DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, OCTOBER 30, 1870,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"To the praise of the glory of His Grace." Ephesians 1:6.
NO Truth of God is more plainly taught in God's Word than this, that
the salvation of sinners is entirely owing to the Grace of God. If
there is anything clear at all in Scripture, it is plainly there
declared that men are lost by their own works but saved through the
free favor of God. Their ruin is justly merited, but their salvation is
always the result of the unmerited mercy of God. In varied forms of
expression, but with constant clearness and positiveness, this Truth is
over and over again declared. Yet, plain as this Truth is, and
influencing as it should be in every part of our doctrinal belief, it
is frequently forgotten.
Many of the heresies which divide the Christian Church, spring from a
confusion upon this point. Were that word "Grace" but fully read,
marked, and learned, the great evangelical system would be far more
firmly held, and plainly preached. But forgetfulness that "by Grace you
are saved," is a common fault among all conditions of men. Sinners
forget it, and they seek salvation by the works of the Law. They refuse
to surrender to the Sovereign Grace of God, and entrench themselves
behind the tottering fence of their own righteousness.
And saints forget this, too, and therefore their minds become dark,
their spirits fall into legal bondage, and where they ought to rejoice
in the Lord unceasingly, they become despondent and full of unbelieving
dread. Brethren, I am incessantly preaching here the Doctrines of
Grace, they are growingly dear to me–and as often as I preach them, I
trust they are not wearisome to you. And if they should be, that sad
fact would not induce me to be silent upon them, but rather urge me to
proclaim them more frequently and fervently! Your weariness of them
would be a clear proof that you required to hear them yet again, and
again, and again, until your souls were brought to delight in them.
There is no music out of Heaven equal to the sound of that word
"Grace," save only the celestial melody of the name of Jesus. One of
the early fathers was called the angelic doctor–surely he is most
angelic who preaches most of Grace. Grace among the attributes is the
Chrysostom, it has a golden mouth. It is the Barnabas, for it is full
of consolation. It is the Boanerges, for it thunders against
self-righteousness. It is man's star of hope, the wellspring of his
eternal life, the seed of his future bliss.
I. We shall draw from the text our first observation–IN SALVATION AS A
WHOLE WE SEE THE GLORY OF GOD'S GRACE. So the Apostle tells us, "To the
praise of the glory of His Grace." Every attribute of God has its own
appropriate opportunity for displaying itself. To each quality of the
Divine Nature there is a glory, and the Lord takes care that there
shall be a time when this glory shall be so seen as to become the
subject of praise to intelligent creatures.
There is great glory in His power, and long ago He who speaks and it is
done, who commands and it stands fast, made the heavens and the earth.
It was a great triumph of power, and other grand attributes combined to
make the display still more glorious. Wisdom was there to balance the
clouds. Prudence set a compass upon the face of the deep. Truth
appointed the times and the seasons, and Goodness arranged the
habitable parts of the earth for the living creatures and for the sons
of men.
All the attributes of God were exercised, but power was greatly
magnified, the power which by a word created, and by its mere will made
all things to stand forth. On that occasion, when the glory of God's
power was revealed, "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons
of God shouted for joy." They saw the glory of the Divine power, and
rendered their joyful homage. On that august occasion many of God's
attributes were extolled, but there was no room for "the praise of the
glory of His Grace."
Grace found no objects in a pure creation upon which to display its
full glory. There was room for kindness, benevolence, favor, goodness,
and love–but Divine Grace in its true and deepest meaning needs
undeserving creatures to oper-
ate upon, sinful creatures that may be pardoned, fallen creatures that
may be restored, justified–and there were none such condemned
creatures that may be in the creation as it came from the Divine hand.
Further on, the Lord took occasion to give a display of the glory of
His Justice. We know not precisely when or how, for the record is not
full and clear. But we have the outlines–there was once a great
rebellion in Heaven. Certain of those bright intelligences known to us
as angels, for some reason or other, revolted from the Divine
government under the leadership of that bright son of the morning, who
is now forever called the Prince of Darkness.
