Spurgeon: Sermons on Proverbs (70 page)
Read Spurgeon: Sermons on Proverbs Online
Authors: Charles Spurgeon
A sermon (No. 2866) delivered on Thursday Evening, January 6th, 1876, by C.H. Spurgeon at The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."--Proverbs 25:25.
This is a text for summertime rather than for a winter's evening. It is only on one of our hottest summer days that we could fully appreciate the illustration here employed; we need to be parched with thirst to be able to feel the value of cold waters to quench our thirst. At the same time I think that we can without any very great stretch of imagination, put ourselves into the position of some to whom cold waters have been almost like life from the dead. Look at Hagar in the wilderness with her child, whom she has cast under one of the shrubs, that she may not see him die. The water in the bottle is spent, and she longs for a cooling draught that might save the young lad's life. Then the Lord opened her eyes so that she saw a well of water in the desert, and as she filled her bottle from it she understood what cold waters are to a thirsty soul. Think also of the whole nation of Israel in the
wilderness crying out in agony because there was no water for them to drink. Then they began to murmur against the Lord, and against Moses; but how joyful they were when the smitten rock poured forth its cooling stream, and they rushed to it, and drank to the full. If you want another personal example of the blessing of cold water to a thirsty soul, think of Samson. Heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of an ass he has slain a thousand men; but the dust of the conflict, and the heat, and the exhaustion had caused such an intense thirst to come upon him that he is ready to die. Then he lifts up his voice to the Lord, and the same God who had made the jawbone to be so mighty a weapon against the Philistines opens for him a spring of water in that very jawbone, and he drinks, and is refreshed, and magnifies the name of the Lord. So you see, there are occasions when cold waters are inexpressibly precious to thirsty souls; and Solomon, who seems to have known something of their value, says that good news from a far country is equally pleasant, and refreshing, and reviving.
This proverb is true in its most literal interpretation. When we are in a far country separate from those we love, there is no greater pleasure than that of receiving letters from them with tidings of their welfare. Even the little details about household affairs--the minor events which we should scarcely have noticed if we had been there --become exceedingly interesting to us; and the longer we have been away from home the more dear everything becomes to us when we hear of it in the far country where, for a while, our lot has been cast. I suppose that merchants who have costly ventures in distant parts, also long for good news from the far country which is still their home wherever they may be. Solomon had sent his ships to various foreign countries, and when the news came from Joppa that the vessels were in sight which had come back from India, or from the Pillars of Hercules, bringing all manner of precious things, the merchant prince was highly pleased and felt that "as cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." And this which is a literal fact may become an illustration of spiritual truth; and I am going to use it in that way as God the Holy Spirit may guide me.
First, good news from God for sinners is like cold waters to a thirsty soul. Secondly, good news from heaven for saints is like cold waters to a thirsty soul. And thirdly, good news in heaven from earth--the good news which reaches that far country every now and then, is to angels and glorified saints as cold waters to a thirsty soul.
Sin has led the sinner into a far country. That part of the description of the prodigal son, who gathered all-together and went into a far country, aptly describes the condition of the whole human race. Man before the Fall was near to God, he communed with him. But when Adam and Eve "heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day," after they had disobeyed him, they "hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden." Practically, by his sin, Adam set out on a long journey away from his happy home; and soon he was so far off that when God came where he had formerly communed with him, he had to cry to him, "Adam, where art thou?" In like manner we are alienated from God by wicked works, far off from him in character, for he is light and we are darkness; he is truth and we are falsehood; he is love and we are just the opposite. We are also far off from God in our aims and objects, for we aim not at the good of others, nor at his glory, but we seek earthly things. We are by nature far off from God in the whole bent and current of our life, which no longer runs in a parallel line with the life of God as first imparted to man, but runs rather according to the fashion of the life of Satan, so that we yield ourselves up to the evil influence of that foul spirit who worketh in the children of disobedience.
