Front matter (continued, part 40)
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning Providence He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan His work in vain. God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain!"
THE UNCHANGING CHRIST
by J. C. Ryle
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8
Always the same! unchanging!—that is a glorious character; a character which belongs to nothing that is of the earth; a character which He alone deserves, who is the Lord from heaven.
What of this present world in which we live and move and have our being? It has stamped upon it the marks of a tremendous change; it is no longer the same as it was in the beginning, it cannot be that fair creation of which God pronounced every part and portion to be very good. Doubtless we see that it is still a beautiful world, clothed with all that is lovely to the eye, furnished with all that is necessary to our comfort, stored with everything that can make life enjoyable. You may see everywhere the traces of a bountiful Father's hand. But still, we repeat, this world is not what it once was: it is no longer the same —no more the same than the gallant ship which yesterday did walk the waters like a thing of life, and today is dashed high on the beach and lies there a wreck, dismasted, shattered, and forsaken. This world is no more the same than the ruin of some ancient magnificent temple, which now stands desolate and silent and alone, with weeds and briars creeping over its floor, and ivy hanging about its broken walls like a widow's garment.
Just so this world has gone through a blighting, withering change; and therefore it is we see so much of lusts unbridled, and tempers ungoverned, and passions unrestrained, and intellects degraded, and affections misplaced, and powers misapplied, and God neglected, dishonored and lightly esteemed. And the sicknesses which devour their thousands, and the wars which cut off their tens of thousands, and the graves of infants snatched away in the spring-time of life, and the tears and distresses and troubles and sorrows and afflictions
which God never placed in Eden—but of which we now hear continually—all these tell you the same tale, the world is no longer the same. All these are the handwriting on the wall, to remind us that man, like an unfaithful steward, has marred and spoiled his Maker's handiwork by his own sin, and so put the creation out of order and course.
But we have not time, beloved, to compare earth as it is with earth as it was before Adam fell: it is enough to know that by his transgression all things suffered, for after his transgression all things were altered. We would rather go on to set before you proofs which are more under your own eyes and come within your own observation. We wish you to feel the full force and blessedness of the character Paul has given to your Lord and Savior in our text; and in order to this we think it of first importance to establish in your minds this grand point—that there is nothing on earth of which you can say it is unchangeable, it is always the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
First, then, we ask you to mark that the empires and kingdoms of this world continue not the same: not all the victories which mighty conquerors have won, not all the blood which they have spilt to cement and make firm their thrones, not all the gold and treasure they have heaped together, not all the territory they have brought under their authority, not all the laws they have carefully framed for their subjects, have ever availed to build up one single kingdom that has stood firm and undestroyed.
Some have endured for a longer space than others—some have appeared likely to remain until the end of time—but sooner or later all have wasted away, their strength has gone from them, they have decayed and passed by, and their place is no more found.
Where are the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, whose power and magnificence we read of in the books of Kings and Chronicles? Armies like the sand of the sea for multitude, gold and silver
abundant beyond even our conceptions—who would have thought such greatness would come to nothing? But Judah and Israel could not bear prosperity; they did not live up to their privileges, they provoked God by their wickedness; and so the chosen land became a desert, and Jerusalem itself was given to be burned, and, notwithstanding all their wealth and power, no sooner did the Lord touch them than they fell.
And where, too, are those mighty nations whose names so often meet our eyes in searching the Old Testament Scriptures—Nineveh and Babylon and Egypt? Time was when they had all the world at their feet, they ruled over countless people and tongues, and none could stand before them. And yet one after the other they were overthrown and melted away! God used them as instruments to punish and chastise His faithless people—but after they had done His work He did not forget to reckon with them for their own sins. And, with all their pomp, and splendor, and majesty, no sooner did He put forth His hand and touch them, than they too consumed away and fell. The very cities where their kings reigned, are no more—their palaces are levelled with the dust, their lofty walls which were their pride are utterly broken down. Nineveh, that exceeding great city, has been so completely destroyed that the exact spot where she once stood is no longer known. And Babylon, the wonder of the world, the hammer of the whole earth, has become, as Jeremiah foretold, a desolation, a dry land, a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwells, neither does any son of man pass thereby.
O beloved, man in his best estate is altogether vanity; the works of his hands are, like himself, frail and short-lived and perishable and ready to fade away; with all his boasted wisdom he can make nothing lasting, he cannot secure his handiwork against change. The oldest dominion in Europe, is so to speak, only of yesterday; and who knows but there may be a worm at the heart of the strongest empire on earth, and a few short years and she too may be gone?
But again, we ask you to mark that even churches continue not the same. Alas! there is only too much evidence that they too may fall to pieces and decay. Where are the churches whose faith and patience and love and zeal shine forth so brightly in the Acts and Epistles of the New Testament? Where is the church of Antioch and the church of Ephesus, the church of Philippi and the church of Berea, the church of Thessalonica and the church of Corinth—those holy communions which once brought such glory and praise to God, whose obedience was spoken of throughout the world, whose children were ready to shed their blood for the Gospel's sake? They are gone, they are dead, they are fallen; they kept not their first estate, they became high-minded and puffed up with self-conceit; they did not persevere in well-doing, they did not abound in the fruits of righteousness, and so the Lord who had grafted them in, did also cut them off like withered and useless branches. And if anything can be said to remain of them, it is but the wreck and remnant of what they once were.
Doubtless, beloved, there are promises belonging to Christ's Church generally—the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; the Lord will never leave Himself without a witness—but there is no assurance that the church of any particular place or nation shall abide unchanged, except she continues faithful. Take any church on earth, the most renowned for wisdom, the most famous for age, the most apostolic in her government; and we are bold to tell you if that church is unfaithful to the Bridegroom Christ Jesus, if she does not hold forth the light of the pure gospel, if she leaves her first love, if she allows false prophets to teach and seduce, if she becomes lukewarm, and says "I am rich and increased with goods," if she rests content with having a name to live while she is dead, and plumes herself on keeping hold of the truth while she does not witness to it— we are bold to tell you, however long God's mercy may spare her, her candlestick shall sooner or later be removed, for we know this fearful threat has been over and over again made good.
