A Warrant for Your Apprehension

A Warrant for Your Apprehension

(No. 2235)

A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, DECEMBER 20, 1891,

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, APRIL
19, 1891.

"The word of the Lord is against you." Zephaniah 2:5.

The word of the Lord was against the land to which these words were
spoken. The whole verse reads, "Woe unto the inhabitants of the
seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is
against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy
you, that there shall be no inhabitant." This contest could have only
one end, for behind "the word of the Lord" was the Lord Himself. "Woe
unto him that strives with his Maker!" Who shall dare to oppose His
sovereign will? All forces are at His command and they are foolish,
indeed, who say to Him, "What are You doing?" I have not come here,
however, to speak to you simply about the land of the Philistines and
the sinners who dwelt there. The burden of my sermon is concerning men
and women who are now living and to whom I may truthfully say, "The
Word of the Lord is against you." May you wake up to see the truth of
this terrible sentence and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, be at once
moved to flee from the wrath to come!

The Philistines were one of the Canaanite nations and they were so
prominent that they gave their name to the whole country. Palestine was
the land of the Philistines. These people had a fine physical
development and among them were persons of unusual stature. There were
giants in their cities–Goliath of Gath is the one most familiar to us
because of his encounter with David–but there were many others. They
were, moreover, a very warlike race. When God brought His people out of
Egypt into the land of promise, the five lords of the Philistines were
to be destroyed and their cities were to be taken by the Israelites.
But they were not destroyed and neither were their cities captured, for
the Israelites had not faith enough and the Philistines were men of
courage and stubbornly defended their country. They even came to be the
oppressors of Israel and, becoming a great and powerful nation, held
the Hebrews in subjection for many a year. Even when Israel was strong
and brought Philistia under tribute, the Philistines constantly
revolted and harassed the Israelites. They were always against God and
against God's people–and though Jehovah waited long and patiently,
that they might have space for repentance, yet they repented not. When
this prophecy was given, their cup was full. They had so sinned against
God that, at last, the day of their doom came and the Prophet
Zephaniah, in the name of God, said to them, "The word of the Lord is
against you."

I do not know that anybody else was against them. They were a people
who feared nobody and, for many years, when they were attacked, first
by one and then by another, they held their own. They had
strongly-fenced cities, some of which stood, after the time of Christ,
even in the age of the Crusaders, so that they had no reason to fear
the other nations of the earth. They could maintain their rights
against all comers and it seemed as if they would never be moved. But
prosperity is often deceitful. Their fancied security was only like a
thin crust over a lava bed–and the volcano lay beneath ready to burst
forth at any moment.

They had one overwhelming cause for dread, though they knew it not.
They could conquer all nations, but a foe was marching upon them,
against which they would fight in vain. When the Prophet delivered the
message, "The word of the Lord is against you," he rang the knell of
their doom. What an adversary is this, "The word of the Lord"! This
enemy is more powerful than Egypt, or Assyria, or any of the tribes of
men on the face of the earth. It is more terrible, too, than the voice
of the storm. Many times the Lord had thus scattered those that opposed
themselves against Him–"The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and
the Highest gave His voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yes, He sent
out His arrows, and scattered them; and He shot out lightning and
discomfited them." Those who have the Word of the Lord against

them have an enemy to fear more dreadful than the most fearful
convulsion of Nature, more terrible than the simoom of the desert, the
sirocco of the plain, or the Euroclydon of the sea! The Prophet does
not attempt to show the Philistines by what instrumentality God would
break them in pieces, whether by plague, or famine, or pestilence, or
war. He simply says, "The word of the Lord is against you." That is
enough. He states the cause–the effects are sure to follow.

Today, as the result of the warfare mentioned in my text, Philistia is
swept away and its cities are destroyed. Gaza and Ekron, Ashdod and
Askelon have perished by the judgment of God. I have not time to give
you the evidence of travelers to prove that the prophecy against them
has been kept to the very letter. Where it seemed as if it had failed,
there has been only a more complete fulfillment of the sentence against
the Lord's enemies.

