3533. Recruits for the King

A Sermon Published On Thursday, October 12, 1916.

David, therefore, departed from there, and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented, gathered themselves to him, and he became captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. {1Sa 22:1,2}

1. David in the caverns of Adullam is a type of our Lord Jesus Christ despised and rejected among the sons of men. Christ is the Lord’s anointed, but men do not perceive the anointing. He is persecuted by his great enemy, the world, as David was persecuted by Saul, and he now dwells in the cave of Adullam rather than sitting on his throne. Just as when David was in his dishonour, it was the time for his true friends to rally around him, so at this hour, when the name of Christ is associated with much dishonour and rebuke, now is the time for the true followers of the Saviour to rally around his banner and to espouse his cause. To come to David after he had been crowned king was poor work; the sons of Belial could do that; but to ally themselves to David when he was obliged to hide himself in mountain strongholds from his cruel enemies, this proved men to be David’s true friends and loyal subjects. Blessed are those to whom it shall be given to enlist under the banner of Christ at this present time, who shall not be ashamed to confess him before the sons of men, or to take up his cross boldly, and to suffer such loss and persecution as it may please his Providence to ordain for them to bear.

2. I. Since it is not concerning David, but I propose to address you this evening concerning David’s greater Son, let me say a few words at the outset to:—THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY ENLISTED IN HIS BLESSED BAND.

3. Foremost among those of David’s troop were his brothers and the men of his father’s household. So, too, beloved in Christ, we who have been called by divine grace are regarded by him as his brothers and the men of his Father’s household. Looking around on his disciples when he was here below, our blessed Master said, “Behold my mother and my brothers! For whoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.” Such is his condescension that he is not ashamed to call us brothers. As many of us as have given our hearts to him, rely on him, and love him, are really and truly his brothers and of his Father’s house; his Father is our Father, his joy is our joy, and his heaven shall be our heaven before long. Now, what shall I say to you, my brethren in Jesus Christ, but this: “Let us take care that we boldly affirm our kinship with David our Lord; let us never blush to defend the cause of Christ.”

4. There are different ways of playing the coward; let us seek to avoid them all. The minister who is bold enough when he preaches before the multitude may feel his lips quiver when he has to speak face to face with one individual. Oh God! save your servants from this form of cowardice! Or some of you may be able to speak to one or two people, but if, perhaps, you are thrown into a little promiscuous company, where you ought to affirm your allegiance to your Lord, you hold your tongue, and lose the opportunity for lack of courage. May God deliver his servants from this form of cowardice also. In all companies, on all occasions, and under all circumstances, be faithful to your Master; do not deny him, but openly affirm him before the sons of men. How he deserves to be acknowledged by us since he has taken knowledge of us and recognised us, when we were infinitely beneath his notice. Oh! ten thousand blushes should cover our faces, to think that we could ever at any time think it was hard to acknowledge that he is our Lord and Master.

5. Pray for courage, my brethren; I am sure it is needed. It seems to come to Christians naturally in persecuting times, but in these soft, silken days of piping peace you mix in society, so-called, with such deference to fashion, and you go in and out of your drawing-rooms with such dainty conceits, you converse so complacently with your friends, you are such well-bred ladies and gentlemen in your own estimation, that you often forget that you are Christians, in honour bound to keep the faith and bear the testimony to Christ. It is, perhaps, easier for the poor to be bold in confessing the Redeemer’s name than it is for those in more affluent circumstances. Alas, alas! if good fortune imperils your faithfulness. This is wicked indeed. It is a sorry rebuke to utter from a Christian pulpit. It ought to be the very opposite. Your financial independence ought not to enslave you. May God deliver you who love Christ from anything like shamefacedness in connection with the kingdom of your exalted head!