Yes! even we have reason to watch and to pray and to be humble and fear: the fine gold may become dim! No home is so strong, but it may be broken up; no church so well ordered, but through the sin and faithlessness of her members she may be overturned. The Lord Himself once gave the pattern of His temple—but when the Jews who kept it turned their own way and repented not, when they thought only of a form of godliness and despised the power, that very temple was delivered over to be destroyed, and of all its beautiful stones, not one was left upon another.
But we desire to bring this matter nearer home to yourselves. Have you not ever observed that men's circumstances are always changing—they are never long the same? Few indeed are those who have not learned this by bitter experience. Some begin life with every prospect of earthly prosperity, and before they have reached their prime their riches seem to have melted away, and are scattered like the leaves in autumn, and they find themselves stripped of their possessions! Others, who remain wealthy, are smitten with some sore disease, they have no power to enjoy the fortune God has given them, and often, when ready to cry in the evening "Would God it were morning," and in the morning "Would God it were evening!" Often when faint and weary and cast down with pain, often would they give all their riches for a little health—and think it cheaply purchased!
Others with bodily strength and store of worldly goods are bereaved of friends by death or separation. Their parents, the comforters of their sorrows, the companions of their joys—are one after the other taken from them; year after year their beloved ones, with whom they have taken sweet counsel, and who were as their own souls, are all cut down or removed, until at length they stand, like the last tree of the forest, all single and alone.
Remember, I say not but that this is good: well for us that we are constrained to drink the bitter cup of affliction; it is the rod by which many are brought home to Christ—none are in such fearful peril as
those who have never known a cross. But judge whether it is not true, that our own life is full of changes; that man is a poor, frail, perishable creature, and never continues long in one condition. There is nothing about his earthly condition certain and fixed and immovable and sure. We never know, when we part from those that are dear to us, that we shall meet again: we know not what alterations time may work before we once more meet face to face, before hand grasps hand and we again take sweet counsel about our common faith and our hopes of heaven. We may part rejoicing and meet sorrowing; part with laughter and meet with tears; part with many around us and meet with few: strange if we part and meet the same!
Oh, changing, changing world! Miserable indeed are they who look upon it as an abiding habitation, who think themselves anything but strangers, who give to anything but heaven, the name of 'home'.
Look at men's minds. They are not always the same. The intellect of the prudent statesman, the talent of the eloquent orator—these are not armor against decay. The mind of man is a beautiful thing—when trained and educated and polished as it may be. But often we see that same mind become a mere wreck, the eye become dim and the natural force abated; the memory fails, the senses are deadened. We see all the weakness of childhood without its playfulness and light heart. This is a grief, and one more proof that we are not always the same.
Look at men's affections. They are not always the same. They may be warm and strong for a season—but then become cool. Often time, and absence, and the world, cause strangeness and coldness between spirit and spirit, bitter and painful to bear—but it must be borne. Business and new ties and new residence and new relations nip off old friendships. Our changing affections are one more proof that nothing remains always the same.
Onwards, onwards we are all moving: there is no standing still. The infant will soon be a boy, and the boy a man, and the man will find gray hairs upon him long before he expects, and the grave will be ready for him probably before he is ready for it! Men plant and build and labor and toil and plan and contrive—and often never see their schemes completed. For we never know what is before us—what tomorrow may bring forth; it may be, as the marriage service beautifully teaches, better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness or health.
We may find in our path towards Zion sweet flowers—but far more likely thistles and thorns; we may have some season of sunshine—but far more often darkness and clouds. But still, whatever happens, we are rolling onward towards the end, and this we may be sure of—we shall never be long without some change, we shall never find our state is long the same, tomorrow and yesterday may be widely different.
Once more. The holiest saints of God are not always the same. We have no fear that their names will ever be blotted from the Lamb's book of life—but we believe their hearts are often filled with shame and confusion because of their own shortcomings and unsteady walk with God. Show me one single servant of the Lord in Scripture who did not at some time err and stumble in his course, who did not by his inconsistency or sin give occasion to the Lord's enemies to blaspheme. Oh, the best of men have given melancholy proof that so long as we are in the body we are liable to change. We venture to assert there is not one in the white-robed company of the redeemed who would tell you he had always held on his way without wavering, always fought an equally good fight; not one but could remember that at his best there were days of spiritual sloth and drowsiness, days of unholy and unchristlike tempers, days of vanity and self-conceit, days of self-indulgence and conformity to this world, days of coldness and lack of love—and each the cause of pain and sorrow and self-abasement.
Away with the idea of a sinless perfection on earth! We are bound to aim at it, we are sworn to strive after it; that man is no true Christian who sits down lazily and thinks to be saved without striking a blow, who does not wish to be holy as God is holy, and perfect as God is perfect—but still we are confident the dearest children of God do never lay claim to any personal sinlessness and perfection; their hearts' confession is, "Lord, we are exceedingly unprofitable servants, in many things we offend daily," and their hearts' prayer, "Jesus, Master, bear with our sins and pardon our iniquities."
No, beloved, there is nothing unchangeable and the same here below. Kingdoms, churches, human conditions, holy Christians, all are alike in this respect—they are liable to alter, they are never long the same. There is but one account of everything we see around us: it is all fleeting, perishing, passing away. The sun—which has shone on so many births and lighted so many graves—shall one day be darkened. The solid hills, which have looked down on generation after generation and been trampled on by one short-lived owner after another, shall melt away. The glorious heaven above us shall pass away like a scroll. All speak with one voice, "We shall soon be changed, we shall not always be the same."
And where, beloved, are we to look for comfort and rest to our souls? We want a sure and lasting foundation; we want a hope in which there is no variableness nor shadow of turning. And mark it down— this cannot be on earth—they who search for it here will search in vain—a sure hope for the soul is not to be found in the land of the living. "The depth says, It is not in me: and the sea says, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. . . ." But "God understands the way thereof, and He knows the place" where peace may be found, and in the text He sets it openly before our eyes: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Now, of this sameness we desire to speak fully and freely, and to show you the comfortable things which it contains.
We would remind you, then, that Jesus has ever been the same in His office, person and nature. In these latter days He has graciously made plain to our eyes the way of salvation, by coming upon earth to teach, to suffer and to die. He has proved Himself the Son of God with power by rising again from the dead. But still we would not have you forget He was always the same—yesterday as well as today.
