Hands Full of Honey

Hands Full of Honey

(No. 1703)

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JANUARY 28, 1883,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And Samson turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold,
there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion. And he
took some in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and
mother, and he gave some to them, and they did eat: but he did not tell
them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the Lion."
Judges 14:8,9.

IT was a singular circumstance that a man unarmed should have slain a
lion in the prime of its vigor and yet, more strange that a swarm of
bees should have taken possession of the dried carcass and have filled
it with their honey. In that country, what with beasts, birds, insects
and the dry heat, a dead body is soon cleansed from all corruption and
the bones are clean and white. Still, the killing of the lion and the
finding of the honey make up a remarkable story. These singular
circumstances became, afterwards, the subject of a riddle–but with
that riddle we have no concern at this time. Samson, himself, is a
riddle! He was not only a riddle-maker, but he was, himself, an enigma
very difficult to explain.

With his personal character I have, at this time, little or nothing to
do. We are not, today, resting at the house of "Gains, my host," where
the pilgrims amused themselves with a dish of nuts after dinner, but we
are on the march and must attend to the more important matter of
refreshing and inspiriting those who are in our company. Neither are we
going to discuss difficulties, but as Samson took the honey without
being stung, so would we gain instruction without debate.

We have, in these days, so much to do that we must make practical use
of every incident that comes before us in the Word of God. My one
design is to cheer the desponding and stir up all God's people to
greater diligence in His service. I conceive that the text may
legitimately be employed for this purpose. By the help of the Divine
Spirit, even after this lapse of time, we may find honey in the lion!
The particular part of the incident which is recorded in these two
verses appears to have been passed over by those who have written upon
Samson's life–I suppose it appeared to be too inconceivable. They are
taken up with his restive riddle, but they omit the far more natural
and commendable fact or his bringing forth the honey in his hands and
presenting it to his father and mother.

This is the little scene to which I direct your glances. It seems to me
that the Israelite hero, with a slain lion in the background, standing
out in the open road with his hands laden with masses of honeycomb and
dripping with honey, which he holds out to his parents, makes a fine
picture, worthy of the greatest artist. And what a type we have here of
our Divine Lord and Master, Jesus, the conqueror of death and Hell! He
has destroyed the lion that roared upon us and upon Him. He has shouted
victory "over all our foes." "It is finished" was His note of triumph
and now He stands in the midst or His Church with His hands full of
sweetness and consolation, presenting them to those of whom He says,
"these are My brother and sister and mother."

To each one of us who believe in Him, He gives the luscious food which
He has prepared for us by the overthrow of our foes. He bids us come
and eat that we may have our lives sweetened and our hearts filled with
joy. To me, the comparison seems wonderfully apt and suggestive! I see
our triumphant Lord laden with sweetness, holding it forth to all His
Brothers and Sisters, and inviting them to share in His joy. But,
Beloved, it is written, "As He is, so are we, also, in this world." All
that are true Christians are, in a measure, like the Christ whose name
they bear–and it is to His image that we are finally to be conformed.
When He shall appear, we shall be like He, for we shall see Him as He
is. And, meanwhile, in proportion as we see Him, now, "we are changed
into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the

Lord."

The Samson type may well serve as the symbol of every Christian in the
world. The Believer has been helped by Divine Grace in his spiritual
conflicts and he has known "the victory which overcomes the world, even
our faith." He has

thus been made more than a conqueror through Him that loved us and now
he stands in the midst of his fellow men inviting them to Jesus. With
the honey in his hands, which he continues to feast upon, he displays
the heavenly sweetness to all that are round about him, saying, "O
taste and see that the Lord is good! blessed is the man that trusts in
Him." I have before now met with that popular artist, Gustave Dore,
[1832-1883] and suggested subjects to him. Had he survived among us,
and had another opportunity occurred, I would have pressed him to
execute a statue of Samson handing out the honey–strength distributing
sweetness!

