Small Things Not to Be Despised

Small Things Not to Be Despised

(No. 2601)

A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, DECEMBER 18, 1898.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
SEPTEMBER 16, 1883.

"For who has despised the day of small things?" Zechariah 4:10.

IT is a very great folly to despise "the day of small things," for it
is usually God's way to begin His great works with small things. We see
it every day, for the first dawn of light is but feeble and yet,
by-and-by, it grows into the full noontide heat and glory. We know how
the early spring comes with its buds of promise, but it takes some time
before we get to the beauties of summer or the wealth of autumn. How
tiny is the seed that is sown in the garden, yet out of it there comes
the lovely flower! How small is the acorn, but how great is the oak
that grows up from it! The stream commences with but a gentle rivulet,
but it flows on till it becomes a brook, and then a river–perhaps a
mighty Amazon–before its course is run!

God begins with men in "the day of small things"–He began so with us.
How little and how feeble were we when first we came upon the scene of
action! He that is now a giant was once so feeble that he could not
move from place to place except as he was carried in his mother's arms.
Let us, then, not despise "the day of small things," as we see that God
begins with little things in Nature and among the sons and daughters of
men. And I am sure that He does so in the great work of His Church.
Long ago He began to build a spiritual temple for His own habitation,
but, at first, the stones of the foundation were hidden from the great
mass of mankind. How little was known in the world at large concerning
Abraham and his seed! How very, very slowly did the walls of that great
temple rise! Even in the time of Zechariah, it was still "the day of
small things" with the people of the Lord.

Comparatively speaking, it is still so, for what is the Christian
Church compared with the great mass of the heathen world and of those
who reject the Savior? Our Lord's method of spreading His Truth among
men was to begin with a handful of disciples in an upper room at
Jerusalem, to fill them with His Spirit and then to let them be
scattered over the whole known world. This is usually God's plan of
working in His Church and also in individual Believers. Of course there
are various degrees of ability and Grace even among the Lord's own
people. One of the old Puritans said that some men are born with beards
and, certainly, there are some Believers who, almost as soon as they
are converted, seem to take great strides and to make speedy advances
so that they soon become very useful and are even able to teach things
which others only learn after long years of experience. But, generally
speaking, this is the order of the growth of Grace in the heart, "First
the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear."

First, the Truth of God is heard and felt, and the heart bleeds under
conviction of guilt. By-and-by another Truth is discovered and the
wounded heart is bound up by faith in Christ. This faith grows to full
assurance–there is a gradual conformity to the image of Christ–and
that image becomes more and more clear till the man reaches the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ Jesus. But first there is the
beginning which is small and afterwards there is the latter end which
shows a great increase. It is within our souls as it is in the
world–the day begins with the dawn, but the shining light "shines more
and more unto the perfect day."

Woe unto that man who despises "the day of small things" in the Church
of Christ, or who despises "the day of smart things" in any individual
Believer, for it is God's day–it is a day out of which great things
will yet come and, therefore, he that despises it really despises his
Maker's work and despises the great and glorious things which are to
come out of the small things which are at present apparent! I know some
professing Christians who, I am afraid, despise "the day of small
things" in little Churches. There is gathered a small community of
godly people. Perhaps they are poor and many of them illiterate. And
some of you rich folk who think yourselves wonderfully
intelligent–though I am not always sure that you are–if you happen to
settle down in that village, you say that you would like to attend the
little Chapel or mission room, but the minister puts his h's in the
wrong place and his speech is ungrammatical and, of course, that is
very painful to your refined taste! Then the people are very poor and
you hardly think that the Church is advancing at all, so to help it,
you leave it alone! "God forbid," you say, "that we should despise the
day of small things!" But you are very sorry that everything is on such
a small scale! You say that you pity the poor people, but, instead of
helping them, you lie quietly by, or you go off to a more fashionable
place where you meet with some of your own class and feel more at home.
There, the h's are put in properly, though the Gospel is left out of
the preaching! But the people who attend are such a "respectable" sort
of folk that you feel it is quite the correct thing to worship with
them. If any of you have any respect for yourselves while acting in
such a way as that, I hope you will soon discover that there is really
nothing "respectable" in that kind of respectability! I mean that there
is nothing that should make a man respected when he gives up his
convictions and leaves his own true Brothers and Sisters for the sake
of getting into a better class of society and seeming to be of a
superior order to the godly poor people to whom he might be of real
service.

