Dangerous Lingering

Dangerous Lingering

(No. 3450)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1915.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"He lingered." Genesis 19:16.

LOT was highly favored. In the midst of a general destruction, angels
were sent to take care of him. He had received a warning which many had
not heard–and he had felt the terror that warning would excite–while
some who had heard the tidings little heeded their imminent moment. Lot
stood in the condition of one who knew that he must leave the city, for
it was about to be destroyed. He intended to leave it. He was just
about to take his departure, but, nevertheless, hesitated a little,
halted a while, avoided hurry, protracted his stay with some attachment
to the place where he had dwelt, and so, in the face of danger, he
hesitated. Being slow to move when fully aware that judgment was swift
to overtake, "He lingered." I believe Lot to be in this respect the
exact counterpart of a great many hearers of the Gospel. They
understand at least its threats. They know something about the way of
escape. They have resolved to follow that way and they intend to do so
very soon. Yet for a long time they have halted on the verge of
decision, almost persuaded to be Christians. Strong as their resolution
to become followers of the Savior seems to be, unhappily they stop
short, they linger in their old condition–halting between two
opinions. To such persons I propose to address a few words of
exhortation this evening. First of all, to expostulate with you
personally upon personal matters. Then to speak to you about others,
for I have the full conviction that the man who lingers puts others in
danger as well as himself, just as Lot's lingering was hazardous to his
daughters and to his wife. And lastly, to commend the means which I
trust God will use tonight, similar to those which He used with Lot,
that some angelic hand or some Providential force may lay hold upon the
lingerer, that he may be brought out from the City of Destruction and
made to flee for help to Christ the Lord. I must begin by speaking to–

I. THE PERSON WHO IS LINGERING.

I would like to be looked upon, just now, less as a preacher than as a
friend who is talking to the lingering one, the one almost
decided–talking to him in the most familiar tones, but, at the same
time, with the most earnest purpose. There are certain thoughts which
have been, and are still fermenting in my soul. I have heard that a
conclave was held in pandemonium. In the lower regions Satan had called
together all the devils who showed him allegiance and he said to them,
"I want one of you to go forth as a lying spirit from this place to
deceive many. The Gospel is being faithfully preached and men are being
won to Christ, my rival. Spirits of the infernal pit, I desire your
help that this Gospel may not spread further! I pause while each one of
you, my liege servants, shall tell me of the devices you will use to
prevent men from fleeing to Christ. His device that shall seem wisest
to my subtlety shall be most fully employed among the sons of men."
Then one spoke and said, "O Prince of the infernal pit, I will go forth
and tell men that there is no God, no Heaven, no Hell, no hereafter."
But the arch-fiend said, "It is in vain! The Gospel has already gone so
far with the men of whom I am now thinking, that this would not be of
use. They know there is a God–they are sure of it. The testimony which
has been borne in the world has brought so much Light into it that they
cannot close their eyes to the fact–your device, though admirable,
will not succeed." Then up rose another, and he said, "I shall
insinuate doubts as to the authenticity of Scripture. I shall belie the
teachings of the Doctrines of the Word of God, and so shall I keep them
from Christ." But again the leader of that conclave objected that this
would scarcely suffice, for the multitude had so heard the Gospel. And
those whose conversion he was most anxious to prevent were so
conversant with its historical facts, that they could not seriously
question them. Neither could they live in systematic doubt who had been
schooled in positive belief. There were many devices, but I will tell
you which most of all struck Satan, which he determined to use most
among the

sons of men. It was this–one foul spirit said, "I will not insinuate
doubts about the existence of God or the truth of Scripture. I know it
would not be of any use. But this thing I will do–I will tell men
that, though these things are true and important, there is no hurry
about them, there is time enough and to spare–that they may wait a
little till there is a more convenient season, and then shall they
attend to them." Now the subtlety of Satan was pleased with this, and
he said, "Servant, go your way! You have invented the net in which the
fowler shall take more birds then in any other. Good speed to your
enterprise. This deadly poison will destroy innumerable souls!"

Feeling this to be the case, it shall be my earnest endeavor to tear
that net to pieces and to expose this poison, that none may be
entangled unawares and perish unwarned!

