Despair Denounced and Grace Glorified

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, AUGUST 27, 1882,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we
are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus
says the Lord God, Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and
cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of
Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your
graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves." Ezekiel
37:11,12,13.

I HAVE read to you the vision of the resurrection of the dry bones.
Keep it in your minds, that you may understand the text. The figure is
a very apt, instructive and impressive one. It is not, however, a mere
figure–it is a parable based upon a remarkable representation of the
resurrection of the dead. Although the children of Israel, at that
time, knew little enough concerning the resurrection, yet the Lord, the
Holy Spirit, knew all about it and He used it as a striking picture of
the salvation of Israel from that national death which had come upon
them. We may, with equal accuracy, see in it, a vivid representation of
the work of Grace upon the hearts of all those who are quickened into
spiritual life by the power of Divine Grace. Men, by nature, are dead
in sin till they hear the voice of God and feel the quickening breath
of the Spirit–and are made to live according to that Word of God–"He
that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and
whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."

Such a metaphor as this before us, drops with teaching as a honeycomb
with honey, and it will be our own fault if we are not taught by it!
The salvation of men by the Grace and power of God is as great a wonder
as the general resurrection. The putting of spiritual life into a
natural man is a marvel of marvels and should excite as much wonder as
the raising of Lazarus, or of Jairus' daughter, or of the young man at
the gates of Nain. Even the rising up of the dead at the last trumpet
is not a greater prodigy than the bringing of dead hearts unto the life
of God! I shall not, however, detain you by fuller observations upon
spiritual resurrection, for I have work to do of another kind upon
which we will spend the bulk of our time and the whole of our energies.

If you thoughtfully consider the text, you will see that it divides
itself thus–first, there is a true word–"Behold, they say, our bones
are dried." Secondly, there is, in it, an evil word which goes beyond
the Truth of God–"Our hope is lost." God is the sinner's hope and He
is not lost, so that the word of despair is not warranted. Thirdly,
there is a gracious word, a word of mighty love–"Thus says the Lord
God, Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to
come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And
you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My
people, and brought you up out of your graves."

I. Let us begin with that solemn confession which I have styled A TRUE
WORD–"They say, our bones are dried." It matters not how badly men
speak of themselves, for what they say of themselves is never worse
than the truth. I have never heard of any sinner who, too much,
depreciated his own righteousness! It is not possible to repent too
much, nor to have too lowly an estimate of one's deserving or of one's
spiritual power. It is a grievous fault when mourners depreciate the
power and fullness of God's Grace and when despondency casts a doubt
upon the possibility of their salvation. But while the depreciation is
confined to themselves, it is not possible to push it too far, or to
exaggerate the evils of an unre-generate condition.

The sinner's natural estate is as deplorable as words can describe. He
is, in fact, much worse than he thinks he is, even when he is most
bowed down under a sense of his guilt and danger. I believe that Luther
was quite right when he said that if a man could see his own sin as it
really is, he would lose his reason. The condition into which we have
fallen by our

transgressions is terrible to the last degree. Observe, first, that
they describe themselves as dead, as dried and as divided. They speak
of themselves as dead–a man does not imagine his bones to be scattered
about on the plain while he thinks himself to be alive! These people
spoke of their bones and, therefore, were conceived they were dead. And
so the sinner may, without exaggeration, conceive of himself as devoid
of spiritual life. He knows not the life of God, for he is dead in
trespasses and sins.

The Apostle speaks of the unregenerate as "alienated from the life of
God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of
their heart." And again we read, "They are corrupt, they have done
abominable works, there is none that does good." When men are corrupt,
they have gone a stage beyond death and are receiving the full harvest
of sin. As it is written, "He that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh
reap corruption." Alas, Sinner, you are as one that is dead, only your
condition is far worse, for your responsibility and your guilt remain
and your death to righteousness is blameworthy and will bring
punishment upon you!

