NO. 2618<\/b><\/p>\n
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD\u2019S-DAY, APRIL 16HT, 1899, <\/b><\/p>\n
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,<\/i><\/p>\n
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE NEWINGTON,<\/b><\/p>\n
ON LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, JAN. 15TH, 1882. <\/p>\n
They straightway left their nets, and followed him. \u2014 Matthew 4:20.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cTHEY straightway left their nets.\u201d Immediately, without hesitation, without question, at once, on the spot, there and then, instantaneously,\u2014 at the plaster\u2019s call, they \u201cleft their nets, and followers him.\u201d It was one mark of our Savior\u2019s authority and power that, when he commanded, men obeyed. Your memories will help you to recall many instances in which persons, and even inanimate things, instantly obeyed when Christ gave them the word of command. Satan and legions of demons, diseases of every kind, and even winds and waves \u2014 those things which usually seem to be lawless and wild always gave heed to the law which issued from his lips. When he spake, it was done, for his word was with power.<\/p>\n
This is a mark of the effectual calling by divine grace; whenever it comes, men are led \u201cstraightway\u201d to obey it. I may call you as long as I please, yet you will not come to Christ for all my calling; but if Christ shall call you by his Spirit, you will come; ay, and come \u201cstraightway.\u201d When the command of Christ is applied to the soul with divine energy, there is an immediate yielding of the heart to him, and his law is obeyed in the life. Judge yourselves therefore, dear friends, whether the Word of God has come with power to you, or not; for if it has not come with almighty power, but you merely hear it as I speak it, you will say to me, as Felix said to Paul, \u201cGo thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.\u201d But if the truth proclaimed shall be accompanied with the energy of the Holy Spirit, then, as soon as ever the Lord says, \u201cSeek ye my face,\u201d your heart will respond to him, \u201cThy face, Lord, will I seek.\u201d Pray to the Lord, you who have heard and answered the call of his Spirit, that the same call may be given to others, and be effectually applied to them, to the praise of the glory of God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n
I am going to use, in two ways, one word in my text: \u201cstraight way.\u201d First, I suggest that this word \u201cstraightway\u201d should be a motto for all Christians. All disciples of the Lord. Jesus Christ should take that word as their guiding star. Secondly, let all seekers take if as their motto, too<\/i>: \u201cstraightway.\u201d If you would find Christ, seek him at once,\u2014\u201dstraightway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
I. <\/b>First, thon, let this word \u201cstraightway\u201d be The Motto Of Every Disciple Of The Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
When I preached, many years ago, in the cathedral at Geneva, after the service was ended, the brethren presented me with a large bronze medal commemorative of John Calvin, on which is this passage, \u201cHe endured, as seeing him who is invisible;\u201d which was a most suitable motto-text for him. Upon the covers of his works are these words, which are also truly descriptive of the man, \u201cPrompte et sincere in opere Domini,\u201d<\/i> \u2014\u201dPrompt and sincere in the work of the Lord.\u201d I was pleased with both those mottoes; and my prayer then was, and still is, that they may both be mine as well as Calvin\u2019s. I pray that I may endure, as seeing him who is invisible, and that I may also live to earn that other commendation, \u201cprompt and sincere in the work of the Lord.\u201d Sincere, I trust we all are, who love the Savior; but we are not all as prompt as we are sincere. You know, in business, people like a man of prompt payments, upon whom they can always depend. We also like persons to be prompt in carrying out their promises; but, oh! to be prompt in the work of the Lord, so as, not only to do the right thing, but to do it at the right time; and that right time almost always is the time suggested by my text, \u201cstraightway.\u201d \u201cWhatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might,\u201d and do it at once. Leave it not to lie by among the lumber of good intentions; but if thou art prompted to do it, set to work and do it off-hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cStraightway,\u201d then, is to be the motto of the Christian, first, in obeying Christ\u2019s-laws<\/i>. The moment, my dear friend, that you find yourself in the kingdom of heaven by faith in Christ, endeavor to be a loyal, law-keeping subject. Mary sail to the servants at the marriage feast of Cana, concerning her Son, \u201cWhatsoever he saith unto you, do it;\u201d and I say the same. \u201cWhatsoever he saith unto you,\u201d \u2014 he whom you have now taken to be your Lord and King,\u2014 do not merely talk about it, or think of it, but do it, and do it at once. \u201cI counsel thee,\u201d said Solomon, \u201cto keep the King\u2019s commandment.