There was war in Heaven against the rule of the Eternal. Then flew
forth the thunderbolts of Jehovah's strength, and the rebels were
subdued at once by His irresistible might. Then His Justice flamed
forth in splendor, for we read of the pit that was dug for the wicked,
and of everlasting fire in Hell prepared for the devil and his angels.
Hurled from the battlements of Heaven, they fell into the deeps of
perdition. Driven from the throne of their glory, they became hopeless
wanderers throughout the realms of misery.
The praise of the glory of Divine Justice may be read in these terrible
lines, "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left
their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness unto the judgment of the Great Day." Divine Justice shall yet
further be displayed in that tremendous day when the Great White Throne
shall be set, and all nations shall be gathered before it, and the
unjust shall receive the vengeance due for their rebellion against the
majesty of God.
Glorious shall be the attribute of Justice, "when the Lord Jesus shall
be revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the Presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His
power."
In all this we see no revelation of "the glory of His Grace." To fallen
angels He dealt out Justice. Upon them Holiness shot forth her
consuming fire, but no word of Mercy was heard, no hope of restoration
was given. The Mediator took not up the angels, but He took up the seed
of Abraham. So, too, in the last dread assize, Justice, not Mercy,
shall rule the hour. He shall render unto every man according to his
works. Still, there must be an opportunity to glorify the attribute of
Grace. Whenever we can clearly perceive that an attribute exists in
God, we may fairly infer that there will be something for that
attribute to exercise itself upon.
It is always a hopeful circumstance that there is mercy in God, and
that this mercy endures forever. For it seems to be inevitable that
mercy should be exercised, and therefore when we see sin in the world
we expect to see mercy displaying its power. Yonder I see in the
surgeon's dispensary a potent remedy, and it suggests to me that a
certain disease falls under his eyes, and when it is raging I naturally
look to see the remedy much in use. When you read of Grace in the heart
of God, of pity, of free favor, of Sovereign Mercy, it is clearly
implied that there would be guilty ones upon whom that free favor would
in due time be bestowed.
Accordingly, we find that God has selected the salvation of the sons of
men as the platform for the exhibition of His Grace–that in His elect
His Grace may show forth its glory, just as in other events the glory
of His power or of His Justice has been shown. I want you to note that
a display of the glory of any attribute is not a more proof that such
an attribute exists–but an unusual revealing and magnifying of that
attribute–so that it excites the attention and wonder of all
beholders.
Let me go back again to a display of power and remind you of a
memorable event in the history of this world during our own historical
period. We read of Pharaoh, "For this purpose have I raised you up,
that I might show forth My power in you." Pharaoh, a man of a
peculiarly determined disposition, of a high and haughty
spirit–resolved to resist the commands of Jehovah and to hold Israel
in bondage. Jehovah ordained to reveal in him what His power could do.
After first having warned him by his servants, Moses and Aaron, who
worked great wonders in his presence, the Lord began to deal with the
haughty king.
He turned the waters of Egypt into blood, and slew their fish. The land
brought forth frogs in abundance in the chambers of their kings. "He
spoke, and there came many sorts of flies, and lice in all their
borders. He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land. He
smote their vines also, and their fig trees. And broke the trees of
their coasts. He spoke, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and
that without number, and did eat up all the herbs in their land, and
devoured the fruit of their ground."
He sent a thick darkness over all the land, even darkness that might be
felt. The king's heart was cowed for awhile, but in desperate obstinacy
he hardened his heart yet more, put on a brazen forehead and again
said, "Who is Jehovah that I should obey His voice? I will not let His
people go." Volley after volley the artillery of Heaven was discharged
upon him. The Lord mighty in battle gave His enemy no respite. One by
one He brought up His reserves, and fitted fresh arrows upon His bow.
The lordly monarch found himself stunned with the repeated blows, and
bewildered by the terrors of his Omnipotent Adversary.
