Sermon 1754. The Blind Man's Eyes Opened-or, Practical Christianity

(No. 1754)

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, AUGUST 12, 1883,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT EXETER HALL.

"Jesus answered, Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. Imust work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work." John 9:3,4.

OBSERVE, dear Friends, how little disconcerted our Lord Jesus Christ was by the most violent opposition of His enemies. TheJews took up stones to stone Him and He hid Himself from them. But almost the moment after, when He had passed, perhaps, througha single court and was sufficiently out of range to be unobserved by them, He stood still and fixed His eyes upon a blindbeggar who had been sitting near the Temple gate. I am afraid that the most of us would have had no heart to help even themost needy while we were escaping from a shower of stones! And if we had attempted the work, moved by supreme compassion,we would have gone about it blunderingly, in a great hurry and certainly would not have talked calmly and wisely, as the Saviordid when He answered His disciples' question and went on to talk with them.

One of the things worthy to be noticed in our Lord's Character is His wonderful quiet spirit, especially His marvelous calmnessin the presence of those who misjudged, insulted and slandered Him. He is reviled often, but never ruffled. He is often indeaths but always full of life. No doubt He felt keenly all the contradictions of sinners against Himself, for in a passagein the Psalms which refers to the Messiah, we read, "Reproach has broken My heart," yet the Lord Jesus did not permit Hisfeelings to overcome Him-He was quiet and self-possessed, acting with a profound disregard of the calumnies and assaults ofHis bitter enemies.

One reason, I take it, for His being so self-contained was that He was never elated by the praise of men. Take my word forit, for I know, that if you ever allow yourself to be pleased by those who speak well of you, to that extent you will be capableof being grieved by those who speak ill of you! But if you have learned (and it is a hard lesson for the most of us) thatyou are not the servant of men, but of God and that, therefore, you will not live upon the breath of men's nostrils if theypraise you-and you will not die if they denounce you-then you will be strong and show that you have come to the stature ofa man in Christ Jesus. If the great Master's head had been turned by the hosannas of the multitude, then His heart would havesunk within Him when they cried, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" But He was neither lifted up nor cast down by men-He committedHimself unto no man because He knew what was in man!

The innermost reason for this quiet of heart was His unbroken communion with the Father. Jesus dwelt apart, for He lived withGod-the Son of Man who came down from Heaven still dwelt in Heaven, serenely patient because He was raised above earthly thingsin the holy contemplations of His perfect mind. Because His heart was with His Father, the Father made Him strong to bearanything that might come from men. Oh, that we all could wear this armor of the Light of God, the celestial panoply of communionwith the High Eternal One! Then we would not be afraid of evil tidings, or of evil occurrences, for our hearts would be fixedon the sure Rock of Jehovah's unchanging love!

There was, perhaps, another reason for our Savior's wonderful composure when He was attacked with stones, namely, that Hisheart was so set upon His work that He could not be turned away from it whatever the unbelieving Jews might do. The rulingpassion bore Him on through danger and suffering-and made Him calmly defy all opposition. He had come into the world to blessmen and He must bless men. The Jews might oppose Him for this reason and for that, but they could not turn the current ofHis soul from the riverbed of mercy along which it rushed like a torrent. He must do good to the suffering and the poor! Hecould not help it-His face was set like flint towards His lifework!

It had become His meat and His drink to do the will of Him that sent Him and so, when they took up stones, although He withdrewHimself a little, yet as He only wished to preserve His life to do good, He returned to His lifework

without a moment's delay! Stones cannot drive Him from His gracious pursuits. As we have seen a parent bird, chased away,for a moment, from its nest, return to it the instant the intruder has withdrawn, so do we see our Lord come back to His holywork almost before He is out of the sight of His would-be murderers!

Yonder sits a blind man and Jesus is at once at his side to heal him. They will overtake You, O Christ! They will seek toslay You! There are more stones in their cruel hands! Your haters hurl their missiles fiercely and they will be upon You ina moment! What cares He for that? No coward spirit can make Him overlook an occasion for glorifying the Father! That blindman must be attended to and at all hazards. He stops to deal with Him in love. If you and I become completely taken up withzeal for God and with the desire to win souls, then nothing will daunt us. We shall bear anything and not seem to have anythingto bear! We shall hear slander as though we heard it not and endure hardship as though there were none to endure.

As an arrow from a bow shot by an strong archer, defies the opposing wind and speeds forward to the white of the target, soshall we fly forward towards the great objective of our compassionate ambition. Happy is that man whom God has launched likea thunderbolt from His hand-who must go on and fulfill his destiny-happy that it is his vocation to bring sinners to the Savior'sfeet! O Blessed Spirit, lift us up to dwell in God and so to sympathize with His fatherly compassion that we may heed neitherstones, nor sneers, nor slanders, but become absorbed in our self-denying service for Jesus' sake!

Let that stand for an introduction. The Savior in His worst and lowest estate, when near to death, thinks of nothing but thegood of men! When cruel eyes are spying Him out that they may slay Him, He has an eye for the poor blind. There is no stonein His heart towards the sorrowful even when stones are flying past His ears!

I. So I introduce you, tonight, to the first topic of the present discourse, which is THE WORKER. I give that as a well-earnedtitle to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Worker, the Chief Worker and the Example to all workers. He came into the world,He says, to do the will of Him that sent Him and to finish His work. On this occasion, when He is pursued by His enemies,He is still a worker-a wonder-worker with the blind man. There are many in this world who ignore sorrow, who pass by grief,who are deaf to lamentation and blind to distress.

The easiest thing that I know of to do with this wicked, wretched city of London is not to know much about it. They say thathalf the world knows not how the other half lives! Surely if it did, it would not live so carelessly as it does, or be quiteas cruel as it is. There are sights in this metropolis that might melt a heart of steel and make a Nabal generous! But itis an easy way of escaping from the exercise of benevolence to shut your eyes and see nothing of the abject misery which isgroveling at your feet. "Where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise"-so said some easygoing ignoramus of old! If beggarsare importunate, then passersby must be deaf. If sinners are profane, it is a simple matter to stop your ears and hurry on.

If this blind man must necessarily sit and beg at the gate of the Temple, then those who frequent the Temple must just slipby as if they were as blind as he. Crowds pass by and take no notice of him. Is not that the way with the multitude today?If you are in trouble-if you are suffering heartbreak-do they not ignore you and go their way to their farm and to their merchandise,though you lie down and starve? Dives finds it convenient to remain ignorant of the sores of Lazarus. It is not so with Jesus!He has a quick eye to see the blind beggar if He sees nothing else. If He is not enraptured with the massive stones and thebeautiful architecture of the temple, yet He fixes His eyes upon a sightless mendicant at the Temple gate. He is all eyes,all ears, all heart, all hands where misery is present. My Master is made of tenderness! He melts with love. O true soulswho love Him, copy Him in this, and always let your hearts be touched with a fellow being-feeling for the suffering and thesinning!

There are others who, though they see misery, do not diminish it by warm sympathy, but increase it by their cold logical conclusions."Poverty," they say-"Yes. Well-that, of course, is brought on by drunkenness and by laziness and by all sorts of vice." Ido not say that it is not so in every case, but I do say that the observation will not help a poor man to become either betteror happier! Such a hard remark will rather exasperate the hardened than assist the struggling. "Sickness," say some-"Oh, nodoubt, a great deal of sickness is caused by wicked habits, neglect of sanitary laws, and so on." This may be sadly true,but it grates on a sufferer's ears-a very kind and pleasing doctrine to teach in the wards of our hospitals! I would recommendyou not to teach it till you are ill, yourself, and then, perhaps, the doctrine may not seem quite so instructive.

