tfis 
 
DURHAM N. U. 
 
 EVANGELICAL TRACT SOCIETY, ) N 0# 260. 
 
 Petersburg, Va. $ 
 
 THE ALIrSDFFICIEXCY OF CHRIST. 
 
 It is a fact which cannot be denied, and which need not be con- 
 cealed, that there are many who have fallen short of the salva- 
 tion which has been offered to their acceptance. But how is this? 
 It is not owing to any unwillingness in the Saviour to receive 
 them. It i cause they hare rejected him in the spirit of 
 
 infidelity, like the malefactor who railed against him on the cross ; 
 or Lifted up the heel against him, like the traitor who betrayed 
 him into the hands of his enemies; or abandoned themselves to 
 the spirit of persecution, like Herod, who set him at naught and 
 mocked him ; or perverted the right ways of the Lord, like Ely- 
 mas the sorcerer, who was full of all subtlety and mischief; or 
 departed from him sorrowful, like the young man who had great 
 possessions ; or deemed themselves independent of the riches of 
 his grace, like the proud Pharisee, who trusted in himself that 
 he was righteous, and despised others ; or satisfied themselves 
 with the form, without the power of godliness like the foolish 
 ins, who went octfc to n>*et th at had no nil in their 
 
 lamps ; or sought to escape from their conviction, like Felix, who 
 deferred the overtures of the gospel to a more convenient season ; 
 or manifested the indecision of Agrippa, who, though almost, 
 was not altogether persuaded to be a Christian ; or lightly 
 esteemed the blessings of the great salvation, like Gallic, who 
 cared for none of these things. 
 
 But with regard to all who have come to the Saviour in the 
 sincerity of their hearts, sensible of their burdens, their helpless- 
 ness, and their misery, how different has been their experience, and 
 how encouraging. Just look at a few of the cases recorded in 
 the sacred volume, and mark hotf cordial was the reception they 
 met with, yet how varied the attitudes in which they appear. 
 
"1 THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST. 
 
 One is standing afar off, with a cloud on his countenance, and 
 a burden of guilt on his heart, not venturing to lift so much as 
 his eye unto heaven ; thus did the Publican when he smote upon 
 his breast, and gave utterance to the humble but accepted prayer, 
 " God be merciful to me a sinner." 
 
 Another appears to be rising up as if coming to his right 
 mind, disgusted with the abominations after which he had 
 been walking, and so touched with the tender mercies he had 
 hitherto despised, as to be saying in his heart, " I will arise and 
 goto my Father ;" thus did the prodigal; and his father saw 
 him, even while he was yet a great way off, and had com- 
 passion, and ran, and fell upon his neck and kissed him. 
 
 Another is in the act of coming- to the Saviour, but coming 
 secretly, satisfied in his own heart that he is a teacher comewfroin 
 God, who teaches savingly and to profit, yet afraid of the re- 
 proaches of men, and scarce fortified as yet for the bold and open 
 avowal of his name; thus did Nicodemus, the ruler of the Jews, 
 when he came to him by night. 
 
 Another iscoming to him openly, and with great ardor and 
 impetuosity of spirit, heedless of every difficulty, and in the very 
 face of peril and of death ; thus did Peter, wheu he walked alone 
 on the bosom of the dark and tempestuous sea. 
 
 Another is following after him, but with a less bold and intre- 
 did spirit, timid, silent, trembling, shrinking from the presence 
 of his awful majesty ; thus did the woman who came behind him 
 in the press, and touched but the hem of his garment. - 
 
 Another is running before him, almost afraid he may lose the 
 sight of him, yet putting himself in the way by which he was to 
 pass, and diligently seeking him while he was to be found; thus 
 did Zaccheus, when the Saviour looked up and saw him in the 
 sycamore-tree, and said to him, " Make haste, and come down ; 
 for to-day I must abide at thy house. " 
 
 Another is sitting at the very feet of Christ, entertaining the 
 recollection of past guilt, and weeping as one weepeth for an only 
 child : thus did the penitent in the house of Simon the Pharisee, 
 when she washed his feet with her tears, and wiped them with 
 the hair of her head. 
 
 Another is lying prostrate on the ground, overwhelmed with 
 the force of irresistible convictions, and crying out in the agony 
 of hie spirit, "What must I do to be saved?" Thus did the 
 jailer at Phiiippi, when the glad message fell like music on his 
 heart, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
 saved." 
 