Coming back, then, to the purpose with which I started, earnestly and
personally to speak to the lingerer, I would like to ask you, my
beloved Friend, if this matter about which you are still hesitating is
not of vital importance to you?It concerns your soul, yourself, your
true self! It deals with your destiny, your impending, your eternal
destiny! You are immortal–you acknowledge a deathless principle within
you–and you are conscious that you shall live forever in happiness or
woe. Do you think you ought to put off all preparation for the future
that awaits you? If I knew that someone was about to defraud you of
your estate, and that unless you were diligent about it you would lose
all your property, I think I would say to you, "Bestir yourself!" If I
knew that some deadly disease had begun to prey on your constitution
and that, if neglected, it would soon gain an ascendancy with which it
were hard to grapple, I think I would say, "Go to the physician. Do not
delay, for bodily health is very precious." But, dear Friend, if your
estate is precious, much more your soul! And if the health of this poor
clay ought to be looked to, much more the welfare of your soul–the
welfare of your soul forever! Do you not think, if anything should be
postponed, it should be something of less importance? Was not Christ
right when He said, "Seek, first, the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness"? Does not your reason agree that He was right in putting
that first? I shall not need to argue with you. I speak as to a man who
has his wits about him. Is it not so? Suppose you look to getting on in
the world, first–you may die and be lost before you have got on!
Suppose the taking of a degree at the university should be your first
concern–that would be a poor recompense. The honors of learning could
not mitigate the terrors of judgment! Do you not feel now (if you will
let your better nature speak) that the very first thing a man should
see to should be this–to be reconciled to God and be all right with
Him for eternity?

I will then ask you another question–is there anything so very
pleasant in a state of enmity to God, that you should wish to remain in
it? Why should Lot want to linger in Sodom? He had often been vexed
there. The very night, before, he had his house beset with rioters! Why
should he want to linger? Have you found any great comfort in being
undecided? Is there anything very fascinating in remaining hesitant and
halting between two opinions? Dear Friend, if your condition is at all
like what mine was before I believed in Jesus, I know you would be glad
enough to get out of it! Oh, how earnest I was, sometimes, in seeking
Christ! Oh, how wretched I was at other times that I could not find
Him! Then, again, I was stupidly senseless about Divine things, and my
self-upbraiding would not let me be at peace. It is a most unhappy
condition to be in–to have Light enough to know that you are in the
dark and no more–to have just enough Grace to feel that you have not
the Grace that can save you–to be enough awakened to feel that if you
remain as you are, you must perish forever! I do not see anything in
this hesitating condition that should allure you to keep in it any
longer than you can help. Beloved Friends, have you ever seriously
weighed–if not I will ask you to do so–the solemnity of the
destruction which must come upon you if you are not decidedly a
Believer in Christ and, on the other hand, the unspeakable glory and
bliss which will belong to you if you are led to trust in Jesus and are
saved?

I can scarcely give you the details of a little incident in Russian
history which might illustrate the emergency. The Czar had died
suddenly and in the dead of night one of the counselors of the empire
came to the Princess Elizabeth and said to her, 'You must come at once
and take possession of the crown." She hesitated, for there were
difficulties in the way, and she did not desire the position. But he
said, "Now sit down, Princess, for a minute," Then he drew her two
pictures. One was the picture of herself and the Count thrown into
prison, racked with tortures, and presently both brought out to die
beneath the axe. "That," he said, "you can have if you like." The other
picture was of herself with the imperial crown of all of Russia on her
brow, and all the princes bowing before her, and all the nation doing
her homage. "That," said he, "is the other side of the question. But,
tonight, your Majesty must choose which it shall be." With the two
pictures vividly depicted before her mind's eye, she did not hesitate
long, but cast in her choice for the crown. Now I would

gladly paint for you two such pictures, only I lack the skill. You will
either sink forever down in deeper and yet deeper woe, filled with
remorse because you brought it all upon yourself, or else, if you
decide for Christ and rest in Him, you shall enter the bliss of those
who forever and forever without admixture of grief enjoy happiness
before the Throne of God! To my mind there ought to be no halting as to
the choice. It should be made. I pray God's Holy Spirit to help you to
make it tonight! On this winged hour, eternity is hung. The choice of
this night may be the cooling of the wax which now is soft. Once
cooled, it will bear the impress throughout eternity! God grant it may
be a resolve for Christ, for His cause, for His Cross, for His crown!

