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SUBJECT: 048 PSA 62:2 God Alone the Salvation of His
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God Alone the Salvation of his People
May 18, 1856
by
C. H. SPURGEON
(1834-1892)
"He only is my rock and my salvation."- Psa_92:2.
How noble a title. So sublime, suggestive, and overpowering. "MY ROCK." It is
a figure so divine, that to God alone shall it ever be applied.
Look on yon rocks and wonder at their antiquity, for from their summits a
thousand ages look down upon us. When this gigantic city was as yet unfounded
they were grey with age; when our humanity had not yet breathed the air, 'tis
said that these were ancient things; they are the children of departed ages.
With awe we look upon these aged rocks, for they are among nature's first-
born. You discover, embedded in their bowels, the remnants of unknown worlds,
of which, the wise may guess, but which, nevertheless, they must fail to
know, unless God himself should teach them what hath been before them. You
regard the rock with reverence, for you remember what stories it might tell,
if it had a voice; of how through igneous and aqueous agency, it has been
tortured into the shape it now assumes. Even so is our God pre-eminently
ancient. His head and his hair are white like wool, as white as snow, for he
is "the ancient of days," and we are always taught in Scripture to remember,
that he is "without beginning of years." Long ere creation was begotten,
"from everlasting to everlasting," he was God.
"My rock!" What a history the rock might give you of the storms to which it
has been exposed; of the tempests which have raged in the ocean at its base,
and of the thunders which have disturbed the skies above its head; while it,
itself, has stood unscathed by tempests, and unmoved by the buffettings of
storms. So with our God. How firm hath he stood-how steadfast hath he been-
though the nations have reviled him, and "the kings of the earth have taken
counsel together!" By merely standing still he hath broken the ranks of the
enemy, without even stretching forth his hand! With motionless grandeur like
a rock he hath broken the waves, and scattered the armies of his enemies,
driving them back in confusion. Look at the rock again: see how firm and
unmoved it stands! It doth not stray from place to place, but it abideth fast
for evermore. Other things have changed, islands have been drowned beneath
the sea, and continents have been shaken; but see, the rock stands as
steadfast as if it were the very foundation of the whole world, and could not
move till the wreck of creation, or the loosening of the bands of nature. So
with God: how faithful he is in his promises! how unalterable in his decrees!
how unswerving! how unchanging!
The rock is immutable, nought hath been worn from it. Yon old granite peak
hath gleamed in the sun, or worn the white veil of winter snow-it hath
sometimes worshipped God with bare uncovered head, and at other times the
clouds furnished it with veiling wings, that like a cherub, it might adore
its Maker, but yet itself hath stood unchanged. The frosts of winter have not
destroyed it, nor have the heats of summer melted it. It is the same with
God. Lo, he is my rock; he is the same, and his kingdom shall have no end.
Unchangeable he is in his being, firm in his own sufficiency; he keeps
himself immutably the same; and "therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed." The ten thousand uses of the rock, moreover, are full of ideas as
to what God is. You see the fortress standing on a high rock, up which the
clouds themselves can scarcely climb, and up whose precipices the assault
cannot be carried, and the armed cannot travel, for the besieged laugh at
them from their eminence. So is our God a sure defence; and we shall not be
moved if he hath "set our feet upon a rock, and established our goings." Many
a giant rock is a source of admiration from its elevation; for on the summit
we can see the world outspread below, like some small map; we mark the river
or broadly spreading stream, as if it were a vein of silver inlaid in
emerald. We discover the nations beneath our feet, "like drops in a bucket,"
and the islands are "very little things" in the distance, while the sea
itself seems but a basin of water, held in the hand of a mighty giant. The
mighty God is such a rock; we stand on him, and look down on the world,
counting it to be a mean thing. We have climbed to Pisgah's top, from the
summit of which we can see across this world of storms and troubles to the
bright land of spirits-that world unknown to ear or eye, but which God hath
revealed to us by the Holy Ghost. This mighty rock is our refuge, and it is
our high observatory, from which we see the unseen, and have the evidence of
things which as yet, we have not enjoyed. I need not, however, stop to tell
you all about a rock, we might preach for a week upon it; but we give you
that for your meditation during the week. "He is my rock." How glorious a
thought! How safe am I, and how secure: and how may I rejoice in the fact,
that when I wade through Jordan's stream he will be my rock! I shall not walk
upon a slippery foundation, but I shall tread on him who cannot betray my
feet; and I may sing, when I am dying, "He is my rock, and there is no
unrighteousness in him."