6. Let me urge you also, as you boldly confess him, to leave the world in order to join him. His brothers and his father’s household, we are told concerning David, left Saul’s territory, and went away to Adullam to be with the hunted ones. Let us do the same. Ah! there is too much worldly conformity in every one of us. I will not attempt to point any finger at any of my brethren, or expose their faults, but a man must be blind not to perceive that many Christians do their utmost to be as worldly as they can be consistently with their idea of getting to heaven at last. Are there not many who in their dress, in the decorating of their houses, in the conduct of their business, conform so closely to the times and the fashions, that if they were not known to be Christians by some other evidences, they would not be classed by any observers with those who are on the Lord’s side? I do not think it is possible for us to be too thoroughly nonconformist in respect to the maxims, the usages, and vanities of this present evil world. What does this text mean? “Come out from among them.” Is that not enough? No. “Be separate.” Is that not enough? No. “Do not touch the unclean thing.” So thorough is to be the separation that there must be a coming out, a snapping of every link that maintains a connection with evil, and the renewal of that association by even so much as a touch is to be avoided by us. Take David’s part, you who love David. Renounce everything for David, oh! you Christian men. If you love Jesus, you must know he is worth ten thousand worlds. He is to be esteemed before all the pomp and gaiety of this poor world, even if its charms and allurements were multiplied a million times. He is infinitely to be preferred rather than to court the smiles of the great, or to enjoy the love of your friends, or to be flattered by the good opinions of your relatives. Therefore, please leave all to follow him, and forsake all others to cleave to him, and only him.

7. But am I not speaking to many who have confessed him, who are confessing him, and who do, more or less every day of their lives, practise a self-denying nonconformity to the world? Oh! men and brethren, I long that our sense of duty should kindle to an ardent enthusiasm. Can we not do something heroic, or dare something perilous, as a sign of our loyalty to Christ? Often my heart grows big with a strong desire that I might see a church in this place, pre-eminent for consecration to the Captain of our Salvation. I prayed for this just now; nor was it for the first time I offered that prayer. If we only gave of our ample property, or of our scanty pittance, at the rate which all of us should give—or if we only worked for Christ at the rate which he deserves from us, or anything at all like it—if we only lived for Jesus in any measure as gratitude might prompt, what a force we should present—what a power we should exert!

8. As a great church, how we might impact this great city; what a mark we might leave on our age! But why am I talking about the whole community, when I have not yet attained to this pure devotion myself? Still, God knows I am wishing to press onward. I strive to forget what is behind, while reaching forward and pressing onward. Brethren, you remember the story of those three strong men who, when David sighed for a drink from the well of Bethlehem, risked their lives to procure it for him. Are there no strong men here—men of faith, men of valour—who will dare exploits for my Master? He cries out for the conversion of souls; will none of you consecrate yourselves to that work? Will none of you break through the conventionalities of society in quest of seekers? He says, “Give me a drink”; just as he said to the woman at Samaria’s well; and his thirst is satiated when he sees his Father’s will accomplished. Are there not men here—strong, brave, and chivalrous, who can preach Christ where he has never been preached before? There were others among David’s followers who did exploits like these; one of them killed a lion in a pit, in winter-time; while concerning another we are told that he killed the Philistines, and the Lord accomplished a great victory.

9. And can we not do something that shall exceed and excel the ordinary service of modern Christianity? I blush for modern Christianity. Its gold has become dim; its most fine gold is changed; its glory has departed. The early Christians were full of an enthusiasm which could not have tolerated the languid indifference of these times. They were so devoted, so intense, so passionate, so full of divine furore for the extension of the Redeemer’s kingdom, that they made their influence felt wherever they dwelt, or even sojourned for a short season. May God send us some of this sacred zeal now! We need more of the enthusiasm which burned in the hearts of Wesley and of Whitfield. Where now shall we look for the glowing ardour and the untiring labours of the apostle Paul? Where are the disciples now who emulate the zeal of the blessed Master, whose food and drink it was to do the will of him who sent him? May this be given to us all! May God send it to us—send it to us now, send it to us here, send it to me, send it to you, my brethren, and send it to you from now on throughout your lives.

