"Lo, I Come"–Application
(No. 2203)
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S DAY MORNING, MAY 3, 1891,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"Then said I, Lo, I come." Psalm 40:7.
To my great sorrow, last Sunday night I was unable to preach. I had
prepared a sermon upon this text with much hope of its usefulness, for
I intended it to be a supplement to the morning sermon [Sermon #2202,
"Lo, I Come"– Exposition"] which was a doctrinal exposition. The
evening sermon was intended to be practical and to commend the whole
subject to the attention of enquiring sinners. I came here feeling
quite fit to preach, but an overpowering nervousness oppressed me and I
lost all self-control–and left the pulpit in anguish. I come here this
morning with the same subject. I have been turning it over and
wondering why it was so. Perhaps this sermon was not to be preached on
that occasion because God would teach the preacher more of his on
feebleness and cast him more fully upon the Divine Strength. That has
certainly been the effect upon my own heart.
Perhaps, also, there are some here, this morning, who were not here
last Lord's-Day evening, whom God intends to bless by the sermon. The
people were not here, perhaps, for whom the eternal decree of God had
designed the message and they may be here now. You that are new to this
place should consider the strange circumstance–which never happened to
me before in the 40 years of my ministry–and you may be led to enquire
whether my bow was then unstrung that the arrow might find its ordained
target in your heart! The two sermons will now go forth together from
the press and, perhaps, going together, they may prove to be like two
hands of love with which to embrace lost souls and draw them to the
Savior, who herein says, "Lo, I come." God grant it may be so!
The times when our Lord says, "Lo, I come," have all a family likeness.
There are certain crystals which assume a regular shape and, if you
break them, each fragment will show the same conformation. If you were
to dash them to shivers, every particle of the crystal would still be
of the same form. Now, the goings forth of Christ which were of old,
His coming at Calvary and that great Advent when He shall come a second
time to judge the earth in righteousness–all these have a likeness,
the one to the other. But there is a coming of what I may call a lesser
sort, when Jesus cries, "Lo, I come," to each individual sinner and
brings a revelation of pardon and salvation–and this has about it much
which is similar to the great ones. My one desire this morning is to
set forth the Lord Jesus as saying to you, as once He did to me, "Lo, I
come."
He still cries to the weak, destitute, forlorn, hopeless sinner, "Lo, I
come." I shall talk about that coming and hope that you will experience
it, now, and thus be able to follow me in what I say. I speak mainly to
the unconverted, but while I do so, I shall hope to be refreshing the
grateful memories of those already saved–but this will all depend upon
the working of the Spirit of God. To Him, then, lift up your hearts in
prayer.
I. I will commence with this observation–THE LORD CHRIST HAS TIMES OF
HIS FIRST COMINGS TO MEN–"Then said I, Lo, I come."
What are these times? Maybe some here present have reached this season
and this very day is the time of blessing when the text shall be
fulfilled–"Then said I, Lo, I come." Go with me to the first record in
the volume of the Book, when it was said that He should come. You will
find it in the early chapters of Genesis.
Jesus said, "Lo, I come," when man's probation was a failure. Man in
the Garden of Eden had every advantage for obedience and life. He had a
perfect nature, created without bias towards evil and he was surrounded
with every inducement to continue loyal to his Maker. He was placed
under no burdensome law. The precept was simple and plain–"Of every
tree of the garden you may freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for
in the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die." Only one tree
was reserved–all the rest were given up to be freely enjoyed. In a
very short time–some think it was on the first day, but that we do not
know–our mother Eve ate of the fruit and father Adam followed her, and
thus human probation ended in total failure. They were weighed in the
balances and found wanting–"Adam, being in honor, continued not." At
that point we read in the volume of the Book that the Seed of the woman
should bruise the serpent's head. Then our Redeemer said, "Lo, I come."
Listen to me, my Friend–you, also, have had your probation, as you
have thought it to be. You left your father's roof with every hope.
Your mother judged you to be of a most amiable character and your
friends expected to see in you one whose life would honor the family.
