The pierced One pierces the heart

‘And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.’ Zechariah 12:10

Suggested Further Reading: John 4:27–42

A personal faith it must be, and what if I urge you to let it be immediate faith? It will be no easier to flee tomorrow, than it is today. It is the same thing that you will have to believe tomorrow as it is today—that Jesus Christ gave himself for your sins. This is God’s testimony, that Christ is able to save. O that you would trust him. My soul, you have regretted a thousand things, but you have never regretted trusting Christ in your youth. Many have wept that they did not come to Christ before, but none ever lamented that they came too early. Why not this very day? O Holy Spirit, make it so! Behold the fields are showing the green ears ready for the harvest; the season advances, and the fields are prophesying the harvest. O that we might see some green ears today, some green ears prophetic of a blessed harvest of souls. As to myself, I cross this day into another year of my own life and history, and I bear witness that my Master is worth trusting. O it is a blessed thing to be a Christian; it is a sweet thing to be a believer in Christ, and though I, of all men, perhaps, am the subject of the deepest depression of spirits at times, yet there lives not a soul who can say more truthfully than I, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.’ He who is mighty has looked upon me with eyes of love and made me his child, and I trust him this day as I have trusted him aforetime. But now I would to God that this day some of you would begin to trust in him.

For meditation: This was Spurgeon’s 30th birthday. Just as it is impossible to live on earth without having been born, it will be impossible to enter heaven without having been born again (John 3:3,5,7). If you haven’t yet got a spiritual birthday, the best date to be born again is today’s date (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Sermon no. 575
19 June (1864)