Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 2299
“Thorns, also, and thistles shall it bring forth to you.” Genesis 3:18.
THIS was not the penalty which might have been pronounced upon Adam. This curse does not fall directly on him— it glances obliquely and falls upon the ground whereon he stands—“Cursed is the ground for your sake.” It is not from materialism that a curse comes upon the spirit of man, but it is from the erring spirit that the curse falls upon the material creation. Let us notice this and learn from it the infinite mercy of God, in that, while the curse falls upon the serpent distinctly, and his head is bruised, yet upon Adam it comes, as I have said, obliquely. “Cursed is the ground for your sake.” “Thorns, also, and thistles shall it bring forth to you.” God, in His justice, never goes beyond justice even in pronouncing His severest sentence, but here, in this life, He tempers His justice with great patience and long-suffering, “Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Another thing is very noticeable, that though the ground was now to bear thorns and thistles to Adam, yet he was to be above ground and alive to till it. Had the sentence been carried out to the fullest, a yawning grave would have opened at his feet and there would have been no more of Adam—but he was permitted, still, to live. Now, whenever thorns and thistles spring up about your path, do not murmur. “Why does a living man complain?” When a felon lies in the dungeon and the sentence of death has been passed upon him, if his life is spared, he may be quite content to live on bread and water for the rest of his days. Thank God that you are not in Hell! Thank God that life is still prolonged to you! You are on praying ground and pleading terms with God, even though that ground may bring forth thorns and thistles to you. “He has not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” We are still spared. And though there are thorns and thistles springing up around us, still, that is a light punishment compared with what we really deserve to suffer.
And, then, notice one thing more, how sweetness can be extracted from that which is sour. If the ground was to bring forth thorns and thistles to Adam, then he was still to live. Not only was he alive, but he was still to live on, for the Lord added, “And you shall eat the herb of the field.” Although the sentence took away from Adam the luscious fruits of Paradise, yet it secured him a livelihood. He was to live—the ground was to bring forth enough of the herb of the field for him to continue to exist. Albeit that henceforth all he ate was to be with the sweat of his face, yet he was to have enough to eat, and he was to live on. Thorns and thistles might multiply, but there would be the herb of the field for him, and he would be spared. The promises of God are often veiled by His threats and if faith can only look beneath the rough covering of the message, something cheerful and hopeful may be found within.
Brothers and Sisters, you will have trials! Thorns, also, and thistles shall the ground bring forth to you, but your bread shall be given you, your waters shall be sure! You have been provided for until now, notwithstanding many straits and trials, and it shall be so to the end. The manna shall not cease till you eat the old corn of Canaan. Till you need no more, God will not cease to feed you all your life. So, if the text, tonight, shall sound somewhat gloomy, and you expect a very thorny and thistly sermon, yet I trust that there will be much to cheer and comfort those of you who have found it true in your experience—“Thorns, also, and thistles shall it bring forth to you.”
I should like to say to those here who have their portion in this life, that it is not much of a portion. Thorns, also, and thistles shall it bring forth to you and, if this is all you have, you have a very poor pittance to live upon—
“There is beyond the sky A Heaven of joy and love,”
but beneath the sky there is no such Heaven! Even for the godly there are thorns and thistles, but for you who are not godly, thorns and thistles are all that you have! If you have no heritage on the other side of Jordan, in the land of the hereafter, in the dwelling place of the blessed, it were better for you that you had never been born! Notwithstanding all the transient delights that you now possess, they will only be as the crackling of thorns under a pot, soon over, and nothing but a handful of ashes left in everlasting darkness. Oh, that you would learn from this not to set your affection upon things below, but to be looking for a better and a brighter land, where the thorn never grows, and the thistle never springs up!
But now let us come to the handling of our text, thorny though it may seem to be.
I. And, first, A GENERAL FACT is here stated. This fact we will consider. Ever since that first sin of our first parents, this has been generally true of the whole human race, not only of the earth, literally, but of everything else round about us, “Thorns, also, and thistles shall it bring forth to you.”