Before the mountains were brought forth—or the earth and world were formed, from everlasting Jesus Christ was, like the Father, very God. From the beginning He was foreordained to be the Savior of sinners. He was always the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, without whose blood there could be no remission. The same Jesus, to whom alone we may look for salvation, that same Jesus was the only hope of Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and all the patriarchs; what we are privileged to see distinctly they doubtless saw indistinctly—but the Savior both we and they rest upon is one. It was Christ Jesus who was foretold in all the prophets, and foreshadowed and represented in all the law—the daily sacrifice of the lamb, the cities of refuge, the brazen serpent, all these were so many emblems to Israel of that Redeemer who was yet to come, and without whom no man could be saved. There never was but one road to heaven: Jesus Christ was the way, the truth and the life yesterday as well as today.
But we must pass on to another point of even greater interest than this. We remind you that the CHARACTER of Jesus Christ is always the same—in this too He is unchangeable. What He was in the New Testament days He continues now, and will be even to the end. Consider now, I pray you, what a mine of comfort and consolation lies in that single thought.
Always the same in love towards men's souls. It was love towards a fallen world which made Him lay aside for a season His glorious majesty and honor, and take upon Him the form of a servant upon earth; it was love that constrained Him to endure the cross and
despise the shame, and lay down His life for us the ungrateful and the ungodly; it was love that moved Him to shed tears over bloodyminded, unbelieving Jerusalem, because she would not know the things belonging to her peace; and it is just the same love which He feels towards sinners now—He never changes.
Again, Jesus is always the same in His power to save. It was He who cast forth seven devils from Mary Magdalen and raised her up to newness of life. It was He who poured comfort on that weeping penitent sinner in the Pharisee's house, and pronounced those blessed words, "Your sins are forgiven you, go in peace." It was He who entered the house of Zacchaeus, chief of the tax collectors, and declared that salvation was come unto him, that he was a true son of Abraham. It was He who gave that blessed assurance to the dying thief who prayed to be remembered, "This day you shall be with me in Paradise." It was He who met the persecuting Saul on his way to Damascus, and cast him down to the ground with all his pride, and put in him a new heart, and sent him forth to preach the faith he had once destroyed. And, O brethren beloved, who then, need despair? Christ Jesus is still just the same—able to save to the uttermost all those that come to God by him.
But again: Jesus Christ is always the same in His willingness to receive the penitent. We never read of any who sought Him in sincerity and sought Him in vain, who came poor in spirit and were sent away empty. Oh, no! far otherwise; there is everything to encourage, to invite, to lead us on. Who was it that used those comforting words, "Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." "Him that comes unto me I will never cast out." "The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost." "Everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him may have everlasting life." Who was it but Jesus Christ—ever the same! He will not go back from one jot or tittle of His words, and what He has spoken He will still make good. "Heaven and earth," He says, "shall pass away—but my word shall not pass away."
Once more "Jesus Christ is always the same in His power to preserve. He will not begin the work of grace and leave it uncompleted; for it is His own word, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and no man shall ever pluck them out of my hand." It was He who raised the apostles after they had shame fully forsaken Him and fled; it was He who turned the heart of even Peter back again, though he had denied Him before His face. And what He did then, beloved, He will do now also, for every believer; it shall never be said that any trusted in Jesus and were confounded, for the Author and Finisher of our faith never changes.
Always the same! It is this which gives such value to the Gospels in which our Lord's history is told. We are not reading there the life and sayings of one fickle and changeable like ourselves—but the life and sayings of a Redeemer who is now what He was then. We tell you confidently that all that love and gentleness and compassion and long-suffering and tenderheartedness which you may there see in your Lord and Savior's character, are placed before you that you may understand the character of Him from whom alone we receive forgiveness and to whom alone your prayer must be made, and we say this because we know He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Always the same! It is this which makes the gospel so excellent and precious. We do not bid you depend on anything less than the tried corner-stone, the fountain whose water shall never fail—the city of refuge whose walls shall never be broken down—the sure Rock of Ages. Churches may decay and perish; riches may make themselves wings and fly away—but he who builds his happiness on Christ crucified and union with Him by faith, that man is standing on a foundation which shall never be moved, and will know something of true peace.
There are men and women in the world who rest all upon their personal amendment—or upon an unwearied round of services and
regular attendance upon holy ordinances; and they imagine their spiritual disease is healed and all is peace. But we believe it is the peace of those who never found out their enemy, the cure of those who have never really felt their hearts' ailments.
Oh no! we believe when a man is once aroused to see the extent of his soul's danger, when he has felt the burden of his sins indeed grievous and intolerable, when he has found out his debt and his own inability to pay—we are confident that man will never get peace until he has sought the Lord Jesus Christ, until he has taken for a Friend and Advocate Him that is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. That man will not be put off with the ornaments and trappings of the Church which is the bride, he will never rest content until he has laid hold of the Lord Jesus, the Bridegroom, and has become one with Christ and Christ with him.
One word in CONCLUSION. Are there not some among you who in one sense have always been the same—thoughtless, careless about your eternal interests, always lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, always more anxious about the life that now is than the life which is to come, always disposed to give your best things to the world, and the leavings of your time and talent to God? We warn you plainly there must be a change, a deep foundation-searching change, a change of heart. We call on you to remember the words of Him who never goes back from what He says: "Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish." "Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall never enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Oh! but it does not need a prophet's eye to see changes and trials before you all! The breaking up of family circles, the separation from those you love best, the loss of health, friends, earthly possessions: who knows but they may be very near? and alas for those among you who have got no sure resting-place for your weary souls, who are building your happiness on the frail and perishable things of earth, for when you look for solid consolations you shall find none! O man, the time is flying, death and judgment are at hand; and what will you
do if you have to seek your spiritual comforts at the eleventh hour? Of all your riches you can carry nothing away: naked you came into the world, and naked you must return; of all your dear friends, who now weep when you weep and rejoice when you rejoice, not one can go with you beyond the tomb; they may sit beside you in your last hours, they may watch your spirit's flight, they may follow your body to its long home with measured pace and slow—but there earthly friendship must stop—it can go no farther than the brink of your narrow bed—they will turn away each to his own duties, and you shall be left alone.
