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Sermon #2288 Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit - Volume 38

THE EMPTY PLACE—A - CHRISTMAS DAY SERMON

NO. 2288

INTENDED ON READING ON LORD’S-DAY, DECEMBER 25, 1892.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON,ON A CHRISTMAS DAY EVENING.

“And David’s place was empty.”

1 Samuel 20:25.

THERE may be much to learn from an empty place. The world thinksmuch of the places which have been emptied through the home-going of its celebrated men. Those who have served the world are remembered by it. Those who have served the Church are remembered, too, and empty chairs in the world, in the Church, and in the family awaken a great many memories.

I do not intend to keep to one subject, tonight. I think I have, in these words about David’s place, a roving commission and, keeping to my text, I shall be able to consider a great many subjects and to speak briefly upon each.

I. First, then, let us think of THE EMPTY PLACE IN THE PERSECUTOR’S HOUSE —

“David’s place was empty.”

David had good reason for vacating his place at Saul’s table, for the passionate king was so malicious and so embittered against him, that he sought his life.

Saul had, on several occasions, in his fits of mad anger, hurled javelins at the man to whom he owed so much—and the envious king determined to put his rival to death at the first convenient opportunity! David, therefore, very properly left a place in which his life was continually in peril.

Oh, how happy are we, in these days, that we are not subjected to the fierce sufferings and the cruel persecutions which the early Christians and even our own forefathers had to endure!

How often, in a Jewish family, as soon as a young man had become a follower of Christ, from that moment none of his household would acknowledge him. He was a follower of the hated Nazarene!

“A curse be upon him,” said his father. And even a mother’s tenderness seemed to be dried up, so that she could not think ofhim without bitterness and gall.

The same thing happened, also, in the old Roman families.

The child of a Roman noble had stepped into some little place where humble and unlettered people met to hear the Gospel preached, to sing songs in the name of Jesus, and to keep holy, one day in the week—and there that youthful heart had learned the story of the Cross, and by the Grace of God had been brought to love the Savior.

As soon as the fact was made known, the officers of justice would take the child away from the father’s house and haul the young Believer off to prison — and so another seat was empty.

When persecution grew very hot in the old Roman times, you know how the good, and the great, and the true, the strong and the old, the young man and the maiden had, alike, to flee for their lives. If they remained, it was only to be dragged before the Roman praetor and short work was made of them at the stake or in the arena.

After a little while, nothing was left of them but a heap of ashes from the martyr fire, or a few bones that the wild beasts did not care to eat. Thus another “David’s place was empty.”

Horrible work was worked, too, when the Church of Rome had its full power, and the officers of the Inquisition, at dead of night, knocked at the door of some Christian man and demanded either himself, or his wife, or son, or daughter.

They had to surrender themselves without a word, that they might be immured in the damp, dark vaults of that hellish institution, never to be seen again, except, on some dreadful day, when they were marched out, in derision, to be burnt alive because they would not bow before images of ivory and wood, and call those idols the Christ to whom homage and reverence should be paid! You know how it was in our own land—how many a seat was empty during the persecutions of Queen Mary.

And after that, when our noble sires would not conform to the established Church of this land and, therefore, were hunted into the dens and caves of the earth, as though they had been wild beasts, instead of men of whom the world was not worthy.

Many of the bravest and best of England’s sons and daughters fled away to America and found another and a safer home there, in New England, where the wild rocks were less flinty than the hearts of men here in England.

Often and often, when persecution has arisen for the Truths of God’s sake, David’s seat has been empty. If martyr days should come back, could we vacate our places? Could the husband let his wife and children go for Christ’s sake? Could the child, again, give up the father’s love?

Could you wrench yourselves away from all your dear ones to prove that you were truly Christ’s—and that you loved Him better than father or mother, husband or wife, or any of your kin?

God grant that the true martyr spirit may not die out of our hearts, even if, in God’s gracious Providence, it is not called into terrible exercise as among the brave peasants of Switzerland, or the noble covenanters of Scotland, or the old Nonconformists of this country!

