Romans
6. 21-23. You will notice the small word end in verses 21 & 22, and it is
this word which has been much in my mind in connection with our service this
evening. It is now just over 10 years since I first had the privilege of
preaching the glorious gospel of the grace of God in this place[2], and I
expect this to be the last time, as we shall soon have to relinquish this place
and go elsewhere, to carry on the work so dear to our hearts. The end of
various things in our lives are often very sorrowful and sad, and no doubt we
can look back upon many experiences of this character in our lives. We have
said goodbye to friends who have gone over-seas and we have felt it to be the
last time we should ever see them, on earth. We have said goodbye to dear ones
when God has called them from this life to another, and we have promised to
meet them again in another and fairer world where sin and death cannot cause
another parting. There has come a time in the life of our young people when schooldays
have ended, and they launch out into the world to earn their own living, and
one thing always stands out prominently in my memory when as a lad of 14, I
left my home, and my mother never to return again, except on visits[3]. As I
waved farewell and saw her white handkerchief to dry her eyes applied, and knew
I was leaving one of the best mothers, God ever gave to a young lad. I prayed
that God would keep me faithful to the promises I made, to be true to her, and
the Saviour she loved. It was an end of one phase of my life, and I must face
the new phase with faith and courage, and realize that in the near future I
should be tested, and only by God’s grace could I be faithful as I promised.
Now I
want by God’s help to draw your attention to a few of these “ends” mentioned in
the scriptures. First in Luke 22. 37. Our Lord is drawing very near to the
great event in His life.. and the suffering of the cross were very real to Him.
He had been sitting with His disciples and had seen them eat bread and drink wine,
and shewed[4] them how
they should do this in remembrance of Him[5]. As they
break the bread it should remind them of His broken body, and as they drank the
wine they should think of His out-poured blood for them on Calvary’s Cross and
He then goes on to tell them of many things concerning the work He came to do,
prompted by an over-whelming love for them and amongst other things He said to
them “For I say unto you that this that[6] is
written must yet be accomplished in me.” “And He was reckoned among the transgressors”:
for the things concerning me, have an end. Yes, He was very near the end of one
phase of His eternal life, and the beginning of the end was seen in the garden
of Gethsemane, and there we see Him in an agony of blood praying[7]. Our
sins are laid upon Him. Oh what a load was thine to bear. Alone in that dark
hour. Our sins, in all their terror there. God’s wrath and Satan’s power[8]. And
soon from that garden of suffering[9], He went
to the cruel cross, where he said that terrible cry “My God My God why hast
thou forsaken me”[10]. Just
think for one moment of Peter we are told in Matt 26.38 He followed afar off
unto the high priest’s palace, and went in and sat down with the servants to
see the end. He had heard Him say “The things concerning me have an end and he
sat down to see the end. I would like to ask a question “Did he see the end” I
think not. Did any of the disciples see the end? I do not think so. They all
forsook Him and fled. What was the end to which He referred? I think it was the
prophetic Scripture of Isa 53. He was reckoned among the transgressors. A
transgressor on either side of Him and He reckoned as another by Man, but only
for a very brief period and there was an end, and He passed beyond that phase
to another where He was vindicated as a sinless Saviour, and able to save
sinners like the one who died by His side. This day thou shalt be with me in
paradise[11]
were words which fell from those gracious lips of His. But what happens to the
one who sat down to see the end. He went out and wept bitterly[12] before
the end came. But why did He weep. Because of what he had promised and what he
had failed to perform. I would like to ask myself and all here present tonight.