I would like still, dear Friend, to hold you by the button which I laid
hold of just now, and to say to you, What is it that has kept you
waiting so long?Did I not meet you some years ago in the street, and
you said to me, "Sir, I have been a hearer of yours for many years."
And I said, "Oh, yes, and when did you join the Church?" And you said,
"Ah, I have never done that." And I asked, "Why not?" And you were
honest enough to say, "Because I am afraid I should be very much out of
place there, for I am not a Believer in Christ." Do you recollect how I
squeezed your hand and said, "Ah, I hope it will not be long before you
give your heart to the Lord," and you said, "Well, I hope so, too"? It
is a good long while now–and you have been getting gray since then. I
dare say if I saw you tonight and put the same question to you, you
would make the same reply! And in ten years, time, if you and I live,
we shall be still relatively in the same position– I still pleading,
and you still saying–"yes, yes, yes, it is very right." No, no, I
answer, it is very wrong, that consenting without complying, not doing
what the Gospel bids you do, yielding and resisting, as it were, by
turns. Repenting and then forgetting. "Forgetting?" Yes, forgetting,
and forgetting, till these delays will cast you into irrevocable ruin!
What is it you are waiting on, my Friend? Is there some sin you cannot
give up? What sin is worth being damned for? If there is one, keep on
with it. I defy you to defend your negligence! Put it to this test–if
there is any supposable delight that is worth the endurance of eternal
wrath, pursue that delight, however sensual it may be, with avidity!
But if there is not, do not play the fool or act the madman! Do I hear
you plead ignorance? I would make some excuse for you, if I thought the
plea was just and true, but suppose for a minute that it is so? Then,
dear Friend, ought not you to begin to search the Scriptures? Should
not you be making intensely earnest enquiries that you might know the
certainty of these things? For the soul to be without knowledge is not
good. But if you are perishing for lack of knowledge, there certainly
is no reason why you should! Many of us would only be too delighted if
we might tell you still more fully what is the way of salvation. "Well,
but it is inconvenient just now!" Are you promising yourself a more
favorable opportunity? Let me ask you, Do you imagine you will be any
better off tomorrow than you are today? Do you think in ten years' time
you will be more likely to lay hold on Christ than you are now? I do
not think you will. Have you ever seen sponges that have been turned
into flints? Well, that is a slow process–it takes a long time. The
same process, however, is gradually happening to you. Every year you
are getting more flinty. The drip, drip, drip of this world's care and
sin is petrifying you! You are getting stony. It strikes me the best
time to repent in is this moment–and the very best season in which to
fly to Jesus is now! Before yet the clock has ticked again, your heart
will have grown more callous. It certainly does not soften. When will
there be any influence more potent than there is now to help you? The
Spirit of God is ready now. Do you need more than His power? The blood
of Christ is a full Atonement for sin. Do you need anything more than
that for your salvation? Do you expect Christ to come down again on
earth to save you? Do you need any promise fuller than that which the
Bible has in it now, or any invitation more gracious than that which
the Gospel gives to you now–"Today is the accepted time: today is the
day of salvation." I pray you, my lingering Friend, linger no longer!
Oh, how I wish I could put my hands in yours and lead you to the
Savior! But I cannot. I will, however, pray Him to lead you this very
night!

"I will think of it," you say. No, that is the very thing I do not want
you to do! I want you to believe in Jesus now, and not talk about
thinking of it tomorrow. In your seat, if you will rest in Jesus, and
trust your soul in His hands, you are saved this very moment! It is an
instantaneous work–

"The moment a sinner believes, And trusts in his crucified God, His
pardon at once he receives, Salvation in full through His blood!" Oh,
that you would exercise that simple faith, now, and not talk about
thinking of it tomorrow, for tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, alas,
tomorrow never comes! It is in no calendar, except the almanac of
fools! Each day to the wise

man is today as it comes. The fool wastes today, and so wastes all his
life. O Lingerer, I beseech you, think now of the long time you have
lingered. It may well suffice you–it has surely been long enough, and
I would say to you, in the words of one of old, "How long halt you
between two opinions?" And quote the saying of yet another, "Choose you
this day whom you will serve." And may God the Holy Spirit guide the
choice, and He shall have the praise! Now I need to speak a little upon
another topic.