\u201d Take Solomon\u2019s advice, and let me add as a rider to it, \u201cKeep the King\u2019s commandments straightway.\u201d As soon as ever a man becomes a believer in Christ, the next step for him to take is to be baptized. The two things are constantly joined together in the New Testament. Our Lord said, \u201cHe that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.\u201d When the eunuch came to a certain water, he asked Philip, \u201cWhat doth hinder me to be baptized?\u201d Philip answered, \u201cIf thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.\u201d I add to that, \u201cIf thou believest with all thine heart, thou not only mayest, but thou art bound to do it according to the law of the kingdorm of Christ.\u201d Do you tell me that you cannot see it to be your duty? I would advise you candidly to search the Scriptures, and find out the teaching and practice of our Lord and his apostles concerning believers\u2019 baptism. If, after that, you still say the same, I must leave you to your Master; I am not your judge. I hope there will be no question with any of you who love the Lord about the next point. It is the duty of every believer in Christ to come to his table. He said,, \u201cThis do in remembrance of me.\u201d He bids us gather in his name, and commemorate his death in the breaking of bread and the pouring out of wine; so how can you say that you are his obedient disciple if you have lived hitherto in total negligence of that great commemorative ordinance? \u201cStraightway,\u201d friend,\u2014\u201dstraightway\u201d obey both the ordinances of the kingdom, and delay no longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cStraightway,\u201d also, unite yourself with the people of God. Christ\u2019s servants \u2014 Christ\u2019s blood-bought ones \u2014 are callers \u201csheep.\u201d Sheep are gregarious creatures; they always go in flocks. Join yourself to your brethren somewhere. If they are evil spoken of, go and be evil spoken of with them; do not attempt to fare better than the rest of your Master\u2019s servants, but take up Christ\u2019s cross and follow him. Give yourselves first to Christ, and afterwards to us, or to some other Christian church, according to the will of God; and do this \u201cstraightway.\u201d And whatever else appears to be the law of the house,\u2014 and the law of Christ\u2019s house is very plainly written in the Gospels and the Epistles,\u2014 obey the law of the house, and obey it \u201cstraightway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next, lear friends, make this word \u201cstraightway\u201d your motto in entrance upon Christian service<\/i>. Do you ask, \u201cWhen should a believer begin to work for Christ?\u201d I answer, \u201cStraightway.\u201d There are no laborers for the Master who are so useful as those who begin to be useful while they are young. Sometimes, God converts men in middle life, or even in old age, and. uses them in his service; but, still, I venture to assert that church history will show that the most useful servants of Christ were those who were caught early, and who from their youth up bore testimony to the gospel of Christ. At any rate, as soon as ever you<\/i> are converted, I pray you to begin to do something for Jesus so as to get your hand in for future labor. In the case of some old people, who have been professors of religion for years, but who have done next to nothing for Christ, I find it very difficult ever to stir them up at all. When I do get a saddle on them, they are very restive creatures, like a horse that has never been brokren in; but if I break them in while they are colts, they get used to their work, it becomes a delight to them, and they would not be happy unless they had something to do for the Lord Jesus. If Christ has redeemed, you, beloved, and you know it, get to his service \u201cstraightway.\u201d Let there be no delay whatever, but at once commence to labor for your Lord.<\/p>\n
I remember having a considerable share of sneers, and rebukes not a few, from some who thought themselves very wise men, because I began preaching st the age of sixteen. I was recommended to tarry at Jericho till my beard had grown, and a great many other pieces of advice were given to me; but I confess that I have never regretted that I was a \u201cboy-preacher\u201d of the Word; and if I could have my time over again, I would like to do just the same as I de then. O you young men who are just converted, try to serve God at once; for, if you idle away your years until the boy has ripened into a full-grown man, and his beard adorns his chin, I question whether he will not be\u201da lazy-beard\u201d all the rest of his life. No, no; get to work at once,\u2014\u201dstraightway,\u201d Find out your niche, and stand in it. Ask the Master to allot you your portion of the great harvest field, and go to work in it with all your might, and keep on at it, God helping you, till your dying day. \u201cStraightway,\u201d then, is to be your motto concerning the service of the Master.<\/p>\n