You thought so yourself. Your probation has reversed that hope–you
have turned out far different then you should have and, looking back
upon the whole of your life to this moment, you ought to be ashamed! It
has been a terrible breaking down for you and for all who know you–and
you are sitting in this place feeling, "Yes, it is so. The tests have
proven me to be as a broken reed. I am under condemnation by reason of
my transgressions against God." How rejoiced I am to tell you that, at
such a time when you are conscious that you are a dead failure, Jesus
says, "Lo, I come!" If you had not been a failure, you would not have
needed Him and He never comes as a superfluity. But now, in your
complete breakdown, you must have Him or perish–and in infinite pity
he cries, "Lo, I come!" Is not this good news for you? Believe it and
live!
That also was a time when man's clever dealings with the devil had
turned out a great failure. The serpent came and said, "God knows that
in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you
shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." How craftily he put it! How
cunningly he insinuated that God was jealous of what man might become
and was keeping him back from a nobler destiny! He even dared to say,
"You shall not surely die," thus giving the Lord the lie direct! He
seemed to say–"His threat is a mere bugbear, a thing to scare you from
a great advance in knowledge and position! You shall not surely die."
Eve, in her supposed wisdom, was not able to cope with the serpent's
subtlety. "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one
wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her; and he did eat." The devil had played his cards
so well that man was left bankrupt of virtue, bankrupt of happiness,
bankrupt of hope! Then, in the volume of the Book, it was written, "I
said, Lo, I come." Yes, in the exact hour when hellish falsehood had
robbed man of everything!
No man has yet dealt with the devil without being a loser. The
arch-deceiver promises very fairly, but he lies from beginning to end.
I know he promised you pleasure unbounded and liberty unrestrained. Now
the pleasure is burnt out and the ashes of that which once blazed and
crackled are terrible to look upon! As for liberty, where is it? You
have become the bond-slave of sin. You were to enjoy life and lo, you
are plunged in death! It may be there are in this house persons who
bear in their bodies the marks, not of the Lord Jesus, but of the
devil's temptations. He has made you to sin so that your bones are
filled with the sins of your youth–and you know it. He needs a long
spoon who eats out of the same dish as the devil and your spoon has not
been long enough! Sin has overreached and betrayed you. And you stand
trembling before God as the result of having listened to the falsehoods
of Hell and having rejected the commands of Heaven
Supposing such a person to be present–and I feel sure he is–I pray
that he may hear my text as from the Lord Jesus, Himself. "Then said I,
Lo, I come." The devil has trod you down, but Jesus comes to raise you
up! Your paradise is lost, but by Him it is to be restored! Jesus has
come to give repentance and remission of sins. That crafty head which
deceived you–the Lord Jesus has broken–He came for this purpose. If
you had not been betrayed, you would not have needed a Deliverer, but
your misery has made room for His mercy. Not while Adam is perfect in
Paradise is there any news of the Seed of the woman bruising the
serpent's head. But after the serpent has done his deceitful work and
has ruined the race, then we hear that ancient Gospel of God and see
the only hope of fallen man! Here is good cheer for you who look with
shame upon your foolish yielding to Satan's deceits! You are caught as
silly birds in a snare! You have been as foolish as the fish of the sea
which are taken in a net, but when you are captives, Christ comes to be
your Liberator and God commends His love towards you in that while you
are yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly!
Further than this, when we find the first promise of our Lord's coming,
"in the volume of the Book," we find that man's covering was a failure.
The guilty pair had gathered the leaves of the fig tree and had made
themselves aprons, for they knew that they were naked. This was the
first fruit of that boasted Tree of Knowledge and it is the principal
one to this day! Their scant coverlet contented them for a little
while, but when the voice of the Lord God was heard in the Gar-
den, they confessed that their aprons were good for nothing, for Adam
acknowledged that he was afraid because he was naked and, therefore, he
had hidden himself in the thick groves of the Garden. It is easy to
make a covering which pleases us for a season, but self-righteousness,
presumption, pretended infidelity and fancied natural excellence–all
those things are like green fig leaves which shrivel up before long,
lose their freshness–and are rather an exposure than a covering.
It may be that my hearer has found his imaginary virtues failing him.
