I DARE say you have heard of that dangerous creature found in. America, and called a rattlesnake? They are so called because when they move, or are angry, they make a rattling noise with the bones of the tail. When they lie hidden in the long grass or among the bushes, or perhaps in the hollow log of some fallen tree rotting in the woods they are very dangerous, because any one going along might sit down on the log to rest, you know, or tread on one of them by accident, and then, as their bite is very deadly, the wayfarer might be killed.
But the rattle warns the traveler, for, as soon as the creature begins to move, the bones in his tail clap together, and thus, in spite of himself, he gives notice of his presence. On this account the Indians and backwoodsmen of America (where this creature is found) do not fear it much. When they hear the rattle they fire in the direction of the sound with the rifle or the Indian bow. If the reptile is hit, but not killed, he rises up in wrath, his jaws are wide open to bite, his eyes seem to flash a greenish fire, his tail rattles loudly, and then the woodsman must be quick, or the snake will fling himself on him, and bite with his poisonous fangs. If he has had time to reload his rifle he fires again at the creature’s head, and shatters his terrible jaws; if not, he takes his ax from his belt and strikes it down, cuts off its head, and then, if he is hungry, he lights a fire and roasts the snake for his dinner. So you see the hunter does not mind meeting with a rattlesnake (providing always he does not happen to tread on him before he hears the rattle), because it makes him a plentiful meal at any rate, and is said to taste very much like veal. I dare say you would rather not have a rattlesnake for dinner, but you see these hunters in the vast forests of America, tramping on for many, many weary miles through tangled underwood and endless rows of trees, become very hungry sometimes, before they can get anything to eat, and I fancy when that is the case they would rather meet a rattlesnake than not. But how watchful such men must be as they travel on in this way through the wild woods! Watchful against danger on the one hand, and on the other, watchful for something good to eat. The rifle must be always ready, for a rabbit, a wild pig, or even a deer may suddenly dart across the path from some thicket at hand, and be gone in a moment. What a disappointment to a hungry hunter and how he would blame himself for not being ready! Or a panther, a wolf, or a bear may meet him, and although these creatures generally flee at the sight of a man, there is no knowing what they might do if they happened to be very hungry too, for of course you know they like to have a dinner as well as the hunter does, and perhaps have been two or three days without one. In that case panthers and wolves are not very particular what they eat or who suffers, so that their hunger is satisfied, and when very hungry, they are very fierce. So then the hunter must be always on the watch. And this reminds us of what God says to every believer, whether young or old. He says, “Continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving;” and again, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance.” You see the believer has to watch against a wily foe, that is, Satan on the one hand; and he has to maintain a prayerful spirit and to watch for answers to his prayers also. If he is in need of some good thing that he has asked the Lord for, he must watch for the answer. It may come when he is not looking for it, and then he forgets to be thankful; thus, although he gets the good thing he asked for, he misses the blessing it would have brought him, besides losing the opportunity and privilege of thank-offerings and praise, which both give glory to his heavenly Father, and minister grace to his own soul; just as the water-spout drawn upward by the cloud that stoops to meet it, descends again in showers to refresh the thirsty plain.
But I must tell you more about these serpents. They live on all kinds of small creatures, birds, reptiles, squirrels, rabbits, and such like, and some think that the rattle in the tail helps them to catch their prey.
An American planter was one day sitting with his children on a high rock, enjoying the beauties of a summer sunset, when they heard, just below them at the foot of the rock, a loud rustling, and then the rattling which this snake makes as he moves along. On looking in the direction of the sound, they saw the reptile in the grass below creeping towards a tree on which his bright eyes were fixed. Presently he raised himself, his jaws were wide open, his eyes seemed to burn, and his clappers kept up a continual noise. “See, father,” cried one of the children, “that squirrel on the tree seems to be watching the serpent, and coming nearer and nearer to the end of the bough.” And so it was. Instead of scampering away when he heard the rattle, as a squirrel can do so well if he likes, by springing from branch to branch, and from tree to tree, the poor foolish creature only got nearer and nearer to the snake. Whether the rattle attracted him until the bright eyes held him spell-bound, I cannot tell you, but little by little, he crept to the end of the branch, and then, as if paralyzed by fear, he dropped right before the serpent and was seized and swallowed in a moment. I suppose the strange rattle drew his attention, in the first instance, and then, getting too near, the terror of those dazzling eyes, looking right into his own, did the rest.