We now leave the thought of the rock, and proceed to the subject of our
discourse, which is this: that God alone is the salvation of his people.
"He ONLY is my rock and my salvation."
We shall notice, first, the great doctrine, that God only is our salvation;
secondly, the great experience, to know and to learn that "he only is my rock
and my salvation"; and, thirdly, the great duty, which you may guess at,
which is, to give all the glory and all the honor, and place all our faith on
him who "only is our rock and our salvation."
I. The first thing is, THE GREAT DOCTRINE-that God "only is our rock and our
salvation." If any one should ask us what we would choose for our motto, as
preachers of the gospel, we think we should reply, "God only is our
salvation." The late lamented Mr. Denham has put at the foot of his portrait,
a most admirable text, "Salvation is of the Lord' Now, that is just an
epitome of Calvinism; it is the sum and the substance of it. If any one
should ask you what you mean by a Calvinist, you may reply, "He is one who
says, salvation is of the Lord." I cannot find in Scripture any other
doctrine than this. It is the essence of the Bible. "He only is my rock and
my salvation." Tell me anything that departs from this and it will be a
heresy; tell me a heresy, and I shall find its essence here, that it has
departed from this great, this fundamental, this rocky truth, "God is my rock
and my salvation." What is the heresy of Rome, but the addition of something
to the perfect merits of Jesus Christ-the bringing in of the works of the
flesh, to assist in our justification? and what is that heresy of Arminianism
but the secret addition of something to the complete work of the Redeemer?
You will find that every heresy, if rough to the touchstone, will discover
itself here, it departs from this, "He only is my rock and my salvation."
Let us now explain this doctrine fully. By the term "salvation" here, I
understand not simply regeneration and conversion, but something more. I do
not reckon that to be salvation which regenerates me, and then puts me in
such a position that I may fall out of the covenant and be lost; I cannot
call that a bridge which only goes half-way over the stream; I cannot call
that salvation, which does not carry me all the way to heaven, wash me
perfectly clean, and put me among the glorified who sing constant hosannahs
around the throne. By salvation, then if I may divide it into parts, I
understand deliverance, preservation continually through life, sustentation,
and the gathering up of the whole in the perfecting of the saints in the
person of Jesus Christ at last.
1. By salvation, I understand deliverance from the house of bondage, wherein
by nature I am born, and being brought out into the liberty wherewith Christ
makes us free, together with a putting "on a rock, and establishing my
goings." This I understand to be wholly of God. And I think I am right in
that conclusion, because I find in Scripture that man is dead; and how can a
dead man assist in his own resurrection? I find that man is utterly depraved,
and hates the divine change. How can a man, then, work that change which he
himself hates? I find man to be ignorant of what it is to be born again, and
like Nicodemus, asking the foolish question, "How can a man enter again into
his mother's womb, and be born?" I cannot conceive that a man can do that
which he does not understand: and if he does not know what it is to be born
again, he cannot make himself to be born again. No. I believe man to be
utterly powerless in the first work of his salvation. He cannot break his
chains, for they be not chains of iron, but chains of his own flesh and
blood; he must first break his own heart before he can break the fetters that
bind him. And how should man break his own heart? What hammer is that which I
can use upon my own soul to break it, or what fire can I kindle which can
dissolve it? Nay, deliverance is of God alone. The doctrine is affirmed
continually to Scripture; and he who doth not believe it doth not receive
affirmed continually in Scripture; and he who doth not believe it doth not
receive God's truth. Deliverance is of God alone; "Salvation is of the Lord."
2. And if we are delivered and made alive in Christ, still preservation is of
the Lord alone. If I am prayerful, God makes me prayerful: if I have graces,
God gives me graces; if I have fruits, God gives me fruits; if I hold on in a
consistent life, God holds me on in a consistent life. I do nothing whatever
towards my own preservation, except what God himself first does in me.
