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645 lines
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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Text Commentaries</title>
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Title = 'Lions Lacking-but the Children Satisfied';
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<h4 style="text-align: center">
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A Sermon<br>
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(No. 65)<br>
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Delivered on Sabbath Morning, February 10, 1856, by the<br>
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REV. C. H. SPURGEON<br>
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At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.<br>
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On behalf of the Baptist Fund for the Relief of Poor
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Ministers.<br>
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</h4>
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<p class="scripture">
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"The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger; but they that seek
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the Lord shall not want any good thing."— <a name=
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"91"></a><a onClick="return mV('Psa', 34, 10);">Psa 34:10</a>
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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RIGHT truly did Paul say, "Whereby he hath given unto us
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exceeding great and precious promises;" for surely this promise
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is exceeding great indeed. In the entire compass of God's holy
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word, there is not to be found a precious declaration which can
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excel this in sweetness; for how could God promise to use more
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than all things? how could even <i>his</i> infinite benevolence
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stretch the line of his grace farther than it hath gone in this
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verse of the psalm?—"They that seek the Lord shall not
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want any good thing." There is here no reserve; nothing is kept
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back; there is no solitary word of exception. There is no
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codicil in this will striking off the smallest portion of the
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estate; there is no <i>caveat</i> put in to warn us that there
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are domains upon which we must not intrude; a large field is
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laid before the children of God; a wide door is open, and no
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man can shut it. "They that seek the Lord shall not want <i>any
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good thing</i>."
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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Now, we shall notice, first of all, <i>the Christian character
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beautifully delineated</i>. "They that seek the Lord;'
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secondly, we shall notice a promise set in a glorious light by
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a contrast, "they shall not want any good thing," although the
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young lions do lack and suffer hunger;" and thirdly, we shall
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consider whether we cannot bring some <i>evidence to prove the
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fulfilment of the promise</i>.
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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I. First, we have here a very short, but very beautiful
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DESCRIPTION OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN: he is said to "seek the Lord."
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"They that seek the Lord (Or Jehovah, as the original has it)
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shall not want any good thing." Ah! beloved, if some of us had
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the drawing up of this description we should have made it too
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narrow. Possibly some of you might have said, "They that seek
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the Lord in the established church, within the pale of the
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state religion, shall not lack any good thing;" others might
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have said, "They that seek the Lord in the orthodox Calvinistic
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manner shall not lack any good thing;" and others might have
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said, "They that seek the Lord in the Baptist fashion, or the
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Methodist fashion, or some other, shall not lack any good
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thing." But it is not written so. It is written, "They that
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seek the Lord," in order that it may take in the Lord's people
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of all classes and denominations, and all shades of character.
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It is a description very brief, yet full and comprehensive,
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including Christians in all stages and positions. Now let me
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show you that the Christian, in whatever portion of his
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spiritual history he may be, is one that seeks the Lord.
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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We commence with <i>conviction of sin</i>. That is where God
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begins with us, and no man is a Christian unless the Holy
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Spirit has revealed to him in his own entire helplessness, his
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want of merit, and absence of power ever to accumulate merit in
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the sight of God. Well, then, the man who is under a conviction
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of sin, and feels his need of a Saviour—what is he doing?
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What is his occupation, now that he is hungering and thirsting
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after righteousness? Why, he is seeking the Lord. Ask him what
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is his one want, and he will say, 'Christ is all my desire: I
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rise early in the morning, and the first thought I have is, 'O
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that I knew where I might find him?' I am in my business, and
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my ejaculatory prayers go up to heaven like hands searching for
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Jesus; and when I lie down again upon my bed, my heart says, 'I
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seek him whom my soul loveth: I seek him, but I find him not.'"