At any rate, whatever we are called to endure, may we be true and loyal to the Gospel for which our fathers bled and died. And if the times of persecution should ever come again, and come they may, may we be ready, again, to vacate the place of comfort, luxury and peace for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake!

II. There is another place which sometimes becomes empty, that is, THE PLACE OF SINFUL PLEASURES. This empty place is the result of the working of God’s Grace in the heart. I know that concerning some here, it may be said, with very great thankfulness, that David’s place is empty. Ah, dear Friend, where was your place, seven years ago, on such a night as this in our so-called Christian land? Ah, well, we do not want you to tell where it was, you had better be silent about that! But, with a holy blush, and then with devout thankfulness to God, rejoice that, so far as you are concerned, David’s place in the seat of the scornful is now empty! You know that the alebenchwould not suit you now, nor the place where the lascivious songawakens enthusiastic applause from the ribald throng—you would be out of place in the company of the flippant, the foolish, the blasphemous and those who find their pleasures in forgetting their God—and think it no sin to break though His Laws. No, thank God, that place is now empty!

Grace makes a wonderful change in a man! It is not so much that hedares not go where he used to find delight—he would not go if he werepaid to go, no, not even if he were flogged to make him go! Old pleasuresare not given up by us simply because we think them wrong. We knowthey are evil and that would be one reason for abandoning them, but wegive them up because they are no longer pleasures to us. We have no delightwhatever in them, now, nor would we have them if we were free tochoose them for ourselves. Were the Law of God suspended and we werepermitted to take as much of the pleasure of sin as we liked, we would declineto take any, since it is not pleasure to us. Oh, be thankful, dearFriend, that Grace has made such a change in you! And resolve in yourheart that, as Grace has done this for you, you will use your utmost endeavorsto get the same gracious work done for your friends, that othersmay be captured from Satan’s ranks.Oh, what a gap God sometimes makes in the devil’s army when Hetakes one of his most active soldiers and enlists him in the army of JesusChrist—and then makes a recruiting sergeant of him to enlist others forhis new Captain! There are no servants of God like those who have beenvaliant soldiers of Satan! Saul of Tarsus, when once made into an Apostle,was not only not a whit behind the very chief, but we may venture to saythat he was the very foremost of all the Apostles and did more for Christthan any of them! Oh, may many a David’s place, among those who areseeking sinful pleasures, be speedily emptied by God’s almighty Grace!And if the devil should fill it up with another of his foolish votaries, mayGod be pleased to empty that place again and again! May many, like Moses,choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoythe pleasures of sin for a season.III. Now I shall speak of other empty places which are better than thoseI have mentioned. During the past year it has happened several times, tosome of us, that David’s place has been empty. I mean that, for a time,THE PLACE OF OUR OCCUPATION HAS BEEN EMPTY.Perhaps some of you have not had a single hour’s sickness during thepast year. I will remind you of your mercies that you may be very gratefulto God for them. Some of us have had days, some have had weeks, andsome have had even months when David’s place was empty. Not long at atime, perhaps, but usually some time or other during the year, this pulpithas had to be empty, so far as the regular preacher was concerned. Infirmitieslay aside the preacher, for a while, at any rate, and with many herethere comes, every now and then, a season when they have to be awayfrom the chapel, and from the business, and from the family circle. Andthere is extra watchfulness in the household and there is special care, and4 The Empty Place—A Christmas Day Sermon Sermon #22884 www.spurgeongems.org Volume 38it may be that, sometimes, there is cause for anxiety and fear. Perhaps, insome of your cases, there has been much of necessary concern. Rememberthose nights when the fever was about to turn, those hours whenthere were anxious whispers by the loved ones around your bed, “Will heget over it? Can he survive?” You remember those trying experiences? Iwant you to remember them in order that you may bless the Lord who hasspared your life, and raised you up, again, to health and strength. If David’splace has not been often empty, be grateful for the health that Godhas