but a constant repetition of
floundering and blundering? But He who has shown His marvelous skill in
creation and His wondrous wisdom in Redemption, and also in
Providence–do you think that He miscalculates, or misses the mark He
aims at, or that He can in any way err? Oh, cast away this dishonoring
reflection upon the Lord, as you hear Him say to you, "Why are you
fearful, O you of little faith?"

There are some other things which might very well have smitten the
consciences of these fearful followers of Christ. Among them were these
considerations which I suggest to you as worthy themes for your
meditation. It is true that it was a terrible storm, but, they were in
the same boat with their Lord. Whenever a foaming billow smote the ship
and agitated the hearts of the disciples, it moved their Master, also.
He had to bear all the tossing of the waves, the wild leaping of the
vessel from the billow's base to the billow's crown. He must have felt
it just as much as they did. If the little vessel went down with them,
it must go down with Him, also, for they were in the same boat. How
this thought ought to have lulled their fears to rest! And, Beloved
Christian, do you not know that he that believes in Jesus is sailing in
the same ship with Him? Remember how Paul writes, "For you are dead and
your life is hid with Christ in God." "Because I live," said Jesus,
Himself, to His disciples, "you shall also live."

It was a bold saying of one that he had trusted Christ to save him, so
he knew that he could not be lost. "But," asked someone, "suppose,
after all, that you are lost?" "Well, then," he replied, "Christ would
lose more than I would, for while I would lose my soul, He would lose
His honor. If He did not save one who trusted Him, He would lose His
Character as Savior! He would lose the most precious jewel in His crown
and that can never be." No, he that believes in Him shall never be
ashamed nor confounded, world without end! He can never be either
unable to save, or unfaithful to His promise to save all who trust Him.
Well does Dr. Watts write–

"His honor is engaged to save

The meanest of His sheep–

All that His Heavenly Father gave

His hands securely keep."

Another reflection is that although they were in a great storm, the
power that made the storm was the very power to which they had to
trust. There was not a single blast of the tempest but Jehovah's might
had sent it, nor did a single wave leap up, in apparent wrath, but with
God's permission or at His command! It was His power, outside the
vessel, that was putting them into peril and they ought to have known
that the same power would be exerted to deliver them. It is the same in
your case–you are in great trouble, but does trouble spring out of the
ground? Does it come by chance? No, God's hand is in it all! I know men
talk of the laws of nature, but the laws of nature have no force in
themselves–the whole force that carries out a law of nature is a
Divine force. So, your difficulties are of God's sending, trials of
God's making and they are all still in the hands of the All-Powerful
One to restrain, or mitigate, or increase, or direct according to His
own will.

You have often heard, I daresay, that pretty little story which I
cannot help telling again because it drops in so appropriately here, of
the woman, on board ship, who was much disturbed in a storm, while her
husband, the captain, was calm and restful. She asked him why he was so
placid when she was so distressed. He did not answer in words, but he
took down his sword and held it to her breast. She smiled. He said,
"Why are you not afraid? This is a sharp sword, with which I could slay
you in a minute." "Ah," she replied, "but I am not afraid of a sword
when it is my husband who wields it." "So," said he, "neither am I
afraid of a storm when it is my Father who sends it and who manages
it." Now, since all the trials and troubles of this mortal life are as
much in the hand of the great God as that sword was in the hand of the
good woman's husband, we need not be afraid of them, for they are all
in His power! When He rides aloft in His chariot, and the skies tremble
at the sound, why should you tremble, even you timid ones?–

"The God that rules on high,

And thunders when He pleases.

That rides upon the stormy sky

And manages the seas.

This awful God is ours–

Our Father and our love."

It is only the flash of His spear when you see the vivid lightning and
only the roll of His majestic voice when you hear the thunders peal!
Therefore, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"

There was another thing that ought to have kept those disciples from
being afraid, and it was this. Suppose they had sunk? Still, having put
to sea at His command and with Him on board–all would have been well
with them. I have heard of a sailor who was very calm in a storm and
someone asked him, "Why are you not afraid? Can you swim?" "No," he
said, "I cannot swim, but if I were to sink to the bottom of the sea, I
should only sink into my Heavenly Father's

hands, for He holds the waters in the hollow of His hand." That is a
sweet thought and if the worst comes to the worst with you, my
Brother–if what we call, "the worst," should come to you, my
Sisters–well, you would only die. You would go as low as the grave,
but, blessed be God, you would never go any lower and, in due time,
even your body will come up again from that grave and, reunited with
your soul, be "forever with the Lord!" "Therefore, comfort one another
with these words." But suppose you should die? Your soul will then leap
away from death into eternal life in a moment! Death would end all your
troubles, rid you forever of all your burdens and you would be at Home,
to go no more out forever, so you may well say, with good old John
Ryland–

"Come, welcome, Death! I'll gladly go with you!"