My main business at this time, is not, however, with the Philistines.
God's Word is against a good many other people besides them and I am
going to try to talk to some of them in words of solemn warning. My
message to many must be, "The Word of the Lord is against you." Oh,
that God may help me so to speak that your life may be changed and that
the Word of God may be against you no longer! Hearken, then, to this
word, you that are living in sin, you that are refusing the Savior, you
that are delaying the time of repentance, you that have backslidden,
you that are opposing the Gospel– "The Word of the Lord is against
you." I would like to get hold of some man who is in this terrible
condition of rebellion against God and hold him by the hand while I
speak to him, in a kind and friendly and fraternal way, this solemn
word of warning–"The Word of the Lord is against you."

First, I shall simply state the general fact, that it is so–the Word
of the Lord is really against many men and women. Secondly, I shall
endeavor to make it clear that if you are living with the Word of the
Lord against you, it is a very terrible thing. And, thirdly, if you are
awakened to see your danger, I shall try to set before you what can be
done in the matter.

I. First, concerning many people, my text is literally true, "the Word
of the Lord is against you." It is so. Just as surely and as
sorrowfully as we can say, today, that the law of England is against
some of the people in England, we can affirm that the Word of the Lord
is against many of the inhabitants of the earth. The Word of the Lord
will not, cannot change–and there it stands, bearing testimony against
many, who, in due time, unless they become partakers of the Grace of
the Lord Jesus, shall be overwhelmed and destroyed without remedy!

I am quite sure that "the Word of the Lord" is against some of you,
because you are against the Word of the Lord. There is war between you
and this wonderful Book. You do not enjoy the reading of it, no,
perhaps, you have even come to hate it! You oppose it–possibly you
even wish there were no Bible. Perhaps you have been drinking in
theories of Inspiration that make it to be practically no
Bible–deposing it from its rightful position as a full and
authoritative guide in all matters of faith and practice. If you do not
accept it as such, you are against it! If this is true of you, I fear
that it is because you do not understand the Bible. God's Word carries
within itself the evidence of its Truth. It teaches men who are not
encased in prejudice. It enlightens those who will open their eyes to
see. You cannot be against it unless you have a clear suspicion that it
is against you! The fact is, the Bible does not please you–it does not
let you sin with impunity–it presents to you a way of salvation that
does not pander to your pride, or flatter your intellect. Therefore,
you do not like the Book. "The Word of the Lord is against you." Now,
be you sure of this, that if you are against the Word of the Lord, it
is because the Word of the Lord is against you.

Again, I am sure that the Bible is against you, for you do not care to
read it. Your conscience will be with me when I urge this reason, for
many of you know well that you have a strange distaste for the Bible.
Can you tell me why, in some countries, Romanists are forbidden to read
the Scriptures? Why do the priests or their emissaries take from the
people the Bibles which the booksellers have scattered? The reason is
to be sought for in the false teaching and superstitious observances of
the Church of Rome! If you went into a shop to buy an article and the
first thing that the man did was to turn down the gas or blow out the
candle, you would say to yourself, "He is going to sell me bad wares
and he does not want me to have too much light lest I should find him
out."

The reason why the priest of the Catholic church is against the Bible
is because the Bible is against him. Now it is just so with you. You
would read the Book willingly enough if you were agreed with it, but
because it is too truthful, too faithful and exposes your faults too
much, therefore you do not like it and you do not read it. How long is
it since some of you have read even a chapter of Scripture? How long is
it since you have thought over one gracious text? Oh, my dear Friends,
if I probe you, if I press this matter upon some of you, it will be
clear enough that the Word of God is against

you, for you, yourself, know that it is and, therefore, do not read it.
You do not want to be plagued by it. It condemns your sins. It disturbs
your false security. It robs you of your sleep in evil. "The Word of
the Lord is against you"–your neglect of the Word shows that this is
true.

And truly the Word of the Lord must be against you, for it must be
against sin and you delight in sin. If you live in sin and love sin,
should God send you a Book to pacify your conscience in such a state?
If that which is unjust, intemperate and unholy, is hidden in your
heart, and is practiced in your life, would you expect the Holy Spirit
to write a Book to help you on in such a way as that? It is blasphemy
to think that it could be so! All through the Book sin is uniformly and
universally condemned, from the day when Adam was driven out of the
Garden because of his transgression, until the flood came upon guilty
man because "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually." On Sinai the same Truth was thundered out. This was
the burden of the Prophets' messages. The Word of God is always against
sin and many times the warning is given, "The soul that sins, it shall
die." If you are a sinner steeped in sin, depend upon it that this Book
is against you and ought to be against you You could not wish it to be
otherwise if you are a right-minded person. You will say, "Whatever I
may be, I do not want the Bible tampered with, to make it suit my
ungodly life, nor do I wish Holy Scripture to favor me in an evil
pursuit."