To me, it seems that it should be your glory to join the poorest and
weakest churches of your denomination and wherever you go, to say,
"This little cause is not as strong as I should like it to be, but, by
the Grace of God, I will make it more influential. At any rate, I wil1
throw in my weight to strengthen the weak things of Zion and certainly
I will not despise the day of small things" Where would have been our
flourishing Churches of today if our forefathers had disdained to
sustain them while they were yet in their infancy? I thank God for the
men who did not mind going down into back yards and up into haylofts
that they might worship God according to the dictates of their
conscience. I always delight in those who were willing to stand on the
village green with the people sitting down on felled trees or logs to
listen to them–and who were not afraid of being called fanatics and of
bearing all manner of reproach and scorn for Christ's sake! But if you
and I grow to be such great and grand people as some we have known, we
must mind that the Lord does not take us down a notch or two, and that,
perhaps, by a very painful process. He asks, as if in indignation, "Who
has despised the day of small things?" and I believe that He is grieved
with any of His servants when they fall into such a state of mind as
that–and begin to despise His Church because she is despised by the
world, and look down on His people as the high peaks of Bashan seemed
to regard with contempt the lowly hill of Zion–and, therefore, the
Psalmist said to them, "Why leap you, you high hills? This is the hill
which God desires to dwell in; yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever."

My special objective at this time is to reprove those who despise the
earlier and weaker works of Grace in the soul. True, it is "the day of
small things," but it is a subject for rejoicing and is not to be
despised. First, I shall speak to proud professors who despise "the day
of small things" in young beginners. Then I shall have a little talk
with young beginners who despise "the day of small things"in
themselves. And thirdly, I shall speak of those who do not despise "the
day of small things." When this question is put to them, "Who has
despised the day of small things?" they can answer, "Lord, you know
that we have not done so; we have rejoiced in the small signs of Grace
in young beginners and we hope to see great things grow out of them."

I. First of all, THERE ARE SOME PROFESSING CHRISTIANS WHO DESPISE "THE
DAY OF SMALL THINGS" IN OTHERS.

I am sure I do not know exactly at what point the day of Grace begins
in some people. There are some who, even before they fully receive the
Gospel, have some good thing in them. "Oh, no," you say, "that cannot
be." Well, just think a moment. Before the sower went forth to sow,
there was a certain part of the farm which was described as "honest and
good ground." There was another part that was like the highway and
another part covered with thorns or stones. But there was something
which distinguished the "honest and good ground" from all the rest of
the land. I do not say that it was, then, bringing forth any fruit to
God's Glory, but I do say that God. had, from a very early period–I do
not know when–made that ground ready and fit to receive the Seed. So I
can believe that before a man even hears the Gospel at all, there may
be an antecedent work of what I may almost call secondary Grace–not
savingGrace, but a making ready of the heart for the reception of the
saving Grace of God.

In my own experience, I never quite know where I am to put my finger
upon the beginning of God's work in my soul. I can tell the very day
and hour when I was converted, but I had many stirrings of conscience
before that. I know that I was very effectually convinced of sin, but
when the gracious work began, I cannot say. One of the first things
that I recollect is lying awake at night because I had done something
wrong to my mother. I do not know whether that was not the Grace of God
working in my heart even then–I think that it was. I am sure that it
was, in some measure, the Lord graciously working within me and making
me ready for the more manifest work of His Spirit.

Now, dear Friends, do not despise those little things, those
preparation works, but whenever you see them in children, or in adults,
be thankful for them. Frequently, when I have been receiving members
into the Church, I have asked of a good woman, "Is your husband a
Christian?" and the answer has often been, "Well, Sir, he is a very
good husband, but I am afraid that he is not a Christian." Then I have
enquired, "What does he do with himself on Sundays?" "Oh, Sir, he is
always at the Tabernacle! He has been attending the services for years
and he is very fond of you, Sir. He will run home and hurry over his
tea so as to get to the Prayer Meeting on Monday, and on Thursday
nights, he is never absent." I have said, "My good woman, does your
husband show such love to the Lord's House and to the minister, and yet
he is not converted?" "Yes," she answers, "he is not converted, for
sometimes he does what he knows is not right. Still, his attendance
upon the means of Grace is a great check upon him. He is a dear good
husband, much better than he used to be, but I am afraid he is not a
Christian and that he does not truly pray for pardon." "Ah," I say,
"let us have a little prayer together about him and let us firmly
believe that we shall have him yet. If a man continues to come where we
are constantly firing the Gospel gun, one of the stray shots will hit
him yet! Be sure that you encourage him to keep on coming and mind that
you are very kind to him and help him all you can in finding the
Savior–and we will yet rejoice together over him." When moths fly very
near the candle, sooner or later they will singe their wings–there is
a great Gospel candle burning here and I do not doubt that some of
these human moths will dash into the flame, by-and-by! So I hope you
will encourage them to come here, again and again, until they are
blessedly caught so that they can never fly away. Such people as I have
been describing have very curious whims and fancies–they will take
offense at almost anything at all, so we must tread very softly and
tenderly–and not grieve any with whom it is, in this sense, "the day
of small things."

