By Rev. Jonathan Ranken Anderson, Glasgow
We live in a fallen world. We are members of an apostate family. We lie under a heavy condemnation. But soon we must pass from our present state into another, and there receive according to the deeds done in the body, whether they have been good or bad.
In the prospect of this judgment we have everything to fear; for who can say he is pure from his iniquity? Who can stand at the tribunal of his own conscience? How then can any of the children of men stand at the bar of God, with the least hope of justifying himself, and obtaining a sentence of acquittal? ‘If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?’ (Ps. 130:3.). ‘For if our heart condemn us. God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.’ (1 John 3:20).
In this sad condition, the voice of mercy is heard in the everlasting gospel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. And well will it be for us, to listen to its tender and melting accents, and inquire seriously into their import and tendency. We owe this to Him from whom these accents come; for He is the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity. He is the great Creator of heaven and of earth, and of all the creatures that are therein. He is the Lord our Maker, and as such possesses claims upon us peculiarly weighty, and altogether unquestionable. Oh, let none turn away from Him who speaks to us from heaven! For soon the judgment shall be set, and the books shall be opened, and all the dead, small and great, stand before God. The eyes that now run over these pages shall then see the King of Glory on his great white throne; the truths that are set before them now will then form elements of the great assizes; and the gospel, which holds a prominent place here, will appear there as telling with powerful effect upon those who receive it or reject it. ‘Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.’ (Heb. 3:7, 8).
The form which the voice of mercy in the gospel assumes is that of invitation — a form benignant and persuasive. And to whom is it addressed? The answer returned by every page of the word of God is, to sinners. We may wonder at this. We believe the angels are amazed at it. But it is of the nature of mercy to show kindness to sinners; it is the design of grace to extend salvation to sinners; and it is the end of the plan of redemption to glorify its Author upon sinners.
Now, will any of our readers deny that this is their character? We doubt not that most, if not all of them, will be ready to allow that it is. By this admission you are shut up to the obligation of accepting the invitation given you to the marriage feast. And if this be not the practical result, rest assured you deceive yourselves, and do not allow you are sinners; or you are in ignorance, and do not know what it is to be sinners; or you are presumptuous, stifling conviction, resisting truth, and trifling with the salvation of your souls. Oh be persuaded to stop for a moment, and inquire which of these is your case, and take a course answerable to the real posture of your affairs. To commit a mistake here, remember, may cost you your life — it may ruin your eternal interests — it may for ever damn your souls. ‘Why will ye die, O house of Israel?’ (Ezek. 33:11).
But if you deny you are sinners, or do not act upon the admission, then you sin against the light; and if you perish, surely your blood will be upon your own heads. For the scriptures plainly tell you, that you were ‘shapen in iniquity, and in sin did your mother conceive you’ — (Ps. 51:5) — that in you ‘there dwelleth no good thing’ — (Rom. 7:18) — but ‘that every imagination of the thoughts of your heart is only evil continually’ — (Gen. 6:5) — that from this corrupt fountain has proceeded all the wickedness you commit — all the wickedness which is committed in the earth — and all the wickedness against which the wrath of God will burn for ever in hell.
Now, why does that word which brings the tidings of salvation also bring the revelation of your sin? Is it to torment you before the time? Oh do not harbour so hard a thought. Is it to throw you into unnecessary alarm? Oh do not judge so unjustly of Him who is Love. Is it to unfit you for the society and business and enjoyments of life? The very reverse of all this. The revelation of your sin is put into your hands, that you may look into it, and ponder and pray over it. Nor will anything release you from the pressing obligation to do this. ‘For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’ (Matt. 16:26).
The soul is infallibly lost, unless there be produced by the Holy Ghost a thorough and saving conviction of sin. For though the law speaks, men will not hear; though it shines with the clearest evidence, men will not see; though it is arrayed in majesty most awful, and supported by authority most sacred, men refuse to bow to it. And yet, it is through the law they are to obtain knowledge of their sinfulness, and conviction of their guiltiness. If, therefore, the law do not prevail over the stubbornness of human nature, the gospel is never reached, the marriage feast never tasted, and the soul never saved. But herein do we see the power of sovereign mercy, that, by the grace of the Spirit of God in the soul, the law does its work: and he who is brought under its influence for salvation is awakened, convinced, and self-condemned.