Have I kept the promises I have made to the one who loved me enough to die for
me. Am I one wit better than Peter. Have I not heard the cockcrow many times to
remind me of the vows I have made.. and have not kept. Do we remember the words
of the hymn Nothing but leaves! The Spirit grieves O’er years of wasted life
O’er sins indulge while conscience slept O’er vows and promises un-kept And
reaps from years of strife nothing but leaves[13]. Yes
Peter did not see the end. But there was an end He bear (sic) our sins in His
own body on the tree, and made an end of them all my sin[14]. And He
appears now to assure our hearts that He has done all necessary for our soul’s
satisfaction & peace. And there are two ends spoken of in Rom 6. 21 &
22. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the
end of those things is death. And the other is very different. But now (Paul
speaks to believers) being made free from sin & become servants of God, ye
have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of
sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Soon the gospel testimony in this place will come to an end, and I am satisfied
that very few if any have failed to hear the way of salvation through faith in
a living Saviour, and I would ask a very solemn question What shall the end be
of those that believe not the gospel, and only one word is necessary to answer
it DEATH. Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death[15]. And it
was our sin that made necessary the death of our Saviour. He made an end of all
my sin. Only those who trust Him can say that. I met a boy a few days ago who
said Did you leave a magazine at Mrs. So-And-So’s house. It is no good they are
RCs[16]. I said
in reply. It matters not, what denomination we belong to. What matters is do I
believe and trust the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
[1] This is not marked in the notebook, but it is interpolated 13A in the index at the rear of the notebook
[2] Witley Gospel Mission
met in the hall above Witley co-op. It is now an independent retailer called
Witley Wines (a memory shared on the Francis Frith website by Ann Enticknap ,
on May 18th, 2011. An Enticknap family were key stalwarts of the Mission).
The assembly afterwards met in a purpose built Gospel Hall which was situated in Little London Witley Godalming Surrey GU8 5QY – a rather out-of-the-way place on a track leading to the common. The Hall is still in use although the congregation is small and from outside the village. One of the remaining elders says Lloyd was a key influence on him becoming a Christian. [RRA visited September 27, 2015] Witley Gospel Hall is not listed in http://www.gospelhall.org.uk/
[3] Lloyd's father Albert married to Ellen, a tiler in Hamsey near Lewis Sussex, died in 1895 aged 52 requiring Lloyd to work at the Brickyard. He left home when he got work as an under gardener at Gatton Park estate near Reigate, Surrey owned at the time by Jeremiah Colman who " bought it in 1888 and made a number of changes to the estate, most notably the Japanese Garden and the Pulhamite Rock Garden. He also had a passion for growing orchids and won many medals for them". Lloyd was a proficient cricketer and part of the reason for his recruitment was that he could be in the estate cricket team.
[4] This spelling is habitually used and is perhaps influenced by the AV. The OED says "The spelling shew, prevalent in the 18th c. and not uncommon in the first half of the 19th c., is now obs. exc. in legal documents."
[5] v 19
[6] Inserted above the line
[7] v 44
[8] A hymn by HL Rossier, a member of the Swiss brethren whose father was an associate of JN Darby. This seems to have been his best known hymn see http://www.stempublishing.com/hymns/biographies/rossier.html
1 LORD, e'en to death Thy love could go,
A death of shame and loss,
To vanquish for us every foe,
And break the strong man's force.
2 Oh! what a load was Thine to bear
Alone in that dark hour,
Our sins in all their terror there,
God's wrath and Satan's power!
3 The storm that bowed Thy blessed head
Is hushed for ever now,
And rest divine is ours instead,
Whilst glory crowns Thy brow.
4 Within the Father's house on high,
We soon shall sing Thy praise;
But here, where Thou didst bleed and die,
We learn that song to raise.
[9] A somewhat unusual phrase that is used in Matthew Henry commenting on Matthew 26:36
[10] Mark 15:34 not in Luke
[11] Luke 23:43 but today rather than this day
[12] Luke 22:62
[13] Nothing but leaves; the spirit grieves
Over a wasted life;
Sin committed while conscience slept,
Promises made, but never kept,
Hatred, battle, and strife;
Nothing but leaves!
Nothing but leaves; no garnered sheaves
Of life’s fair, ripened grain;
Words, idle words, for earnest deeds;
We sow our seeds,—lo! tares and weeds:
We reap, with toil and pain,
Nothing but leaves!
Nothing but leaves; memory weaves
No veil to screen the past:
As we retrace our weary way,
Counting each lost and misspent day,
We find, sadly, at last,
Nothing but leaves!
And shall we meet the Master so,
Bearing our withered leaves?
The Saviour looks for perfect fruit,
We stand before him, humbled, mute;
Waiting the words he breathes,—
“Nothing but leaves?”
Lucy Evelina Akerman surprisingly an American Unitarian writer but it was a favourite of Ira D Sankey who sang it as a solo off to Moody's lecture on the Holy Spirit
[14] This somewhat clumsy sentence feels like a quote but rather appears to be an incomplete reference to 1 Peter 2:14
[15] James 1:15
[16] Roman Catholics. Presumably gospel magazines were being distributed door-to-door. This seems to imply that Lloyd believed Roman Catholics could believe and trust in Jesus