God the Wonder-Worker
Delivered on Lord's-day Morning, September 4th, 1887, by
C. H. SPURGEON,
At the [3]Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
"To him who along doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for
ever." Psalm 136:4.
BELOVED, WHEN WE GET into God's world of wonders, we have range enough.
Which way shall I turn? On what subject shall I speak? If I turn to
nature, it teems with wonders. Altering a little the language of
Coleridge I would say, "All true science begins with wonder, and ends
with wonder, and the space between is filled up with admiration. If we
turn to Providence, the history of the nations, the history of the
church, what centuries of wonders pass before us! It is said that wise
men only wonder once, and that is always; fools never wonder, because
they are fools. The story of the church is a constellation of miracles.
I cannot venture upon themes so vast as Creation and Providence. Shall
we turn to the works of Grace, the wonders of Redemption? If we
consider the glory of grace surrounding the cross, which is the wonder
of wonders, we are upon a boundless ocean. Here is sea-room indeed; we
are at no loss for a subject, but we are lost in the subject. Now are
we where the height, and depth, and length, and breadth are each
immeasurable. It was said of Dr. Barrow that he was an unfair preacher,
because he exhausted every subject he touched, and left nothing for
anyone else to say. I would like Dr. Barrow to try my text, and I am
sure for once he would have to vary his style. He would only be able to
suggest to us what might be said by ten thousand preachers all occupied
ten thousand years upon the one theme.
"To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for
ever." I feel inclined to bow the knee instead of opening the mouth,
and to ask you rather to meditate in the silence of your hearts than to
listen to my scanty speech. Happily, the text assists me; for it
suggests that I narrow my theme to the consideration of wonders of
mercy; and that I then narrow it again to present wonders of mercy; for
the text is in the present tense"To him who alone doeth great
wonders"; that is to say, is doing them now. Only, then, of marvels of
mercy shall I speak at this time, and I shall endeavor, as far as
possible, to direct your thoughts to present wonders of mercy. I say,
as far as possible; for it must needs be that we link with the present
both the past and the future, because they are all of one, and God
lives in all the tenses at once.
I. Our first head shall be thisGOD IS WORKING WONDERS OF MERCY NOW.
"To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for
ever." It is enduring now, and is in the present tense for ever.
Wonders are things out of the common, unusual things, extraordinary
things. Usually they are unexpected; we wonder at them partly because
they are novel and surprising. They take us aback; they are things
which we looked not for. When they come they astonish us, and put us
both in a muse and in a maze. We look, and look, and look, and cannot
believe our eyes; we hear, and hear, and scarce believe our ears. Great
wonders, even when we grow accustomed to them, still continue to excite
admiration, and frequently they cause us to praise the worker of them,
as it is written, "Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done marvellous
things."
I believe that to-day God is doing great wonders in saving great
sinners. It is a wonder that God should touch a sinner at all, yea,
that he should even look at him. A sinner is such an evil thing, his
sin is so vile, so foul, that holiness cannot take any pleasure in him.
He who fails to obey his Maker is creation's blank, creation's blot,
and it is a wonder that his Creator should think of him with patience.
But that God should call the sinner with the voice of love, and bid him
return and find favor is a wonder. That when he does not return at the
gracious bidding the Lord should draw him with bands of love, is more
wonderful still. The Lord takes more trouble with a sinner than it cost
him to make a world: he could complete the globe in six days, but it
often takes many years to bring a sinner to repentance, and to perfect
his salvation. The aboundings of divine wisdom, and prudence, and
longsuffering, and patience are needed to work salvation. The Lord,
travailing with compassion, goes about to compass the salvation of the
greatly erring one. He is still doing great wonders in changing
depraved natures, breaking hard hearts, subduing obstinate wills,
enlightening darkened judgments, and winning rebellious minds.
Spiritual miracles Jesus is working still; and of this fact many of us
are instances in our own persons, and also eye-witnesses of the like
wonders wrought on others. Blessed be God: we still see with wonder
sinners saved by the marvellous grace of God. The riches of his mercy
are still displayed in the salvation of the lost.