10. I do not think I need say more, unless it is to entreat you to keep up your courage when you know that you are engaged in the cause of Christ. There is a great struggle going on around us. This entire nation is from time to time convulsed with serious questions in which the honour of our Lord Jesus Christ is greatly concerned. Let all those who love him stand up with unflinching integrity. Expediency is the base word that describes the lax morals of the age; but righteousness is the undeviating, the eternal principle by which the universe is governed. The kingdom of Christ is not of this world. Be it ours to help the oppressed, to help the weak, and to give liberty of conscience to all men. May God defend the right. He will defend the right. If our names are cast out as evil, if we are misunderstood and misinterpreted, maligned and slandered, let it be so; we are neither surprised nor dismayed. The right always has to be maintained in the teeth of slander and abuse. But, in God’s name, let us not be cravens or cowards. Let us always do our duty manfully and lawfully. Let us hold firm our profession cheerfully. Let us adhere with confidence and steadfastness to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. The star of David is in the ascendant; the house of Saul is becoming weaker and weaker.

11. II. So having addressed the soldiers, I am now coming for a few minutes to:—ACT AS A RECRUITING SERGEANT.

12. Besides his own relatives, there were others who joined with David. Now, why did they join him? For much the same reason, I may answer, that has influenced many of us. It was because they had need of him. They ought to have gone to David, because his character was so good, and his conduct so upright. They ought to have helped him because his disposition was so kind and sympathizing. They might well have rallied to his standard because he was the Lord’s anointed. They might, as wise men, have cast in their lot with him, because there was prophecy and promise of his triumph and his reign over the nation. But they were really swayed by other motives. They went to him for three reasons—because they were distressed, because they were in debt, and because they were discontented. Through dire dismay they sought shelter and help.

13. Now perhaps it would be good that I should tell you about the sweet character of the Lord Jesus, but if I did so, you would not come to him. It would be good if I told you of the prowess of my Master, and how he conquered Goliath, and slew the foes who tyrannised over us. It might be good if I were I to tell you that he is God’s appointed Saviour, that he is destined to reign as King, and that those who confess him now shall be exalted with him when he comes in his kingdom. Attractive as all this might be to some minds, the master attraction always is, that he becomes suitable to you in your present needs; in those dilemmas which just now press heavily on your souls. So I propose to address the three kinds of people who are most likely to come to Jesus, hoping that they will seize this propitious hour, and enlist under his banner at once, without hesitation or delay.

14. The first kind who came to David were distressed. They were “hard up,” as we say. They had spent their money; they were bankrupts; their means and their hopes equally exhausted; therefore, they went to David. They seemed to say, “Our case is so bad that it cannot be worse; it may be better if we go to David.” Their case was like yours, so well described in our hymn:—

   I can but perish if I go,

      I am resolved to try;

   For if I stay away, I know

      I must for ever die.

I know there are some distressed ones here. I have come to enlist them in my Master’s ragged regiment. By doing this, despair will vanish; and so hope will revive; for being enlisted under him, their courage may rally while they fight his battles, and receive his blessing.

15. You are distressed because you feel you have no merit of your own. That feeling is very right, for you have none; you never had, and you never will have any. At one time you thought you were as good as other people, or perhaps you even thought you were better. That vain thought has gone now. Your good works, your merits, your best endeavours, your choicest prayers, all dissolve; nor dare you boast in any one of them. Come then to Christ. He has merits for those who have none. His cause is good, though yours is bad. You are the very kind of people whom he came to rescue, for whom he died. He came, not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Inasmuch as you are evidently sinners, come; come to the sinner’s Saviour; put your trust in him, and live.

