01.04. Meditation 4

MEDITATION 4.

"This is my comfort in my affliction" Psalms 119:50

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out!" John 6:37 When a thoughtful mind, especially in the season of affliction, or in the prospect of death, considers its relation to God and its eternal prospects, it can hardly fail to be impressed with the transcendent importance of that question, "What must I do to be saved?" If the inquirer betakes himself to the Bible, with the view of obtaining satisfactory information on this momentous subject, he finds God’s own answer to that question, in these memorable words, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." These words are few and simple — but they contain the sum and substance of the Gospel message; they teach him to believe the record which God has given respecting his Son, and, believing that record, to place his personal trust and dependence on Christ, as an all-sufficient Savior, able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him. But when this plain and simple answer is given, to his question, the anxious inquirer is apt to be staggered and perplexed by its very simplicity. He is not prepared to find that every bar has been taken out of the way, and that he is at liberty to repair to Christ at once as his Savior. He is surprised, and begins to doubt whether he has understood the message in the sense in which God would have him to understand it. He ponders on other passages of Scripture which declare God’s wrath and curse on account of sin, or which require holiness of heart and life, or which speak of the difficulty of being saved; and, without adverting to the fact that these passages refer to difficulties which arise out of his own fallen and depraved nature, and which God’s grace alone can remove, he is apt to think that something must be done by him, before he is warranted to embrace the offer of the Gospel, or to trust in Christ as his Savior. Hence, encouraged, on the one hand, by the possibility of his being saved — and distracted, on the other hand, by the supposed necessity of fulfilling certain conditions before he is warranted to take God’s invitation to himself — he derives little or no immediate comfort from the simple message of the Gospel, and remains for a time at a distance from Christ, or only fearfully looking to him as one that may ultimately be his Savior. To an inquirer in these circumstances, nothing can be more useful than to set before him a clear view of the warrant of faith, or of the ground on which he is encouraged at once, and without any delay, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and to come to him for pardon and peace.

I. The first ground on which the most disconsolate inquirer may be encouraged to return to God, through Christ, without delay — is the character of God, as it is revealed in his Word. That character is set forth in Scripture in a variety of aspects, which are all fitted to conciliate the love, and to secure the confidence of sinners. Let every serious inquirer consider the testimony of God in this matter: "The Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with Moses there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed: The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands." God’s love and mercy are declared with a fullness and variety of expression which leave no room for unbelieving doubt or suspicion. His very name is "the Lord God merciful and gracious;" he is declared to be "abundant in goodness;" he is said to be "keeping mercy for thousands" Nor is this a solitary passage, different from the general tenor of God’s Word: his character is delineated in the same way in so many places, that our chief difficulty consists in making a selection of the most striking and impressive proofs.

We have taken one passage from the Law; let us look now to the Psalms, "You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon you." "You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious; long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." "Your mercy is great unto the heavens." "The Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting." "Great are your tender mercies, O Lord." "Your mercy, 0 Lord, endures forever."

Passing from the Law and the Psalms, let us look now to the Prophets, "Who is a God like unto you, that pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage; he retains not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy." "You are a God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slaw to anger, and of great kindness." "Though he causes grief — yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies." "As I live, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked."

If we look to the gospel Evangelists, we see there recorded the words of Christ himself:, "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world — but that the world through him might be saved." "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one who sees the Son and believes on him, may have everlasting life."

And, finally, let us hear the testimony of the Apostles, "God is love," says John. "God is rich in mercy" says Paul. "The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy" says James. "The Lord is long-suffering to us," says Peter, "not willing that any should perish — but that all should come to repentance."

Thus the unanimous testimony of the Law, the Psalms, the Prophets of the Old Testament, the Evangelists, and the Apostles of the New — bears witness to God’s character, as a Being of manifold mercies, whose very name is love. A clear apprehension and cordial belief of this great truth, would do much to remove all the scruples and fears which prevent many an anxious inquirer from coming to him for life and salvation. In general terms, we all admit, indeed, the merciful character of God; but surely, if it impart no comfort, and inspire no confidence, and awaken no gratitude — it must either be very imperfectly apprehended, or little, if at all, believed. The proper effect of such a character, when seen in all its glorious excellence, is to banish distrust and suspicion, and to awaken admiring love, and childlike confidence. The kindness or benignity of an earthly friend produces these feelings, and his very character is regarded as a sufficient warrant for our going to him in a time of straits, and frankly laying before him our difficulties and needs, in the assurance, that his kindness will prompt him to listen to our request, and to take an interest in our case.