given you. If it has been empty for a while, but you are still in theland of the living, be grateful for the restoration which the Lord hasgranted to you.But Brothers and Sisters, I want to ask you, and myself, also—are werendering unto God due recompense for all that He has given to us? Hehas favored us with prolonged life—is that life being spent for Him? It maybe that on that sick-bed we turned our face to the wall and prayed, in thebitterness of our spirit, and we then vowed what we would do if the Lordwould spare our lives. Or, if we did not put it absolutely into the form of avow, we resolved that if we were raised up, again, we would be more ferventand more diligent in the Master’s cause than we had been before.Have we redeemed those promises? Do I awaken any memories of shame?I think I should—I do in my own heart—and I should not wonder if I do inyours, also. If so, then let the prayer go up from each heart, “My Lord, Youhave redeemed me with Your precious blood and made me Yours. Yourvows are upon me and I bring myself, again, to You on this last Sabbathnight of another year, and I say, bind the sacrifice with cords, even withcords to the horns of the altar!—‘My life, which You have madeYour care, Lord, I devote to You!’Show me what You would have me to do! Give me strength and wisdom todo it. Keep me diligently in Your service, steadfast in Your fear until David’splace is empty, here below, for the last time, and You take me up tofill another place which You have prepared for me at Your right hand!”I thought it might be well to awaken these thoughts in the mind ofthose of you who are specially concerned in this part of my subject.IV. During the past year, many of you now present have had A PLACEIN THE ASSEMBLY OF GOD’S PEOPLE.I do not quite like to put the question about how often David’s place inthe congregation of the righteous has been empty. I have very little need toever say anything to you, dear Friends, about any lack of regular attendanceupon the means of Grace. I think no people I have ever heard of aremore commonly found listening to the preaching of the Word, or joining inreligious service. Yet there may be some of you who have absented yourselveswhen you should have been present. Or there may be members ofother congregations who have fallen into lax and loose habits with regardto forsaking the assembling of themselves together, “as the manner ofsome is,” even as it was in Paul’s day. Let any such who may be with uscheck those habits as soon as they begin. They are very detrimental to allspiritual growth. I do not think you will find a man in good health if hetakes his meals at all sorts of irregular hours. As a rule, the body needsSermon #2288 The Empty Place—A Christmas Day Sermon 5Volume 38 www.spurgeongems.org 5its regular periods of receiving nourishment and sustenance—and it is thesame with the soul. You will scarcely find a Christian to be in soundhealth if he neglects the appointed time for being fed with spiritual meat.You who are unconverted should take special notice of this part of mytheme. I think that I need not say very much to the Christian about attendingthe Lord’s House, for he loves the place where God’s honor dwells.He can say—“I have been there and still would go,‘Tis like a little Heaven below.”But as for you who are not converted, I delight to see you in the House ofGod, willing and even anxious to listen to His Word, for who can tell, whocan tell, but what God may bless it to you? “Faith comes by hearing, andhearing by the Word of God.” When you are away from the sound of thepreacher’s voice, there seems less probability that Grace will meet you toawaken your conscience and turn you to Christ. While you are gatheredwith the Lord’s people, I would hope that God will bless to your soul’s salvationthe Truth of God that is preached. Be often, then, in that place ofworship where Jesus Christ is lifted up—and seek to obtain a personal interestin His great salvation.I love to see you hovering round the Word, listening to the preaching ofthe Gospel, but do not, I pray you, let it always be true that you are onlyhearers, for, if you are only hearers, and not doers of the Word, you aresimply destroying your own souls! Do you know what is your great danger,you who are hearers, only, and you who are not always hearers? Youare running a fearful risk of losing your souls!What I fear concerning some of you is that you will postpone your decisionand wait, and wait, and wait, and wait till you will not feel as muchinterest as you now do in listening to the Gospel—and gradually you willcome to the House of Prayer less often, and David’s place will be more oftenempty—and, by-and-by, the Gospel will grow so stale to you and thispoor voice of mine will sound with so dull a