Victory at Last
A Gospel Address delivered by Heyman Wreford at the Victoria Hall, Exeter.
“And Moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you today; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” — Exodus 14:13, 1413And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. (Exodus 14:13‑14).
HOW things change in this changing scene! Last week we had snow, this week we have rain, and next week we may have sunshine. While the snow is on the hills, the woods are calling for the spring. All the prisoners of winter are now struggling to be free. The primrose is reaching upward to the light; and the birds are already rehearsing the glories of the sunshine. Would to God that all of you could leave the winter of your sins behind you; and as the snow has been dissolved by the rain from heaven, so may the rain of grace from above, by the power of the Spirit of God, give you the knowledge that you are a sinner and that all your sins are gone. Then you would rejoice in the sunshine, and sing about the splendors of the coming day of glory.
There is, to me, something wonderfully attractive in watching the awakening of creation from the sleep of winter; to see the gradual rising of the fair-haired spring from the tomb of the ice, and the frost, and the snow; the letting loose of all nature’s prisoners, and the exulting freedom of the universe. The sunbeams liberated from the clouded skies flash out their joy on fields of azure. The rejoicing birds carol the liberty of earth from every tree. The radiant flowers burst from their earthly cells, and breathe forth fragrance. The trees hang out their leafy banners and wave them over the full-throated choirs that sing amid the branches. The glad hills laugh with joy, and the valleys smile in splendor. It is as if the angel of the resurrection was waving his wings of splendor o’er the world. It is the battle of the sun against the snow and frost. The shafts of light pierce the cold heart of winter and he dies, while the cry of the emancipated universe rings forth in light, and song, and perfume,
Victory at Last.
How wondrous must have been the joy in heaven when the Lord Jesus Christ burst the portals of the grave asunder; when He rose victorious over all the power of Sin, and Satan, and death, and Hades. It was the spring of the resurrection then appearing as the hope of brighter days for those who had been chained in the winter of their sins. Then indeed, “the winter was over and gone, the flowers appeared on the earth, and the time of the singing of birds had come.” The sun shone in splendor in those resurrection skies of divine glory; the flowers of faith sprang up in the soil of human hearts, and the birds of love sang, for He gave the song, Who had given the power to sing.
Have you ever felt a striving and a yearning within you to rise from the dead? It is true that as a sinner you are dead in trespasses and sins; you have been buried in the grave of your Sins all your days. The trees of your life have been bare and desolate under the wintry skies of wrath. No songs have come from your lips. Have you felt all this? Do you desire to live tonight? Oh! by the mighty power of faith may you rise to light, and liberty, and life. Look at the primrose, pale and fragile as it is; by the strong power of its life, it pierces through the earth, and rises to the light. God gives it the power for this. And you may be weak in yourself, but if you trust in God, He will give you the power to mount through all of earth to heaven. It is the might of faith that leads to victory. God gives the gifts of sunshine, and of rain, to nourish His fair creation; but He has given a greater gift to man; He has given him salvation.
An old man of eighty was picking up rubbish by the road-side, and putting it into a pail. A Christian passing stopped and said, “Well, friend, if it were raining showers of gold sovereigns, what would you do? Would you go on with your work, or make sure of the gold?” “Oh! I should stop and pick up the gold first,” he replied.
“To be sure you would,” was the reply. “Now it has been raining gold this eighteen hundred years; do you know what I mean?” The old man looked up wonderingly.
“I mean, all the unsearchable riches of Christ have been showering down on poor sinners all this time. Have you received them?”
The old man was obliged to confess he had not, but I trust the Christian’s words made him think. But what of you? Have you thought of this blessed shower? The gold of God’s love in Christ falling around you. Will you stoop to the feet of Christ and pick up the gold of His love? You cannot walk with head erect into the kingdom of God. There must be the lowering of all human pride, the acknowledgment of sin and weakness, and the dependence upon divine love and strength. The gold is to be had, the gold of the promises, but you must stoop to pick it up. Those who go down the lowest are exalted to the highest. Is it worth the having? The gold of divine justification, the gold of peace, the gold of endless joy? Do you crave for it? It is falling all around you. Stoop tonight and pick it up.
Oh! what a world it is! The garbage and filth that it gives, is valued more by many, than is this gold of heaven. Men will stoop to gather from the mire of desire, the rubbish of this world’s pleasure, and fame, and ambition, and glory. And as they grope, they see not the gleam of the precious gold, for Satan blinds their eyes.
