Spurgeon: November PM
* 11/24/PM
"Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the
hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that
travelleth; and thy want as an armed man."
--Proverbs 24:33,Proverbs 24:34
The worst of sluggards only ask for a little slumber; they
would be indignant if they were accused of thorough idleness. A
little folding of the hands to sleep is all they crave, and they
have a crowd of reasons to show that this indulgence is a very
proper one. Yet by these littles the day ebbs out, and the time
for labour is all gone, and the field is grown over with thorns.
It is by little procrastinations that men ruin their souls. They
have no intention to delay for years--a few months will bring
the more convenient season--to-morrow if you will, they will
attend to serious things; but the present hour is so occupied
and altogether so unsuitable, that they beg to be excused. Like
sands from an hour-glass, time passes, life is wasted by
driblets, and seasons of grace lost by little slumbers. Oh, to
be wise, to catch the flying hour, to use the moments on the
wing! May the Lord teach us this sacred wisdom, for otherwise a
poverty of the worst sort awaits us, eternal poverty which shall
want even a drop of water, and beg for it in vain. Like a
traveller steadily pursuing his journey, poverty overtakes the
slothful, and ruin overthrows the undecided: each hour brings
the dreaded pursuer nearer; he pauses not by the way, for he is
on his master's business and must not tarry. As an armed man
enters with authority and power, so shall want come to the idle,
and death to the impenitent, and there will be no escape. O that
men were wise be-times, and would seek diligently unto the Lord
Jesus, or ere the solemn day shall dawn when it will be too late
to plough and to sow, too late to repent and believe. In
harvest, it is vain to lament that the seed time was neglected.
As yet, faith and holy decision are timely. May we obtain them
this night.