sphere of usefulness. Soldiers of Christ, Quick march! “Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward.” Do not let them go back; do not let them stand still. Go on, on, on, soldiers of Christ! Go forward!
33. Another posture is one that is very hard to learn indeed. It is what no soldier, I think, was ever told to do by his captain, except the soldier of Christ: EYES SHUT, AND EARS SHUT, AND HEART SHUT! Do this when you go through Vanity Fair. Eyes shut, so as not to look upon temptation; ears shut, so as not to regard either the praise or the scoffs of the world; and heart shut against evil, with the great stone of precept. “Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Roll a stone at the door of your heart, that sin may not come out of it. That is a hard posture; but you will never fight the battles of the Lord until you know how to maintain that.
34. And then there is another posture: FEET FIRM, SWORD IN HAND, EYES OPEN; LOOKING AT YOUR ENEMY, WATCHING EVERY MOVE THAT HE MAKES, AND WATCHING TOO FOR YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO ATTACK HIM WITH YOUR SWORD IN HAND! That posture you must maintain every day. Guard against the arrows of the enemy; hold up your shield, and be ready to charge him and give him a deadly wound. I need not explain that. You who have to do with business, you who are in the ministry, you who are serving God as deacons and elders, you know how often you have to ward off the arrow and look carefully at your enemy, and meet him sword in hand, ready to rush in whenever your time shall come. Let no opportunity — let no occasion pass by. Wound your enemy whenever you can; kill sin, kill error, and destroy bitterness, as often as you have opportunity so to do.
35. There is one other posture, which is a very pleasant one for the child of God to assume and I would have you remember it today. HANDS WIDE OPEN, AND HEART WIDE OPEN, WHEN YOU ARE HELPING YOUR BRETHREN; a hand ready to give whatever the church needs, and an eye ready to look up for help when you cannot give help with your hand, and ready to guide the hand whenever help is needed; and a heart open to hear the plight of another’s need, to “rejoice with those who do rejoice and weep with those who weep.”
36. Above all, the best posture for Christ’s church, is that of PATIENT WAITING FOR THE ADVENT OF CHRIST, a looking forward for his glorious appearance, who must come and will not tarry, but who will get the victory for himself.
37. Now, if you will go to your houses, and if divine grace shall help you to put yourselves through this form of drill, you will be mighty in the day of battle to put down the enemy.
38. And now allow the word of exhortation, very brief, but hot and earnest. Oh Christian men and women, the more you think of it the more you will be ashamed or yourselves, and of the present church, that we do so little for Christ. Some eighteen hundred years ago, there were a handful of men and women in an upper room; and that handful of men and women were so devoted to their Master and so true to his cause, that within a hundred years they had overrun every nation of the habitable globe; yes, within fifty years they had preached the gospel in every land. And now look at this great host gathered here today. Probably there are no less than two or three thousand members of Christian churches, besides this mixed multitude; and now what will you do in fifty years’ time? What does the church do in any year of its existence? Why, hardly anything at all. I sometimes wonder how long God will allow the church to be cooped up in England. I fear that we shall never see the world converted, until this country is invaded. If it should ever happen that our hearths and homes should be invaded, and that we should be scattered, north, south, east and west, all through the world, it will be the grandest thing that ever happened for the church of Christ. I would go down on my knees and pray night and day that it may not happen for the nation’s sake; but nevertheless I sometimes think that the greatest disaster that can ever occur to our nation, will be the only way in which Christ’s church will be spread. Look at it. Here you have your churches in almost every street, and despite the destitution of London, it is not destitute if you compare it with the nations of the world. Oh, ought we not as ministers of Christ to pour out in legions? and ought not our people to go everywhere in the habitable world, in ones, and twos, and threes, preaching the gospel? But would you have us leave wife, and house, and children? I would not have you do it; but if you would do it then would Christ’s power be seen, and then would the might of the church return to it once again. They were men without purse or scrip that went everywhere preaching the word, and God was with them, and the world heard them and was converted. Now we cannot go if we are not sent, and perhaps it is only reasonable that flesh and blood should not ask for more; but still if the life of God were in the church, it would never stay in England long; it would send forth its bands and legions, rolling along in one tremendous stream; a new crusade would be preached against the heathen nations, and the sword of the Lord and of Gideon would strike the stoutest of our foes, and Christ would reign, and his unsuffering kingdom would come then. Oh that the church had power with men, and power with God! Dear brothers and sisters, look out and see what you can do, each of you. Do something today. Do not let this Sunday go without each of you trying to be the means of winning a soul to God. Go to your Sunday Schools this afternoon; go to your preaching stations; go to your tract district, each one in his sphere; go to your families, your mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters; go home and do something today. “Fight the Lord’s battles.” You can do nothing by yourselves; but God will be with you. If you have the will to serve him, he will give you the power. Go today, and seek to heal some breach, to put away some enmity, to slay some sin, or to drive out some error; and if God is with you then this shall be a happier day to your soul, and a holier day to the world than you have seen in all your experience before.
39. I will have one blow, and then you may go. Sinner! I remember that you are here this morning as well as the saint. Sinner! you are not Christ’s soldier; you are a soldier of Satan; you will have your pay soon, man, when you have worn your sword out, and worn your arm out in fighting against Christ. You shall have your pay. Look at it and tremble. “The wages of sin is death,” and damnation too. Will you take these two, or will you now renounce the black old tyrant, and enlist under the banner of Christ? Oh that God would give you the deposit of free grace, and enlist you now as a soldier of the cross. Remember, Christ takes the very dregs to be his soldiers. Every man that was in debt, and every man that was discontented, came to David, and he became a captain over them. Now, if you are in debt this morning to God’s law, and cannot pay, if you are discontented with the devil’s service, jaded and worn out with pleasure, come to Christ, and he will receive you, make you a soldier of the cross, and a follower of the Lamb. God be with you and bless you, from this day forth, even for ever!
{a} The Second War of Italian Independence, Franco-Austrian War, Austro-Sardinian War, or Austro-Piedmontese War, was fought by Napoleon III of France and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859. In respect to the Italian unification process, this war is also known as the Second Independence War. See Explorer “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Italian_War_of_Independence”
{b} The fires that Queen Mary (1553-1558) ordered to be lit at Smithfield put to death such Protestant leaders and men of influence as Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer and Hooper, but also hundreds of lesser men who refused to adopt the Catholic faith.
{c} Puseyism: A name given by opponents to the theological and ecclesiastical principles and doctrines of Dr. Pusey and those with whom he was associated in the “Oxford Movement” for the revival of Catholic doctrine and observance in the Church of England which began about 1833; more formally and courteously called Tractarianism. OED.
The Necessity Of The Spirit’s Work
No. 251-5:209. A Sermon Delivered On Sunday Morning, May 8, 1859, By C. H. Spurgeon, At The Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.
And I will put my Spirit within you. {Ezekiel 36:27}
1. The miracles of Christ are remarkable for one fact, namely that they are all necessary.
