NO. 2885<\/b><\/p>\n
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MAY 26TH, 1904,<\/b><\/p>\n
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,<\/i><\/p>\n
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON,<\/b><\/p>\n
ON A LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, DURING THE WINTER OF 1861-2.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.\u201d \u2014 Hebrews 2:18.<\/i><\/p>\n
THAT which is the most simple lesson the gospel has to teach, is often the most difficult lesson for the Christian to learn. That simple lesson is, that we must not look to ourselves for anything good, but that we must look to the Lord alone for all our righteousness. The lesson is short, as well as simple; it is easy to repeat; but, as often as our faith is severely tried, we find how apt we are to forget that which is the very Alpha of the gospel, its rudiments, \u2014 That man, in himself, is wholly lost, and that all his hope of help and salvation must rest on Christ; \u2014 that, apart from God, there is nothing upon which faith can fasten itself; \u2014 and that, without the atoning sacrifice and justifying righteousness of Christ, the quickening and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, and the everlasting love of the Father, there is neither joy, nor peace, nor comfort, nor hope to be found anywhere. This seems to be a very easy lesson; yet even aged believers, when their hair is getting grey, and they are about to enter the land of perfect peace and rest, still find the temptation to unbelief too much for them, and they begin to look for something good in the creature, and to seek for happiness in themselves, instead of seeking all good in God.<\/p>\n
I want to try to teach you this lesson again, and also to learn it myself, for I need to learn it as much as you do, \u2014 the lesson of looking away from our temptations, and from our own weakness and inability to repel those temptations, to him who, having himself suffered being tempted, \u201cis able to succor them that are tempted.\u201d Let us fix our eye upon our great High Priest, and leave Satan and all his insinuations, his blasphemies and his temptations, out of the question. Or, rather, let us bring them to Christ, and see them all finished in him. I am going to address three separate characters that are represented here \u2014 first, the confirmed believer<\/i>; secondly, the young beginner<\/i>; and, thirdly, the backslider<\/i>; and then, summoning the attention of the whole company here assembled<\/i>, I shall try to commend the comfort and instruction of the text to you all.<\/p>\n
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I. <\/b>First, let me speak To Advanced Christians.<\/p>\n
You all have your trials, and those trials are of an advanced character. The troubles, with which the plants of God\u2019s right-hand planting are assailed, when they are saplings, are quite inconsiderable compared with those which come upon them when they are like cedars firmly rooted. As surely as our strength increases, so will our sufferings, our trials, our labors, or our temptations. God\u2019s power is never given to a man to be stored up unused. The heavenly food, that is sent to strengthen us, like the manna given to the Israelites in the wilderness, is intended for immediate use. If the Lord sends you much, you shall have nothing beyond what you can use for him; though, blessed be his holy name, if you have but little, you shall have no lack. When the Lord puts upon our feet the shoes of iron and brass, which he has promised us in his ancient covenant, he intends that we should wear them, and walk in them, \u2014 not that we should put them into our museum, and gaze upon them as curiosities. If he gives us a strong hand, it is because, we have a strong foe to fight with. If he gives us a great meal, \u2014 like that which he gave to Elijah, \u2014 it is in order that, in the strength of that meal, we may go for forty days, or even longer.<\/p>\n
Perhaps, my brother or sister, you are, just now, in great trouble. You have grown in grace, and your troubles have also grown. You feel that you want someone to whom you can tell your trouble; \u2014 your trouble very likely arises from the absence, of your Lord. Let me remind you that, in this respect, you are very like the Israelites in the wilderness, when Moses had been absent from them for forty days. They said, \u201cWhat shall we do? Our leader is gone; he, who was king in Jeshurun, has departed from us, and we are left like sheep without a shepherd.\u201d So they went \u2014 I dare not say that they went for counsel, but they went \u2014 to the high priest, and you remember what they said, and what he did. Alas! he gave them no good counsel, for he was as unwise as they were, and as untried; he had always had Moses by his side ever since the day that the Lord had said, \u201cIs not Aaron the Levite thy brother?