“That servant who knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself,
neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.”
See Luke xii. 47. From this language there is no escape. If the men of
whom we speak, say, they are not servants, then they will be condemned
for refusing to be his servants. There can be no middle ground, no
neutral ground. “He who is not for us is against us,” says the Lord.
We are not simply to do some benevolent deeds favorable to the Lord,
or to his cause, but we must be on his side, belong to him, be his;
identified with him; one with him, so that his cause is our cause, and
his will is our will. But to the mystery again: How can it be, that a
man can love the Savior, his people and cause, so as to defend them,
give his money to aid them, have confidence in them, and be pleased
with their work; but decide to stand, in relation with their enemies,
in the same state with them, and not in relation with the Lord and with
his people; in the same state with them?
What a fearful thing it is to be _against the Lord_, and to encounter
his terrible sentence: “Shall be beaten with many stripes.” Why should
a man stand in such a condition a single day? We see not how a man
could rest for an hour with such a responsibility on his soul! Why
should any man not be willing? nay, more, why should he not _seek_ to
place himself under the guidance of Him who is so wise that he can not
err, and so good that he will do all things well? What a blessedness
for man, that he can have infallible wisdom to guide him, and almighty
power to save him! How can it be possible for any well disposed man
to stand aloof from the Lord and from his divine arrangement for our
happiness, and trust to his own wisdom and his own strength, when
he could have the wisdom and power of God pledged for his security?
Why not come to the Lord; let his kind hand lead, and his gracious
providence guide in the way of life everlasting.
There were old men, too old to be on the muster roll, and boys too
young, the history informs us, who fought in the battle of Bunker
Hill, in the American Revolution. These received much praise for their
good will to the cause and the service they rendered: but they did not
belong to the army and received _no pay_. In the same way, we fear,
many of these good friends that defend the cause and even pay their
money to support it, will lose their reward, because they have never
_enlisted_. _They do not belong to the army._
Many such men have noble wives striving to serve the Lord, to train
their children in the way of righteousness and bring them to God. These
are dearer to them than life. Can they stand out in the ranks of the
enemy, and see their companions who gave them their hearts and hands in
their better days, struggling to save their precious children, and not
stand by their side, aiding and encouraging them? What a responsibility
there is here! They know their Lord’s will, and _do it not_ and _will
be beaten with many stripes_!
The Lord suffered and died for these. He hung on the ignominious
cross for them, as well as for us all, and poured out his warm
heart’s-blood to cleanse them from sin. All this appeals to them. All
the exhortations of saints, their prayers, songs, tears and solicitudes
appeal to them, by all the tender mercies of God and the infinite
compassion, to come to the Savior and live. If they resist all this,
turn their ear away from it, and, in the midst of all these entreaties,
go down to ruin, what an everlasting source of regret it will be to
look back and see what was done for them, but all in vain! “Turn you,
turn you,” says the prophet, “and live.” “You would not come to me that
you might have life,” says the Lord. “He is not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.” “The Spirit says,
Come, and the bride says, Come, and whoever will, let him take of the
water of life freely.”