Set
Thine House In Order
By
William L. Rosenberry
(Excerpted from: The Gospel Witness, July 1950.)
For
our meditation we are turning to the Book of Isaiah, chapter 38, and reading a phrase from verse one, “Set thine house
in order.” These words were a message from God through Isaiah the Prophet to Hezekiah, King of Judah. At the time of
our text Hezekiah was sick with a very sore boil. God told him that he would die; warned him to make the necessary preparation
or as our text suggests “set thine house in order.”
We
feel there is a message in this text that is practical for the day in which we are living. God even now, as you listen, may
be warning you that the curtains will soon fall and screen out forever your earthly life. This may be the last Gospel Message
you will be privileged to hear. It may be your funeral sermon.
In
view of this possibility we want to notice some reasons why we should set our house in order, or as Amos the prophet said,
“Prepare to meet thy God.”
First,
we should set our house in order because God said, “my Spirit shall not always strive with man.” This portion
of Scripture has its setting centered around that world wide catastrophe, the Flood. God, back in those awful days of wickedness,
attempted to draw His creation back to righteousness. But it would seem that the more God spoke and entreated them to repent
the more wicked and devilish the people became. Their continual sin caused the cup of iniquity to fill and mercy to forever
fly away.
The
funeral bells of coming judgment tolled loudly while Noah hammered at the Ark – the only place of refuge and safety.
In spite of the building of this monument of warning and faithful Noah's preaching, the people would reject God, and finally
they lost their lives in the swirling muddy waters of the Flood.
Yes,
God is a merciful God. However, He would be doing the Holy Ghost an injustice if He continued for long to permit His Spirit
to be insulted by the continual rejection of man to His kind entreaties to repent. You that are outside the fold, outside
the Ark of Safety, who refuse to obey God, “set your homes in order,” for God's Spirit will not always strive
with you in an attempt to cause you to see your need of repenting.
Secondly,
you should set your house in order because the Wages of Sin is death. Did you know that sin pays wages? If we could call for
witness from radio land to prove that sin pays wages, what a pathetic procession we would see.
Those
who had received sin's wages would file from our insane asylums – broken mentally because of the strain and high tempo
of sin – night club life, dancing, drinking, carousing. Others deranged because of some social sin. One of the most
tragic scenes witnessed by the speaker was to look upon a young boy 16 years old, committed to a padded cell in an asylum,
stripped of his clothing, beating at unseen objects with a piece of cloth, all the while cursing and swearing. That scene
haunts me – it is the wages of sin.
Other
witnesses would file from our penal institutions – thieves, embezzlers, murderers, rapists and others receiving wages
for their sins. Then, too, some would come from our sanatoriums broken in health; little boys and girls from orphanages hungry
for a mother's love, and a father's care. The widows would testify to sin's wages – folk disfigured, maimed, broken
hearts – tear stained faces, sleepless nights – the wages of sin.
Young
people, fathers, and mothers – yea, America, the Land of the Free, you are in bondage to sin your master, and soon you
will receive your master's wages. In spite of all the warnings from God and His faithful “Watchmen” who have sounded
the cry of coming judgment, you continue to “sop” up more beer and liquor each year breaking all previous records.
You continue to burn greater quantities of tobacco in “human boilers.” You continue to become more daring in dress
and especially at the bathing beaches. You continue to spend more money in gambling, pride, and pleasure seeking in one year
than all churches receive in a decade. “Set thine house in order” for the wages of sin is death.
Lastly,
you should set your house or heart in order because life is uncertain. One of the common expressions of the day concerning
the certainty of life is, “here today and gone tomorrow.” Life is uncertain. We are walking blindly into eternity.
We are certain only of the present moment in which we live. The next moment may find us standing before God giving an account
of our stewardship. The other week we talked to a woman about her soul. She said she was alright. Several days later she died,
and we are quite positive that she wasn't right.
A
man went to one of our Philadelphia doctors for a physical check up. The doctor after examining the patient said he was physically
sound. The man left the doctor's office, stepped to the side walk and dropped dead.
Awake,
radio friend, set your house or heart in order for thous shalt die and not live, and it may be sooner than you think. Don't
wait until the death dews have gathered to repent – do it today, and do it without delay. We shall pray for you.
