gests the idea of danger, from which rescue is needed. It is pardon for the sinner; holiness for the impure; heaven for the wandering and the lost. Here is I. AN IMPORTANT TRUTH. "For I am God, and there is none cise." This is not merely an assertion of the Divine unity. It expresses the idea that GOD, and God alone, is competent to man's salvation. Man is not competent to his own. He cannot change his nature any more than the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the river return to the source whence it arose. Nor can he atone for sin. He cannot perfectly keep the Divine law, starting from any point. And even if he could, it would be nothing more than his duty; it would not cover past sins, any more than the felon's subsequent honesty would cover and atone for his frauds. No creature is competent. Under the Levitical dispensation, sacrifices of animals were Divinely appointed. Yet it is expressly stated that in the nature of the case they were inefficacious (Heb. x. 4). Their utility consisted in their typical reference to the sacrifice of Him whose offering possessed a Divine element. No mere creature can repair man's ruin. Yet he need not perish. For God can save. He has personally interposed by means of the incarnation, obedience, death, resurrection, and ascension of His dear Son, by which satisfaction has been made to the demands of righteousness, and the Holy Spirit has been sent to renew the hearts of men. II. A SIMPLE DIRECTION. "Look unto me." No man understands the care of his soul until he sees his helplessness through sin; nor will he apply to God for salvation until then. God's work in men begins with the truth respecting themselves. Then it proceeds to the truth respecting Christ. This revealed condition on which salvation becomes possible is that the sinner believes in the Saviour (John iii. 16). The metaphor in the text is an expressive one, as setting forth the nature of faith. The Israelites bitten by the serpents were to look to the brazen serpent. You make a promise to a man; he looks to you for the fulfilment. A man is shipwrecked: he looks for deliverance to the lifeboat which he sees making its way to him over the waters. Thus the sinner trusts to the Saviour wholly and only (H. E. I. 1957-1968). III. A GRACIOUS ASSURANCE The "Be ye saved," i.e., Ye shall be saved. It is a promise in the shape of a command. The two are inseparable. The believing man is a saved man. two ideas should be placed together always. Many illustrations of this can easily be collected from the New Testament. The question is, "Do you believe?" Then you are saved, and may rejoice in the fact of your salvation. Your liberty is proclaimedyour pardon written in the Book. If it were possible for a believer to be lost, God's word would be falsified. Many Christians darken their spiritual experience by failing to see the certainty with which salvation follows upon faith, or by losing themselves in metaphysical inquiries as to the nature of faith. IV. A UNIVERSAL CALL. In "All the ends of the earth." ancient times the earth was believed to be an extended plain. By the ends of the earth are meant all mankind, even the farthest inhabited point. The call of the Gospel is addressed to mankind in a similarly universal way (H. E. I. 2417). 1. All the ends of the earth need it. The ruin is universal. The helplessness is universal. The plague is everywhere. The race perishes. In all history, in all the world's present population, the exception does not exist. You are no exception. Only thus is salvation possible (H. E. I. 2418-2420). 2. It is sufficient for all the ends of the earth. There is no limit to the sufficiency of the salvation God has provided. The value of the atonement can only be estimated by the infinite value of the Son of God, which is the same thing as to say it is immeasurable. The Gospel is compared to a feast which a king has provided. But the provision is so ample that, if the whole world accepted the invita tion, it would be sufficient. All things are ready. The universal invitation is issued (2421-2424). 3. It is God's will that all the ends of the earth be informed of it. One is to tell another. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." The disciples of Christ have been from the beginning providentially scattered abroad that they might preach this word The Church in every age, and every separate church, should be missionary in its character. We must stand in the way, point to the Cross, invite the world (H. E. I. 2448). 