I
say, therefore, to thee that art thus, And why despair? Thy despair,
if it was reasonable, should flow from thee because found in the
land that is beyond the grave, or because thou certainly knowest
that Christ will not or cannot save thee.
But for the first, thou art yet in the land of the living; and for
the second, thou hast ground to believe quite the contrary. Christ
is able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him; and
if he were not willing, he would not have commanded that mercy, in
the first place, should be offered to the biggest sinners. Besides,
he hath said, "And let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will,
let him take the water of life freely"--that is, with all my heart.
What ground, now, is here for despair? If thou sayest, "The number
and burden of my sins;" I answer, Nay; that is rather a ground for
faith; because such a one, above all others, is invited by Christ to
come unto him, yea, promised rest and forgiveness, if he come. Matt.
11: 28. What ground, then, to despair? Verily, none at all Thy
despair, then, is a thing unreasonable, and without footing in the
word.
"But I have no experience of God's love; God has given me no comfort
or ground of hope, though I have waited upon him for it many a day.
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