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Such a man will offer prayer. Why? Not because there is any
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merit in it, not because he will be praised for it, but to seek
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the Lord. He turns the pages of Scripture, not as he would a
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book of philosophy, from curiosity, or for mere instruction,
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but to seek the Lord. He has one passion, one desire—<i>to
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seek the Lord</i>. For <i>that</i> he would barter his life,
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and be content to have his name cancelled from the register of
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men below, if he might but find the Lord Jesus, desiring above
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everything to have his name recorded in some humble place in
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the Lamb's book of life. Are you thus in the dim morn of
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spiritual life seeking the Lord? Is he your one object of
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pursuit? Rejoice then, and tremble not, for the promise is to
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you in this earlier stage of your calling, when you are only
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just struggling into being, "They that seek the Lord shall not
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want any good thing."
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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But let us go a stage further on, when the Christian <i>has
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found the Saviour</i>, and is justified, when he can say, in
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those sweet words I so often repeat,
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</p>
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<p style="text-align: center">
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"Now, freed from sin I walk at large,<br>
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My Jesu's blood's my full discharge."
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</p>
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<p>
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You will find that he has not left off seeking the Lord. No; he
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seeks now to know more of him; he seeks to understand more of
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the heights and depths, and lengths, and breadths of the love
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of Christ, which passeth knowledge. I ask any one here who has
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an assurance that he is a pardoned man, thoroughly justified
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and complete in Christ—are you not seeking the Lord? "Oh
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yes," you say, "I thirst, I long to know more of him; I feel
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that all I have ever known of him is like the whispering of the
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sea in the shell, while the awful roar of the sea itself has
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not yet reached mine ears. I have heard the whisperings of
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Christ in some little mercy, and I have heard his bounties sing
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of bottomless, eternal, unchangeable love; but oh! I long to
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plunge into the sea itself, to bathe myself in the broad ocean
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of his infinite generosity and love to me." No Christian ever
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fancies that he knows enough of his Master; there is no
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Christian who has found the Lord who does not desire to be
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better acquainted with him. "Lord, I will follow thee
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whithersoever thou goest," is the cry of the man who has had
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his sins forgiven. He sitteth down at the feet of Jesus, and
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looketh up to him, and saith, "Master, teach me more; I am a
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little child; thou art a great instructor; oh! I long to love
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and learn more of thee." He is ever seeking the Lord; and, in
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this more advanced stage, the promise to him is, "They that
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seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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But go a little further on, when the Christian <i>has scarcely
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ever a shadow of a doubt of his acceptance</i>; he has
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progressed so far in spiritual life that he has attained to the
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stature of a perfect man in Christ Jesus; his faith has become
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so confident, that
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</p>
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<p style="text-align: center">
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"His steady soul doth fear no more<br>
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Than solid rocks when billows roar."
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</p>
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<p>
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He can read his "title clear to mansions in the skies;" he has
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climbed the Delectable Mountain; his feet are standing fast
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upon a rock, and his goings are established; but even then he
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is seeking the Lord. In the highest flights of his assurance,
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on the topmost pinnacle of his faith, there is something yet
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beyond. When he had sailed farthest into the sea of Acceptance,
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there are Fortunate Isles that he hath not reached; there is an
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<i>ultima thule</i>, a distant land, that he hath not yet seen.
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He is still seeking the Lord; he feels that he has "not yet
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attained;" he is still "pressing forward to the mark for the
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prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." But then he
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seeks the Lord in a different fashion; he seeks him that he may
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put a crown on his head; he is not seeking him for mercy, but
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to give him praise. Oh, that my heart could find thee! that all
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its strings might sing sweet music to thee. Oh that my mouth
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could find thine ear, and that I might bid it open and listen
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to the whisper of my song. Oh that I knew where thou didst
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dwell, that I might sing hard by the eaves of thy habitation,
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and that thou mightest hear me ever—that I might
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perpetually send the songs of my gratitude up to thy sacred
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courts? I seek thee that I may break the alabaster box of
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praise on thy dear sacred head. I seek thee that I may put my
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soul upon the altar, and sacrifice my living self to thee. I
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seek thee, that I may go where cherubim are singing, whom I
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envy, because they
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</p>
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<p style="text-align: center">
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"All night long unwearied sing<br>
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High praises to the Eternal King."