Even Christ's disciples, when they saw this blind man, thought that there must be something particularly wicked about hisfather and mother, or something especially vicious about the man, himself, which God foresaw and, on account of which, Hepunished him with blindness! The disciples were of the same spirit as Job's three comforters, who, when they saw the Patriarchon a dunghill, bereft of all his children, robbed of all his property and scraping himself because he was covered with sores,said, "Of course he must be a hypocrite. He must have done something very dreadful, or he would not be so grievously afflicted."The world will still stick to its unfounded belief that if the Tower of Siloam falls upon any men, they must be sinners aboveall sinners upon the face of the earth!

A cruel doctrine, a vile doctrine, fit for savages, but not to be mentioned by Christians who know that whom the Lord lovesHe chastens! Yet I do see a good deal of this cruel notion about. And if men are in trouble, I hear it muttered, "Well, ofcourse they brought it on themselves." Is this your way of cheering them? Cheap moral observations steeped in vinegar makea poor dish for an invalid! Such censures are a sorry way of helping a lame dog over a stile-no, it is putting up anotherstile for him so that he cannot get over it at all! Now I mark this of my Lord-that it is written of Him that He "gives toall men liberally, and upbraids not." When He fed those thousands in the wilderness, it would have been most just if He hadsaid to them, "Why did you all come out into the wilderness and not bring provisions with you? What have you to do out herewithout something to eat? You are unthrifty and deserve to starve!" No, no! He never said a word of the sort, but He fed them,fed them all and sent them home filled!

You and I are not sent into the world to thunder out commandments from the top of Sinai-we are come unto Mount Zion! We arenot to go on circuit as if we were judge and hangman rolled into one, to meet all the sorrow and misery in the world withbitter words of censure and condemnation. If we do so, how different we are from that blessed Master of ours who says nota word by way of rebuke to those who seek Him, but simply feeds the hungry and heals all those who have need of healing! Itis easy to criticize. It is easy to upbraid. But ours should be the higher and nobler task of blessing and saving!

I notice, yet again, that there are certain others who, if they are not indifferent to sorrow and do not pitch upon some crueltheory of condemnation, nevertheless speculate a good deal where speculation can be of no practical service. When we get together,there are many questions which we like to raise and dispute upon which are of no practical value whatever. There is the questionof the origin of evil. That is a fine subject for those who like to chop logic by the week without making enough chips tolight a fire for cold hands to warm! Such was the subject proposed to the Savior- foreseen guilt, or hereditary taint-"Whodid sin, this man, or his parents?" How far is it right that the sin of parents should, as it often does, fall upon the children?

I could propose to you a great many topics equally profound and curious, but what would be the use? Yet there are many inthe world who are fond of these topics, spinning cobwebs, blowing bubbles, making theories, breaking them, and making more!I wonder whether the world was ever blessed to the extent of a bad farthing by all the theories of all the learned men thathave ever lived? May they not all be put down under the head of vain jangling? I would rather create an ounce of help thana ton of theory! It is beautiful to me to see how the Master breaks up the fine speculation which the disciples are settingforth. He says somewhat shortly, "Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents." And then He spits on the ground, makes clayand opens the blind man's eyes! This was work, the other was mere worry.

"Father," said a boy, "the cows are in the corn. How did they get in?" "Boy," said the father, "never mind how they got in,let us hurry up and get them out!" There is common sense about that practical proceeding. Here are these people sunken invice and steeped in poverty. Postpone the inquiries as to how they got into this condition! What is the origin of moral evil?How is it transmitted from parent to child? Answer those questions after the Day of Judgment, when you will have more light!But just now, the great thing is to see how you and I can get evil out of the world and how we can lift up the fallen andrestore those who have gone astray!

Never let us imitate the man in the fable who saw a boy drowning and then and there lectured him upon the imprudence of swimmingout in the deep water. No, no! Let us land the boy on the bank, dry him and dress him-and then tell him not to go there again,lest a worse thing happen to him! I say that the Master was no speculator-He was no spinner of theories; He was no mere doctrinalist-butHe went to work and healed those that had need of healing. Now, in this, He is the great Example for us all in this year ofGrace. Come, what have we ever done to bless our fellow men? Many of

us are followers of Christ and, oh, how happy we ought to be that we are! What have we ever done worthy of our high calling?