I have known some come to Christ at last and trust Him, but it was with
such a very little faith that I hardly know whether, in their case, it
was faith born or unbelief dying. You remember the poor man who said to
Christ, "Lord, I believe," and then he felt as if he had gone a little
too far with his declaration, for he drew back and said, "Help You my
unbelief." And these poor halting souls are just in that state–I hope
they do believe, but I am sure that they are very unbelieving. They
begin to pray, but, oh, what strange prayer it is! Some of them repeat
a form of prayer they learned a long while ago which is quite
inapplicable to their present case, but still they do mean to pray
somehow. They want to pray and though it can scarcely be called prayer,
yet I expect that God accepts it as prayer and graciously answers it.
They have begun to repent–they have not a very clear view of what sin
is, but they know that it is something they would like to get rid of.
They are like Paul when he was at Melita–I am not sure that he
understood much about snakes and their bites–but when a viper fastened
itself onto his hand, he shook it off into the fire. So, these people
could not define sin, theologically, but they wish that they were clear
of it, they long to be pardoned. It is "the day of small things" with
them and it is not to be despised.

Ah, dear Friends, when a man tries to get away alone, that he may read
his Bible, do not despise him! When a tear falls during a sermon and he
brushes it away and wants to make you believe that there was something
the matter with his nose, do not despise him, even for that! I have
seen that sort of thing happen many a time and I have been pleased to
notice it. We ought to delight in anything and everything that looks in
the right direction–and never think of despising it.

Now I want to come to the most important point–Why ought we not to
despise these small things–these feeble beginnings? Especially when
there is a little Grace in any people, why must we not despise them?

Well, first, because in the Church of Christ, there always were and
there always will be babes as well as men. Do not despise the
babes–where are the men to come from if there are no babes? If it
happens in God's family as it does in most families, you will soon find
that it will not do to despise the babes. How very grieved all loving
parents are when their infants are despised! You may ignore the big son
if you like, but do not despise the babes. So, with regard to Christ's
family, be sure to honor the little ones–take care of them, never
stand in their way. When they want to come to Christ, allow them to
come. It does not say, "draw them," for they are wanting to come, but
get out of their way and do not hinder them from coming. And whenever
you meet with one who has lately been born of God and who is tender of
heart, do not despise him. As long as the family of Christ is to
increase, there always must be babes, and babes must never be despised.

Again, dear Friends, do not speak harshly to those who are newly born
to God, for you were once a babe. Yes, yes, though you do not like to
be reminded of it, you, great giant that you now are, were once an
infant! And you with your deep experience and your profound knowledge,
you who think you can set everybody else right, why, once you hardly
knew that twice two made four! You had to begin at the very beginning
just like others have had to do! So remember what you used to be, look
back to the hole of the pit from where you were dug and do not begin to
despise others who are in the same condition in which you once were!

Remember, again, that the greatest saints in this world, or who ever
were in this world, were babes in Grace once. Whether it was Paul, or
Apollos, or Cephas, they all began with little Grace and weak spiritual
life at the first. Yes, there is not a bright spirit before the Throne
of God who has washed his robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb, but once was only an infant in spiritual things! And if the
greatest were once so little, that is a good reason why we should never
despise "the day of small things."