And while I give this motto for the commencement of our whole lifework, I beg to propose it to all Christian friends as a suitable motto for each work as it arise. If there is anything good to be done, when shall I do it? \u201cStraightway.\u201d There is no time like the present for the fulfillment of a good design. How many excellent projects have been postponed for a time, and therefore never carried out for the benefit of men! Now, dear friends, especially you who have your children around you, if you ask me, \u201cWhen shall I commence to train them for God?\u201d I answer, \u201cStraightway.\u201d \u201cBut they are so young.\u201d Well, never mind. how young they are, you will find bad tempers and many other evils springing up from the hearts of even the smallest children; and the time to repress them is as soon as ever they appear. You will find that Satan will take the earliest hour that he can find for doing his deadly work. He is always up in the morning early; and he will try, if he can, to sow the tares in that little plot of ground. Take you as early an hour as Satan takes, and ask God, by his grace, that you may teach your child the things of eternal life \u201cstraightway.\u201d I would say to you, dear mother, if you have never talked with your daughter about her soul, do it this very night. \u201cBut,\u201d you reply, \u201cwhen I get home, she will be in bed.\u201d If so, then wake her up, but do talk and pray with her to-night; and then let her fall asleep again; begin at once this holy service if you have neglects it until now. And you, dear father, if you have never yet spoken to your children personally about the Savior, you cannot tell the power you might have over them if you would do so. I shall never forget when my father spoke to me, as a boy, about my soul, and asked me to pray. I remember with what shamefacedness I declined the attempt; and how wounded I felt, in my heart, to think that I was not able to pray. I had my groanings and cryings unto God in secret, but they were deepened and intensified by the question that he had put to me. O dear parents, do begin at once, that they may become God\u2019s children while yet they are your children! A little boy once said, \u201cFather, please take me to chapel with you to-night.\u201d \u201cMy dear,\u201d the father replied, \u201cyou are too young; I will take yon when you grow older.\u201d \u201cFather,\u201d answered the child, \u201cif I don\u2019t go now, very likely when I get older, I shall not want to go at all.\u201d And, alas! that is often the case. Take them, therefore, while they are yet little, where they may get a benefit to their souls, and \u201cbring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, with regard to any individuals with whom you may meet, take care to speak to them about the Savior. If you ask me when you shall speak to them, I answer, \u201cStraightway,\u201d \u2014 to-morrow morning, across the counter, or in the workshop, or whenever there is a quiet minute or two that you can use. Perhaps the friend, to whom you think of speaking, may be dead if you delay until the end of the week; so go to him \u201cstraightway.\u201d There is a minister now preaching the gospel, and God is greatly blessing him, who says he owes his earnestness to a remark I made in a certain College that I visited. I was asked, as we say, \u201con the spur of the moment,\u201d to speak a word to the students, and I said, \u201cWell, brethren, I have nothing to say to you except this,\u2014 whenever you see the devil, have a shot at him.\u201d The young man told me that he recollected that sentence, and it had often been of service to him. So I say it again to every Christian here,\u2014 Whenever you see the devil, have a shot at him. If you see sin, rebuke it. If you see doubt, try to remove it. If you see darkness, bring the light to bear upon it, and do it \u201c straightway,\u201d for opportunities are flying, and will soon be gone unless we seize them as they come near us. There is a lamentable story told of a man in a boat being carried down over a waterfall and drowned; and, an hour after, one who had been standing with others on the shore said, \u201cI could have saved him if I had thought of it before.\u201d They asked him, \u201cHow would you have done it?\u201d And he laid before them a perfectly feasible common-sense plan that might have been easily carried out, and, I should think, he went home very miserable, for all the spectators of the disaster seemed to say, \u201cWhy did you not think of it before? You are wise too late.\u201d So, when certain men have died, I think some of you must have known what it was to say, \u201cOh, I wish I had spoken to him! That gospel, which saved me, might have been a blessing to him; and now he is gone, and I have thought of the remedy too late!