Preface
For more than a century, Charles Haddon Spurgeon's sermons have been
consistently recognized, and their usefulness and impact have continued to
the present day, even in the outdated English of the author's own day.
Why then should expositions already so successful and of such stature and
proven usefulness require adaptation, revision, rewrite or even editing?
The answer is obvious. To increase its usefulness to today's reader, the
language in which it was originally written needs updating.
Though his sermons have served other generations well, just as they came
from the pen of the author in the nineteenth century, they still could be
lost to present and future generations, simply because, to them, the
language is neither readily nor fully understandable.
My goal, however, has not been to reduce the original writing to the
vernacular of our day. It is designed primarily for you who desire to read
and study comfortably and at ease in the language of our time. Only
obviously archaic terminology and passages obscured by expressions not
totally familiar in our day have been revised. However, neither Spurgeon's
meaning nor intent have been tampered with.
Tony Capoccia
All Scripture references are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION (C) 1978 by the New York Bible Society, used by permission of
Zondervan Bible Publishers.
HEAVEN AND HELL
by
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
Delivered in open air, to an audience of 12,000 persons.
"I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take
their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 8:11-12
This is the land where one is allowed to speak plain, and where the people
are willing to listen to anyone who can tell them something worth their
attention. Tonight I am quite certain of an attentive audience, for I know
you too well to suppose otherwise. This open field, as you are all aware,
is private property; and I would just give a suggestion to those who go out
in the open air to preach--that it is far better to go into a field, or a
vacant country lot, than to tie up the roads in the city and interrupt
commercial business.
Tonight, I shall, I hope, encourage you to seek the road to heaven. I
shall also have to utter some very piercing things concerning the end of
the unbeliever in the pit of hell. I will try to speak on both of these
subjects, as God helps me. But, I beg you, if you love your souls, ponder
right and wrong this night; see whether what I say is the truth of God. If
it is not, then reject it completely, and throw it away; but if it is, you
are at great risk to disregard it; for, you shall answer before God, the
great Judge of heaven and earth, it will be terrible for you if you
despised the words of His servant and His Scripture.
My text has two parts. The first is very pleasant to my mind, and gives me
pleasure; the second is extremely terrible; but since they are both the
truth, they must be preached. The first part of my text is, "I say to you
that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places
at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." The
sentence which I call the gloomy, dark, and threatening part is this: "But
the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
I. Let us take the first part. Here is a most glorious promise. I will
read it again: "Many will come from the east and the west, and will take
their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven." I like that text, because it tells me what heaven is, and gives
me a beautiful picture of it. It says, it is a place where I will sit down
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. O what a sweet thought that is for the
working man! He often suffers from the stress and fatigue of the job, and
wonders whether there is a time and place where he will no longer have to
work. Often he comes home exhausted, and throws himself on his couch,
maybe too tired to sleep. He says, "Oh! is there no place where I can
rest? Is there no place where I can sit, and for once let this tired body
be at rest? Is there no quiet place where I can be." Yes, you son of
stress and fatigue,
"There is a happy land,
Far, far away--"
where stress and fatigue are unknown. Beyond the blue sky there is a city
fair and bright, its walls are made of clear gold, and its light is
brighter than the sun. There "the weary are at rest, and the wicked no
longer bother anyone." Immortal spirits are there, who never experience
fatigue and stress, for "they do not sow or reap;" they don't have to work
and labor.
"There on a green and flowery mount,
Their weary souls shall sit;
And with captivating joys recount
The labors of their feet."
To my mind, one of the best views of heaven is, that "it is a place of
rest"--especially to the working man. Those who don't have to work hard,
think they will love heaven as a place of service to God. That is very
true. But to the working man, to the man who works with his mind or with
hands, it must ever be a sweet thought that there is a land where we shall
rest. Soon, this voice will never be strained again; soon, these lungs
will never have to exert themselves beyond their power; soon, this brain
will not be racked for thought; but instead I will sit at the banquet table
of God; yes, I will lean on the chest of Abraham, and be at ease forever.
Oh! tired sons and daughters of Adam, you will not have to drive the plow
into the unthankful soil of heaven, you won't need to get up before
sunrise, and work long after the sun has set; but you will be still, you
will be quiet, you will be resting, for all are rich in heaven, and all are
happy there, all are peaceful.