There was one other reason why these disciples ought not to have been
at all alarmed and that was because their Master was asleep. "Oh," you
say, "I do not see what comfort that was to them." Well, let me tell
you what happened to me, one night, when I was on board ship. In my
sleep, I started because I thought I heard something slip. Something
had slipped–it was the anchor that had been cast overboard. I called
out to one who slept near me, "What is the matter?" He said, "There is
something the matter, I feel sure." "Why?" I asked, and he replied,
"Because the captain is up." It was in the middle of the night, but the
captain was up, so I was also up very soon and saw that the captain was
up and that the sailors were quietly getting out a boat. If my friend
had told me that the captain was asleep, I might have slept on, for I
would have said, "It is all right if he is asleep. I need not trouble
myself to know what is the matter." But when I heard that he was up, I
thought it was time for me to be up, too! If you were on board ship and
saw the captain busy heaving the lead, and doing it very deliberately
and quietly, you would say to yourself, "I do not know what is wrong,
but I feel sure that there is something the matter, the captain seems
so anxious."

But if, at any time, you were at sea and you said to another passenger,
"Where is the captain?" and the reply was, "Oh, he is in his berth,
sound asleep!" You would say, "Oh, then, it is all right!" Why did the
Lord Jesus Christ go to sleep in a storm? Why, because He knew that all
was right! Why should He not go to sleep? The great loving heart of
Christ would not have rested if His children had been in any danger. It
was because there was no danger, either to Him or to them, that He went
to sleep! Perhaps you are saying to yourself, "I have not had any
wonderful deliverance from this trouble. I have had, in times gone by,
but now the Lord does not seem to work any great marvel for me." No,
because there is not any need for it. An old version of the eighteenth
Psalm says–

"On cherub and on cherubim Full royally He rode, And on the wings of
mighty winds Came flying all abroad. And so delivered He my soul– Who
is a rock but He? He lives, blessed be my Rock! My God exalted be!"

When the Lord thus descended from above, you may depend that there was
some great danger threatening one of His children–otherwise, He would
not have come at such speed as that.

And you may rest assured that if He does not come thus to help you, it
is because there is really not any urgent need for His interposition,
as you are not in any great danger. Possibly the Lord sees that it will
be best for you to bear your troubles a little longer, for you are
getting good out of them. He means to leave you in the furnace for a
little while because He can see that your dross is being taken
away–but if the good metal in you were being injured in the slightest
degree, He would lift you out of the furnace immediately! There is no
serious harm happening to you and, therefore, the Lord does not
intervene. I hope that you can now see that the sleep of Jesus ought to
have given rest to the minds of His disciples. But it did not and He
had to say to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"

Thus I have spoken to the Lord's own people. May the Holy Spirit
graciously bless the word to them! II. Now I want your attention, for a
short time, while I speak to THOSE WHO CANNOT SAY THAT THEY ARE
CHRIST'S DISCIPLES.

There is a story told of Dr. John Owen who was then Mr. John Owen, that
he had been for two or three years in great distress of mind. He went
to London, hoping to hear a very famous Divine, but, on arriving at the
Meeting House, he

found that the doctor was not preaching. A man, whose name Mr. Owen
never knew, preached from the text from which I am now preaching–"Why
are you fearful, O you of little faith?" He was a man of no great
ability, but it pleased God that night, to break John Owen's fetters by
means of the remarks that were made by the stranger-preacher, which
were exactly suited to the condition of John Owen's mind at that time.
And so, that mighty master of theology, perhaps the grandest of all
English Divines with whom God has ever favored, was brought into Light
and liberty through the instrumentality of that stranger-preacher. I
wish that the few minutes I can now spend in addressing you, could be
as fruitful as his message was on the occasion. If only one of you is
brought into the Light of God, I will bless the name of the Lord–but I
long for very many to be thus blessed!

You are seeking Christ, dear Friend, and longing to be saved, but, for
lack of faith, you are still in trouble of soul. What is your real
condition? Perhaps you say, "I labor under a deep sense of sin, I have
been exceedingly guilty. "Possibly, some one sin specially troubles
you, or, more probably, a number. It may be that you know that you have
sinned against Light and knowledge, and you are aware of the peculiar
provocation of having sinned, as you have done, after enjoying
Christian teaching from your youth up. You feel that there is some
special aggravation about your transgression and you say to yourself,
"I can scarcely believe that there is pardon for me."

