Come sinner, Christ invites you to dine and supper with him. He invites thee to a banquet of wine, yea, to come into his wine-cellar, and his banner over thee shall be love (Rev 3:20; Song 2:5). But I doubt it, says the sinner: but, it is answered, he calls thee, invites thee to his banquet, flagons, and apples; to his wine, and to the juice of his pomegranate. “O, I fear, I doubt, I mistrust, I tremble in expectation of the contrary!” Come out of the man, thou dastardly ignorance! Be not afraid, sinner, only believe; “He that cometh to Christ he will in no wise cast out.”
Therefore, let the coming sinner seek more of the good knowledge of Jesus Christ. Press after it, seek it as silver, and dig for it as hidden treasure. This will embolden you; this will make the wax stronger and stronger. “I know whom I have believed,” I know him, said Paul; and what follows? Why, “and I am persuaded that he can keep that which I have committed unto him, against that day” (2 Tim 1:12). What had Paul committed to Jesus Christ? The answer is, that He had committed his soul to him. But why did he commit his soul to him? Why, Because he knew him. He knew him to be faithful, and kind. He knew he would not fail him, nor forsake him; and therefore he laid his soul down at his feet, and committed it to him, to keep against that day. But,
Second, your fears that Christ will not receive you may also be a consequence of thy earnest and strong desires after your salvation by him. For this, I observe, that strong desires to have, are met with strong fears of missing. What man most sets his heart upon, and what his desires are most after, he oftentimes fears he shall not obtain. So the man, the ruler of the synagogue, had a great desire that his daughter should live; and that desire was met with fear, that she should not. Therefore, Christ saith unto him, “Be not afraid” (Mark 5:36).
Suppose a young man should have his heart much set upon a virgin to have her to wife, if ever he fears he shall not obtain her, it is when he begins to love; now, thinks he, somebody will step in betwixt my love and the object of it; either they will find fault with my person, my estate, my conditions, or something! Now thoughts begin to work; she doth not like me, or something. And thus it is with the soul at first coming to Jesus Christ, thou loves him, and thy love produced jealousy and that jealousy ofttimes begets fears.
Now thou fears the sins of thy youth, the sins of the old age, the sins of thy calling, the sins of thy Christian duties, the sins of the heart, or something; thou thinks something or other will alienate the heart and affections of Jesus Christ from thee; thou thinks he sees something in thee, for the sake of which he will refuse thy soul. But be content, a little more knowledge of him will make thee take better heart; thy earnest desires shall not be attended with such burning fears; thou shalt hereafter say, “This is my infirmity” (Psa 77:10).
Thou art sick of love, a very sweet disease, and yet every disease has some weakness attending of it: yet I wish this distemper, if it be lawful to call it so, was more epidemical. Die of this disease I would gladly do; it is better than life itself, though it is attended with fears. But thou cries, I cannot obtain: well, be not too hasty in making conclusions. If Jesus Christ had not put his finger in at the hole of the lock, thy bowels would not have been troubled for him (Song 5:4). Mark how the prophet hath it, “They shall walk after the Lord; he shall roar like a lion; when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west, they shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria” (Hosea 11:10,11). When God roars (as oftentimes the coming soul hears him roar), what man that is coming can do otherwise than tremble? (Amos 3:8). But trembling he comes: “He sprang in and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas” (Acts 16:29).
