Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1400
Delivered on Thursday Evening, November 1, 1877
“These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.” 1 Chronicles 4:23.
(A slogan for Sunday school teachers).
ALL labor is honorable. No man ever needs to be ashamed of an honest calling. Whether a potter or a gardener, or whatever else his occupation may be, the workman need never blush at the craft or toil by which he earns his honest wage. “In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread,” belongs to us all. The sluggard may well be ashamed of his sloth, but not the diligent man of his industry. It is quite certain that the Word of God does not disparage the most humble calling. I suppose that there is scarcely a trade or occupation which is not mentioned in sacred Scripture. The rough hand and the rugged face of the peasant are to be preferred before the dainty finger and the sleek form of the Pharisee.
And the election of Divine Grace has comprised men of all sorts—herdsman and fisherman, brick maker and tent maker—those who plowed the soil and those who plowed the sea. From all ranks and classes and conditions of men God has been pleased to call forth His own and He has loved them, none the less, because they have had to soil their hands with potter’s clay, or bend their backs to till the field. Wretched is the clown who sits in the shade while his comrades work in the sun! There is an honor, then, and a dignity, too, in humble honest toil. The Bible itself does not disdain to record the humble craftsman’s name.
To serve a king always was and still is deemed a thing to be desired. Those who do such duties claim some deference from their fellows. Work done well, however common, is accounted worthy of its wage, but work done for royalty generally has some special attraction to commend it. Such a man is privileged by appointment to be purveyor of this or that to Her Majesty, the Queen, and he takes good care to let us know it. It is published in his shop window. It is painted over his door. It is printed on his cards. It is pointed out on his invoices—he is, “By appointment to the Queen.” Royalty seems to dignify him.
But, Beloved, there is a King whom it is a real honor to serve—an honor which angels appreciate—which archangels delight in! That King is the King of kings and of Him we shall speak tonight—and of His service. Earthly kings have many servants and so has the King Eternal. I trust that many of us count it to be the very joy of our life that we call Jesus Christ our Lord and Master and that, to us, it is the highest pleasure to serve Him—to render to Him all that our strength can possibly yield because we feel that we are debtors to Him and are bound, from here on, in bonds of love to His Divine service forever and for evermore!
Looking at my text, I see three or four observations springing from it.
I. The first is this. Since we have mention, here, of potters and those that dwelt among the plants and hedges with the king for his work, we infer that OUR KING HAS MANY KINDS OF SERVANTS. Other kings have servants of different sorts and it would be the extreme of folly if one royal servant should say to another, “You are a nobody. You are of no use because you cannot perform the offices which I am called to discharge.” No brother must exult over his neighbor. He that is appointed to one office must fill it and he ought to sympathize with the friend who fulfils any other office, but he should never exalt himself above him. The king has many kinds of servants.
Look at any one of our kings and you find that they have soldiers. Until the halcyon days of peace shall arrive—may God speedily send them—I suppose there will always be standing armies and regiments of soldiers. Certainly, our great King, the King of kings, has many soldiers! It is their duty to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. They have to put on the panoply of God and to contend, not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world—and against spiritual wickedness in high places! Full often they have to draw the sharp sword of controversy against doctrinal errors which might come in to destroy the city of our
God.
Do not find fault with the Christian because he has soldierly qualities. There has been no time since Christ went to Heaven in which soldiers of Christ were not needed. Until the last enemy shall have laid down his weapons and infidelity and superstition shall be chased out of the world, we shall need these fighting men, who, with sword and shield, go forth to the conflict. They are your Master’s servants. Pray for them. But a king has his watchmen, too, who do not go forth to fight, but stay at home and move about the city, especially by night. And do you know, I think the Lord’s watchmen are mostly found among the sick. During the day, I suppose, there is little fear lest the incense of prayer should cease to rise up to the Throne of Heaven. But were we all in good health we might be all asleep and no prayer might be ascending.