NO. 2678<\/b><\/p>\n
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD\u2019S-DAY, JUNE 10TH, 1900,<\/b><\/p>\n
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,<\/i><\/p>\n
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON,<\/b><\/p>\n
ON THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 7TH, 1881.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.\u201d \u2014 Jeremiah 1:11, 12.<\/i><\/p>\n
Observe, first, dear friends, that before Jeremiah becomes a speaker for God, he must be a seer. The name for a prophet, in the olden time, was a \u201cseer\u201d, \u2014 a man who could see, one who could see with his mind\u2019s eye, one who could also see with spiritual insight, so as vividly to realize the truth which he had to deliver in the name of the Lord. Learn that simple lesson well, O you who try to speak for God! You must be seers before you can be speakers.<\/p>\n
The question with which God usually begins his conversation with each of his true servants is the one he addressed to Jeremiah, \u201cWhat seest thou?\u201d I am afraid that there are some ministers, nowadays, who do not see much. Judging by what they preach, their vision must be all in cloudland, where all they see is smoke, and mist, and fog. I often meet with persons who have attended the same ministry for years; and when I have asked them even very simple questions about the things of God, I have found that they do not know anything. It was not because they were not able to comprehend quickly when the truth was set forth plainly before them; but I fear that it was, in most cases, because there was nothing that they could learn from the minister to whom they had been accustomed to listen. The preacher had seen nothing; and, therefore, when he described what he saw, of course it all amounted to nothing. No, my brother, before you can make an impression upon another person\u2019s heart, you must have an impression made upon your own soul. You must be able to say, concerning the truth, \u201cI see it,\u201d before you can speak it so that your hearers also shall see it. It must be clear to your own mind, by the spiritual perception which accompanies true faith, or else you will not be able to say with the psalmist, \u201cI believed, therefore have I spoken.\u201d Let me say over again that sentence which I uttered a minute ago, \u2014 the speaker for God must first be a seer in the light of God.<\/p>\n
And, next, the true speaker for God must see what God sets before him. In this case, the Lord had set before Jeremiah\u2019s eye \u201ca rod of an almond tree.\u201d We might have thought that, as a preparation for his prophetical work, he would have seen mysterious wheels full of eyes, or flaming seraphs and cherubs, or the wonderful creatures that were caused to appear in the dreams of Ezekiel and the revelation to John. Instead of this, Jeremiah simply sees \u201ca rod of an almond tree;\u201d and, beloved friends, when you look into the Bible, you will see some very simple things there, \u2014 such things as save little children\u2019s souls, \u2014 such things as men with no education can understand and believe. Be not anxious to be numbered among those who are so \u201ceclectic\u201d and \u201ccultured\u201d that, if God sets before them the rod of an almond tree, they cannot condescend to notice it. That is something which everybody can see, so why should such remarkable eyes as theirs behold the plain things which ordinary individuals can perceive? They want to see \u2014 I scarcely know what they do want to see, except their own foolish dreams, and even those are hidden from them. God give us grace to see rods of almond trees when he sets them before us; \u2014 I mean, may he give us grace to see such simple truths as these: \u201cYe must be born again.\u201d \u201cThis is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.\u201d \u201cHe that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved.\u201d What seest thou, my friend? Dost thou see what God would have thee see, what he has put before thee in his Word? If so, I may say to thee what the Lord said to Jeremiah, \u201cThou hast well seen;\u201d but if not, however gorgeous the panorama or pageant which thou hast invented for thyself to behold, thou hadst better be blind, for thou wilt only be following some will-o\u2019-the-wisp, that may amuse for a while, but will ultimately destroy the souls of men.<\/p>\n
Further, those who would speak aright for God must also take care to see with all their eyes. I do not suppose that everybody here, who had seen the vision of a rod, would have known it to be \u201ca rod of an almond tree.\u201d I do not imagine that I should, though I think I should readily know a rod if it were made of olive wood, or orange wood, having become familiar with them during my visits to the South of France. But I do not know that I should, in a moment, be able to say of a certain rod, \u201cThat is the rod of an almond tree.\u201d But Jeremiah understood these things; and, therefore, as soon as he saw what was set before him, he did not merely say, \u201cI see a rod,\u201d but \u201cI see a rod of an almond tree.