tone, and my message willseem so commonplace, that your seat will be found always empty! Whenthis comes to pass, I fear that you will be found wandering further andfurther from the paths of right, and truth, and hope—and that you will beutterly and hopelessly lost. May God decide you for Christ Jesus beforethis year of Grace has passed away! May it be, even now, the year of ourLord to your soul, the year in which the Lord, Himself, shall come intoyour spirit and take possession of your entire nature! Then I know thatDavid’s seat in the assembly of God’s people will not often be empty.V. I have now to say just a few words, especially to the members of theChurch, about THEIR PLACE AT THE PRAYER MEETING. “David’s placewas empty.” What was being done, then? “Well, it was only a Prayer Meeting!”Yes, but, but, but, but, but, but, that is saying a great deal! Did anymember of the Church give that answer? I do not think even one would doso, but I would like to enquire of all the members of this Church, “howmany times have you been to the Prayer Meeting this year?” There aresome of you who are never away unless something absolutely preventsyou from coming. I am glad, even, to see some of you come in late onMonday nights. If you cannot come at seven, come at half-past seven, or6 The Empty Place—A Christmas Day Sermon Sermon #22886 www.spurgeongems.org Volume 38come at eight! Come at any time that you can, so that you may but throwin your portion of supplication with the rest of the Brothers and Sisters.But I am ashamed of some of our members. They will say, “Whom doyou mean?” Last Sunday week, a little boy came to this Tabernacle for thefirst time. So, when I stood up and began to preach, the little fellow saidto his nurse, “Nurse, is Mr. Spurgeon talking to me?” I wish you would allsay that, if my words apply to you, for I am talking to some of the membersof the Church when I say that I am ashamed of you who never cometo the Prayer Meetings! I do not mean this rebuke for you who live at avery great distance, or who are fully occupied with your families or businesscares—for you would be wrong to come. God forbid that I should askyou to present to Him one duty stained with the blood of another duty!But there are some who might be here, and ought to be here at our PrayerMeetings and they are spiritually suffering positive mischief in their ownsouls through their absence, besides the loss that they are causing to thetreasury of the Church—for the wealth of the Church lies in the power ofintercession!The measure of the Church’s influence will be found to be in exact proportionto the amount of prayer presented by the members, for if there isnot much prayer, there cannot be much power. “But we can pray athome,” says one. Yes, I know you can, but, as a rule, I think the peoplewho pray at home are those who pray at Prayer Meetings, too. The assemblingof ourselves together for prayer is very generally (special circumstancesbeing taken into consideration) the exponent of our private prayer.Let me stir up any of you whose places at the Prayer Meetings have beenempty, and let it not be so again.My Beloved in the Lord, my fellow-soldiers in Christ, what has been thesource and secret of our strength, as a Church, up till this time? It hasbeen our prayer! How well do I remember what Prayer Meetings we had inPark Street! When we began we were so very few and feeble that, in mostof the Prayer Meetings we had, we met in a little vestry. But we soon hadto burst open our doors and get into the Chapel, and we have never goneback into the vestry since then! And oh, the power that the Lord graciouslygave us in prayer! I felt there, and many of you felt, that we seemed, byour supplications, to bring down the blessing of God upon us! And thenour numbers were speedily increased, souls were converted, and God wasglorified!If we slacken prayer, we shall condemn ourselves! We have proved, notby hearsay, but by personal experience, that prayer is power—and if werelax our prayer even to a small extent, or even for a little while, we shalldeserve to have this place made a by-word and a hissing—and all ourprosperity taken from us and Ichabod written upon our walls! May Godgrant that this voice may be silent in death before this people shall evercease to be a praying people! Rather may our prayerfulness be quickenedand our intercessions multiplied—and let it not be said of any men orwomen here who fear the Lord—that their place is empty when God’speople assemble together for prayer!VI. There is another David’s place that is sometimes empty and thatought not to be so. IT IS THE PLACE OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE.Sermon #2288 The Empty Place—A Christmas Day Sermon 7Volume 38 www.spurgeongems.org 7My dear Brothers and