Besides, dear Friends, it should always check every tendency in this
direction when we remember that God made and God loves the very least
Believer You know, a silver sixpence is as really silver as a
half-crown. And the Queen's image on the one is as genuine as on the
other. They are current coin of the realm and I am sure you will not
treat with scorn the little pieces of money. Then why should we despise
the small coins in Christ's treasury? When our dear young Brothers and
Sisters are made of the same metal and stamped with the same image as
we are, why should we despise them, though we happen to be, or thinkwe
are, of somewhat more weight and value in the Church of God than they
are? Oh, do not despise the lowly violet that hides its head among the
leaves! It is quite as much a flower of God's making as the finest
tulip that airs its beauty aloft, or the most brilliant standard rose
that is before your eyes! God made the little things and God loves them
and, as parents have a special love for their weak and little children,
so has God a special favor towards the lambs of His flock, and He takes
special care of the seedlings in His garden which have not yet come to
the fullness of growth. Therefore, do not despise them.

If you do, there is one sentence I would utter that ought to rebuke you
very effectually. Your Master would not despise them if He were here.
Christ has a quick eye to see little Graces in His people and when He
sees them, He delights in them. A diamond is a diamond if it is ever so
small. And Christ's people are Christ's people let them have ever so
little Grace. Oh, if the Lord Jesus Christ would have carried that lamb
in His bosom, why do you refuse to carry it? Why do you neglect it? Why
should there be so often heard stinging words and keen, cutting,
sarcastic remarks about the feebleness of knowledge or the defects of
practice, when, if there is but Grace in the heart, you and I ought to
rejoice to see it? I have often quoted to you the words of Jerome when
he said that he loved Christ in Augustine and he loved Augustine in
Christ. So ought we to love the weakest Believers–to love Christ in
them, and to love them in Christ. May the Holy Spirit teach us to be
like our Master in this respect as well as in all others!

I have finished this word of gentle rebuke when I add that if you and I
do despise "the day of small things," the probability is that we shall
have to smart for it You remember that passage in Ezekiel where the
Lord speaks of the fat cattle pushing the weak cattle with their horns
and their shoulders? They were big bulls of Bashan and they were always
goring one and pushing against another because they happened to be weak
and sickly–and the Lord said that He would judge between cattle and
cattle and those that had been so headstrong, so proud and so cruel
would have to smart for it. The day shall come, my proud Brother, when
you will be glad to sit at the feet of that young Christian you now
despise! I have noticed that sort of thing many a time. It is a part of
my pastoral observation that when persons who were genuine Christians
have been proudly lifted up, they have been made to go down very low
till they have envied those they once despised, and said, "If we felt
as sure of salvation as that dear young man that we judged so harshly,
we would willingly enough change places with him and take what we
called his inexperience and his lack of knowledge, if we could be just
as simple in our confidence in Christ as he is." Therefore, Beloved, if
you do not want to bring the rod upon your own back, despise not "the
day of small things," but be ready to cherish and comfort all in whom
the work of Grace has apparently begun even to the lightest extent!

II. Now, secondly, THERE ARE SOME WHO DESPISE "THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS
" IN THEMSELVES. They think that it is very humble to do so. I am not
sure that it is–I think it is very foolish to do so.

There are some who despise "the day of small things" in themselves in
this way–they pass by the small things. Suppose that a young man is
impressed, under a sermon, with a sense of sin. A wise thing for him to
do is to get home as quickly as he can and cry, "Lord, I do not know
whether this is true repentance, but, if it is not, make it so! Lord, I
am half afraid that I am only a stony-ground hearer and that this good
Seed will spring up for a little while and then will wither. Lord,
break my stony heart and do it effectually." Be very thankful, dear
Friends, if you have the faintest spiritual impressions. I know some
men who would almost give their eyes if they could but feel anything,
but they say that they sit and hear, and the only result is what Cowper
said–

"If anything is felt, 'tis only pain To find I cannot feel."

So, if you have any spiritual feeling at all, do not despise it, but go
to God with it and pray that the work which seems to be begun in you
may be carried on until it is complete–and that if it is not begun, it
may begin at once. When you feel, sometimes, in the assemblies of God's
House, a softening influence stealing over your spirit, or when
possibly, in the middle of your work–you do not know why–you suddenly
feel very tender in heart–or, perhaps, walking down into the City
early in the morning, before many people are astir, you feel a
solemnity quite unusual to you–do not despise it! These little things
may lead on to a blessed saving work–I pray the Lord that you may take
care of these dewdrops of Grace. It there are but a few tiny drops and
if they are but cared for and valued, the Lord will yet look still more
graciously upon you and send you a copious shower of blessing. Do not
despise anything that looks like Grace in your heart. God help you to
take it as a gardener at this time of the year takes the little slips
and cuttings and puts them in silver sand to make them grow, that he
may have the flowering plants, by-and-by. Use your cuttings–the little
things that seem as if they could not have any life in them. God would
have you plant them in favorable circumstances, that they may grow to
His praise and glory.