 Another is seeking for the Saviour, the same Saviour whom 
 she had formerly found, and whose footsteps she had been follow- 
 ing, but whose presence had again departed, seeking him with 
 
THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST. 3 
 
 sorrowfulness of heart, seeking him aarly and with intense de- 
 sire, seeking him in the dark, and at the grave where her sins 
 had laid him ; thus did the Mary Magdalene out of whom seven 
 devils had been cast. 
 
 Others, again, are attending eagerly on instituted ordinances, 
 or searching the Scriptures with all diligence, such as Lydia of 
 Thyatira, whose heart the Lord opened when frequenting the 
 place where prayer was wont to be made; or Mary of Bethany, 
 who sat at the feet of Jesus listening to the words of everlasting 
 life; or Timothy, who from a child had known the holy Scrip- 
 tures, which are able to make wise unto salvation; or theJEunuch 
 of Ethiopia, to whom Philip preached Jesus on his return from 
 Jerusalem, where he had gone to worship; or Apollos of Alex- 
 andria, who was an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, 
 and instructed in the way of the Lord. 
 
 And others still, are occupied with the solemn exercises of 
 prayer; the blind man crying in his darkness, "Jesus, thou Son 
 of David, have mercy on me;'' the leper in his uncleanliness, 
 "Lord, if thou wiltj thou canst make me clean ;" the woman of 
 Canaan in the extremity of her distress, "Lord help me;" the 
 persecuting Saul amid the terror of his convictions, "Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do ?" the woman of Samaria at the well of 
 Syohar, "Give me this water that I thirst not, neither come 
 hither to draw ;" the malefactor in his last agonies, " Lord, re- 
 member me when thou comest into thy kingdom ;" and the mar- 
 tyred Stephen, with the view of heaven's glories opening up be- 
 fore him, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 
 
 It is especially deserving of notice, that in the experience of 
 each of these individuals, there was something peculiar or char- 
 acteristic. Not one of them was possessed of the same attain- 
 ments, or placed in the same position, or precisely in the same 
 state of mind as another. There was dejection in one, and peni- 
 tence in another ; timidity in one, and anxiety in another ; intro- 
 pidity in one, and trembling in another ; expectation in one, and 
 weeping in another, and apprehension in another, and serenity 
 in another, and full assurance in another. Nevertheless they 
 were all coming, or had already come to the Saviour. Therefore 
 none of them loas cast out. They were all treated as children of 
 the same family — as believers ; and whether they were standing 
 afar off, or coming by night, or sitting at his feet, or weeping at 
 his grave, or reclining on his bosom, or looking to his cross, or 
 interceding at his throne — the throne where light is given to the 
 blind, and purity to the unclean, and help to the afflicted, and 
 direction to the doubtful, and relief to the destitute, and tho 
 bright entrance into heaven to the dying — still, the Saviour had 
 a kindly Look, or a helping hand, or a word of comfort for them 
 
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 HYMN. 
 
 all: and how diversified soever were their cases, the experience 
 of every one of them was accordant with the declaration of the 
 great Redeemer, "Rim that cometh to me 1 will in no wise cast 
 out." 
 
 And what is the practical lesson taught by these cases, and 
 which every man should be anxious to learn for himself? It ia 
 this: that there is an all-sufficiency in the riches of the Savour's 
 grace, that is equal to the necessities of our own case, however 
 urgent these necessities may be: if you come to the Saviour as 
 you are, with all your burdens and with all your miseries, you 
 will assuredly meet a kind and gracious reception, and be enabled 
 to set your seal to the truth of the gospel declaration, that it is 
 "a faithful saying, and worthy of o all acceptation, that Christ 
 Jesus came into the world to save sinners, even the chief." 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 L. M. 
 
 Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will 
 I also- deny before my Father which is 
 ia heaven." Matt, x 33. 
 
 Jesus ! and can it ever be, 
 A mortal man ashamed of thee? 
 Ashamed of thee, whom angels praise, 
 Y/hose glories shine through endless days! 
 Ashamed of Jesus! sooner far 
 Let evening blush to own a star ; 
 He sheds the beams of light divine 
 O'er this benighted soul of mine. 
 
 Ashamed of Jesus ! that dear friend 
 On whom my hopes of heaven depend? 
 No ; when I blush, be this my shame, 
 That I no more revere his name. 
 Ashamed of Jesus! Yes, I may, 
 When I've no guilt to wash away,— 
 No tear to wipe, no good to crave, 
 No fears to hush, no soul to save. 
 Till then — nor is my boasting vain — 
 Till then I boast a Saviour slain I 
 And may this my glory be, 
 Jesus is not ashamed of me! 
 
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