\u201d Do not let it be possible to have such regrets; but, whenever you find an opportunity of speaking about salvation to others, do it \u201cstraightway.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, once again, let this word \u201cstraightway\u201d be your motto with regard to your own soul. Whenever you find your spiritual life declining, your faith growing weak, and your love getting cold, go back to Jesus, and ask for quickening, and do it \u201cstraightway.\u201d Always nip these things in the bud. Most diseases must have the remedies applied at once if they are to be cured. If they are allowed to remain for a time unchecked, they gather strength, to the great injury of the patient. The moment you feel that you have not the power in prayer that you once had, go \u201cstraightway\u201d to Jesus. The instant you realize that you have not the love for souls that you once had, his away to Jesus, and tell him all about your sad condition. Oh, if we always took heed to our backsliding as soon as it began, how much of sorrow and how much of sin might be spared! So, dear friends, if I am describing your case, I implore you to renew your communion with your Lord, get back to Christ, ask for pardon at his hands, and do all this \u201cstraightway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dear Christian men and women, that is the motto-word for you, \u201cstraightway.\u201d Let it flame like a lightning flash through the place. Whatever ought to be done, let it be done at once, without even a second thought. O beloved, will you still delay in such a matter of urgency as this? Then let me further plead with you for a minute or two before I turn to the other part of my subject. Imagine the day of battle, and a colonel issuing the order to his regiment to march into the midst of the fray. Do the men hesitate? Do they stand still ? Then, there is mutiny in the ranks. \u201cForward!\u201d he senate; but the troops stop where they are. They are disloyal; how can the battle be won by men who act like that? But see how the faithful soldiers in the army behave. The command is given, \u201cCharge!\u201d It matters not how many are their foes, away they go like a whirlwind; who can hinder them? Let it be so with you, dear friends. Good soldiers of ,Jesus Christ must not hesitate, but must obey the Captain of their salvation \u201cstraightway.\u201d Have you a vivid imagination? Can you, in your mind\u2019s eye, picture an angel up yonder before the burning throne of God? The voice of Jehovah has said to him, \u201cDescend to earth.\u201d Can you imagine Gabriel staying there, with his finger on his lip, deliberating whether he shall fly or not? Do you not often ask that you may do God\u2019s will on earth as angels do it in heaven \u2019? Then, how can you hesitate, even for an instant, to do what you are clearly commanded by Christ to do? Let me ask you another question,\u2014 Did Christ delay his great mission of mercy? Nay; for it was with him as good Dr. Watts sings, \u2014 <\/p>\n
Plunged in a gulf of dark despair
We wretched sinners lay,
Without one cheerful beam of hope,
Or spark of glimmering day.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
With pitying eyes, the Prince of Grace
Beheld our helpless grief;
He saw, and (oh amazing love!)
He ran to our relief.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Down from the shining seats above
With joyful haste he fled,
Enter\u2019d the grave in mortal flesh,
And dwelt among the dead.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
There was no hesitating in Christ; then, shall there be any in you who are called by his name? Further, did God lose any time before he saved you when you cried unto him? Does he delay to bless you now? If there be a seeming delay, it is infinite wisdom that makes you wait, only that the blessing may be all the more valued by you when it comes; but he is always ready to bless you, he stands prepared. to give you all that you need. I charge you, therefore. by all these reasons, take this word \u201cstraightway\u201d as your motto. You are yourself a dying man; and if you do not accomplish your life-work \u201cstraightway,\u201d when can you perform it? Others are dying all around you; if you are not made a blessing to them \u201cstraightway,\u201d when may yon hope to do them good? If anything be right, let it be done at once; there cannot be a good reason for any delay. Why should you ask for second thoughts about a plain duty? In such a case, first thoughts are best; and those first thoughts should be followed by immediate and energetic action. \u201cStraightway!\u201d Write it on your banners; let it wave in the breeze; for victory will be given to the Church of Christ when she advances to the fight with all her hosts \u201cstraightway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