\u201d He distinguished at once the kind of rod that was revealed to him in vision, for he was a man who had those powers of discernment and discrimination which are most needful in the Lord\u2019s servants; and if you, dear friend, are called to teach the children in the Sunday-school, or if you try to win souls by private conversation, or if you are a preacher of the Word, blessed are you if you can see below the surface of the truth, and can peer into its hidden depths of meaning, and get a spiritual insight into the Word of God so that you do not merely see a small portion of the Scriptures, but you perceive a far larger part than most people do. You should, if you can, see it all. I can hardly think that many years of spiritual education and divine training would be required for you to attain to that position; \u2014 at any rate, to see all that is needful for the due discharge of your ministry, all that may help you to know the meaning of the truth, and to bring it out for real, practical use among those to whom you seek to be made a blessing. O seer, ask to have clear eyes! Speaker, recollect that your speaking must begin with your eyes; and, \u2014 though it may seem a strange thing to say so, \u2014 the first education for the true servant of God does not concern his tongue so much as his eyes. \u201cWhat seest thou?\u201d Seek to be able to see all that thou canst see; and take care that thou dost not miss anything through inadvertence or neglect. \u201cSearch the Scriptures.\u201d Be thou one of those who gaze into the truth, as the angels desire to look into it, so that, when thou seest the vision, thou shalt be able to say, with Jeremiah, \u201cI see a rod of an almond tree.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next, the servant of the Lord must seek to win the approval of his Master as Jeremiah did. It will be a grand thing for you, dear brothers and sisters who try to speak to others, if you should receive such praise as God so freely gave to Jeremiah, at the very first moment of his ministry, when he said to him, \u201cThou hast well seen.\u201d Thou shalt well speak, if thou hast well seen. O my dear young brethren in the College, you who are here to-night, I hope that it will be true of you, whenever you think of the doctrine of human depravity, that you have looked into your own hearts, and seen the evil of your own nature till you have wept over it! So shall it be said to each one of you, \u201cThou hast well seen that.\u201d I hope that you will so clearly see the truth of the Fall that you will recognize the evil that comes of it, and the evil that abides in the corrupt nature of man. And then may you get such a sight of the cross, \u2014 such a clear view of the atoning blood, and understand so fully the great doctrine of substitution and the divine plan of reconciliation, that God may be able to say to you, \u201cThou hast well seen.\u201d A want of distinctness in our understanding of the truth will lead to a want of distinctness in our utterance of it. Oh, to have eyes like those of the Heavenly Bridegroom, of whom his spouse said, \u201cHis eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set,\u201d for, in his turn, he says to his bride, \u201cBehold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou are fair; thou hast doves\u2019 eyes.\u201d The ministers of the Church of Christ, who have to a great extent to be her seers, need to have clear, far-seeing, and pure-seeing eyes. May God grant us the power distinctly to trace his wondrous grace from the eternal fountain of electing love, along the streams of never-ceasing mercy which bring final perseverance to the saints, right onward to the coming of our Lord, and the blessed uprising of all his Church to be with him in his glory for ever and ever! Ere you venture to tell anything of the gospel message to others, you need to hear the Lord say to you, as he said to Jeremiah, \u201cThou hast well seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
For this purpose it will be necessary that your eyes should be enlightened. What an appropriate prayer is that for you Sunday-school teachers and Christian ministers to offer, \u201cOpen thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law!\u201d I think that, if I had, as a preacher, to make only one request to my Master, and he asked me, \u201cWhat wilt thou that I should do unto thee?\u201d \u2014 I should reply, \u201cLord, that I may receive my sight more fully than ever, and see thy truth more clearly than ever,\u201d because there is no fear about our speaking for God if our seeing is what it should be. That is the main matter, and therefore the Lord asks each one of us, \u201cWhat seest thou?\u201d If our answer proves that we have well seen, it is because the Spirit of God has enlightened us; and, enlightenment from God having been once received, we shall tell to others right gladly what God has revealed to us.<\/p>\n
Yet once more, those who see what they can see, and take care to see it well, are the people who shall receive further instruction, for it was when Jeremiah said, \u201cI see a rod of an almond tree,\u201d that the Lord went on to explain the vision to him, saying, \u201cThou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.\u201d Those who do not see what they can see shall not be allowed to see any more. If you will not use, in diligently studying the Scriptures, the judgment and perception which you already have, God will not give you further light, since you neglect the gift that is in you. He will leave your fire to burn low because you do not stir it up, and it shall get to be more dim than it now is, for he who will not learn more when God is willing to teach him shall forget what he already knows. I charge you, who are called to teach others in any way whatsoever, to submit yourselves fully to the teaching of the Holy Spirit. A disciple is the only person who can become an apostle; a scholar in the school of Christ is the only one who can be sent out to tell to others what his Master wishes to have made known to the sons of men.<\/p>\n