Sisters, our gifts are various. God has beenpleased to place us in different positions and to give us different talents.But every saved man or woman has some work to do for Christ. Are wedoing that work? There is our Sunday school. It troubles me if I ever knowthat teachers are needed there. There are many other schools wheremembers of this Church are occupied as teachers. We are supplying, Imight say without any exaggeration, half the Sunday school teachers ofhalf the denominations in the district, for I have always said to you, “Goanywhere that you can find an opportunity of doing good—never mindwhere it is. If you have ability to teach, go and teach in anybody’s schoolwhere your services are needed.” Yet there are some among us who hidetheir talents in a napkin and do not use them—and, as a consequence—there is some David’s place empty.You are not all called to the same work for Christ. I like to miss, tonight,some of those I saw here this morning, and I should not mind missingsome of you for the same reason. Why? Because they are gone toteach in the Ragged Schools, or to speak at the mission stations, or in thelodging houses. When a Christian man says to me, “There are workersneeded at such and such a Ragged School, or mission hall. I would like tobe hearing a sermon, but I would rather be doing good than getting good,”I say to him, “Right, my Brother, while London is what it is, you must becontent to get one sermon a day and feed your soul on that—and then goand do all you can for your Lord the rest of the Sabbath.” It would be wellfor the younger members of our Churches to be, for a time, in constant attendanceon the means of Grace because they need to be instructed in Divinethings. But every instructed Christian is bound to be a worker forChrist among the perishing masses all around us.Seek to serve your Savior wherever He opens a door of usefulness. Youneed not go, tonight, into the street to preach, the weather is not suitablefor open-air services just now. But when the summer comes, let everycorner of the street have its evangelist and let every man, woman, andchild who love the Lord, do the work He desires them to do! And let it notbe said of any of us that, “David’s place was empty.” Oh, the joy of doinggood! Brethren, next to Heaven, the greatest joy that can be found is thejoy of doing good to others! Did you ever meet some poor man who said toyou, “Bless your heart, you led me to the Savior”? Did you ever see awoman look you in the face with unspeakable love and say to you, “Youare my father in Christ Jesus. You brought me to the Savior’s feet”? If youonce knew this joy, you would always be hungering after more of it! Youwould never be fully satisfied with what you have done and would be alwayswanting to do yet more and more!I have tasted of this sweetness and I have found it so refreshing to myspirit that I would have every member of this Church taste of it, too. Whenour Lord reads the roll of those who are doing all the good they can inSunday school, and Ragged School, and in preaching, teaching, visiting,tract-distributing, or what not, I hope you all will be able to answer, humblybut firmly, “Here am I, my Master, doing Your work as You enableme.”8 The Empty Place—A Christmas Day Sermon Sermon #22888 www.spurgeongems.org Volume 38I believe that many of you will be doing Christ’s work best at home. Youneed not teach in the Sunday school—you can have one in your ownhouse. Many a daughter is better occupied in seeing after the youngerones of her own family than anywhere else. Yet with such exceptions asthese, I beg you to take the general run of what I have said—I speak untowise men, judge you what I say—and believe me that there is somethingto be done by each one who loves the Lord. You are not accountable tome, or to the elders of the Church—you are accountable only to the CrownPrince, the Prince Imperial of Heaven, Christ Jesus, our Lord! He hasbought you with His precious blood. You are His. Then serve Him and letnot your place of service ever be vacant through your neglect or indolence.VII. Again, “David’s place was empty.” I hope that OUR PLACE AT THELORD’S TABLE will not be empty at any time when it is possible for us tooccupy it.There are not any in this Church, known to me, who absent themselvesfrom the Lord’s Table very grossly. But still, there is room for improvementin this matter in the case of some of us. I like to go to that Table everyweek and my own solemn conviction is that that is none too often. If thereis any rule about it in Scripture, there certainly is no rule for going once amonth, much less for once a quarter! If there is any rule, it is that on thefirst day of the week, when we meet together, we should break bread inmemory of our Savior’s dying love! I commend