Satan's Banquet! 2
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3. The WORLDLY guests
You have, as yet, escaped the lash; but there is a third table, crowded with most honorable guests. I believe there have been more princes and Kings, mayors and aldermen, and great merchants sitting at this table, than at any other. It is called the table of WORLDLINESS.
"Humph!" says a man, "well, I dislike the profligate. There's my eldest son. I've been hard at work saving up money all my life, and there's that young fellow, he will not stick to business: he has become a real profligate. I am very glad the minister spoke so sharp about that. As for me — there now! I don't care about your self-righteous people a single farthing; to me it is of no account at all; I don't care at all about religion in the slightest degree; I like to know whether the funds rise or fall, or whether there is an opportunity of making a good bargain; but that's about all I care for."
Ah, worldling! I have read of a friend of yours, who was clothed in scarlet, and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. Do you know what became of him? You should remember it, for the same end awaits yourself. The end of his feast — must be the end of yours. If your god is this world, depend upon it you shall find that your way is full of bitterness.
Now, see that table of the worldly man, the mere worldling who lives for gain. Satan brings him in a flowing cup, "There," says he, "young man, you are starting in business; you need not care about the conventionalities of honesty, or about the ordinary old-fashioned fancies of religion; get rich as quickly as ever you can. Get money, get money; honestly if you can — but if not, get it anyhow," says the devil; and down he puts his tankard. "There," says he, "is a foaming draught for you." "Yes," says the young man, "I have abundance now. My hopes are indeed realized."
Here, then, you see the first and best wine of the worldling's feast, and many of you are tempted to envy this man. "Oh, that I had such a prospect in business!" says one. "I am not half so sharp as he is, I could not deal as he deals; my religion would not let me. But how fast he gets rich! Oh, that I could prosper as he does!"
Come, my brother, judge not before the time, there's a second course to come — the thick and nauseous draught of care. The man has got his money; but they that will be rich, fall into temptation and a snare. Wealth ill-gotten, or ill-used, or hoarded — brings a canker with it that does not canker the gold and silver — but cankers the man's heart; and a cankered heart is one of the most awful things a man can have. Ah! see this money-lover, and mark the care which sits upon his heart.
There is a poor old woman who lives near his lodge-gate. She has but a pittance a week — but she says, "Bless the Lord, I have enough!" She never asks how she is to live, or how she is to die, or how she is to be buried — but sleeps sweetly on the pillow of contentment and faith. And here is this poor fool with untold gold; but he is miserable because he happened to drop a sixpence as he walked along the streets, or because he had an extra call upon his charity, to which the presence of some friend compelled him to yield; or, perhaps, he groans because his coat wears out too soon.
After this comes avarice. Many have had to drink of that cup; may God save us from its fiery drops! A great American preacher has said, "Covetousness breeds misery. The sight of houses better than our own, of dress beyond our means, of jewels costlier than we may wear, of stately equipage, and rare curiosities beyond our reach — these hatch the viper brood of covetous thoughts; vexing the poor who would be rich; tormenting the rich who would be richer. The covetous man pines to see pleasure; is sad in the presence of cheerfulness; and the joy of the world is his sorrow, because all the happiness of others is not his. I do not wonder that God abhors him. He inspects his heart as he would a cave full of foul birds, or a nest of rattling reptiles, and loathes the sight of its crawling tenants. To the covetous man life is a nightmare, and God lets him wrestle with it as best he may. Mammon might build its palace on such a heart, and Pleasure bring all its revelry there, and Honor all its garlands — it would be like pleasures in a sepulcher, and garlands on a tomb." Henry Ward Beecher
When a man becomes avaricious, all he has is nothing to him. "More, more, more!" says he, like some poor creatures in a terrible fever, who cry, "Drink, drink, drink!" and you give them drink — but after they have it, their thirst increases. Like the horse-leech, they cry, "Give, give, give!" Avarice is a raving madness, which seeks to grasp the world in its arms — and yet despises the plenty it has already. This is a curse of which many have died; and some have died with the bag of gold in their hands, and with misery upon their brow, because they could not take it with them into their coffin, and could not carry it into the eternal world!
Well, then, there comes the next course. Baxter, and those terrible old preachers, used to picture the miser, and the man who lived only to make gold, in the middle of Hell; and they imagined Mammon pouring melted gold down their throat. "There," say the mocking devils, "that is what you wanted; you have got it now; drink, drink, drink!" and the molten gold is poured down. I shall not, however, indulge in any such terrible imaginations — but this much I know, he who lives to himself here, must perish eternally; he who sets his affections upon things on earth, has not dug deep — he has built his house upon the sands; and when the rain descends, and the floods come — down must come his house, and great must be the fall thereof.
It is the best wine first, however; it is the respectable man — respectable and respected, everybody honors him; and afterwards that which is worst, when baseness has beggared his wealth, and covetousness has maddened his brain. It is sure to come, as sure as ever you give yourself up to worldliness.
4. Secret sinners. The fourth table is set in a very secluded corner, in a very private part of Satan's palace. There is the table set for secret sinners, and here the old rule is observed. "Everyone brings out the choice wine first — and then the worse wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best until last!"
At that table, in a room well darkened, I see a young man sitting, and Satan is the servitor, stepping in so noiselessly, that no one would hear him. He brings in the first cup — and oh how sweet it is! It is the cup of secret sin. "Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." How sweet that morsel, eaten all alone! Was there ever one that rolled so delicately under the tongue?
That is the first; after that he brings in another — the wine of an unquiet conscience. The man's eyes are opened. He says, "What have I done? What have I been doing? Ah!" cries this Achan, "the first cup you brought me, I saw sparkling in that a wedge of gold, and a goodly Babylonish garment; and I thought, 'Oh, I must have that!' But now my thought is, 'What shall I do to hide this, where shall I put it? I must dig. Ay, I must dig deep as Hell before I shall hide it, for sure enough it will be discovered.'"
The grim governor of the feast is bringing in a massive bowl, filled with a black mixture. The secret sinner drinks, and is confounded; he fears his sin will find him out. He has no peace, no happiness, he is full of uneasy fear; he is afraid that he shall be detected. He dreams at night that there is someone after him; there is a voice whispering in his ear, and telling him, "I know all about it; I will tell it." He thinks, perhaps, that the sin which he has committed in secret, will break out to his friends; the father will know it, the mother will know it. Ay, it may be even the physician will tell the tale, and blab out the wretched secret.
For such a man there is no rest. He is always in dread of arrest. He is like the debtor I have read of, who, owing a great deal of money, was afraid the bailiffs were after him; and happening one day to catch his sleeve on the top of a palisade, said, "There, let me go; I'm in a hurry. I will pay you tomorrow," imagining that someone was laying hold of him. Such is the position in which the man places himself by partaking of the hidden things of dishonesty and sin. Thus he finds no rest for the sole of his foot for fear of discovery.
At last the discovery comes; it is the last cup. Often it comes on earth; for, be sure your sin will find you out, and it will generally find you out here. What frightful exhibitions are to be seen at our police courts of men who are made to drink that last black draught of discovery! The man who presided at religious meetings, the man who was honored as a saint, is at last unmasked. And what says the judge — and what says the world of him? He is a jest, and a reproach, and a rebuke everywhere.
But, suppose he should be so crafty, that he passes through life without discovery — though I think it is almost impossible — what a cup he must drink when he stands at last before the bar of God! "Bring him forth, jailor! Dread keeper of the dungeon of Hell, lead forth the prisoner!" He comes! The whole world is assembled. "Stand up, sir! Did you not make a profession of religion? Did not everybody think you a saint?" He is speechless. But many there are in that vast crowd who cry, "We thought him so!" The book is open, his deeds are read: transgression after transgression all laid bare.
Do you hear that hiss? The righteous, moved to indignation, are lifting up their voices against the man who deceived them and dwelt among them as a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Oh, how fearful it must be to bear the scorn of the universe! The good can bear the scorn of the wicked — but for the wicked to bear the shame and everlasting contempt which righteous indignation will heap upon them, will be one of the most frightful things, next to the eternal endurance of the wrath of the Most High, which, I need not add, is the last cup of the devil's terrible feast with which the secret sinner must be filled forever and ever.