In pleading for such a work, we are not to be held as, in any degree, fettering the freeness of the gospel. The invitation which the servants of the King were instructed to offer, was not surely fettered because it was to be addressed to the halt, the maimed, and the blind. And neither is the freeness of the gospel affected by the fact, that its offers are to be made to sinners — that is as we have seen, such as really are in the condition, and possess the character of sinners. The sick alone apply to a Physician, the lost alone seek after a Saviour: ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.’ (1 Tim. 1:15).
The blessings of salvation laid up in Christ Jesus, and exhibited in the light of divine truth, are compared to a marriage feast — a comparison at once most opposite and instructive. For it has been shown, that the guests to whom the invitation is given, and by whom alone it is received, are sinners of this world. Now, it were the merest mockery of such creatures, to bid them to any feast, in which salvation was not the principal food — the most sweet and satisfying delight. The men of the world have a taste for riches, because they are covetous — for power, because they are ambitious — for fame, because they are vain-glorious — for things not meet to be named, because they are earthly, carnal, devilish. In this we find the true secret of the incessant toil to which they submit, and the endless bustle through which they pass. But to a poor sinner, under the solemn feeling of eternity, weighed down with a burden of guilt, and ready to be swallowed up in the abyss of his own corruption, the all-absorbing concern is, ‘What must I do to be saved?’
O, how welcome to such a man, on the wayside of a vain, and weary, and worthless life, is the call, ‘Come to the marriage!’ To him it appears so marvellous, that he finds it hard to believe there is a feast, and that he is invited to be a guest. The great majority of those that are called christians find no difficulty in the matter. Is it for a moment to be supposed, they are so wicked, as to deny the truth of God, reject the Son of his love, and despise the gospel of his grace? The thing is absurd — it is a slander upon their character, and a stigma upon their profession. But let self-righteous men please themselves as they may — those that are truly alive to the plagues of their hearts are convinced, that however desirable the riches of divine grace, they have, by nature, no esteem of them; however free the offers of salvation, they have no relish for them; and however glorious the character of the Saviour, they put no confidence in Him.
In this, however, we see fresh occasion for the display of saving mercy. By such painful exercises and humiliating discoveries of the heart, men are broken off from their self-confidence, and brought helpless to the feet of sovereign grace. The marriage feast is open to all; pressing invitations are sent forth, and arguments used to enforce them. But if the gospel has arguments for, the world has arguments against compliance. The most of those that are bidden ‘make light of it, and go their ways — one to his farm, another to his merchandise; and others take the servants, and entreat them spitefully and slay them.’ (Matt. 22:5, 6). Nor will it be otherwise with any, unless they are by the strength of divine grace subdued and humbled. The darkness that reigns in the soul must be dispelled, and the true light shine; the hardness that cleaves to the heart must be taken away, and softness communicated; in a word, there must be a new creation in the man; and the effect of this new creation is to bring him to the marriage.
By faith, springing from the work of God in the soul, or rather constituting the very essence of that work, a poor sinner receives Christ. He is the door into the marriage feast; by him if any man enter, he shall be saved. He is also the sum of the marriage feast; his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood drink indeed. For the heart that is renewed has cravings which none but Christ can allay; desires which none but Christ can fulfil; wants which none but Christ can supply. ‘And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.’ (Col. 2:10).
In Christ Jesus, at the marriage feast — through the word and ordinances of God — by the effectual working of the Holy Ghost — a believer is given to the exercise of true repentance. The soul is in a poor and wretched state that is not alive to the evil of sin — that does not mourn for the offence which it offers to God — that does not turn from it unto Him against whom it is committed. In this carnal generation of so-called religious people, self-confidence seems to be everything. Let a man, as it is said, be conscious that he believes in Christ, he is safe — he needs no further evidence that his sins are forgiven him. On the other hand, it is reckoned a species of hell for a man to lose sight of his own grace, and despair of his own salvation. And is this, then, the marriage feast of which so much is said in the word of God — which has formed the grand theme of every gospel proclamation that has ever been heard in this world — which cost the Son of God his precious blood to provide it for perishing men — which none but the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is able to actually impart to the soul! What a delusion hath fallen upon men, who can weave such imaginations, and give them to the world as the true sayings of God! And what a delusion is at work in those who greedily receive it, as if it were a passport to the kingdom of heaven!
