A Letter About The Blood Of Jesus

urge you," wrote an eminent author¹ to a dying man,— "I urge you to cast yourself at once, in the simplest faith, upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. All your true preparation for death is entirely out of yourself, and in the Lord Jesus. Washed in His blood, and clothed upon with His righteousness, you may appear before God divinely, fully, freely, and for ever accepted. The salvation of the chief sinners is all prepared, finished, and complete in Christ, (Eph.1:6; Col. 2:10). Again, I repeat, your eye of faith must now be directed entirely, out of and from yourself, to JESUS. Beware of looking for any preparation to meet death in yourself. It is all in Christ. God does not accept you on the ground of a broken heart-or a clean heart-or a praying heart-or a believing heart. He accepts you wholly and entirely on the ground of the ATONEMENT Of His blessed Son. Cast yourself, in childlike faith, upon that atonement-' Christ dying for the ungodly, (Rom. 5:6) - and you are saved! Justification is a poor, law-condemned, self-condemned, self-destroyed sinner, wrapping himself by faith in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is unto all, and upon all them that believe, (Rom. 3:22). He, then, is justified, and is prepared to die, and he only, who casts from him the garment of his own righteousness, and runs into this blessed City of Refuge - the Lord Jesus - and hides himself there from the revenger of blood, exclaiming, in the language of triumphant faith, There is NOW NO CONDEMNATION to them that are in Christ Jesus,' (Rom. 8:1). Look to Jesus, then, for a contrite heart -look to Jesus for a clean heart-look to Jesus for a believing heart-look to Jesus for a loving heart-and Jesus will give you all. One faith's touch of Christ, and one divine touch from Christ, will save the vilest sinner. Oh, the dimmest, most distant glance of faith, turning its languid eye upon Christ, will heal and save the soul. God is prepared to accept you in His blessed Son, and for His sake He will cast all your sins behind His back, and take you to glory when you die. Never was Jesus known to reject a poor sinner that came to Him empty and, with nothing to pay.' God will glorify His free grace in your salvation, and will therefore save you, just as you are, without money and without price,' (Isa. 65:1). I close with Paul's reply to the anxious jailer, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,' (Acts 16:31). No matter what you have been, or what you are, plunge into the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness,' (Zech. 13:1), and you shall be clean, 'washed whiter than snow,' (Ps. 51:7). Heed no suggestion of Satan, or of unbelief. Cast yourself at the feet of Jesus, and if you perish, perish there! Oh no! perish you never will, for He hath said, 'Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out,' (John 6:37). 'Come unto ME,' (Matt. 11:28), is His blessed invitation ; let your reply be, Lord, I come! I come! I come! I entwine my feeble, trembling arms of faith around Thy cross, around Thyself, and if I die, I will die, cleaving, clinging, looking unto Thee!' So act and believe, and you need not fear to die. Looking at the Saviour in the face, you can look at death in the face, exclaiming with good old Simeon, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation,' (Luke 2:29). May we, through rich, free, and sovereign grace, meet in heaven, and unite together in exclaiming, Worthy is the Lamb; for He was slain for us!"' (Rev. 5:12).

1) Some time ago, the Rev. Dr Winslow of Bath received a letter from a youth, apparently near death, asking him to reply to it in the columns of our periodical, which he did, and the above quotation contains the most important part of his reply. The subjoined are Dr Winslow's note to the author, and the youth's interesting note to Dr. Winslow:-

"MY DEAR SIR,-A few days ago, I received the following note. Will you allow a brief reply to the all-important question it contains, through the columns of your wide. spread and most useful journal? I write hurriedly, and on a journey, but I will endeavour to make the apostle's reply to the awakened jailor my model for point and conciseness. And oh may the same Divine Spirit apply the answer with like immediate and saving result!-

"TO THE REV. DR. WINSLOW,

"DEAR SIR, - You would greatly oblige a sinner, if you would write a piece&.for September, and tell him what he must do to prepare to die-what is the preparation required by God - and when he is fit to die. By your doing so, you will greatly oblige a young person person who feels that his time is short in this world. Now what is justification? And when is a sinner justified?"