preached on Sabbath evening, 25th April, 1926, in St. Jude’s, Glasgow, by the Rev. E. MACQUEEN, Inverness.
I. In directing your attention to these words let us first of all, as we will be enabled, consider what Christ brings before the people about Himself.
You can clearly see that what He brings before them concerning Himself is what Moses and the Prophets—all the prophets, and the psalmist—thought of Him.
II. The second thing we have brought before us here is this, to whom has God purposed to send this Person about whom Moses and all the prophets did write?
You will see very clearly that God purposed from all eternity that He should be sent to all nations under heaven. It does not matter what they were, or what they are, God has purposed from all eternity that this Person, and this Person alone, should be brought before their notice.
III. The third thing brought before us clearly here is this, what does Christ bring before all nations to which God had purposed to send Him?
It is repentance and remission of sins. Now, it is true of all nations that they are rebels, and sinful. For you know very well that none but rebellious men need repentance, and none but sinful people require forgiveness. Whatever you may think, that does not matter one iota: for the Gospel clearly points out that all nations are rebels, and that all nations are sinners before God. Senseless sinners will laugh at the preachers who tell them that they are sinners. I don’t know, but that you are here by the score, who are inclined in your heart to laugh at the idea of anyone saying that you are sinners, or that others are sinners. Well, well, as far as we are concerned that will not move us. Your heart laughing will not move us one iota from telling you the truth of God, no matter what your likes or dislikes may be.
IV. The next point before us here is this: What are the privileges which are to be preached in the name of this Person among all nations?
Two things are declared here most emphatically by the lips of Him who cannot lie. If we knew ourselves, these two things would be the greatest news in our ears. What are the privileges? Repentance and remission of sins. It does not matter what you are, or were, we tell you on the authority of the God of Heaven, that God is sending us to you in the name of Christ, to offer you repentance and forgiveness.
V. Then we have to notice how this shall be done—“By preaching in His Name.”
I have known men for the last thirty-five years—oh, they would take salvation in their own way, were it not for the way salvation is offered to them. How does God here through His Son Jesus tell how we are to be offered the privileges, and how to offer it? by preaching in His name. My friends, if a preacher brings any other object before his congregation but Christ, he diseases that congregation. If a preacher offers any congregation, anything short of repentance and complete forgiveness; or as is pointed out here repentance and remission of sins, he has failed. Some preachers you would think wanted to flatter their congregations in their rebellion. “You are good enough as you are,” is what is said I am told to some of the people of my town, Inverness. “If you continue as you are, pay twenty shillings in the pound, I consider you are in a safe way; on the way to everlasting glory.” Is that God’s message? No, no, my friends, that is not God’s message. This is God’s message, preach repentance, and then preach forgiveness to every repenting sinner. It does not matter what they were, though a whore, or a whoremonger, a drunkard, a swearer, or a Sabbath-breaker. If the Spirit of God has brought that sinner to repentance; what are we authorised to preach to him or her?—forgiveness. One thing more under this head, in whose name is forgiveness to be offered? “In His Name.” That is in the name of Christ, because there is no other name.
VI. In the last place where is the preaching to begin?—At Jerusalem.
Here we see the infinite love of the Eternal Father, and here we see the infinite love of the Eternal Son. If there was any spot on the face of this earth where this should not be preached, it would have been Jerusalem—were it not for infinite love. Jerusalem of all places! Yes, begin at Jerusalem. Jesus says, begin at Jerusalem, the place where I was crucified. Preach to the people that had such enmity to me. At Jerusalem where I was crucified and buried. Begin at that place. This clearly reveals that this was the purpose of the Eternal Father. This is the tenor of Scripture right down from the days of Moses. This was to be done, begin at Jerusalem.
I have to bring before you, according to the text, the Person which Christ points Himself out to be. He was the Person whom Moses wrote about. Now, even the Jews will admit that the first writer of the Bible was Moses. As they admit that the first writer of the Scriptures was Moses; whom did Moses write about? When Moses spoke to the children of Israel, who was the person who was more immediately before his eye? There was one person before his eyes—it was Jesus. He says: “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken.” With every one who listens to this Prophet all will be well, but with those who do not listen to Him “It shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” Although a person may get off for not listening to Moses, it is pointed out with regard to those who will not listen to Christ that they shall be finally, and absolutely cut off forever from any lot among the chosen people.