When a sinner is awakened by the Holy Spirit, he becomes conscious of this distance and he feels in a measure like the lost spirits in hell who realize that there is a great gulf fixed between them and God. At first the convicted sinner fancies that gulf can never be passed; and the longer he looks into its awful depths, the longer his eyes try to gaze across it to the other side, the more he discovers that he is far off from his God, and that there is a vast, yawning chasm between him and his Maker. If any of you dear friends are conscious of being thus at a distance from God, I have come as a messenger from him bringing to you his words of mercy and grace, which should be to you as good news from a far country.
And the first piece of good news that I have to give you is that God has not forgotten you. You are a lost sheep, and you have almost forgotten your Shepherd--perhaps you have altogether forgotten him--but your Shepherd has been counting over the number of his sheep and he finds that there is one missing, for there are only ninety and nine where there should be a hundred, and he is deeply concerned about the one that has gone astray.
God has not only remembered that there is such a person as you, but he remembers you with pity. It is wonderful to notice how he speaks. Sometimes he cries, "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim?" Like as a father pitieth his children, so is it with our God, he pities those who wander away from him. "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live." God takes no delight in your sin, and no delight in the shame and sorrow which your sin will bring upon you unless you turn from it, but he will take delight in you if you return to him. He still cries to you, "Return ye now every one from his evil way;" and he still remembers you in pity and compassion. Notwithstanding your forgetfulness of him, and your wilful rebellion against him, he doth remember you still; for God is love, and there is love in his heart even towards sinners who are dead in trespasses and sins. That surely is good news to you, and if God thus thinks of you in pity, should not you think of God with deep, heartfelt penitence and contrition?
But there is even better news from God for you than this, namely, that he has prepared the way by which you may come back to him. Do you ask, "How can that be, for there is a wall of partition between us? How can I ever get to God? Surely the justice of God, on account of my sin, raises an impassable barrier between us. That justice stands like the cherubim with a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life, lest haply I should attempt to return to my God." That is quite true, yet listen to this, poor, guilty sinner. God must be just, that is certain; and being just, he must punish thy sin. But hast thou not heard that he has given his only-begotten Son that he might stand in the sinner's stead, and bear the punishment that was due on account of the sinner's guilt? That cherub's flaming sword has been quenched in Jesus's precious blood. That middle wall of partition Christ has broken down, even as the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. Oh what a mighty rent was that! Not a little slit part of the way down, but from the top to the bottom. So has Jesus Christ demolished the barrier which stood between a justly angry God and a guilty but repenting sinner, and now there is a way of approach for the very worst of men and women, right up to the throne of the Most High. By the blood of Jesus, once shed for many for the remission of sins, the guiltiest foot of man may come. Ay, by that blood-besprinkled way, the most condemned sinner may come without fear of being repulsed. The chasm has been filled, the gulf bridged over, and if thou truly believest in Jesus Christ, thou mayest in his name and for his sake come back to thy Heavenly Father. That wise resolve within thy heart which says, "I will arise and go to my Father," should be at once carried into effect, for thy Father hath prepared the way by which thou mayest come back to him, and to encourage thee he has sprinkled it with the blood of his dear Son--the surest sign and token of his love to sinners that even God himself could give. Here then is good news from a far country. Your Father thinks of you, poor prodigal, and he has paved the way for you to come back to his own house and heart.
Is there any more good news for you? Ay, that there is, far more than I can tell you. This is another piece of it, God has sent you his Word, and sent you his servants, to invite you to come back to him. It is very gracious for God to prepare the way; but it is even more gracious for him to invite you to make use of that way. There are sometimes cases of necessity when a man thrusts himself upon the notice of another, and seeks his aid in some great emergency. It is a dark and stormy night, and the wanderer who has lost his way knocks at the first door he sees and asks for shelter. But that is not your case. You also are a wanderer, and you need shelter, but mercy's door stands wide open, and God has sent his messengers to invite you to come in. If the door had been closed, it would have been a wise action on your part to knock and ask for admission, or even to cause the kingdom of heaven to suffer violence and to take the blessing by force. But that is not necessary. Think then of the goodness of God who invites, entreats, exhorts, and persuades sinners to come unto him. Nay, more, there is a text--a blessed text I think--which says, "Compel them to come in." The great King bids his servants to seize them by the mighty force of love, and to draw them in with tears and entreaties again and again repeated until they yield. "Compel them to come in" says he, "that my house may be filled." This is good news indeed. Such gracious invitations as these make up still more good news: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: for I have redeemed thee." "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "All manner of sin and of blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men." "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." Is not this good news for poor sinners? O my Master, bless thou thine own words of grace and mercy to all who hear or read them, and make them to be like cold waters to a thirsty soul!
