Yet a Little While, and They Are Gone.
The sermon highlights the contrast between the temporary and fragile nature of the wicked's lives and the eternal and secure inheritance of the righteous.
F.B. Meyer emphasizes the fleeting nature of the wicked's power and the eternal security of the righteous, as illustrated in Job 24:24. He contrasts the fate of the wicked, who face immediate judgment and desolation, with the hope of those who fear God, who are promised an unshakeable kingdom. Meyer urges believers to build their lives on the eternal love of God rather than the temporary comforts of this world. He encourages a shift in focus from past fears and failures to the bright future that awaits in God's presence. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a deeper trust in God's unchanging nature amidst life's uncertainties.
Text
Yet a little while, and they are gone. Job xxiv. 24 (R.V.).
JOB here describes the insecurity of the wicked. He may have raged against the poor and innocent; but in a moment he comes down to Sheol, is hurried to stand before his Maker to receive his sentence. As he had treated the poor, so he is treated. As he had devoured the houses of the innocent, so he is devoured. "How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, 0 Lord, when Thou awakest, Thou shalt despise their image."
For those who fear God there is a greatly contrasted lot. They receive a kingdom that cannot be moved. Zion may be a desolation, and Jerusalem a wilderness; the holy and beautiful institutions in which their early religious impressions were made may crumble; but they are come to the heavenly Jerusalem. The removing of those things that are capable of being shaken only makes more apparent those which cannot be shaken.
Where do you build your nest? In the trees of this world, that sway in the tempest, or may be hewn down by the woodman's axe; or have you learnt to build in the clefts of the Rock of Ages? Is your treasure in human friendships, which may change or be cut in twain by the sharp shears of death; or is it in the love of God, the unchangeable and everlasting Lover of souls? Let us look off from ourselves; from that diseased introspection that so confuses and dims our life; from the old fears that made us tremble and the old matters of which we must speak no more. And let us look upward and forward to that near future, which is so much larger and better than the past has been, and where we shall attain more than the heights of our dreams.
Sermon Outline
- The Insecurity of the Wicked
- The Security of the Righteous
- The Choice We Must Make
- Building our lives on earthly or heavenly foundations
- Treating our relationships as temporary or eternal
Key Quotes
“How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.” — F.B. Meyer
“As a dream when one awaketh; so, 0 Lord, when Thou awakest, Thou shalt despise their image.” — F.B. Meyer
“Let us look off from ourselves; from that diseased introspection that so confuses and dims our life;” — F.B. Meyer
Application Points
- We must choose to build our lives on the unshakeable foundation of God's love, not on earthly or temporary relationships.
- We should look forward to the future with hope and anticipation, rather than dwelling on the past or our own weaknesses.
- We can trust in God's unchanging love and provision, even in the midst of uncertainty and change.