[It is their sin only that exposes them to his displeasure : were that once removed, he would " rejoice over them to do them good." And whence is it that they are not cleansed from it ? Has not God provided such means for their cleans- ing, as should certainly be effectual, if only they were applied? Has he not opened a fountain to cleanse them from guilt e?
Has he not promised to sprinkle them with water that
should purify and renew their very inmost souls f?
Yes : but they are averse to that purification : they hate the very means by which it is to be attained, and the regimen
whereby it is to be preserved God would gladly effect
the work for them, if only they would submit to it ; but they will notg. Hence those complaints so often uttered by the prophets'1, and by Christ himself1 ]
He expresses also an impatient longing for an op- portunity to bless their souls —
[Long has he waited to no purpose : yet still " he waiteth to be gracious unto us :" " he stands at the door of our hearts, and knocks." His address to us is, " Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will we die, O house of Israel?" Every day appears to him an agek: he is at a loss, as it were, what to do, whether to give us up, or to use any further means'. The complaint in the text is scarcely less the language of despondency than of compassion ; " When shall it once be ? " It is as though he said, ' My patience is almost exhausted : your return to me is the most earnest desire of my soul : but I fear I shall be forced, in spite of all my efforts to save you, to abandon you at last, and to execute the judgments which you so obstinately provoke.']
Address —
1. Those who imagine that they have no need of cleansing —
[What child of man has not need to be cleansed from that taint which we inherit from our first parents™? And who has not contracted much moral defilement by means of actual
transgression? Let none entertain such proud conceits.
The best amongst us, no less than the worst, need to be washed in the blood of Christ, and be renewed by his Spirit; and, without this cleansing, must inevitably perish.]
e Zech. xiii. 1. 1 John i. 7. f Ezek. xxxvi. 25 — 27.
g Ezek. xxxiii. 11. h Ps. lxxxi. 11 — 13. Jer. vii. 23 — 2-6.
"' John v. 40. Matt, xxiii. 37.
k Hos. viii. 5. Jer. xv. 6. " I am weary with repenting." 1 Hos. vi. 4. and xi. 8. Jer. iii. 4, 19. m Job xiv. 4. and xv. 14. and xxv. 4.
1051.1 god's name the sinner's plea. 121
2. Those who are unwilling to be cleansed —
[Many are unwilling to part with even the grossest lusts. What then must we say to them ? Must we speak peace to them, instead of denouncing woes ? If we were to do so, God would not confirm our word : so that we should only delude them to their ruin. But indeed they themselves would not be deluded by any such assertions: for, with whatever confidence they utter them themselves, they would not endure to hear them if uttered from the pulpit.
But it is not gross sin only that must be put away : we must be " cleansed also from secret faults :" whatever stops short of this, is ineffectual. The right hand, the right eye, must be sacrificed ; and the whole heart be turned unto God ]
3. Those who desire the cleansing of their souls —
[It is of infinite importance that you seek this blessing aright. It is not in floods of tears that you are to be cleansed ; though floods of tears are proper and desirable : it is the blood of Christ alone that can cleanse from the guilt of sin ; and the Spirit of Christ alone that can cleanse from the power and pollution of sin. To apply these effectually, we must embrace the promises, and rest upon them, trusting in God to accom- plish them to our souls. We must not first cleanse ourselves, and then embrace God's promises of mercy ; but first lay hold on the promises, and then, by virtue derived from them, pro- ceed to " cleanse ourselves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit"."]