2 Kings 9:20 And the watchman told, saying, He came even to them, and comes not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi… Jehu has been dead many a long century now, but he has always had his successors; and probably they are more numerous to-day than ever. Among the young men of our day this "go-ahead" character is very common. Nor do I feel disposed to check it. Our tirades demand it. We are living in an age of lightning. It teems with revolutions every hour. Art, science, and commercial enterprises advance with inconceivable velocity. What was, not long since, the dreary journey of a week, is now a delightful excursion of a few hours; and young men feel that if they are to keep pace with the times, they must possess the go-ahead spirit of Jehu. This I do not condemn. Idleness leads to the greatest prodigality. But what I wish to do to-night is this — exhort you to mind that your zeal is guided by wisdom and prudence. You are zealous; but is your zeal directed to right ends? A misdirected zeal is like a sword in a madman's hand. There are numbers, who, with their go-ahead spirit, have found themselves in our gaols, or lying in our hospitals, with the wasting hand of disease inflicting upon them its awful torments. And, alas, they them. selves are not the only sufferers. Look on those who wait on their footsteps, with muffled faces and sable garments. That is a father, and that is a mother, whose grey hairs are coming with sorrow to the grave. To all furious drivers I would say — I. FIRST, PULL UP. I have read somewhere, of a horse rushing down a country village, with nostrils distended, and with fire flashing from his heels, yet without driver or hand to guide him. He was dragging behind him a cart, in which was a child, who clung to its side in pale terror. A woman, as it passed, shot from her doorway, like an arrow from its bowstring, and followed in full pursuit, crying, "Save that child! save that child!" Why did she run and cry thus? Oh, you say, "It was her child." No, it was not. She had left her own little ones all safe around her hearth; but she had a heart above that selfishness which would care only for its own. That child had a mother, but she was not there, the good woman would take her place — one of her children might want help some day. Imbued, I trust, with the unselfish spirit of this woman, we seek to-night to check the speed of those fiery passions which are dragging some of you to death. You are probably unknown to us; but have you not a mother who loves you, a mother who prays for you? You have been going ahead bravely of late, you think. You rightly judge life to be short, and you feel that if you are to enjoy life, you had better be quick about it; if you are to get a fortune you had better keep a sharp lookout. Yes, this is all very well, but where will this pleasure-seeking lead you? It may be, in your haste to get money, you do not scruple to be a little dishonest. "Anyhow, by hook or by crook," you say, "I mean to go ahead." Yes, but where will this furious driving lead you? Perhaps you have never thought of this. You don't know where you are going. I believe more young men are ruined for the want of thought, than aught else. II. NOW I WANT YOU TO TURN ROUND. You feel to-night you have been going ahead on the wrong road. You have determined, as God shall help you, to pull up. But remember, pulling up is only part of the business. You have been on the wrong road; you now want the right. The first thing you need is a new heart. You need the power of the Holy Spirit to convert you. I shall have no faith in your fine resolutions to give up evil habits, evil companions, and pleasure-seeking, unless you have implanted within you new principles. Wind and tide will be against you. In your own strength you may pull until your veins stand like whipcord upon your brow, and you will go down the stream still: And even suppose you should be able to give up the grosset forms of sin, yet, without religion, you must feel when you come to die that, after all, your life has been a failure. Let me urge you, therefore, to seek salvation through Christ. III. NOW, GO AHEAD. I must now assume that you have decided for Christ, united yourself with Christian companions and a Christian Church. At any rate, many young men here have done that; so that the advice I am about to give cannot be deemed impracticable. In common sense, Christian young men, this go-ahead spirit is very desirable; desirable even from a business point of view. We are commanded to "be diligent in business." If you are in business for yourself, seek, in every true and honest way, to augment your income. In doing so, you will have God's blessing upon you. Do not be miserly, do not be covetous; but do seek, by dint of plodding perseverance, and constant attention to business, to rise in the world. (W. Williams.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously. |
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