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</p>
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<p>
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I will seek thee in business, that there I may adorn the
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doctrine of God my Saviour in all things. I will seek thee in
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my songs that I may hymn thy praise. I will seek thee in my
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musings, that I may magnify the Lord in my thoughts. I will
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seek thee in my words, that my conversation may show forth thy
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praise. I will seek thee in my gifts of benevolence, that I may
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be like my Saviour. I will seek thee ever, for enough I have
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attained to know that I am thine and thou art mine, though I
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have nought else to ask of thee, seeing thou hast given me
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thyself; though thou art
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</p>
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<p style="text-align: center">
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"Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh,<br>
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My kinsman near allied by blood,"
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</p>
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<p>
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though now my soul stands perfect in thee, and
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</p>
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<p style="text-align: center">
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"Not a shadow of a spot<br>
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Can on my soul be found,"
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</p>
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<p>
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yet still I will seek thee-seek to honor thee-seek to kiss
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those blessed feet that bled for me—seek to worship that
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dear "man who once on Calvary died," and put crowns of eternal
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unfading honor upon his blessed, thorn-crowned, but now exalted
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brow.
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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Then bring the Christian to the last period of life, to the
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<i>brink of death</i>. Set him on those hoary rocks that skirt
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the edge of Jordan; let him sit there, looking down at the dark
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stream rolling rapidly below, not afraid to wade it, but rather
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wishing to die that he may be with Jesus. Ask the old man what
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he is doing, and he will answer, "Seeking the Lord." But I
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thought thou hadst found him many a year, old man? "So I have,
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but when I found him I sought him more; and I am seeking him
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now—seeking him that I may be complete in him, at his
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appearing; that I may be like him when I shall see him as he
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is. I have sought to understand more of his love to me, and now
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I do not know it all. I know as much as mortal can know; I am
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living in the land of Beulah. See this bunch of spices; angel
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hands have brought it to me, a present from my King; here are
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tokens of his love, his mercy, and his grace. And dost not see
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yonder the golden light of the celestial city? and didst not
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hear just now the sweet singing of the angels?" "Nay, nay,"
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saith the young man, "I hear them not." "But," the old man
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replies, "I am on the edge of Jordan, and my ears are open,
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whereas thine are dull, still I am doing what I have done all
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my life-long—seeking the Lord, and till this pulse shall
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cease its perpetual beating, I will still seek him, that dying,
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I may clasp him in my arms, the antidote of death."
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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You will readily confess that this description of a Christian
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is invariably correct. You may take the youngest child of
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God—yon little boy ten years old, who has just been
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baptized, and received into the church. Ask what he is doing?
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"<i>Seeking the Lord</i>." Follow him till he becomes a
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middle-aged man with all the cares of life about him. Ask what
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he is doing then? Still he answers, "Seeking the Lord." Put a
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few grey hairs upon his head, and let him know that half a
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century has gone. Again, ask what he is doing? "Seeking the
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Lord." Then make his head all frosty with the winters of old
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age, and ask him the same question; and he will still reply,
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"Seeking the Lord." Take away those hairs until the head is
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entirely bald, and the man is trembling on the grave; what is
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he doing then? "Seeking the Lord." Ay, as long as we are in
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this body, whatever our position, or condition, this will ever
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apply to us: "They that seek the Lord shall not want any good
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thing."
