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"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink."—John 7:37.
ATIENCE had her perfect work
in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast He pleaded with
the Jews, even as on this last day of the year He pleads with us, and
waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the longsuffering of the
Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year, notwithstanding our
provocations, rebellions, and resistance of His Holy Spirit. Wonder of
wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!
Pity expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus cried, which implies not only the loudness of His voice, but the tenderness of His tones. He entreats us to be reconciled. "We pray you," says the Apostle, "as though God did beseech
you by us." What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep must be
the love which makes the Lord weep over sinners, and like a mother woo
His children to His bosom! Surely at the call of such a cry our willing
hearts will come.Provision is made most plenteously;
all is provided that man can need to quench his soul's thirst. To his
conscience the atonement brings peace; to his understanding the gospel
brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person of Jesus is the
noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth as it is in
Jesus supplies the purest nutriment. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus can
remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus could restore
it.Proclamation is made most freely,
that every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made but
that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of avarice, ambition, pleasure,
knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The thirst may
be bad in itself, and be no sign of grace, but rather a mark of
inordinate sin longing to be gratified with deeper draughts of lust; but
it is not goodness in the creature which brings him the invitation, the
Lord Jesus sends it freely, and without respect of persons.Personality is declared most fully.
The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines,
but to a personal Redeemer, who His own self bare our sins in His own
body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Saviour, is the only star
of hope to a sinner. Oh for grace to come now and drink, ere the sun
sets upon the year's last day!No waiting or
preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking represents a reception for
which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a harlot can drink; and
so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation to believe in
Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice, in which to convey
the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down
and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch
the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it, but shall themselves
be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, hear the dear
Redeemer's loving voice as He cries to each of us,LET HIM
COME UNTO ME
AND DRINK."
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."—Jeremiah 8:20.
OT saved!
Dear reader, is this your mournful plight? Warned of the judgment to
come, bidden to escape for your life, and yet at this moment not saved!
You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you hear it
from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and yet you neglect
it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse
when the Lord shall judge the quick and dead. The Holy Spirit has given
more or less of blessing upon the word which has been preached in your
hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and
yet you are without Christ. All these hopeful seasons have come and
gone—your summer and your harvest have past—and yet you are not saved.
Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will
soon be here: youth has gone, manhood is going, and yet you are not saved.
Let me ask you—will you ever be saved?
Is there any likelihood of it? Already the most propitious seasons have
left you unsaved; will other occasions alter your condition? Means have
failed with you—the best of means, used perseveringly and with the
utmost affection—what more can be done for you? Affliction and
prosperity have alike failed to impress you; tears and prayers and
sermons have been wasted on your barren heart. Are not the probabilities
dead against your ever being saved? Is it not more than likely that you
will abide as you are till death for ever bars the door of hope? Do you
recoil from the supposition? Yet it is a most reasonable one: he who is
not washed in so many waters will in all probability go filthy to his
end. The convenient time never has come, why should it ever come? It is
logical to fear that it never will arrive, and that Felix like, you will
find no convenient season till you are in hell. O bethink you of what
that hell is, and of the dread probability that you will soon be cast
into it!
Reader, suppose you
should die unsaved, your doom no words can picture. Write out your
dread estate in tears and blood, talk of it with groans and gnashing of
teeth: you will be punished with everlasting destruction from the glory
of the Lord, and from the glory of His power. A brother's voice would
fain startle you into earnestness. O be wise, be wise in time, and ere
another year begins, believe in Jesus, who is able to save to the
uttermost. Consecrate these last hours to lonely thought, and if deep
repentance be bred in you, it will be well; and if it lead to a humble
faith in Jesus, it will be best of all. O see to it that this year pass
not away, and you an unforgiven spirit. Let not the new year's midnight
peals sound upon a joyless spirit! Now, NOW, NOW believe, and live.LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE,
NEITHER STAY THOU
IN ALL THE PLAIN;
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAIN,
LEST THOU BE CONSUMED."