At last the masterstroke was given which brought the tyrant to his
knees. The angel of destruction was sent to smite all the first-born of
Egypt. And an exceeding great and bitter cry went up from every
household in that dread night–for all the first-born were slain, from
the first-born of Pharaoh that sat upon the throne, to the first-born
of the woman servant behind the mill. Then it was that the astonished
monarch rose up in the night and said to Moses and Aaron, "Rise up, and
get you forth from my people, and go serve the Lord as you have said."
Yet, before long, Pharaoh hardened his heart again, and pursued after
the Israelites with horses and with chariots. You know the story, but
we will rehearse it yet again, for great is the Lord and greatly to be
praised, and His mighty acts which were of old are to be had in
perpetual remembrance. Even in Heaven they shall sing the song of
Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lamb. Let us, then, rehearse it
here below.
You remember how Pharaoh in his pride pursued the children of Israel,
saving, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My
lust shall be satisfied upon them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall
destroy them." In his high presumption he dared to follow the chosen of
the Lord into the heart of the sea. Then "the Lord looked unto the host
of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and
troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels,
that they drove them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee
from the face of Israel; for the Lord fights for them against the
Egyptians."
But in vain they turned themselves to flee, for in a moment when Moses
stretched forth his rod, the waters, at the command of God, returned
and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the hosts of Pharaoh.
They sank like lead in the mighty waters, the depths covered them,
there was not one of them left. Then was seen the glory of Jehovah's
power, and then was heard the praise of that glory, for Miriam took her
timbrel, and went forth in the dance, while the daughters of Israel
followed her. And all the hosts of Israel took up the refrain of her
song, "Sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse
and the rider has He thrown into the sea." Then was made known the
praise of the glory of Jehovah's power.
Now, Brethren, in the work of the salvation of man you have a parallel
case, for one attribute is not more glorious than another. "The praise
of the glory of His Grace" in rescuing man from the deep ruin into
which he had fallen, in giving the Well-Beloved to bleed and die, in
routing sin, death, and Hell–in leading our captivity captive, in
uplifting us into Heaven, and giving us to be partakers of His glory
through the merit of Jesus Christ our Lord–in all this, I say, Grace
is as glorious as was power at the Red Sea. No stinted thing, then. No
small matter, no subject to be whispered of, or described with bated
breath–but something great and grand and glorious will that work of
salvation be–which is to the praise of the glory of so great and
favorite an attribute as the Grace of God!
I have tried, if I could, to think of what Grace at its utmost must be.
But who by searching can find out God? It is not possible for the human
mind to conceive of power at its utmost. Pharaoh's overthrow gives you
but a guess at what the Omnipotence of the Lord can accomplish. It can
shake all worlds to dust, dissolve the universe, and annihilate
creation. Power at its utmost, who shall compass it? And Grace, my
Brethren, Grace at its utmost! I was about to say you see it in the
Lord Jesus. And shall I err if I so speak? For in Him dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily. He is the only begotten of the Father,
full of Grace and Truth.
But, my Brethren, our minds cannot see the utmost power of Grace–human
intellect is not gigantic enough to grasp it all–but believe me, if
anywhere the full praise of the glory of God's Grace is seen, it is
beheld in the salvation of the chosen sons of men. When all the chosen
ones shall be gathered together, and the Church of God in Heaven shall
be perfect, not one living stone lacking of the entire fabric–then
across that edifice shall this inscription be written in letters of
light, "To the praise of the glory of His Grace."
The work of salvation from first to last, as a whole, was devised and
carried out and shall be perfected to the praise of the glory of the
Grace of God. Thus much upon the first head. Salvation is of the Lord,
and in it Grace reigns without a rival!
II. Secondly, THIS IS TRUE OF EACH DETAIL OF SALVATION. I gather that
from the position of my text. The fifth verse speaks of predestination
and adoption, and the sixth verse speaks of acceptance in the Beloved.