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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But let us not leave this one point without asking you one
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solemn question. Will you answer it? I beseech you to answer it
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to yourselves. Are ye seeking the Lord? Nay; some of you there,
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if you only can have your bottle of wine and your fowl, that
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will satisfy you better than seeking the Lord. There is
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another—give you health and strength and let you enjoy the
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pleasures of this world, and that will be better to you than
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seeking the Lord. There is another flying in the face of the
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Almighty, cursing and swearing—you are not seeking the
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Lord. Another is here this morning who once thought that he did
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seek the Lord, but he has left off doing it now; he went away
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from us because he was not of us, for, "if he had been of us,
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he doubtless would have continued with us." There is a young
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woman who thought she sought the Lord once, but she has gone
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astray, she has backslidden, proving that after all that it was
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mere excitement. Would God I could include you all in this
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promise this morning; but can I, dare I, must I? No, I must
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not. As the Lord liveth, if you are not seeking the Lord, the
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devil is seeking <i>you</i>; if you are not seeking the Lord,
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judgment is at your heels. Even now, the swift-winged angel of
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justice is holding the torch before the fierce messenger of
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vengeance who, with his naked dagger, is about to execute the
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wrath of God upon your spirit. Ah! take no lease of your lives;
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fancy not that you are to live for ever. If you have not sought
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the Lord, as Jonathan Edwards said, "thou standest over the
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mouth of hell upon a single plank, and that plank is rotten."
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You are hanging over hell by a single rope, and all the strands
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of the rope are creaking, snapping, breaking. Remember after
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death, judgment; and after judgment, woe; and after woe,
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nought; for woe, woe, woe, must be for ever. "The wrath to
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come! The wrath to come! The wrath to come!" It needs a damned
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spirit to start from the grave to preach to you, and let you
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know something of it; but though one should rise from the grave
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with all the scars of all his torments upon him, with his hair
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all crisp by the hot fire of vengeance, his body scorched in
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the flames which no abatement know, though he should tell you
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with a tear at every word and a groan as a stop at every
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sentence, and a deep sigh on every syllable, how horribly he
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feels, how damnably he is tormented, still ye would not repent.
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Therefore we will say little of it. May God the Holy Ghost seek
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you, and then you will seek him, and you shall be turned from
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darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God.
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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II. Now we come to THE PROMISE SET FORTH BY WAY OF CONTRAST.
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"they shall not want any good thing:" that is the jewel. "The
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young lions do lack and suffer hunger;" that is the foil to set
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off the jewel and make it shine more brightly. "They shall not
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want any good thing." I can hardly speak of that, for there is
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too much to say. Did you never see a horse let into a wide
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field where the grass grew so thickly, that he scarcely knew
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where to begin to eat? If not, you have seen children taken
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into the field where wild flowers grow; it is so full of them
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in their liveries of white and yellow that the children know
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not where to pluck first, they have so wide a choice. That is
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how I feel when I have such a text as this: "They that seek the
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Lord shall not want any good thing." We have heard of the
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celebrated cheque for a million pounds which has been
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preserved; here is one for millions of millions. Here is a
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promise wide as our wants, large as our necessities, deep as
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our distresses. There are some persons whose ambitious desires
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are very much like the Slough of Despond, which, though the
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king's labourers cast in thousands of tons of good material,
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never could be filled up. But the Lord can fill them. However
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bottomless our desires, however deep our wishes, however high
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our aspirations, all things meet in this promise, "They that
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seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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We take it concerning <i>things spiritual</i>. Are we wanting a
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sense of pardon? We shall not want it long. Are we desiring
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stronger faith? We shall not want it long. Do you wish to have
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more love to your Saviour, to understand more concerning inward
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communion with Jesus? You shall have it. "They that seek the
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Lord shall not want any good thing." Do you desire to renounce
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your sins, to be able to overcome this corruption or that? to
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attain this virtue, or that excellency? "They that seek the
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Lord shall not want any good thing." Is it adoption,
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justification, sanctification, that thou wantest? "Thou shalt
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not lack any good thing."
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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But are thy <i>wants temporal</i>? Dost thou want bread and
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water? No, I know thou dost not, for it is said, "Bread shall
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be given thee, and thy water shall be sure." Or, if thou dost
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want it somewhat, it shall come before long; it shall not be to
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starvation. David said, "I have been young and now am old; yet
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have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging
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bread." Do you want clothes? You shall have them. "He that
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clothes the lilies of the valley, will he not much more clothe
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you, O ye of little faith?" Do you need temporary supplies.