Whatever I have, all my goodness is of the Lord alone. Wherein I sin, that is
my own; but wherein I act rightly, that is of God, wholly and completely. If
I have repulsed an enemy, his strength nerved my arm. Did I strike a foeman
to the ground? His strength sharpened my sword and gave me courage to strike
the blow. Do I preach his word? It is not I, but grace that is in me? Do I
live to God a holy life? It is not I, but Christ that liveth in me? Am I
sanctified? I did not sanctify myself; God's Holy Spirit sanctifies me. Am I
weaned from the world? I am weaned by God's chastisements. Do I grow in
knowledge? The great Instructor teaches me. I find in God all I want; but I
find in myself nothing. "He only is my rock and my salvation."
3. And again: sustentation also is absolutely requisite. We need sustentation
in providence for our bodies, and sustentation in grace for our souls.
Providential mercies are wholly from the Lord. It is true that rain falls
from heaven, and waters the earth, and "maketh it bring forth and bud, that
there may be seed, for the sower, and bread for the eater;" but out of whose
hand cometh the rain, and from whose fingers do the dew drops distil? It is
true, the sun shines, and makes the plants grow, and bud, and bring forth the
blossom, and his heat ripens the fruit upon the tree; but who gives the sun
his light, and who scatters the genial heat from him? It is true, I work and
toil; this brow sweats; these hands are weary; I cast myself upon my bed, and
there I rest, but I do not "sacrifice to mine own drag," nor do I ascribe my
preservation to my own might. Who makes these sinews strong? who makes these
lungs like iron, and who makes these nerves of steel? "God only is the rock
of my salvation." He only is the salvation of my body and the salvation of my
soul. Do I feed on the word? That word would be no food for me unless the
Lord made it food for my soul, and helped me to feed upon it. Do I live on
the manna which comes down from heaven? What is that manna, but Jesus Christ
himself incarnate, whose body and whose blood I eat and drink. Am I
continually receiving fresh increase of might? Where do I gather my might? My
salvation is of him: without him I can do nothing. As a branch cannot bring
forth fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can I except I abide in him.
4. Then if we gather the three thoughts in one. The perfection we shall soon
have, when we shall stand yonder, near God's throne, will be wholly of the
Lord. That bright crown which shall sparkle on our brow, like a constellation
of brilliant stars, shall have been fashioned only by our God. I go to a
land, but it is a land which the plough of earth hath never upturned, though
it be greener than earth's best pastures, and though it be richer than all
her harvests ever saw. I go to a building of more gorgeous architecture than
man hath builded; it is not of mortal architecture; it is "a house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens". All I shall know in heaven, will be
given by the Lord; and I shall say, when at last I appear before him,-
"Grace all the work shall crown
Through everlasting days;
It lays in heaven the topmost stone,
And well deserves the praise."
II. And now, beloved, we come to THE GREAT EXPERIENCE. The greatest of all
experience, I take it, is to know that "he only is our rock and our
salvation." We have been insisting upon a doctrine; but doctrine is nothing
unless proved in our experience. Most of God's doctrines are only to be
learned by practice-by taking them out into the world, and letting them bear
the wear and tear of life. If I ask any Christian in this place whether this
doctrine is true, if he has had any deep experience, he will reply, "True!
ay, that it is; not one word in God's Bible is more true than that, for
indeed salvation is of God alone." "He only is my rock and my salvation."
But, beloved, it is very hard to have such an experimental knowledge of the
doctrine that we never depart from it. It is very hard to believe that
"salvation is of the Lord." There are times when we put our confidence in
something else but God, and sin by linking hand-in-hand with God-something
besides him. Let me now dwell a little upon the experience which will bring
us to know that salvation is of God alone.
The true Christian will confess that salvation is of God alone effectively;
that is, that "he works in him to will and to do of his own pleasure."
Looking back on my past life, I can see that the dawning of it all was of
God; of God effectively. I took no torch with which to light the sun; but the
sun did light me. I did not commence my spiritual life-no, I rather kicked
and struggled against the things of the Spirit: when he drew me, for a time,
I did not run after him: there was a natural hatred in my soul of everything
holy and good. Wooings were lost upon me-warnings were cast to the wind-
thunders were despised; and as for the whispers of his love, they were
rejected as being less than nothing and vanity. But, sure I am, I can say
now, speaking on behalf of myself, and of all who know the Lord, "He only is
my salvation, and your salvation too." It was he who turned your heart, and
brought you down on your knees. You can say in very deed, then-
"Grace taught my soul to pray,
Grace made my eyes o'erflow."
