The Spurgeon Series 1857 & 1858. Charles H. Spurgeon

like the rest of the brethren, and he went on until he became a preacher, and, singularly enough, he had fluency — a depth of understanding and a power of thought, such as are seldom found among ministers who only occasionally occupy pulpits. It was strange, that grace should even tend to develop his natural powers, giving him a purpose, setting him devoutly and firmly upon it, and so bringing out all his resources that they were fully shown. Ah, ignorant ones, you need not despair. He saved them; not for their sakes — there was no reason in themselves why they should be saved. He saved them, not for their wisdom’s sake, but, ignorant though they were, not understanding the meaning of his miracles, “he saved them for his name’s sake.”

      11. Note, again, they were a very ungrateful people, and yet he saved them. He delivered them times without number, and worked for them mighty miracles; but they still rebelled. Ah, that is like you, my hearer. You have had many deliverances from the borders of the grave; God has given you housing and food day after day, and provided for you, and kept you to this hour; but how ungrateful you have been, As Isaiah said, “The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but my people does not know, Israel does not consider.” How many there are of this character, who have favours from God, the history of which they could not give in a year; but yet what have they ever done for him? They would not keep a horse that did not work for them, nor as much as a dog that would not notice them. But here is God; he has kept them day by day, and they have done a great deal against him, but they have done nothing for him. He has put the bread into their very mouths, nurtured them, and sustained their strength, and they have spent their strength in defying him, in cursing his name and breaking his Sabbath. “Nevertheless he saved them.” Some of this sort have been saved. I hope I have some here now who will be saved by conquering grace, made new men by the mighty power of God’s Spirit. “Nevertheless he saved them.” When there was nothing to recommend them, but every reason why they should be cast away for their ingratitude, “Nevertheless he saved them.”

      12. And note, once more, they were a provoking people — “They provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea.” Ah! how many people there are in this world that are a provoking people to God! If God were like man, who among us would be here today? If we are provoked once or twice, up goes the hand. With some men their passion stirs at the very first offence; others, who are somewhat more placid will bear offence after offence, until at last they say, “there is an end to everything, and I can bear that no longer; you must stop it, or else I must stop you!” Ah! if God had that temper, where would we be? Well might he say, “My thoughts are not as your thoughts; I am God, I do not change, or else you sons of Jacob had been consumed.” They were a provoking people, “nevertheless he saved them.” Have you provoked him? Take heart; if you repent, God has promised to save you; and what is more, he may this morning give you repentance, and even give you remission of sins, for he saves provoking people for his name’s sake. I hear one of my hearers say, — “Well, sir, that is encouraging sin with vengeance!” Is it, indeed, sir! Why? “Because you are talking to the very worst of men, and you are saying that they may yet be saved.” Pray, sirs, when I spoke to the worst of men, did I speak to you or not? You say “No; I am one of the most respectable and best of men.” Well then, sir, I have no need to preach to you, for you think you do not need any. “The healthy have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” But these poor people, whom you say I am encouraging in sin, need to be spoken to. I will leave you. Good morning to you! You keep to your own gospel, and I wonder whether you will find your way to heaven by it. No, I do not wonder, I know you will not, unless you are brought as a poor sinner to take Christ at his word, and be saved for his name’s sake. But I say farewell to you, and I will keep on in my course. But why did you say I encourage men in sin? I encourage them to turn from it. I did not say he saved the provoking people, and then let them still provoke him as they had done before; I did not say he saved the wicked people, and then let them sin as they did before. But you know the meaning of the word “saved”; I explained it the other morning. The word “saved” does not mean merely taking men to heaven; it means more — it means saving them from their sin; it means giving them a new heart, new spirits, new lives; it means making them into new men. Is there anything licentious in saying that Christ takes the worst of men to make them into saints? If there is, I cannot see it. I only wish he would take the worst of this congregation and make them into the saints of the living God, and then there would be far less licentiousness. Sinner, I comfort you; not in your sin, but in your repentance. Sinner, the saints of heaven were once as bad as you have been. Are you a drunkard, a swearer, an unclean person? “Such were some of them; but they have been washed — but they have been sanctified.” Is your robe black? Ask them whether their robes were ever black? They will tell you, “Yes, we have washed our robes.” If they had been black, they would have needed washing. “We have washed our robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Then, sinner, if they were black, and were saved, why not yourself?

      Are not his mercies rich and free?

      Then say, my soul, why not for thee?

      Our Jesus died upon the tree,

      Then why, my soul, why not for thee?

      Take heart, penitents; God will have mercy on you. “Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake.”

      13. III. Now we come to the third point — THE REASON OF SALVATION: “He saved them for his name’s sake.” There is no other reason why God should save a man, but for his name’s sake; there is nothing in a sinner which can entitle him to salvation, or recommend him to mercy; it must be God’s own heart which must dictate the motive why men are to be saved. One person says, “God will save me, because I am so upright.” Sir, he will do no such thing. Another says, “God will save me because I am so talented.” Sir, he will not. Your talent! Why you drivelling, self-conceited idiot, your talent is nothing compared with that of the angel that once stood before the throne, and sinned, and who now is cast into the bottomless pit for ever! If he would save men for their talent, he would have saved Satan; for he had talents enough. As for your morality and goodness, it is only filthy rags, and he will never save you for anything you do. None of us would ever be saved, if God expected anything from us: we must be saved purely and solely for reasons connected with himself, and lying in his own heart. Blessed be his name, he saves us for “his name’s sake.” What does that mean? I think it means this: the name of God is his person, his attributes, and his nature. For his nature’s sake, for his very attributes’ sake, he saved men; and, perhaps, we may include this also: “My name is in him” — that is, in Christ; he saves us for the sake of Christ, who is the name of God. And what does that mean? I think it means this:

      14. He saved them, first so that he might display his nature. God is all love, and he wanted to display it; he did show it when he made the sun, the moon, and the stars, and scattered flowers over the green and laughing earth. He did show his love when he made the air balmy to the body, and the sunshine cheering to the eye. He gives us warmth even in winter, by the clothing and by the fuel which he has stored in the heart of the earth, but he wanted to reveal himself still more. “How can I show them that I love them with all my infinite heart? I will give my Son to die to save the very worst of them, and so I will reveal my nature.” And God has done it; he has revealed his power, his justice, his love, his faithfulness, and his truth; he has revealed his whole self on the great platform of salvation. It was, so to speak, the balcony on which God stepped to show himself to man — the balcony of salvation — here it is he reveals himself, by saving men’s souls.

      15. He did it, again, to vindicate his name. Some say God is cruel; they wickedly call him a tyrant. “Ah!” says God, “but I will save the worst of sinners, and vindicate my name; I will blot out the stigma; I will remove the slur; they shall not be able to say that, unless they are filthy liars, for I will be abundantly merciful. I will take away this stain, and they shall see that my great name is a name of love.” And he said, again, “I will do this for my name’s sake, that is, to make these people love my name. I know if I take the best of men, and save them, they will love my name; but if I take the worst of men, oh, how they will love me! If I go and take some of the offscouring of the earth, and make them my children, oh, how they will love me!