The doctrine of the cross, as it has been exhibited in
the preceding chapter, is "so far removed from the common conceptions of
men, that it is not wonderful they should scrutinize its moral aspect and
influence." There are not wanting those who accuse these doctrines of having
a licentious tendency; who affirm that they encourage men to sin; and that
if they be true, there is no small weight in the ancient and antinomian
objection—"Let us continue in sin, that grace may abound." For consider what
the great doctrines of the cross are. According to the statements of the
sacred volume, the pardon of all true believers is procured exclusively by
the atoning blood of the Son of God; their justification consists in being
accounted righteous, and treated as perfectly obedient subjects of God's
government only for the righteousness of Jesus Christ, imputed to them by
God, and received by faith. Nothing which they have done, or can perform,
can answer the requisition of the Divine law. No obedience, no good works,
no righteousness of their own, either in whole or in part, constitute the
basis of their acceptance in the sight of God. In receiving Christ, all
dependence upon any services of their own is renounced. Their duties have no
more to do with the meritorious ground of their acceptance than their sins,
because neither of them have anything to do with it. They are justified on
the same grounds on which the pardoned thief was justified, who had no good
works to plead, and whose only ground of hope was the atoning and justifying
Savior, who hung bleeding by his side. Besides this, they have the assurance
of perseverance in the Divine life—promises that they shall never so fall
away as finally to perish, and that their names are written in heaven, and
will never be obliterated from the Lamb's book of life. Now we affirm that
the cordial reception and inwrought persuasion of these truths, so far from
relaxing the bonds of moral obligation and tending to licentiousness,
purifies the heart and renovates the character. The man who derives from
them the smallest encouragement to sin, has never understood and felt them
as he ought; has failed to view them in some of their most interesting and
holiest relations; and while he may think that Christ Jesus is of God made
to him "wisdom, and righteousness and redemption," is fatally deceived in
that hope, unless he be made of God to him "sanctification" also. We will
expand these thoughts by the following distinct observations:
The dispensation of grace by the cross of Christ, so far
from making void, or abating, confirms and establishes the obligations of
the moral law. The obligation of men to practical righteousness is an
immutable obligation. It is founded in the nature of the Deity, and in the
nature and relations which men sustain to him and to one another. It cannot
be relaxed, but is everywhere binding, under every possible condition of
man's existence, and through interminable ages. It is binding on those who
never fell, and where its penalty has not been incurred; and not less
binding on those who fell, and where its penalty is eternally endured. It is
binding on impenitent and unbelieving men who are still under its wrath and
curse; and equally binding on all true believers, in whose favor its penalty
is graciously remitted through Him who bore it in their place. It is written
upon the conscience in lines that can never be effaced; it is published in
the Scriptures, there to stand as the unalterable expression of the Divine
authority; and so long as God and creatures remain what they are, can never
be abrogated or modified. Whatever authority it had before men believe the
gospel, it has afterwards. It does not cease to be the rule of life and
duty, because it is no longer the rule of justification. It does not cease
to require obedience, either because it has been violated, or because the
obedience it requires can no longer be the ground of acceptance with God.
The vicarious obedience of the cross, though graciously imputed to the
believer for his justification, was never designed to be substituted, in the
place of his own personal holiness, for any other purpose than his
justification merely. If, as has sometimes been most unscripturally
represented, the obedience of the Savior relieves the believer from all
personal obedience; or if, as has been incautiously represented, the design
of the cross be to relax the law in its requirements, and accommodate it to
the weaknesses and frailty of men; if the extent of their disposition to
obey be the measure of their obligations, and they are bound to do only what
they are inclined to do; then should we indeed "make void the law through
faith." But if the gospel teaches, that neither justification through
another's righteousness, nor the inability of the creature, affects for a
moment the extent and force of his obligations to personal obedience, and
that the holy Lawgiver will as soon cease to exist, as cease to require a
holy, spiritual and perfect obedience; then does it "establish the law." And
does not the cross most distinctly and abundantly teach this? Is it behind
the law as a system of moral obligation? Does it not everywhere recognize,
and uphold, and honor the authority of the law, and put its seal of blood
upon its undiminished obligations to holiness? Does not the sufferer of
Calvary say, "Do not think that I am come to destroy the law—I am not come
to destroy, but to fulfill?" Is not the uniform language of his gospel, "Be
you holy, for I am holy?" Does not every command it issues require the
holiness of the heart, as the indispensable element of all obedience? and
does it not discountenance all pretensions to obedience that flow not from
such a source? Does it not elevate the standard of practical godliness and
sound morality far above the sickly and stinted forms of worldly virtue, and
call upon its disciples to carry the principles and influence of their
religion into all places, all society, all employments, "everywhere
manifesting truth and honesty, sobriety and honor, kindness and the love of
God?" Does it not maintain the most uncompromising hostility to every form
and degree of wickedness, both of principle and practice, and stand separate
and aloof from all fellowship with the works of darkness? These things are
too obvious to be questioned; and were they not obvious, wicked men
themselves would love the gospel with all their hearts. Nothing is more
characteristic of the cross than the holy salvation it reveals. It saves not
in sin, but from sin. The great reason why a world that lies in wickedness
is so hostile to this method of grace is, that it proclaims so holy a
salvation, demands the sacrifice of every idol, and asserts the undiminished
prerogatives of the Supreme Lawgiver.