And coming to this moment, you can say,-
"'Tis grace has kept me to this day,
And will not let me go."
I remember, when I was coming to the Lord, I thought I was doing it all
myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was
seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of him. One
day when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the
man's sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, "How did you
come to be a Christian?" I sought the Lord. "But how did you come to seek the
Lord?" The thought flashed across my mind in a moment-I should not have
sought him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make
me seek him. I am sure you will not be many weeks a Christian, certainly not
many months, before you will say, "I ascribe my change wholly to God." I
desire to make this my constant confession. I know there are some who preach
one gospel in the morning, and another at night-who preach a good sound
gospel in the morning, because they are preaching to saints, but preach
falsehood in the evening, because they are preaching to sinners. But there is
no necessity to preach truth at one time and falsehood at another. "The word
of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." There no need to put anything
else in it, in order to bring sinners to the Saviour. But, my brothers, you
must confess that "Salvation is of the Lord." When you turn back to the past,
you must say, "My Lord, whatever I have, thou gavest it me. Have I the wings
of faith? I was a wingless creature once. Have I the eyes of faith? I was a
blind creature once; I was dead, till thou madest me alive; blind, till thou
openedst my eyes; my heart was a loathsome dunghill, but thou puttest pearls
there, if pearls there be, for pearls are not the produce of dunghills; thou
hast given me all I have;" And so, if you look at the present, if you
experience be that of a child of God, you will trace all to him; not only all
you have had in the past, but all you have now. Here you are, sitting in your
pew this morning; now, I just want you to review where you stand. Beloved, do
you think you would be where you are now if it were not for divine grace?
Only think what a strong temptation you had yesterday, they did "consult to
cast you down from your excellency;" perhaps you were served like I am
sometimes. The devil sometimes seems to drag me right to the edge of a
precipice of sin by a kind of enchantment, making me forget the danger by the
sweetness which surrounds it; and just when he would push me down, I see the
yawning gulph beneath me, and some strong hang put out, and I hear a voice
saying, "I will preserve him from going down into the pit; I have found a
ransom." Do you not feel, that ere this sun goes down you will be damned, if
grace does not keep you? Have you anything good in your heart that grace did
not give you? If I thought I had a grace that did not come from God, I would
trample it beneath my feet, as not being a godly virtue; I would guess it to
be but a counterfeit, for it could not be right if it did not come from the
mint of glory. It may look ever so much like the right thing: but it is
certainly bad unless it came from God. Christian! canst thou say, of all
things past and present, "He only is my rock and my salvation?"
And now look forward to the future. Man! think how many enemies thou hast;
how many rivers thou hast to cross, how many mountains to climb, how many
dragons to fight, how many lions' teeth to escape, how many fires to pass
through, how many floods to wade. What thinkest thou, man? Can thy salvation
be of anything except of God! Oh! if I had not that everlasting arm to lean
upon, I would cry, "Death! hurl me anywhere; anywhere out of the world." If I
had not that one hope, that one trust, bury me ten thousand fathoms deep
beneath creation, where my being might be forgotten! Oh! put me far away, for
I am miserable if I have not God to help me all my journey through. Are you
strong enough to fight with one of your enemies without your God? I trow not.
A little silly maid may cast a Peter down, and cast you down too, if God do
not keep you. I beseech you, remember this; I hope you know it by experience
in the past; but try to remember it in the future, wherever you go,
"Salvation is of the Lord." Do not get looking at your heart, do not get
examining to see whether you have anything to recommend you, but remember,
"Salvation is of the Lord." "He only is my rock and my salvation."
Effectively, it all comes of God; and I am sure we must add, meritoriously.
We have experienced that salvation is wholly of him. What merits have I? If I
were to scrape together all I ever had, and then come to you and beg all you
have got, I should not collect the value of a farthing among you all. We have
heard of some Catholic, who said that there was a balance struck in his
favour between his good works and his bad ones, and therefore he went to
heaven. But there is nothing of the sort here; I have seen many people, many
kinds of Christians, and many odd Christians, but I never yet met with one
who said he had any merits of his own when he came to close quarters. We have
heard of perfect men, and we have heard of men perfectly foolish, and we have
thought the characters perfectly alike. Have we any merits of our own? I am
sure we have not, if we have been taught of God. Once we thought we had; but
there came a man called Conviction into our house one night, and took away
our gloryings. Ah! we are vile still. I don't know whether Cowper said quite
right, when he said,-
"Since the dear hour that brought me to thy foot,
And cut up all my follies by the root,
I never trusted in an arm but thine-
Nor hoped but in thy righteousness divine!"
