The Wandering Bird

The Wandering Bird

(No. 3453)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1915.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man that wanders from
his place." Proverbs 27:8.

SOLOMON spoke from observation. He had seen certain persons of a
vagrant kind and he perceived that they seldom or never prospered.
Moreover, he spoke from Inspiration, as well as from observation, hence
the wisdom of the philosopher is, in this case, supported by the
austerity of the preacher. We may, therefore, take this Proverb, first,
as the dictate of human wisdom gathered by long experience–and then,
next, as the testimony of Divine Wisdom, commended to us by Infallible
Revelation. The principle it inculcates is alike applicable to the
common affairs of life and to the higher pursuits which belong to our
spiritual interests.

I. THIS IS THE DICTATE OF WISDOM.

In the common affairs of life we believe Solomon to be correct in his
statement that, "As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man that
wanders from his place." The unrest of that man's mind and the
instability of his conduct who is constantly making a change of his
position and purpose, foretells no success for any of his adventures.
Unless he makes the change very wisely and has abundant reason for it,
he will make a change for the worse, as the bird does that leaves her
nest. Some make a change of their country and fly from their native
shores. This is not an ill thing for men to do, for thereby nations
have been formed and deserts have been peopled. When a man finds it
impossible to provide bread for an increasing family in this country,
one of the wisest things that he can do is to cross the sea and seek
profitable employment in another land. But there are some spirits of
such a roving caste that they seem never to be satisfied at home. They
feel persuaded that if they were under other skies, they would succeed,
whereas, as a matter of general fact, a man who cannot prosper in
England will not prosper anywhere–and many of those who have gone
abroad would be but too glad to get home again! Without taking great
counsel from God and weighing the matter, long, it is not good for a
man to leave the Christian privileges of this country, let alone other
considerations. It is ill, I say, to turn aside from the place where
sanctuaries are so numerous and where the Gospel is so clearly
proclaimed, to go abroad where there may be some pecuniary advantages,
but where there must be much spiritual loss. Let the man take anxious
thought before he goes, or else, perhaps, when he finds himself in
Australia, he will long to be in New Zealand! And when he does not
prosper there he will pant for the United States, and, not getting on
there, he will, perhaps, be wanting to came back to Old England–and so
he will spend the best of his days in vacillating as to where he shall
spend them!

The same is also true with respect to a change of occupation. Some
persons are one thing, today, but you do not know what they will be
tomorrow. Evidently they were not cut out for this and, therefore, they
think they must have been ordained for that, and as they have not
thrived in one line of business, they feel certain that they must have
made a little mistake–and that if they could get into another line,
they would prosper. Well, when a man is in error about his calling, if
it really is not his calling, let him leave it–but let him first be
sure that it is not his calling, for otherwise he will sin against the
express words of Inspiration. The Apostle Paul says, "Let every man
abide in the same calling wherein he was called"–that is to say, the
occupation or profession in life you were engaged in when you were
converted need not be rashly abandoned! Therein you may enjoy communion
with God. But if you go running before the cloud and, with presumptuous
self-will, get out of the path that Providence has assigned you, you
will be sure to smart for it. It is ours to follow, never to lead.
Where we clearly see our way, there let us go–and unless we have that
way clearly manifested to us, let us abide still in our nest.

This also applies to those who want to be always changing their
situation and their acquaintance–employers never satisfied with their
employees, and employees always discontented with their employers. We
know many who say, "There are so many temptations in the place where I
am–I will try another." Well, I do not know, dear Friends, that you
are

right. The temptations that trouble me I would rather endure than
encounter any fresh ones. I may know something about my weakness in the
present trial, but I cannot know how I might stagger under another! I
would recommend you to be rather leery of changing your trials. To
exchange one trial for another is all the relief you will get in this
world. All is vanity under the sun! The whole Creation groans together.
Amidst sorrow and sighing thus universal, our lot is cast. From the
sick man's bitter experience, as Dr. Watts describes it, we cannot
escape–