This Book must be against some of you because you have refused Christ.
God has given His dear Son to die to save men. He has appointed the one
way of salvation to be through faith in the precious blood of Christ.
If you will not have the appointed way. If you refuse the ordained
Savior, this Book may well quarrel with you, for you quarrel with God!
What? The blood of His dear Son given to redeem and yet you reject it?
Mercy dressed in crimson to save you and yet you fly from it? Love
Incarnate in a bleeding Savior and yet you spurn it? Perhaps you
imagine that you are good enough to be saved without Christ, but what
infamous pride this is on the part of a poor sinful worm of the dust!
Perhaps your whole confidence is in your own good works and you hope
they will be found sufficient without the blood of Calvary– that is
presumptuous arrogance and vain conceit for a man who is born in sin
and shaped in iniquity! Truly "the Word of the Lord" cannot side with
you!

If it is given to reveal Christ as the Savior of men, it cannot take
the part of him who refuses that Savior, slights the blood of Christ
and does despite to the Spirit of Grace. Oh, my dear Friend, when I
used to read the Bible and had not yet looked to Christ, how sternly it
used to speak to me! It had an angry look. It threatened me. It seemed
to draw a sharp sword and thrust it into my heart! I bless the Bible
for being severe with my unbelief! It was the wound of a friend which
it gave me–when I was wounded, I fled to Christ for cure. If the Word
of God were not against you in your rejection of Christ, it could not
be the Word of God and, if you did not know it to be against you, it
would be an unhappy thing for you to be rocked in the cradle of
unbelief and allowed to remain far from God without a warning. Until
you believe in Christ, be you sure of this–"the Word of the Lord is
against you!"

Even if you do not read God's Word and thus discover that it is against
you, your conscience tells you that it ought to be. Many men and women
who are sitting here, if they did but begin to think, would say, "I
must be wrong. God's Book, which is Truth, itself, must be against me."
Men will not allow conscience to speak, but if they do, it soon bears
testimony in the same line as God's own Word, for you cannot very
readily make your conscience a false witness. There are some who
preach, today, that all men will be saved, whether they believe in
Christ or not. I remember what a certain hearer said to a minister who
preached that doctrine–"Sir, if what you have preached today is true,
we do not need you. Indeed, we do not need any minister at all–we can
get along all right without one. And if what you have preached is not
true, we do not need you–so in either case we have no need of your
ministrations." The hearer knew that what the minister had preached was
not the Truth of God–conscience confirmed the declarations of the Word
of God.

The Word of God would be true, however, whether conscience confirmed it
or not, but conscience does tell men that it cannot be the same with
the wicked as with the righteous–it cannot be the same with those who
reject the Savior as with those who accept Him. You cannot silence that
voice within the heart! A Unitarian minister who preached that wild
doctrine of universal salvation which is so popular just now, once met
an old-fashioned Baptist preacher who was not a well-educated man, but
who had a crowded congregation–while his learned friend had only a
dozen or two to hear him eloquently discourse. The Unitarian said, "I
cannot make out how it is that there is such a difference in our
congrega-tions–you get so many to hear you, and I get so few. I preach
a very pleasing doctrine. I tell the people that all will be

right with them all at last. I do not worry them with any doctrines of
repentance and faith and Atonement–and yet they will not come to hear
me.

"You preach a very dreary doctrine and you tell the people that unless
they repent they shall perish and be cast into Hell, and yet they crowd
your place to hear you. How is that?" "Well," said the old man, "I
think it is, my Friend, because they have a shrewd suspicion that what
I say is true, and that what you say is not true." There he hit the
nail on the head! It is so. The conscience of men bids them distrust
the word which tells them that there will be no difference between the
righteous and the wicked! God has somehow written on the heart of man
this judgement–"Sin must be punished. It cannot be the same with the
godly and the ungodly at the last." Hear that voice of your conscience!
Listen to it and it will tell you that "the Word of the Lord is against
you."