II. I REMIND THE LINGERER THAT WHILE HE LINGERS, HE ENDANGERS THE SOULS
OF OTHER PEOPLE.

When Lot went to his sons-in-law and told them that the city was to be
destroyed, "he was to them as one that mocked." How would they say to
him, "Go to, old dotard! Do you think we believe you? The sky is clear
and blue, and the sun has risen–dot you think we believe your nonsense
about fire and brimstone coming out of Heaven? We don't believe you."
When Lot lingered, he was defeating his own purpose and doing the worst
imaginable thing, if he wanted to convince his sons-in-law that he
spoke the truth, for while he lingered, they would say, "The old fool
does not believe it, himself, for if he did believe it, he would pack
up and hasten away! No, he would take his daughters by the hand and
lead than out of the city at once." A little hesitancy in the conduct
of a man who said that he believed a dreadful judgment was imminent
would be sufficient to give them umbrage–quite reason enough to make
them say, "He does not believe, himself, what he tells us." Have not
some of you spoken seriously to others about the value of their souls,
though you are not saved? Did you try the other day to rebuke a
swearer? I am glad you did. You are a member of a Temperance
Association and you do what you can to stop drunkenness. I am glad you
do. You will not allow sin to pass unrebuked in your presence. But,
listen, Man, with what face do you reprove others while you are not
decided yourself? Where is your consistency? If they should turn round
on you and say, "If there is anything reliable in the Grace of God, why
are you not reconciled to Him? If there is anything desirable in
religion, why do you not walk according to its precepts? If Christ is a
Savior, why do you not yield to Him and obey His ordinances?" I know
not what answer you could give! I cannot imagine any response but a
blush that should betoken your shame and confusion of face!

The mischief that Lot did to his daughters was yet more aggravated, for
all the while he was hesitating, they were sure to hesitate, too. He
was keeping them waiting. They were in jeopardy as well as himself. How
many comrades, young Man, you might have instructed in the faith before
now had you been yourself decided? It is a happy circumstance when a
young married couple become converted to God before their little ones
are able to imitate a bad example. I thank God for a father whom I know
and honor–that of his children there is only one that can recollect
the time when the evening was spent in playing cards–and that one
recollects the night when the cards were all thrown into the fire and
burnt! Only one of his children recollects when the Sabbath was known
to be spent in quiet walks and pleasant recreations, but not in public
worship or private devotion. He recollects the rearing of the family
altar, when prayer was made a household institution. He can well
remember the earnest entreaties made that the father's sin might not be
visited upon the children. Oh, happy circumstance! Had the parents been
converted later in life, the ill example might never have been wiped
out! The converted father might have found that the children did not
emulate the good example of his regenerate state, but did rather
imitate him in the negligence and sinfulness of his natural unrenewed
life. When you, who are parents, habitually demur and hesitate, do you
not think that other members of your family will hesitate, too? I have
noticed it frequently, where there is a man or a woman knowing the
Truth of God in a measure, but not decided. It almost always happens
that when the husband or the wife is in the same condition, the moment
the father gets savingly converted, the wife comes and avows her faith.
Not infrequently the children follow suit! It only needed somehow, in
God's Providence, the decision of the head of the household! This has
led the others to decision. It becomes, therefore, a very mournful
reflection that there should be men and women lingering upon the brink
of the grave who are helping others to linger– their example being the
means of keeping others in a state of perilous hazard! You must know,
many of you, that it is so with you! Therefore, I shall leave the Truth
to weigh upon your conscience, hoping it will stir you up to decision.

Let me venture to make one other observation here. I should not wonder
if, perhaps, the death of Lot's wife might partly be attributed to Lot,
himself If you think that this is a severe reflection, I would remind
you that she must have seen her husband hesitate. She was a woman far
lower down in the scale than he was–when, therefore, she saw him
lingering, it was no wonder if that contagious example led her to look
back. Perhaps among the regrets of Lot throughout the rest of his life,
there would be this one, "I did not hurry myself out of that city as I
should. I was in no hurry. I tar-

ried, and lingered, and paused. I had almost to be dragged out by the
angels' hands." And this, it may be, led Lot's wife to look back with
lingering–and then to be turned into a pillar of salt. O undecided
Man! I would not like you to feel that the blood of your wife was on
your skirts. O undecided Father! I would dread to have you think, in
years to come, "The loss of my children's souls was due to my
procrastination." Alas, it may be so–it may be so! Therefore now, with
a Brother's earnest affection, let me come to you and say, "You intend
to believe. You have resolved to be a Christian. You are no Atheist,
and no scoffer. You are not hardened and rebellious–your heart is soft
and tender and ready for these things–then yield it now, yield it up
completely this night to that dear hand that once was crucified! That
hand shall mold you according to its own will. Thus says the Spirit of
God to you tonight, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be
saved, for, "he that believes and is baptized shall be saved." He that
believes not–though he may have resolved to believe, if he dies
believing not–must be damned! Our last word was to be this–