Some despise "the day of small things" in themselves because they do
not think that any good can come of them. When I was preaching this
morning, [Sermon #1739, Volume 29–"Bankrupt Debtors Discharged"] I
thought that, perhaps, some poor soul would take comfort to himself,
and I said to a Brother when I went outside, "I do like, sometimes, to
have a subject which comes rolling up like a sea of Grace" because
there are so many people who are like oysters in the riverbeds waiting
for the tide to return. I did hope, this morning, that it was a flood
tide, and that some of you would open your shells and that the blessed
Word of God would come into your very souls! If you do that, it will
come in. The oyster cannot make the sea roll up, but whenever he feels
it rolling over him, he says, "Now is the time for me to open my
shell," and when you feel, "Now is the time for me to seek the Lord,
now is the day of salvation, now is the high tide of Grace," you shall
have the blessing! It is all around you, or else you would not have
opened your shell. It is the very flood tide of Grace that has made you
feel what you feel. Therefore be glad and do not despise it. It may
seem a little thing to feel tender and solemn, but it is not so–it is
often the beginning of a blessed work of Grace–therefore value it
highly.

I have known some to despise the blessing by resolutely resisting its
entrance into their hearts. I can never forget some instances of this
resistance that I have known. I was preaching once, in a certain city,
and a gentleman who had been very kind to me was in the congregation,
but I saw him get up in the middle of the sermon and go out of the
building. The Brother who was with me slipped out after him and said to
him, "My dear Sir, why did you come out?" He answered, "Mr. Spurgeon
has got me in his hands. I am like an India rubber doll and he can
twist me into any shape that he likes. I am afraid that if I had
listened to him for another ten minutes, I would have been converted."
So off he went, deliberately stamping out, as far as he could, the
spark of the Truth of God as it came toward him. He would not let the
good Seed grow–he invited the birds of the air to come and steal it
away. Do not forget that although the Lord graciously changes man's
will and He has absolute power over the human will and makes men
willing in the day of His power, yet He never saves anybody against his
will and, while the will stands out against God and is unrenewed and
unchanged, the man is still unsaved. It seems to me a dreadful thing
that people can come to the House of God without any desire to get a
blessing and there cover themselves up in armor of mail to keep every
arrow from getting anywhere near their hearts. That is one method of
despising "the day of small things."

I know some others who despise "the day of small things" because if
they get a little good in their hearts, they do not try to get more. If
we did not expect a little child to ever grow, we would really be
despising it, putting it down as a dwarf or a monstrosity. So, if the
Grace of God has come into your heart, you will do all in your power to
make it to grow and increase and thus prove that you do not despise it.
I think I have said enough to show that if any here have the slightest
sign of the beginnings of Grace, any glimmerings of the Divine Light,
any first outlines of the image of Christ upon their heart, they must
not despise them, but they should pray God to bless them and bring them
to maturity. If they do so, I will tell you what God will do–it is
hinted at in the verse from which our text is taken–"For they shall
rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel." They had
begun to build, but it was such a poor paltry piece of work and the
wall was still so low, that they despised it. But when they saw the
prince standing there, with the plummet in his hand and saw stone after
stone brought and laid in its place–and their great leader officiating
as the chief architect, they said to one another–"Look, the prince is
there with the plummet in his hand! He is a man who never undertakes a
task unless he goes through with it, so, depend upon it, the work will
be completed."

In like manner I can see that, although it may be very little Grace
that is in your heart, yet Christ has come with that Grace! Christ is
building in your heart, Christ is laying the foundation stone, the
Prince of the kings of the earth, Christ Jesus, is there with His
plummet and He that has begun the good work in you will carry it on
till it is perfected in Glory! Oh, what a blessing it is to look to
Christ with the plummet in His hand and say, "Great Master-Builder, I
will not despise these foundations because, as yet, they are scarcely
seen above the soil, for I know that You, who have begun the good work,
will carry it on and perfectly perform all that You have promised. The
Temple will yet appear to Your praise where now there seems to be but a
tiny heap of stones."

