Twelve Soul-Winning Sermons

Friends froquoitly write me, requesting information as to which of j my sermons they could distribute with the greatest hojjc of doing good thereby. To answer that question I have made this selection of twelve from the si.xteen hundred and sixty of my printed discourses; and they are bound together heie just as they were issued in the first instance, without regard to consecutive paging. These discourses have been already sealed with the highest approval, for they have been used by the Holy 8i)irit to lead many to Jesus. The thought of making this selection came io me in my illness, and I have comforted myself with the idea that these soul-saving sermons may thus enter upon a new career of usefulness. I trust it may be so, and that they will go forth still furlher afield to gather home the lost sheep.

C. H. SPt’RGEON.

The apostle is speaking of the Lord Jesus, of whom he had previously said, “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious,” and he follows that sentence up with this, “To whom coming as unto a living stone.” Now, I want to call your special attention to this present participle — this act of coming — for there is much to counsel and to comfort us in the fact and the reflections it suggests.

The Christian life is begun, continued, and perfected altogether in connection with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a very great blessing for us. Sometimes when you go a journey, you travel so far under the protection of a certain Company, but then you have to change, and the rest of your journey may be performed under veiy different circumstances, upon quite another kind of line. Now we have; not so far to go to heaven in the guardian care of Jesus Christ, and then at a certain point to change, so as to have somebody else to be our leader, or some othei method of salvation. No, he is the author and he is the finisher of our faith. If we begin aright we begin with “Christ is all “; if we go on aright we go on with “Christ is all “; and if we finish aright we finish with “Christ is all.” It was a great delusion of some in Paul’s day that after they had begun in the spirit, they hoped to be made iX perfect in the flesh; and there are some now a days who begin as sinners resting upon Christ, but they want to go on as mdepe’ndcnt saints, resting on themselves. That will never do, brethren. It is not “Christ and Company” anyhow. The sinner knows that it must be Christ only, because he has nothing of his own; and the samt ought to know that it must be Christ only, because he has less than nothing apart from Christ. I believe that if we grow out of Christ we grow in an unhealthy mushroom fashion: what we need is to grow up into Christ in all things, knowing him more and more, and being more and more satisfied that he is what we need. This is really a healthy growth, and mav God send No. 1 334.

more and more of it to us as loag as ever we live. Blessed be his hoi> name, with us it is Christ in the morning, when we are young and full of strength; it is Christ at noon, when Ave are bearing the burden and heat of the day; and it is Christ at eventide, when we lean on the stafT for very age, and the shadows lengthen, and the light is dim. Yea, and it shall be Christ only when the night settles down and death-shade curtains our last bed. In all circumstances and conditions we look to Jesus only. Are we in wealth? Christ crowns it. Are we in poverty? Christ cheers it. Are we in honour? Christ calms us. Are we in shame? Christ consoles us. Are we in health? He sanctifies it. Are we in sickness? He relieves it. As he is at all times the same in himself so he is the same to us. To the same Christ we must come and ding under every new circumstance. Our heart must abide faithful to her one only Lord and lovingly sing, —

“I’ll turn to lliec in days of light
As well as nights of care.
Thou brightest amid all that’s bright,
Thon fiiirest of the fair!”

We have not to seek a iresh physician, to find a new friend, or to discover a novel hope, but we are to look for everything to Jesus Christ, “the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.” “Ye are complete in him.” Stand to this, my brethren. Never think that you need aught beyond the provision which is stored up in him, for sanctification, for satisfaction, or for safety. Cast not your eyes around you to find a supplement to the Lord Jcsns, or you will deceive yourselves and dishonour him. It is not with our Lord as it was with Moses., Moses led the people through the wilderness, but he could not bringHiem into the iromised land: that was reserved for Joshua. Brother, the Lord Jesus has led you so far through the wilderness, and he wiS lead you over the Jordan, and secure your heritage to you, and see you safely landed in it: look not, therefore, for any other leader or lawgiver. It is not with Christ as it was with

ly, David: David collected the materials for the temple, but though he could gather together vast stores of great value, he could not build them up, for the Lord said that this honour should be reserved for his son that should be after him; and therefore the construction of the temple was left for Solomon. But our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed be his name, has not only gathered together his people and the precious treasures with which he is to build a living temple unto God; but he will also build it stone upon stone, and bring foi-th the top stone with shouting. He shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory. Christ in the Christian’s alphabet is A, B, C right down to Z, and all the words of the pure language of Canaan are only compounds of himself. Has he not said it, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end”? Our text speaks about coming to him, and I shall endeavour to expound

it to you thus. This is a fall picture of Christian life. I consider it to be a complete picture of a saint drawn with one stroke. It is not easy to make a portrait with one line, yet I remember seeing a somewhat famous portrait of our Lord in which the artist never lifted his pencil from the paper from beginning to end, but drew the whole of it with one continuous series of circles. So here I may say the whole Christian life is clravIl in one line — coming unto Christ. “To whom coming.” When we have spoken upon that, J. shall answer two questions; the one — lohal is the best way of coming to him at first? the other — what is the best way of coming to him afterwards? ]Iay the Holy Spirit bless the whole discourse to our souls.

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