III. LET US PRAY FOR THE LINGERERS, that they may by some means be
hastened. I do not expect to see angels come walking down these aisles,
or threading their way through these pews tonight. But I do trust that
a messenger from God will come, notwithstanding that. Sometimes
lingerers have been quickened and decided by their own reflections
being blessed to them by the Holy Spirit. A very simple observation was
once the means of deciding a man. He was a mechanic and a man of a
mathematical turn of mind. He had attended a meeting. The meeting was
held in an upper room, and going below the stairs, his attention was
attracted by the beam that had supported the people, and he said to
himself, "What a weight there must have been upon that!" Just at that
very minute, into his mind there flashed, "And what a weight there is
resting upon you!" How that thought followed the other, I cannot tell,
but as he turned it over, it did seem to him that he had a weight of
sin enough to crush him–that he could not bear up under such a weight
as that– and that his soul would come down in ruin like many a
building whose beams have not been strong enough and have, at last,
given way. I mind not what form the thought may take–I only pray that
some such thought may come home and decide you!

Occasionally, a good man has been the means of suggesting the deciding
thought. A smith was blowing his bellows in a smithy one day, when the
saintly McCheyne stepped into the smithy for a shelter from a shower of
rain. As the smith was blowing the coals and they were at a great heat,
he simply said to him, "What does that fire make you think of?" He
never gave an answer–and McCheyne went his way. It made the smith
think of the wrath to come, and it made him flee from it, too! We
cannot tell what may be, in the gracious Providence of God, the means
of bringing you to decision. He that used an angel's hand with Lot, can
use a well-timed observation with you. Therefore I urge all Christian
people to use every opportunity and study to season their conversation
with Divine Grace! Sow beside all waters, for you know not which may
prosper–this or that. Sometimes men have been decided by the deaths of
their relatives or their friends. "I may be the next," has been
suggested to them. When the dear child has been buried, it has made the
afflicted father reflect that he shall never meet it in Heaven unless
he mends his ways. So, too, the bereaved mother, in the bitterness of
her heart, has sought a Savior in the hope that she might meet her
baby, again, in the better land. Such things are good. They are blessed
deaths that bring eternal life to the survivors! These little ones well
spend their lives in winging their flight to Paradise and showing us
the way. But surely, dear Friend, you don't require a distressing
visitation to decide you! I trust your heart will be given to Christ
without the dire necessity that you should lose those you love on
earth.

