result than we have yet seen, and he will gather others besides those that have been gathered unto him. My brethren, can your eyes look beyond the firmament and see the invisible? If so, mark that hard by the blazing throne of the Eternal there stands a man who is more than a man : "Adoring saints around him stand, And thrones and powers before him fall; But how is this glorious One occupied? He is making intercession and pleading for his redeemed. "He is able, therefore, to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." So long as there is an intercessor at the throne of God there must be more sinners to be saved. If all were brought in he would cease his pleading, but while there is still a soul ignorant or out of the way the great High Priest will continue to urge his suit before the Eternal Majesty. More souls must be brought in, for Jesus lives to plead for that end. : Nor is this all, for we are sure that these purposes of grace are not yet fully accomplished, because the Spirit of God is with us still. He abides in the church, and he has come to convince men of sin there must be more souls to be convinced. He has come to quicken men, and abides here, and therefore there must be more dead sinners to be quickened, or else his mission would be ended. There must be more to whom the things of Christ are to be revealed, or else the Spirit would not linger here as our Illuminator. The Spirit has not gone away; in many of us he abides, and we feel his power; the presence of the Spirit is a sure token that the promise is not spent; it is still full of meaning, and others must yet be gathered beside those that are gathered unto him. Nor is this all. The glory and majesty of the gospel, or rather the greatness of the glory of God in the gospel, demands that many more should be gathered than have as yet been enfolded in the church. At the largest computation, the Christian church of the present day is a poor minority of mankind; and we do not believe it to be consistent with the majestic purposes of grace that at the winding up of affairs there should be a handful of saved ones against an awful multitude of the lost. No, in all things Jesus shall have the pre-eminence, and he will have it in this also, that his saved ones shall exceed the lost: this is our hope and confidence. Multitudes, multitudes, multitudes beyond all conception are yet to be brought to Messiah's feet, they shall fly as a cloud, they shall hasten as doves to their dovecotes, they shall advance in strength like waves of the sea, and they shall cover the earth, being as the sand on the seashore, innumerable. One other argument I put last, though it is not so strong as it might be. It may seem to be an anti-climax to finish with the weakest reason, but then it is one that needs to be made stronger, and because I want each believer here to strengthen it, I place it last, that it may not be forgotten. I know there must be many more souls to be ingathered because of the longings of the saints. They are not satisfied unless they see conversions; they are anxious to hear the cry of penitents. I wish they had far stronger longings and more intense anxieties. I know some Christians who are far too comfortable,-inhumanly insensible I call it, though even their own children are not converted. True saints are hungry and thirsty after souls; till men are saved they cannot rest. Nay, it has come to be with some of us far more than a longing or a thirsting, it has sharpened and deepened down into the very pangs of birth for souls. Many saints travail for souls; their hearts are in anguish until Christ be formed in others the hope of glory. Beloved, you know that when Zion travails she brings forth children: this therefore is a token for good,— there are more souls to be gathered, for God must hear prayer, and many are praying. Do not his elect cry day and night unto him? Will he not hear them? Are there not multitudes of ministers, teachers, and all sorts of workers hunting for souls with heavenly ardour, and giving God no rest day nor night till he bring in the outcasts. There must, therefore, be many more souls to be gathered. One thing I know, the church needs more conversions. We never prosper as a church unless we have a fresh stream of young blood running into us. Mark an old church with no converts, and see how diseased it is. It generally sours down into a crotchetty, ill-tempered, bigoted little clique, of very little use in the world, wanting rather a pair of crutches with which to totter about its own floor than a sword with which to fight the foe. The church needs young blood in its viens. Our strength for holding the faith may lie in experienced saints but our zeal for propagating it must be found in the young. We greatly need that new converts should be added to us, and therefore because we need it, and we feel confident that our God will supply all our need, we feel sure that he will increase us with men as with a flock. To keep his church alive and vigorous, he will lay hold upon Sauls and make Pauls of them. May this church be set on fire by the burning love of new-born souls. Though we have enjoyed a constant