The method of salvation by the cross of Christ, also
reveals the only motives and the only grace by which men become holy. The
motives and influences under which men become holy, are not found under a
purely legal dispensation. Notwithstanding the excellences and obligations
of the law to which we have just referred, the Scriptures, and universal
experience and observation, evince that, so far as regards every fallen race
of intelligences in the universe, those who are under no other than a purely
legal dispensation are under the dominion of sin. Had God designed to
reclaim the apostate angels, he would never have left them under the bitter
bondage of a broken law. The government which declares, obey and live, or
transgress and die, righteous and equitable as it is, never, since the fall
of angels and men, made one of the human family holy. It might make men
cautious in their outward deportment—abstemious and watchful—exact and
punctual in their morality; but never yet did it reach the heart, and fill
it with holy love. The best spirit it ever produces is that self-righteous
and legal spirit, which takes its rise from motives and aims which God
disapproves and condemns. It operates upon the fears of men, but awakens no
holy affections. It makes them slaves, but not children. The stronger its
heavy bonds are drawn around the conscience, the more certainly does the
depraved heart resist them; and the more inflexible its penalty, the more
obdurate is the sinner's rebellion. The most it ever accomplishes, is to
impart a sense of obligation; to uncover the depths of sin within the soul;
to awaken all that is terrible in apprehension, and to leave the
transgressor in the frenzy of despair, because it is impossible for him to
escape its curses. While in the act of subduing and restraining his outward
sins, it is the occasion of his plunging into deeper inward wickedness. The
truth of this observation is confirmed by the moral history of every deeply
convinced sinner. Under the strongest and most painful convictions, and more
generally in proportion to the strength and distress of them, he sins faster
and stronger, as the clouds of despair thicken and grow black over his head.
The more he increases his self-righteous strivings after holiness, the more
is he discouraged by a sense of his weakness, until, with Paul, "the
commandment which was ordained to life," he finds to be unto death. The
melancholy fact is, men are too far gone in depravity and guilt to be
delivered from sin by a mere sense of obligation, however strong and
distressing their convictions may be. The law is of important use in leading
them to a dispensation of mercy; but shut out a dispensation of mercy, and
when the commandment comes, sin revives and the sinner dies. His efforts are
of no avail; his every hope is fled; and not infrequently his course of sin
becomes desperate and reckless. Many is the convinced sinner, to whom, under
this terrible state of mind, life itself has been a burden, and who, but for
the interposing providence of that God who wounds to heal, would have rushed
unbidden into the presence of his Maker. But where sin and the adversary are
restrained from these fearful excesses, what wonder if, in this bondage of
iniquity, shut out from hope, and with a totally depraved heart within him,
the only effect of the law should be to operate upon his corrupt desires,
provoke resistance, and lead him to the course of conduct which it forbids?
Inexcusably and unspeakably sinful as all this is, such is human nature,
such is man, degraded, rebellious man. In an entirely sinful being, as every
unregenerate man is, iniquity always becomes more active by the restraints
put upon it, save when those restraints are mingled with all-conquering
love. Complacency for the disobedient, the law knows not; mercy for him, it
knows not; and its strong hand of obligation and penalty only drives him to
despair of holiness.
Men need something more than to become acquainted with
their obligations and their sins. It is as true of the moral as of the
ceremonial code, that the law, "was added because of transgressors, until
the promised seed should come." It was to prepare men to receive the gospel.
They were placed under a legal dispensation, and are continued under it now,
with the view of leading them to a dispensation of grace. They go not for
holiness to the mount that burns with fire, nor to the thick darkness, nor
to the forbidding thunder. The "ministration of condemnation," glorious as
it is, is the ministration of condemnation only. The doctrine of the cross
furnishes motives, and exerts an influence to holiness, which the law does
not know. While it abates no obligation of the law, it carries along with it
truths unknown to a broken covenant, and truths through the instrumentality
of which, holy affections are produced and spring up in the inner man, while
the outer man becomes progressively conformed to the law of God. "The words
that I speak unto you," says the Savior, "they are spirit, and they are
life." They possess a quickening, a life-giving influence. They are the only
system of truth that comes clothed and attended with Divine power, because
the only system that is associated with the mighty agency of the Holy
Spirit. This is one of their great peculiarities, and is found only in
intimate connection with the blood of sprinkling. The Spirit was procured by
Christ—is sent by Christ—is his Spirit. The apostle, when speaking of the
effects of his influence, is careful to speak of them as "the sanctification
of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."
The system of truth of which the cross is the center, in prescribing rules
of holy living, first establishes the great principles of faith from which
all holy living proceeds, and then gives them efficacy by the promised and
superadded power of God. The first thing it does, is to teach the sinner his
lost and ruined condition, and show him that in himself he is without hope.
This done, it summons all its instructions, all the authority of its
gracious Author, all its love and compassion, all its offers of mercy, and
all its persuasive and melting tenderness, to lead him to Him who was
crucified. That mighty Spirit who illuminates the darkened understanding of
man, and takes away the heart of stone, takes of the things that are
Christ's and shows them unto him; and in view of the wonderful discovery,
the affecting vision of the glory of God in the face of his dear Son, the
love of God is shed abroad in his heart, and he feels that he is no more
"under the law, but under grace"—the child of grace, the servant of grace,
and happy only in its influence and authority. The cross breaks the bars of
his prison, dissolves the bondage of the curse, proclaims to him a free and
gracious deliverance, clothes him with a righteousness that meets the claims
of the law, tells him of the "sure mercies of David," encourages him to an
obedience that is no longer embarrassed with "a certain fearful looking for
of judgment and fiery indignation," fills his desponding and distracted
heart with hope, and bids him go on his way rejoicing. And who does not see
that such a man has principles and affections that lead him, with an honest,
though it may be with a weak and inconstant mind, to "abhor that which is
evil" and "cleave to that which is good?" "Dead to the law by the body of
Christ," he is "married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead,
that he should bring forth fruit unto God." Sacred influences act upon him
to which he was before a stranger; means of sanctification are powerful that
were before powerless; and relations now exist between him and God that were
before unknown. He lifts his eyes to heaven and says, Abba Father! and
instead of being embarrassed and subjugated by the terrors of a slave, he is
conscious of that filial, dutiful spirit, which delights "in the law of God
after the inward man;" while that very cross which assures him of the pardon
of sin, also assures him of its ultimate destruction. "There is forgiveness
with you, that you may be feared." Christian men gain the victory over sin,
by enjoying the favor of God, and living in communion with the cross. The
source of spiritual life is found in Christ, and not out of him. Hope in him
is one of the great elements of spiritual advancement. The thought that
cheers and refreshes, and puts gladness into the heart of the trembling
believer, is, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disturbed
within me? Hope you in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his
countenance!" He is no longer "tossed with tempest and not comforted;" but
the "joy of the Lord is his strength," and he runs in the way of God's
commandments because God has enlarged his heart. Though clogged with a body
of sin, and imprisoned within a sinning world, he still lives for eternity,
anticipates his heavenly inheritance, thinks much and often of the glory to
be hereafter revealed, and is habitually "looking for that blessed hope, and
the appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ."
There is another important principle connected with the
cross of Christ, that secures its sanctifying tendency. It relates to the
characters themselves who enjoy the blessings of that salvation which the
cross purchases. They are not all men indiscriminately. They are not the
unrighteous, but the righteous; they are not the impure and unholy, but the
"pure in heart." They are those who are born of God; who hate and forsake
sin; who hunger and thirst after righteousness; who love God, and keep his
commandments; who, in one word, believe in Christ, and "live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved them and gave himself for them." The Son of God
was not obedient unto death, for the purpose of saving those who reject him.
