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TOPIC: Spurgeon - C.H. - Sermons from Zechariah (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 03a Zec 8:13 Once a Curse But Now a Blessing
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Delivered on Sunday Morning, December 6th, 1863, by the
Rev. C. H. SPURGEON,
At the hyperlink Newington
AS THESE WORDS CAME from the lips of Zechariah, doubtless they referred to the seed of Abraham, including the two tribes of Judah and the ten tribes of Israel. They have already received a minor fulfillment; but their most glorious accomplishment is yet to come. The Jews have for many a generation been cursed by all people. For ages no one had a good word or a kind look for the Jew. In every nation they have been persecuted, and hunted like beasts of prey. The followers of the fierce Mohammed have not been their only enemies, for the children of the Babylonian harlot have equally thirsted for their blood. In our own country, in the dark ages, it was accounted God's service to afflict the Israelites, and the day upon which the Church celebrated our Savior's passion was chosen for the public stoning of his own brethren if they ventured into the streets. To be a Jew was, in the estimation of that era, to be deserving of all scorn and cruelty, and of no pity or consideration. To what exactions, to what fines, to what imprisonments and tortures, have not the sons of Jacob been subjected by the professed followers of the Messiah. It is perhaps the greatest of all modern miracles, that there should be one Jew upon earth who is a Christian for the treatment they have received from pretended Christians has been enough to make them hate the name of Jesus; it has been not simply villainous, but diabolical. Devils in hell could not be more cruel to their victims than professed Christians have been to the sons of Abraham. They have been a curse indeed. The whole vocabulary of abuse from "dog" down to "devil" has been exhausted upon them; among all nations they have been a hissing and a bye-word. But the day is coming, yea it dawns already, when the whole world shall discern the true dignity of the chosen seed, and shall seek their company, because the Lord hath blessed them. In that day when Israel shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for their sins, the Jew shall take his true rank among the nations as an elder brother and a prince. The covenant made with Abraham, to bless all nations by his seed, is not revoked; heaven and earth shall pass away, but the chosen nation shall not be blotted out from the book of remembrance. The Lord hath not cast away his people; he has never given their mother a bill of divorcement; he has never put them away; in a little wrath he hath hidden his face from them, but with great mercies will he gather them. The natural branches shall again be engrafted into the olive together with the wild olive graftings from among the Gentiles. In the Jew, first and chiefly, shall grace triumph through the King of the Jews. O time, fly thou with rapid wing, and bring the auspicious day.
You can clearly understand the text now in its literal signification without another word of exposition—"As ye have been a curse among all nations, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing."
I. UNCONVERTED MEN ARE A CURSE. This they are positively, for every unconverted man, no matter what may be his moral character, adds in his degree to the amount of evil in the world—he adds another handful of leaven to leaven the whole lump, another breath of death-bearing wind to scatter the plague of sin among the sons of men. Every unrenewed heart casts another stone upon the heap of iniquity, and assists the rising Babel of rebellion to lift its head more proudly. As I see the ungodly advancing one by one, I hear the prince of darkness cry, "Here comes another soldier to swell the ranks of evil, another lance for Satan, and another sword for the powers of evil." To the black banner every man that is unconverted is a recruit. Let him do as he may and think as he will, he that is not with Christ is against him, he that is not for the right is on the side of the wrong. How is the body corporate of humanity poisoned more and more as each man adds his grain of evil! How is the torrent swollen with another and another stream! A deluge of iniquity is but a collection of all the contributions from every fountain of the great deep. Every graceless spirit binds another millstone about the neck of the human race to sink it to the lowest hell. Every sinner is a positive mischief-maker in the world. He is a deadly upas—every feat distilling poison. It is impossible that it should be otherwise, for as a black and filthy fountain must send forth unclean streams, so by a law of nature, as long as man is himself evil he must do evil. One sinner destroyeth much good, and whatever sort of sinner he may be, whether his sin be written on his forehead, or only carried concealed in his right hand, he infects the world with evil. The sinner is a curse, then, because he adds to the positive evil in the world.
Even when the ungodly man dies he hath not finished his evil work. His life may be over, but the moral death caused by his life still continues. As the tree that hath borne evil fruit sendeth to the winds its seeds and these are buried in their appointed places, where young saplings spring up to become a forest of evil, so is it with the ungodly man—his words and his example, like seeds in the ground, germinate and bring forth the like in other men. Like produceth like. His children in nature and spirit arise after him, and these prolong the echo of the dreadful curse which his life has pronounced upon the race. He cannot stay that curse even if he would, it is given to the course of time as a feather to the wind, and on it must go for ever. Those saplings which sprang from him as from the parent tree will all grow into death-yielding trees, and these will scatter their seeds, and so on, and on, and on, as long as the human race lasts—nay, even in eternity the victims of his sin lie in torment and blaspheme God world without end, so that his curse is an everlasting curse, and the evil which he does lives on when he himself sleeps with the clods of the valley. The ungodly man is everlastingly a positive curse.
