Speak out Your Message

Psa_107:2
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so!
There is a duly of keeping silent. There are
times when we would better not say
anything. There come thoughts and feelings
into our hearts, which we would better not
speak out. There are moments when silence
is golden. But there is also a duty of speech.
God has given us our tongues to be used.
The world needs the true words that lie
within our lips. There are times when
silence would be ingratitude, even
disloyalty. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so!
If God has redeemed us, how can we but
say so? It is disloyal for us to hide in our
heart, the wonderful story of what God has
done for us. Our Lord was hurt by the
action of the nine lepers who had been
healed by Him and did not return to give
praise to God. One came backa
Samaritan, and then Jesus asked, Where
are the other nine? We ought to give God
our gratitude, when He has blessed us.
Rescue from danger, recovery from
sickness, the restoration of a friend from
deaths door, deliverance from trouble,
prosperity in business, kindness shown at
large cost which has brought great good
our lives are full of the goodness and loving-
kindness of God. Surely there ought to be a
great deal of praise in our life. Let the
redeemed of the Lord say so!
But to say it to God in the secrecy of our
closet of prayer, is not enough. We ought to
tell others that God has redeemed us. We
owe it to Him to honor His name among
men. Then we owe it to our fellows, also, to
let them know what God has done for us.
They have needs, trials, hungersjust like
those in which God has comforted us; shall
we not tell them where we were consoled in
our sorrow, where we found
companionship in our loneliness, friendship
in our heart - hunger, deliverance in our
temptation, guidance in our bewilderment
and perplexity that they may find the
same in their like need? Let the redeemed
of the Lord say so!
Then, God gives us messages to carry to
others. He puts into the heart of every one
of His creatures, something which He wants
that creature to utter to the world. He puts
into the star a message of lightyou look
up into the heavens at night and the star
gives you its message. Who knows what a
blessing the star may be to a weary traveler
who finds his way by it, or to the sick man
lying by his window, and in his
sleeplessness looking up at the glimmering
point of light in the calm, deep heaven. God
gives to a flower a message of beauty and
sweetness, and for its brief life it tells out its
message to all who can read it. Who can
count up the good that even a flower may
do, as it blooms in the garden, or as it is
carried into the sick room, or into the
cheerless chamber of poverty?
Especially does God give to every human
life a message to deliver. To one it is some
new scientific revelation. To the poet God
gives thoughts of beauty which he is to
interpret to the worldand the world is
richer, sweeter, and better for hearing his
messages. Think what we owe to the men
and women who along the centuries have
given forth their songs of hope, cheer,
comfort, and inspiration! To every one of us
God gives something that He wants us to
say to others. We cannot all write poems, or
books which shall bless men; but if we live
near the heart of Christ, there is no one of
us into whose ear He will not whisper some
fragment of truth, some revealing of grace
and love, or to whom He will not give some
experience of comfort in sorrow, some new
glimpse of glory.
God forms a personal friendship with each
one of His faithful children, and each one
learns something from Him, which no other
one ever has learned. Your message is not
the same as mine; it is Gods own word to
you, and you are His prophet to foretell it to
the world. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so!
If only one of the flowers that blooms in the
summer days in the fields and gardens
refused to bloom, hiding its gift of beauty
the world would be poorer and less lovely
than it is. If but one of the myriad stars in
the heavens refused to shine, keeping its
beam of light locked in its breast, the nights
will be a little darker than they are. And
every human life that fails to hear its
message, or fails to speak it out, keeping it
hidden in the silence of the heartleaves
this earth poorer. But every life, even the
lowliest, that learns of God and then speaks
out its messageadds something to the
worlds blessing and beauty.
Live near to Godthat He may speak to you
out of His own heart, the word He would
have you tell again to others. Then be sure
you speak it out. What I tell you in the dark
speak in the daylight; what is whispered
in your earproclaim from the roofs. Let
the redeemed of the Lord say so!
Again, we ought to let the gladness of our
heart utter itself. I say the gladness. There
is something very strange in the tendency
which seems so common in human livesto
hide the gladness, and tell out the misery.
If you will, for one week, keep an account of
what the people you meet say to you, even
in their shortest greetings, I think you will
find that a large proportion of them will not
say anything that is cheerful and happy
but much that is dreary and disheartening.
They will speak of the discouragements in
their business, the hardships in their
occupation, the troubles in their various
duties, and all the manifold miseries, real
and imagined, that have fallen to their lot.
But they will have very little to say of their
prosperities, their health, their mercies,
favors, blessings.
Yet it is of this latter class of experiences,
that the world ought to hear the most. In
the first place, we do not have half so many
woes as some of us imagine we have. We
have a hundred mercies to one misery.
God makes this world just a little rough for
most of usto keep us from settling down
in it as a final home of perfect contentment.
But He does not want us to complain
forever about the roughness. That is neither
loyal nor braveand it is not beautiful. We
have no right to add to the worlds burdens
by unloading our worries and frets into
every ear we find open! There is no text that
says, Let the redeemed of the Lord tell
everybody all their troubles, vexations,
frets, and anxieties!