O man, be wise in time; learn to lay up treasures in heaven, think first of a house not made with hands, look to that precious Friend who never fails: away with your cold and sleeping shadow of religion; cease to be a Christian in name and form only, become a man of God in deed and in truth; come to your eternal Father as a little child, with confession and prayer; take all your sins to the Savior who died upon the cross; let nothing satisfy you until you are a living member of Jesus Christ, one with Christ and Christ with you. In Him I can warrant you a hope that never changes—a title to happiness that shall never be overthrown.
But are there any among you who have tasted of this blessed change —who have put off the old man which is corrupt, and put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness— who mourn over your own daily shortcomings, and sigh after more holiness, more self-denial, more mortification of the flesh with all its lusts? We bid you take comfort, and remember that Christ is still the same: He called you and gave you the witness of the Spirit, and He will not forsake you. You may waver and tremble: go forward in faith, and He will still support you. There is but one more change before you—the changing of this vile body that it may be made a spiritual body, the putting off the corruptible to put on the incorruptible, the giving up what is mortal to receive what is immortal, the laying aside the earthly tabernacle, the entering on a heavenly one. Watch, then, and pray, and He who gave you the first change shall give you the
second also; and then you shall go out no more—no more weariness, no more weakness, no more fainting! You shall see your Savior as He is and love Him as you ought, and like Him at last be unchanged and the same for evermore!
CHRIST'S POWER TO SAVE
by J. C. Ryle
"He is able to save to the uttermost, those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Hebrews 7:25
There is one subject in religion about which we can never know too much. That subject is Jesus Christ the Lord. This is the mighty subject which the text that heads this page unfolds, Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ's intercession.
I have heard of a book entitled "The Story without an End." I know no story deserving that title so well as the everlasting Gospel—this is indeed and in truth the story without an end. There is an infinite "fullness" in Christ. There are in Him "unsearchable riches." There is in Him a "love which passes knowledge." He is an "unspeakable gift." (Col. 1:19; Eph. 3:8; 3:19; 2 Cor. 9:15.) There is no end to all the riches which are treasured up in Him—in His person, in His work, in His offices, in His words, in His deeds, in His life, in His death, in His resurrection. I take up only one branch of the great subject this day. I am going to consider the intercession and priestly office of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are three points which I purpose to examine in opening the text which heads this paper.
I. You have here a description of all true Christians—they are a people who "come to God by Christ"
II. You have the work that Jesus Christ is ever carrying on behalf of true Christians—He "ever lives to make intercession for them."
III. You have the comfortable conclusion built by Paul upon Christ's work of intercession. He says, "He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."
I. You have, first, a description of all true Christians. It is most simple, most beautiful, and most true. Great is the contrast between the description given by the Holy Spirit of a Christian, and the description which is given by man! With man it is often enough to say that such a one "goes to church," or that such a one "belongs to this body of Christians, or to that." It is not so when the Holy Spirit draws the picture. The Holy Spirit describes a Christian as a man "who comes unto God by Christ."
True Christians come unto God. They are not as many who turn their backs upon Him—who "go into a far country," like the prodigal son, "who go out," like Cain, "from the presence of the Lord,"—who are "alienated, strangers, and enemies in their mind by wicked works." (Coloss. 1:21.) They are reconciled to God and friends of God. They are not as many, who dislike everything that belongs to God—His word, His day, His ordinances, His people, His house. They love all that belongs to their Master. The very footprints of His steps are dear unto them. "His name is as ointment poured forth." (Cant. 1:3.) They are not as many, who are content with coming to church, or with coming to chapel, or with coming to the Lord's table. They go further than that. They "come unto God," and in communion with God they live.
But, more than this, true Christians come unto God in a certain peculiar way. They come unto God by Christ—pleading no other plea, mentioning no other name, trusting in no other righteousness, resting on no other foundation than this—that Jesus has lived, Jesus has died, Jesus has risen again for their souls.
"I the chief of sinners am, But Jesus died for me!"
This is the way by which the true Christian draws near to God.
The way of which I have been speaking is an OLD way. It is well near 6,000 years old. All who have ever been saved have drawn near to God by this way. "No man comes unto the Father but by Christ." (John 14:6.)
It is a GOOD way. It is easy for the worldly-wise to sneer at and ridicule it. But all the wit and wisdom of man has never devised a way more perfect—more suitable to our wants, and which will bear more thoroughly, all fair and reasonable investigation. It has been to the Jew a stumbling-block; it has been to the Greek foolishness. But all who have known their hearts, and understood what God demands, have found the way made by Jesus Christ a good way, and a way which stands the fullest examination that can be made as to its wisdom. Therein they find justice and mercy met together, righteousness and peace kissing one another—God a holy God, yet loving, kind, and merciful—man knowing himself a poor, weak sinner, yet drawing near to God with boldness, having access with confidence, looking up into His face without fear, and seeing Him in Christ, his Father and his Friend.
Not least it is a TRIED way. Thousands and tens of thousands have walked in it, and not one of all that number has ever missed heaven. Apostles, prophets, patriarchs, martyrs, early fathers, reformers, puritans, people of God in every age, and of every people and tongue —holy people of our own day, people like Simeon, Bickersteth,
Havelock—have all walked in this way. They have had their battles to fight and their enemies to contend with. They have had to carry the cross, and have found lions in their path. They have had to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and to contend with Apollyon. They have had to cross at last the cold dark river; but they have walked safely through to the other side, and entered with joy into the celestial city. And now they are all waiting for us to walk in their steps, to follow them, and to share in their glory.
This is the way I want every reader of this paper to walk in. I want you to "come unto God by Jesus Christ." Let there be no mistake as to the object which true ministers of the Gospel have in view. We are not set apart merely to perform a certain round of ordinances—to say prayers, to baptize those that are baptized, to bury those that are buried, to marry those that are married. We are set apart for the grand purpose of proclaiming the one true living way, and inviting you to walk in it. We want to persuade you, by God's blessing, to walk in that way—the tried way, the good way, the old way—and to know the "peace which passes all understanding," which in that way alone is to be found.
II. I pass on now to the second point which I purpose to consider. The text which heads this paper speaks of the work which the Lord Jesus Christ is ever doing on behalf of true Christians. I ask special attention to this point. It is one of deep importance to our peace, and to the establishment of our souls in the Christian faith.