My dear Friend, I put it to you, "Why are you fearful, O you of little
faith?" Did not Jesus Christ come into the world to save sinners? Is
there any sin which He is not able to forgive? It is true that there is
a sin which is unto death, but you have not committed that sin, or else
you would be in a state of death–and would have no desire to be saved.
But if you have any spiritual life, so that you long to be saved, you
have not committed that unpardonable sin–and all other sin and
blasphemy can be forgiven unto men if they repent of it and trust the
Lord Jesus Christ. I am afraid that you do not think enough of the
greatness of the Savior, that He is God as well as Man. Consider the
dignity of His Person as God over all, blessed forever, yet,
nevertheless, stooping to bear human sin! Think of your sin as much as
you will, but think much more of the Sin-Bearer and His vicarious
sufferings. Weep at the remembrance of your guilt, but weep on Calvary,
weep with the wounds of Christ before you!

And oh, I pray you, do not do my Lord the great dishonor to say that He
cannot forgive you! It is you who will not believe in Him! It is
certainly not with Him that the difficulty lies. He is able to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives
to make intercession for them. It is not possible that you are beyond
His ability to save! There have been other persons saved, and many of
them, who have sinned just as much as you have done–but even if there
had not been any such, yet recollect that if you are a sinner beyond
all others, your case presents an opportunity for Christ to exceed
everything that He has ever done–and He would delight in that. He
delights in mercy, so, if you are really what you suppose yourself to
be, namely, something altogether extraordinary in the way of guilt,
then there remains room for Christ to show in you the extraordinary
power of His Grace! I pray you to believe that He can do this. Trust
Him to do it and you shall find that He both can and will.

Possibly someone says, "My difficulty is not so much concerning the
power of God to pardon, as concerning the strong propensities to sin
which I find dwelling in me. How can they be conquered? I have
resolved, a great many times, to overcome them, but I find my sin to be
like Samson–it is not to be bound with new cords and green leather
straps, for it breaks loose from all its bonds! I cannot think that I
can be saved with such an impetuous temper, or such a proud spirit," or
whatever form your sin happens to take. Now beloved Friend, it is well
that you should see this difficulty, but is not He who is mighty to
save, quite able to grapple with it? Have you forgotten that text,
"Behold, I make all things new"? Do you not know that the Spirit of God
has been given that He may take away the heart of stone out of your
flesh and give you a heart of flesh? Have you never read the Covenant
of Grace which says, "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and
you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols,
will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you." Is anything too hard for the Lord in this
matter? I tell you, if you are near akin to a devil, He can make you
into something more than an angel! And if your lusts and corruptions
seem to have a strength that seems to you to be well-nigh omnipotent,
yet is the power of the Holy Spirit able to cast out all this evil and
to overcome the devil within you! A strong man armed may keep the
house, but when a stronger than he shall come, then shall he be driven
forth and be made to know who is his Master. Believe that Christ is
stronger than your sin and come and trust yourself to Him, O you of
little faith!

"But," says another, "my trouble is that I cannot find anything in me
that Christ can work upon. I perceive in my sister, who is saved, some
traits of character that I think admirable. I perceive some redeeming
feature in all converted people, but I do not perceive anything of the
kind in myself. I seem to be weak where I ought to be strong, and
strong where I ought to be weak! I am all that I ought notto be, and
nothing that I should be." Ah, my Friend! I want you to believe–to do
my Lord Jesus the honor to believe–what He has a right to claim from
you, namely, that He can deal readily enough with your case, for yours
is just the typical case that He came to save! You remember God's
ancient law concerning the leper who was to show himself to the priest?
It was the priest's duty to examine him, from head to foot, with
careful eyes. While he was surveying him, he came upon a place, perhaps
the size of the palm of his hand, where the flesh was perfectly
healthy. There was no sign of leprosy in it whatever–and the priest
said, "This is a fatal spot, you are unclean; you must be put away
outside the camp." Then He examined another leper and, looking him all
over, though he seemed covered with scales of leprosy, yet the priest
found that he had a little place, perhaps the size of the top of his
finger, which was quite clear of the disease. The man said, "I have
always thought there was hope for me, for you see that little spot,
there is no leprosy there." But the priest sorrowfully shook his head
and said, "You are unclean. You must be put outside the camp."

