Awake, you that sleep, and arise from the dead, from the death of sin, and CHRIST then will give you the light of his righteousness. Come to CHRIST and you shall be welcome; O come unto this blessed JESUS, come notwithstanding your vileness; for if you come not you will perish: If CHRIST does not save you, your own good meaning, your own good intentions cannot; no, as you are in your blood, so you must perish in your blood; but if you come to CHRIST you will find mercy, you shall not perish. You cannot find salvation in any other but in CHRIST; if the disciples could have saved themselves, they would not have awoken JESUS CHRIST; but they were sensible that no one could save them but him; and therefore they cried out unto him; and so you, who are under the sense of sin, who are in fear of hell, if you seek unto your own works, you only seek your own death; for there is no fitness in you. I speak the truth in CHRIST JESUS, I lie not, there is no fitness in you, but a fitness for eternal damnation; for what are you by nature, but children of wrath, and your hearts are Satan’s garrison. Because you have gone to church, said the prayers, gone to the sacrament, and done no one any harm, you speak peace to your souls; and all is in peace you think, and your case is good enough; but indeed, all is a false peace, and if you have no other peace than this, you must shortly lie down in everlasting flames; this is an ungrounded, self created peace, and if you trust to this peace you will perish.
But do as the disciples did when they were in distress; they go to CHRIST and say to him, “LORD, save us, we perish.” I offer you salvation this day; the door of mercy is not yet shut, there does yet remain a sacrifice for sin, for all that will accept of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; he only knows the inmost thoughts of thy heart, he will embrace you in the arms of his love; he sees the first risings of grace in you, and would willingly encourage it: the angels long for your being in the love and favour of GOD; they will rejoice to see you turn from sin unto him. All the ministers of the blessed JESUS would be glad to be instruments to turn you from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto GOD.
_And he saith to them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?_
And so, my brethren, I may say to you; why are you fearful to leave your sins and turn to GOD? O turn to him, turn in a sense of your own unworthiness; tell him how polluted you are, how vile, and be not faithless, but believe; do not go in your own strength, and then you need not fear. Why fear ye that the LORD JESUS CHRIST will not accept of you? your sins will be no hindrance, your unworthiness will be no hindrance; if your own corrupt hearts do not keep you back, or if your own good works do not hinder you from coming, nothing will hinder CHRIST from receiving of you: he loves to see poor sinners coming to him, he is pleased to see them lie at his feet pleading his promises: and if you thus come to CHRIST, he will not send you away without his Spirit; no, but will receive and bless you.
O do not put a slight on infinite love: what would you have CHRIST do more? Is it not enough for him to come on purpose to save? Will you not serve GOD in your souls, as well as with your bodies? If not, you are only deceiving yourselves, and mocking of GOD; he must have the heart. O ye of little faith, why are ye fearful lest he should not accept of you? If you will not believe me, sure you will believe the LORD JESUS CHRIST; he has told thee that he will receive you: then why tarry ye, and do not go to him directly? Does he desire impossibilities? It is only, “Give me thy heart:” or, does he want your heart only for the same end as the devil does, to make you miserable? no, he only wants you to believe on him, that you might be saved. This, this, is all the dear Saviour desires, to make you happy, that you may leave your sins, to sit down eternally with him, at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
_Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm._
Thus, you see, it was only in the power of CHRIST to stop the raging of the sea; he rebuked it: the disciples might have spoken for ever, and it would not have ceased: so it is with the word preached; I may preach to you while I live; I may speak till I can speak no more; but the doctrines of CHRIST will never do you good, unless he impress them upon your hearts: O then, in all thy troubles look up to CHRIST, that he may rebuke them; and if he speaks the word, then they shall cease. If the Pharisees of this generation scoff and jeer you, if they say all manner of evil against you, do not answer them; leave it unto CHRIST to rebuke them; for all you can say will be of no more signification, than the disciples speaking to the sea; but when CHRIST speaks the word, then they shall cease; let it not discourage you, for if you will live godly in CHRIST JESUS, you must suffer persecution.