And mark the good company that they are sitting with. They are to "take
their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Some people
think that in heaven we won't know anyone. But our text declares here,
that we "will take our places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
I am sure that we will be aware that they are Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob. I have heard of a good woman, who asked her husband, when she was
dying, "My dear, do you think you will know me when you and I get to
heaven?" "Will I know you?" he said, "why, I have always known you while I
have been here, and do you think I will know less when I get to heaven?" I
think it was a very good answer. If we have known one another here, we
will know one another there.
I have dear departed friends up there, and it is always a sweet thought to
me, that when I will put my foot, as I hope I may, into the doorway of
heaven, there will come my sisters and brothers to hold me by the hand and
say, "Yes, you loved one, you are here." Dear relatives that have been
separated, you will meet again in heaven. One of you has lost a
mother--she is gone above; and if you follow the way of Jesus, you shall
meet her there.
I think I see yet another coming to meet you at the door of paradise; and
though the ties of natural affection may be somewhat forgotten,--I may be
allowed to use a figure--how blessed would she be as she turned to God, and
said, "Here I am, and the children that you have given to me." We will
recognize our friends:--husbands, you will know your wife again. Mother,
you will know those dear babes of yours--you marked their features when
they were panting and gasping for breath as they lay dying. You know how
you hung over their graves when the cold dirt was sprinkled over them, and
it was said, "Earth to earth, dust to dust, and ashes to ashes."
But you will hear those loved voices again: you will hear those sweet
voices once more; you will yet know that those whom you loved have been
loved by God. Wouldn't it be a dreary heaven for us to inhabit, where we
would all look the same and we would not know anyone or be known by any? I
wouldn't care to go to such a heaven as that. I believe that heaven is a
fellowship of the saints, and that we will know one another there. I have
often thought I should love to see Isaiah; and, as soon as I get to heaven,
I think, I would ask for him, because he spoke more of Jesus Christ than
all the rest. I am sure I should want to find that good George
Whitefield--he who so continually preached to the people, and wore himself
out with angelic zeal. O yes! we will have some choice company in heaven
when we get there.
There will be no distinction of educated and uneducated, clergy and laity,
but we will walk freely one among another; we will feel that we are
brethren; we will "take our places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob." I have heard of a woman who was visited by a minister on her
deathbed, and she said to him, "I want to ask you one question, now that I
am about to die." "Well," said the minister, "what is it?" "Oh!" she
said, in a very pretentious way, "I want to know if there are two places in
heaven, because I couldn't bear that our cook Betsy in the kitchen should
be in heaven along with me, she is so unrefined?" the minister turned
around and said, "O! don't trouble yourself about that, madam. There is no
fear of that; for, until you get rid of your selfish pride, you will never
enter heaven at all."
We must all get rid of our pride. We must humble ourselves and realize
that we are equals in the sight of God, and see in every man a brother,
before we can hope to be found in glory. Yes, we bless God, we thank Him
that there will be no separate table for one and for another. The Jew and
the Gentile will sit down together. The great and the small will feed in
the same pasture, and we will "take our places at the feast with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven."
But my text has yet a greater depth of sweetness, for it says, that "many
will come and will take their places." Some narrow minded bigots think
that heaven will be a very small place, where there will be a very few
people, and only those who went to their church. I confess, I have no wish
for a very small heaven, and love to read in the Bible that there are many
rooms in my Father's house. How often do I hear people say, "Ah! small is
the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
There will be very few in heaven; for most of the people will be lost."
My friend, I differ from you. Do you think that Christ will let the devil
beat Him? That he will let the devil have more in hell than there will be
in heaven? No: it is impossible. For then Satan would laugh at Christ.
There will be more in heaven than there are among the lost. God says, that
"there will be a number that no man can count that will be saved;" but he
never says, that there will be a number that no man can count that will be
lost. There will be a host beyond all count who will get into heaven.
What good news for you and for me! for, if there are so many to be saved,
why shouldn't I be saved? Why shouldn't you? Why shouldn't the man over
there in the crowd, say, "Can't I be one among the multitude being saved?"
And shouldn't that poor woman there take heart, and say, "Well if there
were but half-a-dozen saved, I might fear that I wouldn't be one; but,
since many are to saved, why shouldn't I also be saved?"