And it might have served as a perpetual reminder of what a Christian
should be–a Conqueror and a Comforter, slaying lions and distributing
honey! The faithful servant of God wrestles with the powers of evil,
but with far greater delight he speaks to his friends and companions,
saying, "Eat that which is good and let your souls delight themselves
in sweetness." Set the statue before your mind's eye and now let me
speak about it. Three touches may suffice. First, the Believer's life
has its conflicts. Secondly, the Believer's life has its sweets. And,
thirdly, the Believer's life leads him to communicate of those sweets
to others. Here is room for profitable meditation!

I. First, then, THE BELIEVER'S LIFE HAS ITS CONFLICTS. To become a
Christian is to enlist as a soldier. To become a Believer is to enter
upon a pilgrimage and the road is often rough–the hills are steep, the
valleys are dark, giants block the way and robbers lurk in corners! The
man who reckons that he can glide into Heaven without a struggle has
made a great mistake. No cross, no crown–no sweat, no sweet–no
conflict, no conquest. These conflicts, if we take the case of Samson
as our symbol, begin early in the life of the Believer. While Samson
was a child, the Spirit of the Lord moved him in the camps of Dan–see
the last verse of the 13th chapter.

And as soon as he was on the verge of manhood, he must match himself
with a lion! God, who intended that His servant should smite the
Philistines and should check their proud oppression of His people,
Israel, began early to train the hero for his life's conflict. So, when
Samson was going to seek a wife, he turned aside into the vineyards of
Timnath and a lion roared upon him. Yes, and the young Believer, who as
yet has not wrestled with the Powers of Darkness, will not be long
before he hears the roar of the lion and finds himself in the presence
of the great Adversary. Very soon we learn the value of the prayer,
"Deliver us from the Evil One!"

Most of the Lord's servants have been men of war from their youth up.
This early combat with the savage beast was intended by God to let
Samson know his strength, when under the influence of the Spirit, and
to train him for his future combats with Israel's enemies. He that is
to smite the Philistines hip and thigh with a great slaughter, until he
has laid them heaps on heaps by his single prowess, must begin by
tearing a lion apart with his naked hands! He was to learn war in the
same school as another and a greater hero, who afterwards said, "Your
servant slew both the lion and the beast, and this uncircumcised
Philistine shall be as one of them."

Soldiers are made by war. You cannot train veterans or create victors
except by battles. As in the wars of armies, so is it in spiritual
contests–men must be trained for victory over evil by combat with it.
Therefore, "it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth,"
for it will not gall his shoulders in later years. It is assuredly a
dangerous thing to be altogether free from trouble–in silken ease the
soldier loses his prowess. Look at Solomon, one of the greatest and
wisest, and yet, I might say, one of the least and most foolish of men.
It was his fatal privilege to sit upon a throne of gold and sun himself
in the brilliance of unclouded prosperity. And, therefore, his heart
soon went astray and he fell from his high places.

Solomon, in his early days, had no trouble, for no war was raging,
then, and no enemy worth notice was then living. His life ran smoothly
and he was lulled into a dreamy sleep, the sleep of the voluptuous. He
had been happier far had he been like his father, called, from his
earliest days, to trial and conflict, for this might have taught him to
stand fast upon the pinnacle of glory whereon the Providence of God had
placed him. Learn, then, O young Brother, that, if, like Samson, you
are to be a hero for Israel, you must early be subjected to suffering
and daring, in some form or other! When you step aside and seek for
meditation in the quiet of the vineyard, a young lion may roar upon you
even as in the earliest days of your Lord and Master's public service
He was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

These conflicts, dear Friends, may often be very terrible. By a young
lion is not meant a whelp, but a lion in the fatness of its early
strength and not yet slackened in its pace, or curbed in its fury by
growing years. Fresh and furious, a young lion is the worst kind of
beast that a man can meet with! Let us expect, as followers of Christ,
to meet with strong temptations, fierce persecutions and severe trials
which will lead to stern conflicts. Do not reckon, you that are yet
put-

ting on the harness, that you shall soon put it off, or that when you
take it off, it will be quite as bright as it is today! It will be
dimmed with blood and dust–and battered by many a blow. Perhaps your
foe may find a way to pierce it, or at least to wound you between its
joints. I would have every man begin to be a soldier of the Cross, but
I would, at the same time, have him count the cost for it is no child's
play! And if he thinks it will be such, he will be grievously
disappointed.

