THE SAVIOUR'S CALL. I. THE SAVIOUR'S INVITATION. MATTHEW Xi. 28-30. HISTORY tells us that Cæsar's power over his soldiers lay in the words in which he addressed them. He said, not "Ite," go, but "Venite," come. In this too lies the wondrous power of Heaven's own voice over the souls of men. This was the word ever on the lips of the Lord Jesus, as He moved among the fallen and needy ones of our sinful world. He saw men scattered as sheep having no shepherd, and His bosom heaved with compassion. He spake, and men wondered at the gracious words that fell from His lips. He wept, and His tears fell upon our sad earth like drops from heaven, the seeds of a mighty harvest yet to be reaped. He went down. to the lowest depths of our fallen humanity, with A this word only on His lips. Men heard it and wondered. It fell upon the desolate heart and sent a gleam of hope where hope had never found entrance before. It lighted up with joy many a dark chamber of sorrow and sin. It was the one magic word that drew multitudes from their prison-houses of sin to nestle under the shadow of the tree of life. Nor has it yet lost its power, though He who uttered it, who spake as never man spake, is hidden in the cloud of glory on high. It sounds sweet as ever in our ears, whether spoken by the Man of Sorrows on earth, or by the great High Priest from before the throne. Words of wondrous power, when borne by the Holy Spirit to the hearts of the fallen and lost "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." But it is not the letter of the Word that possesses such wondrous power. The word in the mere letter would be after all but a dead letter. Oh no! It is the word of a loving Saviour. It is the letter filled with the quickening breath, the loving voice of a Saviour, by the Spirit of God. This is the highest glory of the Gospel, the culminating excellence of the written Word, the exceeding grandeur of the Christian system. It presents to the heart that which exactly it needs. not only a Word but a living Word. It reveals not only a redemption but a Redeemer. As a system Christianity is beautiful. It has eclipsed every It is |