"Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said"--
"Only believe."--Mark v. 36.
The Brief Gospel.
The briefest of the "words of Jesus," but one of the most comforting.
They contain the essence and epitome of all saving truth.
Reader, is _Satan_ assailing thee with tormenting fears? Is the thought
of thy sins--the guilty past--coming up in terrible memorial before
thee, almost tempting thee to give way to hopeless despondency? Fear
not! A gentle voice whispers in thine ear,--"_Only believe._" "Thy sins
are great, but my grace and merits are greater. 'Only believe' that I
died for thee--that I am living for thee and pleading for thee, and that
'the faithful saying' is as 'faithful' as ever, and as 'worthy of all
acceptation' as ever."--Art thou a _backslider_? Didst thou once run
well? Has thine own guilty apostacy alienated and estranged thee from
that face which was once all love, and that service which was once all
delight? Art thou breathing in broken-hearted sorrow over the holy
memories of a close walk with God--"Oh that it were with me as in months
past, when the candle of the Lord did shine?" "_Only believe._" Take
this thy mournful soliloquy, and convert it into a prayer. "Only
believe" the word of Him whose ways are not as man's ways--"Return, ye
backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding."--Art thou
beaten down with some heavy _trial_? have thy fondest schemes been blown
upon--thy fairest blossoms been withered in the bud? has wave after wave
been rolling in upon thee? hath the Lord forgotten to be gracious? Hear
the "word of Jesus" resounding amid the thickest midnight of
gloom--penetrating even through the vaults of the dead--"Believe, _only
believe_." There is an infinite _reason_ for the trial--a lurking thorn
that required removal, a gracious lesson that required teaching. The
dreadful severing blow was dealt in love. God will be glorified in it,
and your own soul made the better for it. Patiently wait till the light
of immortality be reflected on a receding world. Here you must take His
dealings on trust. The word of Jesus to you now is, "_Only believe._"
The word of Jesus in eternity (every inner meaning and undeveloped
purpose being unfolded), "Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest
_but_ BELIEVE, thou shouldst SEE the glory of God?"--Are you fearful and
agitated in _the prospect of death_? Through fear of the last enemy,
have you been all your lifetime subject to bondage?--"_Only believe._"
"As thy day is, so shall thy strength be." Dying grace will be given
when a dying hour comes. In the dark river a sustaining arm will be
underneath you, deeper than the deepest and darkest wave. Ere you know
it, the darkness will be past, the true Light shining,--the whisper of
faith in the nether valley, "Believe! believe!" exchanged for
angel-voices exclaiming, as you enter the portals of glory, "No longer
through a glass darkly, but now face to face!"
Yes! "Jesus Himself had no higher remedy for sin, for sorrow, and for
suffering, than those two words convey. At the utmost extremity of His
own distress, and of His disciples' wretchedness, He could only say,
'Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.'
'Believe, only believe.'"
"LORD, I BELIEVE, HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF."