A SERMON FOR MEN OF TASTE – Charles Spurgeon
A SERMON FOR MEN OF TASTE
“Therefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby, if, indeed, you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1 Peter 2:1-3.
INTRODUCTION TO TASTE
“IF, indeed, you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” “If, If:” then is not a thing to be taken for granted concerning the entire human race. “If”—then there is a possibility, and a probability, that some may not have tasted that the Lord is gracious. “If, if”—then this is not a general but a special mercy; and it becomes our business to inquire whether we are in that company, who know the grace of God by inward experience. There is no spiritual favor which may not be a matter for heart-searching. At the very summit of holy delight, we meet the challenge of sentinel “If”—“If you, then, are risen with Christ,” and at the very bottom, even at repentance gate itself, He meets us with a warrant of arrest until He sees whether our sorrow is the godly sorrow that needs not to be repented of. “If you are the Son of God,” is not always a temptation of the devil, but often a very healthy inquiry most fittingly suggested by holy anxiety to men who would build securely upon the Rock of Ages. If at the Lord’s Table, itself, it is proper for us to say, “Lord, is it I?” when there is a Judas in the company, and if after the most intimate fellowship, Christ exclaimed, “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?”—let no enjoyment of ordinances, let no high and rapt fellowship which we may have known, exempt us from the great duty of proving ourselves whether we are in the faith! But, beloved, albeit this should be a matter of heart-searching, I take it that no man ought to be content while there is any such thing as an “if” about his having tasted that the Lord is gracious. I can understand believers saying— “It is a point I long to know, Often it causes anxious thought— Do I love the Lord or no? Am I His, or am I not?” But I do not understand their being comfortable while their souls are under such suspense. I can comprehend the doubts which arise from jealousy and holy distrust, but I cannot understand the continuance of those doubts, without a desperate struggle to clasp the Savior with the hands of faith, and say, “I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him.” Do not rest, O believer, till you have a full assurance of your interest in Christ. Let nothing satisfy you till, by the infallible witness of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with your spirit, you are certified that you are a child of God. Oh, trifle not here! Let no “perhaps,” and “if,” and “maybe,” satisfy your soul. Build on eternal truths of God, and verily build upon them. Get the sure mercies of David, and surely get them. Let your anchor be cast into that which is within the veil, and see to it that your soul is linked to the anchor by a cable that will not break. Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus, I exhort and stir you up to get beyond these dreary “ifs.”
Abide no more in the howling wilderness of doubts and fears; cross the Jordan of distrust, and enter the Canaan of peace, where the Canaanite still lingers, but which ceases not to flow with milk and honey! Our text mentions a taste—“If, indeed, you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” And the Apostle speaks of the duty of those men of taste who have received this special favor. These two things shall take up our time this morning—the taste, and the duties arising out of it. And before we conclude, we shall go back to the Psalm with which we commenced this morning, and address those who as yet have never tasted that the Lord is gracious, in the words of David—“O taste and see that the Lord is good!”
I. TASTE IS PROMINENT IN THE TEXT
I scarcely need observe that in Scripture, the Holy Spirit uses natural things as figures by which to set forth spiritual mysteries. Inasmuch as our language was ordained to speak the thoughts of the mind, and to describe the things of the body, it is not fitted, in itself, for the utterance of the things of the spirit. As much as the soul is higher than the body, so much superior is the spirit (that is, the new principle implanted in regeneration) to the mere soul which every man possesses; and, as you will clearly see, if our speech had only been made for the body, and had not been adapted for a being that had a soul, we should have been strangely embarrassed for the expression of our mental emotions! And now, as our speech only reaches unto the natural soul, if we would speak of the higher thoughts and impulses of the inner and newborn spirit, we can only do so by using the words we employ concerning natural objects. In this way, we do not so much describe spiritual things as they are in themselves, but bring them down to our comprehension. When we shall become pure spirits, we may have a spiritual language; when we are caught up to the third heaven, we shall use those words which now are not lawful for a man to utter—spiritual words fitted for spiritual things!
