“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater: and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: than whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? so is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”―Luke 12:16-2116And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16‑21).
CLEARLY from the circumstances described here, the subject of this scene must have been in his counting-house cogitating what he should do. “And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?” You say, What part of the building was his counting-house? I believe it was his bed. That is a splendid place in which to think. There is no better time for thinking than just ere your eyelids close in sleep, or when you awake through the hours of the night.
Friend, will you think, when next you are in your bed, of where you are going to spend your eternity? Ere you close your eyelids in slumber tonight, let me ask you, Will you think seriously of where you will spend eternity? What views have you for eternity? How will you spend it? What is your relation to God? If this should be the last night of your life, where will you spend eternity? Think on these things. Ponder them. They are worthy of consideration. But these were not the subjects of grave consideration with the rich man on that night. He thought within himself, saying, “What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?” All his barns were crammed to the roof. His storehouses were filled to bursting. He knew not where to put the incoming goods, with which God had so richly blessed him. What a strange thing, you say. Were there no poor round about to whom he might minister? Was there no Lazarus at his door? Were there no needy ones on all hands? Ah, my friends, these things did not disturb him, for the man lived only for himself; and have not you, friend, till now? The center and pivot round which he circled was self He was self-surrounded, self-governed, and self-indulgent, I do not doubt.
Now, as he says “What shall I do?” a wonderful scheme opens up before his mind. Does it concern the poor and the needy on every hand to whom he could give the surplus? Ah, no that is not the thought. “And he said, This will I do; I will pull down my barns, and build greater.” Before his mind’s eye, in the darkness of that night, as he lay there, what does he see? The old barns removed, the old granaries set aside, and the ground cleared. He has fixed upon his architect. Me has gest the measurements, and plans, before his mind’s eye, and he sees pile after pile of palatial storehouses rise, and into these greater barns he already sees the goods which God was giving him, stored and packed away, for “there,” he now says, “I will bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”
Now, my friend, tell me, did you ever hear such a soliloquy? Have you ever put yourself beside this man? I daresay many of you have not gone exactly the same road, but you have planned out your future for not a little while. You have determined what you will do next, and next, and so forth. Perhaps some of it has come to pass. God has let you increase in the things of this life, and you have got on, as this man no doubt had got on. But stop, what about the salvation of your soul? What about that which is due to the Lord? What about the claims of the Lord? Ah! the Lord has been left out entirely. God has had no place, no part in your plans. God has not been in your thoughts. So it was with this man.
Take a good look at him as he says, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” I think I see him as he closes his eyelids. A smile of placid contentment has come over his face, as he says Soul, I have arranged everything satisfactorily and have made provision for many years. Think of it! “For many years.” Eternity he left out of his calculations entirely. How many are like him? There was a man living last Sunday night, and arranging for things to go on far into the future; but yesterday he was buried. Many a man has gone into eternity since this night week, unprepared― unconverted― unblessed― unsaved, because unbelieving and unregenerate.
Look at the folly, the audacity of this worldling, spreading himself out for the future! Sinner, see thyself. See the guilt of this lost soul, as with untouched conscience, and in disregard of God he says, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;”― “much goods!”― “many years!” “Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” Watch him closely and note what happens. His eye closes, and he passes into slumber, contented with all, looking forward to a great future of “many years” of carnal enjoyment.
But that night an unwelcome visitor intrudes on the scene. He does not expect him. No, he is an unexpected, unwanted, unlooked-for visitor; and you say, Who is it? Ah! it is death. He wakes with the dew of death upon his brow; and he hears the voice of God laying to his guilty and godless soul, “Fool.” What wakes him? The voice of God. Oh, man, may it wake you tonight. Sinner, may it wake you. And what does God say, to this unsaved, selfish soul, who has got his plans for the future so well laid? “Fool!”
Young man, you have sketched out your lift, have you not? Listen. God speaks: “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.” Oh, my friends, what a change that word effects! What amazement takes possession of that man’s soul. His eyes are closed, but, as he listens, he hears the voice of God, saying, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall these things be, which, thou hast provided?” My dear friend, God may so speak to thee this night. But, thank God, you are yet in the land of the living; and if you are only thinking of the future for this life, may God cause you to hear His own blessed voice speaking to your soul, and also cause everything to give way to this momentous question―What is the state of your soul, and where will you spend eternity?