The position of my text puts all three of these under the same
mark–they are all "to the praise of the glory of His Grace." Brethren,
the sea is salt as a whole, and every drop of it is salt in its
degree–if the whole work of salvation is of Grace, every detail of
that work is equally of Grace.
The rays of the sun as a whole possess certain properties. Analyze one
single sunbeam and you shall find all those properties there. I have
just now said that the whole of salvation might be resembled to a great
temple, and that across its front would be written, "To the praise of
the glory of His Grace." Now some of the ancient Eastern buildings were
erected by certain monarchs and were dedicated to them. Not only was
the whole pile set up to their honor, but each separate brick was
stamped with the royal cartouche or coat of arms. Not only the whole
structure, but each separate brick bore the impress of the builder.
So is it in the matter of salvation–the whole is of Grace, and each
particular portion of it equally manifests in its measure the free
favor of God. Let me begin at the beginning, and very briefly rehearse
the different steps of the salvation of a sinner. There was, first of
all, the election of men by God before all time. He it was who chose
unto Himself a people to show forth His praise. That choice was not
made in any degree on account of any debt due to man, on account of any
merit that existed in men or was foreseen to exist. It was the result
offree favor on God's part that any were chosen to become His sons and
daughters.
"Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight," is the Savior's
answer to the question why God has hidden these things from the wise
and prudent, and revealed them unto babes. If any man is chosen, it is
not because of a natural worthiness or claim to preference–or any
essential excellence in him which demanded that God should make the
choice. We were heirs of wrath even as others. No works were taken into
account whatever. The Divine choice, according to Paul in the ninth of
Romans was, "not of works, but of Him that calls." "It is not of him
that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy."
This is clearer still, perhaps, when we come to the next step, namely,
that of redemption. Christ has redeemed His people from the curse of
the Law, having been made a curse for them. Can any man see the Son of
God expiring upon Calvary, bearing the sins of man, and say that those
for whom He died were worthy that Christ should die for them? It is
downright blasphemy to connect any idea of merit with a gift so vast
and free as the gift of Jesus Christ to redeem us from our sins! Why,
Sirs, had we, every one of us, been perfect, and had we kept God's Laws
without omission, even as seraphs do in Heaven, we should still have
only done what was our duty to have done.
There could have been no merit about our service which could deserve
that Christ should die for us. Should the Eternal God ever be thought
to be such a debtor to His creatures that He must veil His splendor in
human form and be despised and rejected and spit upon? Shall it be said
that the Son of God owes to man that He should bleed and die for them?
I shudder while I raise the question or suggest the thought! It must be
pure, spontaneous, disinterested mercy that nailed the Savior to the
tree. Nothing could have brought Him from the Throne of Glory to the
Cross of woe but Grace, unalloyed, unbounded Grace.
And when I turn onwards from redemption to the next step, namely, that
of our effectual calling, it is the same. God is pleased to call many
of us by the Word of the Gospel, and every Gospel call is a gracious
thing, for we do not deserve to be called away from our sins. If we
reject those calls, and resist them–and yet, after all, the effectual
Grace of God comes in a more powerful way and makes the unwilling
willing and corrects the obstinacy of our hearts–why, this must be
Grace emphatically!
The common call of the Gospel to every sinner to come to Christ, and to
believe in Him and live–which call is given in the Gospel every
day–is Grace. But to continue that call, and to make it effectual,
even to those who have up to now resisted it, why, this is Grace upon
Grace, super-abounding Grace! If you spread a table for the hungry,
that is a favor to them. If you invite them to come, and invite again
and again, it is great favor. But if you "compel them to come in," as
the parable has it, and bid them sit there and lay yourself out until
you have won their hearts and persuaded them to ac-
cept your bounty–this is mercy upon mercy! Yet such is effectual
calling. That ever the love of God should have constrained you and me
to come and be saved when we so long stood out against it–oh, this is
"to the praise of the glory of
His Grace."