II. <\/b>Now I ask the prayers of all believers while, during the rest of my discourse, I try to speak to those who are \u201cout of the way.\u201d In this large congregation, there must be many who are not saved. It is idle to suppose that we are all of us the children of God. and the servants of Christ, for we are not. There are some here who are not salved; but among them there are, I hope, some who wish to be saved. Well, if you really desire to be Christians, if the Holy Spirit has made you start seeking the Savior, I ask yon to put this word into your bosom, and bear it home with you, \u201cstraightway,\u201d for It Is Most Suitable Motto For All Seekers.<\/p>\n
Are you seeking the Lord? alien, I pray you, hear the gospel<\/i> \u201cstraightway.\u201d The gospel is not preached everywhere. Some go to certain places of worship because the music is admirable, others because the preacher is clever, some because it is considered \u201crespectable\u201d to go to such a place. I charge you, if you nave not found Christ, care for nothing but finding him; and where will you find. him except where he is fully and faithfully preached? If he is the head and front of the minister\u2019s discourses, then go you there; \u2014 not where they preach the modern gospel, which would not save a mouse; \u2014 but where Christ on the cross is lifted high as the one hope for the salvation of sinners. Go there, go at once, and make a habit of going where Christ crucified is constantly proclaimed. Remember how the Lord gave the invitation to the heavenly feast even by the mouth of the prophet Isaiah: \u201cHo, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.\u201d<\/p>\n
But when you are hearing the gospel, be not content with merely hearing, but repent<\/i> \u201cstraightway.\u201d You cannot have Christ and keep your sins; therefore, give up all evil at once. May God\u2019s blessed Spirit now separate you from your sins! Have yon been inclined to drunkenness? Turn the intoxicating cup bottom upwards once for all, and have done with it. What has been your particular besetting sin? Though it were dear as your right eye, pluck it out; though it were precious as your right arm, cut it off, and cast it from you; and do it \u201cstraightway.\u201d \u201cOh!\u201d you say, \u201cI will see about it to-morrow.\u201d Then, I know that God\u2019s Spirit is not effectually calling you, or you would be ready at once to. turn from every false way to him, and then the time of your deliverance would have come. Therefore, I repeat,\u2014 Repent \u201cstraightway.\u201d<\/p>\n
But then you must also pray<\/i> \u201cstraightway.\u201d Plead with the Lord just where you are now in your seat; or, if you desire quiet and retirement, pray as soon as ever you reach your house,\u2014 yea, pray in the street, on the road home. Lift up your heart to God, and cry, \u201cGod be merciful to me a sinner;\u201d but do it at once, or, as the text says, \u201cstraightway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Above all, believes in the Lord Jesus Christ<\/i> \u201cstraightway.\u201d That word \u201cstraightway\u201d is implied in every gospel exhortation. We are not sent to preach to our hearers, \u201c\u2019\u2019Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ\u2019 to-morrow.\u201d No minister of Christ is authorized to say, \u201cPut off faith in Christ for a week.\u201d No; but our message is, \u201cBehold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.\u201d Believe in Jesus, and believe in him now; and if the Spirit of God is really working in your spirit, you will he moved to believe now. If it be only my talk, and my persuasion, you will still say, \u201cTomorrow.\u201d But if it be God\u2019s Word, it will go with power to your heart, and you will say, \u201cNow, Lord, even now, bring my soul out of prison, that I may trust thy Son, and praise thy holy name.\u201d For a man to delay, who has nothing to depend upon but the breath in his nostrils, is the height of folly. For a man to delay, who stands on the brink of the grave, when that grave will conduct him to hell, is terrible indeed.<\/p>\n
Delay is dangerous, but I confess that I do not understand men and their criminal carelessness. I daresay you read in the papers, s short time ago, about the destruction of the Swiss village of Elm. What an extraordinary affair it was, that the people should have had it reported to them, for months, that the forest which overhung the village was often seen to tremble when the rocks were blasted at the quarry, and they knew that, sooner or later, the mountain above them would inevitably come down and crush them! Yet they went to church on the Sunday morning, and were gathered together as comfortably and quietly as if nothing alarming could ever happen to them. If any of you, no doubt, remember the story, and therefore I need not tell you how, on a sudden, the great forest above the village seemed to come down upon them; and when stalwart men from the upper end of the village hurried to help their fellow-countrymen, they had scarcely arrived before the mountain itself descended in one tremendous mass, and buried the whole village in a moment. The people knew that such a calamity as that would certainly happen; they had been warned of it again and again, yet they