“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need.”
—Heb. iv. 16.
THIS throne of grace is the gracious manifestation of “God in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.” This is “the light of the glory of God’s grace shining in the face of Jesus Christ.” And to coming to this throne of grace, and to God in Christ dispensing His grace from it, we are here exhorted and encouraged.
*Robert Traill was born at Elie, Fife. He was the second son of Rev. Robert Traill. He stood by James Guthrie on the scaffold. He was declared to be a Pentland Rebel in 1667. He fled to Holland and while there superintended the publication of Samuel Rutherford’s Examen Arminianismi. He was ordained to the Presbyterian charge of Cranbrook in Kent in 1670. He was apprehended in 1677 in Edinburgh and sentenced to be imprisoned in the Bass for conducting conventicles. After his release he returned to Cranbrook. He died in May, 1716, aged seventy-four. He acted as one of the editors of Andrew Gray’s sermons. In 1696 he published a volume of sermons under the title: “Sermons Concerning the Throne of Grace.” His earliest sermons were published in one of the Free Church Publication series in 1845.
In pursuing this exhortation, I would first, prove that all should come; secondly, show who will come; and thirdly, who shall be specially welcome.
I. First, that all ought to come to the throne of grace.
All sinners that hear of it should improve this great privilege, and seek the enjoyment of God’s grace and mercy in Jesus Christ.
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Because God is not otherwise approachable by men in accepted worship. “No man cometh unto the Father but by me,” saith Christ. The light of nature teaches all men in some measure that there is a God, and somewhat of “His eternal power and godhead,” and that this God should be worshipped. Therefore some sort of worship is performed by all sorts of heathen, who are yet “without God,” and that because “without Christ,” and therefore “without hope in the world.” Never was there, nor will there be, nor can there be, any gracious approach unto God, nor any address received favourably by God, but at this throne of grace. Therefore whatever may be said of the zealous devotion, and of the moral principles and practices of the heathen, yet never any of them did, nor could, offer up an acceptable prayer unto God, nor obtain a gracious answer from Him; not only because they worshipped an unknown God, but mainly because they worshipped not at this throne of grace; for there can be no communion with God, there can be nothing graciously given by God to men, nothing done by man that can be accepted by God, but at this throne of grace.
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All should come to this throne because all men have need of the blessings dispensed at this throne of grace. Where there is an universal urgent necessity, and only one place of supply discovered, men are called to betake themselves thither. The blessings dispensed at the throne of grace are equally needed by all. Every man, every woman, young or old, rich or poor, is equally needy because all are unspeakably needy of the mercy and grace of God. Some indeed have a greater sight and sense of their wants than others (and that is mercy); but the real necessity is common to all. Every unpardoned man needs a pardon at this throne of grace; but few, if any, value a pardon till they get it, or value the grace of God till they feel it. Do you feel your need of what is given and got at this throne? Come then. The law thunders and roars against you, that you may see your need of coming hither for what the law cannot give, nor hinder you from receiving, nor rob you of when received. Do you think in your heart that you are the most needy person in all the world; that you need all the grace and mercy, or more, than ever any sinner received? Then come the rather, come the sooner. The neediest soul, the hungriest sinner, the person most greedy of the grace of God, should come first to Christ’s door, and beg loudest. Is there any not needy? Alas! many think so, but none is so. Will you come for hunger and want? A sensible hunger, a sense and sight of need, an appetite after grace and mercy, is an alms that Christ can give; and many professors want it sadly.
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The command is universal, to all that hear it. As the Apostle says, “These things saith the law to them that are under the law”; so I may say, This saith the gospel to all under the sound of it, Come to the throne of grace. It is no indifferent thing. God commands all men to come. Believing (that is, coming) is commanded, I. John, iii. 23: Are you afraid to come? Have not I commanded you? Josh. i. 9, as God spoke to the Captain of Israel. Will men own God’s authority in the law, and deny it in the gospel? Is He not the same God in both? He that commands you to have no other gods besides Him, commands you to believe on His Son Jesus, who is “the true God.” If coming to the throne of grace were not commanded, not coming to it were no sin; and who dare say so? Not believing on Jesus Christ is the great gospel-sin, because believing on Him is the great gospel-duty and work, John, vi. 29.
Objection.—But I am afraid He commands not me; others He may command, but not such a vile dead creature as I am.
Answer.—Are you worse than some He has commanded? “Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord.” Such a practice in your land would greatly defile it, saith the Lord; but such acts of grace become the throne of grace. Are you worse than poor, and blind, and miserable, and wretched, and naked? Yet the King of this throne commands them to come to Him, though He sweetly calls it counsel, Rev. iii. 17, 18. And in it we may join His two names, Wonderful, Counsellor.
Objection 2.—But Christ calls and invites them that are weary and heavy laden, and the thirsty, and I am not such; and, therefore, He commands not me to come.
Answer 1.—Do you expect any grace but at this throne of grace? Do you think to work it out in yourselves, and come to Him for more? or to get the beginning somewhere else and then come to Christ for the rest? This betrays your pride and ignorance of the entire corruption of your nature and of your impotency to any good. This frame discovers your ignorance of the nature of the grace of God, that consists in its freedom; as its glory is, in its being the original cause of all good done for us, and wrought in us, or by us.
Answer 2.—Christ never bids any man to be or do anything without Him, and then to come to Him, and He would do no more for Him. Christ calls men as He finds them, and then makes them what He would have them be: He begins the good work in them, and performs it.
