Address to Young Men-George Mueller

Address to Young Men

 ” Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.  Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh:  for childhood and youth are vanity.”  – Eccles, xi.  9, 10,

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”  -Eccles.  xii.  1. 

I have been requested to preach this evening more particularly to young men, – to the dear young men; and as I myself have been a young man, and know what it is to be a young man out of Christ, and a young man in Christ, a believer in the Lord Jesus, I cheer­fully complied with the request.  I myself lived to be twenty years of age and a few weeks before I was converted, and therefore I know experimentally what it is to be a young man out of Christ; especially when it is considered that, though I was only twenty years of age, I had the experience of one who was thirty or thirty-five years old; for I had been, from ten years and a half, so to speak, my own master, and had seen much, very much, of life by the time that I was twenty.  Yet, as I was only a young man of twenty when converted, I know experimentally what it is to be a young man as a believer in the Lord Jesus, and gladly, therefore, do I comply with the request to preach to my dear young friends, – the dear young men.  But while the subject which we lay before you this evening is of importance to young men, it is also of im­portance to all of us, – to young men and young women, to middle-aged men and to middle-aged women, to elder men and to elder women; for the truth as it is in Jesus must always be of importance to every human being.  The portion which I have read is one which more especially, by the Holy Ghost, is addressed to young men; and of all the portions in the Divine Testimony for the occasion, I know none more suitable than the one which I have been reading. 

We will now read again, little by little, this portion, and meditate upon it, as God may help us:  “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes.”  The first thing we have especially to keep before us regarding this statement is not as if the Holy Ghost were encou­raging people, whether young men or young women or any human beings, to live according to their own likings.  We have not for a moment to suppose this.  The statement is precisely of the same character as we find at the very close of the blessed book of God, in the last chapter of the book of Revelation, in the eleventh verse, where we read:  “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still:  and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still:  and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still:  and he that is holy, let him be holy still.  (12 v.) And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”  These two verses are to be taken in connection, just as the first part of this ninth verse in the eleventh chapter of Ecclesiastes is to be taken in connection with the latter part of the selfsame verse.  The Holy Ghost is stating here what will be seen with regard to young men – the natural liking of the natural heart of young men, that is, to please themselves; to go their own way; to gratify themselves; to walk according to the sight of their own eyes.  It is not stated in the way of encouragement by the Holy Ghost that they should do so.  Far less is it sanctioned by the Holy Ghost, as if there were no harm in all this, The fact is simply referred to, as it is among men,  What is the common course among men, and what is the natural tendency of youth.  It was the same with all of us; the same, not only with young men and young women, but the same with middle-aged men and middle-aged women, with elder men and elder women.  We like to go our own way, to please ourselves, and gratify ourselves, and act according to the biddings of nature.  This is the statement of the Holy Ghost, just as we find it in the last chapter of the book of Revelation, but with this solemn, weighty, momentous addition:  “Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me;” and here the Holy Ghost adds, “For all these things God will bring thee into judgment.” 

“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes.”  Now, the very reverse of all this the Holy Ghost would tell them should be the case. 

In the first place, “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth.”  Are we to rejoice in our youth?  The statement of the Holy Ghost again and again and again is, “Rejoice in the Lord.”  Our strength is, to be happy in the Lord.  This we are enjoined, this is the will of the Lord con­cerning us, to rejoice in the Lord, and not to rejoice in youth. 

Further, “Let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth.”  Our own hearts cheer us?  The consolations of the blessed gospel are to cheer us, and not our own hearts.  He that would trust in his own heart, and he that would look into his own heart, to find there a fountain of happiness, is a fool; and therefore that cannot possibly be the meaning.  But it is simply the statement of the Holy Ghost how it is among men, what is the tendency among men, and how it is found to be among men.  So, then, it does not at all mean that we should cheer ourselves, from the fact that we are young men. 

“And walk in the ways of thine heart.’” Verily, is it this that is enjoined?  Can it be so?  The walking in the ways of our own heart would be the ways of the transgressors.  We are naturally far from God; we naturally do things which are hateful to God, which are anything but pleasing to Him.  What is enjoined to the human being is, to walk in the ways of the Lord; and therefore it cannot possibly mean here that it is pleasing to God, and according to the mind of God; but it is simply stated what is the ten­dency of youth – to walk in their own ways, not liking to be directed by God’s orders, by God’s ways. 

