posted by Phil Johnson
The PyroManiacs devote some space each weekend to highlights from The Spurgeon Archive.The following excerpt is from "The Warning Neglected," a sermon preached on 29 November 1857 at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens. Spurgeon's text that day was Ezekiel 33:5: "He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself."
ou did not like the trumpet, did you? . . .
What was that to you what the trumpet was, so long as it warned you? And surely, if it had been a time of war, and you had heard a trumpet sounded to warn you of the coming of the enemy, you would not have sat still, and said, "Now I believe that is a brass trumpet, I would like to have had it made of silver." No, but the sound would have been enough for you and up you would have been to escape from the danger. And so it must be now with you. It is an idle pretense that you did not like it. You ought to have liked it. . . .Ah, my brethren, we do not find fault with the way a man speaks if we are in a house that is on fire. If the man calls, "Fire! Fire!" we are not particular what note he takes, we do not think what a harsh voice he has got. You would think any one a fool, a confounded fool, who should lie in his bed, to be burned, because he said he did not like the way the man cried, "Fire!" Why his business was to have been out of bed and down the stairs at once, as soon as he heard it.
But another says, "I did not like the man himself; I did not like the minister; I did not like the man that blew the trumpet; I could hear him preach very well, but I had a personal dislike to him, and so I did not take any notice of what the trumpet said."
Verily, God will say to thee at last, "Thou fool, what hadst thou to do with that man; to his own master he stands or falls; thy business was with thyself."
What would you think of a man? A man has fallen overboard from a ship, and when he is drowning, some sailor throws him a rope, and there it is. Well he says, in the first place, "I do not like that rope, I don't think that rope was made at the best manufactory, there is some tar on it too, I do not like it; and in the next place, I do not like that sailor that threw the rope over, I am sure he is not a kind-hearted man, I do not like the look of him at all;" and then comes a gurgle and a groan, and down he is at the bottom of the sea; and when he was drowned, they said, that it served him right, if he would not lay hold of the rope, but would be making such foolish and absurd objections, when it was a matter of life and death. Then on his own head be his blood. . . .
10 comments:
I haven't got time for these kinds of posts. I'm too busy becoming a better me and living my best life now.
Thank the Lord for sounding trumpets in our lives—not only to warn us of impending judgment, but also blast our ears out in chastisement when we sin. Thank the holy God for his fatherly mercy and lovingkindness.
I was just listening to my son play his trumpet. Yeah, his lip slipped and his fingering mistimed, and some notes dribbled out, but man could he could string other notes together at times. It was beautiful, if only a novice at practice. Yet, the songs I knew. They resounded in my heart. There was melody no matter the fault.
But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue." Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
You might say, "Hold the Aaron, to your mouth, and trumpet the message." In either case, whether it is the refined tongue of Aaron or slow tongued Moses, and they both spoke, they spoke the word of God, from one mouth to another. Some listened and some ignored, it was still the same tune.
johnny d: my thoughts exactly.
I agree with Spurgeon, however many pastors are throwing out life lines of squishey pasta.
I have had this very thing happen to me. I preached on Matthew 7, and the testing of one's salvation, to see which foundation we build upon. When I finished the sermon, I had someone come up and tell me that the message I preached would be good for a revival, but not good for the hearers that were there tonight.
What a horrible thing that man said to me that night! I preached Christ, and Him crucified, but because the Holy Spirit stepped on his toes, he didn't like the message.
What a sad, misguided, sinful world we live in. I just pray the Lord raises up ministers who will sound the alarm with fullness, not caring if those who hear are offended.
Rob W.
Would that the trump be made of the most coarse iron so as to alarm us with its discord, that more quickly we may attend to what it heralds.
Phil, that wasn't "nice." I expected more from a new kind of Christian like Charles Spurgeon. And the only trumpet we should be talking about is Herb Alpert's.
There are certain individuals at the "Village" who will be very unhappy with this post. I hope you're satisfied.
Johnny Dialectic:
Absolutely correct. I laughed out loud.
"It is an idle pretense that you did not like it. You ought to have liked it. . . ."
I remember in my church, when the preacher preached faith alone saves a few years ago and there was a visiting Catholic, who asked him later, "Oh, so we simply believe the Gospel, and we're off the hook?"
He said, "Yes, and I'll show my faith by my works. But you will not understand this, for you can not understand spiritual things, for you believe your salvation is of works."
I thought how peculiar this person did not desire a salavtion that was freely given to him by faith alone.
He was saying in affect: "I don't like that, and I will not accept it. I want my religion to be my salvation. Faith alone is so wrong."
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