… He shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.\u201d Aaron had never been left without his great leader; so, in his absence, he miserably failed, and led the people in the making and worshipping of the golden calf. How different it will be with you, who mourn the loss of the light of your Lord\u2019s countenance, if you go to our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ! He knows the meaning of your present trial, for he had once to cry, \u201cMy God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? \u201cYou tell him that your \u201csoul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death,\u201d and he tells you that it was so with him also, on that night in which he was betrayed, when, \u201cbeing in an agony, he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.\u201d No untried priest is he; he can sympathize, and he can succor.<\/p>\n
Take another case, that of Hannah, the \u201cwoman of a sorrowful spirit.\u201d She was in a peculiarly trying position. Her husband\u2019s other wife had children, but she had none; though she was greatly beloved of her husband, her adversary vexed her sorely to make her fret. Day by day, this was thrown in her teeth, that, because of some sin, God had not granted her the desire of her heart. A trial in one\u2019s own house is one of the saddest places where it can come; the saddest, perhaps, with the exception of a thorn in the flesh, which comes still closer home. So poor Hannah, having that trial at home, thought she would go up to the sanctuary in Shiloh. There, she \u201cprayed unto the Lord, and wept sore, and she vowed a vow.\u201d But \u201cshe spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.\u201d So Eli, the high priest, thought that she was drunken; and, instead of comforting and consoling her, he spoke harshly to her, depressed and broken as her spirit was. You, my brethren, and you, my sisters, too, may have some trouble which you dare not tell to another, though it is sorely vexing you, and threatens even to break your heart. But when you go to the great High Priest, he will understand all about you, he will not need you to explain your sorrow to him, for he knows exactly what it is, and he will apply the healing balm to your sorrowful spirit, and send you on your way full of peace and comfort.<\/p>\n
I offer, then, to you, who are advanced believers, this very comforting reflection, \u2014 in Christ\u2019s sufferings, you are quite certain to find something akin to your own<\/i>; and, in Christ\u2019s heart, you are quite sure to find a deep well of divine sympathy; so you need not hesitate to go to him, or doubt that his loving heart will overflow with sympathy towards you, whatever your trial may be.<\/p>\n
But, more than that, while I would console you by reminding you that Christ has suffered even as you have, I would also comfort you with the reflection that, this very day, he still suffers with you<\/i>. Suppose, now, that a man could be so high in stature that his head could be in heaven while his feet were on earth, yet, whenever his feet suffered, his head would suffer, too. In the Canticles, the spouse says of her Heavenly Bridegroom, \u201cHis head is as the most fine gold,… his legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold.\u201d As John saw him, \u201cin the isle that is called Patmos,\u201d \u201chis eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace.\u201d This suggests to me a parable; the feet of Christ, which form His Church on earth, still glow \u201cas if they burned in a furnace.\u201d The glorious Head of the Church, up in heaven, \u201cis as the most fine gold,\u201d but there is not the least glow of heat, in the feet on earth, which is not felt by the Head in heaven. There is not a pang, that rends your heart, which Jesus does not feel. There is not a sorrow, that cuts deeply into your soul, which does not also cut into his; so you can still sing, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cHe feels at his heart all our sighs and our groans
For we are most near him, his flesh and his bones;
In all our distresses our Head feels the pain,
They all are most needful, not one is in vain.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Does it not comfort you to know that Christ can sympathize with you, and that he must sympathize with you; can<\/i>, because he has suffered; must<\/i>, because he suffers still?<\/p>\n
