"Grace was poured into his lips."

Fifthly, grace is poured into his lips as the Wooer and the Winner of his people’s hearts. O beloved, Christ has hard work to win his people’s love! He prepares his feast, the fatlings are killed, but those that are bidden will not come, so he says to his messengers, "Go out into, the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." Yet what a hard matter it is to bring poor souls to be in love with Jesus! In vain does the minister dilate upon his charms; in vain does he try to paint his features as well as he can. We are poor daubers, and we mar the beauty which we attempt to portray. Sinners say, "Is that Jesus? then there is no beauty in him that we should desire him;" and they turn away, and hide their faces from him. With tears streaming from our eyes, we seek "to find out acceptable words," and we use the best language our hearts can dictate, but we cannot win your souls. Sometimes we address you in rough words that we have borrowed from some ancient Boanerges; at other times, with smooth words such as a Chrysostom might approve; yet they are alike in vain.

But oh, when Jesus pleads his own cause, how sweetly does he plead it! Have you never watched the heart when Jesus Christ begins to woo it, when he opens the ear, and says, "Poor soul, I love you, and because I love you I will tell you what you are. You are cast out into the open field, you are lying in your blood; you are dead in trespasses and sins; yet I love you, will, not you love me?" "Nay," says the heart, "I will not." "But," says Jesus, "my love is deep as hell, it is insatiable as the grave; I will be yours, and you shall be mine." And have you noted how soon the stubborn soul begins to yield, and the hard rock begins to flow like Niobe’s tears, until at length the heart says, "O Jesus! love you? Yes I do, because you did first love me?" Why is it that some here have not given their hearts to Jesus? Perhaps it is because Jesus has not revealed himself to them in person; but when he does, they cannot deny him. I challenge any man to hold his heart back when Jesus comes for it. When he displays himself, when he takes the veil off our eyes, and lets us look at his lovely face, shows us his wounded hands and his bleeding side, methinks there is no heart but must be drawn forth to him. Ah, Christian! do you not remember the hour when he pleaded with you? He knocked at the door, and you would not let him in. But your Beloved put his hand in

the latch of the door, and your affections were moved for him. And how sweetly did he tell you of your sinnership, and with the next word made known to you your redemption; then told you of your death, and with the next word made you alive; then told you that you were powerless, and with the next word made you strong; then told you of your unbelief, and with the next sentence gave you faith. Oh! is he not filled with grace as he wins the hearts and affections of his people?

Sixthly, Jesus Christ has his lips filled with grace as the great consolation of Israel, the comfort of all his people. There is no comfort except that which comes from the Lord Jesus. At No Brook Can You Slake the Thirst of The Soul but at That Stream of Grace Which Flows from Christ and Never Can Run Dry. Let us rehearse his mighty acts; let us go back over our life, and see the various Ebenezers we have raised to his sovereign grace and mercy.

Do you not remember how he appeared to you in the solitude of the wilderness, and said to you, "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love?" Do you not remember when, torn with the thorns and briars of this world, you were despairing and ready to die, how he came and touched you, and said to you, "Live," when he bade you turn your eye upwards to him, and you could then say, "Since Jesus is mine, I will fear nothing?" O you who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, go again to the banqueting house, where the Savior comforted you with flagons and fed you with apples, where he gave you the sweet fruits of the kingdom, and took of the clusters of Eshcol, and squeezed them into your mouth.

Do you not remember when he gave you something better than angels food at the Lord’s table, or how he manifested himself to you in the use of the means while you were waiting upon him? And will you not say, "O Jesus, verily grace was poured into your lips?" Desponding soul, if Jesus speaks to you today you will not be desponding any longer. There is such potency in the word "Jesus" that methinks it ought to be sung in all hospitals to charm away diseases; at least, in every lazar-house for souls. Wherever there are diseased hearts and troubled spirits, I would always go and sing, "Jesus!" There is no medicine able to cure melancholy like the body and blood of Jesus. When he draws near to comfort his people, midnight becomes noon, the thickest darkness becomes a blaze of meridian splendor; for grace is poured into his lips.