I have spoken thus with the view of helping those who are working for Christ; but now I must try to explain the vision mentioned in our text: \u201cJeremiah, what seest thou? I see a rod of an almond tree.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
I. <\/b>Observe, first, that the almond is a wakeful tree. The Hebrew word which is rendered \u201calmond\u201d comes from a root signifying to be wakeful, so this passage might be read thus, \u201cI see the wakeful rod. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will waken concerning my word to perform it.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the other trees are asleep, before the warmth of the springtime has aroused them from their winter slumbers, the almond tree awakes, and opens the lovely eyes of its abundant blossoms. In Jeremiah\u2019s country, it begins to bloom early in January, and it is in such haste to produce its fruit that it is often ripe before the end of March. You know how, even in our suburban gardens, one of the first signs of the approach of spring is that the almond tree begins to blossom. The East wind often keeps it back, yet it struggles to its utmost to come out while other trees are asleep. Even before the chestnut, which is generally up as early as almost any of our trees, has been able to cast off the blankets in which it slept during the winter, the almond tree has opened its eyes, and looked out as if it were asking whether springtime is not coming. The almond is a wakeful tree, and so, says the Lord, \u201cI will be wakeful concerning my word to perform it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Note, first, that God never forgets a promise. <\/i>Alas! you and I do not remember all our promises. How often are they made only to be broken; but God never forgets one that he has given. We even forget God\u2019s promises; and, often, when we are in trouble, we can hardly recollect one that we can plead before him. But God never yet forgot a promise; all these centuries, in which he has been dealing with men, he has never yet failed to keep his word. \u201cHath he said, and shall he not do it?\u201d<\/p>\n
What is equally wonderful, God has never forgotten a single person to whom a promise belonged, \u2014<\/i> not even the least. Even if they have only desired to seek him, or if they have only commenced to seek him, he has been gracious to them, he has heard their cry, and has delivered them. This is a wide world, and there are many millions of people in it; yet no one of them has ever been able to say that God has failed to keep one of his promises. More than that, in the whole universe, throughout all the ages, there has never been a forgotten soul. He who counts the brilliant stars counts such dim things as our understandings; and he who numbers the very hairs of our head never fails to reckon the cries of our hearts.<\/p>\n
Further, there has never been a single occasion for the fulfillment of a promise which God fins allowed to slip. <\/i>When the promise has become due, he has discharged it to the tick of the clock. There are no dishonored bills recorded against God in the archives of men or of angels. No one can look up to the heavens, and say to him, \u201cThou hast deceived me, and I was deceived;\u201d but we can say, \u201cFaithful and true art thou, O Jehovah; this is part of thy Son\u2019s title, for he is the faithful and true Witness, and thou art the faithful Promiser, who always performs what he has promised.\u201d \u201cThe Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let me also add that there is not a threatening of God\u2019s Word which has not been fulfilled, <\/i>or which will not yet be executed. He has been a wakeful God in that respect. When men have persisted in their iniquity, he has not allowed them to escape the just punishment of their evil deeds. Happily for us, we cannot hear the sighs and cries of the spirits shut up in prison; but they are there. In his mercy, God has made a great gulf between us and those who are tormented in that flame; but they are there, though we cannot see or hear them. As surely as God lives, their iniquity and transgression are already receiving their just recompence of reward, and there is a worse doom to follow. As God watches over his people to do them good, so does he watch over the transgressor who is finally impenitent, and makes him to know the terrors of his wrath. That is the black side of this truth, and it must not be ignored. You may rest assured that a judge who does not punish the guilty is as unjust as the one who does not acquit the innocent. There must be, with every king who is worthy of the name, an execution of the sentence of the law upon evil-doers, as well as the award of praise for them that do well. Paul says, concerning the earthly representative of authority, \u201cHe beareth not the sword in vain; \u201cand that sentence is certainly true concerning the King of kings. \u201cShall not the Judge of all the earth do right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Look, then, dear friends, a.t this rod of an almond tree, and believe in a wakeful God who will surely deal with men according to his Word, whether in promise or in threatening.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