Nor less may the wonders of the Lord be seen in the preservation of
those who believe on his name. A true believer's life is a mystery to
himself and to others. Concerning the wind, thou canst not tell whence
it cometh, nor whither it goeth, "so is everyone that is born of the
Spirit." We are men wondered at. Do you not wonder, my brother, that
you are still a Christian? Faith is so contrary to nature, that its
existence in the heart is like a spark burning in the sea. Faith is so
much attacked, especially in this evil day, that it is like a candle
kept alight in a cyclone. Yet you have not drawn back unto perdition!
Still, though faint, you are pursuing. Truly if you had been mindful of
the country from which you came out, you have had many opportunities to
return. Satan's chariots and his horses have waited upon you with many
invitations to ride back into the land of your former slavery if you
had a mind to go. Alas! the evil heart of unbelief has lusted for the
leeks and garlic and onions many a time. Kept alive with death so near,
you are a standing wonder to your own self. What great things the Lord
has done for you! How he has led you, instructed you, helped you,
comforted you! All these as I mention them will wake up many admiring
memories, and cause you to cry: "The Lord hath done great things for
us, whereof we are glad."
To me, also, it is a great wonder that God should use any of us, we
seem so unfit for his holy purposes. Can he write with such a pen as I
am upon the fleshy tablets of men's hearts? What! can he paint a fair
picture of holiness in the characters of my hearers with so poor a
brush as I am? Then indeed he doeth great wonders. That which God does
by our instrumentality at any time, if, indeed, it be for his glory,
should fill us with astonishment. When Saul, who formerly persecuted
the saints, saw saints made under his ministry, he was drawn out in
wondering adoration as he wrote, "Unto me, who am less than the least
of all saints, is this grace given."
The Lord God does wonders still by maintaining his church and the cause
of truth in the midst of the world. Read through history, and you meet
with periods when the light seemed quenched; but then suddenly it
burned up with superior lustre. Remember the Reformation, an I the
revival of the last century. When spiritual life seemed almost extinct,
there came times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. It will
be the same at this dark hour. All the devils in hell can never quench
the light of the truth. They may do all they can in union with all the
wise men of the world to put down the old gospel of the cross; but even
though they should slay it and bury it, it would rise again. When the
voices which have been lifted up against the gospel shall have been
silenced for ever, the Word of the Lord shall sound forth to the ends
of the earth. God is still doing great wonders in the maintenance of
his despised gospel, and in the keeping alive of those spiritual
doctrines which the carnal mind hates as much to-day as it ever did.
Now, dear brethren, why may we expect the Lord still to do wonders? I
answer, first, because his word raises our expectations. Surely the
Lord will not cease to work wonders, and descend to the common-place,
for this Book talks of great things and marvellous things. Does he not
say concerning his great grace, "As the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts"? Have we not many passages of Scripture which run in this
wise"Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow"?
The universe is challenged by the question, "Who is a God like unto
thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the
remnant of his heritage?" Hear our Lord speak and invite the laboring
and heavy laden to his rest. Hear him declare that "All manner of sin
and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men." Hear how his apostles
declare that "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin." Paul, that chief of sinners, sets himself forth as the type and
pattern according to which God will work in the after ages. This
inspired Book does not promise us small things. It is not pitched in a
low key. Concerning the multitudes that will be saved in the latter
days, it speaks in grand terms, saying, "Nations that knew not thee
shall run unto thee." We have so much to this effect that I will not
stay to quote the passages; only of this we are sure, that one day we
shall hear the glorious shout, "Halelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth." Any one who is familiar with Holy Scripture will expect that
God will continue to work wonders in the realm of grace.