There is still more good news beyond all this, and I will tell you some of it. It is good news that many have already returned to their Father and have been welcomed. Some of these are your own friends and relatives--your brother, your sister, your father, your mother. This good news does not relate to anything which is merely a matter of experiment. The experiment has been made so often--the blessed experiment of proving whether God will receive repenting sinners or no--that it is a matter of certainty now. Why, you even know one who used to be your companion in every kind of folly and sin, and he has sought and found the Savior. Did he not tell you so the other day? And there was one who seemed to be even worse than you --at least he went further in open sin than you have ever done; yet he sought the Lord and he was not rejected. Now when I see so many come to Christ and find that he never casts out one of them, what ought I to infer from that? Why, that he will not cast me out if I come to him. If from my Master's door I saw a stream of sinners coming back with sad countenances, and all shaking their heads and saying, "We have been denied admittance, we were too guilty to go in;" or, "We were not fit;" or, "We were not sensitive enough;" or something of that kind, then methinks I should not dare to go; but if the footprints of sinners all run towards Christ, and never is there a single footprint of a penitent sinner turned back by him--if I see him drawing men unto himself, according to his word: "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me;"--and if I never see him repelling or repulsing one sinner however black or crimson he may be, I may well say, "Come, my poor guilty soul, why shouldst not thou have acceptance too?" At any rate-
And once again we have to bring this good news--that the Lord has not only made a way for his poor wandering children to come back to him, but he has provided all the means needed to bring them back. You recollect that when Joseph sent for his father Jacob to come to him in Egypt, Jacob could not believe that Joseph was still alive; the news, that he was, under Pharaoh, ruler over all Egypt, seemed too good to be true; but when he saw the waggons which Joseph had sent, then his spirit revived. "Waggons" is the word in our translation, but I expect that Joseph also sent some of the best chariots that Egypt could produce to carry poor old Jacob and all his family down into Egypt; and I do not wonder that the spirit of the patriarch revived when he saw those waggons or chariots. There is many a poor sinner who says, "Yes, I know that there is a way of salvation; but then my feet are lame, so how can I run along that way! I know that there is saving truth in the Bible, and blessed be God for that; but how shall I ever learn that truth? I know that Christ is himself the Truth, but how can that Truth be mine? I know that there is eternal life, and that Christ is the Life as well as the Truth and the Way, but I am spiritually dead, can I ever have that life?" Yes you can, for our Lord Jesus Christ is not merely the Way, but he is also the power by which we run in that way. He is not only the Truth, but he gives us the illuminating Spirit to lead us into the Truth; and he is not only the Life, but he puts that Life into us and sustains and perfects it. You have nothing to do sinner but to give yourself up to the leading, guiding, directing, assisting, quickening of the blessed Spirit of God. It is true that you must believe, but he will give you the grace of faith. It is true that you must repent, but it is also true that he works repentance in us. There must and there will be a change of life in all true converts, but it is the Holy Spirit who converts you and turns you completely round. There must be sanctification in genuine believers, but it is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you. There is nothing asked of you in the gospel but what the gospel itself gives you. Those things which in one part of Scripture are put as precepts, are in other parts of Scripture among the promises. What the Lord bids the sinner do he enables the sinner to do, just as when Jesus said to the man that was paralyzed, "Take up thy bed, and walk," with the command he gave the power to obey it; and when he said to another man, "Stretch out thy hand, withered though it be," the miraculous power that gave the nerves and muscles force again went with the mandate from the lips of Jesus. In like manner, trust thou the Lord to give thee the power to lay hold on the gospel. The very eye with which to look at the brazen serpent is his gift; and that gift he is prepared to bestow upon all who come to him for it. Is not this good news from a far country?