There is one great work which the Lord Jesus Christ has done and finished completely. That work is the work of ATONEMENT, sacrifice, and substitution. It is the work which He did when He "suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us unto God." (1 Pet. 3:18.) He saw us ruined by the fall—a world of poor, lost, shipwrecked sinners. He saw and He pitied us; and, in compliance with the everlasting counsels of the Eternal Trinity, He came down to the world, to suffer in our stead, and to save us. He did
not sit in heaven pitying us from a distance. He did not stand upon the shore and see the wreck, and behold poor drowning sinners struggling in vain to get to shore. He plunged into the waters Himself! He came down to the wreck, and took part with us in our weakness and infirmity, becoming a man to save our souls. As man, He bore our sins and carried our transgressions. As man, He endured all that man can endure, and went through everything in man's experience, sin only excepted. As man He lived; as man He went to the cross; as man He died. As man He shed His blood, in order that He might save us, poor shipwrecked sinners, and establish a communication between earth and heaven! As man He became a curse for us, in order that He might bridge the gulf, and make a way by which you and I might draw near to God with boldness, and have access to God without fear. In all this work of Christ, remember, there was infinite merit, because He who did it was not only man— but God. Let that never be forgotten! He who wrought out our redemption was perfect man; but He never ceased for a moment to be perfect God.
But there is another great work which the Lord Jesus Christ is yet doing. That work is the work of INTERCESSION. The first work of atonement He did once for all—nothing can be added to it; nothing can be taken away from it. It was a finished, perfect work, when Christ offered up the sacrifice upon the cross. No other sacrifice need be offered, beside the sacrifice once made by the Lamb of God, when He shed His own blood at Calvary. But the second work He is ever carrying on at the right hand of God, where He makes intercession for His people. The first work He did on earth when He died upon the cross—the second work He carries on in heaven, at the right hand of God the Father. The first work He did for all mankind, and offers the benefit of it to all the world. The second work He carries on and accomplishes solely and entirely on behalf of His own elect, His people, His believing servants, and His children.
How does our Lord Jesus Christ carry on this work? How shall we comprehend and grasp what is the meaning of Christ's intercession?
We must not pry rashly into things unseen. We must not "rush in where angels fear to tread." Yet some faint idea we can obtain of the nature of that continual intercession which Christ ever lives to make on behalf of His believing people.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is doing for His people the work which the Jewish high-priest of old did on behalf of the Israelites. He is acting as the manager, the representative, the mediator in all things between His people and God. He is ever presenting on their behalf His own perfect sacrifice, and His all-sufficient merit, before God the Father. He is ever obtaining daily supplies of fresh mercy and of fresh grace for His poor, weak servants, who need daily mercy for daily sins, and daily grace for daily necessities. He ever prays for them. As He prayed for Simon Peter upon earth, so, in a certain mysterious sense, I believe He prays for His people now. He presents their names before God the Father. He carries their names upon His heart, the place of love, and upon His shoulder, the place of power— as the high-priest carried the names of all the tribes of Israel, from the least to the greatest, when he wore his robes of office. He presents their prayers before God. They go up before God the Father mingled with Christ's all-prevailing intercession, and so are acceptable in God's sight. He lives, in one word, to be the friend, the advocate, the priest, the all-prevailing agent, of all who are His members here upon earth. As their elder brother He acts for them; and all that their souls require, He, in the court of heaven, always lives to make intercession for them.
Does any reader of this paper need a FRIEND? In such a world as this, how many hearts there are which ought to respond to that appeal! How many there are who feel, "I am all alone!" How many have found one idol broken after another, one staff failing after another, one fountain dried after another, as they have traveled through the wilderness of this world. If there is one who wants a friend, let that one behold at the right hand of God an unfailing friend, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let that one repose his aching head and weary heart upon the bosom of that unfailing friend, Jesus
Christ the Lord. There is one living at God's right hand of matchless tenderness. There is one who never dies. There is one who never fails, never disappoints, never forsakes, never changes His mind, never breaks off friendship. That One, the Lord Jesus, I commend to all who need a friend. No one in a world like this, a fallen world, a world which we find more and more barren, it may be, every year we live—no one ever need be friendless while the Lord Jesus Christ lives to intercede at the right hand of God.
Does any reader of this paper need a PRIEST? There can be no true religion without a priest, and no saving Christianity without a confessional. But who is the true priest? Where is the true confessional? There is only one true priest—and that is Christ Jesus the Lord. There is only one real confessional—and that is the throne of grace where the Lord Jesus waits to receive those who come to Him to unburden their hearts in His presence. We can find no better priest than Christ. We need no other Priest. Why need we turn to any priest upon earth, while Jesus is sealed, anointed, appointed, ordained, and commissioned by God the Father, and has an ear ever ready to hear, and a heart ever ready to feel for the poor sinful sons of men? The priesthood is His lawful prerogative. He has assigned that office to no other. Woe be to anyone upon earth who dares to rob Christ of His prerogative! Woe be to the man who takes upon himself the office which Christ holds in His own hands, and has never transferred to anyone born of Adam, upon the face of the globe!
Let us never lose sight of this mighty truth of the Gospel—the intercession and priestly office of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I believe that a firm grasp of this truth is one great safeguard against the errors of the Church of Rome. I believe that losing sight of this great truth is one principal reason why so many have fallen away from the faith in some quarters, have forsaken the creed of their Protestant forefathers, and have gone back to the darkness of Rome. Once firmly established upon this mighty truth—that we have one Priest, and altar—that we have an unfailing, never-dying, ever living
Intercessor, who has transferred His office to none—and we shall see that we need turn aside nowhere else. We need not hew for ourselves broken cisterns which can hold no water, when we have in the Lord Jesus Christ a fountain of living waters, ever flowing and free to all. We need not seek any human priest upon earth, when we have a divine Priest living for us in heaven.
Let us beware of regarding the Lord Jesus Christ, only as one that is dead. Here, I believe, many greatly err. They think much of His atoning death, and it is right that they should do so. But we ought not to stop short there. We ought to remember that He not only died and went to the grave—but that He rose again, and ascended up on high, leading captivity captive. We ought to remember that He is now sitting on the right hand of God, to do a work as real, as true, as important to our souls, as the work which He did when He shed His blood. Christ lives, and is not dead. He lives as truly as any one of ourselves. Christ sees us, hears us, knows us, and is acting as a Priest in heaven on behalf of His believing people. The thought of His life ought to have as great and important a place in our souls—as the thought of His death upon the cross.