Cheer up, dejected one! Cheer up, grieving one, child of sorrow, there is
hope for you yet! I don't know of any man that is beyond God's grace.
There are only a few that have sinned that unpardonable sin, and God gives
up on them; but the vast majority of mankind are yet within reach His
sovereign mercy--"many will come from the east and the west, and will take
their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven."
Look at my text again, and you will see where these people come from. They
are to "come from the east and the west." The Jews said that they would
all come from Palestine, every one of them, every man, woman, and child;
that there would not be one in heaven that was not a Jew. And the
Pharisees thought that, if they were not all Pharisees, they could not be
saved. But Jesus Christ said, there will be many that will come from the
east and from the west. There will be a multitude from that far-off land
of China, for God is doing a great work there, and we hope that the gospel
will yet be victorious in that land. There will be a multitude from this
western land of England, from the western land beyond the Atlantic ocean in
America, and from the south in Australia, and from the north in Canada,
Siberia, and Russia.
From the uttermost parts of the earth there will come many to sit down in
the kingdom of God. But I don't think this text is to be understood so
much geographically as spiritually. When it says that they "will come from
the east and the west," I don't think it refers to nations particularly,
but to different kinds of people. Now, "the east and the west" signify
those who are the very farthest off from religion; yet many of them will be
saved and get to heaven. There is a class of persons who will always
looked on as hopeless. Many times I have heard of a man or woman say about
someone, "He can't be saved: he is too depraved. What is he good for?
When asked to go to church on Sunday--he went out and got drunk on Saturday
night. What would be the use of trying to reason with him? There is no
hope for him. He is a hardened person. See what he has done all these
years. What good would it be to speak to him?"
Now, hear this, you who think others are worse than you--you who condemn
others, whereas often you are just as guilty: Jesus Christ says, "many will
come from the east and the west." There will be many in heaven that were
once drunkards. I believe, among that blood-bought throng, there are many
who staggered in and out of bars half of their lifetime. But, by the power
of divine grace, they were able to throw the drink glass to the ground.
They renounced the frenzy of intoxication--ran away from it--and served
God. Yes! There will be many in heaven who were drunkards on earth.
There will be many prostitutes: some of the most forsaken will be found
there. You remember the story Whitefield once told, that there would be
some in heaven who were "the devil's castaways;" some that the devil would
hardly think good enough for him, yet whom Christ would save. Lady
Huntington once gently hinted that such language was not quite proper. But
just at that time, there was a ring of the doorbell, and Whitefield went
downstairs. Afterwards he came up and said, "Your ladyship, what do you
think a poor woman had to say to me just now? She was a sad depraved
woman, and she said, 'O, Mr Whitefield, when you were preaching, you told
us that Christ would take in the devil's castaways, and I am one of them,'
and that was the means of her salvation."
Shall anyone ever stop us from preaching to the lowest of the low? I have
been accused of getting all the vulgar of London around me. God bless the
vulgar! God save the vulgar! But, suppose it is "the vulgar," who
needs the gospel more than they do? Who requires to have Christ preached
to them more than they do? We have lots of those who preach to ladies and
gentlemen, and we want someone to preach to the vulgar in these degenerate
days. Oh! here is comfort for me, for many of the vulgar are to come the
east and from the west.
Oh! what would you think if you were able to see the difference between
some that are in heaven and some that will be there? There might be found
one who has hair that is matted, he looks horrible, his eyes are bloated,
he grins almost like an idiot, he has drunk away his brain until life seems
to have departed, insofar as sense and being are concerned; yet I will tell
you, "that man is capable of salvation"--and in a few years I might say
"look up in the sky;" you see that bright star? Do you notice that man
with a crown of pure gold on his head? Do you notice him dressed in robes
of sapphire and in garments of light? That is the same man who sat here a
poor, destitute, almost idiotic person; yet sovereign grace and mercy have
saved him!
There are none, except those, as I have said before, who have sinned the
unpardonable sin, who are beyond God's mercy. Bring me the worst, and
still I would preach the gospel to them; bring me the vilest, still I would
preach to them, because I remember my master saying, "Go out to the roads
and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I
tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my
banquet." "Many will come from the east and the west, and will take their
places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven."
