Look steddily upon him, till he looks on thee, and breaks thy hard heart.Then shall thy head be waters, and thy eyes fountains of tears.
4. Nor yet do thou say, “I must do something more, before I come to Christ.” I grant, supposing thy Lord should delay his coming, it were meet and right to wait for his appearing, in doing, so far as thou hast power, whatsoever he hath commanded thee. But there is no necessity for making such a supposition. How knowest thou that he will delay? Perhaps he will appear, as the day-spring from on high, before the morning-light. O do not set him a time. Expect him every hour. Now, he is nigh! Even at the door!
5. And to what end wouldst thou wait for more sincerity, before thy sins are blotted out? To make thee more worthy of the grace of God? Alas, thou art still establishing thy own righteousness. He will have mercy, not because thou art worthy of it, but because his compassions fail not: not because thou art righteous; but because Jesus Christ hath atoned for thy sins.
Again, if there be any thing good in sincerity, why dost thou expect it, before thou hast faith? Seeing faith itself is the only root of whatever is really good and holy.
Above all, how long wilt thou forget, that whatsoever thou dost, or whatsoever thou hast, before thy sins are forgiven thee, it avails nothing with God, toward the procuring of thy forgiveness? Yea, and that it must all be cast behind thy back, trampled under foot, made no account of, or thou wilt never find favour in God’s sight: because until then thou canst not ask it, as a mere sinner, guilty, lost, undone, having nothing to plead, nothing to offer to God, but only the merits of his well-beloved Son, who loved thee, and gave himself for thee.
6. * To conclude. Whosoever thou art, O man, who hast the sentence of death in thyself, who feelest thyself a condemned sinner, and hast the wrath of God abiding on thee: unto thee saith the Lord, Not, do this; perfectly obey all my commands and live: but, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. The word of faith is nigh unto thee; now, at this instant, in the present moment, and in thy present state, sinner as thou art, just as thou art, believe the gospel: and I will be merciful unto thy unrighteousness and thy iniquities will I remember no more.
SERMON VII.
MARK i. 15.
The Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.