Strength

Husks of Men. — There is scarce a man alive now upon this earth; there are plenty to be found who call themselves men, but they are the husks of men, the life has gone from them, the precious kernel seems to have departed. The littleness of Christians of this age results from the littleness of their consecration to Christ. The age of John Owen was the day of great preachers; but let me tell you, that that was the age of great consecration. Those great preachers whose names we remember, were men who counted nothing their own; they were driven out from their benefices, because they could not conform to the established church, and they gave up all they had willingly to the Lord. They were hunted from place to place; the disgraceful five-mile act would not permit them to come within five miles of any market town; they wandered here and there to preach the gospel to a few poor sinners, being fully given up to their Lord. Those were foul times; but they promised they would walk the road, fair or foul, and they did walk it knee deep in mud; and they would have walked it if it had been knee deep in blood too. They became great men; and if we were, as they were, wholty given up to God — if we could say of ourselves, “From the crown of my head to the sole of my foot, there is not a drop of blood that is not wholly God’s; all my time, all my talents, every thing I have is God’s” — if we could say that, we should be strong like Samson for the consecrated must be strong. Consecration Source of Strength. — The strongest man in all the world is a consecrated man? Even tho he may consecrate himself to a wrong object, yet if it be a thorough consecration, he will have strength — strength for evil, it may be, but still strength. In the old Roman wars with Pyrrhus, you remember an ancient story of self-devotion. There was an oracle which said that victory would attend that army whose leader should give himself up to death. Decius, the Roman consul, knowing this, rushed into the thickest of the battle, that his army might overcome by his dying. The prodigies of valor which he performed are proofs of the power of consecration. The Romans at that time seemed to be every man a hero, because every man was a consecrated man. They went to battle with this thought — “I will conquer or die; the name of Rome is written on my heart; for my country I am prepared to live, or for that to shed my blood.” And no enemies could ever stand against them. If a Roman fell there were no wounds in his back, but all in his breast. His face, even in cold death, was like the face of a lion, and when looked upon it was of terrible aspect. They were men consecrated to their country; they were ambitious to make the name of Rome the noblest word in human language; and consequently the Roman became a giant. And to this day let a man get a purpose within him, I care not what his purpose is, and let his whole soul be absorbed by it, and what will he not do? You that are “every thing by turns and nothing long,” that have nothing to live for, soulless carcases that walk this earth and waste its air, what can you do? Why nothing. But the man who knows what he is at, and has his mark, speeds to it “like an arrow from a bow shot by an archer strong.” Nought can turn him from his design. How much more is this true if I limit the description to that which is peculiar to the Christian — consecration to God! Oh! what strength that man has who is dedicated to God!

Strength in Consecration. — I have seen a Christian woman most useful in a class, bringing to the Savior many of the girls whom she has taught; but on a sudden a change has come, there have been no conversions, and for years the class has dwindled away, and nothing has come of it. If enquiry were to be made, it would be found that the consecration of the teacher had declined. She no longer spoke with tearful eye and earnest heart, seeking to lead those girls to Christ; and because her consecration was gone, her strength was gone.

Our Strength in God. — Listen to a parable: — A certain young man traded, and in all things he prospered for a while. In all his dealings he was wise and prudent, and none were able to overreach him. The cause of his wis dom was that he had a father, a man of singular knowledge, of great experience, of large wealth, and great influence. His son never entered upon a transaction with out consulting his fathr. Whenever he felt himself at all in difficulty, he hastened to ask counsel of his father. Whenever he needed money to meet a sudden demand, he drew upon his father. Their love to each other was more and more manifest as the one trusted and the other helped. Does anybody wonder that the young man grew rich? But after a while the son grew cold towards his father, and seldom advised with him. There was no quarrel, but the young man was growing independent of his father, and preferred to act upon his own judgment. He failed to ask and to receive substantial help, which would have been freely given; and he fell into great losses, which might readily have been avoided. The young man became weak as others; he was the prey of deceivers; he spent labor and thought and substance upon matters which ended in failure; he grew poorer and poorer, till he trembled on the verge of bankruptcy.

Do you wonder? Do you pity him? Do you see in him your own portrait? If so, take ample warning now and change it all, and say of your heavenly Father: He is my friend and counselor, and to him as to no one else I do continually resort.

Strong When God Leads. — When a clan of Highlanders was led to battle by their chief he had only to show them the enemy and with one tremendous shout they leaped upon them like lions. It is so with the people of God. When God is with us then we are strong, resolute, determined. The charge of the servants of God is as the rush of a hurricane against a bowing wall and a tottering fence. In God is our confidence of victory. With God present no man’s heart fails him; o doubt enters the host.

Strength Distributing Sweetness. — I have before now met with that popular artist Gustave Dore”, and suggested subjects to him. Had he survived among us, and had another opportunity occurred, I would have pressed him to execute a statue of Samson handing out the honey; strength distributing sweetness; and it might have served as a perpetual reminder of what a Christian should be — a Conqueror and a Comforter, slaying lions and distributing honey.

Strength Through Weakness. — A man is never lost until ho is devoid of all strength. See you the mariner who has fallen from the ship? As long as those brawny arms of his can stem the current, as long as he can buffet the waves and hurl them aside with the strong heart of resistance, he gives up nought for lost. Ay, and should his arms become weary, if he can float a little, and with one hand move himself amid the billows of the deep, he still thinks it is not all over yet. And while there is one particle of strength remaining his hopes are too buoyant to give himself up for a lost man. Suppose him to have grasped a spar; as long as ever those hands of his can, with a death-clutch, keep hold of that floating piece of timber, he does not consider himself lost. Fond hope still whispers in his ear, “Hold on, thou art not lost yet; some ship may cross this way, Providence may guide its path hither, and thou mayest yet be delivered. Hold on, thou art not lost while a sinew retains its might, while there is any vital force in thy frame.” So, soul, thou canst never say thou art lost till thou feelest in thy heart an utter departure of all thy strength. Hast thou been brought to feel that there is nothing which of thyself thou canst do apart from the strength of the Holy Spirit? There was a time when thou couldst pray, when thou couldst repent, when thou couldst believe after thine own fashion with thine own supposed strength: is that time all passed over now? Art thou saying, “I have no power to do any one of those things without grace from on high! I would, but can not pray; I would, but can not repent; this strong heart will not dissolve, altho I strive to melt it; this haughty mind will resist the Savior, altho I wish to be led in chains of grace a willing captive to my Lord?” Art thou brought to feel that if thy salvation depended upon one motion of thy soul in the right direction thou must be lost, for thou hast no spiritual strength? Art thou lying down shorn of all thy might, bereft of all help and hope in thyself; and dost thou confess, “I can do nothing without thee?” Well, then, thou art one of those whom Christ has come to save.