And then further, “In the sight of thine eyes.”  This we like naturally, but that which is inculcated in the Holy Scripture is this, – to walk in the sight of God, to walk according to the mind of God, to walk in the light of God’s countenance, so to walk as that we do not go out of the sight of God.  This is the will of the Lord respecting us.  And, therefore, in the first place, this is to be settled in our own hearts, that here is the statement of the Holy Ghost, not by way of commendation, the very reverse, only the simple statement of the Holy Ghost as to what is common among men, what is the result of our fallen state, as long as we are not in Christ we rejoice in things which are according to nature, instead of rejoicing in things which are according to the mind of God.  But it is the latter, and the latter only, which brings real, true joy, peace, and happiness to the human being; and the former never did, never will, never can.  It is not contained in that which this world affords, not even in natural relationship, nor in the state of man as to his varied progress, it is not possible that, in any of these things, real joy, real hap­piness can be found; but only in communion with God, in oneness with God, in having done away, by the grace of God, the distance from God, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, can we find peace and happiness.

Now, that this is not a supposition of mine, but that it is evidently the mind of God, we at once find from the second part of the verse, where this is stated:  “For all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”  If it were commended by the Holy Ghost that a young man should rejoice in the fact that he is a youth, that he is young; if it were commended by the Holy Ghost that he should let his heart cheer him in the days of his youth; if it were commended by the Holy Ghost that he should walk in the ways of his own heart, and in the sight of his own eyes, then why this addition?  Why this contrast?  A plain proof that it is the very reverse from what the Holy Ghost means us to do; for, as I said before, He would have us to rejoice in the Lord.  He would have us to be cheered by the consolations of the gospel, He would have us to walk in the ways of God, He would have us to walk in the light of the countenance of God.  This is according to the mind of God, and not the other.  If, however, young men are determined to go their own way, then let them hear the word of the Lord:  “But know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.” 

What then, if we are brought into judgment?  If all our wrong doings are brought before God, and sentence passed according to our actions; if all our words, the tens upon tens of thousands, and the hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of words which we utter, from the moment that we are brought, into the world to the moment that we are taken out of the world; and if all the thoughts and desires, the inclinations and pur­poses, which have been found in our hearts are tested by the scrutinizing eye of God, and weighed in His balance, what will be the end of this?  What can be the end of this but to hear that awful sentence, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”  Oh! what would befall us if once we are to be dealt with according to our deeds, our words, our thoughts?  We should be undone, and undone for eternity; and, therefore, the solemn and momentous point with regard to this latter part of the verse is not only that it says to us that the meaning, which is apparently the meaning of the first part of the verse, cannot possibly be the meaning; but that also, by this latter part of the verse we are stirred up to the utmost, and entreated, and besought by God to the utmost (if I may use the words), with all earnestness, with all diligence, with all haste, to close with Christ, to lay hold on the offers of the gospel, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls, in order that we may not have to stand at the judgment-bar of the Lord Jesus Christ, and hear that awful sentence to which I have referred.  There is no possibility of escaping punishment and hell, but by believing the gospel.  There is no possibility of having eternal joy and happiness, but through faith in the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ; and if there had been a possibility of any human being being saved in any other way, God would not have delivered up the choicest, the most precious of all gifts He had to give, – even His only-begotten Son.  But when He saw that we were lost and undone, His heart being full of yearning love, His heart full of compassion to the lost and ruined and guilty, He, in the riches of His grace, gave for them the choicest gift He had to give, – His only-begotten Son, and bruised Him and wounded Him and laid on Him the punishment of us all; and that blessed One endured, in our room, all the punishment which was due to those who put their trust in Him. 