But, beloved, we have something more than words. God has evidently made
preparations for doing great things. When he made the covenant of grace
to be the very soul and center of all his acts, when he put it first,
and last, and midst, he did not intend little things. Jehovah does not
swear by himself about trifles, nor lift his hand to heaven concerning
small matters. The very existence of the everlasting covenant is the
sure prophecy of grace on a grand scale, grace magnified to the
astonishment of all intelligent beings. When the glorious Son of the
Highest came from heaven, and veiled his Godhead in human flesh, he had
designs of a majestic character. An incarnate God forbodes great grace
to our humanity. And when as God and man, in one person, our Lord Jesus
suffered shame, and shifting, and scourging, and condemnation, and
bowed himself at last to death, the result of all his passion cannot
mean the salvation of a few, or a questionable salvation for many. It
must foretell a sure salvation for a multitude of great sinners.
Stupendous guilt is intended to be washed away by the blood of so
divine a sacrifice. If our Lord Jesus Christ is to receive a reward
commensurate with his accomplished work, we may safely look for things
which shall amaze the world. Such a feast as I see spread within the
royal halls of grace is not intended for a handful of guests. When oxen
and fatlings are killed, to provide such abundant meat the host must
have an eye to vast numbers of guests of voracious appetite. The
provision of grace in Christ Jesus is so abundant that it must be meant
for a wonderful assembly of needy souls. Come ye, and try the freeness
and fullness of Christ, and see if ye be refused.
Furthermore, when I reflect that the Holy Ghost has come down from
heaven, and that he has never quitted us, but abides with his church to
carry out the purposes of grace by convincing men of sin, and
glorifying Christ, I am encouraged to look for great things. The Holy
Ghost is not here in vain. He intends to do great things. If the
biggest blasphemer out of hell were reported to be saved to-day, I
should not find it difficult to believe the news. If, in this house,
there should be one who has denied the Deity of our Lord, and has cast
off all fear of God, and consequently has plunged into the worst forms
of sin, I can readily hope that the Lord may pass by all his
transgressions, and make him one of his most earnest servants. It would
be a wonder, it may seem to be an impossibility; but this is no reason
why it should not be done. God has made preparation for producing this
kind of wonder. Faith is led confidently to expect what reason would
never suggest.
When I see, in addition to the covenant, the Christ, and the Holy
Ghost, all the preparations of the Lord's effectual power for the
coming of the Lord, for his glorious reign upon the earth, and for the
eternal glorification of the redeemed, I am assured in my own soul that
the Lord is working upon a wonderful scale, whether we see it or not.
Between now and the consummation of all things, wonders are to be
common. The pathway of grace shall blaze with splendor. I invite you to
enlarge your hope concerning him who alone "doeth great wonders: for
his mercy endureth for ever."
Dear friends, we are not left to promises and preparations. Our faith
is continually refreshed by new facts. I have the great happiness of
frequently seeing very extraordinary instances of God's grace among
sinful men. I will not relate even one of them, but my memory is stored
with them. Often my eyes are filled with tears when I grip the hand of
a convert who but a little while ago was a blasphemer and injurious, a
Sabbath breaker, a drunkard, and sunk in every form of uncleanness.
When I see such a man converted, renewed and made holy, because the
Lord has met with him and revealed himself to him through the preaching
of the word, my eyes are filled with tears of wondering joy. When I
find that such a poor testimony as I am able to bear is made by God's
grace effectual to work a total change of nature, I am overwhelmed with
wondering and grateful emotions. To see the Lord lift wretches from the
dunghill and set them among the princes of his people causes us to hold
up our hands in joyful astonishment, and ascribe all praise "To him who
alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever."