16. Others are distressed because they feel they do not have any power. You cannot believe, you say; you cannot repent; in fact, you cannot do anything as you wish. The more you try, the more powerless you find yourselves to be. You would pray, but you cannot; you feel so dead, so cold. If you attempt to move, it seems all to end in disappointment. Well, my dear hearers, Jesus Christ died for those who have no strength, for so it is written, “In due time, when we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly.” Oh! you who have no power, take heart, because Christ is the power of God. There is ability enough in him to make up for all your impotency. Come, and cast yourselves with all your weakness on his irresistible might, and you shall have a full supply of all that your souls need.

17. But I know there are some here who are distressed, because, in addition to their having no merit and no power, they have no sensitivity. “I do not feel my need as I ought,” one says. “I do not have such a sense of my sin and danger as I should like,” says another. Oh! beloved, Jesus Christ came to raise the dead. He came to give sensitivity to those who are callous and careless, to turn hearts of stone into flesh. I believe those people who think they do not feel their need are those who really do feel their need the most. There is no sense of need so great as when a man feels that he does not feel, and thinks that he does not apprehend the depth of his own need, for then he is evidently alive to his true condition. You may possibly have more of the work of the Holy Spirit in you than some others, whose sense of need appears more lively, though it proves less lasting. That deep, awful solicitude which makes you fear because you do not feel, and makes you groan because you cannot grieve, is not to be despised, for it is an experience often associated with gracious operations of the Spirit of God. Whether it is so or not in your case, give no place to despondency, but believe that Christ can save you, for he is able and willing to do so. If you cannot come with a broken heart, come for a broken heart. If you cannot come to him repenting, come to him to get repentance, for he is exalted on high to give repentance as well as remission of sins. He does not require any preparation in you. All the preparation he requires he prepares himself, and that is the work of his Spirit in your souls. Come, then, you who are distressed and doubting, you who do not have any good thing to commend you as creatures, nor any good desire to extenuate you as sinners; you who are so consciously bad that there could not be found a good apology for you, even in your own estimation, if you were racked over and over again. Come to Jesus, lost, ruined, undone, poverty-stricken, as you are; come and trust my Master, the Son of David. The way to be enlisted, you know, into Her Majesty’s service is to take the shilling. The way to enlist in Christ’s service is simply to trust him. You need not bring anything nor take anything, but simply trust in him, and you shall become a soldier of the cross.

18. The next people mentioned in the text in coming to David were those who were in debt. I would gladly ask those in debt to come to Jesus. The man in debt says, “I must pay my life; I have sinned, and God has said that the sinner shall die. Yet I cannot afford to forfeit my life. How can I dare to die? I have no hope, no trust, no confidence with which to pass the iron gates of death; and then, after death, there is the terror of judgment for my soul, since I have broken God’s law; and the law condemns me, and demands my banishment from his presence, and my final destruction. What shall I do? I cannot pay the debt, the thought of being put into prison for ever is terrible to me. How, how; oh! tell me how can I escape?” Ah! well, I should be glad indeed if there were some here who should acknowledge their debts and their inability to pay them. Happy preacher to have to address such an awakened audience! Happy hearers to be dismayed with such hopeful anxieties! Blessed indeed would our work be if we always had those before us who knew the debt of sin; who felt its grievous demerit, and feared its glaring doom. Take counsel then; whatever debt you owe, whether it is great or small, come and trust in Jesus, and you shall be relieved of the responsibility. Come, and rely on him who suffered in the sinner’s place, and was punished for the ungodly; bearing their iniquities in his own body on the tree. A look at him, one look of faith, will reveal to you the transfer of every debt and every sin from you to him. You shall see how he casts them into the Red Sea of his atoning blood, where, though they may be sought for, they shall never more be found. I would gladly enlist you, poor debtor, and take you out of the Debtor’s Prison, and introduce you to my Master’s table. Bankrupt debtors make good soldiers for the king; come, then, without more ado, and be enlisted in the King’s army.

