said, most curiously, when asked what he did to be saved; “Massa,” said he, “I fling myself down on Jesus, and dere I lay; I fling myself flat on de promise, and dere I lay.” And to every penitent sinner Jesus says, “I am able to save to the uttermost”; throw yourself flat on the promise, and say, “Then, Lord, you are able to save me.” God says, “Come now, let us reason together; though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow, and though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool.” Cast yourself on him, and you shall be saved. “Ah!” one says, “I am afraid I am not one of God’s people; I cannot read my name in the book of life.” A very good thing you cannot, for if the Bible had everyone’s name in it, it would be a pretty large book; and if your name is John Smith and you saw that name in the Bible, if you do not believe God’s promise now, you would be sure to believe that it was some other John Smith. Suppose the Emperor of Russia should issue a decree to all the Polish refugees to return to their own country; you see a Polish refugee looking at the great placards hanging on the wall, he looks with pleasure, and says, “Well, I shall go back to my country.” But some one says to him, “It does not say Walewski.” “Yes,” he would reply, “but it says Polish refugees: Polish is my Christian name, and refugee my surname, and that is me.” And so, though it does not say your name in the Scriptures, it says lost sinner. Sinner is your Christian name, and lost is your surname; therefore, why not come? It says, “lost sinner”; — is not that enough? “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” “Yes, but,” another one says, “I am afraid I am not elect.” Oh! dear souls, do not trouble yourselves about that. If you believe in Christ, you are elect. Whoever throws himself on the mercy of Jesus is elect; for he would never do it if he had not been elect. Whoever comes to Christ, and looks for mercy through his blood, is elect, and he shall see that he is elect afterwards; but do not expect to read election until you have read repentance. Election is a college to which you little ones will not go until you have been to the school of repentance. Do not begin to read your book backwards, and say Amen before you have said your paternoster. Begin with “Our Father,” and then you will go on to “yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory”; but begin with “the kingdom,” and you will have hard work to go back to “Our Father.” We must begin with faith. We must begin with —
Nothing in my hands I bring.
As God made the world out of nothing, he always makes his Christians out of nothing; and he who has nothing at all tonight, shall find grace and mercy, if he will come for it.
18. Let me finish by telling you what I have heard of some poor woman, who was converted and brought to life, just by passing down a street, and hearing a child, sitting at a door, singing —
I am nothing at all,
But Jesus Christ is all in all.
That is a blessed song; go home and sing it; and he who can properly apprehend those little words, who can feel himself vanity without Jesus, but that he has all things in Christ, is only not far from the kingdom of heaven, but he is there in faith, and shall be there in fruition, when be shall wake up in God’s likeness.
{a} Croesus (595 BC — c. 547? BC) was the king of Lydia from 560/561 BC until his defeat by the Persians in about 547 BC. Croesus was renowned for his wealth and in Greek and Persian cultures his name became a synonym for a wealthy man; in English, expressions such as “rich as Croesus” or “richer than Croesus” are used to indicate great wealth.
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