we are healed;" he has made a sufficient, an all-sufficient atonement for our guilt; the justice of God is now fully satisfied, and his mercy flows down free and unshackled on the believing sinner. * 66 "Salvation! O the joyful sound: A sovereign balm for every wound, Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men." Thirdly, our text teaches us the duty of man: it is to return to God, who has blotted out his transgressions, and iniquities, and redeemed his soul. And should the sinner enquire, how can I return to God?" Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God?" our blessed Saviour instructs him in the parable of the † Prodigal Son, we should return to our heavenly Father, wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, as we really are: confessing our guilt, and pleading for mercy; we should come before him with the prayer of the humbled publican, " God be merciful to me a sinner," and the Lord will receive us graciously, and love us 66 * Psalm, cvii. 8. Luke, xv. Ib. xviii. 13. freely for "he is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." It may appear very astonishing to us, that any of the captive Israelites should have remained in Babylon, when the God of their fathers had thus mercifully invited them to break their chains, and return to his favour. But, it is to be feared that many of them disregarded this proclamation of divine mercy, and lived and died in slavery. And is it not equally astonishing, my brethren, that so many among ourselves still linger in the bondage of corruption--still remain as we were born children of wrath, the slaves of the world, the flesh and the devil, while the Gospel is sounding in our ears, inviting us to return to God, and proclaiming to us, pardon, and liberty, and life. And what was the principal cause that detained the unbelieving Israelites in Babylon,-it was idolatry, and it is idolatry that detains so many of us in the slavery of sin. We may be perhaps started at this truth, we may be ready to exclaim, we are not Idolaters, we have never bowed down to stocks and stones,-we have never done *2 Peter iii. 9. homage to saints or angels. This may be in some measure true, for our idolatry is not blazened abroad by temples and images; we set up our idols in our hearts; there, self and the world reign triumphant, and hinder us from accepting God's gracious invitation: we know that if any man will be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ *"he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow him." And we know that the word of God exhorts us "Not to love the world, nor the things that are in the world. For if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." We prefer the idols of our hearts, to the God of truth and salvation, and consign our own souls to eternal perdition; for while we live under the dominion of sin, our best and brightest works are but idolatrous services. Let us take, as an example, that quality which is so highly esteemed among men, and which is also highly acceptable to God, when it springs from a pure motive--when it flows from the constraining love of Christ, I mean liberality to the poor, what we commonly call charity; when the slave of Satan is liberal to the poor, he desires either to gratify his own natural feelings, or to pur * Matthew xvi. 24. † 1 John ii. 15. chase the applause of the world, and thus his generosity is not, an offering of gratitude to his Creator and redeemer, but a sacrifice to idols. "They that are in the flesh cannot please God." Oh, my brethren, let us instantly dethrone these tyrannical usurpers; let us cast away our idols, now while the door of mercy is open to us, for we know not how soon it may be closed against us for ever, and then, what shall be our doom? "Let us hear it from the lips of him who now offers us salvation. Then shall ye begin to say, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I know you not whence ye are: depart from me all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out."— But blessed be the Lord our God; for his grace and mercy, we are still in a region of hope, now is our accepted time, now is our day of salvation ;" now while the way of mercy is open to us, let us set out on our happy journey, towards the *Romans, viii. 8. † Luke, xiii. 26. 27. 28. heavenly Zion, before the thick cloud of our transgressions and iniquities shall shroud us in hopeless and everlasting darkness and misery. The Lord thus invites every one of us to approach him as the fountain of mercy-"I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins: return unto me, for I have redeemed thee." And, my brethren, if we have been delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God; let us go on our way rejoicing: the thick cloud of guilt that once covered us, is blotted out for ever, and the sunshine of God's favour now lights us on our road to happiness and glory. Our sins shall never more appear against us, for the Lord Jehovah thus addresses his believing people: "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins;" he will remember our sins and iniquities no more: he not only forgives but forgets. It is true that God cannot be said literally to forget our sins, for all things past, present, and to come, are ever under his all seeing eye. But he receives the penitent sinner * Isaiah, xliii. 25. |