I think he made a mistake, for most Christians get trusting in self at times,
but we are forced to own that "salvation is of the Lord," if we consider it
meritoriously.
My dear friends, have you experienced this in your own hearts? Can you say
"amen" to that, as it goes round? Can you say, "I know that God is my
helper?" I dare say you can, most of you; but you will not say it so well as
you will by-and-bye, if God teach you. We believe it, when we commence the
Christian life; we know it afterwards; and the longer we live, the more we
find it to be the truth-"Cursed is he that trusteth in man and maketh flesh
his arm, but blessed is he who trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord
is." In fact, the crown of Christian experience is to be delivered from all
trust in self or man, and to be brought to rely wholly and simply on Jesus
Christ. I say, Christian, thy highest and noblest experience is not to be
groaning about thy corruption, is not to be crying about thy wanderings, but
is to say-
"With all my sin, and care, and woe,
His Spirit will not let me go."
"Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." I like what Luther says: "I would
run into Christ's arms if he had a drawn sword in his hands." Trust is called
venturesome believing; but as an old divine says, there is no such thing as
venturesome believing; we cannot venture on Christ; it is no venture at all;
there is no hap-hazard in the least degree. It is a holy and heavenly
experience, when we can go to Christ, amid the storm, and say, "Oh! Jesus, I
believe I am covered by thy blood;" when we can feel ourselves to be all over
rages, and yet can say, "Lord, I believe that through Christ Jesus, ragged
though I am, I am fully absolved." A saint's faith is little faith when he
believes as a saint; but a sinner's faith is true faith when he believes as a
sinner. The faith, not of a sinless being, but the faith of a sinful
creature-that is the faith which delights God. Go, then, Christian: ask that
this may be thy experience, to learn each day, "He only is my rock and my
salvation."
III. And now, in the third place, we speak of THE GREAT DUTY. We have had the
great experience; now we must have the great duty.
The great duty is-if God only be our rock, and we know it, are we not bound
to put all our trust in God, to give all our love to God? If God be all I
have, sure, all I have shall be God's. If God alone is my hope, sure, I will
put all my hope upon God; if the love of God is alone that which saves, sure,
he shall have my love alone. Come, let me talk to thee, Christian, for a
little while, I want to warn thee not to have two Gods, two Christs, two
friends, two husbands, two great Fathers; not to have two fountains, two
rivers, two suns, or two heavens, but to have only one. I want to bid thee
now, as God hath put all salvation in himself, to bring all thyself unto God.
Come, let me talk to thee!
In the first place, Christian, never join anything with Christ. Wouldest thou
stitch thy old rags into the new garment he giveth? Wouldest thou put new
wine into old bottles? Wouldst thou put Christ and self together? Thou
mightest as well yoke an elephant and an emmet; they could never plough
together. What! wouldst thou put an archangel in the same harness with a
worm, and hope that they would drag thee through the sky! How inconsistent!
how foolish! What! thyself and Christ? Sure, Christ would smile; nay, Christ
would weep, to think of such a thing! Christ and man together? CHRIST AND CO?
No, it never shall be; he will have nothing of the sort; he must be all. Note
how inconsistent it would be to put anything else with him; and note, again,
how wrong it would be. Christ will never bear to have anything else places
with him. He calls them adulterers and fornicators that love anything else
but him; he will have thy whole heart to trust in him, thy whole soul to love
him, and thy whole life to honor him. He will not come into thy house, till
thou puttest all the keys at his girdle; he will not allow thee to give him
all the keys but one; he will not come till thou givest him garret, parlour,
drawing-room, and cellar too. He will make thee sing-
"Yet if I might make some reserve,
And duty did not call,
I love my God with zeal so great,
That I should give him all."
Mark thee, Christian; it is a sin to keep anything from God.