The joy is that you and I assembled here this morning either are, or
may be, personal instances of the wonder-working power of God. O my
hearer, if thou wilt now in thy great sin accept great mercy thou
mayest have it! If thou wilt come with all thy evil habits binding
thee, and ask to be set free from them, the great Redeemer will break
those manacles from thy wrists, and give thee a glorious liberty. Is
not our Lord named Jesus because he shall save his people from their
sins? If thou be the greatest sinner out of the bottomless pit, if thou
wilt look to Christ upon the cross, and trust in him alone, thou shalt
be born again, thou shalt pass from death unto life, and thy many sins
shall be forgiven thee. Some of us are always wondering every day why
the Lord loved us, why he bought us, why he sought us, and why he
continues to acknowledge us; and our heart's desire is that all of you
who come to this house of prayer may become similar wonders of divine
grace. The Lord grant that the wonders may begin this morning. We are
assured that among us upon whom the ends of the earth have come, "the
Lord doeth great wonders." Did I hear anyone say, "Truly, if I were
converted it would be a wonder"? Yes, you are excellent raw material
for God to work upon in the creation of a wonder. Did I hear another
say, "A person is here this morning who, if he were saved, would be a
wonder indeed"? Pray for him, then. Pray at once, distinctly, for him,
in the glad hope that he will be another wonder. The God of infinite
mercy looks out for room for his grace to work in, and space for
almighty love to display its power. Your necessity, feebleness, and
emptiness, are the space in which infinite mercy finds elbow-room for
its energy. He "who alone doeth great wonders," looks for the greatly
guilty and the greatly needy, that in them he may reveal his grace. Oh,
that my heart were enlarged, and my mouth were opened fitly, to
encourage you who think you are beyond the bounds of divine mercy! Oh,
think not that the grace of God can never come to you! The Lord
delighteth in mercy. He loves to do that which is unexpected by the
heart of man. He delights in surprising men with his grace, and getting
to himself renown by his love. He will, for his own name's sake, do
great wonders of mercy. Because no reason can be found in men
themselves, the Lord resolves to find it in himself; and therefore he
lavishes his grace that his glory may be wondered at, both in heaven
and in earth.
II. I pass on to another phase of the same thought; for upon this one
thought I mean to harp at this time, so that this one note shall linger
in your ears for many a day. Our first head has been that God is
working wonders of mercy; our second point is that THESE WONDERS ARE
STILL GREAT. "To him who alone doeth great wonders."
We have heard of wonders that were not great, for they were not even
true. The magicians of Egypt withstood Moses with their enchantments,
and false prophets have much relied upon tricks and deceptions.
Antichrist to this day is prone to use lying wonders. But God's wonders
are real, they are truly wonderful, and are not mere presences. Neither
nature, nor providence, nor grace, lends any countenance to mere
outside appearance: the deeper you go in God's wonders, the more
wonderful they are. That which the Lord doeth is peculiarly his own.
Even as the magicians said, "This is the finger of God," and ceased
from their conjuring. They had touched upon the inimitable, and were
forced to pause.
Many apparent wonders can be explained, and, henceforth, the wonder is
gone. Certain nations wonder at an eclipse, which to the astronomer is
a very simple affair. Now, you cannot explain away election,
redemption, regeneration, and the pardon of sin: these great wonders of
almighty love are all the greater the more you know of them. Many
wonders, also, are diminished by familiarity. Well do I remember as a
child being taken to see the first train drawn by a steam-engine to our
town: I greatly wondered; but I have now ceased to wonder at such an
ordinary sight. I remember a viaduct, which to my juvenile mind was
stupendous; I have seen it since, and it is by no means one of the
wonders of the world. The wonders of grace are such, that the more you
see them the more your wonder grows. In these cases it is ignorance
which does not wonder; but knowledge marvels exceedingly. Those who are
most familiar with the Lord think the most of him and of his grace. The
wonders of divine grace are so great that they can never be eclipsed by
any greater marvels. No one will ever tell us a more marvellous story
than the life and death of our Lord for sinful men. In the gift of
Jesus Christ the infinite God has outdone all his previous acts. This
is the greatest wonder that ever angels heard of; they desire still to
look into it. This is in words and sense the climax of all
miracles"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life." When you and I have, for millions and millions of years,
realized what divine mercy means, my conviction is that we shall wonder
more at the Lord's grace than we do now. Salvation is an exceeding
great wonder, like the great mountains, or the great sea. The
lovingkindness of the Lord is immeasurable. "Now," cries some one, "you
speak about wonders; if I were to be converted it would not only be a
wonder, but a great wonder." That is why I expect it, for the Lord
still takes pleasure in performing great wonders. "Oh, but I am such a
devil in sin! I have gone to the brink of hell. It is impossible that I
should be forgiven." That is why I expect to see such pardons given.