It was when our first parents knew that they were naked that the Savior
said, "Lo, I come." My downcast Hearer, if you are no longer in your
own esteem, as good as you used to be. If you can no longer hide the
fact that you have broken God's Law and deserve His wrath. If you no
longer believe the devil's lie that you shall suffer no penalty, but
may even be the better for sin, then our Lord, the Savior, says to you,
"Lo, I come." To you, O naked Sinner, shivering in your own shame,
blushing scarlet with conviction– to you He comes! When you have
nothing left of your own, He comes to be your robe of righteousness
wherein you may stand accepted with God!
That first news of the coming Champion came at a time when all man's
pleas were failures. Adam had thrown the blame on Eve–"The woman whom
You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Eve
had also thrown the blame on the serpent, but the Lord God had silenced
all such excuses and driven them from their refuges. He had made them
feel their guilt and had pronounced upon them the inevitable
sentence–and then it was that He spoke of the "Seed of the woman."
Here was man's first and last–and best hope! So too, my Friend, when
you dare no longer plead your innocence, nor mention extenuations and
excuses, then Jesus comes in! If conscience oppresses you so sorely
that you cannot escape from it. If it is so that all you can say is
"Guilty! Willfully Guilty," then Jesus comes! If you neither blame your
surroundings, nor your companions, nor the Providence of God, nor your
physical weakness, nor anything else, but just take all the blame to
yourself because you cannot help doing so–then Jesus comes in! Verily
you have sinned against God, against your parents, against your fellow
men, against the Light of God, against knowledge, against conscience
and against the Holy Spirit! No wonder, therefore, that you stand
speechless, unable to offer any plea by way of self-justification! It
is in that moment of shame and confusion that the Savior says, "Lo, I
come," for such as you are He is an Advocate! When a sinner cannot
plead for himself, Christ pleads for him! When his excuses have come to
an end, then will the Lord put away his sin through His own great
Sacrifice. Is not this a precious Gospel Word?
When our Lord did actually arrive, fulfilling the text by being born of
a woman, it was when man's religion had proven a failure. Sacrifices
and offerings had ceased to be of any value–God had put them away as a
weariness to Him. The scribes and the Pharisees, with all their
phylacteries and wide-bordered garments, were a mere sham. There seemed
to be no true religion left upon the earth. Then said Christ, "Lo, I
come!" There was never a darker 30 years than when Herod slew the
innocents and the chief priests and scribes pursued the Son of God and,
at last, nailed Him to the tree. It was then that Jesus came to us to
redeem us by His death! Do I speak to any man here whose religion has
broken down? You have observed a host of rites and ceremonies–you were
christened in your infancy, you were duly confirmed, you have taken
what you call, "the blessed sacrament." Or it may be you have always
sat in the most plain of Meeting Houses and listened to the most
orthodox of preachers–and you have been among the most religious of
religious people–but now, at last, the Spirit of God has shown you
that all these performances and attendances are worthless cobwebs which
avail you nothing! You now see that–
"Not all the outward forms on earth,
Nor rites that God has given,
Nor will of man, nor blood, nor birth,
Can raise a soul to Heaven."
You are just now driven to despair because the palace of your imaginary
excellence has vanished like the baseless fabric of a vision. If I had
told you that your religiousness was of no value, you would have been
very angry with me and, perhaps, you would have said, "That is a
bigoted remark and you ought to be ashamed of yourself for making it!"
But now the Spirit of God has told you the same and you feel its
force–He is great at convincing of sin! When the Spirit of Truth comes
to deal with the religiousness of the flesh, He withers it in a moment!
All religion which is not spiritual is worthless. All religion which is
not the supernatural product of the Holy Spirit is a fiction. One
breath from the Spirit of God withers all the beauty of our pride and
destroys the comeliness of our conceit and then, when our own religion
is dashed to shivers, the Lord Jesus comes in, saying, "Lo, I come." He
delights to come in His glorious Personality when the Pharisee can no
longer say, "God, I thank You that I am not as other men" and when the
once bold fisherman is cry-
ing, "Lord, save, or I perish." If you feel that you need something
infinitely better than Churchianity, or Dissenterism, or Methodism–in
fact, that you need Christ, Himself, to be formed in you–then to you,
even to you, Jesus says, "Lo, I come." When man is at his worst, Christ
is seen at His best. The Lord walks to us on the sea in the middle
watch of the night. He draws near to those souls which draw near to
death. When you part with self, you meet with Christ. When no shred of
hope remains, then Jesus says, "Lo, I come."
