Why Are Men Saved?
A Sermon
(No. 115)
Delivered on Sabbath Morning, February 1, 1857, by the
REV. C.H. SPURGEON
at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.
"Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake."–Psalm 106:8.
IN LOOKING upon the works of God in creation, there are two questions
which at once occur to the thoughtful mind, and which must be answered
before we can procure a clue to the philosophy and science of creation
itself. The first one is the question of authorship: Who made all these
things? And the next question is that of design: For what purpose were
all these things created? The first question, "Who made all these
things?" is one which is easily answered by a man who has a honest
conscience and a sane mind, for when he lifts eyes up yonder to read
the stars, he will see those stars spell out in golden letters this
word–God; and when he looks below upon the waves, if his ears are
honestly opened, he will hear each wave proclaiming, God. If he looks
to the summits of the mountains, they will not speak, but with a
dignified answer of silence they seem to say,
"The hand that made us is Divine."
If we listen to the rippling of the freshet at the mountain side, to
the tumbling of the avalanche, to the lowing of the cattle, to the
singing of the birds, to every voice and sound of nature, we shall hear
this answer to the question, "God is our maker; he hath made us, and
not we ourselves."
The next question, as to design–Why were these things made?–is not so
easy to answer, apart from Scripture; but when we look at Scripture we
discover this fact–that as the answer to the first question is God, so
the answer to the second question is the same. Why were these things
made? The answer is, for God's glory, for his honor, and for his
pleasure. No other answer can be consistent with reason. Whatever other
replies men may propound, no other can be really sound. If they will
for one moment consider that there was a time when God had no
creatures–when he dwelt alone, the mighty maker of ages, glorious in
an uncreated solitude, divine in his eternal loneliness–"I am and
there is none beside me"–can any one answer this question–Why did God
make creatures to exist?–in any other way than by answering it thus:
"He made them for his own pleasure and for his own glory." You may say
he made them for his creatures; but we answer, there were then no
creatures to make them for. We admit that the answer may be a sound one
now. God makes the harvest for his creatures; he hangs the sun in the
firmament to bless his creatures with light and sunshine; he bids the
moon walk I her course by night, to cheer the darkness of his creatures
upon earth. But the first answer, going back to the origin of all
things, can be nothing else than this: "For his pleasure they are and
were created." "He made all things for himself and by himself."
Now, this which holds good in the works of creation, holds equally good
in the works of salvation. Lift up your eyes on high; higher than those
stars which glimmer on the floor of heaven; look up, where spirits in
white, clearer than light, shine like stars in their magnificence; look
there, where the redeemed with their choral symphonies "circle the
throne of God rejoicing," and put this question: "Who saved those
glorified beings, and for what purpose were they saved." We tell you
that the same answer must be given as we have previously given to the
former question–"He saved them–he saved them for his name's sake."
The text is an answer to the two great questions concerning salvation:
Who saved men, and why are they saved? "He saved them for his name's
sake."
Into this subject I shall endeavour to look this morning. May God make
it profitable to each of us, and may we be found among the number who
shall be saved "for his name's sake." Treating the text verbally–and
that is the way most will understand–here are four things. First, a
glorious Saviour–"He saved them;" secondly, a favored people–"He
saved them;" thirdly a divine reason why he saved them–"for his names
sake;" and fourthly, an obstruction conquered, in the word
"nevertheless," implying that there was some difficulty that was
removed. "Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake." A Saviour;
the saved; the reason; the obstruction removed.
I. First, then, here is A GLORIOUS SAVIOUR–"He saved them." Who is to
be understood by that pronoun "he?" Possibly man of my hearers may
answer, "Why, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour of men." Right, my
friends; but not all the truth. Jesus Christ is the Saviour; but not
more so than God the Father, or God the Holy Ghost. Some persons who
are ignorant of the system of divine truth think of God the Father as
being a great Being full of wrath, and anger, and justice, but having
no love, they think of God the Spirit perhaps as a mere influence
proceeding from the Father and the Son. Now, nothing can be more
incorrect than such opinions. It is true the Son redeems me, but then
the Father gave the Son to die for me, and the Father chose me in the
everlasting election of his grace. The Father blots out my sin; the
Father accepts me and adopts me into his family through Christ. The Son
could not save without the Father any more than the Father without the
Son; and as for the Holy Spirit, if the Son redeems, know ye not that
the Holy Ghost regenerates? It is he that makes us new creatures in
Christ, who begets us again unto a lively hope, who purifies our soul,
who sanctifies our spirit, and who, at last, presents us spotless and
faultless before the throne of the Most High, accepted in the beloved.