One thing more. You who live in sin and will not have a Savior may be
sure that "the Word of the Lord is against you." Your efforts to harden
your heart prove it. The struggle you have to make in order to keep all
things quiet within your own bosom leaves no room for doubt that, "the
Word of the Lord is against you." Sometimes, when you are being spoken
to about your soul, you do not like it. You feel irritable. You make
some jest, or you utter some blasphemy, or repeat some old worn-out
slander to stiffen yourself to reject the Word of God. And when you get
home it takes you all your time to press down the sparks which the
Gospel has kindled in your heart! You are kept very busy trying to
stamp them out, for you know that you have some inflammable stuff in
your soul–and you are afraid that there will be a fire within. If you
did not think the Word of God was against you, you would not have to
make such a vigorous effort to prevent its having its due effect upon
your mind! Oh, that you would yield, young man! Oh, that you would let
God's Word do its will with you, young woman! Oh, all you of whom it is
true–"The Word of the Lord is against you"–I pray that you would let
it break you in pieces, wound you, kill you and then make you alive and
heal you!

II. In the second place, I want to say that if "the Word of the Lord is
against you," IT IS A VERY TERRIBLE THING. When the word of Pharaoh was
against the Israelites, they suffered cruel bondage, but the Word of
the Lord was stronger than the word of the mighty despot–and when He
spoke by Moses and Aaron, His people were brought out free. When the
word of King Saul was against David, he was hunted like a partridge
upon the mountains. But the Word of the Lord was confirmed to him and
he was delivered from the hand of his enemy and, at last, seated on the
throne. When the word of Nebuchadnezzar was against the three Hebrew
youths, they were cast into the burning fiery furnace–but the Lord
delivered them, as He also delivered Daniel when the word of Darius was
against him. But when "the Word of the Lord is against you," its
judgment is more to be dreaded than the bondage of Egypt, more to be
feared than the fiery furnace or the den of lions, for there is none
that can deliver you from the power of the Lord, whose Word has gone
forth against you. If this is your case, you are truly in a terrible
state!

If "the Word of the Lord is against you," you have great cause for
trembling, for it cannot be bribed. Many a wealthy man has escaped the
punishment he deserved because he has used his silver and his gold
judiciously. It cannot be so easily done, now, in this country, as it
used to be, though there is still a gift that blinds the eyes and many
a man of position has escaped his deserts because of his wealth. But
you cannot bribe the Word of God, though there are some who seem to try
to do it! They live a whole life regardless of God and His Word,
amassing money by fair means or foul, and then, when they cannot use it
further, they leave it for some religious purpose in the hope of thus
meriting favor with God, taking care all the while, generally, to have
their own name lastingly associated with the gift! But there is nothing
which you can give that will be taken by the Word of the Lord as a
payment for your wrong. It will speak and it will effect its purpose in
spite of all your bribes!

If "the Word of the Lord is against you," you may well be dismayed as
you remember that it will never be changed. You cannot, by any
possibility, so long as you are what you are, make it cease to be
against you! If a man is against me, today, he may be my friend
tomorrow. The wind does not always blow from the same quarter. Tides
that flow will also ebb, but God's Word never changes. From everlasting
to everlasting it never turns an inch aside from the straight path. If
you remain the same and that Word is against you, it will be against
you in life and against you in death–against you at the Day of
Judgement–and against you through all eternity. Oh, my dear Hearer, it
is a dreadful thing to have this immutable, unchanging Word of God
against you!

It is a terrible position, again, to have the Word of the Lord against
you because it cannot be escaped. You may get away from the Queen's
writ by flying to the Continent. You may escape a warrant of arrest by
fleeing to certain coun-

tries, though I scarcely know where you can now go–but how can you
escape from the Word of God? That Word changed chaos into order! That
Word came into the thick darkness and there was light! "He spoke, and
it was done." The Word of the Lord can come into your bedchamber. If
you journey to the ends of the earth, the Word of God can find you out,
even though you never read it! It can reach you even if you should
become a seven-fold infidel! You cannot change the threat by
disbelieving it, nor escape the vengeance by professing that there is
no such thing! The Psalmist's words about God's Omnipresence apply,
also, to the Word of the Lord–"Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or
where shall I flee from Your Presence? If I ascend up into Heaven, You
are there. If I make my bed in Hell, behold, You are there. If I take
the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
even there shall Your hands lead me, and Your right hand shall hold
me." The Word of the Lord is everywhere–it cannot be escaped.

