Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces… It would be a sum for an arithmetician to tell the size of the lake that all the tears shed by humanity would have made. I. Let us notice THE TEARS ON SOME FACES. 1. How many little children weep when they might have been made to rejoice! We often expect more from children than they have either wisdom or strength to perform. Many a child weeps himself to sleep when he might have sung had he been rightly treated. 2. There have been rivers of tears upon the faces of the wives of our country. 3. There are many tears shed by widows. 4. There are the tears of the bereaved. 5. Then there are the tears of that class of people that the world does not like to talk of — the "unfortunate." 6. And then there are many who were once members of our Churches, who have wandered out of the way; and there has been no kind hand to fetch them back. 7. Remember the tears caused by the crushing weight of the mountain of poverty. Charity organisations are excellent systems, but it is unwise to overdo it. Because there are so many deceivers, it does not prove that there are not some who suffer. Let us be just to the poor. 8. There are many tears shed by women whose faces are very plain. They are passed by in favour of those who have better figures and prettier faces. 9. A large proportion also of those about us are crippled, and they often are neglected. II. THE TEARS OF THE WORLD HAVE NOT BEEN SHED IN VAIN. The tears of slavery have brought about freedom; the tears of ignorance have been the cause of education being placed within the reach of every healthy child in our land; the tears caused by pestilence have compelled us to cleanse our towns and villages; and the tears shed under the scourge of oppression have given to us freedom of conscience. The tears of poverty have given to us the desire to alleviate it. The tears of pain and sickness have brought about our splendid medical system — the hospitals and dispensaries of our country. Tears often lead to joy. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy often cometh to us in the morning. III. THE TEARS OF AFFLICTION AND TRIAL ARE NEEDFUL. If affliction had not been necessary, Christ would have borne it upon His own head. Afflictions are to us like sandpaper, to make us smooth and polished to take our place in the society of Heaven. Trials are to us in the testing of iron. A heavier weight is placed upon the iron in the workshop than it has to bear in its service outside; and so a heavy weight is placed upon you here. IV. THE TENDER HAND. It is the hand of a Father, of a Lover, of a Saviour, of a Friend; it is the hand of the Lord God! (W. Birch.) Parallel Verses KJV: He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. |
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