Without saying more about that let me as far as my time will permit, come along to the Psalms. The next writer is David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. You will find that David spoke about this Person from the beginning of his writings, right down to the very end. What does he point out to us about Him? First of all, he points out that He is a glorious Person. He was the Son. He was the anointed of the Father. What then?—he points out that He is Lord. Or, as it is in the 110th Psalm, “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” It does not matter who the enemies are. He points out to us His Lordship. He points Him out to us in His incarnation. He points Him out to us in His sufferings. I may say this, that when I am reading the 22nd Psalm, and the 69th I forget that it is the Old Testament I am reading. For I see the sufferings of Emmanuel in the 22nd, and 69th Psalms as clearly as I see the sufferings of Emmanuel in the New Testament. The words used by Emmanuel when on Calvary’s accursed tree, are the opening words of the 22nd Psalm—“Eloi! Eloi! lama sabachthani?” which is being interpreted, “My God! My God! why hast Thou forsaken me?” In the psalms you find the psalmist speaking about Emmanuel.
Let me pass along until I come to the Evangelical prophet Isaiah. In the prophecies of Isaiah, especially from the 40th chapter down to the end of the book, what do you see? What do you see more especially in the 52nd and 53rd chapters? You see there very clearly—Emmanuel. In the 52nd chapter He is brought before us—“His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.” Then come to the 53rd chapter, it says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Come along now to the prophet Zechariah. You will find Him brought before you there as the Shepherd—the Eternal Shepherd. The man who was the Fellow of the Eternal Father. “My Fellow,” “My Shepherd,” He says, “And the Man that is my Fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts: smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.” Don’t you see there in the smiting of the Shepherd, the suffering Emmanuel? What were the Lord’s people doing here to-day? They were commemorating the death of the suffering Saviour. Yes, the death of a suffering Saviour.
I pass along now to the New Testament. What is it all about? It is about the Saviour—God becoming incarnate—God incarnate suffering—God incarnate dying—God incarnate rising again, and ascending to the right hand of the Eternal Father. Now these things He points out about Himself. He also points out that there was a necessity, as shown in the Scriptures that He should suffer these things, and enter unto His glory. We have it written in His Book, “Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” These are the points brought before us, a suffering Saviour, a victorious Saviour, and a risen Saviour. These things He brings before us about Himself.
Let me notice now what was the purpose of God from all eternity regarding this Person. I know very well that the majority of people in our day do not like the purposes of God. Many are so possessed by the Devil that they would tear to pieces if they could, the preachers who preach from God’s Word. When I was down at Tighnabruaich and Kames, one day I was clipping the hedge. The place had become wild before I went to it. I may say that I was in my shirt sleeves. Perhaps some of you never saw a minister working in his shirt sleeves, but I have worked many a day in my shirt sleeves. A number of evil men and women gathered at the foot of the ladder on which I was standing. Here they gathered like a swarm of wasps or bees, and the first thing they showed was their teeth. It was an iron church, and anyone could hear outside what was said. They had heard, and evidently did not like to hear the truth. “You, you,” they shouted, “You and your preaching.” I did not come down, but I was giving them an answer now and again. One thing I said to them was: “You would tear me asunder if the law of the land would allow you.” “Yes,” they shouted, “You and every one of your kind.” “You had your day; but this is our day, and we mean to take it.”
We are fully convinced that the vast majority of the people who reject this Person, the Saviour, would like to-day to be their day, so that they might tear asunder every true Gospel preacher. Blessed be God they have not got the day, and we hope that they never will.
Let me point out what the Father purposed regarding this Person. It is that He be preached to all nations, all nations, not one nation only, not to one people only. The law came to one nation, the Jews. Christ said in the days of His flesh: “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” My friends, God’s purpose is wider than that. I may say that God’s purpose regarding Christ is as wide as the whole universe. God has purposed regarding Christ that there shall not be a spot on the universe where Christ will not be known, where Christ shall not be preached. It is written in the Psalm which we sang: “All ends of the earth shall remember.” How are they to remember? They shall remember through the preaching of the everlasting Gospel.