Furthermore, it is a terrible thing to have the Word of the Lord
against you, for it cannot be resisted. If a man is against you, you
can fight it out with him. You may oppose force to force and cunning to
cunning–but if the Word of the Lord is against you, what power have
you? By His Word were the heavens made! By His Word the heavens and the
earth shall pass away and be dissolved! How can you fight against the
Word of God? As well might Pharaoh fight with the plagues that Jehovah
sent upon him. God's Word is too strong for you. "Woe unto him that
strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of
the earth," but strive not you with Him who has all power and whose
Word is "quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart."

And now let me speak to you very solemnly. If "the Word of the Lord is
against you," what a state you must be in, for God is Love and He will
not say a word against a man if He can help it. God is gracious,
tender, loving–and when God Himself has to be against a man, the
condition of that man's heart must be something very terrible–his
state of life must be so depraved as to demand that Love should give
place to Justice. Why, this Book of God was written for sinners,
written to cheer penitent hearts, and if it is against you, what a
state you must be in! Here is food prepared for an invalid–if you
cannot eat it–if it turns your stomach, how diseased you must be! If
the medicine becomes poison; if the sweet is sour; if the Light of God,
itself, is darkness to you, O wretched madman, you have come into an
evil plight, indeed! God have mercy upon you! If God's Word is against
you, you are in an awful state, indeed!

Not only is this true, but what a sad state you will soon be in!
Whether you believe it or not, you will soon be dead and, dying, you
will pass into another world. And, being there, you will come to the
seat of judgment to be tried for the things done in the body. You will
need witnesses in your favor and this Book will be called to give its
testimony. What will it say about you? If the Book could speak, it
would say, "Great God, he never read me! I bear witness to his neglect
of You, for he never read me." And many a text of Scripture would rise
up in that last day and say, "I was preached to him! His mother quoted
me to him. His sister wrote this in a letter. A friend sent him this
verse and pleaded with him to take it to heart, but he heeded none of
them." If "the Word of the Lord is against you," the Law of God will
say, "He knew me and he broke me!" The Gospel will say, "He knew me and
he refused me!" The Bible, itself, will say, "He understood something
of me, but he ridiculed me."

It will go hard with a man who has such testimony against him at the
bar of the Great Judge. Let me have the Bible on my side and I will
fearlessly face the whole world. But if the Bible is against me, I must
be conquered. If it is against me in the Last Day, I must be
speechless. He whom the Word condemns has the foretaste of that final
condemnation which shall be his in the next state unless, by Sovereign
Grace, he shall be constrained to turn to God before it is too late! I
cannot speak as I would on this awful theme, but I am trying to plead
with you from my very soul. Oh, that God the Holy Spirit would send
home the Word of God to many!

Remember, my dear Hearers, there is not a wasted word in this Book.
Whatever God says will happen to the ungodly, will happen to them.
Judgment is God's strange work, but what He threatens, He will
certainly perform. How terrible will it be when the threats of His Word
come to pass! See, even in the verse from which our text is taken, a
glimpse of what it may mean. First, there is woe. "Woe unto the
inhabitants of the seacoast." Then there is destruction, "I will even
destroy you." When the woe is past, there is utter destruction–"There
shall be no inhabitant." Oh, the woe of having the Word of the Lord
against you! Behold, again, how those cities which Christ would have
blessed so highly were cursed when they rejected His message. "Woe unto
you, Chorazin! Woe unto you, Bethsaida! Woe unto you, Caper-

naum!" These repeated, "woes," sound like a funeral knell! Today those
cities are wholly swept away because the Word of the Lord was against
them.

