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… I. THAT THE YOUNG ARE EXPOSED TO SPECIAL DANGERS. 1. Youth is a time of special susceptibility. While the grown tree will sooner break than bend, the sapling may be trained any way. 2. It is a time of ingenuous trustfulness. Much of the folly of young people may be attributed to their ignorance of the world. They see the flower, and have no suspicion of the serpent that lies concealed under it. No guilt can be greater, no sin more diabolical, than that of him who trades upon the unsuspiciousness of innocence. 3. It is a time of special impulsiveness. The young have fresh blood coursing in their veins; and the freshness of their physical being is but a type of that which characterises their whole moral and spiritual nature. 4. It is a time when new thoughts and opinions are most readily received. In a certain sense men naturally grow more conservative as they grow older. The very changableness of youth betokens the readiness with which their minds can be guided into fresh and ennobling trains of thought. The great want of youth is guidance: not restraint, but direction; not stern and repellant commands, so much as counsel. 5. It is the time when life habits are definitely formed. It is then the metal is poured into the mould, and the image stands forth through life with shape of unsightly deformity or graceful beauty. The wax is soft; but will soon harden under the impression of a Divine likeness or of one debased. II. THAT THE SAFETY OF THE YOUNG IS A QUESTION FOR SPECIAL INQUIRY. "Is the young man safe?" A question for — 1. Parents. What is the character of the home-influence? Parents must take" their choice. They must either make the life and lessons — the love and the pleasures — of home more attractive and winning than those of the street; or they must pass through bitter experiences in the midst of which they need not Wonder at the ruin of their sons and daughters. 2. Employers. What is the example in trade life? What are the associations of the workshop and the warehouse? Are not assistants and apprentices too often left as isolated atoms on the surging sea of life? "What care they for the world that cares not for them?" 3. The Church. What is the Church doing? Are not Young Men's Christian Associations in some sense so many testimonies against the Church on account of neglected duty. 4. Young men themselves. Humanly speaking, there is no help like self-help. Dare to be men — to stand alone. Yet not alone; since Christ waits to take you under His protection. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?" (F. Wagstaff.) 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. |
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