Come Ye, and Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord
We are invited to leave the cares and riches of this world behind and climb to a higher life of communion with God.
C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes the necessity of rising above the troubles of the world to experience the spiritual heights of communion with God. He warns that the cares of life and the lure of wealth can stifle our spiritual growth, urging believers to cut away these distractions through a deeper relationship with the Lord. Spurgeon uses the metaphor of climbing mountains to illustrate the refreshing and invigorating experience of seeking God, contrasting it with the stagnant existence in the valleys of earthly concerns. He calls for divine assistance to break free from the chains of anxiety and fear, encouraging believers to elevate their spirits and engage in communion with the Most High. Ultimately, he invites the congregation to leave behind their earthly burdens and ascend to a place of joy and blessedness in God's presence.
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It is exceedingly beneficial to our souls to mount above this present evil world to something nobler and better. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are apt to choke everything good within us, and we grow fretful, desponding, perhaps proud and carnal. It is well for us to cut down these thorns and briers, for heavenly seed sown among them is not likely to yield a harvest; and where shall we find a better sickle with which to cut them down than communion with God and the things of the kingdom?
In the valleys of Switzerland many of the inhabitants are deformed, and all wear a sickly appearance, for the atmosphere is charged with miasma, and is close and stagnant; but up yonder, on the mountain, you find a hardy race, who breathe the clear fresh air as it blows from the virgin snows of the Alpine summits. It would be well if the dwellers in the valley could frequently leave their abodes among the marshes and the fever mists, and inhale the bracing element upon the hills.
It is to such an exploit of climbing that I invite you this evening. May the Spirit of God assist us to leave the mists of fear and the fevers of anxiety, and all the ills which gather in this valley of earth, and to ascend the mountains of anticipated joy and blessedness. May God the Holy Spirit cut the cords that keep us here below, and assist us to mount! We sit too often like chained eagles fastened to the rock, only that, unlike the eagle, we begin to love our chain, and would, perhaps, if it came really to the test, be loath to have it snapped.
May God now grant us grace, if we cannot escape from the chain as to our flesh, yet to do so as to our spirits; and leaving the body, like a servant, at the foot of the hill, may our soul, like Abraham, attain the top of the mountain, there to indulge in communion with the Most High.
Sermon Outline
- The Need to Leave the Valley
- The Benefits of Climbing the Mountain
- Invitation to Climb the Mountain
- Leaving fears and anxieties behind
- Ascending to anticipated joy and blessedness
Key Quotes
“It is exceedingly beneficial to our souls to mount above this present evil world to something nobler and better.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“May God the Holy Spirit cut the cords that keep us here below, and assist us to mount!” — C.H. Spurgeon
“May God now grant us grace, if we cannot escape from the chain as to our flesh, yet to do so as to our spirits;” — C.H. Spurgeon
Application Points
- We should regularly cut down the thorns and briers of the world that choke our good deeds.
- We should seek communion with God and the things of the kingdom to grow in our faith.
- We should leave our fears and anxieties behind and climb to a higher life of anticipated joy and blessedness.