"We toss from side to side in pain, But 'tis a poor relief we gain To
shift the place, but not the pain." You may change your position over
and over again, but you will always be exposed to the temptation. Until
you get beyond yonder azure sky, you will never be out of gunshot of
the devil. Evil spirits molest every rank in life. The poor man is
sorely beset with grievous hardships, and the rich man is encompassed
with seductive snares. He who toils with his hands may have some cause
to complain, but he who toils with his brain will become the victim of
a sorer complaint. Should you fly to the utmost verge of the green
earth, temptation would still pursue you! Everywhere, while you are in
the body, you must keep guard, for temptations and trials are the
common portion of all who dwell on this earth! Be not in a hurry,
therefore, to fly from one scene of temptation to another. If God
ordains that your lot should be altered, be it so. It is yours to
accept His allotment either with resignation or with gratitude. But be
not hasty or heedless in running from one place to another, lest in
yielding to the impulse of a moment, you forfeit the comfort of a
lifetime.

It may be that these remarks are peculiarly applicable to some people
here present. I cannot tell. When talking about such homely things, our
words have sometimes proved to be like an oracle for the guidance of
those who have come up to God's House to enquire in His Temple. At any
rate, dear Friends, when the mind is unhinged, or the feelings chafed,
it is not easy to exercise a wise discretion. Wait upon God for
guidance as to any change in life you may determine, and if the two
things are equal–to remain where you are, or to move elsewhere–choose
to stay where you are, for the chances are, speaking according to man's
judgment, in its favor. Reason seems to say that as it is unwise for
the bird to wander from her nest, so it is not desirable for you to
wander from your place.

Still keeping to the common use of these words, let us now turn them to
another account. This is most certainly true in changing one's
religious service in the cause of God. We have a niche, perhaps, in
which God has placed us, and we have had some little honor in filling
it, but, by-and-by, another sphere of labor opens up before us and,
like children easily charmed with novelty, we think we could be more
useful in doing something else and leaving our old work. Let us be very
careful in this matter, for, "as a bird that wanders from her nest, so
is a man that wanders from his place." I admired one thing greatly in
our deceased friend, Mr. Worcester, who for so long a time kept the
gate outside. When I once asked him whether he could not be serviceable
to the church as an Elder, he said that if he were elected to it he
would decline the office, "Because," he said, "I can do my work as a
gatekeeper, but I do not know what I could do as an Elder." So he
resolved to stick to the work in which he was acknowledged to do good
service. I would have each Christian do the same!

Some Brothers we know have such an itching to get into the pulpit that
they are impatient of any other office than the preacher's. But there
are many in the pulpit, now-a-days, who had been better for all
concerned if kept out of it. They were excellent people at Prayer
Meetings. They were very serviceable, indeed, to give a little address,
now and then, at a cottage meeting. They would have been useful
deacons, exemplary visitors of the sick and, perhaps, good city
missionaries. But they thought within themselves that the pulpit ought
to be blessed by their distinguished abilities, and so they crept up
the pulpit stairs as little to their own comfort as to the church's
edification! And now, had they but the wisdom and the humility to come
down, again, never more to mount them, it would be well! If you are
really called to the ministry, then, in God's name, do not stand back
from it! And if a new sphere of labor opens to you, accept it, resting
on your God who can make His strength perfect in your weakness. But be
not forever panting after the highest seats in the synagogue–do not
always want the uppermost place at the feast, lest, when the King comes
in, you should have, with shame, to take a lower place! Wait till the
King says, "Friend, come up higher." Never go up higher till you have
the King's friendly admonition that the higher place is yours by a call
other than your own choice, remembering that "as a bird that wanders
from her nest, so is a man that wanders from his place"–from his
place, from his proper place in the Church of God, his proper position
in the ranks of the Lord's hosts!

