STRENGTHENING MEDICINE FOR GOD’S SERVANTS – Charles Spurgeon

STRENGTHENING MEDICINE FOR GOD’S SERVANTS

“I will not fail you, nor forsake you.” Joshua 1:5.

No doubt God had spoken to Joshua before. He had been a man of faith for many years and his faith enabled him to distinguish himself by such simple truthfulness of character and thoroughly faithful obedience to the Lord’s will, that he and another were the only two left of the whole generation that came up out of Egypt. “Faithful among the faithless found,” he survived where all else died. Standing erect in full vigor, he might have been compared to a lone tree which spreads its verdant branches untouched by the axe which has leveled its fellows with the ground. But now, Joshua was about to enter upon a new work—he had become king in Jeshurun instead of Moses! From a servant, he had risen to be a ruler, and it now fell to his lot to lead the people across the Jordan and marshal their forces for the conquest of the promised land. On the threshold of this high enterprise, the Lord appears to His servant and says, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will not fail you, nor forsake you.” When God’s people come into fresh positions, they shall have fresh revelations of His love! New dangers will bring new protections—new difficulties, new helps. New discouragements, new comforts, so that we may rejoice in tribulations, also, because they are so many newly opened doors of God’s mercy to us! We will be glad of our extremities because they are divine opportunities. What the Lord said to Joshua was particularly encouraging and it came precisely when he needed it. Great was his peril and great was the promise—“Be not afraid, neither be you dismayed: for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” We will waste no time in preface, but at once consider the divine promise. “I will not fail you, nor forsake you.”

I. THE SUITABILITY OF THE CONSOLATION WHICH THESE WORDS GAVE TO JOSHUA

“I will not fail you, nor forsake you.” This must have been very cheering to him in reference to himself. He knew Moses and he must have had a very high esteem of him. He was a great man, one of a thousand—scarcely among all that have been born of woman has there arisen a greater than Moses. Joshua had been his servant and no doubt, considered himself to be very inferior to that great lawgiver. A sense of his own weakness comes over a man all the more from being associated with a grander mind. If you mingle with your inferiors, you are apt to grow vain—but closely associated with superior minds, there is a far greater probability that you will become depressed and may think even less of yourself than humility might require—for humility is, after all, only a right estimate of our own powers. Joshua, therefore, may possibly have been somewhat despondent under a very pressing sense of his own deficiencies, and this cheering assurance would meet his case—“I will not fail you: though you are less wise, or meek, or courageous than Moses, I will not fail you, nor forsake you.”

If God is with our weakness, it waxes strong. If He is with our folly, it rises into wisdom. If He is with our timidity, it gathers courage. It matters not how conscious a man may be of being nothing at all in himself, when he is conscious of the divine presence, he even rejoices in his infirmity because the power of God rests upon him. If the Lord says unto the weakest man or woman here, “I will not fail you, nor forsake you,” no cowardly thought will cross that ennobled spirit! That word will nerve the trembler with a lion-like courage which no adversary will be able to daunt.

The consolation given to Joshua would be exceedingly suitable in the presence of his enemies. He had spied out the land and he knew it to be inhabited by giant races, men famous both for stature and strength. The sons of Anak were there and other tribes described as “great, and many, and tall.” He knew that they were a warlike people and expert in the use of destructive implements of war, such as brought terror upon men, for they had chariots of iron. He knew, too, that their cities were of colossal dimensions—fortresses whose stones at this very day surprise the traveler, so that he asks what wondrous skill could have lifted those masses of rock into their places. The other spies had said that these Canaanites dwelt in cities that were walled up to heaven and though Joshua did not endorse that exaggeration, he was very well aware that the cities to be captured were fortresses of great strength. And he knew the people to be exterminated were men of ferocious courage and great physical energy. Therefore, the Lord said, “I will not fail you, nor forsake you.” What more was needed? Surely, in the presence of God, Anakim become dwarfs, strongholds become as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and chariots of iron are as thistle-down upon the hillside driven before the blast! What is strong against the Most High? What is formidable in opposition to Jehovah? “If God is for us; who can be against us?” They that are with us are more than they that are against us, when once the Lord of Hosts is seen in our ranks! “Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.” Though a host should encamp against us, our hearts shall not fear! Though war should rise against us, in this will we be confident.