Once more. The Lord Jesus is to come a second time and when will He
come? He will come when man's hope is a failure. He will come when
iniquity abounds and the love of many has waxed cold. He will come when
dreams of a golden age shall be turned into the dread reality of
abounding evil. Do not dream that the world will go on improving and
improv-ing–and that the improvement will naturally culminate in the
millennium. No such thing! It may grow better for a while–better under
certain aspects–but, afterwards, the power of the better element will
ebb out like the sea, even though each wave should look like an
advance. That day shall not come except there is a falling away first.
Even the wise virgins will sleep and the men of the world will be, as
in the days of Noah, eating and drinking, marrying and being given in
marriage.
And then, all of a sudden, the Lord will come as a thief in the night!
The deluge of fire will find men as unprepared as did the deluge of
water! He will come taking vengeance on His adversaries. When things
wax worse and worse we see the tokens of His speedy coming. He will
shortly appear, for the sky is darkening. When every hope will seem
blotted out and nothing but grim ages of anarchy and ungodliness are to
be expected, then our Deliverer will come! When the count of bricks was
doubled in Egypt, Moses came. And when the world attains to its utmost
unbelief and iniquity, Jesus will come. So at this moment my Hearer may
be saying, "I cannot be worse than I am; if I am not actually already
in Hell, yet I feel a fire within which tortures my soul! The sword of
vengeance hangs over my head suspended by a single hair! I tremble to
live and I fear to die. Lost! Lost! Lost! I am past hope!" This is the
time for my text–"Then said I, Lo, I come." He who is able to save to
the uttermost appears to the soul when every other hope disappears. In
your deep distress, I see a token for good! You are now reduced to
spiritual death and now, I trust, the Eternal Life will visit you!
Now all this I put before you in simple language, believing what I say,
and trusting that if I describe your case, you will know that I mean it
for you. I have heard of a preacher who was so fearful lest he should
be thought personal, that he said to his congregation, "Lest any of you
should think that what I have said was meant for you, I would observe
that the sermon I am preaching was prepared for a congregation in
Massachusetts." I can plead nothing of the sort! I refer to you, my
Hearer, in the most pointed manner! I will attend to Massachusetts, if
ever the Lord sends me there, but just now, I mean YOU. Oh, that you
may have Grace to take home these thoughts to yourselves, for if you
do, they will, by the Spirit's power, bring the light of hope into your
souls!
II. Secondly, I would remark that CHRIST COMES TO SINNERS IN THE GLORY
OF HIS PERSON–"Then said I, Lo, I come." Note that glorious, I! Have
you not seen people engaged in urgent work who did not understand their
business? Apprentices and other unskilled people are muddling time
away. They are making bad, worse, and running great risk. Perhaps a
great calamity will occur if the work is not done well and quickly. A
first-rate worker is sent for. See, the man has come who understands
the business. He cries, "Let me come! Stand out of my way! You are on
the wrong tack–let me do it myself!" You have not blamed him for
egotism, for the thing needed to be done and he could do it–and the
others could not. Everybody recognized the master workman and gave
place to him. The announcement of his coming was the end of the muddle
and the signal of hope! Even so, Jesus comes to you sinners and His
Presence is your salvation! He says, "Lo, I come." What does He mean?
He means, the setting of all else on one side. There is the priest–he
has not helped you much. He may go, for Jesus says, "Lo, I come." There
are your own efforts and doings. There are your feelings and thoughts.
There are your ceremonies and austerities. There are your prayers and
tears. There are your hearings and readings–all these must be laid
aside as grounds of confidence–and Jesus, alone, must be your trust.
He can do for you what none of these can. You are trying to work
yourself up to repentance and faith, but you cannot succeed. Let Him
come and He will bring every good thing with Him. It is glorious to see
our Lord throwing down all our bowing walls and tottering fences and to
hear Him cry, "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation." Everything else
vanishes before His perfect salvation!
