November 1, Evening

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away: so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." — Matthew 24:39 · KJV

The doom was universal; neither rich nor poor escaped. The learned and the unlettered, the admired and the abhorred, the religious and the profane, the old and the young, all sank in one common ruin. Some had doubtless ridiculed the patriarch — where now their merry jests? Others had threatened him for a zeal they counted madness — where now their boastings and hard speeches? The critic who judged the old man's work is drowned in the same sea that covers his sneering companions. Those who spoke patronizingly of the good man's fidelity to his convictions, but did not share them, have sunk to rise no more; and the workers who for pay helped build the wondrous ark are all lost too. The flood swept them all away and made no single exception. Even so, out of Christ, final destruction is sure to every man born of woman; no rank, possession, or character will suffice to save a single soul who has not believed in the Lord Jesus. My soul, behold this widespread judgment, and tremble at it. How marvelous the general apathy! They were all eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the awful morning dawned. There was not one wise man on earth outside the ark. Folly duped the whole race — folly about self-preservation, the most foolish of all follies; folly in doubting the most true God, the most malignant of fooleries. Strange, my soul, is it not? All men neglect their souls until grace gives them reason; then they leave their madness and act like rational beings, but not till then. All — blessed be God — were safe in the ark; no ruin entered there. From the huge elephant down to the tiny mouse, all were safe; the timid hare was as secure as the courageous lion, the helpless rabbit as safe as the laboring ox. All are safe in Jesus. My soul, are you in Him?