Unconquerable mercy will, I trues, take up the challenge of your sin.
The Lord is at home with great things. You and I are often overbalanced
with small affairs; but the Lord's element is greatness. See him making
worlds, striking them off like sparks from the anvil of his creating
power! Miracles are commonplaces with God. His is essential and
unrivalled greatness. "The nations are as a drop of a bucket: he taketh
up the isles as a very little thing." The Lord grants great forgiveness
to great sinners, and takes pleasure to work great transformations in
those who were sodden through and through with sin.
Why doth God work great wonders of grace? I answer, because he is great
and greatly wonderful. He acts according to his nature when he doeth
great wonders. He is so wonderful a God that no one has ever formed an
adequate conception of him. We do not understand God, nor can we
comprehend him. We know that there is such an one, and we love and
praise him; but to say that we understand God as a man is understood of
his fellow, would be very far from the truth. Ten thousand minds,
educated to the highest, and even filled with the Holy Ghost, if they
could unite their largest ideas, could not compass the infinite
Jehovah. You have filled so many little cups with the waters of the
sea, but you are as far off as ever from having taken up the great
deep. It is but natural that the Infinite One should do great wonders.
The Lord is inconceivably great, and therefore we are unable to imagine
a limit to what he may do in a direction so much his own as that of
mercy, since God is love. Assuredly, to be great in everything is after
the manner of the great Lord: he doth greatly pardon, greatly renew,
greatly love, greatly bless, greatly glorify. Oh, that we would believe
him to be great, then should we with Mary sing, "My soul doth magnify
the Lord, and my spirit doth rejoice in God my Savior."
Do not despondingly imagine that God will allow his wonders to dwindle
down as the world grows old. "Oh," say you, "he did great wonders in
the olden times, but he is not of that mind now." Is that your God? My
God is the same: he fainteth not, neither is weary. He still doeth
great wonders. Jehovah who divided the Red Sea is our God for ever and
ever: he could divide the Atlantic if he willed it, and would do so if
it were needful for the fulfillment of his gracious purposes. The God
who fed his people in the wilderness may not cause manna to fall from
heaven to-day; but he will none the less give food unto his people.
"Thy place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; thy bread shall
be given thee, and thy waters shall be sure." The Lord can do as much
to-day as he did in the elder ages; yea, we may look for greater things
than these. I do not believe that God's music is now marked with
diminuendo, but I see crescendo on the score: it grows in volume and in
force as the ages roll along. The Lord leads on our wondering minds
from height to height, and reveals to us more and more the glory of his
power.
This leads me to believe that the Lord Jesus will yet save greater
sinners than he ever did save, if such sinners there be. Our Lord
celebrated his entrance into Paradise by the salvation of a thief, and
soon after his resurrection he restored Peter. He will always be saving
thieves, and restoring backsliders. He went after Saul of Tarsus, who
was both a persecutor and a blasphemer; and he means always to be
saving sinners of that kind. That Philippian gaoler, converted at the
dead of night, is but a specimen of the sort of hard, rough, cruel
brutes that he will still subdue by his mighty grace. The Lord will go
on to save great sinners, for he has put his hand to the plough of
grace, and he will not look back.
"Jesus reigns on Zion's hill,
He receives poor sinners still."
The very guiltiest, and most hardened, and most daring of rebels are
welcome to come to Jesus and look to him and live. How pleased I am to
preach this gospel! Oh, that I could preach it better! I expect the
Lord to go on saving great sinners by these words of mine, and this
shall be to the praise of the glory of his grace.
We may expect the Lord to forgive great sins, such as murders,
adulteries, robberies, blasphemies, and sins unmentionable. Mercy gets
to itself renown when it annihilates giant sins: then we sing of Sihon,
king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, overthrown by the Lord,
whose mercy endureth for ever. His mercy is not an atom less than it
used to be, for it endureth for ever. The ocean of to-day is as full as
when Jonah went down into its deeps; the sun of to-day is as bright as
when it shone on Lot entering Zoar; and the grace of God is as full, as
broad, as deep, as omnipotent, as when our Savior dwelt among men, and
said to one and another, "Thy sins be forgiven thee."