Before Him there is a setting aside of self. You have been your own
confidence. What you could feel, or do, or think, or resolve, had
become the ground of your confidence, but now Jesus puts self down and
He is, Himself, exalted. By
working yourself to death, you cannot effect our own salvation. Lo,
Jesus comes to save you! You cannot weave yourself a garment. Lo, He
comes to clothe you from head to foot with His own seamless robe of
righteousness! He annihilates self that He may fill all things.
Here is a glorious setting of Himself at our side and in our place. Mr.
Moody tells a story which I would gladly hope may be true, for one
would like to hear something good about a Czar of Russia, and
especially about our once enemy, the Emperor Nicholas. The story
concerns a soldier in the barracks who was much distressed by his heavy
debts. He was in despair, for he owed a great deal of money and could
not tell where to get it. He took a piece of paper and made a list of
his debts and underneath the list he wrote, "Who will pay these debts?"
He then lay down on his bunk and fell asleep, with the paper before
him. The Emperor of Russia passed by and, taking up the paper, read it,
and being in a gracious mood, signed at the bottom, "Nicholas." Was not
that a splendid answer to the question? When the soldier woke up and
read it, he could scarcely believe his own eyes. "Who will pay these
debts?" was the despairing question. "Nicholas," was the all-sufficient
answer! So are we answered! Who will bear our sins? The grand reply is,
"JESUS." He puts His own name to our liabilities and, in effect, that
He may meet them, He says, "Lo, I come."
Your debt of sin is discharged when you believe in Christ Jesus.
"Without shedding of blood is no remission," but the blood of Jesus
Christ, God's dear Son, cleanses us from all sin! You are not now to
bear your own sins. Behold the Scapegoat, who carries them away into
the wilderness! Yes, Jesus says, "Lo, I come!" He takes our sins upon
Himself. He bears their penalty and we go free! Blessed words–"Lo, I
come"–I come to take your weight of sin, your burden of punishment! I
come to be made a curse for you, that you may be made the righteousness
of God in Me. Sinner, stand out of the way and let Jesus appear for you
and fill your place! He sets you on one side and then He sets Himself
where you have been! Jesus is now the one Pillar on which to lean, the
one Foundation on which to build, the one and only Rest for our weary
souls!
He sets Himself where we can see Him, for He cries, "Lo, I come." That
is to say, "See Me come." He comes openly, that we may see Him clearly.
How I wish the Lord would reveal Himself at this moment to each one of
those who are weary of earth, of self, of sin and, possibly, even weary
of life, itself! Oh, if you could but see Jesus standing in your place,
you would have faith to stand in His place and so become, "accepted in
the Beloved"! O Lord, hear my prayer, and cause poor hearts to see You
descending from the skies, to uplift sinners from the dark abyss! Holy
Spirit, touch that young man's eyes with heavenly salve, that he may
see where salvation lies. Deal with that poor woman's dim eyes, also,
that she may perceive the Lord Christ and find peace in Him. Jesus
cries, "Lo, I come! Look unto Me, and be you saved, all the ends of the
earth"–
"There is life for a look at the Crucified One!
There is life at this moment for thee.
Then look, sinner–look unto Him and be sa ved–
Unto Him who was nailed to the tree." Should you even lie in all the
despair and desolation which I described, I would persuade you to
believe in Jesus! Trust Him and you shall find Him all that you need!
Our lord sets Himself to be permanently our All in All. When He came on
earth, He did not leave His work till He had finished it. Even when He
rose to Glory, He continued His service for His chosen, living to
intercede for them. Jesus was a Savior 1,900 years ago and He is still
a Savior–and He will be a Savior until all the chosen race shall have
been gathered Home. He tells us, "I said, Lo, I come," but He does not
say, "I said, I will go away, and quit the work." Our Lord's ear is
bored and He goes out no more from the service of salvation. It is not
written of any penitent souls, "You shall seek Me, but shall not find
Me." But it is written, "If you seek Him, He will be found of you." O
my Hearer, you are now in the place where the Gospel is preached to
you–yes, to you, for we are sent to preach the Gospel to every
creature! And though you should be the worst, most benighted and most
guilty of all the creatures out of Hell, yet you are a creature, and we
preach Christ to you!