My dear Brethren, take the next step from effectual calling to pardon
and justification. I think it is not necessary that I should say that
the pardon of sin must always be the effect of Grace. That statement is
self-evident. It cannot be due to any man that he should have his sins
pardoned, for sin that deserves a pardon is no sin. It cannot be due to
any man that God should make him righteous, he being himself
unrighteous. That must be a spontaneous action on God's part, flowing
from His pure bounty and love. No man can claim forgiveness, it were
sacrilege to suggest that he could.
Pardon and justification, then, must be freely given us by God's Grace
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Mark you well that the
next series of steps which we call sanctification, or perseverance, or
better still, gracious conservation–all of those must be of Grace,
too. No man has any claim upon God to keep him from going into sin. I
am bound to keep from sin–it is my duty–but for God to send me Grace
by which I am enabled to keep from sin, is no right of mine.
It must be His free love that does it. And if from day to day He is
pleased to direct my waywardness and bring my wandering spirit back. If
after a thousand slips He still restores my soul and establishes my
goings, I dare not praise myself for it–I must gratefully put the
crown of my perseverance in righteousness upon the head of that
Infinite Grace which has worked all my works in me.
Beloved, if you will, at your leisure, survey all the steps of the work
of Grace, you will be persuaded that you could not say of one more than
another, "This is of Divine Grace," but you would have to confess it
equally of all. There is no point in the Christian's life where his own
merit avails him, no period where his own strength comes to the rescue
of Divine power. It must be Grace that makes the dead soul live–and it
is equally Grace which keeps the living soul alive. It must be Grace
that washes the sin-blackened soul and makes it white as snow. And it
must be equally Grace which keeps that soul from going back to its
former filthiness. From foundation to pinnacle the temple of our
salvation is all of Grace.
Certain skeptical philosophers have half conceded that there may have
been an exhibition of Divine strength in the beginning, when the great
orbs of Heaven were first caused to revolve. But then they affect to
question whether any fresh power is put forth to preserve the stars in
their courses. You and I know that no forces of the past will suffice
for the present demand, and we believe that Divine power is always
streaming forth to urge on the wheels of the universe.
It is even so in the little world within us. It was Grace that set our
hearts moving towards Christ and holiness. It is equally Grace that
keeps us still following after the prize of our high calling in Christ
Jesus. As the waters cover the channels of the sea, so does Grace cover
all our salvation. In every jot and every tittle of our heavenly
charter, Grace guided the pen. From first to last salvation is free.
"For by Grace, are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."
III. Now, Brethren, in the third place, having shown that salvation is
of Grace as a whole and of Grace in all its details, I shall notice
that THE PECULIAR GLORIES OF THIS GRACE OUGHT TO BE POINTED OUT, and to
be
considered by us.
What are the peculiar glories of Divine Grace? This is not a
fashionable doctrine, but we will speak it plainly and honestly. In the
first place, it is a peculiar glory of Grace that it is Sovereign, that
the favor of God is given to man according to the absolute will of the
Almighty God, and for no reason known to us but the good pleasure of
His will. When a man gives away anything in kindness to the poor, he
likes to exercise his own sovereignty in the gift, but no man is so
absolutely a possessor of the good things of this life as to have a
right to the exercise of an altogether absolute sovereignty over his
goods.
There must be some limit to human rights. A man, even in his free
gifts, ought not to give to some, and he ought in preference to give to
others. But the great and gracious God has no limits to His absolute
will. There are no rights remaining to fallen man before God, except
the right to suffer the infliction of justice. Man has so forfeited all
claims upon God that on the ground of right he can receive nothing but
eternal wrath–nothing whatever. Nor does any claim or pretense of
claim in any degree influence the determination of the Most High in the
gift of His Grace. Over the heads of
all men He speaks with thundering voice, "I will have mercy on whom I
will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion." Absolute Sovereignty is one of the glories of Divine
Grace.