Seventhly, grace is pouted into Christ’s lips as the great Intercessor for his people before the throne. Before Jesus ascended up on high, and led captivity captive, as Toplady says, "With cries and tears he offered up his humble suit below;" but now that Jesus Christ has gone up on high, "with authority" he pleads before his Father. It must have been wonderful to hear the prayer of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane; but oh, if we might see our blessed Lord this morning pleading in heaven! He stands before his Father’s throne, points to his pierced side, and shows his wounded hands. When our prayers rise to heaven, they are broken prayers, but Jesus knows how to mend them. There are things in them that should not be there, so he corrects them, and then he takes the amended edition of our prayers, and says, "My Father, another petition I have come to lay before you." Says the Father, "From whom is it?" "From one of my people." And then Jesus Christ says, "Father, I will -it must be done. Look, here is the price!" And he, holds up his hands, and shows his side, and then the Father says, "My Son, it shall be done. Whatsoever you ask, in prayer, for your sake it shall be bestowed."

Do you see yonder poor man? His name is Peter. At no great distance is Satan, who wants to destroy his soul. He has a large sieve, in which he desires to sift Peter. Can you imagine Satan presenting himself before the Lord, as in days of yore? He says, "O Lord, let me have Peter in my sieve, that I may sift him as wheat!" Down goes Jesus before the throne, and says, "My Father, I beseech you let not this grain of wheat fall to the ground." Satan goes and catches Peter, and begins to sift him. The first time, he is a little frightened; the second time, he says, "Man, I know not what you say;" the third time, he says, "I know not the Man;" and he begins to curse and swear. How terrible is that sifting! But Christ looks at him, and out goes Peter; the prayer of Jesus availed for him, the look of Jesus prevailed with him: "he went out and wept bitterly," and his soul was saved. Oh, the mighty power of intercession! I do not think our prayers would ever be heard in heaven if it were not for Jesus Christ. He is the great Mediator by whom our prayers must be presented.

Eighthly, Jesus Christ, has grace poured into his lips as the Counselor for his people. You may have seen a special pleader rise with a brief in his hand; he shows the case against the prisoner to be a very bad one. Then witnesses are called. Afterwards another advocate gets up to plead the prisoner’s cause- to rebut, if possible, the accusation, or to set forth extenuating circumstances in mitigation of punishment. Now, when we stand before the judgment bar of God, Satan will rise up- that old accuser of the brethren, and will gather together the evidences of our guilt, and the reasons why we should be condemned.

Methinks I hear him say that we were born in sin, and shaped in iniquity, and, therefore, we deserve to be lost; that we have a corrupt nature, that we had the sin of Adam laid to us; and then, with malicious spleen, he will allege that we transgressed at such -and- such a time, when we were young; following up our career from youth to manhood, and even down to hoar hairs; clenching all his arguments by an appeal to our unbelief, that, though we have professed to believe, we have doubted the promises, and could not, therefore, be children of God. Well might we, as transgressors, tremble when, with a bad case, the grounds of judgment against us are so maliciously stated. But there stands forth on our behalf the Wonderful, the Counselor; and he bakes his brief in his hand, and begins to plead. Hark what he says, and see, how all opinion is turned at once! "I confess," says he, "that every word is true that the accuser has uttered.

My client pleads guilty to every charge; but I have a full pardon signed by God’s own hand, purchased by my own blood;" and, stripping himself, he shows his wounds, and says "These people were given to me of my Father before the foundation of the world. I bore their sins in my own body on the tree; My Father justified them, and I pardoned them." And then, mounting to the highest point, he reaches the climax of grace as he exclaims, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? Can you, O God? Have you not justified them? I cannot, for I died for them." Then he sits down in triumph, saying, "Whom he’ justified, them he also glorified.

Nothing shall be able to separate them from the love of God." Shall not each ransomed sinner shout with joy, "Oh righteous Advocate, grace is poured into your lips!"

And now, lastly, grace is poured into the lips of Jesus as the great Judge of all at last. That will be a gracious judgment which Jesus Christ shall dispense; it will be gracious, because it will be at once merciful and just. Sinners, ungodly men and women, now in this house of prayer, you have never heard the voice of Jesus, and you have never known what it is to confess that grace was poured into his lips, but let me tell you, the time will come when you will be made to confess that grace is poured into his lips. You will stand there, and hear him say to his own people, "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." When you hear it, you will think within yourselves, "Never did such music break on our ears before. Oh what precious words!" Ay, but you will fall down, and ask rocks to hide you, and mountains to cover you, because the words were not spoken to you. You will tremble as, one by one, the faithful soldiers of Jesus Christ come before him. He will say to one, "Verily, you have been faithful in a few things, I will make you ruler over many things."

