Come unto Me!

James Smith, 1856

"Come unto Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest!" Matthew 11:28

Reader, Jesus speaks to you. He calls you to him. He wishes you to approach him. He bids you come. Do you ask, "Why does he call me?" Because he knows that you need him.

No one can save your soul, but himself.

Nothing can cleanse you from your sin, but his blood.

Nothing can justify you before God, but his righteousness.

Nothing can make you fit to go to Heaven, but his Spirit.

No one can render you happy or honorable, but himself.

He knows that unless you go to him, you must perish forever. You must be restless, weary, and laboring in vain through life, and lie down in sorrow at last.

He has all that you need, for all fullness dwells in him. His heart is full of kind thoughts respecting you, and kind feelings toward you. He wishes you to be happy, to be holy, to be safe. He is able to make you so. He waits to make you so. Therefore he says, "Come unto Me!"

Do you ask, "What must I bring with me to recommend me?" Nothing! Absolutely nothing! You need no recommendation. Your misery is enough. Your poverty is enough. Your danger is enough. Jesus invites you, therefore he wants nothing from you as a recommendation. He did not wait until you were willing, until you were crying after him; but before you were willing, and in order to make you willing--he sends his loving invitation and says. "Come unto me! Come just as you are. Come for all that you need. Come this moment. Let there be no delay. Let there be no hesitation. Let there be no fear; but, come unto me, and I will give you . . .
rest from your burdens,
freedom from your toil,
refreshment in this desert world,
and life everlasting beyond it!

Come unto me, and I will introduce you to my Father. I will secure your pardon. I will gain your access into his presence. I will procure for you his smile and eternal benediction. Come unto me, and I will . . .
conquer your foes,
subdue your iniquities,
supply all your needs,
gratify all your good desires, and
ultimately make you more glorious than an angel of light.

Come, for all things are now ready. Come, for I am waiting to be gracious. Come, and I will rejoice over you to do you good. Come, and I will fill you with all joy and peace in believing!"

Sinner, thus Jesus speaks to you. Thus he speaks to you today--after living in sin so long--after slighting his Word so long--after hardening your heart against his Word, his mercy, and his love, so often and so long. Jesus thus addresses you at this moment. What do you say? Will you go to him? Go--or refuse to go, you must. Go to him and be made happy--or stay away and be miserable, you must. There is no middle course. Which shall it be? Which? Can you refuse him? What, deliberately, again, after so many calls, refuse him! If you reject him now, it may seal your doom forever.

God may say, "Why should I invite him any more? Why should I allow him to trifle with my grace any longer? Why should I give him an opportunity to insult me to my face, time after time, thus? Let him alone! Give him up. He deserves Hell--for he chooses it. He ought not to be allowed to enter Heaven--for he refuses it. He prefers . . .
Satan to me,
the world to my church,
sin to my service,
his own lusts to my grace,
to wallow in the mire of corruption to walking in the ways of holiness.

Let him alone. Invite him no more. Record his conduct, register his choice, write down his doom.

As he loves sin--let him have it.

As he chooses Hell--let him go to it.

As he refuses my counsel, as he will have none of my reproof, as he slights my warnings, despises my threatenings, rejects my invitations, and tramples upon my kindness--I give him up, and leave him to reap the due desert of his deeds!"

Oh, sinner, sinner, should this be the case with you--it will be all over with you forever. Jesus will no longer stand at the door and knock. The Spirit will no more strive with you. Your conscience will harden, your heart will become obdurate, and you will, perhaps, add open rebellion to your sin.

"Let them alone!" Matthew 15:14. There is a moment in every lost sinner's existence, when God gives him up. What a moment is that! What are the results of that just and holy act of God? One must know what the horrors of Hell mean, and what it is to have the stamp of eternity placed on those horrors--before one could answer that question.

Let me beseech you dear, dear reader, listen to the invitation of Jesus. Do not, do not put it from you, and pronounce yourself unworthy of everlasting life. Do not seal your own doom forever! Do not choose death in the error of your ways. Oh, do not, do not! But before God swears in his wrath that you shall never enter into his rest, before the door of mercy is closed upon you forever, before your light goes out in eternal darkness--come, come, come to Jesus, and be saved by him freely and forever! Hear the conclusion of the whole matter--you must come to Jesus and be saved--or refuse to do so, and be eternally punished for your sin! Which shall it be? God asks you, Which?