Again, I will use it as a proverb very often applicable to ministers.
There may be some here to whom this may come as a powerful rebuke. It
is a crying evil just now, especially in our own denomination, that
ministers are changing their places. The good old ministers used to
occupy one charge for 50 years–and the people used to love them and to
hold fast to them. They did not think of moving, they never spoke of
resigning any more than fathers speak of resigning their fa-

therhood because their boys and girls are sometimes disobedient! They
weathered the storm. They knew that all parts of the sea are rough, so
they did not need to get out of one bay into another as soon as a
little storm came on. I do not know but that some preachers are better
moving–and probably they would be better if they were moved off
altogether. I think when a man remains in service at one place for only
about two years, he has need to question whether he was called into the
ministry at all. God does not generally plant trees in His vineyard
that need shifting every two years. God's trees are full of sap, the
cedars of Lebanon which He has planted. They can stand on the bare
mountain's brow and see the ages of mortals swept away into the tomb.
And so a God-sent minister may stand many years in one place and see
man-made ministers swept away like generations of lichens and mosses,
because they have no Divine Life in them.

I love to see a Christian minister, I must say, standing fast in his
place. We are not to get into a great pet because there was a little
disagreement at a church meeting, or turn round offended because some
deacon will not be quite as pliable as we wish, or because the
neighborhood does not seem to increase, or because there are not quite
so many conversions as we want. No, Sirs, if God shall move us, let us
move–but if He does not move us, let not the devil do it! Do you know
what happens when the bird wanders from her nest? Why, there are her
own eggs in the nest, and there is no bird which can sit so well on the
eggs as the bird that laid them! And so a Christian minister should
remember that there are some young converts who are his own spiritual
children. They are of his own bringing in, through Divine Graces and,
ordinarily speaking, there is no man who can by any means nurture the
young converts like the man who was the means of their conversion! It
is well for infants to be brought up by their own mother, and it is a
good thing for young converts to be fed under their own spiritual
parents. I should not like to trust mine to anybody else for any great
length of time. There is always a fear, when the parent bird is away,
that the eggs will grow cold and addled, so that when she comes back
she will find that she has lost all her trouble. And so, when the
minister leaves his people and goes away to some other place, there are
many of those who did seem to run well who will turn back. This is a
sad result–a tale of wasted labor. Besides, the bird knows that,
however uncomfortable its nest may be, there is no other nest in the
world so comfortable as the one which it has made itself. And the
Christian minister must know that there is no other church so
comfortable for him as the church which he was the means of forming! "I
dwell among my own people," said the Shunamite. That is my happiness,
and my joy, to dwell among my own people, and if any man should say to
me, "Is there anything in life that you desire? Would you like me to
put a good word in for you to the king, or to the captain of the
hosts?" I would answer, No, there is nothing I desire under Heaven but
to dwell among my own people! If I may but seek their good, and see the
Church of God prosper here, it shall be all that I ask of my God this
side of Heaven! Brothers, let us who are in the ministry, then, as far
as possible, cling to our churches and to our fields of labor,
remembering that "as a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man
that wanders from his place."

This is equally true of our hearers. Oh, there are some hearers who are
sad, sad vagrants. We can have no objection to our hearers going to
listen to other ministers, if they can be edified thereby, for the bird
that sits best on the nest must come off, sometimes, especially if
there is any food to be had elsewhere. Hear anybody that can profit
you! I am sure nothing will make me more glad than to know that you are
anywhere as long as your souls are fed. If a Church of England minister
preaches the Gospel in your neighborhood better than the Baptist
minister does, do not go and hear the Baptist! And if you find either
Baptist or Independent treating you to free will instead of Free Grace,
do not listen to them, but seek out the Presbyterian and hear him, if
you find him more sound in the faith, for, after all, your souls must
be fed! That is a matter of necessity. Where you can have all the
points of the Truth of God, prefer it, prefer it infinitely! But if you
cannot have them all, give your chief care to those which possess the
greater importance. Seek first, in this case, those things which make
most for your soul's prosperity. But what I do not like is
this–certain people will join a church and then after about six months
will join another church, and then another, and then another! They
ought to have no moss on them, and I suppose they have none, for they
have certainly been rolling stones! And then, if the minister should
die, how many there are who are off, directly, for now that the church
is in a little difficulty, they will all get out of it. Brave sailors
these! They want to get into the boat when the ship is in a little bit
of gale, and they leave the Church of God just when their help is most
needed. Oh, they will come and join the church when the church
prospers–yes, any quantity of them–but I wonder, if the pastor went
away, whether we would find them all remaining faithful? Too many in
our London churches are a sort of flying camp, always flying from one
place to another–a set of Gypsy-Christians, who have no settled abode
and no "local habitation," and are about as respectable as the Gypsies
with whom I have compared them! Now, never let this be said of any of
you who love your Lord and who, consequently, love His Church, but,
when you are united with His people, say–

"Here would I make my settled rest, While others go and come. No more a
stranger, or a guest, But like a child at home."