I may also add, for your comfort, that all this<\/i> \u2014 Christ\u2019s suffering as you do, and his suffering with you, must tend to shield you in your trials.<\/i> A country minister, preaching upon the text, \u201cIs there no balm in Gilead; is there, no physician there?\u201d made the remark that Christ is a good Physician. \u201cAh!\u201d said he, \u201cChrist is not like those doctors, who come and say they are sorry for you, whereas, in their hearts, they are glad you are ill; for, if you and others were not ill, there would be no work for them. Or else,\u201d said the preacher, \u201cthey look down upon you, and pity you, but not half as much as if they themselves had your complaint, and felt all the pains that you are feeling. \u201cBut suppose,\u201d he added, \u201cthat the doctor had all your pains himself, \u2014 suppose you had the headache, and that he looked down on you, and had your headache; suppose, when you had palpitation of the heart, he had palpitation of the heart, too; \u2014 why, he would be very quick to cure you; certainly, he would not let you lie there a moment longer than was necessary, because he himself would be suffering with you.\u201d Now, there is just one objection that may be made to the countryman\u2019s argument, \u2014 that is, that the physician might be willing to raise the patient up at once, because he was himself suffering with him; yet he might say, \u201cHere are two of us in the same plight, but my skill fails me here. If I could deliver you, you can well imagine that I would gladly do so, for, in so doing, I should deliver myself as well; but, alas! it is beyond my power, I cannot lighten your burden, nor my own; we can only sit down together, and mingle our tears, but we cannot assist one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it is not so with the good Physician, for he has both the will and the power to heal us. One motion of that eternal arm, and every cloud, that is wrapped about the sky, shall be folded up, like a worn-out vesture, and cast away. Jesus speaks, and the boisterous billows cease their raging, and the wild winds are hushed to sleep. \u201cLet there be light,\u201d saith he; and, over the thick darkness of our affliction and adversity, comes the bright gleam of joy and prosperity He did but lift up his voice, and \u201ckings of armies did flee apace.\u201d O Jesus, our Lord, when thou comest forth for the deliverance of thy people, who can stand before thee? As the wax melteth before the fire, and as the fat of rams is consumed upon thine altar, so do our trials and troubles melt and vanish away when thou comest forth for the deliverance of thy people! Remember, believers, that you not only have the love of Christ\u2019s heart, but you also have the strength of Christ\u2019s arm at your disposal. He ruleth over all things, in heaven, and earth, and hell, so rest in him, for still he bears the scars of his wounds to show that he has suffered even as you do. Still doth he prove himself to be man, seeing that he suffers with you; yet is he also \u201cvery God of very God,\u201d into whose hand all power in heaven and earth is committed. He can, he must, he will deliver his people, and bring them out of all their trials into his eternal kingdom and glory.<\/p>\n
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II. <\/b>Secondly, I am going to speak To Anxious Enquirers And Young Beginners.<\/p>\n
I hear a plaintive voice, over yonder, saying to me, \u201cI know, sir, that the precious blood of Jesus Christ, God\u2019s Son, cleanseth us from all sin; and I know that, the moment I believe in him, I have nothing to fear concerning the past, for that sin is blotted out, once for all; but my fear is that, if I commence a Christian life, it will not last long. I am afraid I shall be like Pliable, and turn back at the Slough of Despond; or if my neighbors jeer at me, I fear that I shall be ashamed to go forward in spite of their opposition. Even if I get over that, I feel that I cannot trust my own evil heart, which is so apt to deceive me. If old temptations should be overcome, new ones will be sure to arise, and I cannot help fearing as to what will become of me. I have seen some, who made a fair show in the flesh, turn back, and go straight to perdition; and I tremble lest it should be so with me also. How can I hope to withstand the imperious lusts which were too strong for me when first they allured my simple heart? How much more shall they be too mighty for me now that sin has gathered the force of habit, and practice, like an iron net, has enfolded me in its cruel grip? When I was a youth, I could not stand against this great enemy of my soul; how then, shall I be a match for him now that I have grown old and feeble? The old Adam will be too strong for the young Melancthon.<\/p>\n
