* We regret that these Notes are so incomplete, but such as they are, they may be welcomed by our readers.—Ed.
I.—FORENOON. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation.”—HEB. ii. 3.
THIS day is set apart for fasting, humiliation, and prayer. We ought not to trifle with our privileges; we ought to seek some good to our souls. We ought to go to a throne of grace and confess our sins of omission and commission. But if we neglect the great salvation, all will be of little use at last. Those who trifle with their privileges, their bands shall be made strong. Some are as careless on these occasions as the brute animals, but I hope you will not be thus. Now, a Saviour is offered you; now, the chief of sinners is invited to come to Him for salvation. You were early devoted to the Lord in baptism; show this by your life and conversation, and seek to have the witness of the Spirit in yourselves.
The apostle warns us not to let slip “the things which we have heard.” He warns us not to let slip another warning, another promise, or another offer of Christ. We are ready to let the word come in at one ear and out at another. Christ’s teaching in His state of humiliation was, “Repent, and believe the gospel.” “Though heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall not fail, till all be fulfilled.”
I shall state some particulars about this salvation. When we speak of salvation, we must speak of a Saviour who procured salvation for sinners. For there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved, but the name of Jesus. Then we shall speak of the application of this salvation.
Jesus is the Saviour of sinners. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He sent His co-equal and co-eternal Son. You must consider Him as equal with the Father—as the self-existent, eternal Jehovah—the Creator and final Judge. But the Son had to assume our nature, and take unto Himself a true body and reasonable soul. The high and holy One humbled Himself to redeem them that were under the law. This Saviour, who humbled Himself, became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was reproached and persecuted, yet He loved sinners, persecutors, enemies. He came under the curse that we might get the blessing—we, who despised the law and trampled it under foot. The curse was laid upon Him. If you keep Christ out of view, you will have nothing but heathen morality. Behold the Shepherd smitten with the arrows of justice by His own Father, by which a way of access is opened unto God through His flesh, and by faith in His blood. Paul speaks of “the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood”; and Peter says, “For you were not redeemed by corruptible things, such as silver and gold, . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” It is through this channel that all the blessings of the new covenant flow to the elect. On the Cross the ransom was paid, the satisfaction given; and now the offer is given freely and fully—”Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price.”
But the other side is the application. I would need to have the application myself. The “all things” are now ready. But it is the application that makes the distinction between the elect and the reprobate. “When the Spirit is come, he will convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.” You may have head religion, but not a drop of grace, without this. You can never be a partaker of this salvation without the application of it by the Holy Spirit. But you must use the means of grace; it is the bucket you must bring to the fountain. Use all the means, but be not satisfied with the dead forms. Those who have tasted something of the love of Christ will go further than these, as the Church in the Song of Songs—”It was but a little that I passed from them (the watchmen), but I found him whom my soul loveth.” Some dead, formal hypocrites have been praying for twenty or thirty years, and have not sought or got an answer yet. Days of preparation are set apart for the Lord’s Supper. Do not despise them; yet do not make merit of them.
The first thing here in the work of application is the quickening influences of the Spirit. He opens the understanding and the heart, and sets the glass of the holy law before your face. You will then see how black it is, and that will bring down your high looks. If the holy law condemns you before a throne of mercy and grace, how will you appear at a white throne of judgment? How will you stand there? When the law comes home, your language will be, “How can I be justified before a holy God?” Then the gospel comes in the offers of a Saviour. Oh, prize your privileges. The preaching of the gospel is the most precious thing on earth. Oh, how would a poor minister or elder rejoice to see a poor creature coming from the means of grace, concerned about his soul! There would be joy in heaven over him—over one sinner that repenteth. This is a feast when the soul is brought from darkness to light. This comes by hearing the gospel. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Oh, you will be blessing the Lord that you have the opportunity of hearing the word. Others would rather something of the world, those who have their part and portion here. When the Spirit looses your bands you will sing a song of salvation to the Lord, seeing your enemies dead on the seashore.