When thou sayest, "Saviour," remember there is a Trinity in that
word–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, this Saviour being three
persons under one name. Thou canst not be saved by the Son without the
Father, nor by the Father without the Son, nor by Father and Son
without the Spirit. But as they are one in creation, so are they one in
salvation, working together in one God for our salvation, and unto that
God be glory everlasting, world without end, Amen.
But, note here, how this Divine being claims salvation wholly to
himself. "Nevertheless HE saved them." But, Moses, where art thou?
Didst not thou save them, Moses? Thou didst stretch the rod over the
sea, and it clave in halves; thou didst lift up thy prayer to heaven,
and the frogs came, and the flies swarmed, and the water was turned
into blood, and the hail smote the land of Egypt. Was not thou their
Saviour, Moses? And thou Aaron, thou didst offer the bullocks which God
accepted; thou didst lead them, with Moses, through the wilderness.
Wast not thou their Saviour? They answer, "Nay, we were the
instruments, but he saved them. God made use of us, but unto his name
be all the glory, and none unto ourselves." But, Israel, thou wast a
strong and mighty people; didst not thou save thyself? Perhaps it was
by thine own holiness that the Red Sea was dried up; perhaps the parted
floods were frighted at the piety of the saints that stood upon their
margin; perhaps it was Israel that delivered itself. Nay, nay, saith
God's Word; he saved them; they did not save themselves, nor did their
fellow-men redeem them. And yet, mark you, there are some who dispute
this point, who think that men save themselves, or, at least, that
priests and preachers can help to do it. We say that the preacher,
under God, may be the instrument of arresting man's attention, of
warning him and arousing him; but the preacher is nothing; God is
everything. The most mighty eloquence that ever distilled from the lips
of seraphic preacher is nothing apart from God's Holy Spirit. Neither
Paul, nor Apollos, nor Cephas, are anything: God gave the increase and
God must have al the glory. There are some we meet with here and there
who say, "I am Mr. So-and-so's convert; I am a convert of the Rev. Dr.
this or that." Well, if you are, sir, I cannot give you much hope of
heaven. Only God's converts go there; not proselytes of man, but the
redeemed of the Lord. Oh, it is very little to convert a man to our own
opinions; it is something to be the means of converting him to the Lord
our God. I had a letter some time ago from a good Baptist minister in
Ireland, who very much wanted me to cover over to Ireland, as he said,
to represent the Baptist interest, because it was low there, and
perhaps it might lead the people to think a little more of Baptists. I
told him I would not go across the street merely to do that, much less
would I cross the Irish Channel. I should not think of going to Ireland
for that; but if I might go there to make Christians, under God, and be
the means of bringing men to Christ, I would leave it to them what they
should be afterwards, and trust to God's Holy Spirit to direct and
guide them as to what denomination they should consider nearest akin to
God's truth. Brethren, I might make all of you Baptists, perhaps, and
yet you would be none the better for it; I might convert you all in
that way, but such a conversion would be that you would be washed to
greater stains, converted into hypocrites, and not into saints. I have
seen something of wholesale conversion. Great revivalists have rise up;
they have preached thundering sermons that have made men's knees knock
together. "What a wonderful man!" people have said. "He has converted
so many under one sermon." But look for his converts in a month, and
where will they be? You will see some of them in the alehouse, you will
hear others of them swear, you will find many of them rogues, and
cheats, because they were not God's converts, but only man's. Brethren,
if the work be done at all, it must be done of God, for if God do not
convert there is nothing done that shall last, and nothing that shall
be of any avail for eternity.
But some reply, "Well, sir, but men convert themselves." Yes, they do,
and a fine conversion it is. Very frequently they convert themselves.
But then that which man did, man undoes. He who converts himself one
day, unconverts himself the next; he tieth a knot which his own fingers
can loosen. Remember this–you may convert yourselves a dozen times
over, but "that which is born of the flesh is flesh," and "cannot see
the kingdom of God." It is only "that which is born of the Spirit" that
"is Spirit," and is therefore able to be gathered at last into the
spirit-realm, where only spiritual things can be found before the
throne of the Most High. We must reserve this prerogative wholly to
God. If any man state that God is not Creator, we call him infidel; if
any man entrench upon this doctrine, that God is the absolute Maker of
all things, we hiss him down in a moment; but he is an infidel of the
worst kind, because more specious, who puts God out of the mercy
throne, instead of putting him out of the creation throne, and who
tells men that they may convert themselves, whereas God doth it all.