4. Its reception by the ends of the earth is predicted. It shall be universally proclaimed, generally received, by all classes and individuals. The present moral desolation shall be fruitfulness and beauty. The desert shall be the garden of the Lord. We expect this on the authority of His word (H. E. I. 2451). We have seen that God is the only source of salvation for sinners; that in the work of salvation God is everything, man nothing; and that He has authorised all sinners to look to Him for salvation. It follows 1. That all the glory of salvation must be ascribed to God. Human boasting is excluded. In man's utter ruin and helplessness, God's love in Christ undertook and accomplished the work. 2. That the personal salvation of sinners turns upon their observing the direction to believe. The implication is that the unbeliever is not saved. Refuse to look by faith to Christ, and you exclude yourself. It is a personal matter. See that you are united to Christ. 3. That it is the duty of ministers to direct all sinners to look to Him and be saved. Nothing short of this is preaching the Gospel. Not that we can command acceptance. But we can convey God's message to men, leaving the result between Him and them.J. Rawlinson. (Sermon to the Young.) This is an invitation of surprising mercy to dying, perishing sinners, wherever they may be. It is the great and blessed God Himself calling the Gentile and heathen world to salvation. It is Immanuel, God with us, God who put on our flesh and blood, calling us to look unto Him and be saved. If we are sensible of our misery by nature and practice, if we are weary of sin, and would escape the wrath to come, we must look to Him with an eye of faith and holy dependence as our only Saviour. 66 I. Look unto Me, and be ye saved." This reminds us of the time when the Israelites were bitten by fiery serpents. Moses was directed to lift up a serpent of brass, which shone brightly under the rays of an Eastern sun, and was visible from all parts of the camp. By a miracle, every one who looked at this serpent was healed. No doubt every wounded parent directed his eyes to the appointed remedy, and exhorted his children to do the same. As the cure of the brazen serpent extended to the farthest distant part of the Israelitish camp, SO the effect of Christ's sacrifice extends to those who dwell in the farthest away parts of the earth; God calls upon "all the ends of the earth," the north and the south, the east and the west. The cleansing power of Christ's blood has no geographical limits; it is not measured by longitude and latitude. Colour and race make no difference. The descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth have an equal claim. All are to come. For what? To be saved. To be saved from their sins; and from the consequences of the crimes they have committed, the vices they have indulged in, the angry passions they have cherished, from the curse under which they were born, and which many have so well earned for themselves. But who is it that issues this general invitation? This question brings us to the other part of the text: II. "For I am God, and there is none else." God here gives the reason why we should attend to the call, because it is made by Him who has a right to make it, and who is alone able to save. I. "I am God:" therefore (1.) I am all-sufficient to save. What is there that the most miserable of creatures can stand in need of, that is not to be found in ample measure in the treasure-house of God? When the Creator undertakes to be a Saviour, the creature cannot perish. There is wisdom enough in Him to make the fool wise; light enough to scatter all our darkness; power enough to make the weakest strong in grace, and active in every duty. "I (2.) It is for Me to prescribe the means of obtaining salvation. am God;" look unto Me, therefore, ye sinners, and be saved; I will give salvation to him that looks; he that believeth on Me shall be saved from sin and death. 2. "There is none else," there is none that can save beside Me. The salvation of a sinner is too great a work for any except God. A man cannot change a dead sinner into a living saint; he can make a house, a watch, a ship, foretell an eclipse, calculate the distance of a star; but of God alone can it be said, "You hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins." It requires a Divine Power to secure one in temptation, to fit him for the society of God and angels, to bring him through death to eternal glory; and yet all this is to be done if the sinner is to be saved. None but God has a right to declare the terms of salvation. If He says, "Look and be saved," who shall forbid the banns, or narrow the breadth of the invitation? If the Lord of Heaven says to perishing sinners on earth, "Ye shall be saved, if only ye believe," who dare impose painful rites or laborious ceremonies, or human absolution? The faith spoken of must be a vital principle, showing itself in repentance and aiming at holiness; for a dead faith cannot save (H. E. I. 