Another glory of this Grace is its entire freeness. Man is not expected
to do anything to earn or obtain the Grace of God. He would not if he
were expected. He could not if he were required. He has so utterly
departed from God that he has lost the favor of God–to lose it was in
his power–to gain it again is not. Nor does God bestow His favor on
any man because of anything He sees in the man. Neither his wealth, nor
his fame, nor his position, nor his character. He looks down on man and
passes by kings and princes to let his love settle on the poor.
He looks on men, and often selects the grossest transgressor and the
chief of sinners, that these should become eternal monuments of His
power to save them. This He does, and continues still to do most
freely, spontaneously, because so it seems good in His sight. Another
glory of His Grace is its fullness. Where God bestows His Grace, it is
no little Grace. It is Grace to cover all the man's sins, whatever they
may be. Though they may be so multiplied that he cannot count them, and
so gross that he cannot estimate them, yet the Grace of God makes a
clean sweep of them all.
"I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions for My own sake,
and will not remember your sins." "I have blotted out, as a thick
cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins." "All manner of
sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men." Blasphemy is expressly
mentioned as a violent form of evil and direct attack upon God. The
most heinous forms of human iniquity the Grace of God blots out of the
Book of Remembrance, and He takes those who committed those heinous
sins, changes their nature, makes them His children, and receives them,
at last, into His Glory– and all because of the free favor which is in
His heart towards them.
Another glory of this Grace is its unfailing continuance. Where once
the Grace of God has fallen, it is never taken away. If God, in His
mercy, visits a man with Grace, He never afterwards revokes the pardon
He gives, or recalls the favor He has bestowed. "The gifts and calling
of God are without repentance." Grace is no intermittent brook flowing
today and dried up tomorrow, no fleeting meteor dazzling all beholders
and then vanishing in thick darkness–
"Whom once He loves he ne ver leaves, But loves them to the end." His
Grace is unchanging, His mercy endures forever.
Another glory of it is that it is unalloyed and unmingled. God's Grace
in saving souls rules alone. Human merit does not intrude here and
there to make a patchwork of the whole. Grace triumphant can say, "I
have trod the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with
Me." Grace is Alpha. Grace is Omega. It is Grace's glory that no mortal
finger touches her work, and no human hammer is lifted up thereon. This
is what men cannot bear. They will have it that man must have some
merit, must do some little. But it must not be. The Grace of God
demands a clear stage. It saves and it, alone, from first to last.
Need I add that it is one glory of this Grace that while it thus
reveals itself so fully, it never interferes with any other attribute
of God? Interfere, did I say? It only tends to illustrate all the other
glories of the Divine Character. God is absolute in His favor, but He
is never unjust. He gives justice to all. He allots to each one his
portion due. "What?" You say, "is He just to those whom He favors? Does
He not pass by their sins?" I answer, "Yes," but I also say, "No." He
does pass by their sins so far as they are concerned, but He does so
justly. For He first laid their sins upon their Surety, and exacted
from Christ the vengeance due for their transgressions.
He is as just towards His saints as if He had no mercy upon them, for
in their Substitute His Justice has received the full payment of His
demands. There is no attribute of God that Grace ever slights. It is on
the best terms with God's Truth, though Truth said, "I will by no means
spare the guilty." God has not spared the guilty, for He laid the guilt
on Christ and did not spare Him. And now His people are not
guilty–they are absolved, there is no condemnation to them, their
transgression is forgiven–their sin is covered.
I say, again, this is the glory of Grace–one of its special crowns and
adornments–that though it has its way and works as freely as if
Justice were dead, and holiness were withered, yet it never does invade
the realm of any one of those bright attributes. God is as just, and as
holy as if He were not gracious, and yet His Infinite Sovereignty sways
its undisputed scepter in the realm of salvation.
IV. I have brought you thus far, into the very heart of the text, and
now, in the fourth place, THIS GRACE OUGHT TO BE THE SUBJECT OF PRAISE.
It is "to the praise of the glory of His Grace." Here needs a tongue
far more fluent than mine. Or rather, here is wanted no tongue but a
warm heart and grateful thought to sit down and contemplate.