That is the way to cure you of despising "the day of small things" in
yourselves.

III. Now, my last point is this. THERE ARE SOME WHO NEVER DESPISE "THE
DAY OF SMALL THINGS." I have time for only a few words on this part of
my subject, but I wish them to be very tender words.

First, true pastors never despise "the day of small things." Speaking
for myself, I can say that I love to see in those of you who are
unconverted any sign of serious thought, any intimation of a coming
change, any token that you are turning unto the Lord. My heart is
gladdened whenever I perceive it. Does anyone think that I despise it?
Why, I pray to God continually to bring it to pass! Despise it? I look
for it as the reward of my toil! If I did but know that I had awakened
thought in any one of you, I would go home happy! If I did but hear
that the Lord was bringing a score or two to Himself, I would gladly
lie awake at night to bless His name for such a mercy as that! I do not
care for the vastness of this congregation, but I do care for the
individual souls in it and I rejoice most of all over those who are
saved out of it. What good is it simply to bring you here and to have
you sitting quietly while I talk to you? It is a waste of time and
labor unless it brings you to Christ! But if I know that any of you are
brought to penitence and faith, I am sure that I do not despise it, for
I value such blessings above the choicest gold!

And let me also tell you that your dear parents, your Christian wife
and your godly daughter who persuaded you to come to this service do
not despise "the day of small things." I have known some of our members
do really extraordinary things in order to get people to come here in
the hope that they might be converted. There was one who, after many
attempts, at last induced a man to promise that he would come with him
one day, so he went round to fetch him. "Oh, I cannot come!" said the
man, "I am making a rabbit hutch." "Well," said the other, "I have one
ready made that I will give you." "But," said the man, "I cannot come,
I promised to go and see a man who has a pair of pigeons to sell." My
friend answered, "I have a pair of pigeons I will give to you if you
will come with me." It was all in vain. He might offer the man what he
would, he could not get him. I hope that he has brought him by this
time, but if not, I know that he will stick to him till he does see him
here! And I know another thing, that he will bring the friend to his
own seat and he will, if necessary, stand in the aisle and pray for him
all through the service! Well, now, if he gets his friend to hear the
Word and sees that he is impressed by it, you do not suppose that he
will despise "the day of small things," do you? On the contrary, he
will be glad even for the slightest sign of the working of God's Spirit
in his friend's heart!

Your godly mother, when she hears that you have been to the Tabernacle,
will say, "Bless God for that!" If she finds that you have begun to
pray, her heart will leap within her! A dear father, a minister of the
Gospel, writes to me, and says, "My son had never decided for God till
he went to hear you at Exeter Hall. During the evening sermon he bowed
his head and gave himself up to the Lord. And now he is proposed as a
member of my Church. God bless you, Sir!" It is always so with true
Christians–they do not despise "the day of small things," but they are
glad when their children are brought to Christ! And it is just the same
with all soul-winners and I hope that many here are of that class. If
they can spy anything like the tiniest egg of Grace, they feel so glad!
And they watch you and they say to one another, "Is that light that I
can see there in the East?" And the other says, "I do not know. I am
afraid it is not." "Oh," says the first friend, "but I think it is.
Does it not look a little gray just over there?" "No," replies the
other, "I am afraid that it is not morning light yet." That is how some
of us talk about you–we are often talking and praying about you, dear
Hearers, and we say to one another, "When will So-and-So come to the
Savior?" There is a good man here whom I pray for nearly every day and
I know that his wife does the same. He loves to come here, yet he is
still an unsaved man. But, by the Grace of God, he cannot remain where
he is if prayer can stir him! We will pray him out of it and bring him
to the Savior–may the Lord grant that it may speedily be so!

There is one other Person who never despises "the day of small things,"
and with Him I finish. And that is, our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ He is so eager to see of the travail of His soul that if He
spies in you even a desire after Him, He is pleased with it. Believe
me, if you have but a spark of desire after Christ, He has a whole
furnace of desire after you! Oh, that you would have Him as your
Savior! He is free to every soul of you who will have Him! Is it not
put just so in His last invitation? "Whoever will, let him take the
water of life freely." Do not think that He excludes you– you may
exclude yourself, but if there is in your heart any wish, any shadow of
a wish, anything like a desire for Christ, you may come, and welcome!
Mercy's gate is wide open. Christ invites you to His house and to His
heart. Oh, come to Him and come now! "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and you shall be saved." May His Divine Spirit lead you to believe on
Him at this moment! To believe on Him is to trust Him. Throw yourself
on Him, sink or swim. Take Christ to be yours! Have you done it? Then
you are saved, for, "he that believes on the Son has everlasting life."
His believing is the evidence that he is already a saved man! So, go
your ways and the Lord be with you, but I charge every one of you, meet
me in Heaven! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: ISAIAH 54:1-10.