III. I will now consider, in the third place, the comfortable CONCLUSIONS that the Apostle builds upon the everlasting intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ. We need much comfort and consolation in a world like this. It is no easy matter for a man to carry the cross and reach heaven. There are many enemies to be encountered and overcome. We have often to stand alone. We have at the best times, few with us and many against us. We need cordials and "strong consolation" to sustain and cheer us, and to preserve us from fainting on the way, as we travel from Egypt into Canaan. The Apostle appears deeply conscious of all this in the words he uses. He says, "He is able to save to the uttermost,"— to save perfectly, to save completely, to save eternally, "all who come unto God by Him, because He ever lives to make intercession for them."
I might say much on the glorious expression which is before us. But I forbear. I will only point out a few of the thoughts which ought to arise in our minds when we hear of Christ's ability to "save to the uttermost." I have not space to dwell on them at length. I rather throw them out as suggestions to supply matter for the private meditation of everyone who reads this paper.
(1) Let us think, for one thing, that Christ is able to save to the uttermost, notwithstanding the FORMER SINS of any believer. Those old sins shall never rise again, nor stand up to condemn the child of God. For what says the Scripture, "Christ has not entered into the holy place made with hands—but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." (Heb. 9:24.) Christ, to use a legal phrase, is ever "putting in an appearance" in the court of heaven on behalf of those who believe in Him. There is not a year, nor a month, nor a day, nor an hour, nor a minute—but there is One living in the presence of God, to "make an appearance" there on behalf of all the saints. Christ is ever appearing before God the Father on behalf of the men and women who believe in Him. His blood and His sacrifice are ever in God's sight. His work, His death, His intercession, are always sounding in God the Father's ears.
I remember reading a story in ancient history which may help to illustrate the truth on which I am now dwelling. It is the story of one who was put to trial for a capital charge, at Athens, shortly after the great battle of Marathon. In that famous battle the Athenians had preserved, by their valor, liberty for their little State, against the mighty armies of the Persians. Among those who had distinguished themselves greatly, the brother of the prisoner was one, and had been sorely wounded in the fight. The man was put upon his trial. The evidence against him was strong and unanswerable—there seemed no chance of the prisoner escaping condemnation. Suddenly there came forward one who asked to be heard on his behalf—And who was this? It was his own brother. When he was asked what evidence he had to give, or what reason he had to show why the prisoner at the bar ought not to be found guilty, he simply lifted up
his mutilated arms—nothing but stumps—the hands completely cut off, the wounded stumps alone remaining. He was recognized as the man who, at the battle of Marathon, had done prodigies of valor, and in the service of the State had lost his hands. By those wounds he had helped to win the victory which was still ringing in Athenian ears. Those wounds were the only evidence he brought forward. Those wounds were the only plea he advanced why his brother ought to be let go free, and sentence ought not to be passed upon him. And the story states that for the sake of those wounds—for the sake of all his brother had suffered—the prisoner was acquitted. The case was dismissed at once, and the prisoner obtained his liberty.
In like manner the wounds of the Lord Jesus Christ are ever before God the Father. The nail-prints in His hands and feet—the marks of the spear in His side—the thorn marks upon His forehead—the marks of all that He suffered as a slain Lamb, are, in a certain sense, ever before God the Father in heaven. While Christ is in heaven the believer's old sins will never rise in judgment against him. Christ lives, and those old sins will not condemn him. We have an everliving, ever-interceding Priest. Christ is not dead but alive.
(2) Let us think again, that Christ is able to save to the uttermost, notwithstanding all the PRESENT WEAKNESS of His believing people. How great that weakness is, time would fail me to show. There are many of God's children who know their hearts' bitterness, who bewail with strong crying and tears their short-comings, their unprofitableness, and the scanty fruit they bring forth. But let us take comfort in the words of John, "If any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father"—ever present with the Father, "Jesus Christ the righteous—and He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 2:1.) Those weaknesses may well humble us. Those infirmities may well make us walk softly before our God. But while the Lord Jesus Christ lives, those infirmities need not make us entirely despair. We have an ever-living, ever-interceding Priest. Christ is not dead but alive.
(3) Let us think again, that Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost, notwithstanding all the TRIALS that believers have to go through. Hear what the Apostle Paul says to Timothy, "I suffer—nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day." (2 Tim. 1:12.) So long as Jesus Christ lives, the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ may be assured that no affliction shall be allowed to break off the union between him and his risen Head. He may suffer greatly and be sorely tried. But while Christ lives he shall never be forsaken. Neither poverty, nor sickness, nor bereavements, nor separations—shall ever separate Jesus and His believing people. We have an ever-living, ever-interceding Priest. Christ is not dead but alive.
(4) Let us think again, that Christ is able to save to the uttermost, notwithstanding all the PERSECUTIONS that believers have to go through. See what is said of Paul, when he met with much opposition at Corinth. We are told that the Lord stood by him in the night, and said, "Don't be afraid, but speak and don't be silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city."
(Acts 18:9-10.) Remember what He said to Paul at a former time, before his conversion, when He met him on the way to Damascus, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" (Acts 9:4.) Every injury done to the believer, is an injury done to the living Head in heaven. Every persecution showered down upon the head of the poor child of God here, is known, felt, and, I may add with all reverence, resented, by our Great Elder Brother, who is ever living to make intercession for us. Christ lives, and therefore believers, though persecuted, shall not be destroyed. "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Rom. 8:37.) We have an ever-living, ever-interceding Priest. Christ is not dead but alive.
(5) Let us think again, that Christ is able to save to the uttermost, notwithstanding all the TEMPTATIONS of the
devil. Remember that famous passage in the Gospel of Luke, where our Lord, speaking to Peter, says, "Simon, Simon, behold Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat—but I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not." (Luke 22:32.) We may surely believe that intercession like that is still carried on. Those words were spoken as an emblem of what the Lord is ever doing on behalf of His believing people. Satan, the prince of this world, is ever "walking about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." (1 Pet. 5:8.) But Christ lives; and, blessed be God, while Christ lives, Satan shall not be able to overcome the soul that believes on Him. We have an ever-living, ever-interceding Priest. Christ is not dead but alive.