This consolation, too, was sufficient for all supplies. Perhaps Joshua knew that the manna was no longer to fall. In the wilderness, the supply of heavenly bread was continuous, but when they crossed the Jordan, they must quarter on the enemy. And with the myriads of people that were under Joshua’s command, the matter of providing for them must have been no trifle. According to some computations, nearly three million people came up out of Egypt—I scarcely credit the computation and am inclined to believe that the whole matter of the numbers of the Old Testament is not yet understood. I believe a better knowledge of the Hebrew tongue will lead to the discovery that the figures have been frequently misunderstood. But, still, a very large number of people came with Joshua to the edge of the wilderness and crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan. Who was to provide for all these hungry bands? Joshua might have said, “Shall all the flocks and the herds be slain for this great multitude? And will the sea yield up her fish when the manna ceases? How shall these people be fed?” “I will not fail you, nor forsake you” was an answer which would meet all the demands of the commissariat! They might eat to the full, for God would find them food! Their clothes might wax old upon them, now that the miracle of the wilderness would cease, but new garments would be found for them in the wardrobes of their enemies. When the Lord opens all His granaries, none shall lack for bread. And when He unlocks His wardrobes, none shall go bare! So there was no room for anxiety in Joshua’s mind. As for himself, if weak, this made him strong! As for his enemies, if they were powerful, this promise made him stronger than they! And as for the needs of Israel, if they were great, this promise supplied them all!

II. WHEN CAN WE CONSIDER THIS PROMISE TO BE SPOKEN TO OURSELVES?

It is all very well to listen to it, as spoken to Joshua, but, O God, if You would speak thus to us, how consoled would we be! Do You ever do so? May we be so bold as to believe that You thus comfort us? Beloved, the whole run of Scripture speaks to the same effect to men of like mind with Joshua. No Scripture is of private interpretation! No text has spent itself upon the person who first received it. God’s comforts are like wells which no one man or set of men can drain dry, however mighty may be their thirst! A well may be opened for Hagar, but that well is never closed, and any other wanderer may drink at it. The fountain of our text first gushed forth to refresh Joshua, but if we are in Joshua’s position and are of his character, we may bring our water pots and fill them to the brim!

Let me mention when I think we may safely feel that God says to us, “I will not fail you, nor forsake you.” Surely it is when we are called to do God’s work. Joshua’s work was the Lord’s work. It was God who had given the country to the people and who had said, “I will drive out the Canaanite from before you,” and Joshua was God’s executioner—the sword in the hand of the Lord for the driving out of the condemned races. He was not entering upon a quixotic engagement of his own choosing and devising. He had not elected himself and selected his own work, but God had called him to it, put him in the office, and bid him do it! And therefore, He said to him, “I will not fail you, nor forsake you.” Brother, are you serving God? Do you live to win souls? Is it your grand object to be the instrument in God’s hand of accomplishing His purposes of grace to the fallen sons of men? Do you know that God has put you where you are and called you to do the work to which your life is dedicated? Then, go on in God’s name, for, as surely as He called you to His work, you may be sure that to you, also, He says, as indeed to all His servants, “I will not fail you, nor forsake you.”

III. WHAT THIS PROMISE DOES NOT PRECLUDE

“I will not fail you, nor forsake you.” We must not misunderstand this gracious word, lest we be disappointed when things happen contrary to our expectations. This promise does not exclude effort. A great many mistakes are made about the promises of God. Some think that if God is to be with them, they will have nothing to do. Joshua did not find it so. He and his troops had to slay every Amorite, Hittite, and Hivite that fell in battle. He had to fight and use his sword just as much as if there had been no God at all! The best and the wisest thing in the world is to work as if it all depended upon you—and then trust in God, knowing that it all depends upon Him! He will not fail us, but we are not, therefore, to fold our arms and sit still. He will not forsake us, but we are not, therefore, to go upstairs to bed and expect that our daily bread will drop into our mouths.