"He" only, the great Jehovah–Father, Son, and Holy Ghost–"he saved
them for his name's sake.
Thus have I endeavoured to set out clearly the first truth of the
divine and glorious Saviour.
II. Now, secondly, THE FAVORED PEOPLE–"He saved them." Who are they?
You will reply, "They were the most respectable people that could be
found in the world; they were a very prayerful, loving, holy, and
deserving people; and, therefore, because they were good he saved
them." Very well, that is your opinion, I will tell you what Moses
says,–"Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they
remembered not the multitudes of thy mercies; but provoked him at the
sea, even at the Red Sea. Nevertheless he saved them." Look at the 7th
verse, and you will have their character. In the first place, they were
a stupid people–"Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt." In
the next place, they were an ungrateful people–"they remembered not
the multitude of thy mercies." In the third place, they were a
provoking people–"they provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea."
Ah, these are the people whom free grace saves, these are the men and
these the woman whom the God of all grace condescends to take to his
bosom and to make anew.
Note, first, that they were a stupid people. God sends his gospel not
always to the wise and prudent, but unto fools;
"He takes the fool and makes him know
The wonders of his dying love."
Do not suppose, my hearer, because you are very unlettered and can
scarcely read–do not imagine, because you have always been brought up
in extreme ignorance, and have scarcely learnt to spell your name, that
therefore you cannot be saved. God's grace can save you, and then
enlighten you. A brother minister once told me a story of a man who was
known in a certain village as a simpleton, and was always considered to
be soft in the head; no one thought he could ever understand anything.
But one day he came to hear the gospel preached. He had been a drunken
fellow, having wit enough to be wicked, which is a very common kind of
wit. The Lord was pleased to bless the word to his soul, so that he
became a changed character; and what was the marvel of all was, his
religion gave him a something which began to develop his latent
faculties. He found he had a something to live for, and he began to try
what he could do. In the first place he wanted to read his Bible, that
he might read his Saviour's name; and after much hammering and spelling
away, at last he was able to read a chapter. Then he was asked to pray
at a prayer-meeting; here was an exercise of his vocal powers. Five or
six words made up his prayer, and down he sat abashed. But by
continually praying in his own family at home, he came to pray like the
rest of the brethren, and he went on till he became a preacher, and,
singularly enough, he had a fluency–a depth of understanding and a
power of thought, such as are seldom found among ministers who only
occasionally occupy pulpits. Strange it was, that grace should even
tend to develop his natural powers, giving him an object, setting him
devoutly and firmly upon it, and so bringing out all his resources that
they were fully shown. AH, ignorant ones, ye need not despair. He saved
them; not for their sakes–there was nothing in them why they should be
saved. He saved them, not for their wisdom's sake; but, ignorant though
they were, understanding not the meaning of his miracles, "he saved
them for his name's sake."
Note, again, they were a very ungrateful people, and yet he saved them.
He delivered them times without number, and worked for them mighty
miracles; but they still rebelled. Ah, that is like you, my hearer. You
have had many deliverances from the borders of the grave; God has given
you house and food day after day, and provided for you, and kept you to
this hour; but how ungrateful you have been! As Isaiah said, "The ox
knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but my people doth
not know, Israel doth not consider." How many there are of this
character, who have favors from God, the history of which they could
not give in a year; but yet what have they ever done for him? They
would not keep a horse that did not work for them, nor as much as a dog
that would not notice them. But here is God; he has kept them day by
day, and they have done a great deal against him, but they have done
nothing for him. He has put the bread into their very mouths, nurtured
them, and sustained their strength, and they have spent their strength
in defying him, in cursing his name and breaking his Sabbath.
"Nevertheless he saved them." Some of this sort have been saved. I hope
I have some here now who will be saved by conquering grace, made new
men by the mighty power of God's Spirit. "Nevertheless he saved them."
When there was nothing to recommend them, but every reason why they
should be cast away for their ingratitude, "Nevertheless he saved
them."
And note, once more, they were a provoking people–"They provoked him
at the sea, even at the Red Sea." Ah! how many people there are in this
world that are a provoking people to God! If God were like man, who
among us would be here to-day? If we are provoked once or twice, up
goes the hand. With some men their passion stirs at the very first
offence; others, who are somewhat more placid will bear offence after
offence, till at last they say, "there is an end to everything, and I
can bear that no longer; you must stay it, or else I must stay you!"
