TRAVELLING lately by express train to London, I could not but think how such a journey illustrates the course of human life. The passengers were seated in first, second, or third-class carriages, according to their different stations in society, and were being urged along, whether with or against their will, by a power beyond their control, to the destination for which they had set out.
How like this to “the course of the world,” which, energized by Satan, “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,” carries all with a resistless force to the region of death, the vast central terminus where the railways of this life meet. “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.” (Heb. 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27).)
There is something very exhilarating in travelling at a high speed, though there may be the accompaniment of a slight sense of fear as to the ultimate safety of the journey. Still, on the whole, the sensation is one of enjoyment. We pass station after station without stopping; we have now a dark tunnel to go through; then a glimpse of a pretty piece of scenery on either side, and a hasty glance at some elegant villas with their tasteful gardens sloping to the edge of the railway, succeeded by an unsightly view of the roofs of the houses in some overcrowded locality, where the squalor of poverty shows itself in all its wretchedness. But every view, pleasing or painful, is transient; a glimpse, and on we go; there is not time to dwell long upon anything.
Is not this like the course of a prosperous life in this world? There is joy, and there is sorrow; there is weal, and there is woe; and there are the lights and shadows of the way; but they are all fleeting, and make but slight impressions, so long as men are successful in the pursuit of the main object upon which they have set their hearts and minds. It is to be feared, however, lest infatuation in the pursuit should seize the mind, so that the real and proper end of existence should be forgotten or ignored. Man is an accountable being, and is responsible to God. He must stand before his Creator, appearing in all the awful majesty of a Judge, and hear from Him the solemn sentence of eternal condemnation, or else appear before Him as the justifying God and Saviour, giving to the believing soul eternal life, eternal redemption, and eternal glory on the ground of the perfectly finished work of His only begotten Son.
But what is this which we see before us? When we started on our journey the sun was shining brightly, and shedding its brilliance on all around; but now a veil of thick darkness hangs over the great city towards which we are fast approaching. It is enveloped in one of its dense fogs; such fogs as only smoky cities know. Still, on we go; no check as yet is put on the speed of the train, though a slight damp falls upon the spirits of the travelers. But, hark! What is that sudden, sharp, and loud report, succeeded by another, and still another? It is the fog signal; there is danger ahead, and the engine-driver is warned to be wary.
And the warning is heeded.
We soon find that the rate at which we were traveling is lessened. Again and again similar loud reports are heard, which so act upon the watchful driver that we are made conscious that we are moving very slowly and cautiously indeed. This needful delay is rather trying to the spirit of impatience; but life is sweet, and a safe journey much to be desired; and so we become reconciled to the tardy motion of the train. We grope, as it were, our way through the mist of cloud and smoke which surrounds us, and at length, through the mercy of God, are all set down in safety at the terminus, free to pursue the business that brought us to town.
Has not this a voice to our consciences, yea, and also to our hearts? All who have not received Christ, the Life and the Light, are hastening on through the dense spiritual darkness which covers this world, to the great and solemn end that awaits them. If they continue in their present state, and thus die in their sins, a million-fold more terrible fate than that which arises from the most fearful accident on the railway must be their portion.
But God “is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” and so He is continually warning them as to whither they are going, and what will be their end if they heed not His beseeching’s and admonitions. The thirty-third chapter of the Book of Job shows us some of the means that God uses to awaken souls to a sense of their condition, “having no hope, and without God in the world.”
“God speaketh once, yea, twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that He may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain: so that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat. His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers... Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.” (10:14-30.)
Sometimes He takes away the desire of one’s eyes, or the delight of one’s heart; or He employs less striking, but not less impressive ways of arousing the soul from its natural state of insensibility. One verse from His own heart-searching Word, or, it may be, a sentence from an earnest discourse of a soul-winning servant of Christ, may be fastened upon the conscience; or one may be disturbed from one’s lethargy by the presentation, in a railway carriage, or an omnibus, or by the wayside, of a messenger of mercy in the guise of a gospel tract; or, a kind Christian friend may, in his love for one’s soul, have put some earnest, personal questions as to one’s condition in the sight of God; or have done the like service by means of a friendly letter; indited in the spirit of one who would pluck a brand out of the fire. (Zech. 3:22And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? (Zechariah 3:2).)
But whatever may be the modes that God in His grace may deign to use, they are all so many warnings to the soul to take heed, and entreaties to accept that salvation which He offers “without money and without price.” (Isa. 55:11Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1).) But, oh! beloved soul, be careful not to slight or reject those warnings and those entreated. “A prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.” (Prov. 27:1212A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. (Proverbs 27:12).) Hear, and learn from, what is said of the patriarch Noah: “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear” [or, being wary], “prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (Heb. 11:77By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (Hebrews 11:7).) God had told him of the flood that was coming upon the world of the ungodly, long before there was even a sign of it; and he believed God, and “being wary,” he took the God-appointed means of deliverance from that judgment, and thus he and his house were saved, when all the rest perished in the swelling of the mighty waters.
May you, then, heed and fear, and take refuge in Christ, the Ark of God’s providing; and then, whether the remainder of your journey be long or short, instead of being led of Satan to that terminus which introduces the soul into everlasting woe, you will have your present portion in Christ, and, in God’s good time, will be called away to dwell forever in His holy and joy-inspiring presence.
T.