A young Believer will, all of a sudden, have a doubt suggested to him
of which he never heard before–and it will roar upon him like a young
lion. Neither will he see, all at once, how to dispose of it. Or he may
be placed in singular circumstances where his duty seems to run counter
to the most tender instincts of his nature. Here, too, the young lion
will roar upon him. Or, one for whom he has an intense respect may
treat him badly because he is a follower of Christ– and the affection
and respect which he feels for this person may make his opposition the
more grievous. In this, also, it is with him as when a lion roars. Or
he may suffer a painful bereavement, or sustain a severe loss. Or he
may have a disease upon him with consequent pains and depressions–all
of these may cast the shadow of death upon his spirit, so that, again,
a young lion roars upon him.

Brother, Sister, let us reckon upon this and not be dismayed by it,
since in all this is the life of our spirit. By such lessons as these
we are taught to do service for God, to sympathize with our fellow
Christians and to value the help of our gracious Savior. By all these
we are weaned from earth and made to hunger for that eternal Glory
which is yet to be revealed, of which we may truly say, "No lion shall
be there, neither shall any ravenous beast go up there." These present
evils are for our future good–their terror is for our teaching! Trials
are sent us for much the same reason that the Ca-naanites were
permitted to live in the Holy Land, that Israel might learn war and be
equipped for battles against foreign foes!

These conflicts come early and they are very terrible and, moreover,
they happen to us when we are least prepared for them. Samson was not
hunting for wild beasts. He was engaged on a much more tender business.
He was walking in the vineyards of Timnath, thinking of anything but
lions, "and behold," says the Scripture, "a young lion roared against
him." It was a remarkable and startling occurrence! He had left his
father and mother and was quite alone. No one was within call to aid
him in meeting his furious assailant. Human sympathy is exceedingly
precious, but there are points in our spiritual conflict in which we
cannot expect to receive it. To each man there are passages in life too
narrow for walking two abreast. Upon certain crags we must stand alone.
As our constitutions differ, so our trials, which are suited to our
constitutions, must also differ.

Each individual has a secret with which no friend can interfere, for
every life has its mystery and its hidden treasure. Do not be ashamed,
young Christian, if you meet with temptations which appear to you to be
quite singular–we have, each one, thought the same of our trials. You
imagine that no one suffers as you do, whereas no temptation has
happened unto you but such as is common to man–and God will, with the
temptation, make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Yet,
for the time being, you may have to enter into fellowship with your
Lord when He trod the winepress alone, and of the people there was none
with Him. Is not this for your good? Is not this the way to strength?

What kind of piety is that which is dependent upon the friendship of
man? What sort of religion is that which cannot stand alone? Beloved,
you will have to die alone and you need, therefore, Divine Grace to
cheer you in solitude. The dear wife can attend you, weeping, to the
river's brink, but into the chill stream she cannot go with you–and if
you have not a religion which will sustain you in the solitudes of
life–of what use will it be to you in the grim lonesomeness of death?
Thus I reckon it to be a happy circumstance that you are called to
solitary conflict so that you may test your faith and see of what stuff
your hope is made!

The contest was all the worse for Samson, that in addition to being
quite alone, "there was nothing in his hands." This is the most
remarkable point in the narrative. He had no sword or hunter's spear
with which to wound the lordly savage–he had not, even, a stout staff
with which to ward off his attack. Samson stood all unarmed, an
unarmored man in the presence of a raging beast! So we, in our early
temptations, are apt to think that we have no weapon for the war and we
not know what to do. We are made to cry out, "I am unprepared! How can
I meet this trial? I cannot grasp the enemy to wrestle with him. What
am I to do?" Herein will the splendor of faith and Glory of God be made
manifest, when you shall slay the lion, and yet it shall be said of
you, "he had nothing in his hands"–nothing but that which the world
sees not and values not!