Why is it otherwise with us when God is concerned, unless it is that we either do not sufficiently understand the benignity of his nature, or are suspicious of the sincerity of his kindness? Did we really believe God to be so very gracious and merciful a Being as his Word declares him to be; did we realize his infinite love, and were we assured that his love is perfectly sincere — Oh! how would this banish the hard thoughts of him which we are too prone to cherish, and destroy those scruples, and misgivings, and fears, of which we are sensible when we think of repairing to him for mercy. The evil is, that even when the grace and mercy of God are not formally called in question, there often remains in the heart an undefined and vague suspicion of his sincerity, or an idea that his love is wavering and uncertain, if not capricious, in its exercise. And hence, all the cheering influence which the light of his love might exert upon us, is destroyed by the intervention of our own dark unbelief, just as the rays of the sun are intercepted, and their influence diminished, by the dense vapors and thick clouds of the sky.

Grace and mercy, indeed, are not the sole attributes of God; and the sinner who would fondly cling to these, may be repelled by the reflection that, as merciful as God is — he is also holy and just. That he is declared, both by the voice of conscience, and by his own revealed Word — to be the avenger of sin, and that, as such, he cannot be regarded by any sinner without alarm and terror.

All this is true; and were it overlooked or forgotten, we would entertain a very partial and delusive idea of the divine character. It is equally true that unassisted reason can discover no method of reconciling the exercise of mercy with the claims of justice — and no ground of confidence in God, such as would warrant the hope of safety for a sinner. But in God’s revealed character, justice and mercy meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other. We are under no necessity of forgetting any attribute of his nature, or of adopting a partial view of his character, for the sake of deriving peace and comfort from it. We can regard it in all its holiness, and yet feel that we are safe. For,

II. God’s declared satisfaction with the redemption of Christ, affords a warrant and encouragement to the sinner, such as should banish all the fears which even a correct and scriptural sense of God’s holiness and justice may have awakened in his mind. That he should have a deep and abiding sense of God’s holiness and justice — is no more than Scripture requires, and the state of the case demands. That a sense of God’s justice, combined with a sense of his own guilt, should awaken fear and terror, is equally plain; but he will thereby be only the better qualified for coming to God as he is revealed in the Gospel. Under this impression, let us turn again to the first passage formerly quoted, a passage in which the whole character of God is revealed, first, as infinitely merciful, and secondly, as strictly holy and just. On reading that passage, the sinner may be disposed to say, oh! how sweet and encouraging is the first part of it, "the Lord God merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands," — this is sweet, it is as cool water to the parched ground — would that it had ended here! But when I proceed I find it written, "that he will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generations" — this damps my rising hopes, it sinks my heart within me; for am I not guilty? And if he will by no means clear the guilty, what avails it to me that he is merciful and gracious? I am irrecoverably ruined and undone. My guilt and God’s justice are, after all, as certain as his loving-kindness; and how, then, can I draw near to God?

All this is true. It is equally true, that while, in one passage, we read that "God is love," we read in another, that "our God is a consuming fire." How, then, may a sinner extricate himself from this perplexity — how may he obtain relief — when he cannot deny his own guilt, and dares not dispute God’s inflexible justice? Is there one sinner who feels, that were his guilt out of the way, he would willingly go to God, as the Lord God merciful and gracious — and who is debarred only by a sense of divine justice? Let him look to the cross of Christ, and he will see the barrier removed; there God’s character is displayed in all its attributes, and these attributes are seen to be perfectly harmonious. "Truth meets with mercy, and righteousness with peace," and the Lord is beheld as at once the "Just God," and yet "the Savior." In the cross, the love and mercy of God appear in the gift of his own Son; and his justice is at once displayed and satisfied by the atonement which was there required and rendered. By the substitution of Christ as our Redeemer, in our place, and by the infliction of that punishment on him which our sins had deserved — the law was magnified and made honorable, and the reason for punishment having been removed, God’s justice is satisfied. And now, "God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and not imputing unto them their trespasses." He has declared his satisfaction with the work of the Redeemer; and now, on the ground of that great atoning sacrifice, he gives to every repentant sinner the liberty of free access to his throne — his justice no longer stands in the way; and, lest the peculiar heinousness of any man’s sins should discourage him, he has given forth that gracious declaration, "the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin."

Behold how the sinner’s perplexity is removed; he sees in the cross that God can be at once the Just God and yet the Savior — faithful and just even in forgiving his sins, and cleansing him from all iniquity. There he discovers how both parts of that sublime passage may be reconciled; and how true it is that while, without satisfaction, God would by no means clear the guilty — yet, being satisfied with Christ’s atonement, he is the Lord, forgiving iniquity, and transgression and sin.