It would be a far sweeter service to the
worldif we were to speak only of our
gladness, remembering the loving-kindness
of the Lord, telling of the pleasant things of
our life, and not uttering our woes. There is
always a bright side. There is always
something beautiful in the most painful or
repulsive condition or circumstances; would
it not be better for us to find that and
speak of it, keeping silent as to the painful
or repulsive features?
Again, there is a large field of opportunities
for saying so when the words will do
great good to others. This is true especially
of the expression of kindly feelings, the
utterance of encouragements, comforts,
inspirations. Many of us are altogether too
stingy with such words. We have the good
thought in our heart but we do not say it!
Some people boast of their honesty, in
saying what they think. That is very wellso
long as they think only nobly, charitably,
generously, lovingly. But saying what one
thinks, means ofttimes speaking rashly,
impulsively, cruelly, in the flashes of anger
and bad temperand then the words are
not wise nor good. As well say themas
think them, someone replies. No! thinking
harsh or unkind things hurts youbut
saying unkind things hurt others! A
moment later you will repent, too, of the
bitter thoughts, and if they have not been
spokenyou will be most thankful that they
were not.
One told of being very angry after enduring
a bitter wrong, and then of writing a letter
to the person who had done the wrong, into
which all the anger was poured. The words
were like fire. His conscience whispered,
however, Do not send the letter until
morning. And it was never sent, and the
friend has never ceased to thank God that it
was not. It was all a terrible
misunderstanding, and the two are the best
of friends again. The redeemed of the Lord
should not speak harsh, uncharitable,
hurtful words, which will only give needless
pain, break hearts, sunder friendships, and
which can never be unsaid!
But we should speak out our good thoughts
and feelings on every occasion. Some
people fail to do this. Some seem to have
the impression that the utterance of kindly
words, however well deserved, is a sort of
weak and unworthy flattery. But it is not, if
the words are sincere and true.
Thackeray says, Never lose an opportunity
of saying a kind word. Then he tells of an
English nobleman who always carried his
pocket full of acorns, and whenever he saw
a bare or vacant place in his estate, he
would plant one. Just so, whenever we see a
person whose life is sad, or who is
discouraged, we should drop a pleasant,
loving word into his heart. It will grow into
beauty. An acorn costs nothingbut it may
sprout into a prodigious bit of timber. Kind
words cost nothingbut they may mean a
great deal in the way of blessing and good.
Your neighbor is in sorrow. The shutters are
closed for days, as a loved one hovers
between life and death; and then the death-
crape on the door tells that death has
conquered, and that the home is darkened.
You want to help. Your heart is full of
sympathy. But you do nothing; you say no
word to give comfort. Is there no way by
which your brotherly love might make your
neighbors burden a little lighter or his
heart a little stronger? You want to help
him. Why not say so ?
Here is one whose life is full of care. His
business is not prosperous. There is
sickness in his family. Many things appear
to go against him. He battles on bravely
but the fight is hard, the load is heavy, the
road is rough and steep! He has to meet it
all alone, too, without that human
sympathy which would mean so much to
him. You stand by and see all this. Ofttimes
your heart aches as you notice the mans
weariness, the discouragement in his sad
face and bent form. You speak to other
neighbors, with sincere feeling about his
hard struggle and his defeated look. Yes,
yes; but you never say anything to him to
show him that you sympathize with him.
Why not? A few loving, brotherly words
might make him strong to press on yet to
victoriousness.
It is in our homes, perhaps, that the lesson
is needed most. There is a great deal of love
there that never finds expression. We keep
sad silences ofttimes with those we love the
best, even when their hearts are crying for
words. A husband loves his wife and would
give his life for herbut there are days and
days when he never tells her so, nor reveals
the sweet truth by any sign or token. The
wife loves her husband with deep affection
but she has fallen into the habit of making
no demonstration, saying nothing about her
love, and going on through the daily home
experiences, almost as if there were no love
in her heart. No wonder husbands and
wives drift apart in such homes! There are
parents who make the same mistake with
their children. A young man, referring to his
home life, said: My mother was a brilliant,
busy person; but we never were close, and
my home was a mere boardinghouse to
me.
It is to the expression of the love in our
heartsthat we are called today. Let the
redeemed of the Lord say so! It is to the
good things we leave undone, our sins of
omission, that we owe attention, quite as
much as to the wrong things we do, our sins
of commission.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! We
must say it, too, before it is too late. Some
people wait until the need is pastand then
come up with tardy kindness. When the
neighbor is well againthen they call to say
how sorry they are he has been sick. The
time for showing friendship, is in the
friends need or adversityand not when
the need is passed. There are many who say
their first truly generous things of others
when the others lie in the coffin! Then they
bring flowers, although they never gave a
flower when their friends were alive!
Tell out your gratitudeGod desires it.
Speak your messagethe world needs it.
Pour out your lovehearts are breaking for
it. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!