They were divided, too. These Israelites were scattered abroad in every
place and, perhaps you, dear Friend, feel that, as Hosea says, your
heart is divided and you are found wanting. You cannot get your
thoughts together; you cannot concentrate your affections; you are "as
when one cuts and cleaves wood upon the earth"–a broken, shivered
thing! You cannot rally your mind to confidence in God. Your mind is
dead to that which is good and your heart is divided by a thousand
delusive devices.

Perhaps you go further with the figure and seem to be dried, sapless,
useless, hopeless. A bone is dried when every particle of marrow is
gone out of it; when it looks as if it never could have been covered
with flesh, or have been part of a living body. Are you lamenting
because you seem to be devoid of spiritual hunger, desire, or regret?
Do you mourn that you cannot feel, cannot will, cannot repent, cannot
love, cannot even fear? Do you groan because you cannot find in
yourself anything which is good or looks that way? Do you ever groan
out that mournful song–

"Your saints are comforted, I know,

And love Your house of prayer!

I sometimes go where others go,

But find no comfort there.

I hear, but seem to hear in vain,

Insensible as steel!

If anything is felt, 'tis only pain

To find I cannot feel.

My best desires are faint and few,

I gladly would strive for more!

But, when I cry, 'My strength renew,'

Seem weaker than before."

Truly, you are as a dried bone that has long been bleaching in the
sun–out of which all trace of life and feeling and power has departed!

This is a very sad description of a man's soul and yet, how many of us
have had to subscribe to it for ourselves? It is just what we felt
ourselves to be while we were without God and without hope! And yet,
the Spirit of God was convicting us of our guilt. Further, these bones
could, by no means, raise themselves. We never heard of such a thing as
a dead man restoring himself to life, though he is but newly buried, if
he is, indeed, dead–he cannot lift a hand towards his own reviving.
These bones were without trace of life. The flesh was gone, devoured by
kites and jackals, or rotted and scattered in impalpable powder to the
four winds of Heaven. How could these carcasses raise themselves? There
was no trace of moisture left upon them! They could not give themselves
life or motion–it were a fool's hope to look for such a thing!

Is that the dreary fact which forces itself upon you? Do not try to
forget it. You are discovering the truth! You are already in a lost
condition if you have not believed in Jesus Christ. You are not, as
some vainly say, in a state of probation–your probation is over and
you are already condemned because you have not believed on the Son of
God! In you there is no spiritual power to stir towards God until His
Spirit moves towards you. You will remain cast out in the open valley
unless God's Grace shall come to you and unless His Spirit shall put
breath into you. For you to be saved will be as much out of the common
course of Nature as any other miracle–and in it you will have no
finger so as to be able to

boast–for the Lord, alone, must save you, or you are lost forever! It
is a terrible word for a man to say, but it is the truth, and nothing
more than the truth, that he is ruined by sin and "without strength" to
repair the damage.

There seemed to be, before these bones, no prospect but the fire. When
they that cleansed the valley came along and found these bones, they
would gather them up as offensive objects and cast them into the fire
of Tophet to be consumed. This is the only lot that remains unto dry
bones and the same awaits those who are spiritually like they are. Has
the Holy Spirit been dealing with any of you till you feel as if there
were nothing for you but a certain judgment and fiery indignation? Do
you begin to feel, in your own conscience, the first burning of the
fire which never shall be quenched? Ah, whatever may be your gloomy
apprehensions, they are none too gloomy!

It is a fearful thing to have sinned! It is an awful thing to be called
to judgment! And it is a more terrible thing, still, to be under that
judgment, now, and only to be waiting until that sentence shall be
carried out, "Depart, you cursed, into everlasting fire." Oh, if you
cannot sleep at night and if all enjoyment of earthly comforts seems to
be taken away from you. If you begin to sting yourself and make your
own life wretched, I shall not wonder at it! It is amazing that a man
can live and be quiet, and yet be under the wrath of God! It is a
strange thing that he can walk this earth with a smile upon his face
while yet his sin is unforgiven and the sword of the Lord is furbished
to work his destruction! Oh, that the sinner knew the jeopardy under
which he lives and the frail barrier that divides him from eternal
misery! Does he not know that if his breathing should cease, he is gone
to the place where hope is a stranger? I say, if a man mourns and sighs
over his terrible future so that a dreadful sound is in his ears, he
only frets reasonably and his fears are based on solemn truth!