To another he will say, "You have fought a good fight, you have kept the faith, receive the crown laid up for you from the foundation of the world." You will then say, "Oh, what grace was poured into his lips! How graciously he speaks!" And you all the while will feel that he is not speaking to you; you will stand there, and know that your turn will never come when he shall speak gracious words to you. You will stand fixed to the spot petrified as you listen while you hear those matchless syllables. You laugh at the saints now, you will envy them then. You despise them now; but you will be ready to kiss the dust of their feet if you might but get into heaven. You would not ask to sit on a throne with them; but to lie at their feet would be enough for you if you might but hear Christ, say to you, "Come, you blessed."

But, in a moment, instead of gracious words, my hearers- I am not telling you a dream, but a reality- in a moment- O believe me! for God speaks it- instead of words of grace, there shall come words of terror, and there shall be found no blessed place for you. These are the words: "Depart, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." You would not wish to hear those gracious lips utter such a sentence as that to you. I am sure you are none of you anxious to make your bed in hell, and find your abode in damnation; but, my hearers, I must warn you faithfully. There are some of you who, if you die as you are, will never go to heaven; there are many of you, my regular attendants, and some of you who have just strayed in here this morning, who know, and your heart confesses it, that you are "in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity."

Christians, weep for them. Let your tears flow in rivers. It were sad if they were sick, but this is worse, for they are sick unto the second death; it were painful if they were condemned to die by the law, but they are "condemned already." My beloved brethren and sisters, there are some of you now- start not- there are some sitting side by side with you in the pews, who are condemned criminals. How would you feel this morning if, as you sat in your pew, there was a man beside you who was to be hanged tomorrow? You would say, "Oh, that God might bless the word to that poor creature’s soul! Oh, that God might send it into his heart, for he is a condemned man!" Do you not know that it is so? There is a saint of God, and sitting by his side is a black child of hell; here is an heir of glory and immortality, and the neighbor who touched his arm this morning is dead in sins, and condemned to die!

What! will you not weep and feel for them? Will your hearts be like stone and steel? Will you let them perish without a sigh, without a prayer, without a tear? No; we will pray for them, that God in his mercy may yet give them grace to save them from the wrath to come. Poor sinners, do not despise my blessed Master, I beseech you. If you knew him, you would love him, I know. O poor wicked sinner, you who feel self-condemned, conscience-stricken, have you no love to Jesus? Ah! if you did but know how much Jesus Christ loves you, you would love him at once. I know a man who said he never was so struck by anything in all his life as when

he heard that line — "Jesus, Lover of my soul!" "Oh!" said he, "I did not recollect anything of the sermon; but only those words at the beginning of a hymn, — "Jesus, Lover of my soul!" He went to a friend of mine, and he said, "Do you think Jesus Christ is the ‘Lover of my soul?’ If I thought he was, I think I could love him at once." The friend said, "Ah, well! if you feel like that, Jesus is the Lover of your soul."

O beloved, what would you give if you might but call Jesus Christ your Lover and your Friend, if you could but know that he loved you? Do you sigh for an interest in his love? Ah! then he does love you, for you would not have wanted him to love you if he had not set his heart upon you. Have you a desire for Jesus? Then Jesus has a thousand times as much desire for you. I tell you Christ is more pleased to save poor sinners than poor sinners are to be saved. The Shepherd is more ready to reclaim the lost sheep than the sheep is to be reclaimed. So let me tell you, poor soul, that Jesus has no pleasure in the death of him that dies; but he has a pleasure deep as the sea, high as heaven, wide as the East is from the West, and as unsearchable as his own divinity, in saving souls. Only believe in his name, sinner; to you I preach, you actual, bona fide sinner; you real sinner, to you I preach. Jesus Christ says, "Whosoever believes in me shall never die." Do you believe this? Will you put your trust in him?

Will you drop into his arms, and let him carry you? Will you fall flat upon the Rock of ages, and let that sustain you? If you do it now, this moment, you shall become in this happy moment a changed man. You shall be no longer an heir of wrath, but a child of grace; and your salvation shall become as inevitably secure as if you were even now among the glorified.