(6) Let us think again, that Christ is able to save to the uttermost, notwithstanding the sting of DEATH, and all that death brings with it. Even David could say, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil—for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me." (Ps. 23:4.) Yet David saw through a glass darkly, compared to a believing Christian. The hour may come when friends can do us no more good, when faithful servants can no longer minister to our needs, when all that love, and kindness, and affection can do to alleviate pain, and make the last journey as easy as possible, can no longer render any service to us. But then the thought that Christ lives—Christ interceding, Christ caring for us, Christ at the right hand of God for us—ought to cheer us. The sting of death will be taken away from the man who leans upon a dying and also a living Savior. Christ never dies. Through faith in that living Savior we shall have a complete victory. We have an ever-living, ever-interceding Priest. Christ is not dead but alive.
(7) Let us think, again, that Christ is able to save to the uttermost, notwithstanding the terrors of the JUDGMENT DAY. Mark how Paul rests upon this in the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans—in that wonderful conclusion to that wonderful chapter—a chapter unrivaled in the Word of God for privilege, beginning with "no condemnation," and concluding with
"no separation!" Observe how he dwells upon Christ's intercession in connection with the judgment of the last day. After saying, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies," he goes on, "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." (Rom. 8:33, 34.) The thought of Christ's intercession, no less than His dying and rising again, was one ground of the Apostle Paul's confidence in looking forward to that great day. His strong consolation was the recollection of a living Christ. That consolation is for us as well as for Paul. We have an ever-living, ever-interceding Priest. Christ is not dead but alive.
(8) Let us think, lastly, and above all, that Christ is able save to the uttermost throughout all ETERNITY. "I am He," He says, "who lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore." (Rev. 1:18.) Christ, the root of the believer never dies—and the branches, therefore, shall never die. Christ being "raised from the dead, dies no more; death has no more dominion over Him." (Rom. 6:9.) He lives, that all who trust in Him may receive honor and glory to all eternity; and because He lives, His believing people shall never die. "Because I live," to use His own words, "you shall live also." (John 14:19.) We have an ever-living, ever-interceding Priest. Christ is not dead but alive.
Would you know the secret of the security for the perseverance of God's own people? Would you know why it is that Christ's sheep shall never perish, and none shall ever pluck them out of His hand? It is a miraculous thing. When you look at the believer's heart, listen to the believer's prayers, mark the believer's confessions, when you see how a just man may fall, sometimes seven times—when you see, with all this, the believer's perseverance, it is a marvel indeed. To carry a candle in a stormy night, when winds and gusty blasts are blowing from every quarter—to carry it still burning, steadily burning, along the street—this is a wonderful achievement. To go over a stormy sea in a little boat—to mount billow after billow, and
not see the waves breaking over the boat, and overturning it—this is well-near a miracle. To see a little child tottering along the crowded street, a child some three or four years old—to see it tottering on and making its way in safety, from one end of the town to the other—this is a mighty marvel.
But after all, what is this but the life, and history, and experience of every true Christian? Though he falls, he rises again; though he is cast down, he is not destroyed. He goes on from one position to another, like the moon upon a stormy night, plunging from one cloud into another, yet by-and-by shining out again and walking in brightness. What is the secret of it all? It is the continual intercession of a mighty Friend at the right hand of God—a Friend who never slumbers and never sleeps—a Friend who cares for the believer, morning, noon, and night. The intercession of Christ is the secret of the perseverance of the Christian.
We shall do well to study the words of the Apostle in the 5th chapter of Romans, "Much more then," he says, "being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." Mark the connection, "Being already justified by His death, we shall be saved"—and saved by what? "By His life," by His ever living to make intercession for us. (Rom. 5:10.)
Wise and beautiful is the comparison made by that master of allegory, John Bunyan, in the "Pilgrim's Progress." He tells us how Christian was taken into the Interpreter's house, and how the Interpreter showed him many things wonderful and instructive. In one place he took him into a room where there was a fire burning, and showed him one ever pouring water upon that fire, and yet the water did not quench the fire. However much water he poured on, still the fire went on burning steadily! Then said the Interpreter, "Do you know what this means?" When Christian did not know, he took him behind the fire, and showed him one pouring on oil out of a
vessel. This oil fed the fire, and made it burn more fiercely, notwithstanding all the water that was poured upon it. Then the Interpreter told him that this was a picture of Jesus Christ's intercession. That fire was the fire of grace in the believer's heart. He who poured on the water was the enemy of souls, was the devil. But He who poured on the oil, standing behind the fire, was the Lord Jesus Christ, who by continual intercession and the supply of His Spirit, secretly and unseen by man, kept alive His own work in the believer's heart, and did not allow Satan and all his agents to get a victory over Him.
Would you know the secret of the believer's boldness in prayer? It is a marvel how a man that feels his sin so deeply as the believer does, can speak with the confidence the believer frequently does. How one that acknowledges he is "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked," ruined, undone—who often does what he ought not to do, and leaves undone what he ought to do, and finds no spiritual health in him— how such a one as this can go before God with confidence, pour out his heart before Him freely, ask from Him what he requires day after day and not feel afraid—this is wonderful indeed. What is the secret of it? It is the intercession of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whereby the true Christian knows his prayers are made acceptable, and received in the court of heaven. What is the believer's prayer in itself? A poor, weak thing, unfit to rise above the ground. I know nothing it is more like, than a bank-note without the signature at the bottom. What is the value of that bank-note without the signature? Nothing at all. Once get a very few letters traced in ink upon the bottom of that bank-note, and that which was a piece of waste paper a few moments before, becomes worth, it may be, many hundred pounds, through the signature being attached to it. So it is with the intercession of Christ. He signs, endorses, and presents the believer's petitions; and through His all-prevailing intercession they are heard on high, and bring down blessings upon the Christian's soul.
Would you know the secret of daily comfort in all the toil, and business, and distractions we have to go through? We all know that
they who have to do work in any secular calling, find the work oftentimes a sore burden to their souls. Oftentimes in the morning they feel, "How can I get through this day without a defiled conscience, without being sorely troubled and tempted to forget my God?" How shall a man get through the day with comfort, fill his office in the world, do his duty in the position to which God has called him? Let him lay hold upon the intercession of Jesus Christ. Let him grasp the great thought, that Christ not merely died for him —but rose again, and still lives for him.