"Sir, I heard a lecture the other night," says one, "upon the evils of intemperance." Is that all you did? Has any actioncome of that brilliant oration and of your careful attention to it? Did you straightway try to remove this intemperance byyour example? "Well, I shall think of that, Sir, one of these days." Meanwhile what is to become of these intemperate ones?Will not their blood lie at your door? "I heard the other day," says one, "a very forcible and interesting lecture upon politicaleconomy. I feel that it is a very weighty science and can explain much of the poverty you mention." Perhaps so-but politicaleconomy in itself is about as hard as brass! It has no heart, or conscience-neither can it make allowance for such things.

The political economist is a man of iron who would be rusted by a tear and, therefore, never tolerates the mood of compassion.His science is a rock which will wreck a navy and remain unmoved by the cries of drowning men and women! It is as the moonof the desert which withers all it blows upon. It seems to dry up men's souls when they get to be masters of it, or ratherare mastered by it. It is a science of stubborn facts which would not be facts if we were not so brutish. Political economyor no political economy, I come back to my point-What have you done for others? Let us think of that and if any of us havebeen dreaming, day after day, what we would do "if-let us see what we can do now and, like the Savior, get to work!

Yet that is not the point which I am driving at. It is this. If Jesus is such a worker and no theorizer, then what a hopethere is, tonight, for some of us who need His care! Have we fallen? Are we poor? Have we brought ourselves into sorrow andmisery? Do not let us look to men or to ourselves for the answers! Men will let us starve and then they will hold a coroner'sinquest over our body to find why we dared to die and so necessitated the paying for a grave and a coffin! They will be sureto make an inquiry after it is all over with us! But if we come to Jesus Christ, He will make no inquiry at all, but receiveus and give rest unto our souls. That is a blessed text, "He gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not."

When the prodigal son came home to his father, according to all propriety, as people would do, nowadays, the father shouldhave said to his son, "Well, you have come home and I am glad to see you, but what a state you are in! How did you get intothis condition? Why, you have scarcely a clean rag on your back! How is it you have become so poor? And you are lean and hungry-howdid this comes about? Where have you been? What have you done? What company have you kept? Where were you a week ago? Whatwere you doing the day before yesterday at seven o'clock?"

His father never asked him a single question, but pressed him to his bosom, and knew all about it by instinct! He came ashe was and his father received him as he was. The father seemed, with a kiss, to say, "My boy, bygones are bygones. You weredead but you are alive. You were lost but you are found and I inquire no further." That is just how Jesus Christ is willingto receive penitent sinners tonight! Is there a streetwalker here? Come, poor woman, as you are, to your dear Lord and Masterwho will cleanse you of your grievous sin. "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven."

Is there one here who has transgressed against the rules of society and is pointed at as especially sinful? Yet, come, andwelcome to the Lord Jesus of whom it is written, "This Man receives sinners, and eats with them." The physician never thinksit scorn to go among the sick and Christ never felt it shame that He looks after the guilty and the lost! No, write this aboutHim-"The Savior of sinners, even of the very chief." He counts this His glory! He will work for you, not chide you! He willnot treat you with a dose of theories and with a host of bitter rebukes, but He will receive you just as you are into thewounds of His side and hide you there from the wrath of God! Oh, blessed Gospel that I have to preach to you! May the HolySpirit lead you to embrace it!

So much concerning the Worker.

II. Now, the second thing is THE WORKROOM. Every worker needs a place to work. Every artist must have a studio. Did Christhave a studio? Yes, He came to do very wonderful works-the works of Him that sent Him-but what a strange, strange place theLord found to do His work! And yet I do not know that He could have found any other. He resolved to work the works of Godand He selected the fittest place for doing so. One of the works of God is creation. If Jesus is to perform this work amongmen, He must find out where something is missing which He can supply by a creating act. Here are two eyes without the properlight-receiving apparatus-here there is room for Jesus to create eyes and sight! He could not have created eyes in my heador in yours had we been present, for eyes are already there, and more eyes would be unsuitable for us.