You shall find that, after all, your wandering shall do you but little
good, while in permanent adhesion to the Church, and a diligent casting
in of your whole efforts into the cause of God, shall, through the Holy
Spirit, give your soul prosperity!

But now I shall take my text in another way and try to use the general
principle in another sense. II. SOME MEN WANDER FROM THEIR PLACE IN
SPIRITUAL THINGS.

Where is the "place" for a sinner The place for a sinner is always at
the foot of the Cross, looking unto Jesus! Alas, then, the tendency in
us all is to be looking for evidences, signs, marks, experiences,
Divine Graces and I know not what! Having begun in the Spirit, we are
so foolish and so bewitched that we try to get perfect in the flesh! We
know that at the first our only comfort came from simply depending upon
the finished work of Jesus, and yet we are so mad that we try to get
comfort from that poor flesh of ours, which has already been our
encumbrance and will be our plague till it dies! Now the moment that a
Christian wanders away from his place–that is, from the simplicity of
his faith in Jesus–the moment he departs from that standing upon the
solid Rock of what Christ did, and what Christ is, and what Christ has
prom-ised–that moment he is like a bird that wanders from her nest!
The bird away from her nest has no comfort. The instincts of Nature
make her feel, during her incubation, that the nest is her proper
place. And when the Christian gets away from the Cross, the newborn
instincts within him make him feel that he is out of his proper
position. The Cross is the true rest of a Christian! We are like Noah's
dove–there is no rest for the sole of our feet, except in the ark. We
may search the world around and fly over the great waste of waters, but
there never shall be found rest for us anywhere but at the Cross! I
confess I sometimes get into that sorry state of feeling, rather as a
Christian professor, or a minister, than as a sinner saved by
Grace–but I find that I have to come back to that same place, and to
sing the old ditty over again–

"Nothing in My hands I bring!

Simply to Your Cross I cling.

Naked, come to You for dress,

Helpless, look to You for Grace." There is no living comfortably, there
is no living with the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit in the heart if
we at once wander from the simplicity of our confidence in Christ!

Further, there are many Believerswho also wander out of their place.
What, now, is a Believer's place? A Believer's place is on the bosom of
his Lord, or at the right hand of his Master, or sitting at His feet,
with Mary. Now some of us have had times in which we did come very near
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Ah, some of you never woke in the morning
without thinking of Him, and all day long a sense of His Presence was
in your heart. How you grudged the world the hours you had to give to
business! And when you locked up your heart at night, you always gave
Jesus Christ the key. Oh, how sweet ordinances were to you, then,
because you could see Christ through them, as through windows of agates
and gates of carbuncles! How delightful were Prayer Meetings and
similar gatherings, because you saw Jesus there, and talked with Him!
But what about your present state? Perhaps, my dear Friend, you have
wandered from your place. You are not living near to Christ as you used
to do. Hence ordinances have but very little comfort in them–they are
dull and tedious. And services which were once as marrow and fatness to
you, have now become as dry bones. Your closet, too, is much neglected.
Your Bible is not studied as it was. You have lost your first love and,
I appeal to you, have you not also lost your first comfort? Are you not
like a bird that has wandered from her nest? Believe me, there is no
solid joy, no seraphic rapture, no hallowed peace this side of Heaven,
except by living close under the shadow of the Cross, and nestling in
the wounds of Jesus! Oh, that we should be so foolish! The bird does
not forget her nest, but we forget our Lord! We have need to say with
the Psalmist, "Return unto your rest, O my Soul, for the Lord has dealt
bountifully with you!" We have need to cry tonight–

"Return, oh heavenly Dove, return! Sweet messenger of rest, I hate the
sins that made You mourn And drove You from my breast."