Learn, also, from the history of Jerusalem, how surely the Word of the
Lord against a man or against a city is fulfilled. Christ was rejected
by the people of Jerusalem, so that it is not surprising that, "when He
was come near, He beheld the city and wept over it," for He knew what a
terrible doom awaited the guilty capital. Well might that demented man,
of whom Josephus tells us, go through the streets of the city, when it
was being besieged by Titus, and call out in tones of horror, "Woe, woe
to Jerusalem!" Rest assured that the Lord will "render to every man
according to his deeds." Those who obey His Word shall be forever
blessed. But those who have the Word of the Lord against them shall be
punished with everlasting destruction from the Presence of the Lord and
from the glory of His power.

I have been accused, sometimes, of picturing the wrath to come in too
horrible a way, but I have never described it more sternly than Christ,
Himself. It was His gentle lips that declared, "These shall go away
into everlasting punishment." It was He who spoke of a place "where
their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched." It was He who
uttered the most awful words about the wrath to come. I pray you, do
not wish to know, in your own experience, all that "the wrath to come"
may mean! Flee from it! Seek rather to know what salvation means–and
God help you to obtain it even now! If I am addressing any person who
feels that the Word of God is against him, I do beseech and conjure him
not to rest any longer in that condition! If you have a quarrel with
God's Word, you are wrong! God's Word cannot be in error. If the Word
of God offends you, you must be offended, or, rather, you have offended
against it. It will never beg your pardon–you must beg its pardon, or,
rather, seek forgiveness from the Lord whose Word is against you, and
who is, Himself, also against you! Said I not truly that when "the Word
of the Lord is against you," it is a terrible thing? If that is your
position, may it soon be changed!

III. Now I come to my third and last point. If it is true that "the
Word of the Lord is against you" and that it is a terrible thing to be
in such a state, WHAT CAN BE DONE IN THE MATTER? Is there any way of
escape, any loophole through which deliverance may come? If the Word of
God cannot be bribed, changed, escaped, or resisted, what are we to do,
since we cannot sit calmly beneath the curse of God?

I think that the first thing to be done, if you would escape out of
this direful position, is to confess that you are wrong. There is a
writ out against you. You have run away from it. Come home! Submit
yourself to the court. Be willing to be put under arrest. There is no
other right course. I knew one who, being charged with embezzlement,
fled the country. He still has to stay away. If he had submitted
himself to whatever punishment might have come upon him, he would have
passed through it long ago. But now he still remains under the censure
of the law and cannot return. Now, you runaway from God, come home at
once! Sinner, against whom the Lord has issued His warrant, yield
yourself to the officer of Divine Justice at this moment! You need not
move from your present position–but just where you are–humbly whisper
in your heart, "Lord, I am guilty. I submit to Your Word. Whatever Your
Word says, is true, and I will no longer fight against it. But here,
bowing my head, I confess that the wrong is with me, not with Your
Word. I confess that." Have you made this confession? Then it is well,
for if, "the Word of the Lord is against you," your only hope lies in
taking the side of the Word of the Lord and against yourself!

But when a man gives himself up to justice, he has next to stand his
trial. If "the Word of the Lord is against you," it is against you in
your present position, in your present character and you must change
your position. Come, then, and escape the hostility of the Word of the
Lord by altering your attitude towards it! If you have loved sin,
repent and hate it. May God the Holy Spirit work in you a loathing of
evil things which the Word condemns, for when you are no longer a
sin-lover, but a sin-loather, the Word that was against you will be for
you! God has no thunderbolts for those who hate their sins. If your
soul and sin are divorced, your soul and mercy may be married, but not
otherwise. When you give up your sin, God will give up His suit against
you. If you turn not, He will whet His sword–but if you turn, He will
sheathe that sword and speak comfortably to you.

Another change must take place. You must no longer stand in yourself,
but in Another. The Word of the Lord is against you, but what if you
could change places with Another, on whose side the Word of the Lord
is, and in whom you could lawfully and rightly stand? What if Christ
stood in your place and you should stand in Christ's place? Then this
Word would not condemn you, but it would acquit you! And more than
that, it would defend you against all your adversaries. Behold a
miracle of mercy! Christ Jesus, the innocent Son of God, dies for the
guilty sons of men, that they may be

covered with His righteousness and accepted in His name! This is the
pith and marrow of the Gospel–"I stand in Christ's place because He
stood in mine. The Law cannot be against Him, for He fulfilled it and
made it honorable. The Word of the Lord cannot be against Him, since He
hid it in His heart, that He might not sin against God. And if I come
to be in Him, where the Word is hidden, it can no longer be against
me."–

"Confounded, Lord, I wrap my face,

And hang my guilty head,

Ashamed of all my wicked ways,

The hateful life I've led.

