2 Samuel 18:29 And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me your servant… Beginning from the outside circle, and finding our way to the centre, I am going to recount some of the dangers of young men. 1. "Is the young man safe?" No, certainly not; if he drinks. The cold, stingy, selfish being, it leaves untouched; but, if there is a youth more ardent, warm-hearted, high-spirited than the rest it marks him out for its prey. The young man, we shall suppose, has everything to recommend him. Good talents; pleasing address; excellent penmanship; comes from a good home; brings capital testimonials; but it is whispered, "he drinks!" That is enough. He is not "safe." All his other advantages will not secure him. 2. "Is the young man safe?" No; if he gambles. It was only lately that a well-known magistrate said: "I wish that the clerks in mercantile houses of London would come to this court, and see what I see, and hear what I hear. This is only one of a multitude of cases where prisoners in your position have confessed that their robberies are entirely clue to betting. I regard it as a curse to the country; because I see how young men are lured until they fall into a state of misery and wretchedness." 3. "Is the young man safe?" No; if he keeps bad company. Solomon wrote many true things, but he never wrote a truer than this: "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise; but the companion of fools shall be destroyed." I have seen it again and again. I have seen as fine a fellow as I would ever wish to grasp by the hand, by some evil chance thrown into acquaintanceship with a loose, unprincipled character; and, from the day the intimacy began, there has been a steady and sure degeneracy. 4. "Is the young man safe?" No! if he is idle. I am thankful to say, there are not many of you exposed to that danger. What a sight, to be sure, the great inlets to the City present any week-day morning about ten o'clock! What with the rattling of wheels on the Causeway, the shuffling of feet on the pavement, and the humming of innumerable voices, the hive seems as busy as it can be. But, haven't you noticed, just once in s while, a man slouching along carelessly about, his hands in his pockets and, vacancy in his eyes? That's the man the devil thinks he will have an easy job with. 5. "Is the young man safe?" No; if there is anything in his business inconsistent with the strictest integrity. Don't talk of being "safe," if you have every day to make a compromise with conscience, and smooth things over the best way you can. I am grieved to say, the mercantile conscience at the present day is not very sensitive. Are there not many houses of business where some of the clerks or assistants might say, "I could tell some things if I would, but I won't. It's not all straight and aboveboard. Customers don't get all for their money they think they are getting." Are there not things you have to wink at, if you would keep your situation, and get a rise by-and-by? Well, let me assure you of this — that, in the six thousand years of past human history, there has never been so much as one occasion when it was either a man's duty, Or his real interest to sin against God. It can never be right to do wrong. 6. "Is the young man safe?" No; if he does not make conscience of keeping the Sabbath-day. Apart from our spiritual or highest nature, man needs, his system demands, the rest of the Sabbath. He is not "safe" without it. A celebrated merchant declared, "I should have been a maniac long ago, but for the Sabbath. Really, you are not "safe" without it. The brain is not safe; the intellect is not safe; the nerves — the muscles — the banes — the moral nature — the immortal soul. 7. "Is the young man safe?" No; if he neglects his private devotions, What is that that Christ says? "Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret." The man who knows nothing of the closed door, and the bended knee, and the earnest breathing up to heaven, is no Christian; put that down for certain. Ah! you may have a nice room, pleasant look-out, clean-curtained windows, cheerful picture or two on the walls; tidy bookshelf, with just a select dozen or two instructive volumes; photographic album, which you often look at, with the faces of those you love most on earth; soft and comfortable pillow to lay your head upon; but — if that is all — O, there is a terrible want there. Can you not point me to the Bible which you nightly study, to the chair at which you daily bend, as you pour out your heart to God? If you can't, let me tell you, you are not, "safe." No man can fight life's battle successfully, and reach heaven in the end, who doesn't endeavour to spend a little while every day alone with God. Make conscience-work of it. Make a point (as McCheyne used to say) of seeing God's face the first in the morning and the last at night. (Thain Davidson, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was. |
    |