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You, shall receive them, for "your heavenly Father knoweth that
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ye have need of these things." Whatever your desire, there is
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the promise, only go and plead it at the throne, and God will
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fulfil it. We have no right to look for the fulfilment of the
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promises unless we put the Promiser in mind of them, although
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truly, at times, he exceeds our desires or wishes. He gives us
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these promises as his notes of hand, his bills of exchange, and
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if we do not take our notes to get them cashed at the throne it
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is our fault, for the promise is just as good: "they that seek
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the Lord shall not want any good thing."
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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But here is a contrast, and we will proceed to that at once.
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"The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they that seek
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the Lord shall not want any good thing." The old Psalter has
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it: "<i>The rich</i> had need, and they hungered; but seekers
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of the Lord shall not be lessed of all good." It appears that
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there is only the difference of a very little mark in the
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Hebrew between the words "mighty men" and "young lions." But it
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is of very little consequence for, doubtless "the young lions"
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are put by way of figure to denominate certain characters of
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men who do "lack and suffer hunger."
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</p>
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<p class="indent">
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There are certain men in the world who, like the lions, are
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<i>kings over others</i>. The lion is lord of the forest, and
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at his roar others tremble; so are there men who walk about
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among us—noblemen, respectable, great,
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honorable—persons who are had in reverence and esteem; and
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they suppose, sometimes, because they are lions they are sure
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never to have any spiritual hunger. They are great and mighty
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men; they have no need of a Saviour. Are they not the elders of
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the city? are they not mighty men of valour? are they not noble
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and great! They are, moreover, so excellent in their own esteem
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that their proper language seems to be when they come before
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their Maker's bar: "Lord, I had not a very bad nature, and
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wherein it was a little bad, I made the best of it! and wherein
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I did not do quite as well as I ought, Jesus Christ will make
|
|
it up." Talk to these men about being depraved! "Rubbish!" they
|
|
say; they know better; their heart is pure enough. They have no
|
|
need of the Holy Spirit; they are young lions; you small mice
|
|
may want it, but not they indeed! They have no need of
|
|
another's righteousness to cover them; their old shaggy mane is
|
|
glory enough to them. But do you know these young lions "lack
|
|
and suffer hunger;" ay, even when we do not know anything about
|
|
it? They can play bombast before men, but they "lack and suffer
|
|
hunger" when they are alone. A suspicion often crosses their
|
|
minds that their righteousness is not good for much; they know
|
|
very well that while they can make a long prayer the poor
|
|
widow's house sticks in their throat; that while they boast of
|
|
their good works they are no better than they should be. You
|
|
may think, perhaps, like David, that "they are not plagued like
|
|
other men." But you don't know that. They are very often
|
|
plagued when they do not tell you. When they roar so loudly
|
|
their mane scarcely covers their bare ribs. "The young lions do
|
|
lack and suffer hunger;" but, blessed be God, "they that seek
|
|
the Lord shall not want any good thing." Poor and helpless
|
|
though they are, having no works of righteousness of their own,
|
|
confessing their sin and depravity, they shall want no good
|
|
thing. Is it not amazing? There is a poor sinner who has sinned
|
|
against God and in every way dishonored his name; yet he cannot
|
|
lack any good thing.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p style="text-align: center">
|
|
"Poor, helpless worms in Christ possess<br>
|
|
Grace, wisdom, peace, and righteousness."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="indent">
|
|
Again, by young lions we may understand <i>men of cunning</i>
|
|
and <i>men of wisdom</i>. The lion goeth out at night, and
|
|
prowleth silently through the jungle. It hath a keen scent, and
|
|
knoweth where to find its prey. It scenteth the fountain, and
|
|
knoweth that the antelope will go there to drink. When he
|
|
comes, the lion croucheth down, with wild eyes looks upon him,
|
|
and in a moment, ere the antelope is aware, he is in the fangs
|
|
of the lion. Men of cunning and wisdom—have you not seen
|
|
such? Have you not heard their boastful exclamation, "Submit
|
|
myself to a dogmatical preacher! No, sir, I will not. Believe
|
|
in the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures! I cannot believe
|
|
in any such absurdity. Sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of
|
|
him in the Scriptures! No, sir, I cannot. I like something to
|
|
discuss; I like an intellectual religion; I cannot believe
|
|
everything simply because God says it. I want to be allowed to
|
|
judge for myself. Am I not wise learned?" And when he sees us
|
|
in distress, sometimes he says, "Nonsense! you have no brains!