faith as Taste: The taste here meant is doubtless faith. Faith, in the Scripture, is all the senses. It is sight. “Look unto Me and be you saved, all you ends of the earth.” “They looked unto Him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.” It is hearing—“Hear and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” Faith hears the voice of the Spirit in effectual calling—for the dead hear the voice of God, and “They who hear shall live.” Faith is also smelling. “All your garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia.” “Your name is as ointment poured forth.” “A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto Me.” Faith is also touch. By this faith, the woman came behind, and touched the hem of Christ’s garment, and by this, we handle the things of the good Word of life. Faith is equally the spirit’s taste. “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my lips.” “Except a man eat My flesh,” says Christ, “and drink My blood, there is no life in him.” We shall have an inward and spiritual apprehension of the sweetness and preciousness of Christ, as the result of living faith.
Faith’s High Operation: The taste here meant is faith in one of its highest operations. One of the first performances of faith is hearing. We hear the voice of God, not with the outward ear alone, but with the inward ear. We hear it as God’s Word, and we believe it to be so. That is the hearing of faith. Then our mind looks upon the truth of God as it is presented to us. That is to say, we understand it, we see what it means—that is the seeing of faith. Then we perceive its preciousness to others, if not to ourselves; we begin to admire it, and find how fragrant it is. That is faith in its smell. Then comes the appropriating act by which we lay hold of the mercies that are offered us in Christ. That is faith in its touch. Then come enjoyments, peace, delight, communion—which are faith in its taste. Any one of these acts of faith is saving. To hear Christ’s voice, as the very voice of God in the soul, will save us; but that which gives the true enjoyment is the aspect of faith wherein Christ, by holy taste, becomes assimilated to us. We feed on Him! He comes into us, and becomes part of us. His living word sustains us, and His precious blood cheers us as generous wine.
Taste and Divine Grace: Do you ask, “In what respect does faith taste that the Lord is gracious?” It is faith operating by experience! Dear Christian friends, you remember the time, when laden with guilt and full of fears, you looked to Jesus Christ—it was the eye of faith which looked. After a while, Christ’s sweet love assured you that your sins were forgiven, and you felt calm in your soul, such as you had never known before—that was tasting Christ! You knew His sweetness, you knew the power there was in Him to take the bitterness out of your mouth, and to put in sweetness instead. Since that time you have been in trouble, but you have tasted Christ, for He has comforted you and lifted up the light of His countenance upon you; you have been often greatly tried, but He has sustained you, and you have experienced that He is a very present help in time of trouble. Temptation has assailed you, but you have been able to meet it by, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” And perhaps, even today, your soul is as full as it can be, of delightful contemplations of the loveliness, the faithfulness, the affection, the power, and the glory of your precious Lord Jesus Christ! Now, this is what is meant by tasting. It is enjoying Christ by an act of faith and finding Him to be the altogether lovely, sweet, and precious one. It is something more than believing Christ to be precious. It is perceiving His worth, appreciating His sweetness, enjoying His loveliness; it is lying with His left hand under our head, while His right hand does embrace us. Thrice happy is the man who has thus tasted that the Lord is gracious!
A Figure to Illustrate Taste: Follow me, while, by a figure, I make this point clear as noonday. There is a rumor running through the camp of Israel that God on the morrow, at the rising of the sun, will feed His people. The rumor is believed—that is faith as hearing; Israel has heard that God will feed, and Israel believes. See now—before daybreak, the hosts of Israel hasten to the borders of the camp, and they see, lying upon the ground, certain grains like coriander seed. “This, this,” they say, “is the food that God has sent to us.” That is faith as seeing; they take it up in their hands. They examine it, and feel of what sort it is. That is faith as the touch. They put it to their nostrils. They ascertain somewhat of its character by the very smell. This is faith judging and discerning as smell. But lo! They place it in their mouths, and one of them says, “It tastes like wafers made with honey.” And another says “It is as fresh oil.” This is faith enjoying, for now they have come, not to hear of, nor see, nor smell, nor touch, alone, but as men to eat angel’s food, and are fed even to the full! Here you see faith in its progressive works ending by the high degree of tasting.
II. THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF MEN WHO HAVE TASTED CHRIST
Avoiding Malice: Malice. “Revenge is sweet,” is the proverb of the Italians, and many an Englishman has half learned it, if not wholly. “Revenge is sweet.” But not to the man who has tasted Christ, for he says, “How can I have vengeance upon my fellow, when Christ has put away my sin?” Now, forgiveness is sweet, and he loathes malice, and turns aside from it as from venom itself!
Avoiding Guile: Guile; that is craftiness whereby men rob their fellow creatures. Some men think guile a very fine thing. “That’s a sharp fellow,” says one; and sage fathers pat their boys on the back and say, “If you become a sharp fellow, you will be an alderman yet.” See yonder trader, you must keep all your eyes open or he will take you in; he does not exactly tell lies but—well, he shaves very closely to the truth. It is guile; low craftiness and cunning. A man of God hates that thing. “What? I, I the servant of the God of truth, crouch, bend, fawn, do anything but what is upright, to gain wealth?” As surely as the Lord says concerning the Laodicean Church, “I will spew you out of My mouth,” so the believer says concerning anything that is not true and straightforward, “I am sick of it. I loathe it, I abhor it. I turn from it.”
Avoiding Hypocrisy: The next thing is hypocrisy, whereby men are not so much robbed and injured as deceived. A Christian can be no hypocrite. Hypocrisy, like all other sins, lurks in man till the very last. But a believer hates to pretend to be what he is not; a man who has once tasted that the Lord is gracious, is a true and transparent man in his profession; if any suppose him to be better than he is, he does not wish to wear feathers that are not his own; he would not be glorified by another man’s labors, nor build upon another man’s foundation. Hypocrisy he utterly detests and would sooner die a pauper than live a pretender.
Avoiding Evil Speaking: Any man among you who has tasted that the Lord is gracious, will, I am sure, without my exhortation this morning, loathe all malice, guile and hypocrisy! Once more, put away all evil speaking. I am sorry to say that there are some, who I hope are Christians, who do not hate evil speaking. “Have you heard about Mrs. So-and-So?” I shall not mention names, but there are fifty, perhaps a hundred, here, to whom it will apply. There is a little mischief in the village about Miss A, or Mr. B; and Mrs. Tittle-Tattle is up as early as possible and calls on Mrs. Scandal, and says, “Have you heard the sad news? I hope it is not true.” “No, I have not heard it.” “Well, don’t mention it to anybody else; I hope it is not correct; but I have heard such-and-such.” And the two sit down and they make such a breakfast over it! And they both say they hope it is not true, while all the time they are as glad of it in their hearts as ever they can be. They go on telling others they hope it is not true—and telling them not to mention it to anybody else—until they do all the mischief before they have stopped to inquire whether or not they are telling lies!
The Desire for Pure Doctrine: The apostle, having told us what to avoid, tells us what to eat and drink—“As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word.” A most unfortunate translation, for who ever heard of “sincere milk?” “Unadulterated milk” is a more sensible translation. The Christian man should desire pure doctrine. He should desire to hear the gospel plainly and truthfully preached. Not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but in the words which the Holy Spirit teaches.