O poor Heart, may the Lord Jesus say to you "Lo, I come!" for He comes
to stay–to stay until He has worked salvation in you as He has worked
out salvation for you. He will not leave a Believer till He has
presented him spotless before the Throne of God with exceeding joy. I
wish I could make all this most clear and plain. You are altogether
ruined by your own fault and you cannot undo the evil. You have done
all you can and it has come to nothing. You are steeped in sin up to
your throat–yes, the filth has gone over your head–you are as one
drowned in black waters. Despairing one,
cast not your eyes around to seek for a friend, for you will look in
vain to men! No arm can rescue you, save one, and that is the arm of
Jesus who now cries, "Lo, I come!" Set everything else on one side and
trust yourself with the Savior, Christ the Lord!
III. Oh, that many may be comforted while I dwell on the third head!
CHRIST IN HIS COMING IS HIS OWN INTRODUCTION. Here our Lord is His own
herald, "Lo, I come." He does not wait for an eloquent preacher to act
as master of ceremonies for Him–He introduces Himself. Therefore even
I, the simplest talker on earth, may prove quite sufficient for my
Lord's purpose if He will graciously condescend to bless these plain
words of mine. It is not I that say that Jesus comes, but in the text
our Lord, Himself, declares, "Then said I, Lo, I come." You need not do
anything to draw Christ's attention to you–it is Christ who draws your
attention to Himself! Do you see this? You are the blind bat and He is
all eyes towards you and bids you look on Him. I hear you cry, "Lord,
remember me," and I hear Him answer, "Soul, remember Me." He bids you
look on Him when you beseech Him to look on you!
He comes when quite unsought, or sought for in a wrong way. To many men
and women, Christ has come though they had not even desired Him. Yes,
He has come even to those who hated Him. Saul of Tarsus was on His way
to worry the saints at Damascus, but Jesus said, "Lo, I come"–and when
He looked out of Heaven, He turned Saul, the persecutor, into Paul, the
Apostle! The promise is fulfilled, "I was found of them that sought Me
not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after Me." Herein is
the glorious sovereignty of His love fully exercised and Grace reigning
supreme. "Lo, I come," is the announcement of majestic Grace which
waits not for man, neither tarries for the sons of men.
Our Lord Jesus is the way to Himself. Did you ever notice that? He
Himself comes to us and so He is the way by which we meet Him. He is
our rest and the way to our rest. He says, "I am the way." You want to
know how to get to Christ? You have not to get to Christ, for He has
come to you! It is well for you to come to Christ, but that is only
possible because Christ has come to you! Jesus is near you–near you
now. Backslider, He comes to you! Wandering Soul, roving to the very
brink of perdition, the good Shepherd cries, "Lo, I come." He is the
way to Himself!
Remember, also, that He is the blessing which He brings. Jesus not only
gives life and resurrection, but He says, "I am the Resurrection and
the Life." Christ is Salvation and everything necessary to salvation is
in Him. If He comes, all good comes with Him, or rather, in Him. An
enquirer once said to a minister, "The next step for me is to get a
deeper conviction of sin." The minister said, "No such thing, my
Friend–the next step is to trust in Jesus, for He says, Come unto Me."
To come to Jesus, or rather to receive Jesus who has come to us, is the
one essential step into eternal salvation. Though our Lord says, "Come
unto Me," He has preceded it with this other word, "Lo, I come." Poor
cripple, if you cannot come to Jesus, ask Him to come to you and He
will! Here you lie and you have been for years in this case–you have
no man to put you into the pool and it would do you no good if he
did–but Jesus can make you whole and He is here! You cannot stir hand
or foot because of spiritual paralysis, but your case is not hopeless.
Listen to my Lord in the text, "Then said I, Lo, I come." He has no
paralysis! He can come, leaping over the mountains of division! I know
my Lord came to me, or I should never have come to Him–why should He
not come to you? I came to Him because He came to me–
"He drew me, and I followed on, Charmed to confess the voice Divine."
