“In the evening withhold not thy hand.” — Ecclesiastes 11:6

In the evening of the day opportunities are plentiful: men return from theirlabour, and the zealous soul-winner finds time to tell abroad the love ofJesus. Have I no evening work for Jesus? If I have not, let me no longerwithhold my hand from a service which requires abundant labour. Sinnersare perishing for lack of knowledge; he who loiters may find his skirtscrimson with the blood of souls. Jesus gave both His hands to the nails,how can I keep back one of mine from His blessed work? Night and dayHe toiled and prayed for me, how can I give a single hour to the pamperingof my flesh with luxurious ease? Up, idle heart; stretch out thy hand towork, or uplift it to pray; heaven and hell are in earnest, let me be so, andthis evening sow good seed for the Lord my God.

The evening of life has also its calls. Life is so…

short that a morning ofmanhood’s vigour, and an evening of decay, make the whole of it. To someit seems long, but a four-pence is a great sum of money to a poor man. Lifeis so brief that no man can afford to lose a day. It has been well said that ifa great king should bring us a great heap of gold, and bid us take as much aswe could count in a day, we should make a long day of it; we should beginearly in the morning, and in the evening we should not withhold our hand;but to win souls is far nobler work, how is it that we so soon withdrawfrom it? Some are spared to a long evening of green old age; if such be mycase, let me use such talents as I still retain, and to the last hour serve myblessed and faithful Lord. By His grace I will die in harness, and lay downmy charge only when I lay down my body. Age may instruct the young,cheer the faint, and encourage the desponding; if eventide has less ofvigorous heat, it should have more of calm wisdom, therefore in theevening I will not withhold my hand.

To make sure you never miss an episode, please subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.

Producer: Todd Adkins
Voice Artist: Ian Cullen