increase for nearly twenty-five years, may the Lord give us a far larger addition. It is his promise, let us plead it. Others besides those that have been gathered unto him we will ask him to give us; and just in proportion, my beloved brethren and sisters, as you and I begin to trouble about this, groan about it, pray about it, and cry about it, the Lord will fulfil his gracious promise, and others shall be gathered beside those that are gathered to him. IV. I finish, therefore, with the fourth head, which is THE CONDUCT CONSISTENT WITH THIS PROMISE. Let us view this question with reference to God's people, I have already trenched upon that topic. The conduct congruous to the promise is to believe it, and then to pray about it. Let us at once get together in little knots of twos and threes, and seek to have the word fulfilled. This very afternoon enter into your chambers alone, or gather your families and hold little prayer-meetings with them. Remember this promise, and speak with the Lord concerning it. Perhaps you have not noticed its gracious utterances before, but now that it has come under your eye, be sure you make use of it. If a man finds that a cheque has been lying by him for a good while, and he comes upon it while turning over his letters, what will he do to-morrow morning? Why, he will go and get it cashed. Now, here is one of my Master's bills which you have not yet turned into actual money. Go and take it to the Lord; take it to-day, for the bank of heaven is open at this moment-when is it closed? Go and get the word fulfilled unto you by praying, "Lord, thou hast said, Yet will I gather others that have not been gathered," therefore fulfil this word unto thy servant. Having done this, you will have lifted up your hand to the Lord, and you cannot go back. If you pray, you must work, for prayer without endeavour is hypocrisy the next thing after prayer is to go and gather in the others by speaking to them concerning Jesus and the way of salvation by faith in his precious blood. Go and use the grand gospel means, and then, because God has promised it, expect to see others gathered. Do not be thunderstruck when you hear of many being converted on a certain Sabbath through your speaking of Jesus Christ. Expect it-wonder that it does not happen oftener; and be on the look out for coming souls. Look out for them this morning. My Master has gathered some while I have been speaking, I feel sure of that. These new converts will feel quite lonely ere long unless you speak to them. They are like little children that are just born, and they need tender nursing; find them out and nurse them for the Lord and he will give you your wages. Try and speak a word of encouragament to those who for the first time are found hovering near the gospel; do not drive them away, but cheer them on. "Oh, but I am afraid I shall not find them." If you speak so you will not find them; but if you are hopeful and believing you will find them fast enough, for they abound in these parts. Has not the Lord said that he will gather? Then be sure he will. You have asked him to fulfil his word, have you not? Then he will do it, beyond all doubt. Find out the hopeful ones, hear their troubles, and help them in their difficulties. I am anxious that now, and for many months to come, all of you who are in Christ should be dwelling hourly on this word, and be continually saying, "Where are these others?" The Lord said, "Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered." Where are these others? Perhaps at this time they have not come to this Tabernacle at all-they may be at some other house of prayer. Bless the Lord when other churches have their full share of increase, and souls are gathered into their ranks. But perhaps those whom the Lord will ingather are not at this time in any place of worship: go and find them in their homes and haunts. There are others to be gathered, look after the others. The first question of a saved man should be, "What can I do for my Lord?" and the next should be, "What can I do for others?" The more he knows Christ, and the greater his love, and the higher his enjoyment, the more should he cry, "Where are the others? What can I do for the others?" I am sure if you were all starving and ready to perish with famine, and I were to come with a good store of bread and call out half-a-dozen of you, and give you a good meal in the vestry, as soon as ever you had been fed you would cry, "Pray think of others. Thousands out there are starving, even as we were; pray give us bread for them as well as for ourselves." How pleased you would be, each one, to go out and say, "There is a meal for all of you. There is no stint, you may eat to the full,-come along." If they rejected your message you would feel very grieved, and you would plead with them-"Look at us, we have been fed: do not die here, but come and be fed also." Some one would reply, "It is not good meat," and you would answer, "Taste and see." If one of you had a wife, and she was hungry, but would not believe you, and come to the feast, you would plead with her even unto tears, and fear that she was insane. If you had children that