The Signs of the Times
March 25, 1889
“Come Ye, Buy and Eat”
[Morning talk at South Lancaster, Mass., January 17, 1889.]
It will do you no good to believe that others may be blessed. Each one must appropriate the blessing to his own soul, or he will not be fed. Each must work for himself. Suppose that a table were spread with every desirable thing, and you were invited to come and eat, but you should make excuse and say, “I am not prepared. Let others eat; it is not for me.” You know you would not be nourished by seeing a well-spread table, and by others eating. We would starve if we did not partake of physical nourishment, and we shall lose our spiritual strength and vitality if we do not feed on spiritual bread eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God, which is, receiving and doing his word. ST March 25, 1889, par. 1
The invitation has been given, “Let him that is athirst come, and take of the water of life freely.” “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” The invitation has been given, and the question is, Will we come and eat? Others cannot receive blessings for us; and we have kept the Saviour apart from our lives. Jesus prayed that his disciples might be one with him as he was one with the Father; and if we are one with him, if we are obedient to his word, the Father loves us even as he loves his Son. ST March 25, 1889, par. 2
When Philip asked the Master to show him the Father, Jesus looked upon him in sorrow, and said, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” Our lives can be so connected with God that we can have this oneness with Christ. Our thoughts, inclinations, desires, and appetites may all be on the Lord's side. Then we shall have nothing separate and distinct from Christ. There will be perfect harmony between our hearts and his, so that we shall be one with him as he is one with the Father. And now is the time to come into this union with Christ. We have only today to call our own; tomorrow is not ours. We want today to determine that we will no longer dishonor God by our unbelief, by standing back from the Master when he says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” ST March 25, 1889, par. 3
The table has been spread, and Christ invites you to the feast. Shall we stand back, refusing his bounties, and declaring, “He does not mean this for me”? We used to sing a hymn that described a feast where a happy household gathered to partake of the bounties of the board at a kind father's invitation. While the happy children gathered at the table, there stood a hungry beggar child at the threshold. She was invited to come in; but sadly she turned away, exclaiming, “I have no father there.” Will you take this position as Jesus invites you in? Oh! if you have a Father in the courts above, I entreat you to reveal the fact. He wants to make you a partaker of his rich bounties and blessings. All who come with the confiding love of a little child will find a Father there. How could the Lord express his love to us in more tender language than that in which he has expressed it in his precious word? He tells us just what to do in order that we may be saved. How I wish that we might all believe in the promises of God. He says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for everyone that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” Do we really believe this promise? We should comply with the conditions laid down in God's word; for if we do this we shall receive, simply because God has pledged his word. We are not to look into our hearts for a joyful emotion as an evidence of our acceptance with Heaven, but we are to take God's promises, and say, “They are mine. The Lord is letting his Holy Spirit rest upon me. I am receiving the light; for the promise is, ‘Believe that ye receive the things ye ask for, and ye shall have them.’ By faith I reach within the vail, and lay hold of Christ, my strength. I thank God that I have a Saviour.” ST March 25, 1889, par. 4
Are you doing this? Are you taking God at his word, planting your feet on the eternal Rock that cannot be moved? You should daily be making advancement in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. If you have been laboring in your own strength, make a covenant with God that from this time forth you will rely upon Him who is mighty to save to the uttermost all who come unto Him. If you have gone before the people, presenting your own weakness, now say, as did Moses, “I will not go up unless Thou goest with me.” When you are imbued with the Spirit of God, self will no longer be cherished. What has been the trouble with your experiences in the past? Why have you not made a success of the Christian life?—It has been because of vain conceit, self-esteem, self-righteousness, and unbelief. May God help us that self may die here. May he help us to humble our souls by repentance and confession until we can come before him clothed in the righteousness of Christ. ST March 25, 1889, par. 5
Say before Heaven, “I have nothing of my own to bring; I want that righteousness that comes through the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour. How thankful we should be that we have a whole Saviour, that in him is our complete righteousness and salvation! I want to see a wave of glory from Heaven waft over this congregation, until you see the great truths of redemption in a different light. When you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, you will have something to tell. Like Philip, when he found the Saviour, you will go forth to invite others into his presence, saying, “I have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write.” ST March 25, 1889, par. 6
May the blessing of God rest upon his people as never before. May they come up to their high privilege, and open the door of the heart and let Jesus in to sup with them and they with him. ST March 25, 1889, par. 7