Now, you know, to a backwoodsman the rattle would have been a warning of danger, and of the serpent’s presence; and so to a believer, whose senses are exercised to discern both good and evil, temptation is a warning of the presence of that old serpent the devil. But to the poor silly squirrel the rattlesnake’s clapper seems to have been only something curious or attractive, which he wanted to know more about, and then, drawn on by it, he got within the power of the serpent, from which he could no more escape. I dare say you will think him very foolish, and so he was, poor fellow; but I can tell you, and better still, the Bible tells you that there are and have been many people just like him. Was it not the rattle of the old serpent that drew on Eve, until first she “saw that the tree was good for food,” and then, “that it was pleasant to the eyes,” and then, that “it was a tree to be desired to make one wise” (the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, 1 John 2:1616For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16)), so that at last “she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,” thus bringing “sin into the world and death by sin” (Gen. 3). It is said that the horny rings which form the clapper in the rattlesnake’s tail become more numerous the older he gets; and no doubt the “rattles” with which Satan deceives men have grown in number, immensely since our first parents fell, although they all have the same root. Did not the “rattle” of a lawless will lead Cain to envy, murder, and open rebellion against God? (Gen. 4). And Satan used this “rattle” so effectually that at last “the imagination of the thoughts of the heart” of man brought in the flood on the world of the ungodly (Gen. 6). Yes, and yet even after that tremendous judgment rebellious sinners let the same “rattle” of a lawless will lead them on to build the tower of Babel, that they might be independent of God (Gen. 11). Surely, you will say, the poor little squirrel is not so foolish after all, as men and women are. No, indeed, and if you will turn to the Scriptures I give you, this will be plainer and plainer. What led Joseph’s brethren to think of killing, and then at last to sell for a slave their true-hearted loving brother? Was it not the “rattle” of envy, that has its root in the pride of life (Gen. 37:11, 19, 20, 26, 2711And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. (Genesis 37:11)
19And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 20Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. (Genesis 37:19‑20)
26And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. (Genesis 37:26‑27))? Satan knows how to use the rattle, first in one way, and then in another. Did not the “rattle” of “the lust of the eye” lead Achan to covet the Babylonish garment and the wedge of gold, so that he fell into disobedience and utter destruction (Josh. 7)? King Ahab allowed the “rattle” of Jezebel’s lawless tongue to bring him to ruin and his kingdom too (1 Kings 21:1515And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. (1 Kings 21:15)). Gehazi was drawn into falsehood, sin, and leprosy by the “rattle” of Naaman’s silver and raiment (2 Kings 5:2222And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. (2 Kings 5:22)). The “rattle” of a crown led Athaliah to murder “all the seed royal” of Judah’s line, so that if God had not preserved one little child, she would have overturned all His gracious promises’ to David (2 Kings 11; Psa. 89:35-3735Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 36His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 37It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah. (Psalm 89:35‑37)). Ah! what a “rattle” the serpent must have made to try and bring this about! But who can cope with God? And that little child, so graciously preserved, found, when he grew up, that the “rattle” of flattery and homage could lead him to forget all the mercies he had known, and bring him into the power of the adversary, sorrow, suffering, and death (2 Chron. 24:17-2517Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. 18And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. 19Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. 20And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you. 21And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord. 22Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon it, and require it. 23And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus. 24For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. 25And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings. (2 Chronicles 24:17‑25)). Ah! and worse even than this, the “rattle” of “the gods of the heathen” drew all Israel away, so that they forsook Jehovah, and were led at last to the Assyrian and Babylonish captivities (2 Kings 17:2525And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them. (2 Kings 17:25)). Surely, men and women are quite as foolish as the poor little squirrel, and have far less excuse. Was not the “rattle” of thirty pieces of silver enough to draw on the arch-traitor Judas, until he got so completely into Satan’s power that he betrayed his blessed Master to His murderers? And though in his terrible despair he hanged himself to escape the agony of a fiery remorse, he could not, for “he went to his own place,” and there his remorse is with him forever. What a terrible warning to all of the danger of allowing the “rattle” of temptation to draw them into the power of the old serpent! And there are many more such warnings. The rich fool let the “rattle” of bigger barns and goods, and his own ease, and eating and drinking draw him on until one night his soul was suddenly required of him, and he found, to his eternal cost, how fatal was the snare which that “rattle” drew him into (Luke 12:1616And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: (Luke 12:16)). The “rattle” of wealth and ease, sumptuous fare, and purple and fine linen attracted the rich man until he too fell into