Why should He not draw you, also? Is He not doing so? Yield to the
pressure of His love!
"Then said I, Lo, I come." You see our Lord is His own spokesman. He
says to me, "Go and tell those people about My coming"–and I gladly do
so–but you will forget my words and refuse to accept the Coming One.
Your consciences will be unawakened, your hearts unmoved–I fear it
will be so. But if this text is fulfilled concerning our Lord this
day–"Then said I, Lo, I come"–you will hear HIM! If He speaks, He is,
Himself, the Almighty Word, and His voice will reach your hearts and
accomplish His purpose! Dear Christian people, join with me in this
prayer–Lord, speak to Your chosen ones that lie here in their
death-like despair, far off from You, and say to each one of them, "Lo,
I come." O downcast Soul, this is your morning–this is the set time to
favor you–this day is salvation come to your house and to your heart!
Make haste and come down from the tree of your frivolity or your
self-righteousness! Receive the Lord Jesus, for today He must abide in
your house and in your heart–the hour for the imperial "must" of the
eternal purpose has arrived! God grant it may be so! May this be an
hour of which Jesus shall declare–"Then said I, Lo, I come!"
IV. Our next point is this–CHRIST, TO CHEER US, REVEALS HIS REASONS
FOR COMING. Only a few
words on this. Note the rest of the verse–"Lo, I come: in the volume
of the Book it is written of Me." When we were yet without strength, in
due time, Christ died for the ungodly because it was the due time
according to Covenant purposes. Christ comes to a guilty sinner just as
He once came to a manger and a stable, because so it was appointed.
There is nothing for Him to get, but everything for Him to give. He
comes because so it is written in the volume of the Divine Decrees–
"Thus the eternal counsel ran– Almighty Grace, arrest that man!"
Therefore in love the Savior appears to the sinner and, by Divine
Grace, arrests him in his mad career.
It is His Father's will. Christ's coming to save a soul is with His
Father's full consent and aid. The Father wills that you who believe in
Him, lost though you are, should now be saved–and Jesus comes to do
the will of the Father.
He comes because His heart is set on you. He loves you and so He
hastens to your rescue. Your salvation is His delight. Though your soul
is sunk in a sea of need and you are in despair because of that need,
Jesus loves you, and comes to meet your case. The best of all is that
Jesus loves you. One asked an old man of 90, "Do you love Jesus?" and
the old man answered with a smile, "I do, indeed. But I can tell you
something better than that." His friend asked, "Something better than
loving Jesus! What is that?" The old disciple replied, "He loves me." O
Soul, I wish you could see this fact which is, indeed, better than your
love to Jesus, namely, His love to you! Because He loved His redeemed
from before the foundation of the world, therefore, in due time, He
says, "Lo, I come."
The fact is, you have need and He has love–and so He comes. There is
no hope for you unless He comes and that is why He comes! If you had a
penny of your own, He would not give you His purse. If you had a rag of
your own, He would not give you His robe. If you had a breath of your
own, He would not give you His life! But now that you are naked, poor,
miserable, lost and dead, Jesus reveals Himself and you read concerning
Him, "Then said I, Lo, I come." He gives you His reasons–reasons not
in yourself, but all in His Grace. There is no good in you–there is no
reason in you why the Lord should save you–but because of His free,
spontaneous, rich, sovereign, almighty Grace, He leaps out of Heaven,
He descends to earth, He plunges into the grave to pluck His Beloved
from destruction!
V. Here is my last word–CHRIST'S COMING IS THE BEST PLEA FOR OUR
RECEIVING HIM–and receiving Him now! O Sirs, remember you have not to
raise the question whether He will come or not. He is come! You have
not to say, How can I come to Him? He comes to you! You need a Mediator
between your soul and God, but you do not need any mediator between
yourself and Jesus, for He says, "Lo, I come." To you in all your
filthiness, in all your condemnation, in all your hopelessness, He
comes! Wait not for anybody to introduce you to Him, or Him to you–He
has introduced Himself and here is His card–"Then said I, Lo, I come."