As many of you as have been bought with blood and washed in it. As many
of you as have been taken from among men and made to be the Lord's own
peculiar people, I ask you now, in silence, to praise God while your
mind surveys the whole plan of your salvation. Chosen before the earth
was–Grace, free Grace! Given into the hands of Christ to be His
treasure–all of Grace! Redeemed with the heart's blood of Immanuel,
all out of His free favor to you!
Preserved when you were running into sin, slaves of Satan, mad on your
idols–preserved in Christ Jesus by long-suffering Grace! Called with
that voice which wakes the dead, and endowed with spiritual
life–altogether of Grace! Adopted into the Divine family, made
partakers of the Divine Nature because Grace so willed it–what wonders
are here! Brothers and Sisters, in your case it was Grace of the most
eminent degree. If you do not say so of your case, I must say so of
mine.
Above all the sons of men I humbly claim to be most indebted to the
Grace of God. But I doubt not, my Brothers and Sisters, you also claim
the same. There were specialties about our character, there were
peculiarities about our sin, there were difficulties about our
constitution which all tended to make it very remarkable that we should
be the subjects of the Divine Love. Each one of us can say, "What was
there in me that could merit esteem, or give the Creator delight?" Now,
you will glorify God if you let your soul in silence muse at the foot
of the Throne of Grace, and worship Him of whose mercy you have so
largely been made a recipient.
When you have done this, may I ask you, in the next place, to let all
men see the result of Grace in you! It has been a common slander
against the Doctrine of Grace that it makes light of good works, and
leads men to licentiousness–a slander which the lives of the people of
God have amply answered in the past. Now you to whom this mercy has
been shown–by your watchfulness, your hatred of the very appearance of
evil, your careful walking, your close fellowship with Christ–prove to
those who ridicule us, by your lives, that Grace is a holy thing
wherever bestowed, for it renews the heart and sanctifies the life.
You are degrading the Grace of God when you are not walking as becomes
the household of faith. You are honoring God better by holiness than by
writing the sweetest poetry, or by uttering the most seraphic sentences
upon it. Holy living is "to the praise of the glory of His Grace." Add
to your holy living your own personal testimony. I do not care to hear
people who are converted talking much about what they were before
conversion. I am not sure that the records of horrid lives of base men
are ever profitable if they are written. Perhaps the best thing to say
is, "Of which things we are now ashamed."
But at the same time tell it to others that the Grace of God has saved
you. If you were, before conversion, given to great sins, be ashamed of
them, but do tell that Grace has saved such as you are. Be bold to
testify in all companies that the Grace of God is equal to all
emergencies and can save the lost from going quite down into the jaws
of perdition. Publish it everywhere that the mercy of God can blot out
the grossest and vilest sins–that no man need despair–that the great
heart of God is large enough to receive the most devilish of sinners.
Proclaim that he passes by transgression, iniquity, and sin for Jesus
Christ's sake. Let the angels know it! When you are introduced to
Heaven, publish there what God's Grace has done–and till you get there
let men know it here below–to the praise of the glory of His Grace."
V. And now, lastly, let me say that the doctrine which we have taught
this morning, THE TRUTH WHICH WE
HAVE TRIED FULLY TO PREACH, IS THE GREAT GROUND OF HOPE FOR SINNERS.
For, in the first place, if
it is so that salvation is all of the free favor of God, then here is
hope for every man!
You will enquire "How?" I will reply thus. Suppose there is here a man
who has been guilty of some gross crime, yet others who have been
guilty of the like crime have been pardoned, and have been the subjects
of Divine Grace–why should he not be? If salvation were by merit, such
a man clearly would be shut out of hope, and rightly considered, every
man would be. We have, none of us, a half-a-grain of merit if we were
ransacked through and through. But if it is of Grace, why should not
the Grace of God stick on me as well as on any other man?
