Charles Spurgeon, from “Sovereignty and Salvation.”
Text: Isaiah 45:22 — “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
In centuries past, idols held power over individuals, communities and nations—idols which, as Spurgeon reminds us, are now nowhere to be found. This is the work God promises to do in us, as well.
Spurgeon:
But how hath God poured contempt on the ancient gods of the heathen? Where are they now? Are they so much as known? Where are those false deities before whom the multitudes of Nineveh prostrated themselves?
Go to the museum—see them there as curiosities, and smile to think that men should ever bow before such gods as these.
Where are the gods of Persia? Where are the gods of Greece? Jupiter—doth any one bow before him? And who is he that adores Saturn? And where are the gods of Rome?
They are cast down from their thrones; they are hurled from their pedestals; their chariots are broken, their sceptres are burnt in the fire, their glories are departed; God hath gotten unto himself the victory over false gods, and taught their worshippers that he is God, and that beside him there is none else.
Someday I will walk through the halls of my own museum of ancient history, recognizing behind glass the taxidermied idols to whom I once bowed.
I will see there the idol of Approval, and laugh to think that I worshipped it.
I will see my old nemesis Success and rejoice that it was only ever the success of Christ on the cross that I needed.
I will stand in front of Pleasure and thank God that he cut down this counterfeit and led me to the source of authentic satisfaction and delight.
By God’s grace, I will visit this museum and finally realize that my idols are dead and gone—but I am more alive than ever, and so is my Savior, who not only kills idols but turns the memory of them into a joyful vision of his faithfulness.