it to our Brothers and Sistersto consider whether they keep the feast as often as they should, rememberingour Master’s wondrous passion and death. It may be that theylose much spiritual benefit because their place at the Lord’s Table is empty—when it should be filled.VIII. But I must hasten on towards the conclusion. Brothers and Sisters,tomorrow, when you will be keeping the Christmas feast, there willbe many family gatherings. And in those family gatherings there will beSOME HOUSEHOLDS WHERE DAVID’S PLACE WILL BE EMPTY.As I came here, I was thinking of what inroads death has made in thiscongregation this year. There have been many vacancies made and therewill be many more next year. I miss from one seat, a Sister whom I sawupon her dying bed. And, from another part of the building, a Brotherwhose cheering words in his last moments did my soul good. I miss here,one, and there, another. I could run my finger along these pews in thearea and I could come up on this platform, and I could truly say, concerningone who has been called Home this year, “David’s place is empty.” Wecan hardly say that literally because his son fills it, and long may he fill it,and have God’s blessing resting upon him! But here and there, and everywherein this Tabernacle, I miss some who have gone Home. Our familygathering is gradually breaking up. Thank God it is being reformed upyonder, where there will be no death and no parting!When you get to your family gathering, perhaps you will have to rememberthat your mother has died this year, or it may be that your fatherhas gone Home, or perhaps it was the eldest son, or that sweet curlyheadedchild. Perhaps, to-morrow, you will be merry and I do not say toyou, “Be not so,” but let these memories come over you, let them directyour thoughts upward, let them remind you that family gatherings are onSermon#2288 The Empty Place—A Christmas Day Sermon 9Volume 38 www.spurgeongems.org 9ly for a time, and that the great gathering is above! There the immortalsmeet, there the feast never ends! Look away from earth with all its joys.Let them that have wives be as those that have none. Let them that havechildren look on their children as dying ones. Let kinships and friendships,and all these things, be regarded as they are—as evanescent—asthings that perish in the using. Hear the trumpet sound, “Up and away,”and let your hearts be where Jesus is—and let your treasure be there, also!Those dear ones who are in Heaven beckon us to follow them and wesignal to tell them that we are on the way. Surely they must look upon uswith amazement if they see us hugging the things of earth as though wewere to stay here forever! Let our conversation be in Heaven and let ouraffection be set on things above—not on things on the earth.IX. My last reflection is this—THERE WILL BE NO EMPTY PLACE INHEAVEN. In that great family gathering up above, they will not be able tosay, “David’s place is empty.”Beloved, if you are a believer in Christ, if you are the poorest saint andthe least worthy of consideration in the whole household, yet you shallhave your place in Heaven! You must have it, for God will not have oneempty seat, there, and nobody but yourself can fill your place! Our LordJesus Christ says—mark His Words—“I go to prepare a place.” That issomething. But note the next words—“I go to prepare a place for you”—foryou, not for somebody else, but for you. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ,you must have the place which Jesus Christ has gone to prepare foryou! There is a crown in Heaven which can fit no other head but mine.And there is a harp in Heaven out of which no other fingers but mine canbring music. There is a mansion in the skies which nobody but you canever occupy and there are joys for you, only, and a place in the completecircle of God’s elect that must be filled—and must be filled by you. Oh,what joy is this!Press onward, my Brothers and Sisters, go on bravely! If the darknessthickens and the dangers multiply, Christ is your life, and you cannot die!The everlasting wings shall cover you and the everlasting arms shall beunderneath you. You shall meet us in the place where all the family shallbe present and the great Father and the elder Brother shall welcome themall, and no, “David’s place” shall be empty! May I be there, may we all bethere—and God shall have the praise! Amen and amen.EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEONPSALM 103.Let us read, dear Friends, the 103rd Psalm, not because we do not knowit, but because I trust that we know it by heart, and feel that it is a fit expressionfor our heart’s thankfulness on this last Sabbath evening ofanother year.Verse 1. Bless the LORD, O my soul. He has been blessing you; now beginyou to bless Him. If, during the week, you