Bible CharactersTalmage, T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt)
Religion
Bible Characters
Talmage, T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt)
Bible -- Biography
At last the crowd comes to the tree, and it looks as if Christ is going
by; but He stops right under the tree. All at once He looks up and sees
Zacchæus, and says to him: “Zacchæus, make haste and come down.”
I can imagine Zacchæus says to himself: “I wonder who told Him my name. I
was never introduced to Him.” But Christ knew all about him.
Well, He said to Zacchæus: “Make haste and come down.” He may have added:
“This is the last time I shall pass this way, Zacchæus.” That is the way
He speaks to sinners. “This may be the last time I shall pass this way.
This may be your last chance of eternity.” There are some people in this
nineteenth century who do not believe in sudden conversions. I should
like them to tell me where Zacchæus was converted. He certainly was not
converted when he went up into the tree, but he certainly was converted
when he came down. He must have been converted somewhere between the
branches and the ground.
The Lord converted him right there. People say they do not believe in
sudden conversions, and that if a man is converted suddenly he will not
hold out--he will not be genuine. I wish we had a few men converted like
Zacchæus in London. They would make no small stir. When a man begins to
make restitution it is a pretty good sign of conversion. Let men give
back money dishonestly obtained in London, and see how quickly people
will believe in conversion. Zacchæus gave half his goods to the poor.
What would be said if some of the rich men of London did that? Zacchæus
gave half his goods all at once, and he said: “If I have taken any thing
from any man falsely, I restore him fourfold.” I think that is the other
half.
But to get Christ is worth more than all his wealth. I imagine, the next
morning, one of the servants of Zacchæus going with a check for £100, and
saying: “My master a few years ago took from you wrongfully about £25,
and this is restitution money.”
That would give confidence in Zacchæus’s conversion.
BELSHAZZAR.
In the fifth chapter of Daniel we read the history of King Belshazzar. It
is very short. Only one chapter tells us all we know about him. One short
sight of his career is all we see. He just seems to burst upon the stage
and then disappears. We are told that he gave a great feast, and at this
feast he had a thousand of his lords, and they were drinking and praising
the gods of silver, of gold, of brass, of iron and of wood, out of the
vessels which had been brought from the Temple at Jerusalem.
As they were drinking out of these vessels of gold and silver from the
house of God--I do not know but it was at the hour of midnight--all at
once came forth the fingers of a man’s hand and began to write upon the
wall of the banquet hall.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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