II. <\/b>But the more obvious sense of the text is that which I give under the second head. The Almond Is In Haste To Blossom And Bear Fruit. Hence our translators have rendered the passage, \u201cI will hasten my word to perform it.\u201d The almond tree is not slow to bloom, it is one of the very first trees to tell us that springtime is near. And the Lord is quick to fulfill his Word.<\/p>\n
Very briefly, let me remind you of the quickness of God to fulfill his threatenings.<\/i> Do you realize, dear hearers, you who are now hearing the gospel, but have not received it, that God\u2019s threatenings take effect at once? \u201cNo,\u201d you say, \u201c\u2019He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.\u2019\u201c That is most true; yet there is a sense in which his sentence takes effect at once. For instance, \u201cHe that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.\u201d If you have heard the gospel, \u2014 and some of you have heard it many, many years, \u2014 and yet have not heeded it, you will not be condemned for the first time at the last great day, you are condemned even now. Some people say to us, \u201cWhy do you ministers, in your preaching, so constantly deal with another life, instead of dealing with this one?\u201d Our answer is, that we do deal with this life; we deal with it continually, for we believe that both sides of that text are true at this very minute, \u201cHe that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.\u201d Even now, at this moment, while you are in this building, if you are not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the wrath of God is abiding on you.<\/p>\n
Listen again. There is another immediate effect of the Word of the Lord, which follows as quickly as the blossom appears upon the almond tree. Upon some hearers, it produces an instant hardening. You remember how Paul wrote, \u201cWe are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life.\u201d You, dear friends, are deriving, from every gospel sermon that you hear, either life unto life, or else death unto death. If you get no good from it, you will assuredly get harm. An unbelieving hearing of the gospel is a multiplication of curses to your soul, \u2014 another sermon for which you have to give account, another rejected exhortation recorded against you, another earnest invitation, which you have refused, and for which you will be held responsible. You are heaping up to yourselves wrath against the day of wrath even while you hear the Word of the Lord. I am not now talking about what will happen to you when you die, or when you rise for the final judgment; I am speaking about what is happening now. The same sun which melts wax hardens clay; and the same gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sins. Take heed that you do not soon see the almond tree blossom in this terrible sense.<\/p>\n
There is also another sense in which a definite result is speedily coming, for you must soon die, unless Christ comes shortly. In any case, it cannot be long before some here will be gone. We who have reached middle life must not reckon on continuing to live for many years; but others are already bald with age, or their hair is grey, so they must soon die. Suppose, however, that you young people should live to be ninety; yet how soon that period will be ended! Years seem to spin round, especially as we grow older. I thought, when I was a boy, that a year was a very long time; but, now, one scarcely seems to have time to kiss his hand before it is Christmas day again. .People say, \u201cChristmas is coming,\u201d as if it were a long way off; but the next one is coming as soon as the last one has gone. Time flies very rapidly as years advance upon us; it appears even to quicken its pace, though it does not really go any faster than it used to do. It will be but a short while, and you, my dear hearer, if you die without Christ, will find that God is not slack concerning his threatening, \u2014 that, though he seems to tarry in longsuffering, yet he comes in due season after all; and when he comes, \u2014 ah! when the last trumpet rings out, and the great white throne is set, and the angels gather in solemn pomp to the tremendous judgment of the grand assize, you will find that the time, which seemed long enough, proved all too short, while the eternity, which you despised, you will dread with such despair as we cannot even imagine now. For ever, for ever, for ever, for ever lost! I see \u201ca rod of an almond tree\u201d for some of you, for it may be that I am addressing some who will never enter any place of worship again. I may be speaking to some out of these many hundreds who will not be alive this day week. Out of our great congregation, there never is a gathering of the same people twice in this place week by week. Even among our membership, there are now, on the average, two a week who are taken home; and I know not how many more out of the congregation. Who will be the next? I see, for that next one, \u201ca <\/i>rod of an almond tree,\u201d for God will hasten his Word to perform it.<\/p>\n