Now the great point before we pass on is this:  First of all, I ask my dear young friends, the dear young men to whom I am speaking more particularly this evening, – how is it with you?  Have you closed with Christ or not?  Have you accepted the offers of the gospel or not?  Are you in Christ or out of Christ?  I feel for you; I can well enter into your state.  I was out of Christ for many a long year, and oh! the thousands of times that I have wished that I had known the Lord much younger than I did.  There was, however, this difference between me and you; I never heard the gospel till I was twenty years and five or six weeks old; I never met with a Christian till I was twenty years and five or six weeks old.  I never under­stood about the atoning death of the Lord Jesus till then.  You, at least almost all of you, if not everyone of you, have heard the gospel again and again; some of you, it may be, times without number.  You have been entreated and besought, most of you, if not all of you, many times to believe the gospel; therefore see the difference.  Now, be besought and entreated at last; oh! let me beseech and entreat you to give, without delay, your heart to the Lord.  And if you want another testimony, though I dare say you have had testimony upon testimony before, I tell you that it is altogether a mistake when persons suppose that they will never have a happy hour if, while young, they believe the gospel, – that is a most grievous mistake; it is the reverse.  It is just this very reception of the Lord Jesus Christ which gives real joy, real happiness, real gladness of heart.  The other is a mere fancy, a dream-like joy; there is no reality in it; it brings nothing but an aching heart afterwards, whatever the apparent joy for the time may be. 

I know from my own experience what it is with all one’s might to seek to enjoy the world, for I did it to the utmost, and I had opportunity above many to do it; and it was nothing but vanity and misery and wretchedness that it brought.

Then, again, on the other hand, I know, what it is, as a young man, to be a Christian; for, as I told you, I was about twenty years and five or six weeks old when I was brought to the know­ledge of the Lord; and then, having found the Lord, I was happy, and before the very first evening had closed, in which I was brought to the knowledge of the Lord, I said to my former companions in travelling, “What are all our joys and all our pleasures on the journey to Switzerland in comparison with this evening.  That was the very beginning of my divine life; and now forty-eight years have passed, and I bear testimony, to the praise and honour and glory of God, that I have never been tired of Christ; but the longer I walk on in the ways of God, the more I find how true the Word of the Lord is, that the paths of wisdom are paths of pleasant­ness and peace; that real joy, real happiness, real blessing, real peace, real comfort, reality, are to be had by faith in the Lord Jesus.  Only I make this addition, You must be an out and out Christian; you cannot hold with one hand the world, and with the other Christ.  You would otherwise be a wretched being; and if there are any here present who want the world and Christ, let them keep the world, for they cannot have both.  You can have nothing but perdition if you cleave to the world, because it is under condemnation, and you will be con­demned with the world if you will not let the world go; but if you are minded to let the world go, and lay hold on Christ, and be an out and out disciple of the Lord Jesus, I tell you this, as an honest man, you will be a happy man.  Oh! how happy, how unspeakably happy, how blessed your portion as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Oh! it is a blessed thing to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, dear young men, be no longer believing the lie of the devil; and to you young women I say the same; and to you elder men and women I say the same; to everyone here present, and even to the little boys and girls here present, I say the same; if ever there comes a whisper to your mind from the devil, that all joy and happiness would be gone if you were to become a Christian, – it is the very reverse.  Real joy, real happiness, real blessedness, only begin with the day that we obtain spiritual life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; for then comes the time when our sins are forgiven; then comes the time when we become the children of God through this faith in the Lord Jesus; then comes the time when we become the heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ through this faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; then comes the time, and only then, that you can lie down in peace at night, knowing that, if it were the last time, and you should not awaken any more in this world, you would not lift up your eyes in torment, but in heaven.  I challenge any dear young man here present, who will show to me any way that makes so happy as this, – to know that if this were the last night, to be awaking in heaven, and not in torment.  Oh, what is not this worth! Oh, how blessed is this one single thing! What can all the world give in com­parison with this one single thing, – to know that, if this were our last night, heaven would be our portion, and not the place of torment?  Is it not worth something?  You speak about the happiness at the billiard table:  I know it; and misery it is, and nothing else.  You speak about the enjoyment of the theatre:  I know it, above many of you, if not all of you; I was there times without number, and was passion­ately fond of the theatre; and what then?  Wretchedness and misery were the result.  You speak about the ballroom:  there was I; – there was I, and at two or three o’clock in the morning left the ballroom with a disordered stomach. 