Moreover, these people felt that they were cut off from healing
agencies. They say, "We are cut off for our parts." That is, each bone
is cut off from its fellow and the whole thing is cut off as to its
parts from every hope and comfort. These banished Israelites were cut
off from the land of Canaan; cut off from the Temple; cut off from the
priesthood; cut off from the sacrifices–cut off from all hope of
approaching God. Many poor souls have been made to feel as if they,
too, were cut off. Their Sabbaths are no rest to them; the House of
Prayer brings no delight; the preaching of the Gospel yields no
consolation. They turn to their Bibles and every page seems to flash a
threat, while no gentle shower of mercy drops from above! They fall on
their knees, but even prayer seems to be a hollow mockery! They cannot
pray as they would. They associate with godly friends, but they gain
nothing by their fellowship. Go where they may, they think themselves
like a dry bone which meets its fellow dry bone and is none the nearer
to eternal life for such dreary communion. The man is a nuisance to
himself and his very existence is a weariness.

Ah, you think, perhaps, I am describing an extreme case, but I know
that I am picturing some whose eyes are looking upon me at this moment!
Happy they who have been delivered from this wretched state! I had
almost said, happy they who are experiencing it, for those who feel
their sinfulness are on the road to better things! Brothers and
Sisters, I hope your extremity will be God's opportunity. When your
bones are dried, then will God come in as the Resurrection and the Life
and make these dry bones live! When you appear to be beyond the
possibility of mercy, then God, with whom all things are possible, will
deal with you in a way of extraordinary Grace and cause you to rejoice
in His salvation!

It seemed to these poor people as if they were quite given over, for
when bones are cast out in the field and left to be bleached by the
wind and the sun; when nobody gives them burial, but there they lie,
the refuse of the charnel house, then they are, according to all
likelihood, left for destruction. I have heard of persons who have felt
in their spirit as if they were forever banished from the Light of God.
They have cried, "Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger
shut up His tender mercies? Is the Throne of Grace closed against the
mourner? Will nothing avail? Will not cries and tears bring an answer?"

By such downcast ones a whisper has been heard inwardly saying, "There
is no mercy for you–you are cast out as reprobate silver." It is the
whisper of Satan in the spirit and it comes with piercing power! The
devil often uses the conscience to be the hack on which he rides in his
errands of torment. Yet there is a measure of truth in the insinuation.
Apart from Christ, we are cast off! Apart from Christ, God cannot look
upon us except in anger! Apart from the atoning blood, our sins protest
against the entrance of mercy and there we lie–self-condemned and
helpless–abandoned in our own judgment to swift and sure condemnation!
Here, then, is language full of misery and yet sadly true. We are sold
under sin by nature and led captive by the devil–driven by our
iniquities to endless misery from which ignorance and wickedness will
not permit us to escape.

II. I now turn to that point upon which I desire to struggle with some
of you this morning, that you may be fetched up by the Spirit's power
from the depths of despondency. Here is AN EVIL WORD in the text–"Our
hope is lost." It is a good thing if our false hopes are lost, but true
hope is still to be had. Hope is not denied to any man–if he will
believe in Jesus, he may yet be saved. They said of old in the Latin,
Dum spiro spero, while I breathe, I hope. And I turn the proverb over
and say, Dum spero spiro–while I hope, I breathe! To render the
sentences rather freely will suit me well–"While I live, I hope, and
while I hope, I live."

Sinner, your life lies in hope and while you have hope, you have life!
To despair is an unwarrantable thing–a thing full of sin and fraught
with mischief–besides being false and unreasonable. Despair, which is
the mind's declaration that there is no hope, is not so much a sickness
of the understanding as a sin of the soul. It is a crime against the
Truth of God; a high offense against the Lord of Love. God is, "the God
of Hope," and those who are without hope are also without God! No
mortal has a just pretense to perish in despair and if he does so,
despair is a form of suicide, a form of willful self-destruction. No
man has a right to despair! No man can be right while he is despairing.