1978-1986). CONCLUSION. How broad and glorious is the salvation of Christ! how it answers to the weaknesses and the wants, the miseries, the dangers, and the fears of the awakened sinner! It reaches not only to us, but to even the savage nations, such as our fathers once were. But we must not trust to wearing the name of Christ; we must learn to look to Him with the eye of faith, the heart of love, and the life of sincere obedience. obedience. George Clark, M.A.: Sermons, pp. 279–285. I. THE BLESSING OFFERED: salvation. II. THE PERSONS TO WHOM IT IS OFFERED: "all the ends of the earth;" Gentiles as well as Jews; every one who needs it. III. THE CONDITION ON WHICH IT IS OFFERED. "Look unto Me." IV. THE ARGUMENT THE BENIGNANT SAVIOUR EMPLOYS TO INDUCE GUILTY SINNERS TO ACCEPT IT. "For I am God, and there is none else;" "a just God and a Saviour." The argument is twofold: 1. Sinners may trust Christ without suspicion, for He is omnipotent. 2. Sinners should trust Christ alone, for there is none else able to save. CONCLUSION.-The duty of all immediately to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that they may be saved It is the voice of infinite love that entreats us to be saved. Shall we then turn away from the invitation of such a Saviour? Besides, it is an authoritative command to us to do our duty. It is outrageous folly to trifle with the injunctions of the King of heaven. To those who are looking to Christ, the text is fraught with the richest consolation. "He is able to save you to the uttermost.”—W. France: The Scottish Pulpit, vol. iv. pp. 42-18. Give your most earnest thought to these four great facts: I. All need to be saved. II. There is One who can save. III. The salvation He offers is worthy of Him. It is present, ample, certain, complete. IV. There is only one way by which that salvation can be made ours, by looking to Jesus. -J. A. Spurgeon: The Penny Pulpit, New Series, No. 351. THE NATURE AND AUTHOR OF SALVATION. xlv. 22. Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. The glorious end which the Spirit contemplates in calling upon all men everywhere to look unto Jesus is their salvation. (α) I. WHAT IS IMPLIED IN THIS WORD, "AND BE SAVED." There is implied in it, 1. Deliverance from the dominion of sin in this world. We argue the necessity of this deliverance from the facts-(1.) That sin is the root and fountain of misery. To remove effects, we must remove the cause before man can be happy, he must be holy; before he can be saved from sorrow, he must be saved from sin. (2). That they who enter heaven must be identified with heaven in character (H. E. I. 2730-2738). (3.) That deliverance from the power of sin is the very purpose for which the Spirit of Christ is given to them that believe. Hereby we dissipate the false and misleading ideas of those who imagine that salvation is a state into which we are not introduced till we die. 2. Deliverance from the consequences of sin in the world to come. These include, (1.) Irretrievable exile from the presence, and the glory, and the joy of Jehovah-the radiating centre of all happiness and peace. (2.) The righteous punishment of all the sinner's transgressions. (3.) The extinction of hope. (4.) That bitter remorse which springs from the recollection of having lost a heaven that might once have been won, and plunged into a misery which might once have been shunned. This is the worm that never dies, this is the fire that is never quenched. II. THE WAY IN WHICH THIS SALVATION IS TO BE SECURED. "Look unto Me, and be ye saved." There is in this verse no preliminary VOL. II. required of man, only a look at the Saviour! No preparatory reformation, no preparatory repentance even! Repentance itself is the gift of Christ (H. E. I. 4225-4231, 4249, 4250). Look! when God commands a work, He presents the might to do it. (3) III. THE CHARACTER IN WHICH THE SAVIOUR PRESENTS HIMSELF TO SINNERS. Look at Christ, 1. As having borne the punishment which you deserved, and thereby made it inconsistent with the equity of God to punish the believer. 2. As our High Priest who pleads for us within the veil, and sends His Spirit forth to seal us to eternal glory. 3. As able to instruct us savingly in all the will and word of God. 4. As the Sovereign King, whose laws we are unreservedly to reverence and obey. 5. As the source and distributor of all blessings, who has a right to all we hold on earth. IV. HOW ARE WE TO LOOK TO JESUS? 1. In looking to Jesus, there is involved a looking away from every other ground of pardon, of salvation, of recovery (H. E. I. 1944-1951). 2. We must look under strong convictions of our helplessness and imbecility. 3. Look to Jesus, not only under a conviction of your insufficiency, but of His fulness (H. E. I.: 34–941). 