have been busy about thethings of the world, now leave these unimportant matters and come to the10 The Empty Place—A Christmas Day Sermon Sermon #228810 www.spurgeongems.org Volume 38grandest exercise in which an intelligent spirit can be engaged. “Bless theLord, O my soul.” Let there be no sleeping, now, no coldness, no indifference.Let it be real soul-work. His blessings have been real, let yourpraises be real, too.1. And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the whole of Hisname, and especially the holiness of it. Be glad that you have a holy God.There was a time when this was a terror to you, for you were unholy andunable to delight in God’s holiness, but He has cleansed and washed you,and now you can rejoice in the whole of His Character, in the wholeness,or the holiness, of His blessed name.2. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Do it again. If you have praised Him,now, in your heart, lift up your heart yet higher. Let the praise come upfrom a greater depth, from the very bottom of your heart, and let it rise toa loftier height, even to the highest Heaven. “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”2. And forget not all His benefits. You have a bad memory for goodthings, but now try to make your memory awake, forget not any of God’sbenefits. If you can not remember all, yet do not willfully forget any ofthem—“Forget not all His benefits.” Here is a list to help your memory.3. Who forgives all your iniquities. Can you not praise the Lord for this?One of those iniquities, like a millstone about your neck, would be sufficientto sink you into Hell, but God forgives them all! He does it, now, asmuch as ever He did. He still forgives, for the forgiveness of God to Hispeople is a continuous act. Do you, then, continually praise Him and rejoicein Him.3. Who heals all your diseases. None can set the human frame in orderbut He who made it. Medicines and physicians are of little service unlessGod blesses the doctor’s skill. Especially does the Lord heal soul sicknesses—and they are very many and very terrible. Bless His name that Hecontinues to heal. As fresh complaints break out in your poor flesh or spirit,and your soul mourns over them, He comes and gives the healingbalm.4. Who redeems your life from destruction. Keeping you from the gatesof the grave and, better still, delivering you from the jaws of Hell.4. Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies. The Lordhas made a king of you, and what an empire is yours! And what a crownis this, which you wear! Other crowns make the head lie uneasy, but thisis the softest, the best, the richest coronet that ever crowned head didwear! You may be content to keep it though all the Caesars should offerall their pomp to you in exchange for your crown—“He crowns you withloving kindness and tender mercies.”5. Who satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewedlike the eagle’s. The mouth of man is very hard to fill. There aresome men’s mouths that never will be filled until the sexton gives them ashovelful of earth, for they are covetous and greedy, and always hungryafter more. But God has filled your mouth, not with earth, nor withearth’s treasure, but “with good things,” the very best things! The best ofthe best He has given you! All that your heart desires, in giving you Himself,so that your youth, when you grow old and feeble in your spirit, returnsto you once more. Bless the Lord, then, for all these mercies.Sermon #2288 The Empty Place—A Christmas Day Sermon 11Volume 38 www.spurgeongems.org 116. The LORD executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.He lets the oppressor go on for a while, but, sooner or later, therecomes a terrible retribution. There is nothing of oppression in this worldthat can live long, for God is abroad and oftentimes even the horrors ofwar make an end to the equal horrors of oppression. God interposes indreadful judgments to execute vengeance on those that oppress the poor.7. He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children ofIsrael. Bless Him for this! Bless Him for the Old Testament Scriptures!Bless Him that He did not hide Himself of old, but did speak to His people,and reveal Himself by His Prophets, and by the types and symbols of theLaw. Bless His name and study much the Revelation of His ways and acts,and get all the good out of it that you can.8. The LORD is merciful and gracious. Bless Him, O my soul! Bless Himfor this, for where would you have been if He had not been merciful?Where would you be if He were not gracious, giving Grace to keep youwhat you are, and to make you better?8. Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. Blessed words! Any who areunder a sense of sin will suck honey out of these choice expressions.