The Lord is also doing great wonders in displaying great condescensions
to those who believe on his Son Jesus Christ. It would be a great
wonder if the Lord should meet with us to-day and make our hearts leap
for joy: but, unworthy as we are, he is ready to do so. It would be a
great wonder if he were to restore our backslidings, and heal the bones
which are broken by our sins; but he waits to act as our soul's
surgeon. It would be a great wonder if he were to enter in and sup with
us, and we with him; but he even now knocks at the door of our hearts
with that design. The Lord's bosom may still be leaned upon; we may
still lean on our Beloved; he will still kiss us with the kisses of his
mouth. The Lord still dwells with the humble and contrite; for this
great wonder of condescension still delights him.
The Lord is working great wonders of delivering grace. Are any of you
in great trouble or great danger? The Lord that delivered David out of
the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, and from the hand
of the uncircumcised Philistine, will deliver you also with a great
deliverance. He that saved Daniel in the den of lions, and brought him
out unharmed, even he that walked with the holy children in the burning
fiery furnace, is the same God still. He can, he will, he doth deliver.
You shall see his great wonders if you will but trust in him. You that
are tossed about and sorely pained with the present state of the Church
of God, you may look for wonders of grace. I expect our Lord to do
great wonders at this time by sending us great revivals of religion, or
in some other way making bare his holy arm. What shall withstand him if
he doth but arouse himself! In former ages the light has burned very
low, and then the Lord has trimmed the lamp. The Lord has spoken, and
great has been the multitudes of them that have published his word.
Then "kings of armies did flee; and she that tarried at home divided
the spoil." It shall be so still. Oh, thou that doest great wonders,
fight for thyself this day, and make the adversaries of thy truth to
melt away. Let us pray for the visitations of the Holy Spirit; but
never let us give way to doubt, even for a moment. "Therefore will not
we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be
carried into the midst of the sea. The Lord of hosts is with us; the
God of Jacob is our refuge." Now we have got some good way into our
text"To him that doeth great wonders" be glory for ever and ever.
III. The third point is thisTHESE GREAT WONDERS ARE WROUGHT BY GOD
ALONE. He alone doeth great wonders. Lay emphasis heavily upon the word
"alone."
My brethren, there are deeds of kindness which you could not expect any
one else to do. The most forgiving of human spirits can never pardon as
God does. You, poor sinner, have been measuring God's corn with your
bushel, and therefore you conclude that he cannot forgive you; but his
longsuffering and grace are greater than yours. If you had offended
others as you have offended God, you might safely come to the
conclusion that forgiveness would be out of the question, but the Lord
in mercy far outruns all others. None can forgive and forget as the
Lord does. It was never heard of, that one could pass over such
offenses and rebellions as God doth freely blot out. The Lord can do,
and is daily doing, such acts of love and mercy as would be looked for
in vain among men and angels. Believe that God is more able to forgive
than you are able to believe. Have you written it down among your sadly
sure conclusions that you are certain to be lost? The God of all grace
delights to contradict our despairs. He will disannul your covenant
with death, and deliver the lawful captive from the hand of the
destroyer. He will interpose in an unheard-of manner. He saith,
"Behold, I will do a new thing." He will do that which we looked not
for, and thus make us own that he alone doeth great wonders. God's
grace is unique. To whom will ye liken him? In this he is seen to be
God alone. None can approach him, so as to be mentioned in the same
day. He does for us exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or even
think. Ah, poor desponding soul! you had a dream. Did you not dream
that you were a child again, and could begin life once more? You woke
up, and cried, "Ah me! this will never be true. I wish it were." It can
be true. The Lord can make you again to become a little child by being
born again. It is hard, I know, for you to believe it; but nothing
ought to be hard to believe concerning the God whose mercy endureth for
ever. He alone, himself, and by himself, can perform prodigies of love.
