The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-09-23
Before the Sermon.

Brethren, it is a good thing to be
under the sound of the Word of God.
Even if the very lowest motive should
induce persons to come to hear the
gospel, it is nevertheless a good thing
that they should come. We have heard
OF some who have even come to steal.
and yet the Word of God has stolen
into their hearts. In many cases in
the olden times spies were sent to hear
the Protestant divines who preached
the gospel, and these took notes of all
that was said, with a view to accuse
them of false doctrine, that they might
be punished: yet in several cases
the spies themselves were converted.
Such is the power of the gospel of
Christ that it wooeth and winneth
even its greatest enemies. He that
comes near to its fire, even with
the intent to quench it, may find him
self overcome by its heat. Master
Hugh Latimer, in his quaint manner,
when eXhorting people to go to church,
tells of woman who could not sleep
for many nights, Notwithstanding that
drugs had been given her; but she said
that if they would take her to her par
ish church she could sleep there, for
she had often enjoyed quiet slumber
under the sermon; and he goes the
length of saying that if people even
come to the sermon to sleep, it is bet
ter than not to come at all for, he adds, in
his fine old Saxon, /" they may be caught
mapping" 1t is even so. A sick man
doeth well to live where there are physi-
clans, for one day he may be healed.
If men are in the heat of battle, they
may be wounded; if they come where
gospel arrows are shot, they may fall
under them. Plants that grow in the
open air are likely to be watered when
the shower falls We dare not say to
any man who wills to enter the house
of prayer, Thou must not come be-
cause thy motive is gross and low"
Nay, thou art welcome, anyhow. Who
knoweth but that, being in the wav,
God may meet with thee. Being where
his truth is preached, thou mayest hear
it; and g faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God" Yet it
will strike you at once that though it
be well to come to the hearing of the
word in any case, yet it is better to
come in better way. We should en-
deavor to gather the most we can from
the means of grace, and not pluck at
them at random. A farmer may feel
that there will be sure to be some crop
upon his land if he doth but seed it:
yet, if he be wise man, he is not sat
isfied with bare crop; but he manureth
his land heavily and tilleth it well, that
it may bring forth a large return to him,
for in these times the largest harvest is
no more than he needeth. So, my
brethren, let us so use the holy ordi-
nance of preaching that we may extract
the largest possible amount of gold from
the ore. Let us so come into the
solemn assembly that we may hope to
meet with God there, for this is the
chief end of our gathering together;
and let us so behave ourselves before
the coming, and in the coming, and
after the coming to the sanctuary, that
we may gain the greatest possible profit
by our coming together. To hear the
Word of the Lord is often made of the
Spirit of God to be life to dead souls.
and the most eminent means of further
quickening to those who are already
alive unto God. Let us not lose a grain
of the blessing through our own fault. |
The Word of the Lord is precious in
these days; let us not trife with it.
SpurgeOn.