This is true of every unconverted man. Many of you moral men, whose lives are admirable, have not your hearts right with God. What is the lesson that men learn from your conversation? Why, when the infidel wants to prove that there may be goodness apart from religion, he quotes you, as an argument against the word of God, and against the necessity of a new heart and a right spirit. Have not many in your own position been hardened in their halt between two opinions by your example? Young people say, "There is Mrs. So-and-so, and Mr. This-and-that, what good people they are, and yet they have never given their hearts to God. "Surely," say they, "such people must know, and if there were anything in religion, they would certainly have followed in the right road, and have put their trust in Christ." The better you are, the more do I deplore that you should be upon the wrong side. If my country were at war, it would be very little comfort to me to know that my enemies were good soldiers. Nay, I had rather that they were bad ones; for there were then the more hope of overcoming them. The weight of your character makes it the more sad that it should be thrown into the scale of self-righteousness. I say, the very excellence of your morals renders it a more serious crime that you should not take your stand with Christ, the lover of holiness. Thou doest mischief, I am sure. Possibly, there is a measure of moral good effected by thine example, but there is a more abundant spiritual evil, because many stop where thou stoppest; being affected by thine example, they halt at thy halting place, and as thou wilt perish except thou be born again, so will they, and the blood of their souls will lie at thy door, because thine example was a curse to them.
Perhaps there are few such here, therefore let us be brief upon that point. It is the same with the sinner who makes ungodly men his associates—he is a curse. You do not drink as they do, you say, nor go to their excess of riot, nor curse with their curses, but yet you herd with them. You make them your associates, and, if you want a little pleasure, you seek their acquaintance. Sir, you are a curse; you are a curse to these men. I will not say you make them sinful, but I must say you add to their comfort in their sin. They see such as you are with them, and as association always hardens the sinner, they grow more confirmed in evil. Many a drinking club would break up if it were not for the two or three sensible men in it, and yet what is the effect of their morality? Not so much to check the others as to keep the whole together, and put a respectable face upon mischief. You who lie in the same bed with the wicked, must take care when God smites the house, that you do not perish in its overthrow. You that eat at their feasts, and drink of their cups, and laugh at their jokes, and revel in their vices, and take pleasure in their wantonness, mind when the Lord spreads his net to take these foul birds, he will take you in the same net, and award you a portion with those that were his enemies.
But now, I hear another say, "Well now, I do not come under the description of immoral, nor yet of those who spread infidel principles and practices." Ah, but, still you may be a curse, if you have an evil spirit towards religion. There are some who say but little, but who hate the very name of Christ. Even if they hold their tongues, that shrug of the shoulder, that look, that cold, heartless reception which they give to the truth, must infallibly be observed by others. Children, and those round about them, cannot help detecting what they are and who they are, and they will thus become very successful servants of the Prince of darkness. O dear friends, I fear that some of you know in your own conscience, without any words of mine, that hitherto your lives have been no blessing to your fellows, but rather, wherever you have gone, you have been a curse.
II. But secondly, here is a gracious promise made that THEY SHALL BE A BLESSING.
Does not the Christian aid in every good work? He is no Christian if he does not. If there be an hospital, does he not delight as much to contribute towards the relief of sickness of the body, as for the removal of disease of the soul? If education be needed by the lower classes, who shall be found to teach in the Sunday-school, and who will support institutions on the week-day more readily than Christian men? Anything which is pure and lovely, and of good repute in this world, owes, if not its origin, yet its main support to the godliness of believers. No one shall be able to estimate how much the presence of a good man in the State is a preventative as well as a cure. It prevents the breaking out or the more frightful forms of vice, or else drives it into seclusion, and makes it hide its head for very shame. The Christian I believe, is to a nation, one of the greatest temporal blessings which God can send to it.
Such a man, even if he has been an infidel, becomes a blessing now—sometimes most a blessing to those to whom he was most a curse. Now he refutes himself; now his own example becomes the best answer to his former false teaching; now his love to Jesus is observed and noticed—all those whom he taught to hate the Lord, will help to adore his sacred person. And if the man has been through and through of a bad spirit, though he hath not openly spoken against the things of God, yet when converted, how serviceable he becomes, for even if he be almost silent, and can say but little, yet, as the bad spirit oozed through him, so now the Spirit of God will shine through him. There shall be a difference about his very face; and the manner of his walk and conversation shall be such that it will betray him; out of the midst of him shall flow rivers of living water, whereof multitudes shall drink. No matter, O Christians, how poor you may be, or how ignorant you are, or how little of influence you may have, you are and shall be a blessing, if God gives you a new heart and a right spirit.