Oh! what relief must the clear apprehension of this one truth impart to the convinced sinner! What a heavy burden must it lift from off his heart! He needs not deny his guilt, or dispute God’s justice — no, he sees and acknowledges both; but neither is now a bar in the way of his access to God, for God in Christ, the Judge on the mercy-seat, the Lawgiver on the throne of grace — declares that, by the Redeemer’s atonement, he is satisfied, and that now "there is forgiveness with him and plenteous redemption."

Neither God’s justice,
nor the sinner’s guilt,
nor the demands of a broken law,
nor the voice of an accusing conscience,
nor the sacred majesty of God’s government
— should now discourage him. God is satisfied with Christ’s redemption, and that is enough for us. He has declared his satisfaction, and why should we be doubtful or downcast? Let us rather sing with the prophet, "O Lord, I will praise you; for though you were angry with me — yet your anger is turned away, and you comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation."

III. Remembering, then, God’s gracious and merciful character, and his declared satisfaction with Christ’s redemption as the ground of pardon — let us consider the language in which he now speaks to sinners from the mercy-seat, and we shall find in his invitations a full warrant for confidence and trust. Both God and Christ invite sinners to draw near in such terms as leave no room and no apology for refusing. These invitations are frequently repeated, and given in every variety of form, the best fitted to remove our doubts, and secure our confidence. They are addressed to sinners as such, and to all sinners, without exception, to whom the Gospel is sent — insomuch that it may well be said, that if there be a man on earth who is not a sinner, to him alone are they not applicable. But to every man that is a sinner, and just because he is a sinner — they are addressed.

Let us listen, then, to the gracious terms in which God speaks to sinners from the mercy-seat — and let us listen to them as if God spoke to us alone. "Ho! every one that thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money — come buy and eat; yes, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price." "Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." "Say unto them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn, turn from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?" "Come unto me," says Christ himself, "all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink." "And the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) and the bride (the Church universal) say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whoever will, let him take of the water of life freely."

One might think that these plain and express Scriptures should banish all unbelieving doubt and suspicion; for in them God speaks, Christ speaks, the Spirit speaks, the Church speaks, and all say, "Come!" But as if a mere permission or invitation were not enough, the apostle represents God as beseeching or entreating us to come. "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be you reconciled unto God."

Now, let me ask my doubting heart: What reason can justify your refusal to come to God in Christ, or what excuse can be offered, when so plain a warrant is given, for hesitation or delay? You are a sinner — true; but if you were not a sinner — you would not need to be saved, and the Gospel would not have been addressed to you. You are a great sinner — be it so; but is not Christ a great Savior too? You know not whether your name is written in the book of life — true; but God speaks to you in his Word. And unless you are prepared to avow a suspicion of God’s sincerity, you know that he has invited you to draw near. And if, notwithstanding, you refuse, what other account can be given of you, than that which the Lord gave of the unbelieving Jews, "You are not willing to come to me that you might have life!"

IV. Besides the revealed character of God, and his declared satisfaction with the Redeemer’s work, and his free and affectionate invitations to sinners — another ground of encouragement may be found in the assurance which he has given of success, confirmed, as that assurance is, by the recorded experience of all who have ever put God’s faithfulness to the proof. God’s assurance is, that every one that comes, shall he made welcome; and thus we read in that precious Scripture, "Him that comes unto me, I will never cast out." This glorious truth rests on God’s faithfulness, and should be received with all trust on his sure and simple word. But it is confirmed and illustrated by the experience of every sinner that has at any time ventured, on the faith of God’s word, to come to him. No such sinner has ever been cast out. Every believer can set to his seal that God is true. If we ask any Christian friend whom we know, whether he has ever had occasion to doubt God’s faithfulness to his promise, or to repent of his going to God in Christ, on the strength of his testimony, he will tell us: "Never! God was more gracious to him, the more he trusted in God; he drew near, and was made welcome; he has never had reason to regret that he took God at his word; his only regret is, that he was so long faithless and unbelieving." This is the unanimous testimony of the Church, that no poor sinner was ever sent empty away. And if it is so, why should any of us doubt our warrant to go to Christ now? Is he not unchangeable — still the same "Lord over all, who is rich in mercy to all that call upon him in truth?" Is not the warrant of faith the same now as it ever was — as full and as free as it was to them? We are apt to imagine that there is a defect in our warrant — that others have had special revelations which have not been addressed to us; and, before venturing to come to Christ, we seem to wish and expect that something more should be revealed to us than God has revealed in his Word. But here we err, not knowing the Scriptures, and the power of God. The revealed Word is the only warrant of faith. We must come to God on the ground of Bible testimony, if we come at all. It is amply sufficient to justify and to encourage us in venturing to come; and if we believe not Moses and the prophets, if we believe not God speaking in the Word, "neither would we believe though one should rise from the dead." And, let it be observed, this has been the warrant of faith from the beginning — the sole and sufficient ground on which any sinner was ever prevailed with to betake himself to Christ. It was on the strength of God’s testimony that the apostles believed — that the confessors and martyrs of the primitive Church believed — that each and every Christian, since the foundation of the Church was laid, first formed his resolution to cast himself on the forgiving mercy of God.