Well, dear friends, I have seen some persons, who have been truly converted to God, who have been greatly troubled with this fear. Indeed, in some instances, I have even known of poor men kneeling down, and praying that God would let them die, there and then, sooner than that they should live to prove that their feelings were only a delusion, and that their supposed repentance was merely a passing excitement. Some of us can fully sympathize with those who pray such a prayer as that, for we have often felt that the most terrible death would be preferable to the disgrace of bringing dishonor upon the name of Jesus by turning back to the City of Destruction after we had once started for the Celestial City. But, my dear friend, if the Lord has begun a good work in thy soul, and led thee to trust in Jesus as thy Savior, my text will just meet that fear of thine, for the apostle here says that Christ \u201cis able to succor them that are tempted.\u201d You will be tempted, \u2014 I will not delude you with the notion that you will not; \u2014 and you cannot, by yourself, stand up against, that temptation; but Christ, \u201cin that he himself hath suffered being tempted, is able to succor them that are tempted.\u201d This truth we set before you as a shield against all these dark, mysterious thoughts; \u2014 Christ can, and he will, if you trust in him, protect you from the sin and the temptation which you rightly dread.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut how is this to be done?\u201d asks someone. Well, first of all, Christ can do it by the force of his own example<\/i>. He can show you as he has done in his Word; but he can show you, by his Spirit that Word, how he was once subject to just the same temptation that now assails you. Are you poor, and are you tempted to use wrong means to get rich? Christ can tell you how, in the wilderness, \u201cwhen he had fasted forty days, and forty nights, he was afterwards an hungred,\u201d and Satan came to him, and said, \u201cIf thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.\u201d Are you a man in a high position, and are you tempted to do some daring and reckless deed? Christ can remind you how, when he was on a pinnacle of the temple, Satan said to him, \u201cIf thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down.\u201d Or do you seem, just now, to have great power within your reach if you will but stain your hand to grasp is? Christ can tell you how Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and said to him, \u201cAll these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.\u201d Then he will remind you how he passed through all these ordeals without sin, for the prince of this world could find nothing in him to respond to his temptations. He was tried and tested again and again, but no trace of alloy could be discovered even by the devil himself. Though he was often shot at by his great adversary, he was never wounded by the fiery shafts; so, inspired by his glorious example, you may say, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cThrough floods and flames if Jesus lead
I\u2019ll follow where he goes.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
You not only have Christ\u2019s example to keep you from sin, but you also have his presence<\/i>. Do you know what this means? Let me give you an instance of it. There was a certain merchant, who had been, again and again, tempted to an act of sin. It was the usual custom in his trade, everybody else did it; but he knew that it was wrong, and his soul revolted against it. As he sat in his countinghouse, he saw, pictured before his mind\u2019s eye, his wife homeless, and his children crying for bread; and the demon whispered to him, \u201cDo it; do it.\u201d Then another picture flitted before his eyes, \u2014 he and his wife and children were rich, their home was filled with good things, and again the adversary said, \u201cDo it; do it.\u201d He saw the advantages that were to be gained by doing it, but he went home, and pondered the whole matter. His soul was heavy, and a stern struggle was proceeding within him. Then he went to his chamber, and shut himself in alone, and, falling upon his knees, told out all his difficulty and temptations to his Father in heaven. Then, suddenly, not before his eyes, but to faith\u2019s inner eye, there appeared a vision of the crucified Christ, who showed him his pierced hands, and feet, and side, and then said to him, \u201cHe that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me Thou hast not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.\u201d The merchant, fixing his tearful eyes upon his Savior, remembered Paul\u2019s words, \u201cConsider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds;\u201d he came down from his bedroom, his soul was glad, for his mind was made up, and he said to himself, \u201cI will not do it; I can be poor, but, I cannot sin.\u201d Others marked the man, and wondered at the change in his appearance. He walked erect, no longer like one bowed down beneath a heavy burden. Many men marvelled at him, and asked what had happened to him, but none could tell. The secret was, that the crucified Christ had appeared to him, and had given him the support of his divine presence. That was sufficient to succor him in the time of temptation, for Christ, having himself suffered being tempted, was able to succor his faithful follower when he also was tempted.<\/p>\n