Sinner, behold now the Lamb of God as the true and faithful witness of the great salvation. You must be born again, or you will never understand anything of this salvation, though you may have notions of it, as a blind man would have of colours. It is by faith that the soul is united to Christ. It must be “He in you, and you in Him,” or else be miserable through eternity. Be wise, my friends, sell all for the pearl of great price. It is here you are brought to a state of peace and reconciliation with God. Be not triflers or mockers, lest your bands be made strong.
Pray that He may be with us on this occasion. May He bless His word; and to His name be the praise!
II.—AFTERNOON. (Same Text.)
This salvation will occupy the attention of the redeemed through eternity. There is a height and a depth in it that passeth knowledge. Christ purchased salvation for us, and He is now exalted to make this salvation effectual. The Son glorified the Father on the earth, and the Father now glorifies the Son in heaven. When Christ shall appear again, then shall His people also appear with Him in glory.
Much depends on how you are exercised this day. Be thankful you were baptised, and are a member of the visible Church, but if you neglect this great salvation you will not escape. What is the good of this salvation to you or me unless it is applied by the Holy Ghost. Christ left the world as man, but His work is still going on in it by grace.
This is said to be a “great salvation.” It was a great God who purposed and planned it. He is a great King; we are worms of the dust before Him, crushed before the moth. It is with this God we have to do. He is the omniscient and omnipresent Creator. When you see God in the works of creation—sun, moon, and stars—you behold His wisdom and power; but when you behold His greatness in the work of redemption, oh, you will wonder at His infinite condescension, love, and kindness towards sinners. Some say that Christ died for all. It is true that all get good of Christ; even the atheist and the infidel have benefitted by Him, and formal professors enjoy the privileges of His Church, though they will get hell at last. Some spend these advantages on their lusts. Oh, the privileges of the children of God! Justification and sanctification, grace and glory.
It was a great Saviour that purchased this salvation. Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. You will never see the glory of this salvation till you see Christ as the author of it, and be taught by the Holy Spirit, and get the effectual calling, whatever your talents, gifts, and learning. When Christ saw the Church as an infant cast out in the open field, He cast His skirt over it, and said “Live.” If you have experienced this for yourself, everything you have and need is in the covenant, ordered wisely and well. “All things work together for good to them that love God, who are the called according to his purpose.”
Christ sits upon the throne, and subdues sinners to Himself. When the love of Christ takes possession of a soul, it makes the son leave father and mother, and every other object, and say, “None but Christ! none but Christ!” So you see the greatness of this love. Seek to get an experience of it; be not satisfied with hearing about it. His name is the Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, long-suffering, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Seek to get into the refuge. The prodigal got the best robe in his father’s house. The publican was justified, though he had nothing but sin. The children of Israel tempted Him forty years in the wilderness, yet He never said He was the God of the Egyptians. He leads the blind in a way that they know not. What a Saviour you have to do with!
What a great number will be around the throne of God and the Lamb! Seek you now to be among them, lest you be shut out from among them for ever. Every impenitent sinner, whether rich or poor, neglects the great salvation. There is no middle place—only heaven or hell. This is a solemn thing. Such cannot escape. Seek that the Lord would send out His light and truth. Whatever you know, if you do not know Christ and His salvation, what is the good of your knowledge? It will only be a candle to lead you to hell at last. Be not satisfied in your spiritual ignorance. Lastly, the prayerless neglect the great salvation, and if they continue so, they shall not escape the wrath that is to come.
An Ambassador for Christ.
—When William Burns was in Canada the effect of his preaching was so powerful to the soldiers of the famous 93rd Regiment (Sutherland), that a non-commissioned officer declares that he had known William Burns to send these heroes of Balaclava home to their barracks, after hearing him preach, every man of them less or more affected; not a high word or whisper heard among them; each man looking more serious than his comrade; awestruck, like men that dreamed they were. Out of thirty men (the sub-division under the non-commissioned officer’s charge), only five were bold enough to steal out of the room on the Sabbath evening after the sermon. The other twenty-five with Bibles in hand, were seriously concerned about their soul’s salvation. This famous regiment had previously enjoyed the ministrations of the pious Ronald Bayne—a true minister of Christ, and had also the honour of being commanded by Colonel MacGregor, a brave soldier and a true Christian.—Memoir of Rev. William C. Burns.