|
|
you, poor Calvinists must be bereft of your senses." And yet we
|
|
can show as many men of sense as they can, and we are not
|
|
afraid of them, however much they glory in their wisdom. But
|
|
sometimes the poor Christian is frightened by them; he cannot
|
|
answer their sophisms; he does not see his way through their
|
|
labyrinths, and cannot escape from their nets. Well, don't try
|
|
to escape from them. Let them talk on; the best answer is often
|
|
silence. But do you know that these young lions so gloriously
|
|
self-sufficient when in argument with you, in secrecy often
|
|
"lack and suffer hunger?" There was never an infidel in the
|
|
world that did not suffer spiritual hunger, though he might not
|
|
confess it. His creed did not satisfy him; there was a hollow
|
|
place, an aching void somewhere, which the world could never
|
|
fill. But "they that seek the Lord," who take the Scriptures
|
|
for their guide, who bow implicity to the words of Jehovah, "do
|
|
not lack any good thing." They feel no hollow unoccupied;
|
|
Christ has filled their hearts, and they are satisfied with his
|
|
presence and his love. "The young lions do lack, and suffer
|
|
hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good
|
|
thing."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="indent">
|
|
Again, the young lions denote those who are <i>very strong</i>,
|
|
so that they hope to save themselves, <i>and very swift</i> in
|
|
their course of profession. Some are very fierce in the matter
|
|
of religion, very anxious to obtain salvation; and they are
|
|
very strong, so that they think it scorn to borrow strength of
|
|
another. Like the Jews, they follow after righteousness, but
|
|
they do not attain it because they seek it by the works of the
|
|
law. Have you never seen what they will do? There is a goodly
|
|
chapel they have built; they are engaged at six o'clock in the
|
|
morning at prayers, and repeat so many Ave Marias and
|
|
Pater-nosters; then comes the daily service, the mass, and all
|
|
that rubbish—the <i>messe</i>, as they call it in France,
|
|
and verily a mess it is; then they whip themselves, fetch blood
|
|
from their bodies, and perform all kinds of penances. Even
|
|
among Protestants, meritmongery is not quite gone by; for there
|
|
be many who are full of holy works, in which they are thursting
|
|
for salvation. The poor Christian says, "I cannot perform all
|
|
these works; I wish it were in my power to serve the Lord more
|
|
devoutly." But dost thou not know that these "young lions do
|
|
lack, and suffer hunger?" The formalist is never satisfied with
|
|
all his forms; the hypocrite is never contented; there is
|
|
always something he misses that makes his heart ache.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="indent">
|
|
Then we may take it in a <i>temporal sense</i>. Young lions may
|
|
mean <i>deep cunning schemers</i>. Have you never seen men with
|
|
their thousand schemes and plans to make themselves rich, men
|
|
who can overreach others, who are so subtle that you cannot see
|
|
through them? Their instinct seems to be cunning. They are
|
|
always lying in wait to take advantage of others; they prowl
|
|
the world around, to seize on the helpless widow and the
|
|
defenceless orphan. Or, perhaps, they may be following more
|
|
legitimate schemes yet, such as are full of speculation and
|
|
will involve the exercise of all their wits. Surely such can
|
|
live if others stand. But no, they are just the men who "lack
|
|
and suffer hunger;" their schemes all prove futile; the arrow
|
|
which they shoot returneth on their own head and woundeth them.