While I have felt compelled to speak of these solemn truths, I am glad to turn to the other part of the subject, which is this, that God is quick in performing his promises. <\/i>They are like the almond tree, they blossom and bear fruit very quickly. \u201cWhat <\/i>sort of promises,\u201d say you, \u201care <\/i>thus speedily fulfilled?\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, first, the promise to give salvation to all these who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen, \u2014<\/p>\n
\u201cThe moment a sinner believes,
And trusts in his crucified God,
His pardon at once he receives,
Redemption in full thro\u2019 his blood.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
I see \u201ca rod of an almond tree\u201d here. The psalmist says, \u201cHis word runneth very swiftly;\u201d and I am a witness that it does. Many years ago, I, a poor sinner, went into a place of worship to hear the gospel preached. The preacher repeated the Lord\u2019s command, \u201cLook unto me, and be ye saved.\u201d I looked to Christ, and I was saved that very instant. It takes no longer to tell the story than it did to work the miracle of mercy. Swift as the lightning\u2019s flash I looked to Christ, and the great deed was done; I was a pardoned and justified soul; in a word, I was saved. Why should not the same thing happen to you who are here? It will happen to everyone who shall now be led to believe in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, but!\u201d says one, \u201cthere are often long delays before peace is enjoyed.\u201d Then, it is because you make them, for God does not. \u201cBut sometimes we have to wait,\u201d says one. Yes, yes; I know all about that waiting. Do you remember, in the parable of the prodigal son, where he waited? Why, with the harlots and others with whom he wasted his substance in riotous living, or with the swine, when he was feeding them with the husks with which he would fain have filled his own empty belly. That is where he waited; but when did he end his waiting? When he said, \u201cI will arise and go to my father.\u201d He did not wait any longer, for we read, \u201cAnd he arose, and came to his father;\u201d and then it is written, \u201cWhen he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and\u201d \u2014 \u201c<\/i>and\u201d \u2014 \u201c<\/i>and\u201d \u2014 \u201c<\/i>and stood still, and waited for him to come?\u201d No, no; I know that God waits to be gracious; but, according to the teaching of that parable, \u201cwhen he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran.\u201d Do you know how fast God can run? Come, how, there is a task for you. We know, sometimes, how fast fleet runners can go. What a rate they go at! As we hear about them, we seem to realize the force of David\u2019s description of Saul and Jonathan, \u201cThey were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.\u201d But again I ask, can you tell me how fast God can run? No, you do not know, you cannot tell; but you do know that he is all on fire with love to embrace a poor penitent sinner, and he speeds towards him at an amazing rate.<\/p>\n
Remember that hymn with which we commenced this service, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cOn cherub and on cherubim,
Full royally he rode,
And on the wings of mighty winds,
Came flying all abroad.
\u2019And so delivered he my soul.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Swift as the lightning\u2019s flash is the glance of divine compassion that brings life to a penitent soul. Believe then in Jesus, and \u201cthe great transaction\u2019s done.\u201d \u201cHe that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.\u201d \u201cWhy, sir, he only believed a minute ago! Has he received eternal life already?\u201d Yes, he has everlasting life just as surely as if he had been believing in Jesus for fifty years. If thou dost but believe, this blessing is at once thine. \u201cI see a rod of an almond tree.\u201d Oh, that thou also mayest see it blossom before thy very eyes, although, when thou camest into this house of prayer, it seemed as bare as the rest of the trees that have been nipped by the wintry winds! <\/p>\n
This part of our subject is just as true about prayer. The man who knows how to pray remembers God\u2019s promises concerning prayer and its answer. Think of that remarkable passage in Isaiah 65:24: \u201cIt shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.\u201d That is quicker than the telegraph: \u201cBefore they call, I will answer.\u201d God knows what petition is in your heart, he foresees what will be the utterance of your tongue, and he has the answers all ready for them. I have found many of my prayers answered years before I prayed them. \u201cNo,\u201d say you, \u201cthat could not be.\u201d Well, there was one of them that was answered more than eighteen hundred years before I prayed it. That was when I cried to God for a Savior, and he gave me One all those centuries before I was born, even the Savior who worked out for me a complete salvation on Calvary\u2019s accursed tree. O ye praying souls, \u201cI see a rod of an almond tree!\u201d When men begin to pray in faith, they are speedily heard.<\/p>\n
So is it when God\u2019s people want to have their spiritual life revived. When we get into a dull doleful state, as we sometimes do, if we cry to God, he is able quickly to revive our drooping spirits. You remember that verse in the Song of Solomon, \u201cOr ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Ammi-nadib;\u201d \u2014 which were, I suppose, noted for their swiftness; \u2014 \u201cI was dull, motionless, lifeless; but before I could tell where I was, I found myself almost flying along like the chariots of Ammi-nadib.\u201d So may it be with you, dear friend! Though you are like Laodicea, neither cold nor hot, yet remember what the Lord said to the angel of that church: \u201cBehold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.\u201d Renewed communion with Christ may be enjoyed at once, even by you who have fallen into a lukewarm state.<\/p>\n