19. Another class that came to David was those who were discontented. Such there are, nor have we to go far to find them. There is one over there, to whom I would now speak. Only a little while ago you were a happy young fellow. You could go into all kinds of revelry, and little care about the sin, so fully did you enjoy them all. You cannot do so now. You do not understand the reason why, but the keen edge of your appetite seems to have been blunted; your taste for dissipation is gone. Those companions who were once such rare jolly fellows have ceased to cheer you with their talk; you do not enjoy their loud talk now, it seems so flat, and stale, and foolish. You cannot laugh at their lewd jests, or quaff their sparkling cup as you used to do once. You have been behind the scenes of this poor world, and you have pitied the pale cheeks that are painted with the hue of blooming youth; you have heard the heavy sighs of those who raise the merry laugh, and you have witnessed so much phoney disguise that it has filled you with woeful disgust. You have seen enough to know how it will all end. No marvel that you are discontented. You are the man for me; yours is the ear I want to catch; yours the heart I love to reach. A blessed case it is when a man gets discontented with this vain world, for then, perhaps, he may seek after another world, a brighter, better sphere. When he is out of sorts with himself and all his foolish companions, then perhaps he will make acquaintance with the exiled, but anointed Man of Bethlehem, and find in him a friend, a counsellor, who will be his helper, speaking kindly, advising wisely, and leading on triumphantly until he calls you to participate in the kingdom of his glory. You are discontented with yourselves. Your own reflections bitterly reprove you. When you sit down and think a little—a habit into which, maybe, you have only recently fallen—you discover that things are out of joint. You cannot feel satisfied. Strange strivings and manifold misgivings perplex you, and you get no peace. For my part, I am thankful, a thousand times thankful, that you have come to be so ill at ease when there was so much reason for unrest. Now there is some hope that you will trust your future and your fate to the Son of David. Close in with the offers of his grace, and be saved by him.

20. I remember an old sailor who, after having been for nearly sixty years a drunkard and a swearer, and everything that was bad, heard a gospel sermon that touched his heart, and when he came forward to make a profession of his faith in Christ, he said, “I have been sailing for sixty years under a very bad owner, and under a very bad flag, but now I have taken on board a new cargo, and am running for a very different port, and under quite a different flag.” So I trust it will be with some of you soon, that you will change your cargo, change your flag, and change everything. After preaching in the Wesleyan chapel at Boulogne one day some time ago, a person recognised me, and was telling me how he had found Christ through reading the sermons, and an old salt came up to me and said, “Do you know me? My name was Satan once; I remember you well. Now Satan came here one Sabbath morning, and he richly deserved his name, for he was as much like Satan as a man could be; he sat there, and after the sermon the Lord touched old Satan, and gave him another name besides.” The man came to Christ because he was discontented with himself, and so he gave himself up to Jesus, and was saved by him. Is there not any old salt here who will do that now? May there not be some sailor, some soldier, some stranger somewhere here, who shall say tonight, “I will approach the King, and ask him to accept me, even me”? If he does not accept you, please let us know, for we have never yet encountered a case in which Jesus refused a poor sinner who came to him. He has said, “Whoever comes to me I will by no means cast out.” Should he cast you out, it will be a new thing under heaven. But he cannot do it. If you are black as sin can stain you, yet if you come to him, you shall be taken into the Saviour’s bosom, washed in the fountain filled with blood, started on a new career, and helped to serve him all your days.

21. III. But I must come to a finish. I have addressed myself to the Lord’s people; I have beaten the drum for recruits for King Jesus, and now I want to:—TELL THE RECRUITS A LITTLE ABOUT THE SERVICE, and then I am finished. Remember the last words of the text, “And David became a captain over them.”

22. Whoever, then, comes to Christ must submit to Christ’s rules. What are they? One of the first is that you should be nothing at all, and that King Jesus should be everything. Will you submit to that—that you shall have no honour, that you shall take no credit for yourselves, that you shall never lean on your own strength or wisdom, but you shall take him to be made by God to you wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption? I hope you will not kick at that.