Save that a double condemnation awaits them for having rejected this great
salvation, all such people sustain the same relation to the penalty of the
Divine law which they would have sustained, had the Savior never died. Were
God to save them, he would exhibit himself to the world as the rewarder of
iniquity, and by thus denying himself, would blot out the glory of his
kingdom. "Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord." Fearfully gloomy
does the last dispensation of truth and mercy which the world will ever
know, represent the prospects of the incorrigibly wicked. It is not within
the compass of God's largest compassions—it belongs not to his rightful
prerogative—it is not within the range either of a moral or natural
possibility, that such people should be saved. Not until men receive the
gospel, have they the least warrant to its pardon or its hopes. This single
fact shows us, in the first place, the absurdity of the objection, that the
cross of Christ makes any concessions to the ungodly, or in the smallest
degree connives at their wickedness. Most certainly, no encouragement to sin
is found in that method of mercy which leaves the incorrigible sinner under
condemnation, tells him that he is without God and without hope, and
thunders in his ear, "He that believes not shall be damned." And it shows,
in the next place, that no sooner does the grace of God in Jesus Christ
manifest itself to the soul, enabling it to believe in the Savior, than the
sinful character of man is changed. For what is the faith that thus receives
Christ Jesus the Lord? What is that moral state of mind, in the exercise of
which men humble themselves before God, confess and feel that they are
justly condemned, renounce their own righteousness, cast themselves into the
arms of boundless mercy, and confide in the mighty Savior? How does the soul
arrive at this conclusion, and what are the predominant affections that lead
to it? It is not naturally in a posture to receive the truth of the cross,
but revolts from it, and turns with eagerness to other foundations of
confidence. There is no true answer to this question but that which has just
been given, and that is, that his sinful character is changed. The believer
is not what he once was, "dead in trespasses and sins." He is a changed
man—changed by the mighty power of God—or he would not be a believer in
Jesus. "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to those who believe on his name; which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Their
faith is no cold speculation, nor is it the offspring of wild enthusiasm;
nor is it any evanescent feeling or fancy. It is not the growth of this low
world, but something purely of celestial origin. It is not wrought in the
soul by its own inherent powers and faculties, but, like the love of God, is
shed abroad in it by the Holy Spirit. It is the act of the creature, only
because it is "the gift of God." It does not first ascend from man to God,
but first descends from God to man. It is the effect of that new creation,
transforming the soul that was before dead in sin. With such a state of
mind, entirely changed in regard to God and all Divine objects, old things
done away and all things having become new, men receive Jesus Christ. And
who does not see that, in doing this, from such a state of moral feeling,
they welcome the entire dominion of the Savior over their hearts and life?
This, indeed, is one of the necessary actings of true faith. Not more
certainly does it look to Jesus as the great Teacher, submitting the
understanding to the light of his truth—not more certainly does it look to
him as the great High-priest, through whose sacrifice there is pardon and
life—than it looks to him as the great King and Lawgiver, cheerfully
submitting to his laws and government. In the same measure, therefore, in
which a man possesses the faith of the gospel, does he delight to do the
will of God, and his law is within his heart. His commandments are no longer
grievous, nor is it any longer a hardship to him to live, not unto himself,
but to Him who died for him, and rose again. With all his imperfections, his
holiness is genuine and real. He desires to be holy, as God is holy, and
strives to walk worthy of his high calling, as one of his chosen and adopted
children. He is imbued with the spirit of the gospel, and is baptized with
the love of his Divine Master. His spirit is directly opposite to the love
of sinning. He just begins to realize some relief from the bondage of his
sins, and to rejoice in the truth, that the Savior in whom he confides gave
Himself for his people, that he might redeem them "from all iniquity, and
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." He cannot sin
as he once did, because he is born of God. Such is the reasoning of the
apostle when asserting the holiness of the cross—"What shall we say, then?
Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we,
that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" All the influences of the
cross, therefore, are holy influences. It is by their union and communion
with Him who was crucified, that the views of believers become elevated,
their affections spiritual, their motives pure, their courage invigorated,
and their victory over sin ultimately sure. "If a man abide not in me, he is
cast forth as a branch, and is withered." True holiness flourishes only
around the cross. It is because Jesus died, that his followers die unto sin;
and it is because he lives, that they live unto God. The faith by which the
salvation of the cross is received, is but another name for holiness, and
the believer but another name for one who, although he has but begun his
spiritual career, and will often halt on his way, yet perseveres in his
path, and, like the rising light, sometimes eclipsed by passing clouds, and
sometimes even obscured by the blacker tempest, shines "more and more unto
the perfect day."
There is also another principle in the method of mercy by
the cross which secures its hallowed tendencies. While it is true that he
who is once justified is always justified, and that no sins can vitiate his
title to eternal life, such is the nature of the gospel, that no believer
can have a comfortable sense of his acceptance, who loses for a time his
love of God and holiness, and falls into sin. The promises of God in Jesus
Christ have secured to every true Christian the ultimate blessings of a
justified state; but they have nowhere secured to him the constant exercise
of his faith, and the consequent evidence that he is among the justified. He
may lose the manifestations of the Divine love, and all that inward sense of
his adoption into the Divine family, that are necessary to a comfortable
hope that he has a part with God's chosen. Christians who give way to the
spirit of the world; who yield to temptation, falter in their course, and
sin against God by falling from their steadfastness, must pay the forfeiture
of their backsliding, by the loss of all comfortable intimations of pardon.
They do sin, they may sin, and yet be Christians; though they can never
become dead in sin, as they once were. Those there have been, who have
sinned fearfully after they have become Christians, and whose wickedness has
been the more aggravated, both in the sight of God and man, because they
committed it. But they themselves, at such seasons, cannot have evidence
that they are good men. They cannot feel that they "have passed from death
unto life," while the law of mind brings them into captivity to the law of
sin. They cannot have unclouded views of their interest in Christ, so long
as they walk after the fashion of this world. They cannot say under the
manifestations of his love, "My beloved is mine, and I am his," when they
are impure, like David; false and profane, like Peter; intemperate, like the
disciples of Corinth; lukewarm, like Laodicea; like the church of Ephesus,
have forsaken their first love; or, like not a few in every age, do not
"walk honestly toward those who are without." They are strangers then to the
sweetness of the promise, and have "received the spirit of bondage again to
fear." They may contemplate Christ "as revealed in the word, but cannot find
Christ revealed in the heart." Their hopes are joyless, and seem to them as
refuges of lies. The dew of heaven no longer rests upon their branch. The
candle of the Lord no longer shines upon their head, and God their Maker no
longer gives them songs in the night. They forsake the fellowship of the
Lord's people, keep at a distance from the table of his grace, and instead
of following the footsteps of the flock and lying down in green pastures,
and beside the still waters, they are like sheep without a shepherd, and
wandering upon the mountains in the cloudy and dark day. And a most merciful
dispensation is this, that "a settled peace and a guilty conscience cannot
dwell together in the same bosom." And it deserves particular remark, that
God has so thrown this protection around the claims of holiness, that no
Christian can tell how few or how small the sins that may grieve the Spirit
of grace from his bosom; and no subtlety or research can describe with
precision the sin that may not quench the light of all his hopes. And what
is this, but the solemn and affecting admonition, "The Lord knows those who
are his," and "Let every one that names the name of Christ, depart from
iniquity?" When the believer, therefore, deliberately allows himself in
sin—in any sin—he need not be disappointed if he find it a difficult problem
to decide, whether he be a believer. He must pause in solicitude and
apprehension. It becomes more and more a question of deep import, whether he
has anything more than "a name that he lives." And if he come to the
conclusion that he is a deceived man; if he be even driven to despair, and,
through despair, to renewed self-abasement and godly sorrow; and through
deep repentance once more to hear the voice of heavenly mercy; he may thank
his Heavenly Father, whose paternal eye and heart have been upon him in all
his wanderings, that he has visited his iniquity with the rod, and his
transgression with stripes; but his loving-kindness has not taken from him,
nor suffered his faithfulness to fail. He may adore the reclaiming power of
that cross that has put its seal to the promise, Though a just man falls
seven times, he shall rise again. Nor are there wanting facts that are in
keeping with all the preceding principles. Where do we look for the holiest
men and the most devout worshipers of God? Is it where Christ is disowned
and rejected, or where he is believed and honored, and the attractions of
his cross are felt? Let the experience of the Christian world give the
answer. Where does penitence weep, but at the cross? Where is the flesh
humbled and pride debased, but at the cross? Where, if not at the cross,
does unwearied diligence in well doing find its impulse and encouragement?