In the blind beggar of the Temple there was room for Jesus to produce that which was lacking in the curious mechanism of theeyes-the blind eyes were, therefore, His workshop. If there were eyeballs, they were completely sightless and had been fromthe man's birth-and this gave the occasion for Jehovah Jesus to say, "Let there be light!" If that man's eyes had been likeyours and mine-clear and bright and full of light-there would have been no space for our Lord's Divine operation. But sincehe was still in the darkness which had been about him from his birth, his eyes afforded space in which the power of the Almightymight be manifested by a work so wonderful that since the world began it had never been heard that anyone had opened the eyesof a man who was born blind!

The man was blind for this reason-"That the works of God should be made manifest in him." Oh, and that is a blessed thoughtif you will think about it! Apply it to yourself. If there is anything lacking in you, there is room for Christ to work inyou! If you are naturally perfect and there is no fault in you, then there is no room for the Savior to do anything for you,for He will not gild refined gold, nor lay enamel on the lily! But if you suffer from some great deficiency, some awful lackthat makes your soul sit in darkness-your necessity is Christ's opportunity-your need of Grace supplies His need of objectsfor His pity! Here is room for the Savior to come and display His pity towards you and you may be sure He will soon be withyou. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Then, again, it was not only this man's deficiency of sight, but it was this man's ignorance which required Almighty aid.It is a work of God not only to create, but also to illuminate! The same power which calls into existence also calls intolight, whether that light is natural or spiritual. It is a Divine work to enlighten and regenerate the heart. This man wasas dark in mind as he was in body-what a grand thing to enlighten him in a double sense! He did not know the Son of God, thereforehe did not believe in Him, but asked in wonder, "Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him?" Jesus Christ came to workin this man the knowledge of God, the life of God-in a word, SALVATION-and because the man was destitute of these things,there was room in him for the Savior's skill and power!

Friend, is that your case? Are you unconverted? Then there is space in you for the Redeemer to work by converting Grace! Areyou unregenerate? Then there is space in you for the Spirit of God to work regeneration! All these spiritual deficienciesof yours-your ignorance and your darkness-shall be turned, by Infinite Love, into opportunities for Grace. If you were notlost, you could not be saved! If you were not guilty, you could not be pardoned. If you were not sinful, you could not becleansed! But all your sin and sorrow, by a strange mystery of love, is a sort of qualification of yourself for Christ tocome and save you!

"That is putting it," says one, "in a new light to me." Accept that new light and be comforted, for it is Gospel Light andintended to cheer the despairing! You have said, "There is nothing in me"-therefore it is clear that there is room for Christto be your All in All. You see there cannot be two all in alls-there can be but one-and as you do not pretend to the title,Jesus will wear it! All the space that you occupy in your own esteem takes so much away from the glory of the Lord Jesus.But if you are nothing, then the whole house is left for the Savior! He will come and fill up all your inward vacuum withHis own dear Self and be glorious in your eyes forever! Pray to be nothing!

I may venture to say, tonight, that all affliction may be regarded in the same manner as affording opportunity for the mercywork of God. Whenever you see a man in sorrow and trouble, the way to look at it is not to blame him and inquire how he camethere, but to say, "Here is an opening for God's almighty love! Here is an occasion for the display of the Grace and goodnessof the Lord!" This man, being blind, gave the Lord Jesus opportunity for the good work of giving him his sight and that workwas so great a wonder that all around were obliged to acknowledge it and admire it! The neighbors began to inquire about it.The Pharisees had to hold a conclave over it and though nearly 19 centuries have slipped away, here are we at this hour meditatingupon it!