No pleas are needed to persuade Him to come to you, for He says, "Lo, I
come." Though you cannot think of a single argument why He should
appear to you in mercy, He does so! It is written, "I will have mercy
upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were
not My people, You are My people; and they shall say, You are my God."
O Words of wondrous Grace! Our gracious Lord does not wait for our
entreaties; but of His own accord He says, "Lo, I come." Without asking
you and without your asking Him, He puts in an appearance in the
sovereignty of His Grace.
No search is needed to find the Lord, for He comes in manifested Grace
and calls upon us to see Him. "I have long been searching for Christ"
murmurs one. What? Seeking for the sun at noonday? Jesus is not lost!
It is you that are lost and He is searching for you! He says, "Lo, I
come"–it is you that will not come. Still one declares that he has
been seeking the Lord Jesus for many a day. This is sadly strange, for
Jesus is near. "Say not in your heart, Who shall ascend into Heaven?
or, Who shall descend into the deep? The Word is near you, even in your
mouth, and in your heart, that if you will confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead, you shall be saved." If you believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, you shall be saved! Searching after Christ? No, verily He says,
"Lo, I come."
Moreover, no waiting is needed and no preparation is to be made by you.
Why do you wait? HE does not wait, but cries, "Lo, I come!" "I will get
ready for Christ," you say, but it is too late to talk so, when He
cries, "Lo, I am come." Receive Him! If you are, in yourself, sadly
unready, yet He, Himself, will make everything ready for Himself. Only
open wide the door and let Him in. Do you say, "But I am ashamed"? Be
ashamed! He bids you be ashamed and be con-
founded, while He declares, "I do not this for your sakes." Yet be not
so ashamed as to commit another shameful deed by shutting the door in
your Redeemer's face! Shut not out your own mercy!
A pastor in Edinburgh, in going round his district, knocked at the door
of a poor woman for whom he had brought some needed help, but he
received no answer. When next he met her, he said to her, "I called on
Tuesday at your house." She asked, "At what time?" "About eleven
o'clock. I knocked, and you did not answer. I was disappointed, for I
called to give you help." "Ah, Sir!" she said, "I am very sorry. I
thought it was the man coming for the rent and I could not pay it and,
therefore, I did not dare to go to the door." Many a troubled soul
thinks that Jesus is One who comes to ask of us what we cannot give,
but, indeed, He comes to give us all things. His errand is not to
condemn, but to forgive. Miss not the charity of God through unbelief!
Run to the door and say to your loving Redeemer, "Lord, I am not worthy
that You should come under my roof, but as You have come to me, I
welcome You with all my heart."
No assistance is needed by Christ on your part. He does not come with
half a salvation and look to you to complete it. He does not come to
bring you a robe, half woven, which you are to finish. How could you
finish it? Could the best saint in the world add anything to Christ's
righteousness? No good man would even dream of adding his home-spun to
that raiment which is of worked gold! What? Are you to make up the
deficient ransom price? Is it deficient? Would you bring your clods of
mud into the royal treasury and lay them down, side by side with
sapphires? Would you help Christ? Go, yoke a mouse with an elephant! Go
harness a fly side by side with an archangel! But dream not of yoking
yourself with Christ. He says, "Lo, I come," and I trust you will
reply, "My Lord, if You are come, all is come, and I am complete in
You"–
"You, O Christ are all I need, More than all in You I find."
Receive Him–receive Him at once! Dear children of God and sinners that
have begun to feel after Him, say with one accord, "Even so, come
quickly, Lord Jesus." If He says, "Lo, I come," and the Spirit and the
bride say, Come, and he that hears says, Come, and he that is thirsty
comes, and whoever will is bidden to come and take the Water of Life
freely–then let us join the chorus of comes, and come to Christ
ourselves! "Behold, the Bridegroom comes; go you out to meet Him!" You
who most of all need Him, be among the first and most glad, as you hear
Him say, "Lo, I come!"
All that I have said will be good for nothing as to saving results
unless the Holy Spirit shall apply it with power to your hearts. Join
with me in prayer that many may see Jesus, just now, and may at once
behold and accept the present salvation which is in Him.