There came another leper, who said to the priest, "It is scarcely
necessary for you to examine me, for, from the crown of my head to the
sole of my feet, I am covered with this loathsome disease. There is not
a speck or spot in me that has not the disease everywhere." So the
priest looked and he could not see one healthy place and, therefore, he
said, "You are clean; you may go wherever you like." I suppose it
showed that the man's constitution had been strong enough to throw the
disease out. I infer that was the rationale of it, physically, but,
anyhow, according to the Law of the Leper, the man was clean and, my
Friend, if, on looking yourself all over, you can perceive no good
whatever, or anything like good. And if the Great High Priest, even the
Lord Jesus Christ, can see no good in you, He will pronounce you clean
the moment you come unto Him and trust in Him! This may seem strange to
you, but it is the very essence of the Gospel, even as Joseph Hart
sings–

"'Tis perfect poverty alone That sets the soul at large! While we can
call one mite our own, We have no full discharge. But let our debts be
what they may, However great or small– As soon as we have naught to
pay, Our Lord forgives us all."

Well, now, you who thus condemn yourself, should see that your very
condemnation of yourself gives you hope of salvation! Why, the devil
himself, I should think, would hardly dispute with some of you the fact
that you are sinners. On the contrary, he has often been to you, and
said, "See what a great sinner you are!" For once, he spoke the truth,
though he did even that with an evil intention. If he says that to you,
say to him, "Yes, Satan, you have proved that I am a sinner, but that
is 'my hope of salvation, for it is a faithful saying, and worthy of
all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners.'" He who condemns himself, God absolves. He who is shut up in
the prison of the Law, so that he cannot escape. He who writes his own
death warrant, signs it and feels that he deserves to die–he is the
man for whom the Lord Jesus Christ sets open the door of mercy and
says, "Come unto Me, for I have absolved you. You are a free man. Be of
good comfort. I died to redeem just such souls as you are." So again I
say, "O you of little faith, why do you

doubt?"

Another case I would like to meet is that of one who says, "Oh, but I
have such a lack of sensibility! I am afraid I do not feel humble
enough. Some sinners weep, but I cannot. Some have upon them an awful
horror of great darkness, but I have not. I wish I had." Dear Friend,
do you think that would help Christ to save you? Oh, then, you do
malign my Lord who needs no help from you! He can save you,
stony-hearted as you are. If there is no sensibility, or anything else
that is good about you, He can give you all this, or save you just as
you are! Do not think that He needs your assistance. What can you do,
poor fool? I cannot help calling you, "fool," if you think that you can
do anythingto help Him to save you! A righteousness like His–would you
patch your rags upon it? Blood like His–would you bring some bottles
full of your tears to add to the merit of His great Sacrifice? I tell
you that the purest tear you have ever shed would stain His

precious blood! You will need forgiveness for that tear if you dream
that there can be any merit in it to add to the merit of His blood.

"Ah,"says another, "but I have to mourn my feebleness in prayer I know
some who have found Christ because they seemed to lay hold of Him at
the Mercy Seat, but I cannot. I can hardly touch the hem of His
garment." Well, then, do that–and if you do, you shall be healed! A
little genuine faith ensures the death of all your sin. Do you think
that Christ asks great things of you? Listen, Man–though Christ bids
you look unto Him, and live, it is He that first gives life to that eye
of yours or else it never could have looked unto Him. There is nothing
good in you–it is all in Christ. From first to last, it is Grace,
Grace, GRACE! And Grace, you know, takes no payments, for it would mar
its glory and its freeness if it took from you anything from a thread
to a shoelace. Be you only emptiness and Christ will be your fullness!

"But I do not fret, "you say. Well, then, be so empty that you are even
empty of feeling! Your feelings cannot save you, but Christ will give
you all the feeling that you need. Come unto Him just as you are and
trust Him for everything. You are like a child who has done something
very wrong and his father says, "My Child, I will freely forgive you."
The child says, "I cannot believe it. I have been so wicked. I need to
do something." The father says, "My dear Child, I love you so that I
have freely forgiven you. I can forgive all, I can forget all and I
have done so." The child says, "But I know if anyone had offended
against me as I have done against you, I could not forgive and forget."
"No," the father says, "but, my Child, my ways are not your ways, nor
my thoughts your thoughts." The child still cannot believe that his
father loves him so as to be ready to forgive him–but if he would
believe that and just throw himself on his father's bosom with the cry,
"Father, I have sinned," oh, what ease of mind he would at once feel!
Out with your confession! Let not sin be smoldering in your bosom any
longer. Tell the Lord how guilty you are! Tell Him that you deserve His
utmost wrath! Tell Him that you could not complain even if He should
destroy you, but tell Him that you do cling to Christ and to the
promise of pardon made in His Word. Say to Him–