Occasionally, and very occasionally, persons have been decided by
personal sickness. Some, but oh, how few, have witnessed the good
confession in the hour of death. A soldier in the army of the Potomac,
of whom I somewhere read, was taken to the rear to die. He was badly
wounded. He was also suffering from fever. Someone had told him, just
before the fever came on, of a soldier found asleep at his post who was
condemned to die. The poor fellow, in his delirium, imagining that he
was that soldier, cried out to the doctor who was attending him, "Sir,
I am to be shot tomorrow morning, and as I wish to have all right, I
want you to send for the chaplain at once. I need to see him." The
doctor, to calm his fears, said. "No, no, you are not to be shot
tomorrow morning. It's a mistake." "Oh, but I am," he said, "I know I
shall." "But I will be here," said the doctor, "and if anyone comes to
touch you, I will have him arrested. I will take care you shall not
die." "Is it so, Doctor?" he said, in calmer accents, "then you need
not send for the chaplain. I shall not need him just yet." So the truth
came out that fear, not faith, animated him, though it was but spoken
in a feverish fit. How many men, if they thought they were going to
die, would say, "Oh, yes, let all be said and done that it is right to
say and do!" But persuade them that they are likely to live a little
longer, they will wait and adjourn their faith while they can calm
their fear. Not very often is the decision genuine which men arrive at
under the stress of that fear which comes of impending dissolution. May
God's spirit deepen in some here present their sense of sin! May your
crimes sting you. May you feel your guilt. May you hate yourselves
because of your transgressions. May you be distressed because of your
ingratitude, your disobedience, your unbelief! Then you will long to
get rid of this horrible evil, this enmity against God! May you feel
tonight what a mischievous thing it is for the creature to be at
variance with his Creator, for man to be out of order with his God!
What a shameful thing it is for the most favored of creatures to be
unfriendly to the Sovereign that favors him! What an incredible thing
it is, that while the ox knows its owner and the ass its master's crib,
man, the object of Divine Love, should not know his Lord, his Friend,
his Benefactor! Oh, may you give no rest to your eyes or slumber to
your eyelids till you have opened your mouth to profess the name of the
Lord and fled for refuge to take hold of His righteousness and
strength! Oh, that you might be too agitated to sleep till you have
confessed your sin into the ear of the Great Elder Brother, and sought
pardon from your God through Christ your Savior. There is forgiveness,
there is mercy to be had–to be had now! Whoever believes in Christ
Jesus shall be saved! Believing is trusting, relying in simple but
sincere dependence. May His Grace enable you to cast yourselves upon
His mercy and credit His promise in this good hour, so you shall be
this night enrolled among the saved, and He shall have all the praise!
The Lord grant it, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: LUKE 15:1-24.

Verse 1. Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners to hear
Him. The attraction of His love brought them into the inner circle. Had
He been a self-exalting Pharisee, they would have stood as far off as
they could if they listened to Him at all! But the Savior spoke so
gently, so earnestly, with such evident love in His heart, that "then
drew near unto Him the publicans and sinners to hear Him."

2. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This Man receives
sinners and eats with them. The thunder and lightning of their ange
could not turn the milk of His human kindness, but rather did it take
an opportunity from their bitter speech to speak all the more sweetly
to those who gathered near to Him.

3. And He spoke this parable unto them, saying. And then we read three
parables–yet are they one. As you have sometimes seen a picture in
three panels, so this is one picture in three panels, in which we see
three views of lost sinners and the three Divine Persons of the ever
blessed Trinity in unity seeking men–saving men.

4-7. What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he loses one of them,
does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, andgo after that
which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it
on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together
his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I
have found my sheep which was lost Isay unto you, that likewise joy
shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety
and nine just persons which need no repentance. A very complete answer
to the murmuring Pharisees. Where should the shepherd be but looking
after the lost sheep? Is not that one of his first businesses–to seek
after that which is gone astray? Does he not derive from it his highest
joy? All the sheep that remain at home do not afford him so intense a
delight as that one wanderer that his love has sought, and that his
power has rescued. So Jesus Christ seems to say, taking them on their
own ground, "You Pharisees are like sheep that never went astray. That
is your own view of yourselves. You can never afford Me so much
pleasure as these poor publicans and sinners that have wandered. When I
shall find them, I shall have special joy over them. Why should I look
after you? Am I not, first of all, called to look after the lost sheep
of the house of Israel?" And thus He answered their complaints.

8-10. Or what woman, having tenpieces of silver, if she loses onepiece,
does not light a candle, andsweep the house, and seek diligently till
she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and her
neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me: for I have found the piece
which I had lost. Likewise. I say unto you, there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents. A second
blow for them. "These souls of publicans and sinners are as precious as
yours. If you are like pieces of money, so are they. I need not sit and
look at you," says Christ, "like the miser, who counts his hoard which
he has in the box, but I do what the woman did who had lost the piece.
She could afford to leave the rest laid by in her purse, but she spent
all her strength, her eyesight–all her diligent labor upon that one
piece."

Here we have the work of the Holy Spirit–only the Holy Spirit works
through the Church, who is the woman. It is her business to light a
candle–to carry the light of the Gospel. It is her business to sweep
the house–often to stir up the dust by the bosom of the Law. It is
hers to seek diligently in every corner and cranny in the deserted and
filthy places after that precious piece of money which has not lost a
penny worth of its value through having rolled away into the mouse hole
or lost itself among the cobwebs. She has to seek until she finds it.
Christian diligence is not to stop short of conversion. We are not to
try to bring men to Christ, but literally to bring them by the power of
His Eternal Spirit. And when the Church finds her piece of money, she,
too, has her merry-making. She calls together her friends and rejoices,
and the Holy Spirit delights to view His own work in and through His
Church.