It is recorded of a Christian soldier, who died in the Commonwealth wars, that a common prayer of his before leaving his tent was something of this kind, "Lord, I am going this day to do the duty whereunto I am called. I may sometimes forget You. I cannot have my thoughts at all times as fully fixed upon You as I wish. But, Lord, if I this day forget You—may You not forget me." This is the kind of thought which every believer should lay hold upon who has much to do in the business of this world. Rising from his bed in the morning, going from his room every morning, leaving his house every morning, let him bear in mind, "There is One living in heaven who intercedes for me, while I am following my lawful calling. Although I may be absorbed in business, and obliged to give up all the powers of my poor weak mind to it, still there lives One who never forgets me." He may say, as the old soldier did, "Lord—if I this day forget You— may You not forget me."
Last of all, would you know the secret of comfort in looking forward to that heaven whereunto every believer desires to go? I believe there are few children of God who do not sometimes feel anxious, troubled, and cast down, when they think quietly about the eternal habitation towards which they are traveling. The nature of it, the manner of it, the employments of it, their own apparent unfitness for it—will sometimes perplex their minds. These thoughts will sometimes come across the believer's mind, especially in times of sickness, filling him with heaviness, and making his heart sink. Now I know no remedy against these thoughts to be compared to the recollection of the
continual intercession of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ is gone into heaven to be the "forerunner" of a people who are to follow after Him. He is gone "to prepare a place for them"—and the place whereto He goes is the place whereto His people are to go by-and-by. When they go there they will find all things made ready, a place for everyone, and a fitting and proper place, too, through the intercession of their Lord and Savior.
There never will be a time when their company will not be liked in heaven. There never will be a time when their old sins—the sins of their youth and their backslidings, their wickedness before conversion, their profligacy, it may be, before the grace of God came into their hearts—there never will be a day when all these sins shall come up against them, and make them feel abashed and ashamed in heaven. Christ will be in the midst. Christ will ever intercede for them. Where Christ is, there His people will be. Where He lives, His perfect merit, His spotless righteousness, His intercession, will make them perfect in the sight of God the Father. They will stand in heaven, seen in Christ, clothed in Christ, members of Christ, part of Christ, and so will possess a firm and solid and eternal title to the eternal joys which shall be hereafter.
I will now conclude this paper by a few words of APPLICATION to all into whose hands it may fall. My heart's desire and prayer to God is that the words I have been writing may yet bear fruit in some souls. In order that they may do so, I offer a few words of faithful and affectionate exhortation.
(1) I would offer counsel, first, to all who are anxious and troubled respecting their soul's salvation, and yet know not what to do. If you are such a person, I charge you and entreat you, I beseech you and invite you—to come into the way of which I have been speaking in this paper. I beseech you to come to God by the old and tried way—the way of faith in Jesus Christ. Draw near to God, pleading the name of Jesus. Begin this very day to cry mightily unto God, in the name of Jesus, on behalf of your soul. Don't say that you
have anything to plead for yourself. You have nothing to plead. Your life, your thoughts, your ways—all alike condemn you. Say nothing about yourself but this—that you are a sinner, a great sinner, a guilty sinner, a condemned sinner; but because you are a sinner, you turn to God. Come to Him in the name of Jesus, saying, you have heard that through Jesus a sinner may come near Him. Tell Him that you are a sinner, a great sinner, and an unworthy one. But tell Him that you come in the faith of His promises, in the confidence of His own Bible invitation; and in the name of Jesus, and for the sake of Jesus, and on account of Jesus—you ask to be received, heard, pardoned, forgiven, and accepted. Tell Him that you wish to have your name— even that name of yours connected hitherto with worldliness, thoughtlessness, carelessness, and sin—added to the list of God's dear children.
Will you say that you are afraid to come to God? Your fear is needless. You shall not be cast out, if you will but come in the way of faith in Christ. Our God is not "an austere man." Our Father in heaven is full of mercy, love, and grace. I yield to none in desire to exalt the love, mercy, and tenderness of God the Father. I will never concede, for one moment, that what is called an evangelical ministry, will not magnify the mercy, love, and compassion of God the Father as much as any ministry on earth. We know that God is holy. We know He is just. We believe that He is angry with those who go on still in sin. But we also believe that to those who draw near to Him in Christ Jesus, He is most merciful, most loving, most tender, and most compassionate. We tell you that the cross of Jesus Christ was the result and consequence of that love. The cross was not the cause and reason of God's mercy—but the result and consequence of the everlasting love of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, towards a poor, lost, and bankrupt world. Draw near in faith, by that living way, Christ Jesus, to the Father. Think not for a moment—the unworthy thought shall never prove true—that so drawing near to God the Father by Christ, God the Father will not receive you. He will receive you gladly. As the father did to the prodigal son when he ran to meet him—fell on his neck and kissed
him, so will God the Father do to that soul who draws near to Him in the name of Christ.
(2) In the next place, I would cheer those readers who have walked in the way of God, and yet are afraid of falling. Why should you be afraid? What should make you fear? What should make you suppose that you shall ever be allowed to fall away, while Jesus Christ lives at the right hand of God to make intercession for you? All the power of the Lord Jesus Christ is pledged upon your behalf. He has undertaken to care for all the flock that God the Father has committed into His hand. He will care for it. He has cared for it. He went to the cross for it. He died for it. He is ever at the right hand of Gcd, and has not ceased to care for it. Every member of that flock—the weakest, the feeblest sheep or lamb—is equally dear to the Lord and Savior, and none shall pluck the least of Christ's sheep out of God's hand. Can you stop the tides of the sea, and make them not rise at your command? Can you make the waters stop when the tide begins to come? Can you prevent the sun in heaven going down in the west, or prevent the same sun from rising tomorrow morning in the east? You cannot do it—these things are impossible. And all the power of devils, all the power of the world, and all the enemies of the Christian, shall not be able to pluck out of the hand of Jesus Christ one single soul who has been brought by the Spirit's teaching to true union with Christ, and for whom Jesus Christ intercedes. The days of Christ's weakness have passed away. He was "crucified through weakness," and was weak on our account when He went to the cross. (2 Cor. 13:4.) The days of His weakness are over—the days of His power have begun. Pilate shall no more condemn Him—He shall come to condemn Pilate. All power is His in heaven and earth, and all that power is engaged on behalf of His believing people.