persisted in living there. I do not know how men could get so accustomed to impending danger as they did, and I must blame the foolhardiness of those who wilfully ran such a risk of destruction; but it is nothing compared with the madness of man and women who see the great mountain of divine wrath trembling, and about to fall upon them, to crush them to all eternity, and yet they go on with their games, and occupy themselves with their sports, just as if there were no God to judge them, no heaven to be sought, no hell to be shunned. They sin as if iniquity were mere child\u2019s ploy, and there were no punishment for it in the world to come. Delay is dangerous at all times; but I feel moved to say that it is specially dangerous for some of you just now; for, as the Lord liveth, unless you find salvation within another week, you will be in the world where it shall be impossible for you either to seek or to find it. If not saved soon, you will be lost for ever. Delay is dangerous; therefore, escape for your lives; and escape at once.<\/p>\n
Besides, delay will be a great loss to you. If I were unsaved at this moment, and in my right senses, I should wish to be saved here and now. I do not know what has been done with the two men who have been lying in prison for the last two years under what is believed to be a false accusation. We heard that the Home Secretary had fetched them up from Chatham to Pentonville to Millbank, and that they were brought up in their own clothes, with a view to setting them free to-morrow; but I warrant you, if I had been in their position, and had been asked, \u201cWould you prefer to be set at liberty on Saturday, or to wait till monday ?\u201d I would have said, \u201cOh, set me free at once, straightway!\u201d Any delay would be to my loss. Who wants to stop in prison on a Sunday when he can walk at large? Who wishes to be there five minutes longer than he is compelled to be? And, in like manner, who would be unconverted five minutes longer than he needs to be? It is a loss to a man to be unsaved; even if he is ultimately saved, all the time that went before his conversion is just so long spent in prison; it is deal time, lost time. Therefore, let there be no delay in trusting Christ, for all delay is a loss.<\/p>\n
And, besides, delay makes it more difficult to get into the way of life. A person, on a certain line of railway, wants to go North, but he gets into the wrong train, and therefore travels South. After he has gone a little way, he puts his head out, and says, \u201cThis is not the station that I ought to pass;\u201d and, as the porters cry out a name altogether different from what he expected to hear, he exclaims, \u201cWhy, I am in the wrong train!\u201d What does he do then? Go on, and say, \u201cWell, he will get out by-and-by\u201d? Not he; if he is a man of business, and wants to keep an appointment, he jumps out at the first station after he discovers his mistake, and he says, \u201cTell me, please, when there is a train back. I have evidently come South instead of going North, and I want to return as quickly as possible.\u201d My dear friends, some of you are travelling on the wrong line, and you have come to a station to-night; it is not a station where you ought to be. Do not, I entreat you, go on to another in the same direction; but I pray God, by his grace, that you may get out of the train in which you have been travelling on the down line, and say, \u201cWhich is the train for heaven? I must get into it somewhere; first class, second class, third class, or in the goods waggon; \u2014 I do not care where I go so long as I do but get in, for I have made a mistake hitherto, and I would not continue to make it, for the longer I remain as I am, the more difficult will it be for me to get right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do you not also know, dear friends, that every moment in which a man delays he is committing more sin? When I am not doing that which is right, I sin by omission. When a man neglects a duty for a week, how many times does he sin? \u201cOnce,\u201d you answer. Ah, no! It is his duty to do it now; but he has not done it, so that is sin. It will be equally his duty in five minutes\u2019 time, and every moment he puts it off, he keeps on committing sin upon sin the longer he delays. Have you never heard the legend of one who had often delayed his repentance till he was taken into a wood, where he saw an o1d man chopping sticks for his fire; he cut away till he had enough to make a great faggot, and then he tied the faggot up, and stooped to put it on his shoulders, but it was too heavy for him to lift. The old man sighed, and took his axe, and cut down some more branches, and added them to his bundle; but when he tried to take it up, of course it was still heavier than before. So the foolish old man, with many a sigh, went on cutting more wood, and put that on the heap, and then tried to lift it, but of course it was heavier still; and. the longer he delayed, the heavier the burden became. That is just your case, dear friend, if you are delaying to repent. <\/p>\n