11. And he said.And here comes the grandest of the three parables–that
which sets forth the Eternal Father's love. 11, 12. A certain man had
two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me
the portion of goods that falls to me. And he divided unto them his
living. He was not content to remain and share everything with his
father. The other one would have wished his father to keep all that he
had, only too delighted to be a guest in his father's house, but no,
"Give me–let me have it myself–let me be independent–let me have
something to call my own." Human nature–poor human nature! It is not
the true spirit of a child. Very ungenerous, ungrateful. Why did the
father divide the living between them, but that it is God's why to
allow men to go as they will?

13. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and
took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance
with riotous living.He could not have done that at home. His father's
eyes would have been a check upon him. Man wants to get away from God
because he wants to do wrong. At the bottom of all infidelity there
lies a love of sin. Men quarrel with Divine Truth because that Truth
quarrels with them.

14. And when he had spent all For there is an end to all carnal joy.
Man can only go a certain length. When he has got to the bottom of the
cup, it will not spring up like a fountain and fill itself again. "When
he had spent all."

14. There arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in
want Just when he needed all his money, then provisions were dearer
than ever. When he had nothing to buy with, everything grew dear. He
never had been, while he lived with his father, and never would have
been, if he had stayed there. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want." "He began to be in want."

15. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. And he
sent him into his fields to feed swine. There was a kindness in that,
but it was a degrading kindness. "The tender mercies of the wicked are
cruel." He sent him into his fields to feed swine! A Jew, who could not
bear the unclean animals–and he must feed swine! When a man gets
discontented with the world, the devil and his friends generally
suggest that he should do something worse than he has ever done before.
They give him some gay amusement–some fouler sin than he has ever
plunged into. They tell him that there is no hope and, therefore, he
may have all his fling and go the whole length of his tether. "He sent
him into his field to feed swine."

16. And he would gladly have filled his belly with the husks that the
swine did eat–So he could not earn his bread, and he could not get it
by charity. To what a state of destitution was he brought. But of all
destitution in the world, the destitution of a sinner who has, at last,
grown sick of his sin and cannot find comfort anywhere else, is about
the worst. The old nest is pulled down and you have not got another.
The pleasures of the world have fooled you. The joys and delights of
ungodly society pall upon your taste and you want no more of them, but
yet you do not know of any other delight or any other joy–and dare not
hope that there can be another joy for you!

16, 17. And no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself–He had
been out of his mind all the while. He had been beside himself with
sin. "When he came to himself."

17. He said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough
and to spare, and I perish with hunger? "Still his child, though. Still
he is my father, and I know that there is bread enough for me. Why do I
not get it? How sad that I should starve, when in my father's house
there is so much." What a motive that is to a poor hungry soul to go to
God, namely, that God has so much–so much that He feeds His servants
till they cannot eat it all! They have bread enough and to spare. Why
should His child, then, though a wanderer, die of hunger in a foreign
land?

18-20. I will arise andgo to my father, and will say unto him, Father,
I have sinned against Heaven, and before you, and am no more worthy to
be called your son: make me as one of your hired servants. And he
arose, and came to his fa-ther.It was a mercy for him it did not end in
resolution. He came to matter of fact.

20. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.Then did he
come to his father, or did his father come to him? Well, I think it was
both, but still, chiefly that the father came to him. "When he was yet
a great way of"–he had not gone half the distance–his father ran the
bigger half of the way. He saw him! He had compassion, and ran and fell
on his neck and kissed him!

21. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven,
and in your sight, and am no more worthy to be called your son. He was
going on to say, I dare say, "Make me one of your hired servants," but
his father kissed him on the mouth, and he never prayed that prayer. It
was not a Gospel prayer, and would not do, and so he stifled it with
love! It was good as far as he did go.

22-24. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe,
and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet
and bring here the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be
merry: For this, my son, was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and
is found. And they began to be merry. Full of joy, intense joy,
overflowing joy, sparkling joy! I love that old Saxon word, "merry."
Some are frightened at it. I heard somebody the other day account it
quite wicked to say, "A merry Christmas." Oh, that we had merry days
all the year round, especially if we could make merry with such
merriment as this! Do begin to be merry.