There is one more word I must discuss before I will be done with this sweet
portion--that is the word "will." Oh! I love God's "wills" and "shalls"
There is nothing comparable to them. Let a man say "shall," what good is
it? "I will," says a man, and he never performs; "I shall," he says, and
he breaks his promise. But it is never that way with God's "shalls." If
He says "shall," it shall be; when He says "will," it will be. Now here He
has said, "many will come." The devil says, "they will not come;" but
"they will come." Their sins say "you can't come;" God says "you will
come." You, yourselves, say, "you won't come:" God says "you will come."
Yes! there are some here who are laughing at salvation, who can scoff at
Christ and mock the gospel; but I tell you some of you will come yet.
"What!" you say, "can God make me become a Christian?" I tell you yes, for
herein lies the power of the gospel. It does not asks for your consent;
but it gets it. It does not say, "Will you receive it" but it makes you
willing in the day of God's power. Not against your will, but it makes you
willing. It shows you its value, and then you fall in love with it; and
immediately you run after it and make it yours. Many people have said, "we
will not have anything to do with religion," yet they have been converted.
I have heard of a man who once went to church to hear the singing, and as
soon as the minister began to preach, he put his fingers in his ears and
refused to listen. But in time a small insect landed on his face, so that
he was forced to take one finger out of his ears to brush it away. Just
then the minister said, "he that has ears to hear let him hear." The man
listened; and God met with him at that moment and converted his soul.
He went out a new man, a changed person. He who came in to laugh left to
find a quiet place to pray; he who came in to mock went out to bend his
knee in repentance; he who entered to spend an idle hour went home to spend
an hour in devotion with his God. The sinner became a saint; the shameless
became ashamed. Who knows but we might have some like that here tonight.
The gospel does not want your consent, it gets it. It knocks the hostility
against God out of your heart. You say, "I don't want to be saved;"
Christ says you shall be. He makes your will turn around, and then you
cry, "Lord, save me, or I will perish." "Ah," Heaven might exclaim, "I
knew that I would make you say that;" and then He rejoices over you because
He has changed your will and made you willing in the day of His power.
If Jesus Christ were to stand on this platform tonight, what would many
people do with Him? "O!" some say, "we would make Him a King." I do not
believe it. They would crucify Him again, if they had the opportunity. If
He were to come tonight and say, "Here I am, I love you, will you be saved
by me?" Not one of you would consent if you were left to your own will. If
He should look on you with those eyes, before whose power the lion would
have couched; if He spoke with that voice which poured forth a downpour of
eloquence like a stream of nectar rolling down from the cliffs above, not a
single person would come to be His disciple. No; it takes the power of the
Spirit to make men come to Jesus Christ. He himself said, "No one can come
to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." Yes! We want that; and
here we have it. They will come! They will come!
You may laugh, you may despise us; but Jesus Christ shall not die for
nothing. If some of you reject Him, there are some that will not. If
there are some that are not saved, others will be. Christ shall see His
seed, He shall lengthen his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hands. Some think that Christ died for some who will be
lost. I never could understand that doctrine. If Jesus, my assurance,
bore my griefs and carried my sorrows, then I believe that I am as secure
as the angels in heaven. God cannot ask for payment twice. If Christ paid
my debt, will I have to pay it again? No.
"Free from sin I walk at large
The Savior's blood my full discharge;
At His dear feet content I lay,
A sinner saved, and homage pay."
They will come! They will come! And nothing in heaven, nor on earth, nor
in hell, can stop them from coming.
And now, you chief of sinners, listen for a moment, while I call you to
Jesus. There is one person here tonight, who thinks of himself as the
worst soul that ever lived. There is one who says to himself, "I don't
deserve to be called to Christ, I am sure!" Soul! I call you! you lost,
most wretched outcast, this night, by authority given me in God, I call you
to come to my Savior.
Some time ago, when I went to the Country Court to see what they were
doing, I heard a man's name called out, and immediately the man said, "Make
way! make way! they are calling me!" And up he came. Now, I call the
chief of sinners tonight, and let him say, "Make way! make way, doubts!
make way, fears! make way, sins! Christ calls me! And if Christ calls me,
that is enough!"
"I'll to His gracious feet approach
Whose scepter mercy gives.