Let it be known to all men, and let those who care for their safety here and hereafter lay it to heart, that if men do not repent, they shall all certainly perish. The thing that hurts the soul, that has driven it from the presence of God, that has polluted, and corrupted, and damned it, is sin. Now, there is no salvation from sin without repentance — no interest in Christ without repentance — no evidence of interest in Christ without repentance — no faith in Christ without repentance. Let men be conscious of what they please; let them see as much grace in themselves as their eyes can take in; and let them hope to the end of their days for salvation — it is all vanity and a lie, if there be not, with a contrite spirit, a thorough and universal turning from sin unto God in heart, speech, and behaviour. ‘O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance.’ (Matt. 3:7, 8).
The marriage feast is to a large extent deserted in our day — not, indeed, avowedly, though that too is perhaps nearer than is supposed. But the profession that is made of respect to it, and desire after it, is for the most part utterly hollow. We have men that call themselves Christians that do not know what a broken heart is, that never shed a tear over the dishonour they have done to the Holy One, that never looked upon Him who was pierced so as to mourn for him. Oh no! The sorrow that professors feel is altogether of a different sort; it is ‘the sorrow of the world that worketh death.’ (2 Cor. 7:10).
But those who by faith come to the marriage feast are truly penitent. Nor can they be said to be partakers of the feast at any time, unless they are in the exercise of this grace — ‘with bitter herbs shall ye eat it.’ In this frame they receive the remission of sins — another and eminent part of the marriage feast. But neither on this blessing do men at large set any value — they do not understand what it is, or how it comes; nor, were it possible to bestow it upon them, would they know what use to make of it, nor how to enjoy it. The Queen might issue as many pardons as Her Majesty pleased, but no one would pay the least regard to them, nor find the smallest use for them, but criminals shut up in prison, and about to be led forth to execution. Now, the great King, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of salvation, issues no pardon but in favour of the penitent; ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ (1 John 19:). ‘I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.’ (Ps. 32:5). ‘Her sins, which are many,’ said our Lord to the woman that was a sinner ‘are forgiven; for she loved much.’ (Luke 7:47). And wherein did her much love appear? She washed his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head.
The man that thus comes to the marriage feast is a partaker of true holiness. He has the principle of it in the new nature wrought in him by the Holy Ghost. But by the faith of Christ he cultivates it from day to day. He seeks out and mortifies his corruptions — his pride, his selfishness, his envy, his carnality, his hypocrisy, his rebellion, his enmity. For all these still remain in his soul — they sorely vex him, weaken his strength, mar his comeliness, and impair his usefulness. He has from this source griefs that the world knows nothing of, and with which he gets no sympathy from a race of professors, whose heads may be full of notions, perhaps clear, and orthodox, and magnificent, but whose hearts are left under the power of deadly rancour to the pure truth, and to those who hold by it, and are willing to suffer for it. ‘O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?’ (Rom. 7:24).
In Christ crucified, however, he finds virtue to kill the power of sin within him, and though to his own apprehension, he may seem to make little of it, nay, as if he were getting worse, yet he cannot give up the struggle, nor look to any other for relief. ‘I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 7:25).
Let sinners, therefore, hear the kindly voice that bids them to come to this feast. The time is short. The opportunities now given will soon pass away. The means of grace will soon cease. In any circumstances it were our wisdom to attend to the things that belong to our peace; but in these days there are considerations which carry peculiar weight and solemnity. The sky all around is gathering blackness. The visible church is rapidly decaying, and is to a large extent already dead. The profession of multitudes is completely withered. The pure word of the Lord is becoming very scarce. The power of the Spirit of God is to a fearful extent withheld. The ark is securing the few souls that are to be saved, and the still small voice is heard, ‘Yet there is room.’ But if it be neglected, soon the door will be shut, and a deluge of darkness and gloom envelope the land, to be exceeded only by the deluge of fire, that will at last burn up the world of the ungodly. Flee, then, oh flee from the wrath to come, and lay hold of eternal life. The door of hope may yet be opened to you. A cordial welcome may yet be given, and a rich repast spread before you. But soon your day of grace may close for ever, and the night of an undone eternity set in upon you. Haste, escape for your lives, tarry not in all the plain. For He who gives the marriage feast is rich in mercy to all that call upon Him. Strive to enter in at the strait-gate; for many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. (Luke 13:24).
It is the office of faith to believe what we do not see, and it shall be the reward of faith to see what we do believe.
Thos Adams