Now, go one step further, for time forbids our lingering here. I invite
you to remember that it was by the Spirit of God that the victory was
won. We read, "And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him and he
tore him as he would have torn a kid." Let the Holy Spirit help us in
our trouble and we need neither company nor weapon! But without Him
what can we do? Good Bishop Hall says, "If that roaring lion that goes
about continually seeking whom he may devour, finds us alone among the
vineyards of the Philistines, where is our hope? Not in our heels–he
is swifter than we! Not in our weapons–we are naturally unarmed! Not
in our hands which are weak and languishing–but in the Spirit of God,
by whom we can do all things! If God fights in us, who can resist us?
There is a stronger lion in us than that against us," There is only one
necessity–to be endowed with power from on high–the power of the Holy
Spirit!

Helped by the Spirit of God, the Believer's victory will be complete!
The lion shall not be driven away, but torn in pieces. Girt with the
Spirit's power, our victory shall be as easy as it will be
perfect–Samson tore the lion as though it were a little lamb, or a kid
of the goats. Well said Paul, "I can do all things through Christ that
strengthens me." Sin is soon overcome, temptations are readily refused,
affliction is joyfully borne, persecution is gladly endured when the
Spirit of Glory and of Peace rests upon us! With God all things are
possible and as the Believer is with God, it comes to pass that all
things are possible to him that believes!

If we were surrounded by all the devils in Hell, we need not fear them
for an instant if the Lord is on our side. We are mightier than all
Hell's legions when the Spirit is mightily upon us! If we were to be
beaten down by Satan until he had set his foot upon our chest to press
the very life out of us, yet if the Spirit of God helped us, we would
reach out our hand and grasp the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word
of God, and we would repeat the feat of Christian, against Apol-lyon,
when he gave the fiend such grievous wounds that he spread his dragon
wings and flew away! Therefore fear not, you tried ones, but trust in
the Spirit of God and your conflict shall speedily end in victory!

Sometimes our conflict is with past sin. We doubtfully enquire, "How
can it be forgiven?" The temptation vanishes before the sight of the
dying Redeemer! Then inbred lusts roar against us and we overcome it
through the blood of the Lamb, for "the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son,
cleanses us from all sin." Sometimes a raging corruption, or a strong
habit wars upon us–and then we conquer by the might of the sanctifying
Spirit of God who is with us and shall be in us forever! Or else it is
the world which tempts and our feet have almost gone–but we overcome
the world through the victory of faith!

And if Satan raises pride of life against us–the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes and the life all at once–we are still delivered,
for the Lord is a wall of fire round about us! The inward fire bravely
resists all sin and God's help is given to Believers to preserve them
from all evil in the moment of urgent need, even as He helped His
martyrs and confessors to speak the right words when called,
unprepared, to confront their adversaries! Care not, therefore, oh you
truster in the Lord Jesus, how fierce your enemy may be this day! As
young David slew the lion and the bear and slew the Philistine, too,
even so shall you go from victory to victory! " Many are the
afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them
all." Therefore, with a lion-like spirit, meet lions which seek to
devour you!

II. Now, then, we, come to our second head, which is–THE BELIEVER'S
LIFE HAS ITS SWEETS. We are not always killing lions–we are sometimes
eating honey! Certain of us do both at a time–we kill lions and yet
cease not to eat honey–and truly it has become so sweet a thing to
enter into conflict for Christ's sake, that it is a joy to contend
earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. The same Lord who
has bid us, "quit yourselves like men; be strong," has also said,
"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say, rejoice."

The Believer's life has its sweets and these are of the choicest–for
what is sweeter than honey? What is more joyful than the joy of a
saint? What is more happy than the happiness of a Believer? I will not
condescend to make a comparison between our joy and the mirth of
fools–I will go no further than a contrast. Their mirth is as the
crackling of thorns under a pot, which spit fire and make a noise and a
flash–but there is no heat and they are soon gone out–nothing comes
of it, the pot is long in boiling.