III. INVITATION TO TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD
Conclusion: “O taste and see that the Lord is good!” Dear Christian friends, I have spoken to you of this taste; but among us this morning, in the galleries and down below here, there is a goodly sprinkle of men who do not know Christ. They have come up to this house of prayer, not that they might know Christ, but that they might see a vast congregation, and amuse themselves by novelty. Ah, how many come with this miserable objective! Well, let them come for whatever they like, we are glad to see them, for being in the way, God may meet with them! Now, to such of you who are not believers in Christ, and have never tasted that He is gracious, we say this— “O taste and see,” by which we mean, experience is necessary. Taste and see! You cannot see without tasting; if you would know whether religion is a good and happy thing, try it! It is not rubbing the bread upon the cheek, it is tasting. You must have an inward sense of the things of God. “My son, give Me your heart.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” Let your heart believe in Jesus; be not content with ceremonies; rest not satisfied with outward morality! Only that which reaches the core will really affect the fruit of the tree. We must make the fountain pure, or else our filtering the stream is all in vain. “Taste and see.” Dear hearers, I cannot insist too earnestly upon this. Get an inward religion; vital godliness; which goes into the secret parts of the heart, and dwells in the inner man; nothing but tasting can save your souls! And then, we say, “Taste and see,” we are quite sure that if you will taste you shall see that the Lord is good. I bear my willing witness that Christ makes a man blessed, that religion is a happy thing, and that “Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace.” But you do not believe me. Then, taste and see for yourselves. “Seek tHe Lord while He may be found: call upon Him while He is near.” May the Spirit of God lead you to give your heart to Jesus, and you will find that the true religion of Jesus is a good thing for you. A good thing for you, young woman; a good thing for you, young man; good for the trader; good for the gentleman; good for the artisan—good for all of you!
We feel very earnest that you should do this, and therefore, we say, “O taste and see that the Lord is good!” Do not despise our invitation! We beseech you, by the mercies of God, to give your hearts to Jesus! From our very souls, as though we pleaded for our own lives, we would beseech you. Give the things of God a patient consideration. Believe in Jesus; this is to taste. Trust Christ; this is to “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Yes, I know you will turn on your heels and say that religion is a good thing for Sundays, but you do not see anything in it for everyday life. Ah, sirs, it is for lack of knowing better! If you would but taste and see, you would regret that you had not tasted before—and you would rejoice and bless the Lord that you were brought to taste at last. But you say, “May I taste?” Oh, yes! Divine grace is free! Christ is free! If you will come, poor sinner, there is none to push you back. If God has made you willing to take Christ, depend upon it, Christ was always willing to take you—for where God puts a renewed will into man, it is the image of His own eternal will! If you desire Christ, trust Him this morning; this is the way to escape from hell, and fly to heaven! Are you black with sin? The fountain is open—wash. Are you hungry? The door is not shut. It stands open all day—come, then, and eat. “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come you to the waters, and he who has no money, come you, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” If any of you should ever regret of trusting Christ, come and blame me. Find my Master in your hearts, and if He is not a good and precious Savior to you; if He does not feed your soul with gladness, keep you from sin and bring you at last to heaven—come and tell me I am found a false witness unto Christ! From the depths of my soul I say it, I would sooner be a Christian than an emperor; sooner have Christ than a crown; and sooner bear His cross than sit upon the throne of a Caesar! Soul, taste and see that He is good! “But I am not fit to taste,” says one. Well, but who is fit to eat? A hungry man? Are you hungry? Eat. “Oh, but my hands are black with sin.” Never mind. It is not hand work here, it is mouth work. “Oh, but I am afraid I have no taste, and that if I did receive Christ into my heart, I would not taste His sweetness.” Mark, the taste is in Him and not in your mouth. Come and take Him as He is. A little child, however weak, can be fed. Put up your mouth, you weak and foolish sinner, weary and heavy laden as you are, and by receiving Christ into your soul’s mouth, you shall find Him good, and you shall go your way rejoicing! Listen diligently unto the Lord, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. It will be an awful thing to feed on the wind forever and roll the morsels of hell beneath your tongue to all eternity—but this will be your portion unless you taste of Christ. May He add His own blessing to His own glory. Amen.
Charles Spurgeon