Answer 3.—These and many such calls and invitations do not limit and restrain the universality of the gospel-command, but do graciously apply it to such cases wherein they that are, are apt to think that they are specially excepted. What is more common than such arguings of unbelief: I have a vast load of sin lying on me; I have spent my time and strength and money on sin and vanity; I have been wearied in the greatness of my way of departing from the Lord and therefore the Lord will not receive me? Therefore such are named particularly by the Lord, and especially called.
Therefore, let no man, whatsoever he has been, or is, think that he is not commanded to come to this throne of grace. Take the command, lay it on your conscience, give obedience to it; take the command for your warrant, and never fear but you shall be welcome. Can your soul say, Lord, no man out of hell is more needy of thy saving grace than I, no sinner more unworthy of it than I; yet, because thou commandest me to come, I come to beg and to receive? He will sweetly receive you: “Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” A text that has been an anchor-hold to many a sinking sinner.
- All should come to the throne of grace because of the universality, vast extent, and indefiniteness of the promise of welcome to all that come. The command of God is a warrant and ground for our obedience, and the promise is a ground for confidence. The promise is God’s great means for working faith; faith is the impression God makes on the soul of man by the promise. When God takes the promise of the gospel, and applies it with the power of His grace upon the soul, it leaves an abiding mark and signature; and that is faith. The promise comes as the promise of a faithful God, who cannot lie, of a great salvation to a great sinner. When the sinner sees and feels the truth and goodness of this promise, he believes. This promise of God is to be preached to all that hear the gospel; or rather, this promise is the gospel; the Lord will make it effectual as He sees good. The Apostle Peter encouraged such men to come to the throne of grace, who, if ever any in the world should have been kept back, it should have been they; a crew of the bloody murderers of the Son of God. But the word preached by Peter takes hold of their souls and they cry out, “What shall we do?” No wonder they said so, when the cry of Christ’s blood was in their consciences. The Apostle says to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,” etc. Their sin was very great, peculiar to them only; none before or after them were guilty of this. The cry of innocent blood is a dreadful cry. But this was more than all the murders ever committed in the world. It was murdering the Son of God, it was slaying the Prince of Life; it was all that the devil and wicked world could do, to cut the throat of the gospel and of all the elect of God; and this wicked act was done against Christ because He taught that He was the Son of God, and that He came from the Father to be the Saviour of the world. Yet, says the Apostle to them, Repent, and be baptised in His name for the remission of that sin; you that have been dipped in His blood and so dreadfully guilty by the shedding of it, be baptized in His name, for the remission of that guilt, and of all others. This calling for repenting of their guilt of Christ’s blood was plainly a requiring of faith in Him; not only that He was the Lord Christ they had slain in their unbelief, but that pardon, in the virtue of that blood, might be had by them on their betaking themselves to Him by faith. So did the same Apostle preach to the council when he and his brethren were charged by the high-priest for filling Jerusalem with the doctrine of Christ, and intending to bring His blood upon them: “Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” He directs them to look to Christ as the giver of repentance for, and of forgiveness of all their sins; not excluding, but by, verse 30 plainly including the greatest of all their sins, their slaying of Christ, and hanging Him on a tree; and this they did with wicked hands, and with hearts as wicked as their hands. Yet thus did Peter preach Christ. So well did he remember his Lord’s command, “That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” His argument is, “For the promise is to you, and to your children.” Had they not slain the heir, and foundation of all the promises? Had they not done as much as men could do to forfeit all interest in the promise? Yes; but Peter still invites them to the throne of grace by an interest yet in the promise. The promise of grace and salvation by Jesus Christ is the rope and cord that God casts out to sinking sinners, it is equally in the offer of all in the gospel. It is true that the Lord means and designs it to some particular persons, but that design is secret and utterly unknown to all, till the promise itself be apprehended by faith, or finally rejected by unbelief. See Jer. xxxviii. 7-14. Ebedmelech let down a rope to draw Jeremiah out of the dungeon. The cords could never have pulled him up unless the prophet had put them under him and unless his friend had drawn him up. He did so and ventures on this means of escape. He ventures on the strength of the cord and on the trustiness of his friend. If either of them had failed him, he might have fallen down and broke his neck; or stuck still in the mire and starved in the pit. The case is so here. The promise of salvation is a great security; but it is so only to them that cast themselves on it and trust to it. Whoever will trust God’s promise in Christ will find that it is able to bear all their weight if it were never so great. Therefore lay this warm promise to your cold heart, and, by the Lord’s blessing, life and warmth will come in. Try the strength of the promise by casting all your burden on it; and it will never sink under you, nor you perish by its failing. Christians think that the promises of God are a blessed charter (and indeed they are), but few mind the promises as God’s tendered and offered security to men; whereby, as means, He works faith in His chosen; and, by the offer of them to all in the gospel, leaves unbelievers inexcusable. Sinners perish under the gospel, not because there is no cord of salvation cast out to them, but because they either love the pit they are in or cannot trust God’s faithful promise of salvation by Christ for their delivery.
So much of the first thing, the proving that all ought to come to the throne of grace, or to God in Christ sitting on it. God is not otherwise approachable; universal need of this throne, and of the blessings given at it; a universal call and command of God to come; a universal promise to all that do come; all prove that all men should come.
(To be continued.)