I have known idle people who have said, “Jehovah-Jireh,” and sat with their feet on their desks and their arms folded, and have been lazy and self-indulgent. And generally, their presumption has ended in this—God has provided them rags and jags, and a place in the county jail before long! I think these are the very best provisions that can be made for idle people, and the sooner they get it, the better for society! Oh no, no, no, no! God does not pander to our laziness! And any man who expects to get on in this world with anything that is good, without work, is a fool! Throw your whole soul into the service of God and then you will get God’s blessing if you are resting upon Him. Even Mohammad could appreciate this! When one of his followers said, “I will turn my camel loose and trust in providence,” Mohammed said, “No, no! Tie him up as tightly as you can and then trust in providence.” Oliver Cromwell had a commonsense view of this truth of God, too. “Trust in God,” he said, as they went to battle, “but keep your powder dry.” And so must we. I do not believe that God would have His servants act like fools! The best judgment a man has should be employed in the service of God. Common sense is, perhaps, as rare a thing among Christian people as salmon in the Thames. The devil’s servants have more wisdom in their generation than the children of light have, but it ought not to be. If you want to succeed, use every faulty you have, and put forth all your strength—and if it is a right cause, you may then fall back on the promise—“I will not fail you, nor forsake you.”

IV. WHAT DOES THE TEXT MEAN?

It means, first, no failure for your work. Secondly, no desertion for yourself. “I will not fail you.” Your labor shall not be in vain in the Lord. What is it? Is it the great work of preaching the gospel to thousands? God will not fail you in that. I remember how, 20 years ago, I was preaching the gospel in the simplicity of my heart and some little stir was made. But the wise men of the day made light of it and said it was all to end in six months’ time. We went on, did we not? And by-and-by, when we had still greater crowds listening to us, it was, “A temporary excitement, a sort of religious spasm.” It would all end like a mere flash in the pan, they said. I wonder where those prophets are now? If there are any of them here, I hope they feel comfortable in the unfulfilled prophecy which they can now study with some degree of satisfaction. Thousands on earth and hundreds in heaven can tell what God has worked! Is it another kind of work, dear brother, that you are engaged in; a very quiet, unobtrusive, unobserved effort? Well, I should not wonder that, little as it is, somebody or other sneers at it. There is scarcely a David in the world without an Eliab to sneer at him. Press on, brother! Stick to it, plod away, work hard, trust in your God, and your work will not fail. We have heard of a minister who added only one to his church through a long year of very earnest ministry—only one! A sad thing for him—but that one happened to be Robert Moffat—and he was worth a thousand of most of us! Go on; if you bring but one to Christ, who shall estimate the value of the one?

Your class is very small just now. God does not seem to be working. Pray about it, get more scholars into the class, and teach better, and even if you should not see immediate success, do not believe that it is all a failure. Never was a true gospel sermon preached yet, with faith and prayer that was a failure! Since the day when Christ, our Master, first preached the gospel, unto this day—I dare to say it— there was never a true prayer that failed, nor a true declaration of the gospel made in a right spirit that fell to the ground without prospering according to the pleasure of the Lord. Fire away, brother! Every shot lands somewhere, for in heavenly as well as earthly warfare, “Every bullet has its billet.” And then there shall be no desertion as to yourself, for your heavenly Friend has said, “I will not forsake you.” You will not be left alone or without a helper. You are thinking of what you will do in old age. Do not think of that—think of what God will do for you in old age! O, but your great need and long illness will wear out your friends, you say. Perhaps you may wear out your friends, but you will not wear out your God—and He can raise up new helpers if the old ones fail. O, but your infirmities are many and will soon crush you down! You cannot live long in such circumstances. Very well, then, you will be in heaven and that is far better. But you dread pining sickness. It may never come. But, suppose it should come, remember what will come with it—“I will make all your bed in your sickness.”

“I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” So runs the promise. “Fear you not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.” “The mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but the covenant of My love shall not depart from you, says the Lord, that has mercy on you.” You shall not be alone! You shall not wring your hands in despair and say, “I am utterly wretched, like the pelican of the wilderness—utterly forsaken like the owl of the desert.” The mighty God of Jacob forsakes not His own.

V. WHY MAY WE BE QUITE SURE THAT THIS PROMISE WILL BE FULFILLED?

We may be quite sure because it is God’s promise. Did ever any promise of God fall to the ground? There are those in the world who are challenging us continually and saying, “Where is your God?” They deny the efficacy of prayer. They deny the interpositions of providence. Well, I do not wonder that they do. The bulk of Christians do not realize, either, the answer to prayer or the interposition of providence—for this reason—that they do not live in the light of God’s countenance, or live by faith. But the man who walks by faith will tell you that he notices providence and never is deficient of a providence to notice—that he notices answers to his prayer—and never is without an answer to his prayer. What is a wonder to others becomes a common fact of everyday life to the believer in Christ! Where God has given His Word, “I will not fail you, nor forsake you,” let us believe it, for— “His very Word of grace is strong As that which built the skies; The voice that rolls the stars along Speaks all the promises.”