Ask any Christian friend: "Had you any special revelation; were you told that your name was in the book of life; or, what encouraged you to come to Christ?" And he will answer: "I had no special revelation — but that which is in your hands; I had no insight into the secrets of God’s decrees — but I read the Bible; I heard God speaking to sinners in the Word — I knew myself to be a sinner, and that God spoke to me. I believed his Word, because I judged him faithful that had promised; I came to him on the warrant of his own invitation, and I have found, in my blessed experience, that there not one good thing which the Lord had spoken has failed — all came to pass."

Such will be the testimony of every child of God. It is true, indeed, that even when the warrant is clear, the sinner may find that there is something in the state of his own mind that hinders him from complying with the gracious invitation; that, while the way is open, there is a barrier within, arising from the depraved state of his heart, which he cannot overcome in his own strength; and that, although no new revelation be needful to perfect his warrant to believe, a new and spiritual influence is needful to dispose him to believe. This is a great and a most momentous truth — but it does not affect our warrant for coming to Christ — that is clear, full, and undeniable. And, being so, if this bar, arising from the depraved state of our own hearts, prevents us from believing — then our final ruin and perdition must not be ascribed to any defect in Christ’s Gospel — it lies wholly on our own heads.

Oh that we all felt this great truth, for it would shut us up to the grace of the Holy Spirit! God has revealed that his grace will he given in answer to prayer; for, says he, "Ask and you shall receive." "If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

V. Finally, if we are still in doubt as to our warrant to come to Christ at once, and without delay — let us consider, that this is not only in Scripture the matter of permission and of encouragement — but the subject of an express and positive command. It is not a mere privilege, which we are at liberty to enjoy — it is a duty which we cannot neglect or trifle with, without incurring guilt and condemnation. It is given in the shape of a precept, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." And, lest this should be regarded as partaking more of the nature of an advice than of an injunction, it is expressly called a commandment, "This is his commandment — that we should believe on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ." That this commandment imposes an imperative obligation on every sinner, appears from the word which is frequently used in Scripture to denote the reception of the Gospel message. It is called obeying the Gospel, or the obedience of faith; and that guilt is incurred by trifling with that message, or refusing to comply with it, appears from our Lord’s solemn statement, "He who believes on him is not condemned — but he who believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God."

He who reflects on such passages, should need little urgency to be persuaded as to his warrant to go to Christ without delay. He may well say, this is no light matter — it is a matter of life or death. If God had only invited me to come to him, that might have been sufficient; but when he commands me, there is no room left for hesitation. I might have felt, had he only given a general permission, that it would have been presumption in so great a sinner as I am, to close with it, or to plead it at his throne; but if it would have been presumption to take his gracious promises to myself, is there not greater presumption in setting myself against his positive command, in refusing to believe, when he makes it a matter of express duty? There is now no room for hesitation or delay. He has spoken graciously to me — he has invited me to draw nigh — he has commanded me to seek his face — he has charged me, at the peril of condemnation, to betake myself to Christ as my Savior — and I will venture, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.

Oh! when the poor sufferer, stunned and confounded by the heavy strokes of providence, or lacerated by the keener strokes of conviction in his soul, is almost distracted by the terrors of the Lord — is it not a comfort to him in his affliction, that Jesus himself has said, "Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest!" And, "him that comes to me, I will never cast out?" He calls us to come to him with our burden — let it be the burden of guilt, or the burden of sorrow, or the burden of fear — to come and lay it down at the foot of his cross. And, lest the disconsolate spirit should fear that he will not be made welcome, Jesus assures him, that "he will never cast him out." Oh! how sweet and consoling that invitation, and this assurance, to those who are sensible of their condition as sinners and as sufferers! And how should we respond to it, if not in the language of the apostle, "To whom, Lord, can we go, but unto you? You have the words of eternal life!"