4. We are to look intently, just as the beggar looks into the face of him who has the world's wealth around him; just as the shipwrecked seaman gazes in the face of him that has the means to rescue. 5. We must look continually. It 237 will not do to look at the Redeemer to-day, and to-morrow forget His existence and His claims; we must look to Him from first to last (P. D. 2313, 2314). VI. WHO ARE PERMITTED TO LOOK TO HIM FOR SALVATION. (8) J Cumming, D.D.: "The British Pulpit," vol. i. pp. 321-334. (a) There is no intended enriching of men with the titles, honours, incomes of earth; there is no intended extension of the span of mortality, or wisdom, or scientific attainments of man. These are beheld by the Creator of men as scarcely worth a moment's reflection, while everlasting concerns remain unknown and unravelled, or disproportionately felt by those whom they wholly concern. . . If you saw your child sinking amid the waters of the deep, would you feel that the time for gathering pebbles to amuse him, or meditating schemes of improving his mind? Would you not rather dash into the waves, and at the risk of your life rescue the child from his perilous situation? Even so the Almighty sees that the short time that is measured out to humanity needs something better than trifles on which to expend itself.-Cumming. (B) Men's regards have too often been tortured and twisted aside and directed to faith, to repentance, and to a vast variety of preparations for learning and living on Christ, instead of being summoned, without restriction and delay, to Christ the Saviour, who is the dispenser of these most precious graces, not the requisitionist of their previous existence. When you are told to look to repentence, to faith, to previous reformation of any kind, you are told to look to an idol, and you stand as far off from the true worship of Jehovah as they who bend the knee to Baal, or they that did homage to the stones, and images, and paintings in the Roman Pantheon. When Paul preached Jesus and the resurrec tion, many of his auditors supposed that he proclaimed two distinct and equal Deities; and many still, when we preach Christ, repentance, and faith, suppose, though they allow it not, that we preach separate Saviours, to any of which they may look and be saved. . Does not the Scripture declare most pointedly, that Jesus is "exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of sins." And does not this imply that we must look to Him before we can repent? Man may sorrow when he looks back upon the threatenings of the law of God, and fear and tremble when he looks forward to the awful punishment of hell; but repent, in the Scriptural sense, he never will, till he look to Jesus. Repentance is in fact the expression of a changed heart, the fruit of being born again. --Cumming. (8) H. E. I. 379, 381. We hold the doctrines of election and of predestination to be scriptural and precious truths; but if a man will make these drags upon our efforts to proclaim the everlasting Gospel, and dampers on our zeal in the cause of perishing souls, we will stand up for their defence, and maintain that these doctrines are desecrated and abused, and instead of being, as meant, consolations to all true believers, are made barriers in the way of heaven's going forth to recover the lapsed children of Adam, and to rescue the heirs of eternity from going down to perdition. We are to act upon the principle that there is sufficiency in Christ for all; that His blood can wash the most inveterate stains of guilt; and we are to bound its saving efficacy by nothing short of the limits of the globe.-Cumming. LIFE FOR A LOOK. xlv. 22. Look unto Me, and be ye saved, &c. The precious truth contained in this statement has been put in this memorable form: "We have here the greatest possible blessing, for the greatest possible number, under the best possible guarantee, and on the easiest possible terms." While we proceed along these lines, let us breathe the prayer that God would remove the scales from blind eyes, and unstop deaf ears, that His message of grace may be understood and believed. I. THE GREATEST POSSIBLE BLESSING. Moses was instructed to make a serpent of brass, and set it upon a pole, "that every one that was bitten, when he looked upon it, might live" (Num. xxi. 8). Life and salvation are the same thing, for life is salvation from death, and no blessing can bear comparison with this. A patient may have every attention, but there is one blessing he earnestly desires-to have his life spared, his health restored. The shrieking passengers in wild commotion on that burning ship are seek ing one thing-to save their lives. And the most urgent need of the soul is life. Every other blessing is included in this salvation. Your sins |