That man's opened eyes are enlightening our eyes at this hour! The Bible would not have been complete without this touchingand teaching narrative-if this man had not been born blind and if Christ had not opened his eyes, all generations would havehad less Light of God! We ought to be glad that this man was so grievously afflicted, for thereby we are graciously instructed!If he had not been sightless, we had not seen the great sight of blindness at birth chased away by Him who is the Light ofmen! So I think I may say to all afflicted ones here tonight-Do not kick at your afflictions. Do not be excessively troubledby them, or utterly cast down by them, but hopefully regard them as openings for mercy, gates for Grace, roadways for love!The valley of Achor shall be to you a door of hope!

That mighty Worker of whom I have been speaking will find a workshop in your affliction and therein He will fashion monumentsof His Grace. Glory in your infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon you! Rejoice that as your tribulations abound,so, also, shall your consolations abound by Christ Jesus. Ask Him to make all things work together for your good and for HisGlory and so it shall be! I leave the thought of the workshop when I have added that I do believe that sin, itself, has somewhatof the same aspect as affliction, for it makes room for the mercy of God. I hardly dare say what Augustine said, when speakingof the Fall and of the sin of Adam, and looking to all the splendor of Grace that followed after it. He said, "Beata culpa"-happyfault-as if he thought that sin had furnished such opportunities for the unveiling of the Grace of God and so displayed theCharacter of Christ, that He even dared to call it a happy fault!

I will not venture upon such an expression. I scarcely dare do more than repeat what that great master in Israel once said.But I do say that I cannot imagine an occasion for glorifying God equal to the fact that man has sinned, since God has givenChrist to die for sinners. How could that unspeakable Gift have been bestowed if there had been no sinners? The Cross is aconstellation of Divine Glory brighter than creation itself!-

"For in the Grace that rescued man, His noblest form of Glory shines; Here on the Cross 'tis fairest writ In precious bloodand crimson lines." How could we have known the heart of God? How could we have understood the mercy of God? If it had notbeen for our sin and misery, how could such forbearance and love have been displayed? Come, then, guilty ones, take heartand look for Grace! As a physician needs the sick that he may exert his healing power, so does the Lord of Mercy need youthat He may show what Grace He can bestow!

If I were a physician and desired a practice, I Would not inquire for the healthiest parish in England, but for a positionwhere the sick would fill my surgery. If all I sought was to do good to my fellow men, I should desire to be in Egypt or someother land visited by cholera, or plague, where I could save human life. The Lord Jesus Christ, looking over this throng tonight,seeks not those who are good, or think themselves so, but for the guilty who know their sinnership and bemoan it! If thereis a sinner here, leprous and defiled. If there is a soul here sick from head to foot with the incurable disease of sin, theLord Christ, the mighty Worker, looks on him, for in him He finds a laboratory in which He may work the works of Him thatsent Him!

III. Please bear with me, now, as I pass on, in the third place, briefly to notice THE WORK BELL. You hear early in the morninga bell which awakens the workers from their beds. See how they troop into the streets, swarming like bees hastening to orfrom the hive. You see them going forth to labor, for the bell is ringing! There was a work bell for Christ and He heard it.Then He said, "I must work. I must work. I must work." What made Him say that? Why, the sight of that blind man! He no soonersaw him than He said, "I must work." The man had not asked anything, nor uttered a sound, but those sightless orbs spoke eloquentlyto the heart of the Lord Jesus and rang aloud the summons which Jesus heard and obeyed, for He, Himself said, "I must work."

And why must He work? Why, He had come all the way from Heaven to do so! He had come from His Father's Throne to be a Manto bless men and He would not cause His long descent to go for nothing! He must work-why else was He here where work was tobe done? Besides, there were impulses in His heart which we need not stop, now, to explain, which forced Him to work. Hismind, His soul, His heart, were all full of a Force which produced perpetual activity. Sometimes He selected a route whenHe was traveling because, "He must go through Samaria." Sometimes He went after men because, He said, "Other sheep I have,which are not of this fold: them also I must bring." There was a sort of instinct in Christ to save men and that instinctcraved gratification and could not be denied. "I must work," He said.