Again, Christ is very grieved if you do it. Assuredly you do not desire to
grieve him who shed his blood for you. Surely there is not one child of God
here who would like to vex his blessed elder Brother. There cannot be one
soul redeemed by blood who would like to see those sweet blessed eyes of our
best beloved bedewed with tears. I know ye will not grieve your Lord; will
ye? But I tell you ye will vex his noble spirit if ye love aught but him; for
he is so fond of you, that he is jealous of your love. It is said, concerning
his Father, that he is "a jealous God," and he is a jealous Christ you have
to deal with; therefore, put not your trust in chariots, stay not yourselves
in horses, but say, "He only is my rock and my salvation."
I beg thee, mark also, one reason why thou shouldest not look at anything
else; and that is, if thou lookest at anything else thou canst not see Christ
so well. "Oh!" thou sayest, "I can see Christ in his mercies;" but thou canst
not see him so well there, as if you viewed his person. No man can look at
two objects at the same time, and see both distinctly. You may afford a wink
for the world, and a wink for Christ; but you cannot give Christ a whole look
and a whole eye, and the world half an eye too. I beseech thee, Christian, do
not try it. If thou lookest on the world, it will be a speck in thine eye; if
thou trustest in anything but him, betwixt two stools thou wilt come to the
ground, and a fearful fall wilt thou have. Therefore, Christian, look thou
only on him. "He only is my rock and my salvation."
Mark thee, again, Christian, I would bid thee never put anything else with
Christ; for as sure as ever thou dost, thou wilt have the whip for it. There
never was a child of God who harboured one of the Lord's traitors in his
heart, but he always had a charge laid against him. God has sent out a search
warrant against all of us; and do you know what he has told his officers to
search for? He has told them to search for all our lovers, all our treasures,
and all our helpers. God cares less about our sins as sins, than he does
about our sins, or even our virtues, as usurpers of his throne. I tell thee,
there is nothing in the world thou settest thy heart upon that shall not be
hung upon a gallows higher than Haman's. If thou lovest anything but Christ,
he will make it to do penance; if thou lovest thy house better than Christ,
he will make it a prison to thee; if thou lovest thy child better than
Christ, he will make it an adder in thy breast to sting thee; if thou lovest
thy daily provisions better than Christ, he will make thy drink bitter and
thy food like gravel stones in thy mouth, till thou comest to live wholly on
him. There is nothing which thou hast, which he cannot turn into a rod, if
thou lovest it better than him; and rest assured he will do so, if thou
makest it anything to rob thy Christ.
And, mark thee, once again, if thou lookest at anything save God, thou wilt
soon go into sin. If the mariner will steer by the pole-star he shall go to
the north; but if he steers sometimes by the pole-star and sometimes by
another constellation, he knoweth not where he shall go. If thou dost not
keep thine eye wholly on Christ, thou wilt soon be wrong. If thou ever dost
give up the secret of thy strength, namely, thy trust I Christ; if thou ever
dalliest with the Delilah of the world, and lovest thyself more than Christ,
the Philistines will be upon thee, and shear thy locks, and take thee out to
grind at the mill, till thy God give thee deliverance by means of thy hair
growing once more, and bringing thee to trust wholly in the Saviour. Keep
thine eye, then, fixed on Jesus; for if thou dost turn away from him, how ill
wilt thou fare! I bid thee, Christian, beware of thy graces; beware of thy
virtues; beware of thy experience; beware of thy prayers; beware of thy hope;
beware of thy humility. There is not one of thy graces which may not damn
thee, if they are left alone to themselves. Old Brooks saith, when a woman
hath a husband, and that husband giveth unto her some choice rings, she
putteth them on her fingers; and if she should be so foolish as to love the
rings better than her husband; if she should care only for the jewels, and
forget him who gave them; how angry would the husband be, and how foolish she
would be herself! Christian! I warn thee, beware of thy graces; for they may
prove more dangerous to thee than thy sins. I warn thee of everything in this
world; for everything has this tendency, especially a high estate. If we have
a comfortable maintenance, we are most likely not to look so much to God. Ah!
Christian, with an independent fortune, take care of thy money; beware of thy
gold and silver; it will curse thee if it comes between thee and thy God.
Always keep thine eye to the cloud, and not to the rain,-to the river, and
not to the ship that floateth on its bosom. Look thee not to the sunbeam, but
to the sun; trace thy mercies to God, and say perpetually, "He only is my
rock and my salvation."