Let me just speak about this and keep to the point. Despair is a high
insult to God. It casts dishonor upon His chief attributes. In the
first place, it is most derogatory to the Truth of God. If a man says,
"I cannot be saved," he contradicts the Divine command, "Look unto Me,
and be you saved." God has sent the Gospel to men and it is no other
than good news to them, but despair virtually says it is no Gospel, it
is no good news! God has set up a Throne of Grace and promises to meet
there with the sinner, but this man claims that there is no Throne of
Grace, for he denies that there can be any Grace for him. He refuses to
come to the loving Father because he feels sure that He will show no
mercy, though He has declared that He will do so!

God has given a thousand precious promises, such as this–"Though your
sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are
red like crimson, they shall be as wool." The despairing sinner says he
does not believe this–his sin is too scarlet to be made white–the
crimson of his guilt is too ingrained ever to be washed away. Thus he
calls God's promises, lies, and this is a daring thing to do. "He that
believes not God has made Him a liar because he believes not the record
that God gave of His Son." It would be an exceedingly heinous offense
for me to stand up and say to the Great Physician, "You say, 'I can
heal you,' but it is an empty boast–my wound is incurable! Great God,
you say, 'I can forgive you,' but it is lie–my sins are such as You
can never pass by."

Mark, Brothers and Sisters, the Lord our God is very jealous of His
truthfulness. His name is, "God That Cannot Lie," and he that dares to
say that He will break His promise has done Him sore despite. I need
not, surely, show the infamy of this crime! Let your own hearts condemn
the treasonable thought! He that despairs, insults God's power. He
does, in effect, tell the Lord that He pretends to a power which He
does not possess. God says, "He that believes and is baptized shall be
saved"–the man says he will not trust in Christ, for he does not
believe that God can save him! He declares that he has gone beyond the
bounds of mercy and so he tells the ever Gracious One that He has no
power to save him. The Lord loves not that His Omnipotence should be
thus denied. He is grieved with those who thus limit the Holy One of
Israel. They that would restrain His power shut out one of the
brightest beams of His Glory.

And despair abundantly casts dishonor upon God's mercy. Know you not
that His mercy endures forever? "The Lord God merciful and gracious" is
one of the ways of His manifestation. Has He not told us that He
"delights in mercy"? Yet, if you say, "He will not have mercy upon me,
I have out-sinned His Grace. I have gone beyond all possibility of
forgiveness," you do, as much as lies in your power, spit in the face
of the God of Love! Have you ever thought of this? Grieve to think that
you have ever grieved Him in this fashion! This is the cruelest of
sins–it aims its dagger at the heart of the Lord–it pierces the
Redeemer's hands and feet! The Lord glories in His power to save and He
has plainly declared that He will save all those who confess their sins
and put their trust in Him–and do we doubt Him? Dare we so derogate
from the Glory of the Most High as to say that there remains no hope of
Grace for us? Shame on such insulting falsehood!

Mark you, while it does this, which is bad enough, despair brings out
the devil and crowns him in Christ's stead! Despair says to Satan, "You
are victorious over the mercy of God! You have conquered Christ
Himself." Christ says that He is revealed that He may destroy the works
of the devil and you stand up and say, "Here are certain of the devil's
works which Jesus cannot destroy, namely, my sin and my sinful
inclinations." You wave the flag of the devil in the face of an
insulted Savior and, whereas He is able to save to the uttermost them
that come unto God by Him, you, in fact, tell Him

that He has not half the power to save that Satan has to destroy–that
Satan can be more successful in destruction than Christ can be
effectual in saving!

What? Have you, again, chosen Barabbas and given up Jesus? And is
Barabbas, in this case, the fiend of Hell? Will you believe him and not
believe God? Can you assert that he, the father of lies, is more worthy
of belief than the Christ who died that men might live? Yet despair
says as much as this and says it in the most offensive manner! It
prefers Beelzebub to Jesus, for it believes the lie of Hell and rejects
the Word of God from Heaven! I go a little further and I say, with a
deep feeling of solemnity, that this heinous sin of despair tramples on
the blood of Christ. Christ has died and shed His blood–and we know
that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. We have God's
Word for it, yet here is a man who says, "It cannot cleanse me from my
sin."