I pause now, but it is just to gather up my strength to beg that anything I may have said, that shall have the slightest personal bearing upon any of my hearers, may not be forgotten. I beseech you, men and brethren, if now you are eating the fat and drinking the sweet of Hell's banquet, pause and reflect what the end shall be! He who sows to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption. He who sows to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. I cannot spare more time for that, most assuredly.
II. But you must pardon me while I occupy only a few minutes in taking you into the house of the SAVIOR, where he feasts his beloved.
Come and sit with us at Christ's table of outward providences. He does not feast his children after the fashion of the prince of darkness — for the first cup that Christ brings to them is very often a cup ofbitterness. There are his own beloved children, his own redeemed; who have but sorry cheer. Jesus brings in the cup of poverty and affliction, and he makes his own children drink of it, until they say, "You have made me drunk with wormwood, and you have filled me with bitterness." This is the way Christ begins. The worst wine first.
When the sergeant begins with a young recruit, he gives him a shilling, and then, afterwards come the march and the battle. But Christ never takes his recruits so. They must count the cost, lest they should begin to build, and not be able to relish. He seeks to have no disciples who are dazzled with first appearances. He begins roughly with them, and many have been his children who have found that the first course of the Redeemer's table has been affliction, sorrow, poverty, and need.
In the olden time, when the best of God's people were at the table, he used to serve them worst, for they wandered about in sheep-skins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy — and they kept on drinking of these bitter cups for many a day. But let me tell you afterwards he brought out sweeter cups for them, and you who have been troubled have found it so. After the cup affliction — comes the cup of consolation, and, oh, how sweet is that! It has been the privilege of these lips to drink that cup after sickness and pain; and I can bear witness, that I said of my Master, "You have kept the best wine until last!" It was so luscious, that the taste thereof did take away every taste of the bitterness of sorrow; and I said, "Surely the bitterness of this sickness is all past, for the Lord has manifested himself to me, and given me his best wine "
But, beloved, the best wine is to come last. God's people will find it so outwardly. The poor saint comes to die. The master has given him the cup of poverty, but now no more he drinks thereof, he is rich to all the intents of bliss. He has had the cup of sickness — he shall drink of that no more. He has had the cup of persecution — but now he is glorified, together with his Master, and made to sit upon his throne. The best things have come last to him in outward circumstances.
There were two martyrs once burned at Stratford-le-Bow; one of them was lame, and the other blind, and when they were tied to the stake, the lame man took his crutch and threw it down, and said to the other, "Cheer up, brother, this is the sharp medicine that shall heal us — I shall not be lame within an hour of this time — nor shall you be blind!" No, the best things were to come last.
I have often thought that the child of God is very much like the crusaders. The crusaders started off on their journey, and they had to fight their way through many miles of enemies and to march through leagues of danger. You remember, perhaps, in history, the story that when the armies of the Duke of Bouillon came in sight of Jerusalem, they sprang from their horses, clapped their hands, and cried, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem." They forgot all their toils, all the weariness of the journey and all their wounds, for there was Jerusalem in their sight.
And how will the saint at last cry, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem," when all sorrow, and all poverty, and sickness are past, and he is blessed with immortality. The bad wine — bad did I say? Nay the bitter wine is taken away, and the best wine is brought out, and the saint sees himself glorified forever with Christ Jesus.
And now, we will sit down at the table of inward experience. The first cup that Christ brings to his children, when they sit at that table, is one so bitter that, perhaps, no tongue can ever describe it — it is the cup of conviction of sin. It is a black cup, full of the most intense bitterness. The apostle Paul once drank a little of it, but it was so strong that it made him blind for three days.
The conviction of his sin overpowered him totally; he could only give his soul to fasting and to prayer, and it was only when he drank of the next cup that the scales fell from off his eyes. I have drank of it, children of God, and I thought that Jesus was unkind — but, in a little while, he brought me forth a sweeter cup, the cup of his forgiving love, filled with the rich crimson of his precious blood. Oh! the taste of that wine is in my mouth this very hour, for the taste thereof is as the wine of Lebanon, that abides in the cask for many a day.
