(PREACHER UNKNOWN.)
Jesus cared for one sinner. One sinner is enough to make all heaven weep. “One sinner destroyeth much good.” But one sinner’s repenting can fill all heaven—the God of heaven—the holy angels, his friends—can fill all heaven with joy. You may think it a sorry sight to see a poor, wretched creature going into a corner, and falling down, with shame and confusion of face, before the God of heaven and earth—looking into the desperately wicked heart, which, not his eye but God’s can go to the bottom of, and seeking to see as deeply as he can—and going through a past life, and seeing the sins (of which he knew the facts) now, for the first time, in the sinfulness of them! And going from the life to the heart, and from the springs of evil in the heart to the nature, the poor creature, convinced of sin, convinced of unbelief, convinced of want of power to believe, convinced of contrariness of nature to the things to be believed, to the holy promises to be believed, lies down a lost wretch in the hands of a Sovereign God, of whom he has heard that He is gracious, that there is forgiveness with Him—taking law commands to the footstool of sovereign grace, and begging of the God of grace what the God of holy justice demanded, even repentance toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. You may think that it is but a sorry sight. You may think the man deranged, exaggerating matters. You may try in your whole-heartedness to administer such light gospelising as you have found sufficient to cure the scratches of your skin, to the deep wound of this heart, in which the arrow of God sticks. That is a deep grief. There is one grief infinitely deeper, namely, the agony of Christ’s soul. But, save that, there is no sorrow like this sorrow.
Well, this may be your wonderment and your pity, but it is heaven’s joy. Heaven is intensely rejoicing. There is joy in the Father’s heart, in the Son’s heart, and in the hearts of angelic natures, his friends, whose delight is in obeying God; they join in redemption’s joy, though they share not in redemption, save in its joy; it’s disinterested joy to them. Yet they have one joy with God, rejoicing in this joy. He and all His friends are rejoicing over one sinner. And among us this day, who is to be this one? If we have no one penitent among us, surely it will not be because we have not a sinner. I am one, and thou art one, and one is enough to give all this joy. And ought we not to love repentance, and to desire it, and to implore it, and to cherish it, from this very consideration, that we sinners are able, through grace, to fill all heaven with joy, and with a joy greater than is caused by the continued preservation in holiness of the holy angels who never sinned?