“All ends of the earth remember shall,
and turn the Lord unto.
All kindreds of the nations
to Him shall homage do.”
Oh, that He would speed the blessed day when all ends of the earth will have this blessed Person presented to them.
Now, I come to point out two things that are true of all ends of the earth, or all nations.
(1) The first thing that is pointed out to us is, we need repentance.
My friends, I ask you one question. Is there one inside these walls who does not need repentance, whether young or old? Not one, because we are clearly informed in the Word of God that there is none righteous, no, not one. “But,” you say, “God created man righteous, and if he is not righteous now, how did he become unrighteous? He became unrighteous by rebellion against God. Wherever this rebellion is, the rebel needs repentance. Now my friends, where did the rebellion begin? “By the tongue,” someone will say, “in the use of the tongue which is a little member, but which can do a lot of harm.” I dare say, the tongue is only the servant of the heart. Not that which entereth into a man, but that which cometh out defileth a man. Out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts and so on.
When did rebellion begin, and against whom? It was against the God of Heaven. Yes, I may say that from my childhood I was strong for constitutional monarchy, yet at the same time though strong for constitutional monarchy, and constitutional government, I have to say that I was a rebel against the God of Heaven, needing repentance. My friends, my memory can go back to childhood, some maintain that my memory goes too far back. If you have any spiritual knowledge, you will be conscious of the fact that there is rebellion in your heart against God. Let me call your attention young boys and girls; don’t you feel your heart rebelling against God?
There is a nice family in my congregation. I went in one day to see them. After I had been in for a little while, the father looked and smiled at a little girl called Mary. Mary seemed a little shy of coming near me. The father whispered, “do you know what she was saying the other day?” “No, Mr. Fraser,” I replied, “I don’t know what Mary was saying.” “Well,” he said, “on Sabbath she heard other children out playing on the green, and she said, ‘Father I want out to play.'”. I said to her: “You know what Mr. Macqueen says about God always seeing you, and that God will be angry if you play on His Day.” She stamped her foot on the floor, and said, “Bother, you and Macqueen.” The father said: “Though she is only a child you can clearly see the spirit of rebellion.” Yes, manifested in children. Yet most people maintain that there is no evil in a child. Rebellion was born in them, and the sooner people know that the better it will be for themselves. “I was born in sin,” said David, “and shapen in iniquity.” There is a rebellion against God. There is a rebellion against everything divine. There is rebellion against the Gospel. There is rebellion against the Sabbath. There is rebellion against holiness. There is a rebellion against righteousness. That rebellion is not in one or two, it is in all natures, and as far as we are concerned in our inward parts. Yes, we can find our brothers among the blacks.
When the Jap who preaches for three hours from one text, from one year’s end to the other, was in Inverness, we had him in our Church. He told me about himself and the rest of the Japanese, and, “Oh,” he said, “you would be sorry for my people if you saw them, worshipping every idol, and worshipping the spirits of the departed; but when you begin to speak about God and holiness, they manifest a spirit of rebellion.” My friends, all need repentance, and if the Spirit of God has dealt with yourself you will know it.
“Oh,” you say, “I feel it in here” (placing the hand over the heart). Rebellion against holiness, against righteousness, against all the divine attributes. “I feel it in here.” Are you saying that?—if I knew where you are, I would say: “You are my brother, or my sister as far as feelings are concerned.” I see from the newspapers that you have illicit stills in Glasgow. Now the illicit distillers won’t like the law of the land, which is against their practices. How sad, and yet it is true of us all who continued in sin; because of the rebellion of the heart we hate the law of God, as illicit distillers hate the law of the land. We do not like God’s Law; why? Just because we are like the other poor man with the honest prophet. “I don’t like him,” you say. “He always speaks against me.” Well! Well! if you are a Sabbath-breaker, do you like the fourth commandment—”Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” “No,” you say, “I wish it were never given.” A lot of people turn, and say about the moral law “Oh, that is only a Jewish institution.” The moral law a Jewish institution! As if there were no other people on the face of the earth when the moral law was given but Jews. If the moral law is a Jewish institution, that means, that there were no moral people but the Jews in the world.
