December 31 - Morning"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink." — John 7:37
Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of
the feast He pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year He
pleads with us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the
longsuffering of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year,
notwithstanding our provocations, rebellions, and resistance of His Holy
Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!
Pity expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus cried, which implies not only
the loudness of His voice, but the tenderness of His tones. He entreats us
to be reconciled. "We pray you," says the Apostle, "as though God did
beseech you by us." What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep
must be the love which makes the Lord weep over sinners, and like a
mother woo His children to His bosom! Surely at the call of such a cry our
willing hearts will come.
Provision is made most plenteously; all is provided that man can need to
quench his soul's thirst. To his conscience the atonement brings peace; to
his understanding the gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the
person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the
truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nutriment. Thirst is terrible, but
Jesus can remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus could
restore it.
Proclamation is made most freely, that every thirsty one is welcome. No
other distinction is made but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of
avarice, ambition, pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is
invited. The thirst may be bad in itself, and be no sign of grace, but rather a
mark of inordinate sin longing to be gratified with deeper draughts of lust;
but it is not goodness in the creature which brings him the invitation, the
Lord Jesus sends it freely, and without respect of persons.
Personality is declared most fully. The sinner must come to Jesus, not to
works, ordinances, or doctrines, but to a personal Redeemer, who His own
self bare our sins in His own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising
Saviour, is the only star of hope to a sinner. Oh for grace to come now and
drink, ere the sun sets upon the year's last day!
No waiting or preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking represents a
reception for which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a harlot can
drink; and so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation to believe in
Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice, in which to convey
the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down
and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the
stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it, but shall themselves be
purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, hear the dear Redeemer's
loving voice as He cries to each of us,
"IF ANY MAN THIRST, LET HIM COME UNTO ME AND DRINK." December 31 - Evening"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." — Jeremiah 8:20
Not saved! Dear reader, is this your mournful plight? Warned of the
judgment to come, bidden to escape for your life, and yet at this moment
not saved! You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you
hear it from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and yet you
neglect it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse
when the Lord shall judge the quick and dead. The Holy Spirit has given
more or less of blessing upon the word which has been preached in your
hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and
yet you are without Christ. All these hopeful seasons have come and gone
— your summer and your harvest have past — and yet you are not saved.
Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will soon
be here: youth has gone, manhood is going, and yet you are not saved. Let
me ask you — will you ever be saved? Is there any likelihood of it?
Already the most propitious seasons have left you unsaved; will other
occasions alter your condition? Means have failed with you — the best of
means, used perseveringly and with the utmost affection — what more can
be done for you? Affliction and prosperity have alike failed to impress
you; tears and prayers and sermons have been wasted on your barren
heart. Are not the probabilities dead against your ever being saved? Is it
not more than likely that you will abide as you are till death for ever bars
the door of hope? Do you recoil from the supposition? Yet it is a most
reasonable one: he who is not washed in so many waters will in all
probability go filthy to his end. The convenient time never has come, why
should it ever come? It is logical to fear that it never will arrive, and that
Felix like, you will find no convenient season till you are in hell. O bethink
you of what that hell is, and of the dread probability that you will soon be
cast into it!
Reader, suppose you should die unsaved, your doom no words can
picture. Write out your dread estate in tears and blood, talk of it with
groans and gnashing of teeth: you will be punished with everlasting
destruction from the glory of the Lord, and from the glory of His power. A
brother's voice would fain startle you into earnestness. O be wise, be wise
in time, and ere another year begins, believe in Jesus, who is able to save to
the uttermost. Consecrate these last hours to lonely thought, and if deep
repentance be bred in you, it will be well; and if it lead to a humble faith in
Jesus, it will be best of all. O see to it that this year pass not away, and
you an unforgiven spirit. Let not the new year's midnight peals sound
upon a joyless spirit! Now, NOW, NOW believe, and live.
"ESCAPE FOR THY LIFE; LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE, NEITHER STAY THOU IN ALL THE
PLAIN; ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAIN, LEST THOU BE CONSUMED." December 31 |