Ah! if God had that temper, where should we be? Well might he say, "My
thoughts are not as your thoughts; I am God, I change not, or else ye
sons of Jacob had been consumed." They were a provoking people,
"nevertheless he saved them." Have you provoked him? Take heart, if you
repent, God has promised to save you; and what is more, he may this
morning give you repentance, and even give you remission of sins, for
he saves provoking people for his name's sake. I hear one of my hearers
say,–"Well, sir, that is encouraging sin with a vengeance!" Is it,
indeed, sir! Why? "Because you are talking to the very worst of men,
and you are saying that they may yet be saved." Pray, sirs, when I
spoke to the worst of men, did I speak to you or not? You say, "No; I
am one of the most respectable and best of men." Well then, sir, I have
no need to preach to you, for you think you do not need mercy. "The
whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick." But these
poor people, whom you say I am encouraging in sin, need to be spoken
to. I will leave you. Good morning to you! You keep to your own gospel,
and I wonder whether you will find your way to heaven by it. Nay, I do
not wonder, I know you will not, unless you are brought as a poor
sinner to take Christ at his word, and be saved for his name's sake.
But I say farewell to you, and I will keep on in my course. But why did
you say I encourage men in sin? I encourage them to turn from it. I did
not say he saved the provoking people, and then let them still provoke
him as they had done before; I did not say he saved the wicked people,
and then let them sin as they did before. But you know the meaning of
the word "saved;" I explained it the other morning. The word "saved"
does not mean merely taking men to heaven; it means more–it means
saving them from their sin; it means giving them a new heart, new
spirits, new lives; it means making them into new men. Is there
anything licentious in saying that Christ takes the worst of men to
make them into saints? If there be, I cannot see it. I only wish he
would take the worst of this congregation and make them into the saints
of the living God, and then there would be far less licentiousness.
Sinner, I comfort thee; not in thy sin, but in thy repentance. Sinner,
the saints of heaven were once as bad as thou hast been. Art thou a
drunkard, a swearer, an unclean person? "Such were some of them; but
they have been washed–but they have been sanctified." Is thy robe
black? Ask them whether their robes were ever black, they would not
have wanted washing, "We have washed our robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb." Then sinner, if they were black, and were
saved, why not thyself?
"Are not his mercies rich and free?
Then say, my soul, why not for thee?
Our Jesus died upon the tree,
Then why, my soul, why not for thee?"
Take heart, penitents, God will have mercy on you. "Nevertheless, he
saved them for his name's sake."
III. Now we come to the third point–THE REASON OF SALVATION: "He saved
them for his name's sake." There is no other reason why God should save
a man, but for his name's sake; there is nothing in a sinner which can
entitle him to salvation, or recommend him to mercy; it must be God's
own heart which must dictate the motive why men are to be saved. One
person says, "God will save me, because I am so upright." Sir, he will
do no such thing. Says another, "God will save me because I am so
talented." Sir, he will not. Your talent! Why thou drivelling,
self-conceited idiot, thy talent is nothing compared with that of the
angel that once stood before the throne, and sinned, and who now is
cast into the bottomless pit for ever! If he would save men for their
talent, he would have saved Satan; for he had talents enough. As for
thy morality and goodness, it is but filthy rags, and he will never
save thee for aught thou doest. None of us would ever be saved, if God
expected anything of us: we must be saved purely and solely for reasons
connected with himself, and lying in his own bosom. Blessed be his
name, he saves us for "his name's sake." What does that mean? I think
it means this: the name of God is his person, his attributes, and his
nature. For his nature's sake, for his very attribute's sake, he saved
men; and, perhaps, we may include this also, "My name is in him"–that
is, in Christ; he saves us for the sake of Christ, who is the name of
God. And what does that mean? I think it means this:
He saved them, first, that he might manifest his nature. God was all
love, and he wanted to manifest it; he did show it when he made the
sun, the moon, and the stars, and scattered flowers o'er the green and
laughing earth. He did show his love when he made the air balmy to the
body, and the sunshine cheering to the eye. He gives us warmth even in
winter, by the clothing and by the fuel which he has stored in the
bowels of the earth; but he wanted to reveal himself still more. "How
can I show them that I love them with all my infinite heart? I will
give my Son to die to save the very worst of them, and so I will
manifest my nature." And God has done it, he has manifested his power,
his justice, his love, his faithfulness, and his truth; he has
manifested his whole self on the great platform of salvation. It was,
so to speak, the balcony on which God stepped to show himself to
man–the balcony of salvation–here it is he manifests himself, by
saving men's souls.
