ever be cut off, or else Christ would be mutilated. No sheep of His flock shall ever be torn by the lion—He will rend the lion and, as David did, He will take the lamb out of the jaws of the lion and out of the paws of the bear. "I give unto My sheep," says He, "eternal life.
And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hands."
What do you say to this, Sinner? Is not this a precious mercy—that if you come to Christ you do not come to One who will treat you well a month or two and then send you packing about your business, but will receive you and make you His child and you shall abide forever, no longer receiving
the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby you shall cry, Abba, Father? Oh, the Grace of this passage! Would I had an angel's tongue to set it forth!
5. Still we have not exhausted it. Something of the liberality of this passage is to be found in its certainty. "Him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out." It is not a hope as to whether Christ will accept you—it is a CERTAINITY! Oh, if there were only half a shadow of a hope that the
Lord Jesus would have mercy upon such a poor worm as I am, would I not go into His Presence hoping against hope? If it were a case of sink or swim, yet, since I could lose nothing by trusting Him, I would gladly do it, as the hymn puts it—
"I can but perish if I go! I am resolved to try! For if I stay away, I know I must forever die."
But, dear Friends, we must not put it in that way, or at least, only for the sake of bringing out a thought—for there is no "but" about it—you cannot perish if you go! O, try at once and you will find that him that comes in no wise can be cast out! We sometimes sing—
"Venture on Him, venture wholly, Let no other trust intrude," but there is no venture in the case—it is an absolute certainty. Merchants will often speculate at a high figure. But there is no speculation here. We drink the medicine which the physician gives us in the hope that it may
cure—but this will cure—here is water that will quench your thirst! Here is a balm that will heal your wounds—"him that comes" He will receive—"He will in no wise cast out."
What a hammer that word "no wise" is with which to smash your fears to pieces. "Perhaps," says one, "He will reject me because I do not repent enough"—"in no wise." "Perhaps He will reject me because I have been so long coming"—"in no wise." "But He will reject me because I do not pray
aright"—"in no wise." You cannot mention any shape or form of a fear which this does not slay upon the spot—"I will in no wise cast out." I say again, I wish I had an angel's tongue to put the liberality of this before you. The devil, I know, will be suggesting twenty
reasons why you should not come—let this one reason why you should come be enough to answer all of his—that Jesus says, "I will in no wise cast out him that comes."
6. I must conclude by observing that there is great liberality in the text, if you notice its personality. Reading over this verse carefully I observed that in the first sentence, where everything was special, Jesus used a large word and He said, "All that the Father gives Me shall come." But in
the second sentence, which is general, He uses a little word, a word which can mean only one and He says "him." There is a personality here—"him that comes." It does not say they that come, but "him that comes." Why? Why, because sinners want personal comfort! They need
something that will suit their case. Do you see, Sinner, He does not take men in the lump, but He picks you out as if you were the only sinner in the world! He says to you, "him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out"!
Had he put it in the plural, you might say, "Ah, but He did not think of me." But now He has put it so that it just fits your case. This is no medicine in the bottle of which many may drink, but here is a glass set for you! It is not a cordial which may be passed round the table, but it is put at
your place! Drink and be satisfied—"him that comes." Lord, does "him" mean me?" Yes, it means you, if you will come. Come now! Put your trust in Jesus. What do you say? I hope the Spirit is speaking to you in these words of mine! And if He speaks to you as I speak to you, then
shall it be well with you. Sinner, come!
There is a dying Savior! He died in the place of sinners. In the place of what sinners? Why, of all sinners who trust Him. Will you trust Him? Is it a hard thing to trust God to save you? To trust God who became man and so proved His love to you? To trust Him? "Why," says one, "that is simple
enough," but that is all the plan of salvation. When I am preaching from such a text as this I feel as if I have no scope for metaphors and figures and illustrations—I do not need any—because this saving Truth of God must always he proclaimed as plainly as possible! And
then if souls are saved by it, it is not the excellency of words, but the Truth itself which shall get the honor.
Now, do you see it, Soul? If you do, I am content—if you trust Christ to save you, you shall not be cast out! You have come to Him! Your coming to Him proves that the Father gave you to Him! You are saved! You are one of His chosen! You shall never be cast out! Your Heaven is secure! You
shall sit at the right hand of God and sing the new song, as surely as they do now, who, white-robed, are hymning the Redeemer's praise! This is not an affair of months and weeks, is it? It does not need a moment—to look, is the work of an instant. But the moment that faith is
exercised, perfect pardon is given! There is no sin in God's book against a soul that trusts Christ and there never can be—
"There's pardon for transgressions past,
It matters not how black their cast!
And, O my Soul, with wonder view,
For sins to come, here's pardon too."
What? Are there none who will accept this? Are there none here who say, "I will trust my soul in Jesus' hands"? What? Will you build on your own righteousness? Ah, Fools! To pile up the sand which the next tide must sweep away! What? Do you despise the mercy of my God? Will you turn away from the
bleeding wounds of His own dear Son? What? Is forgiveness not worth your having? Is God's free mercy a thing to be scoffed at? O Heavens, hear and be astonished! O Earth, hear and be amazed! God sends the Gospel unto men, but they refuse it! That Gospel says unto them, "Come now and
let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
But though God calls, they refuse and will have none of His Words! May His mighty Spirit come and make a difference in some of you and bring you now to the foot of the Savior's Cross to look up! Do nothing else but look up! And looking there you shall never perish, but have eternal life! May the
Master bless these words, feeble of themselves and only mighty because of the Truth they convey, for Jesus' sake. Amen.