23. Another of our Lord’s rules in his kingdom is that, if you love him, you must keep his commandments. After trusting him, you are to become obedient to him. One commandment is that you are to be baptized. Do not stumble at that! I think if there is anything plain in Scripture—I will only speak for myself, I cannot speak for anyone else—it is that every believer is to be immersed in water as a confession of his faith. I think I could as soon doubt that the deity of Christ is declared as doubt that the baptism of believers is enjoined, for the one thing appears to me to be as plainly revealed in Scripture as the other. Please, brother, do not be disobedient to the Lord’s commands, but remember the gospel which we preach, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” Keep to the two points, and claim the promise. Then there is the Lord’s Table, of which, if you join yourselves to Christ, you have a right to partake. Do not forget it. It will sweetly remind you of all that your Saviour has done and suffered for you. It is nothing more than a reminder; but take care that you do not neglect so blessed a memorial. All the precepts and statutes of our Lord Jesus Christ are to be cordially obeyed. Albeit, Christ opens a hospital for all sick folk; he does not intend for you to be always cripples, but his purpose is to heal you, and after that to teach you how to walk. He builds up his kingdom as Romulus built up Rome. He receives all the vagrants of the neighbourhood, but then he makes new men of them. Even so those who are gathered from the outcasts are to be made faithful in Christ Jesus. Drunkard, you must be finished with your cups. Swearer, you must have your mouth washed out; no more of those foul oaths must you utter. You who have given yourselves up to carnal pleasures must be purged from all your defilements. You who have been carefree and frivolous must renounce these vanities, and seek after weighty, solemn, eternal interests. You who have had hard hearts before, you must ask the Master to make them soft, and whatever he says to you, you must do.

24. Now, my young recruit, what do you say to this? You who would bear the name of Christ, and go to heaven, are you willing to come to him and give yourselves up to him, from now on forsaking all your sins? He who does not give up his sins makes a great mistake if he thinks to escape the wrath of God, or hopes to find grace in his eyes. Oh! will you not give up your sins? They are vipers; they will only poison your souls; they will destroy you. Oh! give them up, man! Give them up, for what shall it profit you to keep them, and to lose your own soul? Come to Jesus first. Trust his merit; rely on his precious blood, and then, by his help, renounce every evil way, and seek to obey him who has redeemed you by his blood. So the blessing of the Lord shall rest on you for ever. Amen.

Exposition By C. H. Spurgeon {Ps 63}

“A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.”

Exiled, ill at ease, hunted, exposed to danger. Yet he could sing. And some of the sweetest Psalms come out of the bitterest afflictions. God’s singers are like nightingales that reserve their sweetest music for the night. Whenever you and I come to be in the wilderness, may we refresh ourselves with such a Psalm as this.

1. Oh God, you are my God;

Everything else has gone, but you are my God. There are gods of the heathen, but you, the true and real Jehovah, are my God. Oh! what a blessed thing it is to take a firm grip of God in this way, “Oh God, you are my God,”

2. I will seek you early:

“Oh!” one says, “why did he seek God if God was his?” Would you have him seek another man’s God, then? No; it is because he is ours that we seek him, and desire his company. If you know God to be your God, you will not be satisfied unless you are living near him. “I will seek you early.” I will not wait. I cannot wait. I cannot delay. I must not delay. I will seek you early.

2. My soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water;

Thirst is one of the strongest longings of our nature. You can appease hunger for a while, but thirst is awful. There is no suppressing that. When it is once on a man, he must have water, or die. “My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” No means of grace; nothing to help me; no believers all around me: left alone, thirsting for my God. And yet it is so precious a thing, so sure a sign of grace to thirst for God anywhere, that one may be thankful even to be in a dry and thirsty land if one possesses a true thirst for God.