God is the Moral Governor who has created all nations, and He knew very well what He was doing when He gave the moral law. He gave the same law, the moral law, to Jew and Gentile, black and white. If you don’t like the moral law the reason is because of the hatred, the rebellion of your heart. Just like Jehu, or Ahab who said of the prophet, “I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” As for the moral law, the sinner says: “I don’t like it;” why? “Because it prohibits me from profaning the Sabbath. It is against idolatry. Away with the moral law. I would trample it under my feet if I could.” But I will ask you one question. “Can you trample it without sinning?”
What is sin? I shall notice three things about sin. The first meaning according to the Word of God of what sin is, may be illustrated as you know this way. There is a target, and there is a bull’s eye on the target. When our Government brings out men, for musketry training, it is the wish of the Government that every soldier in the British Army would strike the bull’s eye. The bull’s eye in the moral law is the glory of God. As it is written—”Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” What is sin? Well, sin, according to what is written, is a shooting wide of the mark, or away from the mark. God has put this mark, His own glory, and if you are not living to the glory of God; if you are not loving God, you are shooting wide of the mark. That is sin. In the Shorter Catechism which is written according to Scripture—”Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, “the law of God.” How may we speak of want of conformity? We may say want of love, want of knowledge, want of obedience, want of loving the Father. Consider your condition in your own inward parts. Ask yourself this question, “Do I in heart love God?” If you answer, “Yes.” Ask the next question, “Do I obey God?” If not, you transgress. You sin. Sin is not only want of conformity unto, but it is transgression. It is true of all nations, they are sinners.
The third thing is this. What is it that God has purposed should be preached among all nations?
My friends, what has God purposed regarding all nations? As far as Christ is concerned it is that all nations should be offered repentance. It does not matter who they are; let them be Japanese or Africanders, or barbarians, or the lowest of the low in the slums of Glasgow. It does not matter who they are; God has purposed, and God is offering repentance in the name, and for the sake of Christ to all nations, and to sinners of all nations.
My friends, if we preach a Gospel without repentance, the message is not a message from Christ. What is repentance? You and I are naturally so foolish, and there some preachers who declare to the people that they can repent themselves. Well, there may be a repentance, but it is termed legal repentance. That repentance is possible by the sinner himself, but it will not save him. Evangelical repentance is utterly beyond the confines of the power of man. No man can work that repentance in himself. What then is true repentance—repentance unto life? “Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth with grief and hatred of his sin turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavour after, new obedience.” My friends, who can give you a true sense of your sins? None, but the blessed Person who suffered and died, and rose again. No one can give you a true sense of your sins but the blessed Person who is exalted at the Father’s right hand. If you feel, friend, that you are a sinner I will give you an advice. Go home to-night to your knees. Go to Jesus and tell Him that you feel that you cannot work repentance in yourself, but that you have heard of Him who is exalted to give repentance. Christ can prove to you that He can give repentance to you.
In the second place what is repentance? Again we may see sin as deserving of Hell. Many a day I looked upon my sins as deserving of Hell. But, oh, my friends, I only felt myself getting more vicious against God for having made me. As the apostle says in the 7th of Romans, “When the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” Sin revived, and any hope I had within my breast died. Any hope that I had of overcoming the rebellion of my heart died within my breast.
I remember reading about a little girl at school not long ago. Her brother was very rough. Boys are often very rough to their sisters. I am very sorry that I have often to say that. Well, this boy went and kicked his sister. The teacher saw this and cried out “Oh, Mary, go and kiss your brother.” The boy yelled when he heard the teacher’s voice, and saw how he was to be recompensed. The teacher was a God-fearing man, and called: “Mary, Mary, run and kiss your brother, look how miserable he is.” The little girl ran and put her two arms round the neck of her brother saying, “Oh, my dear brother you gave me a kick, but it did not hurt me very much.” If he yelled before, he yelled more now. When the sinner gets a look at the crucified Saviour, he will grieve because of his rebellion. They shall look upon Him, whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.
