Very briefly I must touch another case, and then I must dismiss you. You may
make light of the gospel out of sheer presumption. They are like the foolish
man who goes on, and is punished; not like the prudent man, who “forseeth the
evil, and hideth himself.” They go on; that step is safe-they take it; the
next step is safe-they take it; their foot hangs over a gulf of darkness; but
they will try one step, and as that is safe, they think they will try the
next; and as the last has been safe, and as for many years they have been
safe, they suppose they always shall be; and because they have not died yet,
they think they will never die. And so out of sheer presumption, thinking
“all men mortal but themselves,” they go on making light of Christ. Tremble,
ye presumptuous, you will not always be able to do that.
And, lastly, I fear there are a great many who make light of Christ because
of the commonness of the gospel. It is preached everywhere, and that is why
you make light of it. You can hear it at the corner of every street; you can
read it in this widely circulated Bible; and because the gospel is so common,
therefore, you don’t care for it. Ah! my dear friends, if there were only one
gospel minister in London that could tell you the truth; if there were only
one Bible in London, I believe you would be rushing to hear that Bible read;
and the man who had the message would have no sinecure of it, he would be
obliged to work from morning to night, to tell it out to you. But now,
because you have so many Bibles you forget to read them; because you have so
many tracts you pack up any article in them; because you have so many sermons
you do not think anything at all of them. But what is that? Dost thou think
the less of the sun because he scatters his beams abroad? Dost thou think the
less of bread because it is the food which God gives to all his children?
Dost thou think the less of water, when thou art thirsty, because every rill
will afford it to thee? No. If thou wert athirst after Christ, thou wouldst
love him all the better, because he is preached everywhere; and thou wouldst
not think lightly of him because of that.
“They made light of it.” How many of my hearers to-night, I ask again, are
making light of Christ? Many of you are, no doubt. I will give you, then,
just one warning, and then farewell. Make light of Christ, sinner! let me
say, again, to thee, and thou wilt rue the day, when thou comest on thy
death-bed. It will go hard with thee when the bony monster has got the grip
of thee, and when he is bringing thee down to the river, to steep thee in the
lake of death. It will go hard with thee, when thy eye-strings break, and
when thy death-sweat stands upon the brow. Remember, last time thou hadst a
fever; ah! how thou didst shake. Remember, last night, how thou didst quake
in thy bed, when flash after flash of lightning came through thy window; and
how thou didst tremble when the deep-mouthed thunder spake out the voice of
God. Ah! sinner, thou wilt tremble worse then when thou shalt see death for
thyself, and when the bony rider, on his white horse, shall grasp his dart
and plunge it in thy bowels. It will go hard with thee if thou hast despised
Christ, and shalt die a despiser. See that flying angel? his wings are made
of flame, and in his hand he grasps a sharp two-edged sword. O angel,
wherefore dost thou wing thy speedy flight? “Hark!” says he, “this trump
shall tell you.” And he puts a trumpet to his lips, and
“Blows a blast so loud and dread,
Ne’er were prophetic sounds so full of woe.”
Look! the sheeted dead have started from their graves. Behold, the cloudy
chariot of wheeled along by cherub’s hand. Mark! there upon the throne there
sits the King-the Prince. O angel, what in this terrible day must become of
the man that has thought lightly of Christ? See there, he unleashes his
sword. “This blade,” says he, “shall find and pierce him through. This blade,
like a sickle, shall reap each tare from the wheat, and this strong arm shall
bind him up in his bundle to be burned; and this great arm of mine shall
grasp him, and hurl him down, down, down, where flames for ever burn, and
hell for ever howls.” It will go hard with you then. Mark this man’s word to-
night; go away and laugh at it; but remember, I say to you again, it will be
a solemn thing for you when Christ shall come to judgment, if you have made
light of him, and worse than all, if you should ever be locked up in the
caverns of despair, if you should ever hear it said, “Depart ye cursed,” if
you should ever mingle your awful shrieks with the doleful howls of lost
myriads, if you should see the pit that is bottomless, and the gulf that has
walls of fire. It will be a fearful thing to find thyself in there, and to
know that thou canst ne’er get out again! Sinner, this night I preach the
gospel to thee. E’er thou goest, hear it, and believe it; may God grant thee
grace to receive it, so thou shalt be saved. “He that believeth and is
baptized, shall be saved. He that believeth not,” so saith the Scripture,
“shall be damned.” To believe, is to put your trust in Christ; to be
baptized, is to be plunged in water in the name of the Lord Jesus, as a
profession that you are already saved, and that you love Christ. “He that
believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall
be damned.” O may you never know the meaning of that last word. Farewell!
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