III. The third point was, HOW IS ALL THIS TO BE BROUGHT ABOUT? How is the man who was a curse to be made a blessing? Can he do it himself? Rests there a power in human will, that by the magic of its might, men who were once a curse may be made a blessing? Ah no! this abideth not in the creature, but with the Creator. So runs the text: "I will save you." You that have been a curse, "I will save you." Swearer, drunkard, whoremonger, whoever thou mayst be, "I will save thee, to show what sovereign grace can do:" "I will save thee, and make thee a blessing." But thou sayest, "How then may I be saved?" Salvation from sin is one, but yet it is a salvation from sin in two senses—from the guilt of it, and from the power of it. Sinner, cursed of God, and cursing others, all the sin that thou hast done can be blotted out. No matter, though it be red like scarlet, it may be as wool; and, though it be as crimson, God can make it whiter than snow. In a moment all thy sin can pass away, so that if it were sought for it could not be found; yea, though an inquisition were made to search it out, yet could it not be discovered. And this can be done by the blood, the precious blood of Jesus. Jesus the substitute, the Son of God, and yet the Son of Man, took the sins of all believers upon himself, and suffered the punishment of all their sins.
Hath a complete atonement made;
And justice never can expect
That the same debt should twice be paid."
If thou believest, that is, if thou trustest in Christ, all the sin thou hast ever done was laid upon Christ. Thy believing is the sign and mark of this; and henceforth thou hast no sin, thy sin is gone; thou art an accepted and pardoned man. Nay more, thou art justified. The righteousness of Christ is thine; and in the sight of God thou standest accepted in the beloved. And all this is to be had by the simple act of trusting. Whosoever thou mayst be, "He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved." But then thou sayest, "But how can I be delivered from the power of sin? If all my past sins were forgiven, yet I might go back and do as before, and so remain as vile as ever." Yes, there is power in the Holy Ghost to make a new man of you. He can put into your heart the holy influences of grace, so that though you naturally go towards evil, you shall by supernatural influence go towards the right. He shall give you that fiery motion, which, as the flame always ascends towards heaven, shall make your heart ascend towards holiness. He shall subdue in you the powers of evil which now reign, shall keep your sins under your feet, and eventually cast them out for ever, and make you perfect before the Lord.
IV. And then comes the last point. The text GIVES A WORD OR TWO OF ENCOURAGEMENT from this—"Let your hands be strong: fear not."
"TYPE=PICT;ALT= "Though you have been a curse until now, yet, if you sincerely desire to be made a blessing, and if the Holy Spirit has made you willing to accept the perfect righteousness of Christ, and to be washed in his most precious blood, then "fear not." Let not conscience make you fear; God will answer to your conscience, the blood of Christ shall purge it from dead works. Let not a sense of divine justice make you fear, Christ has satisfied divine justice, and justice is your friend. Let not the remembrance of past sins make you fear; they shall be cast into the depths of the sea—not one of them shall rise to accuse you. Let not the thoughts of judgment make you fear; you shall have an advocate at the last great day to plead your cause. Fear not, but, come and welcome. Christ invites you by his wounds; the Father bids you come and trust his only-begotten Son. He earnestly entreats you to come unto him and live. "Fear not," saith he; and if doubts and fears stand at the door to keep thee from coming, yet dash thou forward through them all, saying—"God has bid me fear not, and, therefore, will I not fear, but boldly venture upon the finished work of Christ; and if I perish, I perish." "Let your hands be strong," especially the hand with which you grasp the Savior. Lay hold upon him, sinner. O may the Spirit of God help you to lay hold upon him now! "Let your hands be strong." Grasp him. Lay hold on eternal life. As a sinking man lays hold upon the rope that is cast to him, so lay hold on Christ. It is now or never with thee. If Christ save thee not, thou art damned for ever. Grasp him, then. He passes by. He may never pass this way again. This morning he comes in mercy to thee to turn thee, thou cursed one, into a blessing. Grasp him. Even as Jacob laid hold upon the angel, lay thou hold on Christ; and if he struggle with thee, and seem as though he would not bless thee, say unto him—
'Tis thy goodness makes me bold;
I can no denial take,
Pity me for thy love's sake."
O for strong hands to grasp the Savior! Let your hands be strong to lay hold on his promises. They are such as these—"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." "Whosoever cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him." Lay hold on these; take them before God and say to him, "Canst thou lie? Canst thou be untrue? If thou be true, keep this promise to me. Hast thou not said, 'As thou hast been a curse, so I will make thee a blessing?' I have been a curse—I own it. I lament it. Make me a blessing, Lord. By the sufferings of Jesus—by the agony and bloody sweat—by his cross and passion—by his precious death and burial—make me a blessing, Lord: Thou hast but to speak the word, and I, even I, shall repent. Thou hast but to will it, and I shall behold thy face in Christ, and believe in him. Thy Spirit is not to be resisted; send him forth to raise my dead soul from the grave. Come and work with me. Turn the lion to a lamb, the raven to a dove." Sinner, if thou canst believe that God will do it, he will do it; for anything thou wilt believe of him, however high and great, he can do and will do, for he will never let thy faith be in excess of his power—his unbounded power. Trust in him; rest upon him. God help thee to do it, and may these poor stammering words of mine, by their very weakness, be fitted for thy conversion, because my Master's glory shall shine the better through my weakness, and his power to save shall be the more resplendent because of my feeble words. If it be so, I would sooner be dumb than speak with the tongues of men and angels, if he were not to be honored. Father, glorify Jesus! Glorify him now in bringing some who have been a curse, to the making of them a blessing, for his name's sake. Amen.