And if it is proved that the Grace of God is so Sovereign that it has
often fallen on the very worst of men, why not on me, if I am the very
worst of men? And if I find it written that him that comes to Christ He
will in nowise cast out, then I,
even if I am the worst of men, am encouraged to come to Christ. He has
saved others–the worst of men. He tells me if I come, if anyone comes,
He will not cast him out. Then why should not I go? Why not, indeed?
If there were anything like preparation, or readiness, or merit, or
adaptation, then there would be no hope for me. But if it is a matter
altogether of a pure, gratuitous gift–then why should it not be given
to me as well as to another? It holds out a bright encouragement to
every sinner, and it holds out hope even to the exceedingly gross
transgressor because Grace is evidently magnified in changing the
nature of great sinners. If I am a great transgressor and have
desperately sinned, what room there will be for Grace to glorify itself
in me! Here is hope for me. Why should I not go to God in prayer and
ask to be made a trophy of His Grace?
And if any should say, "But if we are not the grossest of sinners, then
we seem to be shut out!" I answer, No, but rather to be included,
because if any will say, "God saves the greatest of sinners, because
they glorify His Grace most," I should reply, God is not actuated by
any selfish motive. He does not save men that He may get anything by
it, and you from whom He can derive nothing are the very people He is
likely to save, to prove the utter freeness and disinterestedness of
His love.
Do not, for a moment, imagine we are going to put sin in the place of
merit, and make it appear that the greatness of their sin is the reason
why the Lord will save men! If there is no reason for Grace in human
merit, much less is there in the degree of demerit. If you have never
gone into gross sin, thank God for it, but for all that, you are sinner
enough. If you see yourself as you are, you are filthy enough in all
conscience–you need not be any viler. And because your case does not,
to you, appear as though you could glorify God, it is not, therefore,
to be argued that it appears so to Him who sees not as man sees.
When a surgeon meets with a case which apparently will bring no credit
to him in vulgar eyes if he cures it, it is the highest honor to him
that he was not deterred by the fear that it would bring him no honor.
It is highly glorious to God that He is not affected by the praise of
men. There is hope, then, for you who cannot be numbered with the
grossest of transgressors. If all is of Grace then it neither shuts out
big nor little. And while the gracious promises ring like a peal of
silver bells, "Come unto Me all you that labor," and that with a
general and universal note to every sinner under Heaven, "Whosoever
believes in Him is not condemned," "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and you shall be saved," "He that believes and is baptized, shall be
saved," and such like passages, why, we are greatly encouraged to come
to Jesus!
This doctrine that salvation is all of Grace, and not of us at all, is
one of the very best reasons why I, though I do not feel right, nor act
right, nor am right, but am just a lump of sin, a mass of filthiness,
and nothing else–should come as I am, even now, and put my trust in
the blood and righteousness of Christ! And I, even I, can trust that I
shall find acceptance in the Beloved. O that some hearts, today, may,
by the Holy Spirit, be encouraged to come to Christ!
If you have any goodness, this sermon is a death knell for you. If you
have any merits, away with you, away with you! Christ came not to call
the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. If you are not sick, what
are you doing here? The physician is come to heal the sick, not those
who are in health. But if you have nothing that could deserve anything
of God, then to you is the word of this salvation sent, "To the praise
of the glory of His Grace."
My last word shall briefly indicate what is the privilege of each
sinner who would rejoice in the Sovereign Grace of God. Often as we
explain faith, we still need to explain it again. I met with an
illustration taken from the American war. One had been trying to
instruct a dying officer in what faith was. At last he caught the idea,
and he said, "I could not understand it before, but I see it now. It is
just this–I surrender, I surrender to Jesus."
That is it! You have been fighting against God, standing out against
Him, trying to make terms more or less favorable to yourself. Now here
you stand in the Presence of God, and you drop the sword of your
rebellion and say, "Lord, I surrender, I am Your prisoner. I trust to
Your mercy to save me. I have done with self, I fall into Your arms."–
"A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, On Christ's kind arms I fall Be You
my strength and righteousness, My Jesus and my all.'"
May God bless you. Amen.
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