But the Christian's delight is like a steady coal fire. You have seen
the grate full of coals, all burning red and the whole mass of coal has
seemed to be one great glowing ruby! And everybody who has come into
the room, out of the cold, has delighted to warm his hands, for it
gives out a steady heat and warms the body even to its marrow. Such are
our joys! I would sooner possess the joy of Christ five minutes than I
would revel in the mirth of fools for half a century! There is more
bliss in the tear of repentance than in the laughter of gaiety–our
holy sorrows are sweeter than the world-

lings' joys. But, oh, when our joys grow full, Divinely full, then they
are unspeakably like those above–and Heaven begins below!

Did you never cry for joy? You say, perhaps, "Not since I was a child."
Nor have I, but I have always remained a child as far as Divine joy is
concerned. I could often cry for joy when I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to
Him! Ours is a joy which will bear thinking over. You can dare to pry
into the bottom of it and test its foundation! It is a joy which does
not grow stale. You may keep it in your mouth by the years together,
and yet it never sours. You may return to it again and again, and
again, and find it still as fresh as ever. And the best of it is there
is no repentance after it. You are never sorry that you were so glad!

The world's gay folk are soon sick of their drink, but we are only
sorry that we were not gladder, still, for our gladness sanctifies! We
are not denied any degree of joy to which we can possibly attain, for
ours is a healthy, health-giving delight! Christ is the fullness of joy
to His people and we are bid to enjoy Him to the fullest! Christians
have their sweets and those are, as honey and the honeycomb, the best
of the best! Of these joys there is plenty, for Samson found, as it
were, a living spring of honey, since he discovered a swarm of bees. So
abundant was the honey that he could take huge masses of the comb and
carry it in his hands and go away with it, bearing it to others. In the
love of Christ; in pardoned sin; in acceptance in the Beloved; in
resting in God; in perfectly acquiescing in His will; in the hope of
Heaven there is such joy that none can measure it. We have such a
living swarm of bees to make honey for us in the precious promises of
God, that there is more delight in store than any of us can possibly
realize!

There is infinitely more of Christ beyond our comprehension than we
have as yet been able to comprehend. How blessed to receive of His
fullness, to be sweetened with His sweetness and yet to know that
infinite goodness still remains! Perhaps some of you have enjoyed so
much of Christ that you could hardly bear any more–but your largest
enjoyments are only as tiny shells filled by a single wave of the
sea–while all the boundless ocean rolls far beyond your perception! We
have exceedingly great joy, yes, joy to spare! Our Master's wedding
feast is not so scantily furnished that we have to bring in another
seat for an extra guest, or murmur to ourselves that we had better not
invite at random lest we should be swarmed by too great a crowd.

No, rather the pillared halls of mercy in which the King makes His
feast are so vast that it will be our life-long business to furnish
them with guests, compelling more and more to come in, that His house
may be filled and that His royal festival may make glad ten thousand
times ten thousand hearts! Dear Friends, if you want to know what are
the elements of our joy, I have already hinted at them, but I will, for
a moment, enlarge them. Our joys are often found in the former places
of our conflicts. We gather our honey out of the lions which have been
slain for us or by us. There is, first, our sin. A horrible lion that!
But it is a dead lion, for Grace has much more abounded over abounding
sin. Oh, Brothers and Sisters, I have never heard of any dainty in all
the catalog of human joys that could match a sense of pardoned sin!
Full forgiveness! Free forgiveness! Eternal forgiveness! See, it
sparkles like dew of Heaven!

To know that God has blotted out my sin is knowledge rich with
unutterable bliss! My soul has begun to hear the songs of seraphim when
it has heard that note, "I have blotted out your sins like a cloud, and
as thick cloud your iniquities." Here is choice honey for you! The next
dead lion is conquered desire. When a wish has arisen in the heart
contrary to the mind of God and you have said–"Down with you! I will
pray you down. You used to master me–I fell into a habit and I was
soon overcome by you–but I will not, again, yield to you. By God's
Grace I will conquer you." I say, when at last you have obtained the
victory, such a sweet contentment perfumes your heart that you are
filled with unspeakable joy and you are devoutly grateful to have been
helped by the Spirit of God to master your own spirit. Thus you have
again eaten spiritual honey!