Longer wisdom you despise, Harder is she to be won.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
There is all the more sin to be repented of, there is the more hardness of heart to be overcome, so you are adding to the difficulty every moment that you delay. \u201cGrandfather,\u201d said a little child, \u201cthe preacher talked about loving Jesus; do you love him?\u201d \u201cNo, child,\u201d said the old man; \u201cI have never thought of these things; but I hope that you will while your heart is tender.\u201d \u201cBut, grandfather, you will die soon; won\u2019t you love Jesus?\u201d \u201cNo, child,\u201d replied the old man, \u201cmy heart is too hard now; it is no use for me to think about it.\u201d Many a man has said that; it is a great mistake, for the Lord can soften the hardest heart, and bring the oldest man or woman to himself Still, there is great force in the grandfather\u2019s words, and it is a blessed thing when we begin to serve the Lord betimes, for there is a hardening process, that goes on every hour of delay, which I pray God, of his infinite mercy, to prevent by bringing every one of you to Jesus Christ \u201cstraightway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shall I tell you one thing more before I knish? It is this; whenever a man, will not have Christ \u201cstraightway,\u201d whenever he will not give up his sin \u201cstraightway,\u201d whenever he will not believe in Jesus \u201cstraightway,\u201d that is a roundabout method of saying \u201cNo\u201d to Christ. The father in the parable said to the son, \u201cGo, work to-day in my vineyard,\u201d and he replied, \u201cI go, sir.\u201d That is to say, \u201cI am going, sir; I mean to go. Give me just a little time to think it over; it is all right, sir; I will go.\u201d But how does the parable put it? \u201cHe said, I go, sir; and went not.\u201d It was an indirect way of saying that, after all, he did not mean to go. Alas! that is what I fear some of you will do to-night. You will say, \u201cYes; what the preacher says is quite correct. We should seek Christ, and plead for mercy; and we will do so \u2014 by-and-by,\u2014 soon,\u2014 not immediately. Of course, we cannot be in s hurry about these things; but we will attend to them some day.\u201d I tell you, sirs, plainly, that you will not; you are the sort of people who will not come to Christ. You have not the moral courage to say \u201cNo,\u201d but you mean \u201cNo\u201d all the while, and if you said \u201cNo,\u201d I should have more hope of you, for the rest of the parable runs thus: \u2014 \u201cHe said to the other son, Go, work to-day in my vineyard; and he said, I will not.\u201d That was pretty plain: \u201cbut afterwards he repented, and went.\u201d Now, I would rather have you say, \u201cI will not,\u201d and then afterwards go home and repent, and come to Christ, than I would have you beat about the bush, and say, \u201cOh, yes, yes, yes!\u201d thinking that you are complimenting Christ with your lying,\u2014 I dare not use a milder term. That \u201cyes, yea, yes,\u201d means that you will not. Have you never noticed, when you have been collecting subscriptions, if you go to a person who does not say \u201cbio,\u201d straight out, but says, \u201cWell, let me look at your list; \u2014 yes. what is the object of it?\u201d that he usually adds, \u201cI have many calls; I will think of it\u201d? I have known such people \u201cthink of it\u201d a very long while, but nothing ever came of all their thinking. You smile at what people do with regard to a subscription list,\u2014 and it is, in some respects, a thing to smile over; but beware lest you do the same with your soul. Do not, I pray you, act like that towards the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not merely think about it, but do it. Go straight away to him, and think of it afterwards; and you will then have to think, with joy\u2014 and delight, that the best day\u2019s work his grace ever enabled you to do was this getting away to Christ, and casting yourself on him.<\/p>\n
God bless you, dear friends! Nay we all meet in heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen. <\/p>\n
EXPOSITION<\/p>\n
MATTHEW 25:1-13.<\/b><\/p>\n
Verses 1, 2. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.<\/i><\/p>\n
What a division this makes in the visible Church of God! Let as hope that we are not to gather from this that as many as half the professors of Christianity at any time are like these foolish virgins; yet our Lord would not have mentioned so high a proportion if there were not a very large admixture of foolish with the wise: \u201cFive of them were wise, and five were foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:<\/i><\/p>\n
They thought that, if they had the external, it would be quite enough. The secret store of oil, they judged to be unnecessary, because it would be unseen. They would employ one hand in carrying the lamp, but to occupy the other hand by holding the oil-flask seemed to them to be doing too much,\u2014 giving themselves up too thoroughly to the work; so they \u201ctook their lamps, and took no oil with them.\u201d They might just as well have had no lamps at all.<\/p>\n
4. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.<\/i><\/p>\n
Oil in their lamps, and oil with their lamps. Lamps are of no use without oil; yet the oil needs the lamp, or else it cannot be rightly used. The light of profession cannot be truly sustained without the oil of grace. Grace, wherever it exists, ought to show itself, as the oil is made to burn by means of the lamp; but it is no use to attempt to make a show unless there is that secret store somewhere by which the external part of religion may be maintained.<\/p>\n
5. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.<\/i><\/p>\n
Both the wise and the foolish fell into s state which seemed alike in them both. In the case of good men, Christ\u2019s delaying his coming often causes disappointment, weariness, and then lethargy, and even the true Church falls into a deep slumber. In the foolish, the mere professors, this condition goes much further. There being in them no true life, the very name to live becomes abandoned, and before long, they give up even the profession of religion when there is no secret oil of grace to sustain it.<\/p>\n
6. And at midnightWhen things had come to the worst,\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n
at midnight\u201d\u2014 the coldest and. darkest hour, when everybody was asleep.<\/p>\n
6. There was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.<\/i><\/p>\n
That was a cry which startled everybody; none of the virgins could sleep when once it was announced that the bridegroom was coming. I wish, dear friends, that we thought more of the great truth of the Second Advent. The oftener it is preached, in due proportion with other truths, the better. We need still to hear that midnight cry, \u201cGo ye out to meet him.\u201d<\/p>\n
7. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.<\/i><\/p>\n
They could not sleep any longer; they were fairly startled and aroused.<\/p>\n
8. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of pour oil; <\/i><\/p>\n
Ah, me! now they began to value what they had aforetime deepish They were foolish enough to think that oil was unnecessary; but now they saw that it was the one essential thing, so they cried to the wise virgins, \u201cGive us of your oil.\u201d And hear the dreadful reason: \u2014<\/p>\n
8. For our lamps are gone out.<\/i><\/p>\n
I do not know any more terrible words than those, \u201cOur lamps are gone out.\u201d It is worse to have a lamp that has gone out than never to have had a lamp at all. \u201c\u2019Our lamps are gone out.\u2019 We once rejoiced in them. We promised ourselves a bright future. We said, \u2019All is well for the marriage supper.\u2019 But \u2019our lamps are gone out,\u2019 and we have no oil with which to replenish them.\u201d O sirs, may none of us ever have to lift up that mournful cry! On a dying bed, in the extremity of pain, in the depth of human weakness, it is an awful thing to find one\u2019s profession burning low, one\u2019s hope of heaven going out, like the snuff of a candle.<\/p>\n
9. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.<\/i><\/p>\n
It is no easy matter to go and rouse up the seller of oil when the midnight hour has struck. O you who are putting off repentance to a dying bed, you are foolish virgins indeed! Your folly has reached the utmost height. You will have more than enough to do, when you lie there with the death-sweat cold upon your brow, without then having to seek the grace which you are neglecting to obtain to-day, but which you will value then.<\/p>\n
10. And while they went to boy, the bridegroom came; \u2014<\/i><\/p>\n
While they were going.<\/p>\n
10, 11. And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.<\/i><\/p>\n
Too late, so that they could not enter.<\/p>\n
12. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI never knew you,\u201d says Christ in another place; and this knowledge of his is always bound up with affection. He loves no heart that he knows not in this sense. Those whom he knows, he loves. Will he ever say to me or to you, dear friend, \u201cI know you not\u201d? God grant that he never may have cause to do so I<\/p>\n
13. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.<\/i><\/p>\n
HYMN FROM \u201cOUR OWN HYMN BOOK\u201d- 416, 520, 492. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NO. 2618 INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD\u2019S-DAY, APRIL 16HT, 1899, DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE NEWINGTON, ON LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, JAN. 15TH, 1882. They straightway left their nets, and followed him. \u2014 Matthew 4:20. \u201cTHEY straightway left their nets.\u201d Immediately, without hesitation, without question, at once, on the spot, there and then, … Continue reading “\u201cSTRAIGHTWAY.\u201d”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}