I know all this, – the wretchedness and misery which it gives, instead of real enjoyment and real happiness.  You speak about the pleasures of reading:  I know them too; for when I was only thirteen years old I had my books by the month out of the library, and I devoured them with all eagerness – volume after volume.  And you speak about learning, and the enjoyment in this: 

I was at school from the time that I was five years old, to the time that I was nineteen and a half, when I went to the university with honourable testimonials, and was there for four years; and then studying was not over, for when I came to England I went on with Hebrew, Chaldee, etc.  And what did I find?  That learning in itself gives no happiness, – no real, true happiness.  Christ, and Christ alone, gives real, true happi­ness.  I know seven languages; and with all this I should have gone to hell, if it had not been that I know Christ, Christ, Christ.  Oh, the blessedness of being a disciple of the Lord Jesus! Oh! my dear young friends, be you male or female, or little children, let me tell you of the blessedness, the blessedness, THE BLESSEDNESS, of being a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Only be an out and out Christian.  It is this half-hearted mind which makes men to be no really happy beings.  You cannot be happy if you want to hold the world with one hand and Christ with the other; but the moment you come to the determination that you will not halt between two opinions, and that you will be an out and out Christian, you will be happy.  I know the difficulty of this; for, when I was converted, I was almost the only believer out of 1260 young men who were students at the university; and they knew me, that I had been in the fencing saloon to learn fencing, in order that I might be able to fight a duel if anyone insulted me.  They knew me:  “There is the Mystic,” as I was called; and they pointed at me with fingers.  But those sneers lasted a few days or a few weeks at the most; and, by the grace of God, I stood at the side of Christ with two or three students out of the 1260, and the result was, a happy man I was.  And the result has been, a happy man I have been.  But it must be an out and out thing.  And therefore this I would say affectionately to those who are yet out of Christ, – Only be upright and honest.  You who are believers in the Lord Jesus, let me affectionately say this, – Let it be an out and out standing at the side of Christ with you.  Be not half-hearted.  The devil will seek, if he cannot altogether bring you back to him, at least in some degree to bring you back into the world.  Now let me affectionately be­seech and entreat you to let it be an out and out Christianity, and then the result will be this, – you will be an out and out happy man.  Thus it should be with all the disciples of the Lord Jesus.  It would pain me to the utmost if people could live with me a month in the house and not bear this testimony, – that Mr.  Müller is “a happy man,” And a happy man I desire to be; and a happy man I am.  It is Christ who makes me happy; for there is something unspeakably blessed in this, – that the older one gets, the nearer the end of the journey, the brighter the blessed­ness of the prospect; with heaven as one’s home, that one is getting nearer and nearer to the gates.  Oh! how blessed to be in Christ.  And this blessedness I desire for all my beloved dear young friends to whom I am more specially speaking this evening.  It is a blessed thing to be a believer in the Lord Jesus. 

“But know, thou, that for all these things God will bring thee to judgment.  Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh:  for childhood and youth are vanity.”  If we act according to the statement of the first part of the ninth verse, the result will be this, – sorrow to the heart and evil to the flesh.  I would mention here, by the way, that “flesh” is to be here understood as “the body.”  It does not mean the old and corrupt nature, it means the body.  Now if we walk according to the ways of our own heart, according to the sight of our own eyes, it is certain that there will come, sooner or later, more or less sorrow to the heart, and that there will come evil, even to the body, as the certain result. 

The will of God is, that young men should remove sorrow from their heart, and put away evil from their body; but, if young men walk ac­cording to their natural inclinations, it will bring, it must bring sorrow, – oh! how much sorrow.  Let any dear young men just follow out their own desires:  sorrow upon sorrow it will bring; sorrow upon sorrow it will bring, not only as to the heart, but also as to the body, in most instances; yet not only to the body, evil, but oftentimes premature death.  Oh! how often is it seen that not only disease of the body, but even

a premature death comes from walking according to the natural inclination and the carnal mind. 

So, then, if you wish to put sorrow from your heart, if you wish to put evil from the body, the way is to walk according to the mind of the Lord, which begins, in the first place, by the re­ception of the gospel, by receiving Christ, and then, afterwards, by continuing in Christ.  Abide in Christ, seek to please the Lord, and to act according to the mind of the Lord.  It is by this, and by this only, that sorrow can be kept from the heart, and that evil can be kept from the body.  Oh how deeply important it is to at­tend to these things! And we see it is just the graciousness of the heart of God which brings before us this boon; because the Lord wills not the death of the sinner, but that he should turn from his evil ways and live.  This is not all.  If young men are believers, God desires them to be happy believers, – truly happy.  This, however, cannot be, except they abide in Christ.  This is the only way whereby sorrow can be removed from the heart, and whereby evil can be kept from the body.  Awful diseases many dear young men bring on themselves, and even premature death, because they do not attend to these things. 