The sight of those blind eyes made Him say "I must work." And He thought of that poor man-how for 20 years and more he hadlived in utter darkness-how he had not been able to enjoy the beauties of Nature, or look his loved ones in the face, or earnhis daily bread. And He pitied the sorrows of the man in a life-long darkness. Moreover, as He recollected how that man'ssoul had also been shut up like a prisoner in a dungeon by reason of gross ignorance, He said, "I must work, I must work."You see they are after Him with stones, but He stops, for He says "I must work. They may stone Me if they will, but I mustwork. I hear the summons and I must work."

Now learn this lesson, all you followers of Christ. Whenever you see suffering, I hope you will each one feel, "I must work.I must help." Whenever you witness poverty, whenever you behold vice, say to yourself, "I must work. I must

work." If you are worthy of the Christ whom you call Leader, let all the necessities of men impel you, compel you, constrainyou to be blessing them. Let the world which lies in the Wicked One awaken you! Let the cries of men of Macedonia awaken youas they say, "Come over and help us!" Men are dying, dying in the dark. The cemetery is filling and Hell is filling, too!Men are dying without hope and are passing into the eternal night. "I must work."

They cry-"Master, spare Yourself! Incessant labor will wear You down and bring You to Your grave." But look! Look! Look! Perditionswallows crowds! They go down, alive, into the Pit! Listen to their doleful cries! Lost souls are being shut out from God!"I must work." Oh, that I could lay my hands-or, far better-that my Master would lay His pierced hands on every true Christianhere and press them upon him until he cried out, "I cannot sit here! I must be at work as soon as this service is done! Imust not only hear and give, and pray, but I must also work!"

Well, that is a grand lesson, but I do not mean it to be the chief one, for I am looking out for those who long to find mercyand salvation! What a blessing it is for you, dear Friend, if you desire to be saved, that Christ must save! There is an impulseupon Him that He must save! I know you say, "I cannot pray. I cannot feel as I wish to do." Never mind about that-the matteris in abler hands. You see, this man did not say a word-the sight of Him was enough to move the heart of the Lord Jesus! Assoon as Jesus had seen him, He said, "I must work." Have you ever seen a man in London who has no particular oratory skillsand yet succeeds in obtaining alms on a large scale? I have seen him! He dresses like a laborer. He wears a tattered smockfrock and he sits down in a corner where many pass by.

His squatting place is a little out of the rush of traffic, but near enough to secure attention from many passengers. He displaysa spade much the worse for the use made of it by somebody else, and on it is written, "I am starving!" He looks gaunt andhungry. He is exceedingly well made up and is as pale as chalk can make him! Oh, the quantity of halfpence that go into hisold hat! How people pity him! He does not sing a mournful ditty. He does not speak a word and yet many are moved by the factthat he looks as if it were true that he is starving!

Now, my Hearer, you need not be false in what you do if you set out your misery and sin before the Lord. Tonight, when youget home, kneel at your bedside and say, "Lord Jesus, I cannot pray, but here I am. I am perishing and I put myself withinsight of You. Instead of hearing my pleas, look at my sins. Instead of demanding arguments, look at my wickedness. Insteadof oratory, which I have none, Lord, remember that I shall soon be in Hell if You do not save me."

I tell you, the bell will ring and the Great Worker will feel that the time has come for Him to labor! He will say in thewords of my text, "I must work," and in you the works of God shall be made manifest! You shall be the workshop of

Christ!

IV. One more head and that is THE WORKDAY. Our Divine Master said, "I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it isday: the night comes, when no man can work." Now, listen. This is not meant about Christ, the risen Savior, but this refersto the Lord Jesus Christ as He was Man here on earth. There was a certain day in which He could bless men and when that daywas over He would be gone-there would be no Jesus Christ on earth to open blind men's eyes, or to heal the sick-He would begone from among men and be no more approachable as the healer of bodily disease. Our Lord, as a Man here on earth, had a day.It was only a day-a short period, and not very long-He could not make it longer, for it was settled by the great Lord.