would not come, and were dying with hunger, I think I know how their mothers would weep over them; how they would seek with loving entreaties to turn them from their infatuation and be induced to feed upon the bread so lovingly provided. We would not let them die if The case is much the same love could persuade them to be wise. spiritually let us show a like earnestness. As to what conduct is consistent with this text on the part of those who have not yet been gathered, it will be clear that they should be encouraged to hope. If I were a thief, and I read of the dying thief who rejoiced to see the fountain of atoning blood in his day, I would rejoice too and say, "If one thief was cleansed, why not another? Why not I? In the Bible are cases of very great sinners who nevertheless were washed from all their sins; I am like them in their sins, why should not I be as they were. More outcasts have to be gathered, then why not I amongst them? What should shut me out? I will go and try." In earthly things men seek promotion even when the hope is small. In the case of a vacancy in the Civil Service, I have heard of eight hundred applying for one situation. This was a poor chance, and yet many go in for it. But here we know that others are to be gathered, and those others not ones nor twos but thousands-why, then, should not a seeking soul put in for it? There never was one that did seek the Lord by faith who was refused yet. Never a single soul! He who comes to Jesus by a simple faith has never yet been refused. Come, my friend! Come now to Jesus! If he should cast you away, you will be number one upon the black list. We will place you here in the Tabernacle in a conspicuous seat, and we will show you as the first sinner that our Lord Jesus could not save. See, we will say, "Here is the first man that came to Jesus and Jesus rejected him." I shall alter all my preaching, for when I preach I shall say, "Jesus will in no wise cast out any that come to him, except one, and that one man sits in the Tabernacle." I shall tell them when I am preaching at Leeds during this week that Jesus Christ receives all sinners except one man, who was cast out at the Tabernacle last Sunday. I warrant you I will make your name ring round the world; the saints shall know it in heaven, and the devils will soon know it in hell, and they will triumph over the defeated Saviour. Why, man, you would be the first proof that God was not true, and that Christ was not gracious, and his blood is not omnipotent. Shall this ever be? know better. Come along, and try the Saviour now! Rejected you shall never be. Oh that you would this morning yield to the gentle drawing of his almighty love. May you, dear brothers and sisters, be amongst those who shall say, "It is true, it is true that he gathers other outcasts, for he has gathered me into his fold, and I bless his sovereign grace, his irresistible love, and will bless him for ever and ever." Amen. You PORTIONS OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON-Psalm cxlvii.; Isaiah lvi. HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK "-907, 956, 508. THE HOPE LAID UP IN HEAVEN. A Sermon DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, OCTOBER 13THI, 1878, BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON. "For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel."-Colossians i. 5. THREE graces should be always conspicuous in Christians-faith, love, and hope. They are each mentioned by Paul in the opening verses of the epistle from which our text is taken. These lovely graces should be so conspicuous in every believer as to be spoken of, and consequently heard of even by those who have never seen us. These flowers should yield so sweet a perfume that their fragrance may be perceived by those who have never gazed upon them. So was it with the saints at Colosse. Paul says, "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven.' May our characters be such as can be reported of without causing us to blush; but that can never be the case if these essential virtues are absent. If these things be in us and abound we shall not be barren or unfruitful, but if they be lacking we are as withered branches. We should, therefore, be rich in faith, which is the root of every grace; and to this end we should daily pray, "Lord, increase our faith." We should strive to be full even to overflowing with love, which is of God, and makes us like to God; and we should also abound in hope, even that heavenly hope which causeth a man to purify himself in readiness for the inheritance above. See ye to it that neither of these three divine sisters are strangers to your souls, but let faith, hope, and love take up their abode in your hearts. Note, however, the special character of each of these graces as it exists in the Christian. It is not every faith and love and hope that will serve our turn, for of all precious things there are counterfeits. There is a kind of faith in all men, but ours is faith in Christ Jesus, faith in him whom the world rejects, whose cross is a stumblingblock, and whose doctrine is an offence. We have faith in the man of Nazareth, who is No. 1,438. |