the power of Satan, so that he would not obey “Moses and the prophets” (that is, you know, the Word of God), and when He died and was buried, “in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment” (Luke 16:19-2319There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:19‑23)). How dreadful! But the worst “rattle” of all was that by which “the Prince of this world” led both Jews and gentiles to crucify the Lord of glory. Don’t you think so And yet, just as the noise which the rattlesnake’s clappers make when he steals through the grass to his prey has often led to his destruction at the hunter’s hand, so that very “rattle,” by which Satan moved the world to crucify the Lord, led to the bruising of his own head (Gen. 3:1515And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15); Heb. 2:1414Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; (Hebrews 2:14)), and the accomplishment of God’s purposes of love towards poor sinners. How wonderful to think that the precious blood which sinners shed upon that cross should wash sinners from their sins! Yet, so it is, for “the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1). Yes, even His murderers were forgiven, if they believed (Acts 2:36-4136Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:36‑41)); but all who do not believe are one in heart with those that slew Him, because they have neglected Him as they did, and will come into the same judgment (John 8:23, 2423And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:23‑24); Mark 16:1616He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark 16:16)). Now, on which side are you? Do you love Jesus, or do you despise Him, as His murderers did? One or the other you must do, for if you don’t love Him, then you don’t care for Him, and that is despising Him. Not to care about Jesus is to despise Him, and that you know is just what the Jews did (Isa. 53:33He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)). Will you think of this, and keep on thinking about it until it leads you to Jesus, if you have not yet believed on Him? Don’t let any “rattle” turn your thoughts away from this; don’t be like the poor foolish little squirrel who listened to the serpent’s clappers until he plunged right into the power of the rattlesnake.
But even if you are a little believer you will have need to beware of the serpent. Even Abraham, you know, was tempted by the “rattle” of his own fears to forget the power of his gracious God, and to tell a lie (Gen. 12:1313Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. (Genesis 12:13)); and Jacob’s history tells too often how the same “rattle” led him to do crooked things, so unbecoming in a man of God (Gen. 31:3131And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. (Genesis 31:31)).
Long after this poor Peter found that Satan could use this “rattle” so as to drive him to deny his precious Lord with oaths and cursings! (Mark 14:66-7266And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: 67And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. 68But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. 69And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. 70And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. 71But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. 72And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept. (Mark 14:66‑72)) and then in later years to dissemble before his brethren (Gal. 2:11-1411But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. 14But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? (Galatians 2:11‑14)).
Good King Hezekiah learned to his cost that Satan could employ the “rattle” of the pride of life and love of self to lead to sorrow and rebuke (Isa. 39). When the Babylonish messengers came to him, “he was glad of them,” for it flattered his self-love; he forgot his brother Israelites, who were captives in those far-distant regions, and that men of Babylon were dwelling even then where his brethren should have dwelt (2 Kings 17). And then the “rattle” of “the pride of life” led him on to show all his treasures to the enemies of the Lord.
A hunter was one day sitting on a fallen tree in one of the vast American forests, for he was tired and weary and wanted rest. But, after resting some time, he suddenly heard a low rattle inside the old hollow tree he was sitting on. Do you think he sat still? Not he! Up he jumped and got his rifle ready, and then he presently saw the ugly head of the rattlesnake peeping out of a hole, close to the place he had been sitting on. The creature had been asleep, but awakened by the hunter’s movements, or by hunger, was creeping out either to escape or to bite him. Of course, the backwoodsman put a bullet through his head, and made a meal of him. You see the rattle warned him, and, instead of remaining where he was, he got on his feet and conquered his dangerous foe. But there was one of old who heard the “rattle” of the serpent, and went and sat down just where it led him! “Why,” you will say, “whoever could have been so foolish?” Well, it was a Christian named Demas. Satan rattled “the love of the world” in his ears, and he forsook God’s dear servant, and departed in the direction that the “rattle” led him into (2 Tim. 4:1010For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. (2 Timothy 4:10)). I am sorry to say the path that Demas trod has been often trodden since by some of God’s dear children, led by the same old “rattle;” but I hope you will not be so unwise, but rather that, when you hear the “rattle” of temptation, you will imitate the hunter, “and, having done all, STAND,” for it is written, “resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Thus you will give glory to Him who loved you and gave Himself for you, instead of being like the silly little squirrel who followed the sound of the deadly clappers, until he forgot the BRANCH (Isa. 2:11The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:1)), where his safety lay, and fell into the coils of, THE RATTLESNAKE.