He did it, again, to vindicate his name. Some say God is cruel; they
wickedly call him tyrant. "Ah!" says God, "but I will save the worst of
sinners, and vindicate my name; I will blot out the stigma; I will
remove the slur: they shall not be able to say that, unless they be
filthy liars, for I will be abundantly merciful. I will take away this
stain, and they shall see that my great name is a name of love." And
said he, again, "I will do this for my name's sake; that is, to make
these people love my name; but if I take the worst of men, oh, how they
will love me! If I go and take some of the offscouring of the earth,
and make them my children, oh, how they will love me! Then they will
cleave to my name; they will think it more sweet than music; it will be
more precious to them than the spikenard of the Eastern merchants; they
will value it as gold, yea, as much fine gold. The man who loves me
best, is the man who has most sins forgiven: he owes much, therefore he
will love much." This is the reason why God often selects the worst of
men to make them his. Saith an old writer, "All the carvings of heaven
were made out of knots; the temple of God, the king of heaven, is a
cedar one, but the cedars were all knotty trees before he cut them
down." He chose the worst, that he might display his workmanship and
his skill, to make unto himself a name; as it is written, "It shall be
unto me for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."
Now, dear hearers, of whatever class you are, here is something I have
to offer well worthy of your consideration, namely–that if saved, we
are saved for the sake of God, for his name's sake, and not for our
own.
Now this puts all men on a level with regard to salvation. Suppose that
in coming into this garden, the rule had been that every one should
have made mention of my name as the key of admittance; the law is, that
no man is to be admitted for his rank or title, but only by the use of
a certain name. Up comes a lord; he makes use of the name and comes in;
up comes a beggar, all in patches; he makes use of the name–the law
says it is only the use of the name that will admit you–he makes use
of it and he enters, for there is no distinction. So, my lady, if you
come, with all your morality, you must make use of His name: if you
come, poor filthy inhabitant of a cellar or a garret, and make use of
His name, the doors will fly wide open, for there is salvation for
every one who makes mention of the name of Christ, and for none other.
This pulls down the pride of the moralist, abases the self exaltation
of the self righteous, and puts us all, as guilty sinners, on an equal
footing before God, to receive mercy at his hands, "For his name's
sake," and for that reason alone.
IV. I have detained you too long; let me close by noticing the
OBSTACLES REMOVED in the word "nevertheless." I shall do that in
somewhat of an interesting form, by way of parable.
Once on a time, Mercy sat upon her snow-white throne, surrounded by the
troops of love. A sinner was brought before her, whom Mercy designed to
save. The herald blew the trumpet, and after three blasts thereof, with
a loud voice, he said–"O heaven and earth, and hell, I summon you this
day to come before the throne of Mercy, to tell why this sinner should
not be saved." There stood the sinner, trembling with fear; he knew
that there were multitudes of opponents, who would press into the hall
of Mercy, and with eyes full of wrath would say, "He must not, and he
shall not escape, he must be lost!" The trumpet was blown, and Mercy
sat placidly on her throne, until there stepped in one with a fiery
countenance; his head was covered with light; he spoke with a voice
like thunder, and out of his eyes flashed lightning! "Who art thou?"
said Mercy. He replied, "I am Law; the law of God." "And what hast thou
to say?" "I have this to say," and he lifted up a stony tablet, written
on both sides; "these ten commands this wretch has broken. My demand is
blood; for it is written, The soul that sinneth it shall die.' Die he,
or justice must." The wretch trembles, his knees knock together, the
marrow of his bones melts within him, as if they were ice dissolved by
fire, and he shakes with very fright. Already he thought he saw the
thunderbolt launched at him, he saw the lightning penetrate into his
soul, hell yawned before him in imagination, and he thought himself
cast away for ever. But Mercy smiled, and said, "Law, I will answer
thee. This wretch deserves to die; justice demands that he should
perish–I award thee thy claim." And oh! how the sinner trembles. "But
there is one yonder who has come with me to-day, my king, my Lord; his
name is Jesus; he will tell you how the debt can be paid, and the
sinner can go free." Then Jesus spake, and said, "O Mercy, I will do
thy bidding. Take me Law; put me in a garden; make me sweat drops of
blood; then nail me to a tree; scourge my back before you put me to
death; hang me on the cross; let blood run from my hands and feet; let
me descend into the grave; let me pay all the sinner oweth; I will die
in his stead." And the Law went out and scourged the Saviour, nailed
him to the cross, and coming back with his face all bright with
satisfaction, stood again at the throne of Mercy, and Mercy said, "Law,
what hast thou now to say?" "Nothing," said he, "fair angel, nothing."