"You have promised to forgive All who in Your Son believe. Lord, I know
You cannot lie– Give me Christ, or else I die." That is the thing to
do. God help you to do it! Believe over the head of your sins. Believe
over the head of your sensibility and, I charge you, do not look at
anything but Christ! When you look on your sins, instead of looking at
Christ, you make an antichrist of your sins. And when you look on your
faith and say, "I o not think that my faith is enough," if you look at
your faith instead of looking to Christ, I say, "Away with your faith!"
Away with everything but what Christ has done, what Christ is and the
boundless love of the great forgiving God whose heart yearns over you,
and who cries, "How shall I give you up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver
you, Israel? How shall I make you as Admah? How shall I set you as
Zeboim? My heart is turned within Me, My repentings are kindled
together…for I am God, and not man." "O you of little faith, why are
you so fearful!" Trust your God and live!

But, lastly, I hear someone else say, "My trouble is concerning the
difficulties of a Christian life. How can I, if I begin to be a
Christian, hold on to the end?" Dear Friend, I will not deny that there
are difficulties and that they are very great, much greater than you
imagine. But your holding on is not the great matter–it is Christ who
will hold you on! Your perseverance in Grace is no more to be your own
act, apart from Christ, than is your first hope in Him. You are to look
to Christ to be Omega as well to be Alpha, to be the Z as well as to be
the A of the Christian Alphabet–and if you come and cast yourself upon
Him, it is not His custom to cast away any who come to Him, neither at
first nor yet afterwards. "Having loved His own which were in the
world, He loved them unto the end." And He will do the same with you.
He will subdue your corruptions. He will drive out your iniquities and
present you, at the last, "faultless" before His Father's Throne! Oh, I
can talk about this, but after all, it is only the Lord and Giver of
Grace who can drive away your unbelief! May He do so now–and to His
dear name shall be the praise forever and ever! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALM125.

Verse 1. They that trust in the LORD shall be as Mount Zion, which
cannot be removed, but abides forever I noticed, in one of the reports
of the survey of Palestine, that it is said that albeit every building
upon Mount Zion has been

demolished, and not one stone has been left upon another, yet the
mountain, itself, is immovable and remains the same as ever. Mount Zion
itself cannot be removed, but abides forever–and the child of God, by
faith in Jesus, cannot be moved by fear, nor removed by sin, but abides
forever! We abide in Christ and Christ abides in us–and this makes us
like Mount Zion which cannot be removed, but abides forever. If any of
you are tossed to and fro, or are changeable, so that you do not know
your own minds, may the Lord deliver you from such a state as that! It
is faith that makes us steadfast.

2. As the mountains are roundabout Jerusalem, so the LORD is roundabout
His people from henceforth even forever. Here is security as well as
stability! The mountains stand like sentinels around the central hill
of Zion, so the city is well guarded and God protects His own people
against adversaries of every kind. And He will continue to do so "from
henceforth even forever."

3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the
righteous. God does not completely screen His people from trial. They
sometimes feel the rod of the wicked in the form of slander,
oppression, opposition and persecution, but they shall not always feel
it–"The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the
righteous."

3. Lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. If too
heavily oppressed, they might do wrong in order to escape from
oppression and God will not have that. He will not let His people be
tried above what they are able to bear! He knows that the tendency of
poverty and suffering might be to provoke them to sin–therefore He
will not let the rod of the wicked rest upon them–lest they put forth
their hands unto iniquity.

4. Do good, O LORD, unto those that are good, and to them that are
upright in their hearts. God is always good to His own people. This
prayer is also a prophecy that it shall be well with those that fear
the Lord–

"In time, and to eternal days 'Tis with the righteous well."

5. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways. There are still
such people who profess to be all right, yet they are not, for, after
apparently going a little way in the straight road, they turn aside
unto their crooked ways. Well, what shall happen to them?

6. The LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity. They
chose the same way, so they shall share the same end! What a sad end
for those who once stood side by side with the saints, to be led out to
execution side by side with the workers of iniquity!

7. But peace shall be upon Israel. In the 1st and 2nd verses of the
Psalm, they are said to be like Salem. In this last verse, they are
said to have Salem, that is, peace–"Peace shall be upon Israel."