Perhaps He may command me 'Touch!'
And then the humble petitioner lives."
"I can but perish if I go;
I am resolved to try,
For if I stay away, I know
I must forever die."
Go and try my Savior! Go and try my Savior! If He casts you away after
you have sought Him, tell it in hell that Christ wouldn't listen to your
plea for salvation. But that you will never be allowed to do. It would
dishonor the mercy of the covenant for God to cast away one repentant
sinner; and it shall never be while it is written, "Many will come from the
east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven."
II. The second part of my text is heart-breaking. I could preach with
great personal delight from the first part; but here is a dreary task to my
soul, because there are gloomy words here. But, as I have told you, what
is written in the Bible must be preached, whether it be gloomy or cheerful.
There are some ministers who never mention anything about hell.
I heard of a minister who once said to his congregation, "If you don't love
the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be sent to that place which it is not
polite to mention." He should not have been allowed to preach again since
he could not use plain words. Now, if I saw that house on fire over there,
do you think I would stand and say, "I believe the operation of combustion
is taking place over there?" No; I would call out, "Fire! fire!" and then
everybody would know what I meant.
So if the Bible says, "The subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside,
into the darkness," am I to stand here and soften God's words by changing
them to milder terms? God forbid! We must speak the truth as it is
written. It is a terrible truth, for it says, "the subjects of the kingdom
will be thrown outside!" Now, who are those subjects? I will tell you.
"the subjects of the kingdom" are those people who are noted for the
external display of reverence for God, but who have no reverence for Him on
the inside. They are people who you will see with their Bibles going off
to church as religiously as possible, trying to appear devout and modest,
looking as somber and serious as they can, fancying that they are quite
sure they are saved, because they do Christian things on the outside,
whereas their hearts are not changed. These are the persons who are "the
subjects of the kingdom." They have no grace, no life, no Christ, and they
will be thrown into utter darkness.
Again, these people are the children of Christian fathers and mothers.
There is nothing that touches a man's heart, mark you, like talking about
his mother. I have heard of a swearing sailor, whom nobody could control,
not even the police. He was always making some disturbance wherever he
went. Once he went into a church during the worship service and no one
could keep him still; but a gentleman went up and said to him, "Sailor, you
once had a mother." With that the tears ran down his cheeks. He said,
"Bless you, sir, I had; and she went to the grave with much gray hair and
sorrow that I caused, and look at the pretty sight I am making here
tonight." He then sat down, quite sobered and subdued by the very mention
of his mother. Ah, and there are some of you, "subjects of the kingdom,"
who can remember your mothers.
Your mother took you on her knee and taught you early how to pray; your
father tutored you in the ways of godliness. And yet you are here tonight,
without grace in your heart--without hope of heaven. You are going
downwards towards hell as fast as your feet can carry you. There are some
of you who have broken your poor mother's heart. Oh! if I could tell you
what she has suffered for you when you have at night been indulging in your
sin. Do you know what your guilt will be, you "subject of the kingdom," if
you perish after a Christian mother's prayers and tears have fallen on you?
I can conceive of no one entering hell with a worse guilt than the one who
goes there with drops of his mothers's tears on his head, and with his
father's prayers following him at his heels.
Some of you will inevitably endure this doom; some of you, young men and
women, will wake up one day and find yourselves in utter darkness, while
you parents will be up there in heaven, looking down on you with scolding
eyes, seeming to say, "What! after all we did for you, all we said, you
come to this?" "Subjects of the kingdom!" don't think that a Christian
mother can save you. Do not think, because your father was a member of
such-and-such a church, that his godliness will save you.
I picture someone standing at heaven's gate, and demanding, "Let me in!
Let me in!" What for? "Because my mother is in there." Your mother had
nothing to do with you. If she was holy, she was holy for herself; if she
was evil, she was evil for herself. "But my grandfather prayed for me!"
That is of no use: did you pray for yourself? "No, I did not." Then
grandfather's prayers, and grandmother's prayers, and father's and mother's
prayers may be piled on the top of one another until they reach the stars,
but they never can make a ladder for you to go to heaven on. You must seek
God for yourself; or rather, God must seek you. You must have an active
experience of godliness in your heart, or else you are lost, even though
all your friends were in heaven.
