Lingerers Hastened

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon

Genesis 19:16

And while he lingered, the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters…

I. First, I have to speak TO GOD'S MESSENGERS. I hope they are very numerous in this church. Every believer should be an ambassador from heaven.

1. I speak solemnly to you who have wept over Jerusalem, and who are proving your true love to souls by your exertions for them, and I remind you, in the first place, that it is a glorious work to seek to save men, and that for its sake you should be willing to put up with the greatest possible inconveniences. The angels never hesitated when they were bidden to go to Sodom. They descended without demur and went about their work without delay.

2. Note again — I still speak to those who are messengers of God to men's souls — when you go to lost souls, you must, as these angels did, tell them plainly their condition and their danger. "Up," said they, "for God will destroy this place." If you really long to save men's souls, you must tell them a great deal of disagreeable truth.

3. When we have affectionately and plainly told the sinner that the wages of his sin will be death, and that woe will come upon him because of his unbelief, we must go farther, and must, in the name of our Lord Jesus, exhort the guilty one to escape from the deserved destruction. Observe, that these angels, though they understood that God had elected Lot to be saved, did not omit a single exhortation or leave the work to itself, as though it were to be done by predestination apart from instrumentality. How impressive is each admonition! What force and eagerness of love gleams in each entreaty!

4. Learn, still further, from the case before us, where words suffice not, as they frequently will not, you must adopt other modes of pressure. The angel took them by the hand. I have much faith under God in close dealings with men; personal entreaties, by the power of the Holy Spirit, do wonders.

5. I thought, as I read my text, that it gave us a striking example of doing all we can. Lot and his wife, and the two daughters — well, that was four — the angels had only four hands, so that they did all that they could — there was a hand for each. You notice the text expressly says, they took hold of the hand of Lot, and the hand of his wife, and the hand of his two daughters. There were no more persons, and no more helping hands, so that there was just enough instrumentality, but there was not a hand to spare. I wish there were in this church no idle hands, but that each believer had both hands occupied in leading souls to Jesus Christ.

6. Observe, also, that as those angels set us an example in using all their power, so they also encourage us to perseverance, for they ceased not to exhort till they had brought Lot out of danger. We must never pause in our efforts for any man till he is either saved or the funeral bell has tolled for him.

7. I will say no more to these messengers of God except this, that we ought to remember that we are the messengers of God's mercy to the sons of men. The text tells us, "The Lord being merciful unto him." The angels had not come to Lot themselves; they were the embodiment and outward embodiment and outward display of God's mercy. Christians in the world should view themselves as manifestations of God's mercy to sinners, instruments of grace, servants of the Holy Spirit. Now, mercy is a nimble attribute. Justice lingers; it is shod with lead, but the feet of mercy are winged. Mercy delights to perform its office. So should it be with us a delight to do good to men.

II. To You, O LINGERERS, I NOW SPEAK, hoping to be the means, by God's grace, of driving you out of this lingering.

1. I shall begin — O you that are baiting between two opinions — by asking you, Wherefore do you linger? Lot, I think, loitered because he had much property in and around the city. As to Lot's daughters, I know not why they lingered, but, peradventure, there were some very dear to them in the city. Do you reply that you do not believe in the danger? Then am I indeed sorry for you, for the danger is none the less sure. Do you linger because you doubt the way of escape? Or, perhaps, you think you do not need it. It is possible that the reason why you linger is, that you indulge some favourite sin. Yet, perhaps, I have not touched the right reason for your lingering. You, perhaps, are subject to an idleness of spirit, a natural inaction and lethargy. I think in most cases this is the root of the matter. You are not bestirred about soul affairs, you are too idle to come to decision. But you must come to it or die. I fear me, that in some cases, though I know not of many in this place, I fear me that this whole matter is despised. If religion be a lie, do not pretend to believe it; say so, and be honest, and take the consequences; but, if it be true, act upon it.

2. Well, I have put the question, Wherefore do you linger? but now I want to say two or three words to you, and they shall be to this effect — Wherewith shall we hasten you? These few considerations, hurriedly offered, I hope will not be forgotten.

(1) Time is short. Young people do not believe this, but you, who have reached thirty or forty, know it.

(2) Moreover, life is uncertain. Some of you know this by painful experience. You have recently lost friends. Hate, and in strong health, they have been smitten down. Others of you have been accustomed to attend the dying-bed, or you often see the hearse go by the windows; or you are sick, and you carry death in your bowels. Wherefore do you linger?

(3) If this will not quicken you, let me tell you, that if you were now to believe in Christ you would be no loser. Present salvation would be present happiness.

(4) Beside that, you are now, at this moment, in danger.

(5) There is one terrible reflection which I cannot help mentioning, namely, that with some of you it ought to be an alarming fact, that the means of grace are losing all effect. You used to feel them much more than you do now.

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