If we look deep into the essence of actions, we shall see that despair
despises the Atonement and denies its efficacy. We tell the man that
there is forgiveness, but he mutters, "It is not for me." We tell him
that Jesus Christ has emptied His veins to fill a sin-cleansing
fountain and he answers, "It may be true. He may be able to save all
others, but not me." Now, what you have a right to say, other people
may also say. And if all united with you, it would be tantamount to
declaring that the Crucifixion is an empty show; that the Redeemer's
Atonement is a mere pretense and that Christ is powerless to save! You
reduce the Savior to an impotent pretender–and can this be done with
impunity? We preach in vain if this is so! We preach a Savior who
cannot save, an Atonement which cannot cleanse! Will not God deal with
you for this, if you persist in this provocation?

Perhaps you think it is very humble of you to talk so, but it is
not–it is the height of arrogant impudence! Despair is highly
insulting to the dear Redeemer, the Glory of whose Person is involved
in His power to forgive. Remember, Judas who despaired was damned,
while the men who crucified Christ were led by Peter's sermon to
believe and live. Great sinners who believe shall find mercy, but far
less offenders who despair shall find misery. God save you, then, from
the Judas sin of despairing and enable you to believe in Jesus Christ
at once! I must go a step further. Despair has something in it of
sinning against the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit brings you rich
cordials in the promises of God which will raise your spirits and will
restore you from death.

And what do you do with them? You take them and dash them against the
wall, as if this almighty medicine, devised by Infinite Wisdom, were
the deceitful nostrum of a quack and you could not receive it! It seems
to me a great and horrible offense to deny the testimony of the Spirit
of God, even of Him who gives to the Holy Scriptures inspiration and
cer-tainty–and this you do when you refuse to believe for eternal
life! Jesus has put it before you, Himself, "Him that comes to Me I
will in no wise cast out." How can you think that He will cast you out?
The Prophet cries, "Ho, everyone that thirsts, come you to the waters,
and he that has no money, come buy wine and milk without money and
without price." But Despair answers, "There is no wine and no milk for
me," and it denies that Grace is to be had without price.

In the teeth of Scripture, it declares that there is no pardon, no
mercy, no salvation–thus it denies the witness of the Spirit of God!
Oh, take heed, despairing one, lest it be said to you, "You have not
given the lie unto men, but unto God." It is a master sin, this sin of
despair! God save you from it if you are in danger of falling into it,
or if you are already its prisoner! When a man gives way to despair,
there comes upon him, usually, a habit of wrangling against God and His
Truth. Oh, see him at it! He is very low and he comes to see the
minister. And the minister's compassionate soul would comfort him in a
moment if it were possible and, therefore, he begins to talk to him
about the Gospel.

"But," says the other, and he introduces a tough question which throws
the Gospel out of sight. "Oh," says the minister, "but God hears
prayer." "No, no," says the man, and he begins quarrelling about prayer
and its disagreement with Divine decrees and so forth. The man snarls
like a dog, not to keep his bone, but as if he begged to have good food
taken away from him. He does not want it. His soul abhors all manner of
meat. The minister sets before him a precious promise which he thinks
will certainly meet his case, but the perverse mind strives against it
and fights with the promise as if it were his worst enemy! It is not a
promise that suits his case at all–there is a word in it which he does
not understand– and off he goes on a tangent, beclouding the Word of
God and eclipsing its light–so that he may, if possible, keep himself
from being comforted!

If God's people come and try to cheer him with their experience, he
fights against their experience tooth and nail! It may be theirs, but
it never can be his–there is something particular and peculiar about
them–why they should have mercy. And there is something equally
particular and special about him as to why he should not have mercy. He
has the

key of the door of hope, locks it on the inside and then murmurs, "I am
shut up and cannot come forth." Whereas he fastens the door, himself!
Sometimes the despairing one gets into such a nasty, ugly temper
against everything that comes to him from the Bible and from the
ministers of God, that you begin to think that he must be half mad. So,
perhaps, he is, but it is not a madness that saves him from
responsibility–it is a madness which will be laid to his charge in the
great day of account because it is self-inflicted and willfully
persisted in! Oh, what a wrangling, contentious spirit will despair
breed, so contrary to receiving the kingdom of Heaven as a little
child!