There was a dreadful dream which a Christian mother once had, and she told
it to her children. She dreamed the judgment day had come. The great
books were opened. The people all stood before God. And Jesus Christ
said, "Separate the chaff from the wheat; put the goats on the left hand,
and the sheep on the right." The mother dreamed that she and her children
were standing right in the middle of the great assembly of people. And an
angel came, and said, "I must take the mother, she is a sheep: she must go
to the right hand. The children are goats: they must go on the left." She
thought as she went, her children clutched her, and said, "Mother, do we
have to part? Must we be separated?" She then put her arms around them,
and seemed to say, "My children, I would, if possible, take you with me."
But in a moment the angel touched her; the tears on her cheeks dried, and
now, overcoming natural affection, being rendered supernatural and exalted,
submissive to God's will, she said, "My children, I taught you well, I
trained you, and you abandoned the ways of God; and now all I have to say
is, Amen to your condemnation." They then were snatched away, and she saw
them in perpetual torment, while she was in heaven.
Young man, what will be you thoughts, when the last day comes, to hear
Christ say, "Depart, you cursed?" And there will be a voice just behind
Christ, saying, Amen. And, as you ask whose voice was that, you will find
out that it was you mother. Or, young woman, when you are thrown into the
utter darkness, what will you think when you hear a voice saying, Amen.
And as you look, there sits your father, his lips still moving with the
solemn curse. Ah! "subjects of the kingdom," the repentant reprobates will
enter heaven, many of them; "tax collectors and sinners" will get there;
repenting drunkards and swearers will be saved; but many of the "subjects
of the kingdom" will be thrown out. Oh! to think that you who had been so
well trained in Christian matters should be lost, while many of the worse
will be saved.
It will be the hell of hells for you to look up and see there "poor Jack,"
the drunkard, lying in Abraham's bosom, while you, who had a Christian
mother, are thrown into hell, simply because you would not believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, but instead refused His gospel, and lived and died
without it! That is what makes it hurt so much, to see ourselves thrown
out, when the chief of sinners finds salvation.
Now listen to me for a while--I will not detain you long--while I undertake
the doleful task of telling you what is to become of these "subjects of the
kingdom." Jesus Christ says they are to be "thrown outside, into the
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
First, notice, they are to be thrown outside. They are not told to go;
but, when they come to heaven's gates, they are to be thrown out. As soon
as hypocrites arrive at the gates of heaven, Justice will say, "There he
comes! there he comes! He spurned a father's prayers, and mocked a
mother's tears. He has forced his way downward against all of the
advantages mercy has supplied. And now, there he comes. Gabriel, take
that man." The angel, tying you hand and foot, holds you one single moment
over the mouth of the abyss. He commands you look down--down--down. There
is no bottom; and you hear coming up from the abyss, gloomy moans, and
meaningless groans, and screams of tortured spirits. You tremble, your
bones melt like wax, and your marrow shudders within you. Where now is you
strength? And where is your boasting and bragging? You shriek and cry, you
beg for mercy; but the angel, with one tremendous grip, quickly jerks you,
and then hurls you down, with the cry, "Away, away!" And down you go to
the pit of hell that is bottomless, and spiral forever
downward--downward--downward--never to find a resting place for the soles
of your feet. You will be thrown out.
And where are you to be thrown to? You are to be thrown "outside, into the
darkness;" you are to be put in the place where there is no hope. For, by
"light," in Scripture, we understand "hope;" and you are to be put
"outside, into the darkness," where there is no light--no hope. Is there a
man here who has no hope? I can't imagine such a person. One of you,
perhaps, says, "I am in deep financial debt, and will soon have to sell all
that I have; but I have hope that I may get a loan, and so escape my
difficulty." Another says, "My business is ruined, but things make take a
turn for the better soon--I have a hope." Another says, "I am in great
distress, but I hope that God will provide for me." Another says, "I am in
great debt; I am sorry about it; but I will set these strong hands to work,
and do my best to get out of debt." One of you thinks a friend is dying,
but you have hope that, perhaps, the fever may take a turn--that he may yet
live.
But, in hell, there is no hope. They don't even have the hope of dying or
the hope of being annihilated. They are forever--forever--forever--lost!