2. To see your power and your glory, as I have seen you in the sanctuary.

He had seen God in his holy place, and he longs to see him again. Those who never knew God do not want to know him. But those who have known him desire to know him more and more. If you do not long for the bread of heaven, it is because you never tasted it. He who has once tasted it will sigh and hunger until he is satisfied with it.

3. Because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you.

“Better than life”; and surely life is better than anything else. “Skin for skin; yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.” Life is better than food; life is better than riches; and if the lovingkindness of God is better than life, then we have a very high price set on it, but not too high a price. Oh! that you and I may know how sweet, how precious, is the lovingkindness of God; and then we shall say that it is better than life. And because it is so my lips shall praise you. Not only my heart, but I will do it openly. I used to speak vanity when I served vanity. Shall I not now speak out for God when I have come to serve him? My lips shall praise you.

4. So I will bless you while I live: I will lift up my hands in your name.

I will confess you. I will rejoice in you. I will work for you. I will encourage myself in you. I will lift up my hands in your name. Are any of you cast down? Do your hands hang down? Then lift them up in God’s name. Nothing else can make you strong. The name of the Lord shall be your strength.

5, 6. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips: when I remember you on my bed, and meditate on you in the night-watches.

God’s people know what perfect satisfaction means. When God reveals his love to them, and Christ draws near in the fulness of his grace, then they would not change places with the kings of the earth. Not all the richest dainties that were ever served up at royal banquets are equal to the love of God. My soul, not my body, but my innermost self, my very life, shall be satisfied, even as with marrow and with fatness. The Oriental’s idea of luxury is to eat fat. How they will eat what we could not endure! But we, dear friends, understand the metaphor, and appreciate what is meant by David. God will satisfy us with the best of the best, with marrow and fatness. He will make that satisfaction double as with marrow and fatness; and we shall be so satisfied that we shall have nothing left to do but to praise. “My mouth shall praise.” Says our poet:—

   All that remains for me

      Is but to love and sing,

   And wait until the angels come

      To bear me to their King.

He who wrote that verse knew what was meant by this, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips.”

7. Because you have been my help, therefore I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.

That is God’s logic. One likes to see “therefores” in Scripture. They are inferences drawn with great accuracy. You have been my helper. Well, then, you will be my helper; and if I cannot see your face I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings. I know that you are there, if I cannot see you; and if I only know that you are there by the shadow that you cast over me—that calming, cooling shadow which dampens the ardour of my worldly spirit—if this is all that I get from you, yet I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.

8. My soul follows close after you:

I am after you, my God, close after you, following close after you, longing for you, like a dog at the heels of his master’s horse, going with all his might, following close after you. Oh! this is a healthy condition to be in. If you cannot yet reach your God, yet if you follow close after him, it is well with you, for notice the next sentence.

8. Your right hand upholds me.

No man follows after God unless God helps him to do so. It comes from the grace of God. When you are seeking God, it is because God is seeking you; and though you do not know it, there is a vast amount of grace couched in a desire.

9, 10. But those who seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.

Or jackals, as its name later became.

11. But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

It is very hard work to stop it though, for they are always breaking out in a new place. They always have some new falsehood. A shovelful of earth will do it, if nothing else will. Let everyone hear who is accustomed to slander, or to speak evil of his neighbour, listen to this prophetic voice: “The mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped”; but the mouths that speak the praises of God shall go on singing for ever and ever. May such mouths be ours.

Good Tidings of Great Joy. Christ’s Incarnation the Foundation of Christianity. “Central Truth Series.” Vol. I. Cloth boards, 1s.

Till He Come. Communion Meditations and Addresses. By C. H. Spurgeon. Cloth gilt, 2s. 6d.; leather, 7s. 6d.

Types and Emblems: A Collection of Sermons preached on the Lord’s Day and Thursday Evenings at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. By C. H. Spurgeon. 2s. 6d.

Trumpet Calls to Christian Energy: A Second Series of Mr. Spurgeon’s Lord’s Day and Thursday Evening Sermons. 2s. 6d.