When you are ale to feel in your own soul that you have overcome a
strong temptation, the fiercer it was and the more terrible it was, the
louder has been your song and the more joyful your thanksgiving! To go
back to Mr. Bunyan, again, when Christian had passed through the Valley
of the Shadow of Death during the night, and when he had come entirely
out of it and the sun rose, you remember he looked back. (A pause). He
was long in taking that look, I guarantee you! What thoughts he had
while looking back! He could just discern that narrow track with the
quagmire on one side and the deep ditch on the other–and he could see
the shades out of which the hobgoblins hooted and the fiery eyes
glanced forth! He looked back by sunlight and thought within himself,
"Ah me! What goodness has been with me! I have gone through all that
and yet I am unharmed!"

What a happy survey it was to him! Ah, the joy of having passed through
temptation without having defiled one's garments! How must Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego have felt when they stepped out of the fiery
furnace and were not even singed, neither had the smell of fire passed
upon them! Happy men were they to have lived in the center of the
seven-times-heated furnace where everything else was consumed! Here,
again, is "a piece of the honeycomb." We find honey, again, from
another slain lion–namely, our troubles after we have been enabled to
endure them. This is the metal of which our joy-bells are cast! Out of
the brass of our trials, we make the trumpets of our triumph! He is not
the happy man who has seen no trouble, but, "blessed is he that endures
temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive a crown of life that
fades not away."

Death, too. Oh, the honey that is found in dead death! Death is,
indeed, dead! We triumph over him and are no more afraid of him than
little children are of a dead lion! We pluck him by the beard, and say
to him, "O Death, where is your sting? O Grave, where is your victory?"
We even look forward to the time of our departure with delight, when we
shall leave this heavy clay and on spirit wings ascend unto our Father
and our God! You see, there is a rich store of honey for God's people
and we do not hesitate to eat it! Let others say what they will, we are
a happy people, happy in Christ, happy in the Holy Spirit, happy in God
our Father! So that Believers have their sweets.

III. But the third is the point I want to dwell upon–THE BELIEVER'S
LIFE LEADS HIM TO COMMUNICATE OF THESE SWEETS. As soon as we have
tasted the honey of forgiven sin and perceived the bliss that God has
laid up for His people in Christ Jesus, we feel it to be both our duty
and our privilege to communicate the good news to others. Here let my
ideal statue stand in our midst–the strong man, conqueror of the
lion–holding forth his hands full of honey to his parents. We are to
be modeled according to this fashion.

And, first, we do this immediately. The moment a man is converted, if
he would let himself alone, his instincts would lead him to tell his
fellows. I know that the moment I came out of that little chapel in
which I found the Savior, I needed to pour out my tale of joy! I could
have cried with Cennick–

"Now will I tell to sinners round, What a dear Savior I have found!
I'll point to Your redeeming blood, And say, 'Behold the way to God!'"
I longed to tell how happy my soul was and what a deliverance I had
obtained from the crushing burden of sin! I longed to see all others
come and trust my Lord and live! I did not preach a sermon, but I think
I could have told out all the Gospel in that first hour!

Did not you, my Friend, feel much the same? Did not your tongue long to
be telling of what the Lord had done for you? Perhaps you are one of
those proper and retiring people who are greatly gifted at holding
their tongues and, therefore, you left the feet of Jesus in
silence–silence which angels wondered at! Is that why you have held
your tongue ever since? Perhaps if you had begun to speak, then, you
would have continued your testimony to this day! I repeat my assertion
that it is the instinct of every new-born soul to communicate the glad
tidings which Grace has proclaimed in his heart. Just as Samson had no
sooner tasted of the honey than he carried a portion of it to his
father and mother, so do we hasten to invite our neighbors to Christ!

My dear young Friend, as soon as ever you know the joy of the Lord,
open your mouth in a quiet, humble way and never allow yourself to be
numbered with the deaf and dumb! Let no one stop you from unburdening
your heart! Do not follow the bad example of those who have become dumb
dogs because of their cowardice at the beginning. The Believer will do
this, first, to those who are nearest to him. Samson took the honey to
his father and mother who were not far away. With each of us, the most
natural action would be to tell a brother or a sister or a fellow
workman, or a bosom friend. It will be a great joy to see them eating
the honey which is so pleasant to our own palate!