When it is said that he does these great wonders "alone," it means that
he does them when nobody can help him. My friend, you cannot do
anything: you are now reduced to utter impotence, under a sense of sin.
You fear that you cannot even believe, or feel; but the Lord is
all-sufficient, and he alone doeth great wonders. He can do all for
you, and work all in you. What strange creatures we are! We feel that
we must try to help God. What folly is this! O poor creature of a day,
didst thou help him to make the world? Where wast thou when the
mountains were brought forth? O feeble creature, what canst thou do?
Canst thou help him in providence? He asks no aid from thee. I have
known some poor souls complain that they cannot feel their nothingness;
and they fancy that if they felt their nothingness, Christ could then
save them. This is odd, is it not? Here is a man who must needs help
God by his nothingness! Out of the way with you! You do but block the
road. Stand aside, and let grace work! What canst thou do? Do you
reply, "I must believe and repent?" I know you must, but "True
Every grace that bring) us nigh,
Without money,
Come to Jesus Christ and buy."
Jesus Christ comes to save you just as you are, and his salvation comes
to you where you are. When they make railways in England they usually
carry them sufficiently far from a town to give work to an omnibus.
Seldom does the station stand near the house where one wants to go. The
railway to heaven is of another sort: it comes to your door. Jesus
comes where you are, and meets your actual condition. Though you lie at
death's door, Christ comes as the resurrection and the life. Though you
pine in the vestibule of hell, almighty mercy comes to free you from
condemnation. In your spiritual helplessness and hopelessness, Jesus
comes to you, saying, "Trust me now to be all in all to you." Praise
him who alone, without your puny aid, or the aid of priest, or the aid
of mortifications and penances, can remove your sins, and make you pure
and Holy. His own arm brings salvation to those who trust him, and he
alone doeth great wonders.
When the Lord uses means in the salvation of a soul, he takes care that
nobody shall praise the means or ascribe the salvation to the agent. He
has many ways with his most useful servants of making them keep their
places; and you will notice that as soon as ever any one of them begins
to grow rather large in his own esteem, he is usually met with weakness
and barrenness. We must, brethren, keep self out of the way. We must
put ourselves absolutely into God's hands, that he may use us in the
winning of souls, and then we must send the great I down, down, down,
till it is buried out of all remembrance. They tell us that when you go
fishing it is wise to stand back and keep yourself out of sight as much
as possible. The fish that see you will not take the bait. The Lord
will not do great wonders in company, but alone. His servants must not
set up to be masters, or they will be sternly rebuked. On the throne of
grace God will brook no rival. If we are to see Jesus increase, we must
decrease. If Christ goes up, self goes down. The Lord saith, "My glory
will I not give to another." We shall be made to forget the minister,
and every other worker, and recognize the fact that the Lord alone
doeth great wonders.
O brethren, when I think of what the Lord has done for some of us by
forgiving and saving us, how his glorious name rises and fills the
whole heaven! God is not to be compared with any: they vanish as he
appears. The Father is everything; he alone doeth great wonders when he
receives the returning prodigal. The Son of God who bore our sins in
his own body on the tree is everything to us, and he alone is the
Wonderful. When we shall see him it will be as the Lamb in the midst of
the throne. We shall give no praise for our salvation to any, but
himself and that divine Spirit who regenerates us. Beloved, we rely on
no influences of any sort save that almighty influence which proceeds
from the Holy Ghost. "He alone doeth great wonders."
This should be a great comfort to those of you who are not yet saved.
If I were in your condition I would try to catch at the text this
morning. God himself is able to save. Trust Jesus and live.
Here also is comfort for children of God who are exercised concerning
the state of the churches. Be encouraged, for the Lord who alone doeth
great wonders is equal to the emergency. Perhaps he will strip us still
more: perhaps he will take away every able man that now preaches the
gospel; and when our Calvins and Luthers and Zwingles are all dead,
then, may be, he alone will do great wonders. Be it so, if so it
pleaseth him; for he must have all the glory. The extremity of the
church shall be the opportunity of God. But, man of God, rest thou sure
that his everlasting purposes will stand, and his divine covenant of
mercy will endure for ever.