Worse than this, despair makes a man ready for any sin, for there are
many that say, "I can never go to Heaven, therefore I will take a good
swing, here, and get what pleasure I can while it is within reach."
Have I not heard them say, if not in words, yet in their
actions–"There is no mercy for me and I may as well be hanged for a
sheep as for a lamb. I will go the whole hog, now I am at it! I will,
at least, know the heights and depths of sin, as there is no chance of
mercy for me"? Ah, and when Satan takes a man in another temper, he
tells him that God will never forgive him–and the poor creature sits
down in sullen rebellion, murmurs, thinks hard things of God, wishes he
had never been born–and curses the day in which it was said that a man
child had seen the light! Then he will be filled with blasphemous
thoughts and it may even come to pass that he rushes into
self-destruction and takes a leap into sure perdition! How many have
been driven by despair to the knife and to the halter, or to a watery
grave, I cannot tell! But this I know, that if Satan can once fill a
man's mind with that, and make him say that God is not true, that the
Gospel is not true, or at least not true to him, then the enemy glories
and cries, "I have him, body and soul! I can do anything with him,
now."

It was said of the Russian soldiers that they would not go to battle
till they were drunk with raki and, certainly, some men are champions
for the devil when they are drugged by despair of pardon. Captain
Past-Hope is a fierce leader of bandits and will do and dare the
blackest crimes. With all my might I cry to you–above all things shun
despair, never say your hope is lost! There is salvation for you yet!
God has not cast you away! Oh, do not cast away yourself! What are you
doing? The Lord has not given you over to the tormentors, but you are
writing your own sentence! You sit down and seem to think that you
cannot be happy till you are thoroughly unhappy and cannot be at rest
till you are driven from all peace!

I must still plead with you over this matter. Let me say, further,
despair degrades a man, degrades him below the brute beast, for brutes
do not despair. See how an insect will struggle, even when it is cut in
halve! Look at a poor bird– what hope it has, even in its worst state,
of yet escaping the fowler's net–still it flutters and does its best
to get away. Will you despair where ants and wasps and birds still
hope? Have you never seen a dog that had done something wrong and has
been beaten by its master? He tries to lick the hand that has beaten
him and he cannot be happy till he is forgiven! Poor creature, how it
looks up for a smile! You have been chastened, you are smarting under
it now, but you do not turn to God, nor seek His favor! You think worse
of God than your dog thinks of you! Instead of crouching to His feet,
as your poor dog does to you, to try and get a gracious word, you growl
at the great Lord–"It is of no use for me to be humble: there is no
hope." You slander the Almighty! You malign the name of Jesus Christ!
You deny the power of the Spirit of God and so you degrade yourself
below the beast that perishes!

Oh this despair–avoid it, I pray you, as you would avoid death,
itself, for it will render all means of Grace useless to you! If you
will not believe, neither shall you be established. If you fall into
despair, the songs of Zion will be dolorous ditties in your ears and
the preaching of the Gospel might as well be the preaching of the Law.
See how a despairing man shuts his ears, like the deaf adder that will
not hear, charm you ever so wisely! It matters not what the theme may
be–if it is infinite mercy, free forgiveness, or everlasting love–yet
as long as the soul is despairing, you do but make it the more
wretched. The hopeless hearer rejects all consolation, his soul refuses
to be comforted and his despair embitters every morsel he eats and
every drop he drinks.

Despair, too, is certainly vain and wicked because it has no Scripture,
whatever, to support it. "Oh," you say, "but there are many dark
Scriptures." I know there are, but I have not time, this morning, to
take them up, one by one, and show that they need not lead any man to
despair. But there is one text in the Bible which covers all texts, be
they black as they may. I do not mind what the passages of Scripture
are, nor what they testify–I am sure they speak the Truth of God and,
therefore, I know they cannot speak contrary to other parts of Divine
Revelation. Here is the famous text–"Him that comes to Me, I will in
no wise cast out." If you come to Christ, you cannot be cast out! "Oh,
but there is a text!" I do

not care about your text–you misunderstand your text! But there is no
misunderstanding this one–"Him that comes to Me, I will in no wise
east out."