We have wandered from our place, you see, for our place is at Jesus'
feet with Mary, or on Jesus' bosom with John, or at Jesus' lips with
the spouse in the Canticles, saying, "Let Him kiss me with the kisses
of His mouth." But roaming here and there, we are like a bird that has
wandered from her nest.

And does not this wandering imply a lack of watchfulness Do I not
observe the Christian who was so jealous of himself once that he did
not try to put one foot before the other for fear he should take a step
awry? He would not even talk without saying, "O Lord, open You my
lips!" But now he thinks that he is sure to stand–and he forgets to
guard himself with jealousy. He thinks, perhaps, that his experience
has made him so wise that he will not fall into his former errors, and
so he gets a carnal confidence and forgets to stand upon his watchtower
day and night and watch against his foes. Do you know what sometimes
happens to the bird if it leaves its nest? Why, while the bird is away,
the cuckoo comes and drops its egg in, and so the poor bird, when it
comes back, has to hatch its enemy! And oftentimes, when we are not
watchful and permit the enemy to take an advantage over us, Satan comes
in and drops some foul temptation into our nest, which our hearts help
to hatch and which will give us trouble all our lives! As sure as ever
we wander in the matter of watchfulness, it will be for our hurt. We
may sleep, but Satan does not. Never was he detected napping yet. There
is slothfulness among Believers, but there is no slothfulness on the
part of their adversary! He always watches, going "about like a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour." Though you should leave off
watchfulness, he never will. Oh, Christian, do not leave your nest, for
you do not know what may come of it, what good things may be destroyed,
or what bad things may be deposited while your heart is away!

Some Christians, too, wander in a yet more melancholy manner as to its
outward effect, for we see them wander from holiness. Unhappy church
that has in it many such inconsistent professors! But, alas, they are
too common in the world. They "did for a time run well; what, then, did
hinder them that they should not obey the truth?" The root of the
matter was scarcely in them, for they brought forth fruit only for a
season and, by-and-by, they withered away. Ah, well, if there is a
Christian here–a real Christian–who has backslidden and gone into the
world, he will never be happy in his sin! A reprobate, after making a
profession, may, perhaps, go back and be comfortable, but a Christian
never can! Tell me that you are happy in your sin and I tell you at
once that you are dead in sin, for he who puts on guilt must cast off
shame. You are in your own element–like a fish in the water, you will
find it suits your constitution. As a bird could not be happy down in
the depths of the sea–it would drown unless it were soon delivered–so
the saint of God is wretched in the depths of iniquity–he must
speedily perish unless he is brought out. If he falls into sin through
infirmity, or is dragged into it through the force of sudden
temptation, he yearns to be delivered and groans and cries unto God
till, once more, the bones that were broken are made to rejoice! If you
wander from holiness, you wander from your place.

I have known some people who, in order to avoid trouble, have committed
a trespass. A Christian man, for instance, has kept his shop open on
Sunday to prevent bankruptcy, and a mass of troubles rolled in upon him
ten times heavier than those he had sought to avert! We have heard of
some who have done violence to their conscience just once. In sheer
despondency they shut their eyes and swallowed the bitter pill. It did
not take five minutes to do it. Their friends said it was wise. Ill
advisers told them it was necessary. They thus attempted to extricate
themselves from some trying position. But the consequence was that to
their dying day the worm of conscience gnawed their soul! They have
made the rod wherewith God has scourged them. Mind what you are doing,
then, lest in wandering from holiness, you prove yourself like a bird
that wanders from her nest! Oh, how blessed it will be if you and I
shall be kept by mighty Grace simply relying upon Christ, constantly
communing with Him, watchful against the inroads of temptation and
persevering in holiness even to the end! Without this there can be no
comfort for us.