Do you not remember, when, after you had drunk the cup of sorrow, Jesus came and showed you his hands and his side and said, "Sinner, I have died for you, and given myself for you; believe on me!" Do you not remember how you believed, and sipped the cup, and have you believed again and took a deeper draught, and said, "Blessed be the name of God from this time forth and forever; and let the whole earth say, 'Amen,' for he has broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder, and let the captives go free!"
Since then the glorious Master has said to you, "Friend, come up higher!" and he has taken you to upper seats in the best rooms, and he has given you sweeter things.
I will not tell you, today, of the choice wines you have drank. The spouse in Solomon's Song may supply the deficiency of my sermon this morning. She drank of the spiced wine of his pomegranate; and so have you, in those high and happy moments when you had fellowship with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. But tarry awhile, he has kept the best wine yet. You shall soon come near the banks of the Jordan, and then you shall begin to drink of the old wine of the kingdom, that has been barreled up since the foundation of the world. The vintage of the Savior's agony; the vintage of Gethsemane shall soon be broached for you — the old wine of the kingdom!
You are come into the land "Beulah," and you begin to taste the full flavor of the wines on the lees well refined. You know how Bunyan describes the state which borders on the valley of death. It was a land flowing with milk and honey; a land where the angels often came to visit the saints, and to bring bundles of myrrh from the land of spices. And now the high step is taken, the Lord puts his finger upon your eyelids and kisses your soul out at your lips. Where are you now? In a sea of love, and life, and bliss, and immortality. O Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, you have indeed kept the best wine until last! My Master! I have seen you on the Sabbath, but this is an everlasting Sabbath. I have met you in the congregation, but this is a congregation that shall never break up. O my Master! I have seen the promises — but this is thefulfillment. I have blessed you for gracious providences — but this is something more than all these: you gave me grace — but now you have given me glory; you were once my shield — but you are now my sun. I am at your right hand, where there is fullness of joy forever. You have kept your best wine until last. All I ever had before was as nothing compared with this!"
And, lastly, for only time fails me, I could preach a week upon this subject.
The table of communion is one at which Godly children must sit. And the first thing they must drink of there, is the cup of communion with Christ in his sufferings. If you would come to the table of communion with Christ — you must first of all drink of the wine of Calvary. Christian, your head must be crowned with thorns — your hands must be pierced, I mean not with nails, but, spiritually you must be crucified with Christ. We must suffer with him — or else we cannot reign with him; we must labor with him first, we must sup of the wine which his Father gave him to drink, or else we cannot expect to come to the better part of the feast.
After drinking of the wine of his sufferings, and continuing to drink of it, we must drink of the cup of his labors, we must be baptized with his baptism, we must labor after souls, and sympathize with him in that ambition of his heart — the salvation of sinners, and after that he will give us to drink of the cup of his anticipated honors.
Here on earth we shall have good wine in communion with Christ in his resurrection, in his triumphs and his victories, but the best wine is to come at last. O chambers of communion, your gates have been opened to me; but I have only been able to glance within them; but the day is coming when on your diamond hinges you shall turn, and stand wide open forever and ever; and I shall enter into the king's palace and go no more out.
O Christian! you shall soon see the King in his beauty; your head shall soon be on his bosom; you shall soon sit at his feet with Mary! You shall soon do as the spouse did — you shall kiss him with the kisses of his lips, and feel that his love is better than wine. I can conceive you, brethren, in the very last moment of your life, or rather, in the first moment of your life, saying, "He has kept the best wine until last!"
When you begin to see him face to face, when you enter into the closest fellowship, with nothing to disturb or to distract you, then shall you say "He has kept the best wine until last!"
A saint was once dying, and another who sat by him said, "Farewell, brother, I shall never see you again in the land of the living." "Oh," said the dying man, "I shall see you again in the land of the living that is up yonder, where I am going; this is the land of the dying." Oh brethren and sisters, if we should never meet again in the land of the dying, have we a hope that we shall meet in the land of the living, and drink the best wine at last!
"Everyone brings out the choice wine first — and then the worse wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best until last!" John 2:10
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