I know that I am addressing someone, who, says, \u2014 I will use, as far as possible, his own words, \u2014 \u201dLook here, sir; I have always been in the habit of being a jolly fellow, meeting with a number of boon companions to drink, and chat, and sing, and so on. I do not know that we did very much amiss; but, still, I could not do it again if I became a Christian. Suppose, now, that I should be invited to join the same company to-morrow; \u2014 I am not sure what I might do, I might refuse their invitation; \u2014 but if I were asked again and again, and they jeered at me for refusing, I might give in. Suppose that I did not yield, there is another difficulty. I have been a man of such-and-such a character, and have formed such-and-such habits; now, how in the world am I to overcome those habits? How am I to become a Christian, and to continue so to the end?\u201d<\/p>\n
These are very proper questions, and I answer, \u2014 You are utterly helpless, apart from him who is able to succor them that are tempted; but if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, he will give you a new nature. That new nature, it is true, will not at once cast out the old nature; your old nature will still be there, but the new nature will struggle against it; and, ultimately, through the effectual working of the Holy Spirit, the new nature will prevail over the old nature, and you will be \u201ca new creature in Christ Jesus;\u201d old things will have passed away, and all things will have become new. You will say, as a young convert did, when he came to join the church, \u201cI don\u2019t know which it is, but either everything else is changed, or else I am.\u201d It was in himself, of course, that the great change had been wrought, but that changed the aspect of everything else.<\/p>\n
Let me give you a little parable to illustrate this point. A lion and a tiger used, frequently, to roam the forests together, in search of prey that might satisfy their bloodthirsty appetites. But, one day, an angel came, touched the lion, and changed him into a lamb. The next day, the tiger came, and wanted the lion to go with him to his feast of blood. Do you think it was difficult for him to refuse the invitation? Oh, no! \u201cI have no inclination to go,\u201d said he. The tiger laughed scornfully, and said, \u201cAha! you have become pious, have you? Now you will go to the sheepfolds, and sneak behind the shepherds\u2019 heels, \u2014 you that were once so brave!\u201d And the tiger despised him, and said, \u201cYou are miserable to be thus tied up like a dog, and not to dare to come and do as we have always done.\u201d \u201cNay,\u201d said the lion, \u201cit is not that I dare not go with you, but I have no wish to go. I am not miserable because I cannot go with you on such an errand, \u2014 I should to miserable if I did go. The fact is, I cannot now do what I once did, for I am not what I once was. My new nature has brought me new loves, new hatreds, new preferences, new pursuits, so I cannot go with you on your bloodthirsty expedition.\u201d<\/p>\n
If God has wrought a similar change in you, and transformed the lion into a lamb, and the raven into a dove, it will not be difficult for you to be kept from sin, for you will hate sin with, perfect hatred, and have no fellowship with it; and, besides that, as your nature will be renewed, day by day, by the Holy Spirit, with a constant infusion of everything that is good, and gracious, and Godlike, do you not see that sin shall no longer be like a strong spear to pierce you, but as a fragile reed which shall snap against the armor of proof which your soul shall wear?<\/p>\n
Let me remind you, who are thinking of going upon pilgrimage, but are afraid of the lions and the dragons in the way, that he, unclear whose banner you hope to enlist, never suffered one soldier, who was in his service, to perish. If you become a sheep under the care of the good Shepherd, remember that \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cHis honor is engaged to save
The meanest of his sheep.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