"Oh, but He will cast me out because_." Stop now! Are you going to
contradict my Lord Jesus Christ? I cannot

have patience with you. You will greatly provoke the Father. "I will in
no wise cast out"–that means for no sort of reason, under no
circumstances, under no possible conditions will Christ ever cast out a
man that comes to Him! "Oh, but do listen to me." No, I shall not
listen to you and I wish you would not listen to yourself! You must
listen to me as I repeat the Lord's words–"Him that comes to Me, I
will in no wise cast out." You are not to be listened to when you want
to make out God to be false. Oh intolerable sin! Jesus says He will not
cast you out. Again He cries–"Come unto Me, all you that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Does Christ mean that, or not?
Look the Crucified One in the face–look at His wounds–and after
having looked at them, say, "I do not believe Him. Christ lies to me!"

Will you dare say it? Can you thus defame Him? I tell you, there is
nothing within the covers of this Book that ought to lead a man to have
any doubt about the infinite mercy of God to him, provided he will just
come and trust himself with Christ. There is no God at all if a soul
that trusts in Jesus can be cast away, for the essential of Godhead is
Truth. I am an atheist if the God in whom I have believed casts away
those that trust in His Son, Jesus! He must be true, if every man is
proven a liar! What do you say, then, to that blessed Word of God, "Him
that comes to Me, I will in no wise cast out"? Now, listen, you
desponding one on the border of desperation! Have you never heard of
the freeness of God's mercy? Do you not know that everything that He
bestows on sinners is given freely and graciously? The ground of God's
love is God's love and nothing in us.

When He made His eternal choice, there was a remnant according to the
election of Grace. It is Free Grace that chooses for its love and then
loves for its choice. When Christ redeemed us, He did it freely–He
freely delivered Himself up for us all. When He pardons sins, He is
"exalted on high to give repentance," and there is nothing freer than a
gift– "to give repentance and remission of sins." I tell you, the very
spirit of the Gospel is this, that there is no worthiness nor desert
needed in you in order to your immediate forgiveness and acceptance
with God! All you have to do is to admit to the truth that you have
sinned and deprived yourself of all claim upon God–and then believe
what God declares to you–that He is in Christ Jesus reconciling the
world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. Do but
accept this word of reconciliation and you are a saved man as sure as
you live! The moment you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the moment
you trust your soul wholly and entirely in those dear hands that were
pierced for you, you are a saved man!

What right have you to doubt that God can save you when everything is
prepared and given of free Grace? I tell you the Lord Jesus has saved
many others like you. Are you a harlot? Did He not save the harlot,
Rahab? Are you exceedingly wicked? You are not worse than Manasseh, who
is said to have cut Isaiah in halves with a saw and filled the streets
of Jerusalem with blood–and yet the Lord saved him! I know that even
though you are the worst that has ever lived, still, you cannot outrun
my Master's wing-footed Grace! Paul said he was the chief of sinners,
but he obtained mercy to be a pattern to you. Why talk, then, of
sullenly lying down in despair? You sigh–ah, if you mind not what you
are doing, what you say in your despair will come true through your own
making it so! If a man says, "I shall die, I shall die of starvation,"
and there is a dish before him, but he will not eat, I am afraid that
the probabilities are that he will die of starva-tion–and it will
serve him right.

If another person cries, "I shall die of thirst," and there is a cup of
drink before him and he will not put it to his mouth, I fear that he
will die of thirst–and, (I come to where I was before)–he will die a
suicide. He that refuses to eat and, therefore, dies, is as much a
suicide as if he stabbed himself in the heart. And he that will not
believe God's mercy and will not accept it in Christ, is a soul-suicide
as surely as if he plunged into debauchery and gave himself up to every
lust. Oh that God the Holy Spirit would overcome some of you, this
morning, who have yielded to this great and grievous sin!