And then it is added, in the way of caution, “For childhood and youth are vanity.”  The word “youth” in Hebrew means “the begin­ning of the day,” “the breaking of the day,” and therefore the figure is carried out here.  “Childhood and the morning of life are vanity.”  Vanity here means, “of a transient character, – it passes – it does not last long – it goes away.” 

Now this is also a point to be kept before us.  It is deeply important, in the first place, with regard to this life, that youth is of a transient character, it passes away.  Therefore, in childhood and in youth, the best use is to be made of time, talents, strength.  The cultivation of  the mind is deeply important.  From what I have been saying, you must not for a moment suppose that I mean that it is not   worth anything at all that one knows this or the other thing, or that the mind be well cultivated; I mean no such thing to be understood by what I am saying.  I simply mean that these things are nothing in compari­son with the choicest and the chiefest of all the good that we can have, – faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is important for young men to make good use of their time, even with regard to this life; because childhood and youth are of a tran­sient character, they pass away; and therefore the mind should be cultivated. 

Things that are profitable for this life are to be learned, – and to be learned, among other rea­sons, that hereafter they may be useful even in the cause of Christ.  I have just been referring to languages.  When I learned French, for instance, and other languages, I had no thought that they would ever be useful in the service of Christ; but afterwards it pleased God so to order it in His providence that I had sometimes six missionaries for five and six months at a time in my house, and there were three different lan­guages spoken at my dinner-table, – German, French, and English.  Now the very fact of knowing these languages helped me in the cause of Christ.  I am now continuing my correspond­ence in three different languages, – French, Ger­man, and English.  These, in the cause of Christ, have been very useful.  Not that I mean to lay stress on these things, as if they were of such moment that there would be no happiness with­out them.  Not this; for the great point, after all remains, – to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus, and to walk in the ways of God.  But, if we have the opportunity, let us make good use of the opportunity.  We must not despise the op­portunities, nor put them aside, but make good use of them; because youth passes away, is of a transient character, does not last, and therefore the time is to be usefully employed in the culti­vation of the mind and in becoming acquainted with the affairs of this life, all of which may afterwards be used, not only with regard to this life, but in the service of the Lord, and for the

glory of God. 

But though it is important with regard to the affairs of life and the things connected with this life, to do so, it is of infinitely more importance with regard to eternal matters, because child­hood and youth are not lasting, are of a transient character; therefore the momentous point is, that, while yet young, we should give our hearts to the Lord.  Not to put it off to this time or that time.  Suppose that time never came?  And even if the time came, the heart naturally gets harder and harder, and therefore, a loss is sustained by putting it off.  But the cares of this life come after awhile, and then the less inclination to give the heart to the Lord.  There­fore, the great object, both as to this life, and es­pecially with regard to the world to come, should be to make the best use of childhood and youth, which are passing away. 

Before passing on to the last verse of our sub­ject, I pause, and I ask the question, “How many have given the heart to the Lord?”  I see a number of dear young persons before me, both male and female.  How many have given the heart to the Lord?  I see also a few very young persons – children; have they given the heart to the Lord?  I do not want you to answer the question to me; but I do beseech and entreat you, in sincerity, in uprightness, with godly earnestness, to answer the question to God Himself, who, by His Spirit, puts the question to your heart:  “Art thou Mine, or art thou for the devil?  Art thou for Christ, or art thou for the world?”  How can there be a halting between two opinions? 

Youth and childhood are of a transient cha­racter; you put it off, and you think there is time enough.  How do you know there is time?  What if, when you get home this evening, you are laid low?  What if, in the night, the cholera comes upon you, or if some other disease should befall you and hurry you away?  What then?  – what then?  – what then?  All is too late. 

Oh! be besought and entreated, dear young friends.  Be assured of this, that the more you hear of the gospel; and the more you reject the invitations of the gospel, the harder your heart becomes; the further you get away from Christ; the more you are getting into the ways of the devil; the more you love the world.  Oh! be besought and entreated. 