The day of His Sacrifice was appointed. He, Himself, once said, "My hour is not yet come." But that hour did come. Our Lordoccupied 30 years in getting ready for His lifework and then in three years His warfare was accomplished. How much He crowdedinto those three years! Centuries of service could not equal the labor of that brief period. Brothers, some of us have had30 years of work, but we have done very little, I am afraid. And what if we have only three years more? Let us feel the impulsesof the coming eternity! Within a little while I shall no more look into the faces of the throng-they will remember me butas a name-therefore I will preach as best I can while my powers remain and my life is prolonged.

Within a little while, my Brother, you will not be able to go from door to door winning souls-the street will miss you andyour tracts-the District will miss you and your regular visits. Do your work well, for your sun will soon set. These wordsof mine may be more prophetic to some present than we dream. I may be speaking to some who are nearing their last hour andshall soon render in their account. Up Brothers! Up Sisters! Say, "We must work, for the night comes in which no man can work."Life cannot be made longer if we wish to make it so-predestination will not lengthen out the thread when the hour has cometo cut it off! Life will be short at the very longest and O, how short with those who

die young! If you and I shall omit any part of our lifework, we can never make up the omission. I speak with solemn reverenceof our Divine Master, but, if He had not healed that blind man in the days in which He lived on earth, He would have misseda part of the business upon which the Father sent Him.

I do not mean that as God, out of Heaven, He might not have given the poor beggar sight, but that makes the case the morestern in its bearing upon us since we have no such future to expect-if we do not serve men now, it will be out of our powerto bless them from the skies. This narrative could never have appeared in the life of the Son of Man had He forgotten to begracious to the blind man! His period of sojourn here below was the time for our Lord to work-if He had come back from Heavento heal the man, that would have been done in a Second Advent and not in the first! And if He omits anything from His firsterrand, below, it cannot be put in again.

When you and I have written a letter we add a postscript. When we have made a book we can write an appendix or insert somethingthat we have left out. But to this life of yours and mine there can be no postscript! We must do our work now, or never and,if we do not do it now, even now, while our opportunity serves us to perform our service to our God, we can never do it! Ifyou omitted anything yesterday, you cannot alter the fact of imperfect service on that day. If you are more zealous, now,it will be the work of today-but yesterday will still remain as incomplete as you left it. We must, therefore, be on the alertto do the work of Him that sent us while it is called today.

To this conclusion I come and here draw to a close-if our Lord Jesus Christ was so diligent to bless men when He was here,I feel certain that He is not less diligent to hear and heal them, now, in that spiritual sense in which He still works uponmen. Oh, that I knew how to lead you to seek my Lord and Master! For if you seek Him, He will be found of you as surely asyou seek Him! Christ has not lost the heart of His compassion! He is not cold in heart or slack in hand. Go to Him at once!I spoke, just now, to some of the chief of sinners, and I say to them again-Go to Jesus!

Let me speak to some of you who are not the chief of sinners-you that have been hearers of the Gospel and have only failedbecause you do not believe in Jesus. Go to Him at once! You are backward, but He is not. He must still work, and still workwhile the Gospel Day lasts, for that Gospel Day will soon close. He is waiting and watching for you. Oh, come to Him-comeeven now! "I do not know what it is to come," says one. Well, to come to Christ is simply to trust Him. You are guilty-trustHim to pardon you. "If I do that," says one, "may I then live as I did before?" No, that you cannot, for if a ship neededto be brought into harbor and they took a pilot on board, he would say to the captain, "Captain, if you trust me, I will getyou into harbor all right. There, let that sail be taken down."

But they do not reef it. "Come," he says, "attend to the tiller and steer as I bid you." But they refuse. "Well," says thepilot, "you said you trusted me." "Yes," says the captain, "and you said that if we trusted you, you would get us into port,but we have not got into port at all." "No," says the pilot, "you do not trust me, for if you trusted me you would do as Itell you."

A true trust is obedient to the Lord's commands and these forbid sin. If you trust Jesus, you must leave your sins and takeup your cross and follow Him. Such trust shall surely have its reward-you shall be saved now and saved forever! God blessyou, dear Friends, for Christ's sake.