It is most natural in a parent, at once, to wish to tell his children
of Divine Love–have you all done so? You pray for your children, but
many of you would be the means of answering your own prayers if you
would a talk with them, one by one! This may appear difficult, but once
commenced, it will soon grow easy–and, indeed, if it is difficult, we
should aspire to do it for that very reason! Should we not do many a
difficult thing for Him who overcame all difficulties for us? At the
least, do not deny to your own children the personal testimony of their
father or their mother to the surpassing power of Grace and the
unutterable sweetness of Divine Love. Tell it to those who are nearest
to you. The Believer will do this as best he can.

Samson, you see, brought the honey to his father and mother in a rough
and ready style going on eating it as he brought it. If I wished to
give honey to my father and mother, I should do it up rather
daintily–I would at least put it in as respectable a dish as our
kitchen could afford–but there were no plates and dishes out there in
that Timnath vineyard and so his own hands were the only platters upon
which Samson could present the delicacy! "He took some in his hands,
and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat."
Perhaps you think, "If I am to speak to any person upon true religion,
I should like to do it in poetry." Better do it in prose, for perhaps
they will take more notice of your verse than of your subject. Give
them the honey in your hands and if there is no dish, they cannot take
notice of the dish.

"Yes, but, I should like to do it very properly," says one. "It is a
very important matter. I should like to speak most correctly." But my
judgment is, that as you will not be likely to attain correct speech
all in a hurry and your friends may die while you are learning your
grammar and your rhetoric, you had better tell them of Jesus according
to your present ability! Tell them there is life in a look at Jesus!
Tell them the story, simply, as one child talks to another. Carry the
honey in your hands, though it drips all round–no hurt will come of
the spilling–there are always little ones waiting for such drops. If
you were to make the Gospel drip about everywhere and sweeten all
things, it would be no waste, but a blessed gain to all around!
Therefore, I say to you, tell of Jesus Christ as best you can and never
cease to do so while life lasts.

But then Samson did another thing and every true Believer should do it,
too–he did not merely tell his parents about the honey, but he took
them some of it. I do not read, "And he told his father and mother of
the honey," but I read, "and he took some in his hands." Nothing is so
powerful as an exhibition of Grace, itself, to others. Do not talk
about it, but carry it in your hands! "I cannot do that," says one.
Yes, you can, by your life, your temper, your spirit, your whole being!
If your hands serve God, if your heart serves God, if your face beams
with joy in the service of God, you will carry Grace wherever you go
and those who see you will perceive it! You will hardly have need to
say, "Come and partake of Grace," for the Grace of God in you will be
its own invitation and attraction! Let our lives be full of Christ and
we shall preach Christ! A holy life is the best of sermons!
Soul-winning is worked by a winning life more surely than by winning
words.

Take note, also, that Samson did this with great modesty. We have
plenty of people about, nowadays, who could not kill a mouse without
publishing it in the Gospel Gazette! But Samson killed a lion and said
nothing about it. He holds the honey in his hands for his father and
mother–he shows them that–but we are specifically informed that he
told not his father or his mother that he had taken it out of the
carcass of the lion. The Holy Spirit finds modesty so rare that He
takes care to record it! In telling your own experience, be wisely
cautious. Say much of what the Lord has done for you, but say little of
what you have done for the Lord! You need not make much effort to be
brief on that point, for I am afraid that there is not much of it, if
all were told! Do not utter a self-glorifying sentence! Let us put
Christ to the front–and the joy and blessedness that comes of faith in
Him–but as for ourselves, we need not speak a word except to lament
our sins and shortcomings.