Lastly, I bid thee once more to keep thine eye wholly on God, and on nothing
in thyself, because what art thou now, and what wast thou ever, but a poor
damned sinner if thou wert out of Christ! I had been preaching the other day
all the former part of the sermon, as a minister; presently I thought I was a
poor sinner, and then, how differently I began to speak! The best sermons I
ever preach are those I preach, not in my ministerial capacity, but as a poor
sinner preaching to sinners. I find there is nothing like a minister
recollecting that he is nothing but a poor sinner, after all. It is said of
the peacock, that, although he has fine feathers, he is ashamed of his black
feet: I am sure that we ought to be ashamed of ours. However gay our feathers
may appear at times, we ought to think of what we should be if grace did not
help us. Oh! Christian, keep thine eye on Christ, for out of him thou art no
better than the damned in hell; there is not a demon in the pit but might put
thee to the blush, if thou art out of Christ. Oh that thou wouldest be
humble! Recollect what an evil heart thou hast within thee, even when grace
is there. Thou hast grace-God loves thee; but recollect, thou hast a foul
cancer in thy heart still. God has removed much of thy sin, but still the
corruption remains. We feel that though the old man is somewhat choked, and
the fire somewhat damped by the sweet waters of the Holy Spirit's influence,
yet it would blaze up worse than before, if God did not keep it under. Let us
not glory in ourselves, then. The slave need not be proud of his descent: he
has the brand-mark upon his hand. Out upon pride! Away with it! Let us rest
wholly and solely upon Jesus Christ.
Now, just one word to the ungodly-you who do not know Christ. You have heard
what I have told you, that salvation is of Christ alone. Is not that a good
doctrine for you? For you have not got anything, have you? You are a poor,
lost, ruined sinner. Hear this, then, sinner: thou hast nothing, and thou
dost not want anything, for Christ has all. "Oh!" sayest thou, "I am a bond
slave." Ah! but he has got the redemption. "Nay," sayest thou, "I am a black
sinner." Yes, but he has got the bath that can wash thee white. Sayest thou,
"I am leprous?" Yes, but the good Physician can take thy leprosy away. Sayest
thou, "I am condemned?" Ay, but he has got the acquittal warrant signed and
sealed, if thou dost believe in him. Sayest thou, "But I am dead?" Ay, but
Christ has life, and he can give thee life. Thou wantest nothing of thine
own-nothing to rely on but Christ; and if there be a man, woman or child
here, who is prepared to say solemnly after me, with his or her heart, "I
take Christ to be my Saviour, with no powers and no merits of my own to trust
in; I see my sins, but I see that Christ is higher than my sins; I see my
guilt, but I believe that Christ is mightier than my guilt;"-I say, if any
one of you can say that, you may go away and rejoice, for you are heirs of
the kingdom of heaven.
I must tell you a singular story, which was related at our church meeting,
because there may be some very poor people here who may understand the way of
salvation by it. One of the friends had been to see a person who was about to
join the church; and he said to him, "Can you tell me what you would say to a
poor sinner who came to ask you the way of salvation?" "well," said he, "I do
not know-I think I can hardly tell you; but it so happened that a case of
this sort did occur yesterday. A poor woman came into my shop, and I told her
the way; but it was in such a homely manner that I don't like to tell you."
"Oh, yes, tell me; I should like to hear it," Well, she is a poor woman, who
is always pawning her things, and by-and-bye she redeems them again. I did
not know how to tell her better than this. I said to her:-'Look here; your
soul is in pawn to the devil; Christ has paid the redemption money; you take
faith for your ticket, and so you will get your soul out of pawn.'" Now, that
was the most simple, but the most excellent way of imparting a knowledge of
salvation to this woman. It is true our souls were pawned to Almighty
vengeance; we were poor, and could not pay the redemption money; but Christ
came and paid it all, and faith is the ticket which we use to get our souls
out of pawn. We need not take a single penny with us; we have only to say,
"Here, Lord, I believe in Jesus Christ. I have brought no money to pay for my
soul, for there is the ticket; the money has been paid long ago. This is
written in thy word: 'The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin.'" If thou
takest that ticket, thou wilt get thy soul out of pawn; and thou wilt say,
"I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven, I'm a miracle of grace." May God bless you, my
friends, for Christ's sake.
This File Provided by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board (BBB)
Box 314
Columbus, New Jersey, USA 08022
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