“Slow to anger.” God does get angry, finally, when Grace has had her day,but He is “plenteous in mercy.9. He will not always chide. He will chide sometimes. He would not be akind Father if He did not. That is a cruel father to His children who neverchides them. This was Eli’s sin and you know how it brought destructionupon him and his house. Our Father takes care to chide us when we needit—but, “He will not always chide.”9, 10. Neither will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with usafter our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Brothers andsisters, bless His name for this! Let every verse, as we read it, awakenfresh gratitude—and let us keep up the music of our souls in harmonywith the language of the Psalm.11, 12. For as the Heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercytoward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hasHe removed our transgressions from us. They are gone. There is a chasmbetween us and our sins which will never be bridged. To an infinite distancehas the great Scapegoat carried away all the sins of His people—they shall never return to us.13. Like as a father pities his children, so the LORD pities them that fearHim. The best of them need pity. There is something to pity in them and,because the Lord pities them, He will not lay too heavy a burden uponthem. He will not demand too much of them. He will not give them over totheir enemies. He deals tenderly with them because they are so weak.14. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. Sometimeswe do not remember that, ourselves—we think that we are iron—and we fancy that we shall last forever. But the Lord “remembers that weare dust.”15, 16. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so heflourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and the place thereofshall know it no more. Before even the mower’s scythe comes, the hoteastern wind has dried up the grass and it is gone. How little a thing car12The Empty Place—A Christmas Day Sermon Sermon #228812 www.spurgeongems.org Volume 38ries us away! It seems as if it did not need death to come with a sharpscythe to cut down such frail creatures as we are. He does but breatheupon the field and all the flowers are withered at once. Oh, that we mightall be prepared for such a speedy end of our lives and not look upon thisworld as a place for a long stay, but only as the meadow in which we, incommon with other feeble flowers, are blooming out our little hour!17. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting uponthem that fear Him. Blessed be His name that mercy had no beginning andshall never have an end! You and I are of yesterday and, therefore, wepass away tomorrow. But God is always the same, and of His years thereis no end, because He is without beginning—and such is His love to Hispeople—eternal and unchangeable. Bless His name for this, dear Friends.Do not forget what is to be the accompaniment to the reading of thePsalm, but constantly bless the Lord, praise Him, and magnify His holyname.17, 18. And His righteousness unto children’s children; to such as keepHis Covenant, and to those that remember His Commandments to do them.Bless Him for His goodness to our children. Some of us have seen the Covenantof the Lord kept to our children as well as to ourselves. May we allhave that blessing in the case of all that spring of us!19. The LORD has prepared His Throne in the heavens; and His Kingdomrules over all. Bless Him for His sovereignty! A God who did not reignwould be no God to us! But “the Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice,” and letHis people be glad because He “has prepared His Throne in the heavens,”beyond the reach of all man’s attacks or assaults. Beyond all time andchange, the Lord reigns on forever and ever, “and His Kingdom rules overall.” It extends over all things that are on the earth, and above it, and beneathit—angels and men and devils are all subject to His sway.20-22. Bless the LORD, you His angels, that excel in strength, that doHis Commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word. Bless you theLORD, all you His hosts; you ministers of His, that do His pleasure. Blessthe LORD, all His works in all places of His dominion: bless the LORD, O mysoul. I think, before we pray, we must bless and magnify the Lord by singingMilton’s version of Psalm 136—“Let us with a gladsome mind,Praise the Lord, for He is kind:For His mercies shall endure,Ever faithful, ever sure.”Adapted from The C. H. Spurgeon Collection, Ages Software, 1.800.297.4307END OF VOLUME 38PRAY THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL USE THIS SERMONTO BRING MANY TO A SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST.

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