The sum of what I have to say is this–if we have tasted any joy in
Christ; if we have known any consolation of the Spirit; if faith has
been to us a real power and if it has worked in us peace and rest, let
us communicate this blessed discovery to others. If you do not do so,
mark you, you will have missed the very objective for which God has
blessed you! I heard the other day of a Sunday school address in
America which pleased me much. The teacher, speaking to the boys, said,
"Boys, here's a watch, what is it for?" The children answered, "To tell
the time." "Well," he said, "suppose my watch does not tell the time,
what is it good for?" "Good-for-nothing, Sir." Then he took out a
pencil. "What is this pencil for?" "It is to write with, Sir." "Suppose
this pencil won't make a mark, what is it good for?" "Good-for-nothing,
Sir."

Then he took out his pocket knife. "Boys, what is this for?" They were
American boys and so they shouted–"to whittle with"–that is to
experiment on any substance that came in their way by cutting a notch
in it. "But," he said, "suppose it will not cut, what is the knife good
for?" "Good-for-nothing, Sir." Then the teacher asked, "What is the
chief end of man?" And they replied, "To glorify God." "But suppose a
man does not glorify God, what is he good for?" "Good-for-nothing,
Sir." That brings out my point most clearly–there are many professors
of whom I will not say that they are good-for-nothing, but I think if
they do not soon stir themselves up to glorify God by proclaiming the
sweetness

of God's love, it will go hard with them! Remember how Jesus said of
the savorless salt, "Henceforth it is good for nothing"?

What were you converted for? What were you forgiven for? What were you
renewed for? What have you been preserved on earth for but to tell
others the glad tidings of salvation and so to glorify God? Then go out
with your hands full of the honey of Divine Love and hold it out to
others! You must assuredly do good by this–you cannot possibly do
harm. Samson did not invite his father and mother to see the lion when
he was alive and roaring–he might have done some hurt in that case, by
frightening them, or exposing them to injury. But he settled the lion
business, himself, and when it came to honey, he knew that even his
mother could not be troubled about that! Therefore he invited them both
to share his gains. When you get into a soul-conflict, do not publish
your distress to all your friends, but fight manfully in God's
name–and when you possess the joy of Christ and the love of the Spirit
and Grace is abundant in your soul–then tell the news to all around!

You cannot do any hurt by such a proceeding! Grace does good and no
harm, all its days. Even if you blunder over it, you will do no
mischief. The Gospel spilled on the ground is not lost! Good, and only
good must come of making known salvation by Jesus Christ! It will be
much better for you to tell of the sweets of godliness than it will be
to make riddles about the doctrine of it. Samson, afterwards, made a
riddle about his lion and the honey–and that riddle ended in fighting
and bloodshed. We have known certain Christians spend their lives in
making riddles about the honey and the lion, by asking tough doctrinal
questions which even angels cannot answer. "Riddle me this," they say,
and then it has ended in a fight and brotherly love has been murdered
in the fray.

It is much better to bring your hands full of honey to those who are
needy and present it to them that they may eat of it, than it is to
cavil and discuss. No hurt can come of telling what the Lord has done
for your soul and it will keep you out or mischief. Therefore, I would
stir up all Christian people to continue, from day to day, exhibiting
to needy sinners the blessedness of Christ, that unbelievers may come
and eat thereof. By doing this you will be blessing men far more than
Samson could bless his parents, for our honey is honey unto eternity,
our sweets are sweets that last to Heaven and are best enjoyed there!
Call upon others to taste and see that the Lord is good and you shall
have, therein, much joy! You shall increase your own pleasure by seeing
the pleasure of the Lord prospering in your hands.

What bliss awaits useful Christians when they enter into Heaven, for
they shall be met there by many who have gone before them whom they
were the means of turning to Christ! I often inwardly sing when I
perceive that I can scarcely go into any town or village but what
somebody hunts me up to say to me, "Under God I owe my salvation to
your sermons or to your books." What will be the joys of Heaven when we
shall meet those who were turned to righteousness by our holding forth
the Word of Life! Our Heaven will be seven heavens as we see them
there! If you have done nothing but exhibit in your lives the precious
results of Grace, you will have done well. If you have presented to
your companions Truths of God that were sweetness, itself, to you, and
tried to say in broken accents, "Oh that you knew this peace!" it shall
give you unspeakable joy to meet those in Glory who were attracted to
Christ by such a simple means!