Jeremiah 23

A Magic Hammer

A hammer. Jeremiah 23:29.

Have you ever heard of the great god Thor, whom the Scandinavians worshipped centuries ago, before they heard of the true God? Whether you know of him or not, you mention his name at least once a week when Thursday comes round. For Thursday is just Thor's day, and it was so called in honor of him. He was one of the greatest of the old Scandinavian gods, and he was tremendously strong. He had three wonderful possessions a belt which doubled his strength when he girt it round him, a pair of iron gloves, and a hammer which no mortal could lift. With it he fought and slew the giants who were the enemies of the gods.

One day Thor awoke from sleep to find his hammer gone. A giant named Thrym had managed to steal it, and had hidden it eight miles below the earth. There was great consternation among the gods when they heard of the loss, for they were helpless without Thor's hammer to defend them. So they sent a messenger to Thrym, but he refused to return the hammer unless the gods gave him the goddess Freya as his wife. But the goddess Freya was very angry at the suggestion and would not go. Then they hit upon a plan. Thor borrowed Freya's dress and veil, and, disguised as a bride, entered the hold of the giant. Now, it happened that Thor's hammer was supposed to make any promise sworn over it sacred and binding, so Thrym the giant produced the hammer when he was going to marry his bride. And the moment the hammer was brought within Thor's reach he seized it and slew the wicked giant. And the gods were safe and happy once more.

Thor would never have recovered his magic hammer had he not possessed another invisible hammer even more magical, and it is of this invisible hammer I want to speak to you today. This invisible hammer is not Thor's property only. Each of us has one. With some of us it is a powerful weapon, with others it is a poor, weak tool. We don't call it a hammer, however; we spell it with four letters, the first of which is a “w” and the last an “50:” Can you guess the name of our invisible hammer? I think some of you have got it. Yes, our hammer is our will. Thor would never have got back his mighty hammer unless he had used his will and determined to recover it. And so we must use our invisible hammer too. God gave it us to use. He wants us to use it. And the more we use it the mightier it will grow.

“Ah!” you say, “but there are no giants now for our hammer to slay!” Are there not? What about Giant Despair. He is a grim old horror who is always ready to steal up to you and whisper in your ear, “What's the use of trying? That sum is far too stiff. You'll never get it right. Give it up.” Or, “What's the good of attempting to write that essay? You simply can't do it.” Or, “You needn't think of trying to reach the top of your class. There are too many clever boys or girls above you.” Or, worse still, “What's the use of trying to do the right thing and the straight thing against such odds? Nobody cares. You'll be beaten in the end, so you'd best yield soon rather than late.” Boys and girls, don't believe Despair. He's a hateful old liar. Take up your magic hammer and knock him out at a blow. He can't stand up to “I will.”

Then there's Giant Laziness. He is generally lurking not far off with a lot of ready-made excuses, and when you find yourself saying, “I haven't time for that; I can't be bothered doing it,” or, “It's too much work!” you are merely echoing the words he has suggested to you. Up and at him, boys and girls! Let him feel the force of your hammer. He runs at the sound of a hearty “I will.”

So much for using our magic hammer! Now, I want to give you a word of warning. It is grand to use it well, but it is fearful to use it wrongly. Almost every day you hear someone say, “It is no use arguing with So-and-so. He has such a strong will, he won't listen to reason, and he'll have his own way in spite of everybody.” That kind of strong will is a strong will run too far. If you have a will like that, you are not master of it, but it is master of you. You have allowed your hammer to get the upper hand. Instead of using it to slay your enemies you are letting it rain heavy blows on yourself. You are allowing it to hammer out of you all obedience, all duty, all gentleness, all common sense. If your hammer is getting like that, seize hold of it firmly today, and refuse to let it rule you any longer.

No, let us use our hammer as God meant us to use it well and wisely. So used, it will do for us even more wonderful things than did Thor's hammer for him in the imaginary days of old.