III. Thirdly, according to the text, THERE IS ONE WHO SEES THIS
SPRINGING. Thou, Lord--_thou_ blessest the springing thereof.
I wish that some of us had quicker eyes to see the beginning of grace in
the souls of men; for want of this we let slip many opportunities of
helping the weaklings. If a woman had the charge of a number of children
that were not her own, I do not suppose she would notice all the
incipient stages of disease; but when a mother nurses her own dear
children, as soon as ever upon the cheek or in the eye there is a token
of approaching sickness, she perceives it at once. I wish we had just as
quick an eye, because just as tender a heart, towards precious souls. I
do not doubt that many young people are weeks and even months in
distress, who need not be, if you who know the Lord were a little more
watchful to help them in the time of their sorrow. Shepherds are up all
night at lambing time to catch up the lambs as soon as they are born,
and take them in and nurse them; and we, who ought to be shepherds for
God, should be looking out for all the lambs, especially at seasons when
there are many born into God's great fold, for tender nursing is wanted
in the first stages of the new life. God, however, when his servants do
not see "the springing thereof," sees it all.
Now, you silent, retired spirits, who dare not speak to father or
mother, or brother or sister, this text ought to be a sweet morsel to
you. "_Thou_ blessest the springing thereof," which proves that God sees
you and your new-born grace. The Lord sees the first sign of penitence.
Though you only say to yourself, "I will arise and go to my Father,"
your Father hears you. Though it is nothing but a desire, your Father
registers it. "Thou puttest my tears into thy bottle. Are they not in
thy book?" He is watching your return; he runs to meet you, and puts his
arms about you, and kisses you with the kisses of his accepting love. O
soul, be encouraged with that thought, that up in the chamber or down by
the hedge, or wherever it is that thou hast sought secrecy, God is
there. Dwell on the thought, "Thou God seest me." That is a precious
text--"All my desire is before thee;" and here is another sweet one,
"The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in them that hope in
his mercy." He can see you when you only hope in his mercy, and he takes
pleasure in you if you have only begun to fear him. Here is a third
choice word, "Thou wilt perfect that which concerneth me." Have you a
concern about these things? Is it a matter of soul-concern with you to
be reconciled to God, and to have an interest in Jesus' precious blood?
It is only "the springing thereof," but he blesses it. It is written, "A
bruised reed he will not break, and the smoking flax he will not quench,
till he bring forth judgment unto victory." There shall be victory for
you, even before the judgment-seat of God, though as yet you are only
like the flax that smokes and gives no light, or like the reed that is
broken, and yields no music. God sees the first springing of grace.
IV. A few words upon a fourth point: WHAT A MISERY IT WOULD BE, IF IT
WERE POSSIBLE, TO HAVE THIS SPRINGING WITHOUT GOD'S BLESSING!
The text says, "Thou _blessest_ the springing thereof." We must, just a
moment, by way of contrast, think of how the springing would have been
without the blessing. Suppose we were to see a revival among us without
God's blessing. It is my conviction that there are revivals which are
not of God at all, but are produced by excitement merely. If there be no
blessing from the Lord, it will be all a delusion, a bubble blown up
into the air for a moment, and then gone to nothing. We shall only see
the people stirred, to become the more dull and dead afterwards; and
this is a great mischief to the church.
In the individual heart, if there should be a springing up without God's
blessing, there would be no good in it. Suppose you have good desires,
but no blessing on these desires, they will only tantalize and worry
you; and then, after a time, they will be gone, and you will be more
impervious than you were before to religious convictions; for, if
religious desires are not of God's sending, but are caused by
excitement, they will probably prevent your giving a serious hearing to
the Word of God in times to come. If convictions do not soften they will
certainly harden. To what extremities have some been driven who have had
springings of a certain sort which have not led them to Christ! Some
have been crushed by despair. They tell us that religion crowds the
madhouse: it is not true; but there is no doubt whatever that
religiousness of a certain kind has driven many a man out of his mind.
The poor souls have felt their wound but have not seen the balm. They
have not known Jesus. They have had a sense of sin and nothing more.
They have not fled for refuge to the hope which God has set before them.
Marvel not if men do go mad when they refuse the Saviour. It may come as
a judicial visitation of God upon those men who, when in great distress
of mind, will not fly to Christ. I believe it is with some just
this--you must either fly to Jesus, or else your burden will become
heavier and heavier until your spirit will utterly fail. This is not the
fault of religion, it is the fault of those who will not accept the
remedy which religion presents. A springing up of desires without God's
blessing would be an awful thing, but we thank him that we are not left
in such a case.
V. And now I have to dwell upon THE COMFORTING THOUGHT THAT GOD DOES
BLESS "THE SPRINGING THEREOF." I wish to deal with you who are tender
and troubled; I want to show that God _does_ bless your springing. He
does it in many ways.
