Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Is there an "I" in your "we"? (Snippets of Spurgeon)

This portion of one of Spurgeon's sermons is taken from "Sermon VII, The Church of Christ".
(Spurgeon's text is Ezekiel 34:26 KJV.)

26And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. (Ezekiel 34:26, King James Version)

But notice, next, the personality of the blessing. "I will make them a blessing." "I will make each member of the church a blessing." Many people come up to the house of prayer, where the church assembles: and you say, "Well, what are you doing at such-and-such a place where you attend?" "Well, we are doing so-and-so." "How do you spell we?" "It is a plain monosyllable, " say you. "Yes, but do you put I in 'we?'" "No." There are a great many people who could easily spell "we" without an I in it ; for though they say, "We have been doing so-and-so," they do not say, "How much have I done? Did I do anything in it? Yes ; this chapel has been enlarged ; what did I subscribe? Twopence!" Of course it is done. Those who paid the money have done it. "We preach the gospel." Do we indeed? "Yes, we sit in our pew and listen a little, and do not pray for a blessing. We have got such a large Sunday School." Did you ever teach in it? "We have got a very good working society." Did you ever go to work in it? That is not the way to spell "we." It is, "I will make them a blessing." When Jerusalem was built, every man began nearest to his own house. That is where you must begin to build or do something. Do not let us tell a lie about it. If we do not have some share in the building, if we neither handle the trowel nor the spear, let us not talk about our church ; for the text says, "I will make them a blessing, " every one of them.
"But, sir, what can I do? I am nothing but a father at home ; I am so full of business, I can only see my children a little." But in your business, do you ever have any servants? "No ; I am a servant myself." You have fellow-servants? "No ' I work alone." Do you work alone, then, and live alone, like a monk in a cell? I don't believe that. But you have fellow-servants at work ' cannot you say a word to their conscience? "I don't like to intrude religion into the business." Quite right, too ' so say I ' when I am at business, let it be business; when you are at religion, let it be religion. But do you never have an opportunity? Why, you cannot go into an omnibus, or a railway carriage, but what you can say something for Jesus Christ. I have found it so, and I don't believe I am different from other people. Cannot do anything? Cannot you put a tract into your hat, and drop it where you go? Cannot yo uspeak a word to a child? Where does this man come from, that cannot do anything? There is a spider on the wall ; but he taketh hold on kings' palaces, and spinneth his web to rid the world of noxious flies. There is a nettle in the corner of the churchyard ; but the physician tells me it has its virtues. There is a tiny star in the sky ; but that is noted in the chart, and the mariner looks at it. There is an insect under water ; built it builds a rock. God made all these things for something ; but here is a man that God made and gave him nothing at all to do! I do not believe it. God never makes useless things; he has no superfluous workmanship. I care not what you are ; you have somewhat to do. And oh! may God show you what it its, and then make you do it, by the wonderous compulsion of his providence and his grace.
The passage quoted comes from Spurgeon's Sermons.

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