DISCOURSE: 870
SEEKING AFTER GOD
Isaiah 8:19. Should not a people seek unto their God? [Note: The extreme simplicity of this subject renders any further elucidation of it superfluous.] THE appeals which God makes to men in the inspired volume are exceeding forcible: they make men judges in their own cause; and cannot fail to carry conviction to every mind. Who could resist the appeal of Nehemiah to the usurious and oppressive Israelites: “Ought ye not to walk in the fear of God [Note: Nehemiah 5:9.]?” So I doubt not but that all of you will readily acknowledge the obligation which lies upon you, whilst I,
I. Make the appeal to you—
Nothing can be conceived more just or simple than the question here proposed for your consideration. For,
1. Who amongst us does not stand in need of help?
[Who has not many sins to be forgiven? — — — and many wants, temporal as well as spiritual, to be supplied? — — —]
2. Who but God can supply our wants?
[We have “not in ourselves a sufficiency even for a good thought [Note: 2 Corinthians 3:5.]” — — — nor is there a creature in the universe able to render us any effectual assistance [Note: Psalms 49:7.] — — —]
3. Is not God both able and willing to do for you all that you can possibly desire?
[Suppose your sins to be as great as those of Manasseh, can he not pardon them [Note: 2 Chronicles 33:12-13.]? or your necessities to be as great as those of Israel in the wilderness, can he not supply them [Note: Psalms 78:12-16; Ephesians 3:20.]? Search the annals of the world, and find one, if you can, “who ever sought his face in vain [Note: Isaiah 45:19.]” — — —]
4. Will it not, hereafter, be to you a ground of bitter self-reproach, if you neglect to seek him?
[Our Lord will surely say to you at the last day, “How often would I have gathered you, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not [Note: Matthew 23:37.]!” The fault is all your own: “ye would not come to me, that ye might have life [Note: John 5:40.].” And the conviction of this will be the bitterest ingredient of that cup which shall then be given you to drink to all eternity.]
Assured that you cannot but have felt the force of this appeal, I will,
II.
Found upon it some suitable advice—
What shall I say? Seek the Lord:
1. With understanding—
[You must seek God as reconciled to you in Christ Jesus [Note: 2 Corinthians 5:19-21.]. In Himself he is “a consuming fire [Note: Hebrews 12:29.].” It is in Christ alone that any sinner in the universe can gain access to him [Note: John 14:6; Hebrews 10:19-22.] — — —]
2. With earnestness—
[It is not by any formal services that you can hope to succeed. You must “not only seek but strive [Note: Luke 13:24.].” “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence; and the violent must take it by force [Note: Matthew 11:12.]” — — —]
3. With speed—
[There may come a time, even in this life, when God may give you over to a reprobate mind, and heaven may be shut against you for ever [Note: Psalms 81:10-12.Romans 1:28; Isaiah 55:6.] — — — At all events, death may quickly terminate all your hopes. In the eternal world, however loudly you may cry, you will “not be able to obtain one drop of water to cool your tongue.”]
4. With constancy—
[To the latest hour of your life must you continue to seek help from God, as much as at the present moment. If at any period you draw back from him, you will “draw back unto perdition [Note: Hebrews 10:38-39.].” You must not “be weary in well-doing;” for “he only who endures to the end shall be saved [Note: Matthew 10:22.].”]