The last verse:  “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.  “

What is the import of this?  In the first place, I judge what the Holy Ghost would bring before the human beings is this:  That the human beings – especially the young part of the human beings – should keep it before them solemnly, deeply, gravely, earnestly, that they have a Creator.  Now all in this country know that they are created.  But the mere superficial knowledge is not enough; it is of little significance in com­parison with the reality.  What the Holy Ghost would have us to keep before us is that we are creatures, and that we have a Creator. 

The verse we have before us implies various points.  In the first place, it implies this:  “That the creature is subject to the Creator.”  This we ­cannot sufficiently keep before our hearts.  It implies further:  “The creature is made for the honour and glory of the Creator.”  We can never have this sufficiently before our eyes.  It implies further:  That because the creature is made for the honour and glory of the Creator, therefore the creature should live so that the honour of the Creator would be upheld.  In what way can the human creature, above all things, honour the Creator?  In the first place, by accepting the choicest of all His gifts, the Lord Jesus Christ; and whosoever has not accepted Christ never honoured the Creator. 

You think this is a hard saying; – it may be.  I repeat it solemnly, – Every one here present, who has not accepted Christ, whether fifteen years old, or twenty years, or twenty-five years old, never once, in his whole life, honoured the Creator.  There is no such thing as that we honour the Creator, whilst the choicest gift, the most precious gift, this unspeakable gift, which cost Him so much, – His only begotten Son, – is not accepted.  Go home in this belief, that you are fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years old, and never once, for one single minute in your whole life, honoured God, because you have not accepted Christ.

This is no hasty statement.  It is my delibe­rate conviction:  As a man of God I give it as my deliberate conviction.  All you have done – all you have said, never can, never has, tended to the honour of God as long as you have not re­ceived the gospel.  Therefore, the first thing, if you would honour God the Creator, if you would realize what is meant by “remembering” Him, you must close with Christ; you must accept the gospel; you must pass sentence upon yourself as a ruined, guilty, lost sinner, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul.  You must put your whole trust, and only trust, in the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This, and this only, God would consider as remembering Him. 

Then, if you have received the gospel, further abide in Christ.  Seek to please Jehovah Jesus, who spake the word; everything that is in ex­istence was brought into existence by Him, and He is the builder of the universe.  Abide in Him; seek to please Him; seek to act accord­ing to His mind.  That He considers, as the choicest, most precious way of remembering your Creator. 

Lastly:  “”While the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”  This is the very reverse from what a young man naturally says:  “I am very young; there is time enough; when I am old I will attend to these things.”  The very reverse from what God says:  “Before the evil days come;” that is the will of the Lord.  When men get advanced in life, then comes the danger of not attending to these things:  because of the heart having been so much hardened, because the cares of this life shut out Christ, because of numberless troubles, a long family, a number of children to be settled in life; therefore this, the most momentous of all matters, is not to be put off.  Oh! how wise, – how infinitely wise, is God.  But the devil, you see, is always against God; he is always placing things in the very opposite light.  God says, “Before these days come.”  Nature says, “I will put it off till I am an old man, or till I am an old woman.”  The devil whispers, “There is time enough when you get to your death-bed.”  How do you know that you will ever get to your death-bed?  The next time you travel – rush! and in an instant you are carried away in a railway accident; the next time you ride in a carriage, off the horse goes, and in an instant you are thrown out, and in eternity; the next time you go out, a tile falls on your head from the roof, and in an instant you are in eternity.  Oh! how do you know that you will live one single day more?  How utterly fallacious it is to put it off to old age, to this or that time! The present moment, and the present moment only, is the time, and therefore the pre­sent moment alone is ours; we cannot boast of time. 

Once more, beloved young friends, male or female, beloved older men and women, let me beseech and entreat you, with all earnestness, to seek the Lord while He is to be found, and to call upon Him while He is near.  And be you sure of this:  if you go – to speak after the manner of men – one single step, it is Jesus who comes a dozen or a hundred steps towards you.  He stands, as it were, with open arms to receive you.  It is the very joy and delight of His heart to welcome you; and, therefore, delay not.  Oh! be besought and entreated. 

George Mueller