Frequently he does it by the cordials which he brings. You have a few
very sweet moments: you cannot say that you are Christ's, but at times
the bells of your heart ring very sweetly at the mention of his name.
The means of grace are very precious to you. When you gather to the
Lord's worship you feel a holy calm, and you go away from the service
wishing that there were seven Sundays in the week instead of one. By the
blessing of God the Word has just suited your case, as if the Lord had
sent his servants on purpose to you: you lay aside your crutches for
awhile, and you begin to run. Though these things have been sadly
transient, they are tokens for good.
On the other hand, if you have had none of these comforts, or few of
them, and the means of grace have not been consolations to you, I want
you to look upon that as a blessing. It may be the greatest blessing
that God can give us to take away all comforts on the road, in order to
quicken our running towards the end. When a man is flying to the City of
Refuge to be protected from the man-slayer, it may be an act of great
consideration to stay him for a moment that he may quench his thirst and
run more swiftly afterwards; but perhaps, in a case of imminent peril,
it may be the kindest thing neither to give him anything to eat or to
drink, nor invite him to stop for a moment, in order that he may fly
with undiminished speed to the place of safety. The Lord may be blessing
you in the uneasiness which you feel. Inasmuch as you cannot say that
you are in Christ, it may be the greatest blessing which heaven can give
to take away every other blessing from you, in order that you may be
compelled to fly to the Lord. You perhaps have a little of your
self-righteousness left, and while it is so you cannot get joy and
comfort. The royal robe which Jesus gives will never shine brilliantly
upon us till every rag of our own goodness is gone. Perhaps you are not
empty enough, and God will never fill you with Christ till you are. Fear
often drives men to faith. Have you never heard of a person walking in
the fields into whose bosom a bird has flown because pursued by the
hawk? Poor, timid thing, it would not have ventured there had not a
greater fear compelled it. All this may be so with you; your fears may
be sent to drive you more swiftly and more closely to the Saviour, and
if so, I see in these present sorrows the signs that God is blessing
"the springing thereof."
In looking back upon my own "springing" I sometimes think God blessed me
then in a lovelier way than now. Though I would not willingly return to
that early stage of my spiritual life, yet there were many joys about
it. An apple tree when loaded with apples is a very comely sight: but
give me, for beauty, the apple tree in bloom. The whole world does not
present a more lovely sight than an apple blossom. Now, a full-grown
Christian laden with fruit is a comely sight, but still there is a
peculiar loveliness about the young Christian. Let me tell you what that
blessedness is; you have probably now a greater horror of sin than
professors who have known the Lord for years; they might wish that they
felt your tenderness of conscience. You have now a graver sense of duty,
and a more solemn fear of the neglect of it, than some who are further
advanced. You have also a greater zeal than many: you are now doing your
first works for God, and burning with your first love; nothing is too
hot or too heavy for you: I pray that you may never decline, but always
advance.
And now to close. I think there are three lessons for us to learn.
First, _let older saints be very gentle and kind to young believers_.
God blesses the springing thereof--mind that you do the same. Do not
throw cold water upon young desires: do not snuff out young believers
with hard questions. While they are babes and need the milk of the Word,
do not be choking them with your strong meat; they will eat strong meat
by-and-by, but not just yet. Remember, Jacob would not overdrive the
lambs; be equally prudent. Teach and instruct them, but let it be with
gentleness and tenderness, not as their superiors, but as nursing
fathers for Christ's sake. God, you see, blesses the springing
thereof--may he bless it through you!
The next thing I have to say is, _fulfil the duty of gratitude_.
Beloved, if God blesses the springing thereof we ought to be grateful
for a little grace. If you have only seen the first shoot peeping up
through the mould be thankful, and you shall see the green blade waving
in the breeze; be thankful for the ankle-deep verdure and you shall soon
see the commencement of the ear; be thankful for the first green ears
and you shall see the flowering of the wheat, and by-and-by its
ripening, and the joyous harvest.
The last lesson is one of _encouragement_. If God blesses "the springing
thereof," dear beginners, what will he not do for you in after days? If
he gives you such a meal when you break your fast, what dainties will be
on your table when he says to you, "Come and dine"; and what a banquet
will he furnish at the supper of the Lamb! O troubled one! let the
storms which howl and the snows which fall, and the wintry blasts that
nip your springing, all be forgotten in this one consoling thought, that
God blesses your springing, and whom God blesses none can curse. Over
your head, dear, desiring, pleading, languishing soul, the Lord of
heaven and earth pronounces the blessing of the Father, and the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. Take that blessing and rejoice in it evermore. Amen.