You may have a lease of your house; but you have no lease of your life. Your soul belongs to God, and this night, if God says the word, the soul will go back to God. But what about that soul? Is it still steeped in sin? Is it yet black in iniquity, or is it washed in the blood of the Saviour? Let me inquire most affectionately and earnestly. Let me implore you now to hear the word of God. Do not fall into the devil’s trap as did this poor man. I label this scene MISCALCULATION, because I cannot get any better word to describe what is true of many souls today. It is a scene of downright miscalculation. Why? Because the man was making his plans, and all alone he left God out, and nothing came to pass as he had planned. Oh! sinner, you too have left God out. I know you have your plans as to what you are going to do tomorrow. Possibly the new house you are about to build, the new business you are going into, the new situation you have got, wholly engage your attention, and you have made your plans for a good long time to come― “many years,” in fact. “Much goods” to be enjoyed, and “many years” to be spent in their enjoyment, is what the rich farmer pictured to himself, and the next thing he found was that he was in hell. He passed from time into eternity. The last word he heard upon earth, was the word of God addressed to him, “Thou fool!”
What kind of a fool was he? Scripture speaks’ of many classes of fools. He was the representative of a very large class of fools that live in the world today. They must be called the eternity-neglecting fools. There are many such fools in this town, and some of them are in this hall tonight. I mean you, my friend, you! You know it yourself. You are not saved. You are not converted. I suppose the interests of your immortal soul have not given you ten serious moments of consideration all your life. You have occupied all your time with getting on, and enjoying yourself in this world. Your aim has been to get a place in the world. Yes, you say, but we must work. I know that, and I conclude that this man was not born, as men say, with a silver spoon in his mouth.
I suppose he had to work hard, and the blessing of the Lord was with him. But what took place then? He did not acknowledge God. He did not turn round to God in thankfulness. He had no sense of the expression of God’s love towards him. He had no sense of the goodness of God. He was not rich toward God, as the giver of every good.
Now, you may think it a serious charge that I lay against you. It is not I. I do not lay it. “So is he,” says the Lord, “that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” I remember perfectly well a servant of God speaking from this chapter some two and thirty years ago. I shall never forget a little sentence that dropped from his lips, as he came to this part of the chapter, “I suppose, my friends,” he said, “there is not one here tonight, but would rather have a ten-pound note than a five-pound note. Yes, and God says, ‘Thou fool.’” Weighty words were these, and should speak to you, if you are not content with what the Lord has given you.
But now tell me, What shall a man gain if he lose his own soul? Is your soul saved? That is the question. Have you yet learned the value of that soul, because what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? It is really the most important part of you. It is the invaluable part of you. You take care of the body. You clothe it, feed it, keep it out of danger, and out of the way of disease. Why, if you thought there was any infectious disease within a house, would you enter it? Ah, no! A lady said to me the other day, “I went up to see So-and-so, but she was ill with influenza.” “And did you go in?” I asked. “Oh, no, not for the world would I go in; I might catch it and die.” Yes, people take care of the body, but what about your soul, friend? Jesus said, “What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:3737Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:37)); and this man said to his soul, Soul, you have a good long time yet on earth, many years of enjoyment shall be yours, and that night God said, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.” And what became of his “much goods,” and of his “many years,” and, above all, what became of his soul?
What a frightful upset to all his plans, and all his schemes, was God’s “Thou fool.” Do you not see your own case, my friend, in this man’s history? Ab, you say, I have not yet gone into eternity. Thank God, you have not! If you are a wise man you will get down on your knees this moment, and thank God that you are yet among the living. “Oh, God,” you should say, “I thank Thee that I am living yet. Lord, save me; Lord, bless me; Lord, save my soul. I have thought of my body, and my comfort; thought of my banker’s account, and of my house. I have thought about everything, in fact, except my soul, and Thee. Lord, pardon, and save me!”
W. T. P. W.