Well, my friends, and fellow sinners on the way to eternity, what will I say now about repentance? Repentance is a sight of the mercy of God in Christ that melts the hardest heart that ever lived. When the blessed Saviour shows His own wounds, His own blood to a poor sinner, then the sinner becomes ashamed of himself. He mourns. Would to God that this were the case with many in St. Jude’s before this communion season was over. Oh, that the exalted Saviour would show His own wounded side, show His hands and His feet to sinners. Then there would be repentance.
It does not matter how vicious you are, there was John Newton, and Saul of Tarsus. Look at all that ever lived; how vicious they were against the Lord and Saviour. Did the Saviour show them viciousness in return? No, no. What then?—preach repentance, and next preach forgiveness of sin to the greatest sinner, whatever his guilt. Oh, friends what a Gospel is the Gospel of the blessed God! Repentance is offered to the most vicious sinner on the face of this earth. Forgiveness is offered to the greatest transgressor on the face of the earth. Repentance and remission are to be preached in His name. He says, among all nations. It does not matter what you were, it does not matter what you are at present, Christ can come to you by the melting influences of His Holy Spirit. To you He comes, friend, in this offer. He comes with the fountain of His own blood, that you may be washed from all guilt. Cowper wrote the lines:—
“The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in His day.
And there have I, though vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.”
You may have been an idolater, you may have been a whoremonger, but what we are told to do by the Saviour is, preach repentance and forgiveness to you. There was at one time a great evangelist in England. His name was George Whitefield. Among his many admirers was the Countess of Huntingdon. Oh, how she loved the faithful preaching of the Gospel! She called the preacher her Geordie. There was a number of ladies at a house party. The Countess of Huntingdon wanted them to hear her Geordie. They came home from the service, evidently not pleased with the Gospel, nor with the preacher. “Fancy,” they said to the Countess of Huntingdon, “fancy, the preacher said to-night in your church, that Christ was such a Saviour that He can save the leavings of the Devil.” “Well,” said the Countess of Huntingdon, “the language is perhaps strong I admit, but I think Geordie is not far away. I believe he would have good reason for saying what he has said.” While these ladies were making such accusations against the man of God, a poor disreputable, half-naked creature passed the window, and enquired for the preacher. She was shown in, and on seeing the preacher, said, “O, Sir, you are the man of God, who preached such a message to me. I have not entered a church for forty years. I was engaged in immoral practices by an immoral mistress. As I am getting old, I was of no use to my mistress, and yesterday she threw me out. I had no place to go. I have never been in a church for forty years. I saw the door of your church open and I went in. You said: “Christ is such a Saviour that He can save the leavings of the Devil. Yes, I am the leavings of the Devil, but I trust the Lord Jesus has taken me in.”
When it was told George Whitefield what the ladies had said, he said to Lady Huntingdon: “Look at that poor creature, she has been brought in as the Devil’s leavings. She has confessed to me that these were the words that were blessed to her soul for eternity.” “Well done,” said Lady Huntingdon, “let the proud ladies of England turn their backs upon the Saviour. He is still such a Saviour that He can save the leavings of the Devil.”
No matter how godless and wicked you have been, repentance is offered you. Who can set a limit? None. There is no limit. “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son cleanseth from all sin.” I don’t know what the Devil is saying to your poor soul, but take my text to the Devil and say: “O Devil, even granting that I am the worst sinner on the face of the earth, look at this passage from the Word of God. Christ has offered me repentance and remission of all my sins.”
Now my friends, unto you, men, women, and children, whatever your age may be, Christ is offering to you repentance. Christ is offering to give you remission of every sin you ever committed. Was there ever, my friends, anything more glorious than this? I assure you, no. There is one thing true, if you get repentance and remission of your sins, you will take no delight in evil afterwards. Some think that if free forgiveness is preached, a licence is given for sin. Those who say that do not know the facts of the Gospel.
It is pointed out in the text how repentance and remission of sin is to be preached in His Name. That is in the name of Jesus. What is the preaching in many places just now? Most people will say: “Ah, well, Macqueen, in the city of Glasgow we think that the preaching which gives some fine idea from Aristotle, or Plato is beautiful. Preaching from a selected piece, and giving a kind of moral lesson.” That is preaching, you say. And some congregations when they come out from hearing such, say: “Was that not grand?” To get the brains of Aristotle is as we say of old books, “to get dead men’s brains.”