On every link of the chains in hell are written the word "forever." In the
fires, the flames spell out the word "forever." Up above their heads, they
read the words "forever." Their eyes are irritated, and their hearts are
in anguish with the thought that it is "forever." Oh! if I could tell you
tonight that hell would one day be burned out, and that those who were lost
might be saved, there would be a jubilee in hell at the very thought of it.
But it cannot be--it is "forever" they are "thrown outside, into the
darkness."
But I want to finish this as quickly as I can; for who can bear to talk
like this to his fellow creatures? What is it that the lost are doing?
They are "weeping and gnashing their teeth." Do you gnash you teeth now?
You wouldn't do it unless you were in pain and agony. Well, in hell there
is always gnashing of teeth. And do you know why? There is one gnashing
his teeth at his companion, and mutters, "I was led into hell by you; you
led me astray, you taught me to take the first drink." And the other
gnashes his teeth and says, "What if I did? You made me act worse than I
would have when we went out drinking at night."
There is a child who looks at her mother, and says, "Mother, you taught me
to be dishonest." And the mother gnashes her teeth back at the child, and
says, "I have no pity for you, because you became more dishonest than I and
even taught me new ways of evil." Fathers gnash their teeth at their sons,
and sons at their fathers. And, I think, if there are any who will gnash
their teeth more than others, it will be the seducers, when they see those
whom they have led into immorality, and hear them saying, "Ah! we are glad
you are in hell with us, you deserve it, for you led us here."
Tonight, have any of you on your consciences the fact that you have led
others to the pit of hell? O, may the sovereign grace of God forgive you.
"We have gone astray like lost sheep," said David. Now a lost sheep never
goes astray alone, if it is one of a flock. I read lately of a sheep that
leaped over the side guard railing of a bridge, and was followed by every
one of the flock. So, if one man goes astray, he leads others with him.
Some of you will have to give account for others' sins when you get to
hell, as well as your own. Oh, what "weeping and gnashing of teeth" there
will be in that pit!
Now shut the Bible. Who wants to say any more about it? I have warned you
solemnly. I have told you of the wrath to come. The evening darkens and
the sun is setting. Ah! and the evening of life darkens for some of you.
I can see gray-headed men here. Are your gray hairs a crown of glory, or a
fool's cap to you? Are you on the very verge of heaven, or are you
staggering on the edge of your grave, and sinking down to hell?
Let me warn you, gray-headed men; your evening is coming. O, poor,
staggering gray-head, will you take the last step into the pit? Let a
young child step in front of you and beg you to reconsider. Think tonight
of your past seventy years worth of sin. Let your past life march before
your eyes. What will you do with seventy wasted years to answer for--with
seventy years of criminality to bring before God? God give you grace this
night to repent and to put your trust in Jesus.
And you, middle-aged men, are not safe either; the evening lowers on you
too; you may die soon. A few mornings ago, I was awakened early from my
bed, and asked that I would hurry and go to see a dying man. I hurried as
fast as I could to see this poor dying creature; but, when I reached the
house, he was dead--a corpse. As I stood in the room, I thought, "That man
gave little thought that he would die so soon." There were his wife and
children, and friends--they also gave little thought that he would die, for
he was robust, strong, and healthy just a few days earlier. None of you
have a signed guarantee on the length of the days of your lives. Go and
see if you have such a contract anywhere in your house. No! you may die
tomorrow. Therefore, let me warn you by the mercy of God; let me speak to
you as a brother; for I love you, you know I do, and would press the matter
home to your hearts. Oh, to be among the many who shall be accepted in
Christ--how blessed that will be! And God has said that whoever will call
on His name will be saved: He throws none out that come to Him through
Christ.
And now, you young men and women, one word with you. Perhaps you think
that religion is not for you. "Let us be happy," you say: "let us be
cheerful and content." How long, young man, how long? "Till I am twenty
one." Are you sure that you will live till then? Let me tell you one
thing. If you do live till that time, if you have no heart for God now,
you will have none then. Men do not get better if left alone. They are
just like a garden: if you leave it alone, and allow weeds to grow, you
will not expect to find it better in six months--but worse. Men talk as if
they could repent whenever they like. It is the work of God to give us
repentance. Some even say, "I will turn to God someday." But if you truly
had the right heart, you would say, "I must run to God, and ask Him to
given me repentance now, lest I should die before I have found Jesus
Christ, my Savior."