If you are a mariner, bound for the Fair Havens of eternal felicity, recollect that the Lord High Admiral of the seas of providence and grace has safely convoyed into port every vessel that has yet been committed to his charge; not one has ever been wrecked or lost in any way. Trust yourself to his protection and guidance, and he will bring you also in safely. What if your temper be, naturally, furious? What if your evil propensities have been indulged until they have become as giants holding you in cruel captivity? What if your passions boil, and burn, and blaze, like Vesuvius in eruption? What if your temptations should come upon you as the Philistines came upon Samson? He, to whom you commit the keeping of your soul, shall make you master over all; and you shall yet be, with the great multitude whom no man can number, more than conqueror through him who hath loved you. Oh, that the Holy Spirit would constrain many of you, straightway, to leave your old master, and to enter the service of the Savior! You will never find a better master than the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll!\u201d said a sailor, seventy years of age, who had heard a sermon that had deeply affected him, and, I trust, had been the means of renewing his nature, \u201cI am going to haul down my old flag to-day. I have sailed under the colors of the Black Prince all these years, but they are coming down to-day; and I am going to run up the blood-red cross in their place, and I hope to sail under that flag until I die.\u201d So may it be with many of you! Say, \u201cO Satan, we have served thee far too long! Miserable is thy service, despicable are thy ways, degrading is our position, and awful must be our end if we remain in thy power.\u201d Then turn to the Lord, and appeal to him. Say, \u201cO God, help us! We cry to thee. Bring us, we pray thee, from under the tyrant\u2019s sway. Help us to yield ourselves up to thee this very hour. Take our hearts, black as they are, and wash them in the precious blood of Jesus Christ, thy well-beloved Son. Change the hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. Make us to be thy servants while we live, and to enter into thy rest and thy glory when we die.\u201d<\/p>\n
I have thus, I hope, spoken somewhat to the comfort of young beginners and anxious enquirers.<\/p>\n
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III. <\/b>Now, in the third place, I am going to speak briefly To Backsliders.<\/p>\n
Where art thou, backslider? I cannot pick thee out; but there is an eye that sees thee, and that weeps over thee. Ten years ago, you used to sit down at the communion table; twenty years ago, you were a reputable member of the church; but you fell, and, oh, what a fall was yours! Since that time, you have not wholly forsaken the house of God, though you have wandered hither and thither; but you have never dared to call yourself a Christian again. You lost the light of God\u2019s countenance long ago, and you find the service of Satan very hard, yet you think you must go downward to despair. You feel that you are in the iron cage of which Bunyan wrote, and you fear that you will never get out of it. Poor backslider, I cannot mention thy name without a tear; and if I, a fellow-creature, thus weep over thee, much more does that compassionate Savior, who suffered being tempted, and who is able to succor them that are tempted.<\/p>\n
Hark! If you will but incline your ear, you may hear a note that will cheer your heart, and yet break it, too! \u2019Tis God who speaks, and he is having a controversy with himself over you. Justice says, \u201cDestroy him;\u201d but Mercy says, \u201cSpare him.\u201d The very gospel, which thou hast despised, witnesses against thee; but, at the same time, pleads for thee. The Lord still says to backsliders, as he did to his ancient people when they wandered from him, \u201cTurn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married unto you.\u201d \u201cMarried unto you!\u201d This marriage bond cannot be broken; thou hast played the harlot, and gone after many lovers; but thy first husband hates putting away, and even now invites thee to return to him. So, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cTo thy Father\u2019s bosom pressed,
Once again a child confessed
From his house no more to roam,
Come, O poor backslider, come!\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
I may even be addressing some, who once drank from the cup of communion, but who have turned aside to drink the cup of devils. I may be speaking to some, to whom, for years, the Sabbath has been a day for business instead of a day for worship. Yet you could never get the sound of the Sabbath bell out of your ears; and, even now, you cannot forget the profession you once made, nor the joys you once knew; and you cannot be easy in your sins. There is a spark of heavenly fire that still lingers within you, and it will not die out, even though you seek to quench it that it may not hinder you from going after your lusts. That is God\u2019s grip still upon you; oh, that I might be his ambassador of peace, to fling wide the doors of his mercy to you! Poor prodigal, thou art clad in rags; the sty is thine only sleeping-place, and the swine thine only companions; thou wouldst fain fill thy belly with the husks that they eat: but thou must not, for thou art a God-made man, and swine\u2019s food can never satisfy thee. As thou standest here, perhaps there is a tear trickling down thy cheek because of the many years that thou hast spent in sin, and thou art saying, \u201cI would arise, and go unto my Father, but I fear that he has forgotten me.