III. THE PERSUASIONS TO MAKE ALL OF US WHO ARE TRUE CHRISTIANS CLING
CLOSE TO HIS NEST.

Consider, dear Friends, the joy which you and I have had when we have
been clinging close to Christ. Where else can such sweetness be found
as we have found in the love of Jesus? Will a man leave the cool,
flowing waters from Lebanon to go and drink of the muddy river of
another place? Shall a man turn away from the bubbling fountain to seek
out for himself a broken cistern? Oh, let it not be! We who have fed on
angels' food cannot be content with the husks that swine eat! Let us
say, with Rutherford, "Ever since I have eaten the wheaten bread of
Heaven, my mouth has been out of taste for the brown bread of Earth,
which is full of grit and gravel. I can no longer find sweetness in
this world's joys, for I have tasted of celestial joys that are beyond
all that earth can give." Let the joy we have had in Christ compel us
to cling to

Him!

Think again of the sorrow we have felt whenever we have wandered. You
and I have had backsliding times–let us mournfully confess it. And
what wretched times they have always been! What have we ever gained by
going away from our Lord, but broken bones and sorrow of heart? As we
have been burned, let us dread the fire and, as we have had to smart
for our wanderings when the watchmen have plucked off our veil and
smitten us, let us henceforth cling close to

our Beloved. What reason has He ever given us to be discontented and go
away? Has He been unfaithful to us? "Have I been a wilderness unto
you?" He asks. In what respect has He grieved us? Has He ever smitten
us in His wrath, or treated us harshly for our follies? Never has a
friend behaved better to His friend than Christ has behaved to us and,
as we can never find a better Savior, let us cling to Him all our days!
Or can you think that the outlook is dreary? When we think of the joy
that is yet to come, we have a yet stronger motive to cling to the
Savior. We may have to walk with Him today when the snow blows in our
face, but oh, what will it be to walk with Him in the sunshine? It may
be hard work to keep pace with Him. Faint may be our heart and flesh
and blood are frail, walking, as we now do, with Him through the mire
and dirt, but what will it be to walk in silver slippers upon the
golden pavement of the Celestial City? It is not so easy to stand with
Him in the pillory, when the multitudes are hooting Him, but oh, how
joyous it will be with Him when the angels are rending the heavens with
acclamations and all the saints are casting their crowns at His feet!
To be with Him in His trouble is not very sweet to our natural
feelings, I know, but what will it be to be with Him in His triumph? To
be partners in His Cross–from that we may shrink, but to sit with Him
upon His Throne–for that we must eagerly long! Well, as we cannot be
crown-bearers without being cross-bearers, let us espouse His Cross as
we would enjoy His crown. Yet be it known that His Cross drops with
myrrh, and that they who carry it will find it so sweetly perfumed that
they shall love the very Cross, itself, because Christ has touched it!
From this nest let us never wander because of the "rest" which "remains
for the people of God."

Wander from this nest?–I think we cannot if the love of Christ
inflames us–if our love to Christ sustains us. What? Wander from Him
who died for us, that we might never die? Who lives for us, that we
might always live? What base ingratitude is ours that we do not cling
closer to Him! Can we give Him up? Christians, He gave you the light
that cheered your darkness–and can you turn away from the brightness
of His face? With pitying eyes He saw you when you were lying in your
blood, an outcast all forlorn, and He said unto you, "Live," and can
you ever forsake Him? He passed by you, He looked upon you, He spread
His skirt over you, He covered your nakedness, He swore unto you, He
entered into a Covenant with you and can you now prove treacherous? He
redeemed you, He opened His veins that He might pour forth the purple
drops of His precious blood as the price for your inestimable
ransom–can you turn away from Him? "Despised and rejected of men," as
He was, will you hide your face from Him? And while He is still
pleading for you, will you cease to plead for Him? Now that His
chariots are making haste to bring Him in the glory of His Second
Advent, will you turn away from Him when His Kingdom is so near? Shall
the wife leave a husband who cherishes her with utmost tenderness?
Shall the child neglect its parents, under whose roof his every need is
supplied? Shall the limbs of one's body abhor the head? Such strange
quirks were not half so unnatural as for a Christian to turn vagrant
and forsake his Savior! Ah me, unnatural and brutish as it must seem,
you and I would do this and more, also, did not Grace prevent! The love
which has made us one with Christ must keep us one with Him, or else we
shall never hold on our way. Be it, then, your constant prayer, "Hold
You me up, and I shall be safe." Let this be your heart's cry, "Abide
with me," for unless He abide with us, and make our hearts His nest, we
shall never abide with Him, but shall be as a bird that wanders from
her nest!