IV. I close with my last headupon which I will speak briefly. Beloved,
if you know anything about these wonders, these great wonders, these
wonders in which God stands alone, then remember that FOR THESE WONDERS
HE IS TO HE IS TO BE PRAISED. This verse is an ascription of praise.
"To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for
ever." It meansto him be thanks and praise and power and honor and
majesty for ever and ever. Oh, that we could fill the universe with
praise!
Wonder is a sort of praise; it is the chaos out of which a world of
praise is to be made. Sit thou still and silently meditate on the
greatness and goodness of God until thou art overcome with admiration,
and then thou wilt adore. Our wonderment should always blossom into
thanks. Holy wonder is like sweet incense, but love must set it on a
blaze with a burning coal of gratitude. "O give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."
If you will begin to praise the Lord for his great wonders of mercy, I
will tell you what will happen to you. First, we shall find his nature
revealed to us. "O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good." We shall
begin to see the essential goodness of God, and then we shall the
better understand the manifestations of it as seen in ten thousand
ways. This is something to learn. We learn through the habit of praise
to know in a measure what God is.
Next, while praising for his wonders, thou wilt learn to adore his
Godhead. "Give thanks unto the God of gods." It is a grand thing to be
deeply impressed that God is God. Hath he not said, "Be still, and know
that I am God"? We do not know what God is, but we know that he is God;
we cannot comprehend him, but we apprehend this muchthat he is God. It
is the greatest thought a man can ever think when he thinks that God is
God. I would have thee praise him until thou knowest that he is God;
for thou wilt treat him as he should be treated when thou dost
distinctly recognize the glory of his Deity.
If thou wilt keep on praising him for his wonders, thou wilt come to
know of somewhat of his sovereignty. "O give thanks unto the Lord of
lords," for he rules over all things, both in heaven and in earth, and
in all deep places. I reverently adore and heartily love the doctrine
of the sovereignty of God. Those words which are terrible to the
ungodly are sweet to him who knows the love of God"I will have mercy
on whom I will have mercy; I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion." We can trust our God with unlimited power, and with the
right to do whatever he wills, and it is a part of our worship that we
should never question whatever he may do. "It is the Lord; let him do
what seemeth him good."
Still, when thou praises God for the wonders he has wrought for thee,
and for others, let the climax of thy praise be this, that "His mercy
endureth for ever." Magnify with all thy faculties of mind and heart;
with memory, and hope, and fear, and every emotion of which thou art
capable, the changeless mercy of God. He is ever merciful, or full of
mercy. He always will be so. Thou hast a God of immutable goodness,
rejoice in him at all times, and under all aspects. When thou thinkest
upon his terrible justice, doubt not his mercy. Pharaoh is cast into
the Red Sea, but Jehovah's mercy endureth. He slays mighty kings, but
"his mercy endureth for ever." Ay, when thou seest hell engulf the
impenitent, and thou thinkest with solemn awe of the dread punishment
necessary to sin, rest assured that this alters not the fact that God
is love, and that "his mercy endureth for ever." There must be no
collision in thy thoughts between his justice and his mercy: they are
both divine, and they both endure for ever. Do thou say "Hallelujah!"
even when thou seest his wrath. Accepting his mercy in Jesus, praise
him; resting in that mercy, praise him; hoping in that mercy, that it
will follow thee all the days of thy life, praise him. By-and-by,
brothers and sisters, we shall know more of his eternal mercy, and then
we shall praise him in loftier strains. Shall we ever need a sweeter
song than this"To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy
endureth for ever"? As we shall hear the harpers harping with their
harps, and see the holy ones casting their crowns before him on the
glassy sea, shall we not chant this great Hallel"To him who alone
doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever"? The Lord bless
you ever! Amen.
PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON Psalm 136.
HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"(Song I.), 117, 136 (Song II).