“Suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment” (Jeremiah 4.20.)
Introduction. The crying prophet had a heavy heart when he spoke these words about his tents being ransacked. We can’t spare a moment of sympathy for griefs of the distant past today. There is a spot in South Wales, a favorite retreat of mine, where I worshiped and ministered too, which has just been spoiled very much. Oh! valley of Risca, I am like Jeremiah for you! The angel of death has overtaken some two hundred of your strongest men in the mine over there. Our little revival with you has been spoiled! Yes, this judgment speaks to us—there is a sorrowful lesson in each lost life.
(1) Sudden Losses. Oh! how soon may God snap the ties of love! That is the world we live in. Our dear ones are loans to us from God. Love them, but hold them loosely. Thank God if your loved one is still with you. Treat the members of your family right and have no regrets. So love one another as if death will visit your home tomorrow. Tell your children, especially, about Christ. Work hard at it, tell them about death, even their own, and urge them to kneel down and pray. And when you hear your neighbor’s funeral bell, be guiltless concerning his destiny.
(2) Sudden Death. Death happened in the twinkle of an eye for these men. They did not expect it. There are a thousand gates of death for the rest of us. Satan would have us never mind about that. But God might not give us another tomorrow. Our days are not as many as the sands on the beach. Live for Christ then, and sincerely. Do not live so as to regret what little you did. Get more jewels for the crown of Jesus. You’ll never regret that. Do nothing, say nothing, think nothing, of which you might be ashamed if he appeared. Aim to die in the service of God. It seems, doesn’t it, that all men die but our own selves? But death is like a monster let loose in the city!—no, it’s worse! This monster called death is after each one of us! We must be thinking about it! If we visit the dying, that may help to impress us. I visited a lad once who was dying of alcohol poisoning. After he expired I went out in the streets, and all the bustle began right away to convince me that it was foolish to think about death. Oh, we must be careful of the trickery of activity! Maybe if we could see all who die, that would affect us more.
(3) The Sudden Exchange at Death. When I think of death I almost long for it, to leave the Sabbath of work for that Sabbath of rest! The exchange will be so surprising. Then comes overwhelming joy, and gratitude to God! But what must the exchange be like for the unconverted man? “Good God,” he says, “I was in London last minute but now I’m in hell!” Have you ever seen someone die without a hope? I read about a woman on her death-bed who tried to repent. But because of her former decision to live sinfully, she couldn’t. She prayed and fainted, prayed and fainted, and then with eyes bulging out of their sockets, she died with an awful look on her face, just as though she already felt the terrors of another world.
Selection from Conclusion. “Now if such is the remorse of a spirit before it feels the wrath of God—if the first drops are sufficient thus to destroy all hope…what will the eternal hail be—what will the everlasting sleet of divine wrath be when once it is poured out? Sodom and Gomorrah! Why all their fiery hail from heaven shall be nothing compared with the eternal fire that must fall upon the sinner. Do you think I love to speak on such a theme as this? My soul trembles while I think of it…but it is needful that men may be awakened… I pray you think of these things…Oh that God would take up the work…’Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved.’”