Perhaps I speak to some poor bird which has wandered from its nest. You
are a stranger and you have strayed in here! You recollect a nest in
some happy family circle, where prayer was known to be made. You
remember the nest in which you were known to nestle–a little village
church where you worshipped God with dear kindred. But you have
wandered from your nest. You have lost your friends! You have gone into
the world–you are a sinner. You are conscious that you scarcely dare
to face the home of your childhood. You have gone away from your old
haunts, for you are ashamed to continue in them. You have wandered from
your nest. And do you mean to wander on? Is yours to be forever the
flight of a bird that has no roost? "Foxes have holes, and the birds of
the air have nests"–will you never have a place to lay your head? Are
you condemned, like the unclean spirit, to wander through dry places,
seeking rest and finding none? Are you a pilgrim who shall never have a
city that has foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God? Are you like
the phantom ship of which the mariners talk, which flits across the sea
but never reaches a port? No, Friend, you are not so to account
yourself, though the devil has told you that there is no hope! Though
he has driven you to desperation and persuaded you that you are given
up of God and man–it is not so. It is not so! The Eternal Father,
bending from high Heaven, looks down upon you and by these lips talks
to you! Little as you were thinking that you would be found out, He
says to you, "Return, return, return!" 'Tis He who makes you say, "I
will arise and go unto my Father." He meets you, Prodigal! He falls
about your neck. He gives you the kiss of reconciliation. He cries
today to the messengers of mercy, "Take off his rags and bring forth
the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and shoes on
his feet, and let us eat, drink and be merry, for he that was dead is
alive, and he that was lost is found." The bird has come back and

has found her nest! And as the mother bird is happy when that little
fledgling which she thought had fallen on the ground, or had been
swallowed by the hawk, comes back, and she covers it with her feathers,
and bids it nestle under her warm bosom, so is the Eternal Father
happy! And as she rejoices, so, no–infinitely more–does the Eternal
Father rejoice when the wanderer comes back to Him and finds comfort in
His love!

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ! Trust in the Father's Grace as
manifest in the Savior's wounds, and so you shall find an eternal nest
from which you shall never wander till you shall build your nest in
Heaven! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: LUKE23:13-28.

Verses 13-15, And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests
and the rulers and the people, said unto them, You have brought this
Man unto me, as one that perverts the people: and, behold, I, having
examined Him before you, have found no fault in this Man touching those
things whereof you accuse Him. No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him
and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto Him.They were judges not
at all inclined to favor Him, but yet, though His accusers were mad
again Him, nothing could be brought before these two judgment seats
which would hold water for a single moment. Holy and harmless was
Christ and, therefore, His accusers knew not what to say against Him.

16-23. I will therefore chastise Him, and release Him. (For of
necessity he must release one unto them at the feast). And they cried
out all at once, saying, Away with this Man, and release unto us
Barabbas! (Who for certain sedition made in the city, and for murder,
was cast into prison). Pilate, therefore, willing to release Jesus,
spoke again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify Him! Crucify Him!
And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil has He done? I
have found no cause of death in Him: I will therefore chastise Him, and
let Him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that He
might be crucified. Never did man's enmity to God become more clear
than when God, in human flesh, descending upon an errand of mercy,
must, nevertheless, be hunted down by these cruel cries of, "Crucify
Him! Crucify Him!" Man would be a Deicide if he could. "The fool has
said in his heart, 'No God.'" To get rid of God–to get rid of God,
even in human form, is the enmity of man's heart! He will have it if he
can.

23-26. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And
Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he
released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into
prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.
And as they led Him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian,
coming out of the country, and on him they laid the Cross, that he
might bear it after Jesus. Fit type of all Christ's followers, who must
expect to carry Christ's Cross, and who should be happy and honored in
carrying it after Jesus.

27, 28. And there followed Him a great company of people, and of women,
which also bewailed and lamented Him. But Jesus turning unto them said,
Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and
for your children. He had the siege of Jerusalem before His mind and,
therefore, in tender pity He bade them save their tears for other
sorrows.