Rest well assured that if a man is called to do God’s work, God will not fail him because it is not after the manner of the Lord to desert His servants. David, in the dark days of his sin bade Joab place Uriah, the Hittite, in the forefront of the battle and leave him there to die by the hand of the children of Ammon. Was it not cruel? It was base and treacherous to the last degree! Can you suspect the Lord of anything so unworthy? God forbid! My soul has known what it is to plead with the Lord my God after this fashion—“Lord, You have placed me in a difficult position and given me service to perform far beyond my capacity. I never coveted this prominent place and if You do not help me now, why have You placed me in it?” I have always found such argument to be prevalent with God. He will not push His servants into severe conflicts and then fail them! Besides, remember that should God’s servants fail, if they are really God’s servants, the enemy would exult and boast against the Lord Himself. This was a great point with Joshua in later days. He said, “The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what will You do unto Your great name?” If the Lord raises up Luther and does not help Luther, then it is not Luther that fails—it is God that fails in the estimation of the world. If the Lord sends a man to bear witness to a truth and that man’s testimony utterly breaks down, then in the estimation of men, it is the truth that breaks down, and consequently dishonor is cast upon God and His truth—and He will not have it so. If He uses the weakest instrumentality, He will laugh to scorn His adversaries by it, and they shall never say that the Lord was overcome. Besides, if God has raised you up, my brethren, to accomplish a purpose by you, do you think He will be defeated? Were ever any of His designs frustrated? I have heard preachers talk about God being defeated by the free will of man and disappointed by man’s depravity and I know not what else! But such a god is no god of mine! My God is One who has His will and will have it—who, when He designs a thing, accomplishes it! He is a God whose omnipotence none can resist, concerning whom it may be said, “Who shall stay His hand, or say unto Him, What are you doing?” The mighty God of Jacob puts His hand to a design and carries it through as surely as He begins! The weakness of the instrument in His hand does not hinder Him, nor do the opposition of His enemies deter Him! Only believe in Him and weak as you are, you shall perform wonders—and in your feebleness, the strength of God shall be glorified! Besides, my brethren, if we trust God and live for God, He loves us much too well to leave us. It is not as though we were aliens, and strangers, and foreigners—mercenary troops whom the prince who hires them leaves to be cut in pieces! No, we are His own dear children! God sees Himself in all His servants. He sees in them the members of the body of His dear Son. The very least among them is as dear to Him as the apple of His eye and beloved as His own soul. It is not to be imagined that He will ever put a load upon His own children’s shoulders without giving them strength to bear the burden, or send them to labors for which He will not give them adequate resources! O, rest in the Lord, you faithful. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him,” for He will appear unto your rescue. Has He not said, “I will not fail you, nor forsake you”? As I have thus been bringing forth marrow and fatness from the Word, I have been thinking of some of you, poor souls, who cannot eat thereof and have no share in it. I am glad to see you here, especially on Thursday night, for it is not every unconverted person that will come to these weeknight services. You must have a hungering after these good things, or you would not be here in such numbers. I hope your mouths are watering after the good things of the covenant. I hope, as you see the promises of God on the table and see how rich they are, you will say to yourself, “Would God I had a share in them!” Well, poor soul, if God gives you an appetite, I can only say the food is free! If you would have God to be your helper—if you would, indeed, be saved by Christ—come and welcome, for you are the soul that He desires to bless! If you have half a wish towards God, He has a longing towards you! If you desire Him, you have not a step up on Him—depend upon it, He has long before desired you! Come to Him! Rest in Him! Accept the atonement which His Son has presented. Begin the life of faith in real earnest and you shall find that what I have said is all true—only it falls short of the full truth, for you will say, like the Queen of Sheba when she had seen Solomon’s glory—“The half has not been told me.” Blessed be the Lord forever, who has taught my poor heart to believe in Himself and to live upon unseen realities, and rest in a faithful God! There is no peace or joy like it, or worthy to be mentioned in the same day. God grant it to each one of you, beloved, for His name’s sake. Amen.

Charles Spurgeon