Now, one word in conclusion. I have told you of heaven and hell; what is
the way, then, to escape from hell and to be found in heaven? I will not
tell you my old story again tonight. I remember when I told it to you
before, a good friend in the crowd said, "Tell us something fresh, old
fellow." Now really, in preaching ten times a week, we cannot always say
things fresh each time. You have heard John Gough, and you know he tells
his tales over again. I have nothing but the old gospel. "Whoever
believes and is baptized will be saved." There is nothing here of works.
It does not say, "He who is a good man will be saved." but "Whoever
believes and is baptized." Well, what is it to believe? It is to put your
trust entirely on Jesus. Poor Peter once believed, and Jesus Christ said
to him, "Come on, Peter, walk to me on the water." Peter went stepping
along on the tops of the waves without sinking; but when he looked at the
waves, he began to tremble, and down he went. Now, poor sinner, Christ
says, "Come on; walk on your sins; come to me;" and if you do, He will give
you power.
If you believe on Christ, you will be able to walk over your sins--to tread
on them and overcome them. I can remember the time when my sins first
stared me in the face. I thought myself to be the most accursed of all
men. I hadn't committed any great visible sin against God; but I
remembered that I had been well trained and tutored, and I thought my sins
were thus greater than other people's. I cried to God to have mercy; and I
feared that he would not pardon me. Month after month, I cried to God, and
He did not hear me, and I did not know salvation. Sometimes I was so tired
of the world that I wanted to die; but then I remembered that there was a
worse world after this, and that it would be foolish to rush before my
Maker unprepared. At times I wickedly thought God was a heartless tyrant,
because He did not answer my prayer; and then, at other times, I thought,
"I deserve his displeasure; if He sends me to hell, He will be just."
But I remember the hour when I stepped into a little church, and saw a
tall, thin man step into the pulpit: I have never seen him from that day,
and probably never will, till we meet in heaven. He opened the Bible and
read, with a feeble voice, "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the
earth; for I am God, and there is no other." Ah! I thought, I am one of
the ends of the earth; and then turning around, and fixing His gaze on me,
as if he knew me, the minister said, "Turn, Turn, Turn." Why, I thought I
had a great deal to do, but I found it was only to turn. I thought I had
to make my own clothes of righteousness; but I found that if I turned,
Christ would give me the righteous clothes.
Turn, sinner, that is all that is needed to be saved. Turn to Him, all you
ends of the earth, and be saved. That is what the Jews did, when Moses
held up the bronze serpent. He said, "Look!" and they turned and looked.
The serpent might be twisting around them, and they might be almost dead;
but they simply turned and looked, and the moment they turned and looked
the serpent dropped off, and they were healed. Turn to Jesus, sinner. "No
one but Jesus can do any good to helpless sinners." There is a hymn we
often sing, but which I don't think is quite right. It says,
"Venture on Him, venture wholly;
Let no other trust intrude."
Now, it is no venture to trust in Christ, not in the least; he who trusts
in Christ is quite secure. I remember that, when dear John Hyatt was
dying, Matthew Wilks said to him in his usual tone, "Well, John, could you
trust your soul in the hands of Jesus Christ now?" "Yes," said he, "a
million! a million souls!" I am sure that every Christian that has ever
trusted in Christ can say Amen to that. Trust in Him; He will never
deceive you. My blessed Master will never throw you away.
I can't speak much longer, and I have only to thank you for your kindness.
I never saw so large a number of people be so still and quiet. I do really
think, after all the hard things that have been said, that the English
people knows who loves them, and that they will stand by the Man who stands
by them. I thank every one of you; and above all, I beg you, if there be
reason or sense in what I have said, think of yourselves for what you
really are, and may the Blessed Spirit reveal to you your state! May He
show you that you are dead, that you are lost, and ruined. May He make you
feel what a dreadful thing it would be to sink into hell! May He point you
to heaven! May He take hold of you as the angel did long ago, and put his
hand on you and say, "Flee for your lives! Flee for your lives! Flee for
your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to
the mountains or you will be swept away!" And may we all meet in heaven at
last; and there we shall be happy forever.
Transcribed by:
Tony Capoccia
BIBLE BULLETIN BOARD
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