III. We shall now close by meditating upon the Lord's promise which we
have styled A GRACIOUS WORD. I want you to notice this, poor troubled
hearts–I want you to suck in this part of the text even if you forget
all the rest. "Thus says the Lord God, Behold, O My people, I will open
your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves." Notice, God
meets us upon our own ground and takes us up where we are. They said,
"We are as dried bones." "Yes," says God, "and I will quicken you." But
the Lord even goes beyond anything which they have felt or said, for
they did not say they

were buried. No, they were as bones scattered in the open valley,
unburied–but the Lord knows they are worse than they think they
are–and so He goes further in mercy than they thought they had gone in
misery!

He says, "I will open your graves," and that looks as if they were
finally laid in the sepulcher. But the Lord adds, "and cause you to
come up out of your graves." Listen, Sinner, you have described
yourself in a very distressing manner, but God accepts it as true and
deals with you as being such as you describe, or even worse! He regards
men not only as dead, but as entombed–in as hopeless a case as corpses
pent up in the sepulcher and forgotten as dead men out of mind! O the
mercy of the Lord! There is no boundary to it!

Now, observe how the Word brings comfort by introducing another actor
upon the scene. You are like a dried bone, good for nothing, and able
for nothing. But the Lord comes in, Himself, and He says, "I will, I
will." Oh, that grand, "I will!" "I will open your graves, and cause
you to come up out of your graves." "I will." Now, listen. If God will
save you, cannot you be saved? If it is all of Grace from top to
bottom, cannot you be saved? If there is no merit needed of you; no
previous goodness to qualify you–cannot salvation come to you? If
Christ died for the ungodly, cannot you have a share in His death? If
He came into the world to save sinners, then why not you? If the Gospel
is not another shape of Law requiring something of us, but if it is all
free, free, free Sovereign Grace–why should not you have it as well as
I?

What should shut you out? If anything could have shut you out it could
have shut me out, for I am just the same as you are by nature, yet I
have obtained mercy, and why should not you? Come along and have it! It
is freely given to all who seek it, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.
But remember that God comforts us here by depicting the completeness of
His working. He does not merely say, "I will open your graves." That is
something, but if they are dead, what is the good of opening the
graves?

I have known careless ones drop into this place on a Sabbath as dead in
sin as dead could be and buried, too–you never would have thought that
they would listen to the Gospel! But there has crept into their ears
some such sweet Word of God as this–"He that believes in Him is not
condemned," and they have said, "Dear me, how sweet it is! How precious
that is." Glory be to God, the grave has begun to open! But they felt
they could not get hold of the Savior for themselves–and then the Lord
has opened their hand and closed it on the promise–and when they get
it, they will never give it up, but they have cried, "He loves me! He
loves me! I will risk my salvation on it–I will trust Him! I will
trust no one else." Thus the Holy Spirit has fetched them out of the
grave though they were dry bones before! He will do the same with you.
Oh that you may have Grace to believe what God says here!

Lastly, notice the feeling which is produced by it. "And you shall know
that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and
brought you up out of your graves." Ah, what a feeling a man has that
there is a God when God has saved him! When he begins to dance for very
joy of heart because he is fully forgiven, then he knows Jehovah is
God! When his heart feels restful and full of peace; when he can say,
"God is mine, Christ is mine, Heaven is mine," he does not need
evidences of the existence of God, or arguments to prove the power of
God! He carries a demonstration of the Truth of God within his own
heart and tells of it to others with tearful eyes. "Oh," he says,
"there is no mistake about it! There is a merciful God, for I have
obtained mercy! There is a refuge for sinners, for I have fled to it!
There is pardon, for I have obtained it! There is rest, for I enjoy it!
There is a Heaven, for I begin to hear its bells ringing in my

heart."

Then shall you know that God Jehovah is God, indeed, when He has opened
your graves and brought you out! O God, bless this poor word to the
troubled ones, for Jesus' sake! Amen.
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A Great Mistake and the Way to Rectify It