Our subject applies also to deliverance from trouble. \u201cThe righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.\u201d God may not take away your trouble; but yet, in a moment, he may give you grace to bear it, and turn the trouble itself into a source of joy. \u201cI see a rod of an almond tree\u201d full often. In times of deep depression, God can lift up the heart very speedily.<\/p>\n
So can he bless his Word. As neither snow nor rain returns to him void, so is it with his Word; it shall prosper in the thing whereto he sent it, and it shall prosper at once. O you who want to win souls, go about your work very boldly, believing that God will bless you! \u201cLo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,\u201d said Christ. When Peter preached, the apostles and disciples did not wait for several years to find out the result of his sermon, \u2014 though I daresay there were further results after a long time; \u2014 but they picked up three thousand birds which had been brought down by that one discharge of the great gospel gun. Oh, that you and I would so work for God as to expect immediate results, and go and look for them! \u201cI see a rod of an almond tree.\u201d I believe that there are some here who will to-night lay hold on Christ. It was a great joy to me to have a sister come in, just before service, to tell me that, years ago, she found the Lord when I was preaching at the Agricultural Hall. She said, \u201cThat will comfort you.\u201d I said, \u201cYes, it does; it shows me that I was useful once; but,\u201d I added, \u201cI want to be useful now; I want to see souls brought to Christ now.\u201d And so they will be; let us believe it, and see this rod of an almond tree blossom to-night.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
III. <\/b>Now, to close, I can only briefly remind you that the almond tree sets an example to all who would be like God. He hastens his Word to perform it; oh, that you and I would be in haste to perform our word!<\/p>\n
Is there one here who wishes to seek the Lord? <\/i>\u201c\u2019 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near.\u201d There will be a friend or two, on the lower platform, after the service, to talk with any of you who wish to say anything to them about your own souls, and to hear from them some good words about the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not go away, even from this service, till you have sought and found the Savior. Seek him now, you young people. Recollect that precious promise, \u201cThose that seek me early shall find me.\u201d Others shall find the Lord if they seek him; but, certainly, the young shall do so whatever others do not. Be up early, then, while yet you are in your teens, before you get to be a young man, seek the Lord now, for you shall surely find him if you search for him with all your heart. God help you to do it!<\/p>\n
Then, you who have found him, be prompt in obeying him. Do <\/i>you know what David said? \u201cI made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.\u201d If you have found the Savior by faith, be baptized according to his command and his example. Unite yourself with his people, and begin at once to serve him.<\/p>\n
And then, you who have been serving the Savior, if you have any good desire in your heart to do anything for Christ, do it. <\/i>You may be dead to-morrow morning, therefore I would advise you to do something for Christ to-night. Are you going to leave something in your will for the Master\u2019s cause? Be your own executor if you can; and whatever you think of doing, do it speedily; do not leave anything till to-morrow that can be done to-day. \u201cI see a rod of an almond tree.\u201d There are some men who must act now, or they never will do anything, for it is pretty nearly the end of the day with them. Up, brother, up! \u201cI see a rod of an almond tree.\u201d Do what you can to-night. Speak to your children about Christ to-night. Wake them up if they are in bed. Speak to that friend to whom you have often intended to speak. I know of one who resolved to speak to a man who used to come to his counter twice a week to buy some goods, he thought, \u201cThe next time he comes in, I will speak to him about his soul.\u201d He never came again! On the morning when he should have come, there came a messenger to say that he was dead. Therefore, take advantage of every opportunity while it lasts. \u201cIn the morning sow thy seed;\u201d but do not wait for the morning; \u201cin the evening withhold not thy hand;\u201d and \u201cwhatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, lastly, be ready for your immediate departure. <\/i>Be prepared to go home to heaven to-night. Come, now, are all things ready for your journey? If not, pack up all the luggage, label it, and have everything ready for the start at any moment. Blessed is that man who is ready to blossom in heaven any instant. \u201cOh!\u201d says one, \u201cI <\/i>should not like to die to-night. I believe that I am a Christian, and that I am saved; but I do not feel ready to go.\u201d Set your house in order, then, for your house cannot be right if it is not in order. If your house is in order, why, then you are ready to die. There is no right living except living as you would wish to live it you knew that this was to be your last day. The right way to spend the next hour is so to spend it as if it were your last hour. The Lord bring us into that happy condition that it shall not matter to us one single farthing whether we live or whether we die; and may he keep us in that blessed state, for Christ\u2019s sake! Amen.<\/p>\n