In right preaching three things are brought before the people. It is to be preached that all nations are rebels against the government of Heaven. They are to be offered repentance and remission. They are to be told that the remedy is Christ. The obedience, the sufferings, the death, the exaltation of Christ. That is the remedy. You never saw a remedy so adapted to a disease, as Christ in the Gospel to the poor sinner. I have had many doctors at my body. They all told me to begin with, that they would be able to cure me, that the medicine they would give me would put me right. I can honestly say this: “I never got a doctor yet, but I was disappointed with him.” I say that from my heart. I must say this about the Christ of God, I am now on the verge of sixty years, and for over thirty years I have been going about with the message of the glorious Redeemer; and what I have to say to-night is, that He has never failed in anything that He told me He would do for me.
Now, my friend, I know this, that though you may be on the brink of hell to-night in feeling, yet the Christ of God is offering to you repentance and forgiveness.’ “He is exalted a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and remission of sins.” My friends, get Him by the Spirit of the everlasting Gospel, and though you may be at the brink of hell, He can lift you up to the gates of heaven. The psalmist said:
“Of death the cords and sorrows did
about me compass round:
The pains of hell took hold on me
I grief and trouble found.”
He also found that “God merciful and righteous is.”
Oh, do not listen to the Devil, do not listen to your own heart. Here you are in St. Jude’s, face to face with the Saviour who was dead, but is now alive for evermore. He has the keys of heaven, earth, and hell. It is He who is exalted to give you repentance and forgiveness, no matter how great a sinner you have been, even the chief.
What are the blessings that you get along with repentance and forgiveness? I consider you are much richer than him who is leaving Glasgow to-night. The money of Rockefeller! How far will the millions of Rockefeller take him? Not a step beyond the confines of time. How far will forgiveness bring you? It is written regarding those that are forgiven their sins, that they shall not stand before mean men. They shall stand before kings. Where will forgiveness bring you? It will bring you to the right hand of the eternal God. When He says at last; “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Who will hear that invitation? None, but the repenting, and forgiven sinner. Oh, what a Saviour! He says: “Begin at Jerusalem”—the seat of wickedness and enmity against Him, the place where they crucified Him. Yes, begin there. Does not this prove to us the marvellous love of God? Begin at Jerusalem; do not pass them by. Begin at the very place where I was crucified, and then go among all nations, black and white, red and yellow, Jew and Gentile.
But let me conclude. Oh, if the Word would be blessed to even one of you, I would continue on to twelve o’clock to-night. I hope that my love to you, and my fellow sinners is such, that because of the great things that are in the Gospel, I may continue to preach until the candle of my life burn out. What now friends? Will you have this Person who is presented to you for yourself? You say: “Oh, Macqueen, I cannot repent myself.” I ask you: “Where in the New Testament are you asked to repent yourself?” “Are you going, my friend, to make a liar of my text?” Christ is prepared to give you repentance. He is here by His Word and Spirit to give it to every boy and girl, to every man and woman who will take it of Him. If you get these two things won’t you be wealthy to an endless eternity? There used to be a saying in Skye; “I don’t pity a dog with food about its neck.” My friends, I am sorry, very sorry for the Lord’s people in their temptations, trials, and sorrows, but I do not pity them as I pity the careless, for they have food about their necks. They have Christ about their necks. They have repentance and forgiveness. Jesus has said to them: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” No, no, He never will.
O, you boys and girls of Glasgow, Highlanders in Glasgow, Lowlanders in Glasgow, or to wherever you belong, here is a Saviour offered to you who can give repentance and forgiveness to you for all your sins. I ask you fellow-sinner on the way to eternity, are you to leave Him here? If that is your purpose, it shows that so far, the Devil has complete control over your heart. Or are you saying, “Oh, well, I do not wish to leave this church without the Saviour who can give repentance and forgiveness to such a sinner as I am.” If that is what you say, may God bless you. I have good hope of you through Christ.