|
|
But they who lie gently down in passive faith, singing
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p align="center">
|
|
"Father, I wait thy daily will;<br>
|
|
Thou shalt divide my portion still,<br>
|
|
Give me on earth what seems thee best,<br>
|
|
'Till death and heaven reveal the rest,"
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
do not lack any good thing.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="indent">
|
|
Again, by "young lions," we may understand "<i>rich
|
|
men</i>"—men who have abundance. We have known persons who
|
|
have ridden in fine carriages and dwelt in noble mansions,
|
|
brought to the depths of poverty. Every now and then we hear of
|
|
men, almost millionares, who are turned out into the very
|
|
streets. Kings have walked our soil without their crowns, and
|
|
nobles even now are living on our charity. Daughters of men in
|
|
high positions have to work as menials, and long sometimes to
|
|
be allowed to do that. The rich sometimes "lack, and suffer
|
|
hunger;" but they that wait on the Lord," poor as they may be,
|
|
"do not lack any good thing."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="indent">
|
|
Again, this may apply to you who earn your living by bodily
|
|
labour. Perhaps you are a weak and sickly man; you are not one
|
|
of the "young lions," like your neighbour, a strong big fellow,
|
|
who can earn his day's wages without the least difficulty. He
|
|
says to you, perhaps, "I shouldn't like to be such a poor lean
|
|
thing as you are. If you should be ill, what would become of
|
|
you? You trust in Providence, but I trust in my big arms. The
|
|
best providence is to take care of yourself—to go and eat
|
|
a good dinner, and keep yourself in trim." Nay, nay; have you
|
|
not seen those young lions, "lack and suffer hunger?" Our
|
|
missionary can tell of strong men whom he visits, who cannot
|
|
find employment, but are brought almost to starvation; while he
|
|
does not find that they that wait on the Lord lack any good
|
|
thing. Don't be afraid because you have a sick and weakly
|
|
frame; labour as hard as you can, and be sure, that if you wait
|
|
on the Lord you will not lack any good thing.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="indent">
|
|
Once more, the lion is a creature that <i>overcomes and devours
|
|
all others</i>. We have some such in our society; you find them
|
|
everywhere. They put their hand upon you, and you feel you are
|
|
in a vice. They understand law better than you do: and woe be
|
|
to you if you make a mistake! won't they take advantage of you?
|
|
So in business they can always over-reach you; like sharks, if
|
|
they do not devour you altogether, they leave you minus a leg
|
|
or an arm. Yes, but you have seen these men, too, "lack and
|
|
suffer hunger." And amongst all the miserable miscreants that
|
|
walk the earth, there is none so destitute as the young lion
|
|
that lacks, and suffers hunger. He puts his money into a bag
|
|
full of holes; and methinks hell laughs at the covetous man, at
|
|
him who grasps his neighbour's wealth. "Ha! ha!" says the
|
|
devil, "damn thy soul to win—nothing! send thy soul to
|
|
hell to win—a dream! A thing which thou hadst, but is
|
|
gone; thou didst grasp it—it was a shadow! Sold thine
|
|
immortal spirit to win a bubble which burst in thy grasp."