\u201d Oh, say not that! But do as the prodigal did; arise, and come unto thy Father, for he will give the such a reception as the prodigal received. You shall have the kiss of forgiveness upon your brow, the best robe of your Savior\u2019s perfect righteousness shall be cast all around you, the ring of everlasting love shall be placed upon your finger, the shoes of peace shall be fitted to your feet, you shall eat the fat things of the promises of God, there shall be music in your ears, music in your house, music on earth, and music in heaven itself, because he that was dead is alive again, he that was lost is found.<\/p>\n
This should be your consolation: \u201cIn that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.\u201d Did I hear you say, \u201cBut I cannot see how Christ was ever in the same position that I am in, for he was never a backslider\u201d? That is quite true; but what are your trials? First, you are tried by the burden of sin that is resting upon you; and Christ had the sins of all his people resting upon him, so he knows what that burden means. Next, you are tried by the loss of the light of God\u2019s countenance; so was he, for he cried, \u201cMy God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d Then, you say that you have lost all your friends; so had he, for, in his time of trial, \u201cthey all forsook him, and fled.\u201d You say, also, that you are despised, that you are the subject of the song of the drunkard and the mirth of the mocker; so was he, for he could truly say, \u201cReproach hath broken mine heart.\u201d So Christ can sympathize \u2014 not with your sin, for he never had any of his own, \u2014 but with your sorrow, which is the consequence of sin, for he had to bear all that before you did.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
IV. <\/b>Now I have to close by speaking To The Whole Assembly.<\/p>\n
I think I might liken you, on a large scale, to that little band of pilgrims, \u2014 Christiana, and Mercy, and Matthew, and James, and the rest of them who started from the City of Destruction, \u2014 who, when they came to the Interpreter\u2019s House, were put under the escort of Mr. Greatheart. I am not Mr. Greatheart; \u2014 I am but one of the children; \u2014 but our great Savior is Mr. Greatheart, and he is going with us all the way to the Celestial City. We are but like those boys and girls, and we are afraid of what we may meet on the road. There are lions in the way; but Mr. Greatheart can kill them, or restrain them from hurting us. There is Apollyon in the valley, but our Greatheart is more than a match for the arch-fiend. We shall have to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, yet each one of us shall be able to say, \u201cI will fear no evil, for thou art, with me.\u201d We shall have to go through the Enchanted Ground; but, as Christ will be with us, we shall not fall asleep there to our grievous hurt. We shall have to go through Vanity Fair, and to bear the jeer and the jibe of the mocking mob, but we can bear all that, for we shall have our great Captain with us. But, \u2014 and here comes the dark thought to some, \u2014 we shall at last come to the dark river without a bridge. Mr. Greatheart \u2014 whom Bunyan meant to be the minister, had to go through the stream with the rest; but when we come to the river, our Mr. Greatheart, Christ himself, \u2014 will go through the river with each one of us. He will put his almighty arm around us; and when we get where our feet cannot feel the bottom, he will say to each one of us, \u201cWhen thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.\u201d To die with Jesus is better even than living with him except that higher style of living with him beyond the river of death, for \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cJesus can make a dying bed
Feel soft as downy pillows are,
While on his breast I lean my head
And breathe my life out sweetly there.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
In this sense, our text shines like a cluster of stars. Jesus died, Jesus rose again; in that he died, he can sympathize; in that he rose again, he can succor. Lay hold of this text whenever you think of death with any gloomy cast in your mind; and let us go on our way, each one singing, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cSince Jesus is mine, I\u2019ll not fear undressing