Verse 1. Sing, O barren, you that did not bear; break forth into
singing, and cry aloud, you that did not travail with child: for more
are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,
says the LORD. In this Western clime we do not know all the misery
which was felt by Eastern women who were childless. They were looked
down upon and despised. Yet here God bids them sing! And, dear Friends,
if you and I feel as if our hearts have become barren so that we cannot
think of God or raise our thoughts towards Him as we would desire. If
we feel that we have become useless and for that reason our spirit is
greatly depressed, let us give heed to this sweet, this charming
exhortation of Je-hovah–"Sing, O barren soul; break forth into
singing, and cry aloud," for God can turn our barrenness into
fruitful-ness and make us to rejoice exceedingly before Him. If we are
now sighing and crying because we are not what we ought to be, or what
we want to be, God can, in the richness of His Grace, make us all that
we desire! Therefore let us begin to be joyful even before the miracle
of mercy is worked! Let us have unbounded faith in God and expect Him
to bless us even while we are in our lowest state.

2, 3. Enlarge the place of your tent and let them stretch forth the
curtains of your habitations: spare not, lengthen your cords, and
strengthen your stakes; for you shall break forth on the right hand and
on the left; and your seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the
desolate cities to be inhabited. This was good news for the poor
Gentiles who were so long spiritually barren, but whose seed was to
spread all over the earth! This prophecy has been already fulfilled in
a great measure and the very wording of it is a direction to us if we
desire to see the Church of God increased. Make ready for God's
blessing, you who are pining and groaning for greater things than
these–God is about to bless you! Enlarge your tents! Lengthen the
cords and strengthen the stakes! Prepare for the coming blessing, for
you are to have better and brighter days than you have ever known!
Therefore be no more sad, but look forward with joyful anticipation to
the good things in store for you.

4. Fear not; for you shall not be ashamed: neither be you confounded;
for you shall not be put to shame: for you shall forget the shame of
your youth and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood any
more. I am not going to interpret the passage in its strict connection,
but to use it for our comfort and instruction. O you that are cast
down, you poor trembling ones that would gladly be at one with God, but
feel as if you cannot find Him, believe in the Lord your God and trust
in His Son, Jesus Christ, for there are glad times coming for you! All
your former days of sadness shall be forgotten and you shall have such
joy and delight as you can hardly imagine at present.

5. For your Maker is your husband; the LORD of Hosts is His name; and
your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel the God of the whole earth shall
He be called. Oh, what a blessing that is! This is a wide-spread
mercy–"The God of the whole earth shall He be called." My Soul, come
and hide beneath the shadow of these earth-covering wings, for there is
room for you beneath their welcome shelter and, once there, you shall
not be banished from that sacred spot, for it is written, "Him that
comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." "Your Maker is your husband,"
united to you in eternal wedlock! Therefore, be of good comfort.

6. For the LORD has calledyou as a woman forsaken andgrievedin spirit,
and a wife ofyouth, when you were refused, says your God. Poor rejected
one, has the world cast you off? Do its sinful pleasures pall upon you?
Listen, "The Lord has called you." You are divorced from the world that
you may be forever united to Him!

7. 8. For a small moment have I forsaken you; but with great mercies
will I gather you. In a little wrath I hid My face from you for a
moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you, says
the LORD your Redeemer. What words of comfort lie here to those of the
Lord's people who have fallen into spiritual darkness and come upon
evil days! God still remembers you! His wrath is but for a moment and
will swiftly pass away–but His age-enduring kindness which sweeps
across the boundless eternity shall be with you forever!

9, 10. For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me: for as I have sworn
that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I
sworn that 1 would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the
mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall
not depart from you, neither shall the Covenant of My peace be removed,
says the LORD that has mercy on you. Oh, for Grace, oh, for the help of
the Holy Spirit to lay hold upon these precious promises, and to feed
on them!