|
|
Christian, do not be concerned about temporal things; trust in
|
|
God; for while "young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, they
|
|
that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="indent">
|
|
III. And now, I come to the third part, which is THE FULFILMENT
|
|
OF THE PROMISE. Time fails me, and I shall not try to prove to
|
|
you that God can in the ordinary course of his providence make
|
|
a distinction between the righteous and the wicked; that would
|
|
be an easy task. While God has the hearts of all men under his
|
|
control, he can make the rich give where he pleases; and he can
|
|
influence the church, and those that love the Lord, always to
|
|
take care of the Lord's poor. But I am going to state one or
|
|
two facts by way of stimulating you to assist me in the noble
|
|
enterprise of endeavouring to support the poor disabled
|
|
ministers of the everlasting gospel. Amongst the particular
|
|
Baptists we have a fund called the Baptists Fund. It was
|
|
instituted in 1717, in order to afford assistance to ministers
|
|
in England and Wales, who were in poverty and distress, in
|
|
consequence of the inability of their churches and
|
|
congregations to furnish them with a competent maintenance for
|
|
themselves and their families. During nearly a century and a
|
|
half, it has carried out, so far as its funds were sufficient,
|
|
the benevolent purposes for which it was established. It
|
|
publishes its accounts yearly; and from the last printed
|
|
statement for 1854-5, it appears that in that year, one hundred
|
|
and sixty-five cases were relieved in England, and sixty-five
|
|
in the Principality, by grants in money to the amount of
|
|
£1,560, no one receiving a larger sum than £10, and
|
|
no grant being in any case made where the minister's income
|
|
from every source exceed £80. In addition to the money
|
|
grants, books also of the value together of £155 have
|
|
been presented to thirty-five poor ministers unable to purchase
|
|
them. Towards raising the necessary funds to meet these cases,
|
|
collections are annually made in this and in number, character,
|
|
and circumstances of the objects to be relieved, and the
|
|
purpose for which the relief is afforded are considered, it
|
|
will be well understood that this is no ordinary collection. We
|
|
have the right of four votes, one for the pastor and three
|
|
messengers sent by us, owing to our fathers having in olden
|
|
times deposited £150 by way of starting the fund, the
|
|
interest of which sum, and of that given by other churches, is
|
|
spent every year. Different legacies having been left by other
|
|
persons, a considerable sum has accumulated, and I believe the
|
|
yearly income is somewhere about £2,000 at the present
|
|
time. We need, however, much more. I am not going to detain you
|
|
long by telling you about the fund, but I will read you one or
|
|
two letters from the recipients. The first is from an old
|
|
minister aged eighty.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="indent">
|
|
[It is thought best not to print these, lest the worthy men who
|
|
wrote them should feel aggrieved.]
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="indent">
|
|
I think I need add nothing more to move you. There are many
|
|
poor ministers now, who, when they go up the pulpit stairs, are
|
|
obliged to hold their arms pretty close to their bodies lest
|
|
they should rend their coats to pieces; and I have seen them
|
|
with such coats on, as you would not like to put on if you were
|
|
going into the meanest chapel in London. I have myself found
|
|
livery for some of these holy men year by year, but one person
|
|
cannot supply the necessities of all. I know the case of a
|
|
preacher who walked to a chapel, within ten miles of this spot,
|
|
and preached in the morning, and walked back again; he also
|
|
preaching in the evening, and had to walk back to his house;
|
|
and what do you think the deacons gave him? The poor man had
|
|
nothing else to live upon, and he was nearly eighty years of
|
|
age. When he had finish (oh! don't hear it, ye angels! pray
|
|
shut up your ears) they gave him—<i>a shilling</i>! That
|
|
was for his day's work. Another brother told me some time ago
|
|
that he preached three sermons, walking eight miles and back
|
|
again and going dinnerless all the while; and the deacons gave
|
|
him the munificent sum of—half-a-crown! Oh! if you knew
|
|
all the circumstances connected with the fund, you would not
|
|
long restrain your benevolence. The funds are mostly given to
|
|
those who preach the gospel—gospel ministers of the best
|
|
sort, men who preach what we consider to be
|
|
gospel—Calvinistic sentiments. And the funds must always
|
|
be given in that way, for so the deed directs it. I bless God
|
|
for this society, and I ask you, under God, to take care of it,
|
|
that while "the young lions do lack, and suffer hunger," the
|
|
ministers of the Lord shall "not want any good thing."
|
|
</p>
|
|
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|
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