I yield–by mighty love subdued;

Who can resist its charms?

And throw myself, by wrath pursued,

Into my Sa vior's arms."

Let me say to you further, that if you have, up to now, had the Word of
the Lord against you, be very careful to be right with the Word. In
seeking to be saved, avoid, above everything, a sham salvation. When a
man has a bad sore, it is a mischievous thing to let it heal with proud
flesh in it. To cover over a wound may be to create seven dangers
instead of one. Come to the Word of God and search yourself. Use the
lances, take the probe, examine into the depth of your wound and sore.
Let your prayer be, "O God, let me never be comforted apart from Your
Word. Let me have no foundation apart from Christ to build upon! Let me
never think that I am saved unless Christ is my Savior." My dear Hearer
you would be better off hungry than to eat poisoned meat! And you would
be better off in despair than get comfort that does not spring out of
the Word of God! If you think that you are saved and yet find that "the
Word of the Lord is against you," you may be sure that you are not
saved and should hasten to cast away your false confidence as quickly
as possible! You can never be saved unless you are right with the Word
of God–

"This is the judge that ends the strife,

Where wit and reason fail

My guide to everlasting life

Through all this gloomy vale."

One more thing and I have done. If to have the Word of God against you
is an overwhelming calamity, how happy are they who have the Word of
the Lord with them! I have heard of two Romanists, a man and his wife,
who purchased their first copy of the Scriptures. The man began to read
it and, one night, as he sat beside the fire with the open Book, he
said, "Wife, if this Book is right, we are wrong." He continued reading
and a few days afterwards he said, "Wife, if this Book is right, we are
lost." More eager, now, than ever to see what the Word of the Lord was,
he studied the Book until, one night, he joyfully exclaimed, "Wife, if
this Book is true, we are saved." The same word that showed them that
they were undone, revealed also the Gospel of salvation! This is the
glory of the Word of God–it is against us until it leads us out of our
sins and then we find that death becomes the gate of life to our
souls–and the Word of God is on our side!

The same Word that reveals the terrors of the Lord, also says, "He that
believes on the Son has everlasting life." I believe on the Son of God
as my Savior, therefore I have everlasting life! The Word of the Lord
is now for me and assures my deliverance. It further says, "God sent
not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world,
through Him, might be saved." When I read this, my heart sings for joy,
for the Word of God which was against me, now justifies me! Again it
says, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved." As I tremble
because it is written, "He that believes not shall be damned," I
rejoice because the same Word says, "He that believes and is baptized
shall be saved." I believe, and I have been baptized–therefore I am
saved! If you have the Word of God for you, you need no other advocate.
Even your own conscience may be lawfully overridden by the Word of the
Lord. "If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knows
all things."

This is the sum of the whole matter! Come just as you are and trust
Christ as your Savior! Leave your sin and seek after holiness. Have
done with your own willfulness and seek the meek and lowly mind that
was in the Man of Sorrows. In a word, come and lie at Jesus' feet and
lift your tearful eyes to His loving gaze, and say–

"A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, On Your kind arms I fall. Be You my
strength and righteousness, My Jesus, and my All."

Trust Christ! Trust Him now! Trust Him only! Trust Him wholly! Trust
Him forever and you shall be eternally saved! As surely as the Bible is
true, you are safe for time and for eternity if you believe in Jesus!

God bless this feeble word of mine! I have tried to preach the Word of
God faithfully, that, at the day of account, I may be clear of the
blood of all men. I shall not, then, be asked whether I spoke
eloquently, or whether I had energy of mind or power of voice–but I
shall be asked if I warned you to escape from sin and seek the Savior!
And that, by the Grace of God, I have done to the utmost of my power. I
wish that I knew how to persuade men to seek the Lord. Oh, that I could
learn the art of reading the hearts of men! What do you want with fine
speeches? Escape for your lives! What do you want with polished phrases
and rounded periods? "Lay hold on eternal life." Repent! Believe the
Gospel and be saved! O God, the Holy Spirit, lead men to this blessed
decision at this very moment, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Jeremiah 26.