Where else does the sinner hold communion with God? Where is Christian
vigilance unsleeping, if not at the cross? Where does faith work by love, or
hope purify, or holy fear alarm, or holy promise comfort, or the meekness of
wisdom rectify the inequalities of the natural temperament, but at the
cross? What, but the balmy atmosphere of the cross, seasons the
conversation, so "that it ministers grace to them that hear it?" What
consecrates time, talent, and property, and influence to their true ends,
but the love of Christ? Where else are the lessons of patience and
resignation, and forgiveness of enemies, and of every social virtue? And
where else is the struggling believer, looking back on the past, and in near
view of the future, ever heard to say, "I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course," except when lying at the foot of the cross? Obliterate
all the holiness in our world that is the sole effect of the cross, and how
much, do you think, would there be left? Where would the multitude of
witnesses to the power of vital godliness be found, if you seek them not
among believers in the cross? Where would you look for the history of vital
piety in the past ages of the world, if not in the very history of that
religion of which the cross of Christ is the substance and expression?
Nowhere. These things cannot be found, except as they are connected with the
cross. Mark the effects of preaching Christ and him crucified, with those
produced by the philosophy of the schools, by the Pelagianism and Arianism
of the fourth and fifth centuries, by the modern preachers of Germany and
Switzerland, by the cold and heartless morality which freezes on the lips of
the Unitarian ministry in our own land, and it will be no difficult matter
to see which is the better adapted to promote the "holiness, without which
no man shall see the Lord." The cross collects all the moral considerations
in the universe, and gives them all their force and tenderness. It is the
voice of the Creator uttered in more attractive emphasis than creation
speaks. It is the Lawgiver, uttering the appeal, "If you love me, keep my
commandments." It is the voice of the soul, telling its value by the price
of its redemption. It is the Supreme Good, throwing a dark shadow over the
kingdoms of this world, and all the glory of them. It is a tranquil
conscience, grace to help in the time of need, exceeding great and precious
promises, victory over every foe, triumph over death and the grave, and a
heaven of holiness where Jesus dwells. There is no name given under heaven,
which lips of incorrigible wickedness may pronounce with less impunity than
the name of Jesus; and no thought more absolutely withering, even to the
secret purpose of sinning, than the thought of the cross.
I know that no man is perfectly sanctified in this life,
and have looked with no small concern on some modern fanatics who profess to
obtain sinless perfection. It implies no palliation for sin, that we are
constrained to confess that such is its power over the best of men that it
is felt and seen in their character and conduct to the end of life. If any
imagine it is otherwise with themselves, and find not occasion for constant
conflict and struggles, it is because they are either unacquainted with
themselves, or their standard of holiness is very low. This disordered
world, staggering under the curse of God, was not transformed from its
primitive beauty and loveliness to be the habitation of angels. These frail
bodies, subject to pain, disease, infirmity, and death, were not made to be
the abode of pure and perfect spirits. As the hour draws near when sin
almost ceases to oppress, and the adversary to ensnare, it is a strong
indication that the earthly house of this tabernacle is about to be taken
down, and this low earth to be exchanged for the new heavens and the new
earth, wherein dwells righteousness. But though doomed to the struggle, the
Christian is sure of the ultimate victory. Let it be your aim, your effort,
and your prayer, to look continually toward the crown. Let your very sorrows
and griefs be indications of a holy mind; and when you hang your harps upon
the willows, let it be because you feel your distance from God, and have
sinned against him you most love.
I may be addressing some who have no holiness. We have no
other gospel to proclaim to the men of the world, than that proclaimed to
the people of God. It is, "Jesus Christ made of God to your sanctification,"
as well as pardon. You will never know what holiness is until you have felt
the power of grace in Jesus Christ. The cross is not the less the refuge of
the polluted than the condemned. It is the only way to holiness. If you
would be holy, you must begin with receiving Jesus Christ. Wanderer from the
paths of rectitude and peace! he would lead you back. Slave of sin! he would
sincerely break your chains and set you free. "There is no peace, says my
God, to the wicked." There is no employment, no joy, no society, no place in
heaven, for an unholy man. Heaven would be no heaven to the man whom the
cross has not made holy.