Oh! what a world it is! Who would not wish for a better? Who would be content to live here forever, where seasons come and seasons go, and what is spring today is winter tomorrow? The birds that gladden us with their songs one hour, have flown away the next; and the flowers that delighted us today are withered on the morrow. It is a world of clouded skies, and changing scenes. A world of breaking hearts, of tear-stained faces; of aching limbs and wrinkled brows; a world where few are rich and many poor. A world that promises much, and gives but little; a world whose undoing has been sin, and the record of its sin is written upon every page of its history. Oh! for a better world than this! Oh! for the cloudless skies, and the fadeless flowers! Oh! for the sinless land, where they never sorrow, or weep, or sigh. Where there are no wrinkled brows or aching hearts; where there is no death, nor dying. Oh! for that bright home in heaven. We look up with eyes of desire tonight, and the question comes, “When shall we see those mansions fair? When shall we have passed through the blessed portals to the rest of God?”
But God has been dealing frankly with a world of sinners. He has been talking to men and women of His purposes, and His desires for them. But the unbelief of the natural heart hinders sinners from hearing the words of the living God. Men do not believe that God means what He says. But He does.
If you had a large sum of money in a bank, and you were told on good authority that on a certain day that bank would suspend payment, you would draw your money out. You would be wise as to this. God has told us that the bank of this world is going to suspend payment. And many of you here tonight have got your all in this bank of earth. You have put the riches of your health into it, and your time, and your opportunities, and your strength, and your intellect, and you think it is all right. But God tells you it is all wrong, “the world passeth away.” The crash is coming. Will you be advised this evening and put your treasures into the bank of heaven? Put your health in there, and you shall find it in eternity, when immortal youth is yours. Put your time in there, and you shall find it again when time shall be no more. Put your all in there and it shall be returned to you a hundredfold, when God makes up the accounts of faith. Give all to God, yourself, your all, and God will give you divine interest.
Again, if you were seriously told by an architect that the house you were living in, was not secure; that the foundations were wrong, and that it might fall at any moment, you would want to leave that house. The foundations of this world are not secure. God, the mighty Architect, has told us that the world He made will be destroyed. He bids you flee to a place of security.
Sinner! you are on sandy soil. Your position is insecure. You want the Rock of Ages under your feet; that will never be shaken. A young man was walking one day on the cliffs at Ramsgate, reading. He was so engrossed with his book that he did not notice where he was going. Suddenly a bright flash of light caused him to start back. Then he saw that he had wandered close to the edge of a precipice. The sun had shone out from a cloud and the rays of light striking against the white chalk had caused the bright light which startled him. Had it not been for that he would have been dashed to pieces. One step more and he would have been in eternity. He walked away thinking little of it at the time. Some days after he was home, and he told his mother, who was a Christian, about it. She was quite startled and excited and said, “How could he be so heedless, she might never have seen him again.” She spoke to him about it, and her words sank down into his heart. Night came, and he hoped that sleep would come, and drown the unwelcome thoughts that were in his mind. But there was no sleep for him that night. When he lay down in the darkness, a bright light seemed to shine before him, and he saw once more the cliff, and the ragged rocks. Then he heard a voice say, “Only one step more! Only one, and it would have been your last! Only one, and you would have stepped out from time into eternity!” And then the voice asked the question, “Where would you have gone?” And everything in the room echoed “Where?” He was glad when morning came. He busied himself all day to get away from his thoughts. But when night came, and he tried to sleep, the question came in the darkness, “Where would you have gone?” Now he was bound to answer, “To Hell.” He cried aloud in his distress to God — he felt his position, he appealed for help to the Saviour. Then a voice said, “Come unto Me... and I will give you rest.” He took Christ at His word. He came and Christ received him. Is not salvation simple? If I were not saved I would this minute look up to heaven and say, “Here I am, Lord Jesus, a poor sinner who needs salvation, and Thou art there, the Saviour of sinners. I want to be saved, Lord, save me now.” If Jesus stood here, and you saw Him, and if He beckoned to that man there, and said “Come”; or to that woman there and said, “Come;” would they not come? Yes. Well it is just as simple. If you are weary, come to Him, and He will give you rest. But beware, you may not have many more steps to take along the road of life, and when life is done, what then? — Death; and when death has come to you, what then? Is that all? No. After death the Judgment.
(To be continued.)