"What! not one of these commands against him?" "No, not one. Jesus, his
substitute, has kept them all–has paid the penalty for his
disobedience; and now, instead of his condemnation, I demand as a debt
of justice that he be acquitted." "Stand thou here," said Mercy, "sit
on my throne; I and thou together will now send forth another summons."
The trumpet rang again. "Come hither, all ye who have aught to say
against this sinner, why he should not be acquitted;" and up comes
another–one who often troubled the sinner, one who had a voice not so
loud as that of the Law, but still piercing and thrilling–a voice
whose whispers were like the cuttings of a dagger. "Who art thou?" says
Mercy. "I am Conscience; this sinner must be punished; he has done so
much against the law of God that he must be punished; I demand it; and
I will give him no rest till he is punished, nor even then, for I will
follow him even to the grave, and persecute him after death with pangs
unutterable." "Nay," said Mercy, "hear me," and while he paused for a
moment, she took a bunch of hyssop and sprinkled Conscience with the
blood, saying, "Hear me, Conscience, The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin;' Now hast thou ought to say,?" "No,"
said Conscience, "nothing."
'Covered is his unrighteousness;
From condemnation he is free.'
Henceforth I will not grieve him; I will be a good conscience unto him,
through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ." The trumpet rang a third
time, and growling from the innermost vaults, up there came a grim
black fiend, with hate in his eyes, and hellish majesty on his brows.
He is asked, "Hast thou anything against that sinner?" "Yes," said he,
"I have; he has made a league with hell, and a covenant with the grave,
and here it is signed with his own hand. He asked God to destroy his
soul in a drunken fit, and vowed he would never turn to God; see, here
is his covenant with hell!" "Let us look at it," said Mercy; and it was
handed up, whilst the grim fiend looked at the sinner, and pierced him
through with his black looks. "Ah! but," said Mercy, "this man had no
right to sign the deed; a man must not sign away another's property.
This man was bought and paid for long beforehand; he is not his own;
the covenant with death is disannulled, and the league with hell is
rent in pieces. Go thy way Satan," "Nay," said he, howling again, "I
have something else to say: that man was always my friend; he listened
ever to my insinuations; he scoffed at the gospel; he scorned the
majesty of heaven; is he to be pardoned, whilst I repair to my hellish
den, for ever to bear the penalty of guilt?" Said Mercy, "Avaunt, thou
fiend; these things he did in the days of his unregeneracy; but this
word nevertheless' blots them out. Go thou to thy hell; take this for
another lash upon thyself–the sinner shall be pardoned, but
thou–never, treacherous fiend!" And then Mercy, smilingly turning to
the sinner, said, "Sinner, the trumpet must be blown for the last
time!" Again it was blown, and no one answered. Then stood the sinner
up, and Mercy said, "Sinner ask thyself the question–ask thou of
heaven, of earth, of hell–whether any can condemn thee?" And the
sinner stood up, and with a bold loud voice said, "Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect?" And he looked into hell, and
Satan lay there, biting his iron bonds; and he looked on earth, and
earth was silent; and in the majesty of faith the sinner did even climb
to heaven itself, and he said, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of
God's elect? God?' And the answer came, "No; he justifieth." "Christ?"
Sweetly it was whispered, "No; he died." Then turning round, the sinner
joyfully exclaimed, "Who shall separate me from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And the once condemned sinner came back
to Mercy; prostrate at her feet he lay, and vowed henceforth to be hers
for ever, if she would keep him to the end, and make him what she would
desire him to be. Then no longer did the trumpet ring, but angels
rejoiced, and heaven was glad, for the sinner was saved.
Thus, you see, I have what is called, dramatized the thing; but I don't
care what it is called; it is a way of arresting the ear, when nothing
else will. "Nevertheless;" there is the obstruction taken away! Sinner,
whatever be the "nevertheless," it shall never the less abate the
Saviour's love; not the less shall it ever make it, but it shall remain
the same.
"Come, guilty soul, and flee away
To Christ and heal thy wounds;
This is the glorious gospel-day,
Wherein free grace abounds.
Come to Jesus, sinner, come."
On thy knee weep out a sorrowful confession; look to his cross, and see
the substitute; believe, and live. Ye almost demons, ye that have gone
farthest in sin, now, Jesus says, "If you know your need of me, turn
unto me, and I will have mercy upon you: and to our God, for he will
abundantly pardon."