But gladly put off this garment of clay;
To die in the Lord is a covenant blessing,
Since Jesus to glory through death led the way.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON.<\/p>\n
2CORINTHIANS 6:1-18.<\/b><\/p>\n
2 Corinthians 6:1. We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.<\/i><\/p>\n
God\u2019s servants are called to take many different positions. They are ambassadors under one aspect; they are workers under another. As ambassadors, they are ambassadors for Christ, as workers, they are workers together with God. Oh, how much it costs to win a soul! I mean, not only how much it cost the Savior, so that he broke his very heart over it, and poured out his life\u2019s blood, \u2014 but also how much it must cost the messenger of peace! He must know how to beseech and implore; and when even this fails, he must still go on toiling, laboring, as a worker together with God.<\/p>\n
2. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)<\/i><\/p>\n
I trust that, if I am addressing any who say that it is too late for them to be saved, and that their sin is too great to be forgiven, this text will drive away that unholy and unwarranted fear: \u201cBehold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then the apostle goes on to speak of himself, and the rest of the apostles and other preachers of the Word: \u2014 <\/p>\n
3, 4. Giving no offense in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God,<\/i><\/p>\n
As those early servants of the Lord really did.<\/p>\n
4-10. In much patience, in afflictions in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastinqs; by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown and yet well known, as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.<\/i><\/p>\n
All these things Paul and his brethren were to be and to do in order to win souls for Christ; just as the hunters in the cold North seek after furs, and try all sorts of plans to catch the wild creatures on which they grow. They will trap them, or snare them, or shoot them; but, somehow or other, they will get them. They will be on the alert all day, and all night, too. They will learn the habits of every creature they have to deal with, but they will get the furs somehow. And so must the true minister of Christ be willing to be anything, to do anything, to suffer anything, to bear reproach and shame, to be nothing, or to be all things to all men, if by any means he may save some.<\/p>\n
11, 12. O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.<\/i><\/p>\n
If they were not saved, it was not because Paul did not open his mouth to speak to them, and to warn and invite them, nor because he did not open his heart, and feel, in his very bowels, the movements of a sacred compassion for them.<\/p>\n
Now, having thus spent himself in his endeavor to bring them to Christ, he writes to those whom he did bring: \u2014 <\/p>\n
13. Now for a recompence in the same,<\/i><\/p>\n
There must be some wages for this blessed work. The apostle wisely puts it on that footing, as if, surely, they were indebted to him, but the payment that he seeks is, of course, no personal gain to him; he only puts it in that form, but it is a gain to them.<\/p>\n
13. (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been so much earnest labor to secure your conversion, so be ye also in earnest to bring in others. Get large thoughts of God; be fully consecrated to him, spend and be spent for him. Follow a good example.\u201d Paul could well urge them to that consecration when he had given himself so completely to the work of winning souls: \u201cBe ye also enlarged.\u201d<\/p>\n
14. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:<\/i><\/p>\n
Not in any way, \u2014 neither in marriage which is the chief of all forms for yoking, nor yet in business or other partnerships.<\/p>\n
14. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?<\/i><\/p>\n
You must be in the same world with them, but keep yourself distinct from them. Go not into their society by your own choice, nor seek your pleasure with them.<\/p>\n
15-18. And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NO. 2885 A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MAY 26TH, 1904, DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON A LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, DURING THE WINTER OF 1861-2. \u201cFor in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.\u201d \u2014 Hebrews 2:18. THAT which is the most … Continue reading “CHRIST\u2019S SYMPATHY WITH HIS PEOPLE.”<\/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-4214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4214","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=4214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4214\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}