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON.<\/p>\n
PSALM 18:1-19.<\/b><\/p>\n
Verse 1. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI do love thee, and I will love thee yet more and more. I bind myself to thee for the future as well as the present.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.<\/i><\/p>\n
Note how David delights to heap up poetic imagery to describe his God. They who glory in the Lord would fain speak worthily of him; and because there is no one object in nature that can fully set him forth, they mention many, as David does here. Like him, if we would convey even a faint idea of what God is to us, we must think of all things that are strong, and worthy of our confidence, and putting them all together, we must say that our God, our strength, in whom we trust, is all this, and much more,<\/p>\n
3. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.<\/i><\/p>\n
Prayer brings salvation. Prayer must, however, be mingled with praise, for prayer and praise make up the breath of the Christian life. Have I not often reminded you that we breathe in the air of heaven by prayer, and then breathe it out again in grateful praise?<\/p>\n
4, 5. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThey were before me, behind me, all around my path whichever way I turned.\u201d<\/p>\n
6. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.<\/i><\/p>\n
What a difference there is between this living God of David, \u2014 our living God, \u2014 and that impersonal nonentity which, nowadays, is regarded by many as God. The god of the pantheist, \u2014 what is he? A nobody and a nothing; but our God made the heavens; and our God heareth the prayer of all who truly cry unto him.<\/p>\n
7. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.<\/i><\/p>\n
The cry of one of his oppressed children stirred him to anger. Nothing moves the heart of God like an injury done to his people. You remember how the prophet Zechariah wrote to the captive Jews in Babylon, \u201cThus saith the Lord of hosts, He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.\u201d<\/p>\n
8, 9. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.<\/i><\/p>\n
In this wonderful poetic description, Jehovah is represented as descending from his throne at the cry of one of his children in distress.<\/p>\n
10. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.<\/i><\/p>\n
So swift is prayer to reach the ear of God, and so swift is God to come and answer his people\u2019s prayers.<\/p>\n
11. He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.<\/i><\/p>\n
Like an Oriental king, who travels beneath his royal canopy, the Lord is pictured as coming to earth with the bursting clouds and opening heavens as the pavilion of the Deity.<\/p>\n
12. At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.<\/i><\/p>\n
These are some of the weapons with which he assails the adversaries of his people. With this dread artillery, he smote Pharaoh of old, when he rained haft upon the ]and of Egypt, and fire mingled with the hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground.<\/p>\n
13, 14. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.<\/i><\/p>\n
God himself came forth on his people\u2019s behalf, and fought for them from heaven. As we read that \u201cthe stars in their courses fought against Sisera,\u201d so did God make the very tempests in the skies to be like an invincible legion, sweeping before it the enemies of his anointed servant.<\/p>\n
15-18. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity:<\/i><\/p>\n
They went before him, they blocked his way.<\/p>\n
18, 19. But the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.<\/i><\/p>\n
Oh, how sweetly this record continues! Never was there a poem more lofty in its diction. Even Milton earn:lot equal the lan<\/i>guage of this Psalm. This inspired writing rises superior to all human compositions, even if regarded only from the poetic point of view.<\/p>\n
But what must have been the psalmist\u2019s experience when he was delivered after this wonderful fashion? And if God has delivered you and me in a quieter and gentler way, yet he has quite as surely delivered us; and blessed be his name from this time forth, and even for evermore!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NO. 2678 INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD\u2019S-DAY, JUNE 10TH, 1900, DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 7TH, 1881. \u201cMoreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the Lord … Continue reading “THE LESSON OF THE ALMOND TREE.”<\/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-4007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4007","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=4007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4007\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}