“I EVEN I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Saviour” (Isa. 43:1111I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. (Isaiah 43:11)). What could be plainer than this simple statement? The Lord was Israel’s Saviour, and He is a Saviour for all today. “We have seen,” says the apostle John, “and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:1414And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. (1 John 4:14)). And there is one Saviour only, Jesus, the Christ, the Lord. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:1212Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)). Strange infatuation, in the face of such a plain statement (one among many) in the Word of God, that so many thousands should seek in various ways to save themselves. If you have anything to do, there must be two saviours. But Scripture says there is but One, and that is Jesus, the Lord in glory. “They shall call his name Jesus, because he shall save his people from their sins.” “I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Saviour.” Is it true, or is it false? True, without question, true. “He who saith it is God, who cannot lie” (Titus 1:22In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; (Titus 1:2)). “I, the Lord; and there is no god else beside me―a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me” (Isa. 45:2121Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. (Isaiah 45:21)).
Sinner, you need a Saviour; you cannot save yourself. No fellow-man of Adam’s fallen race can save you, for all others are sinners too. No angel can save you; no, nor all the angelic hosts together. Neither can any ordinance save, or help to save you. Who then can save you? Christ Jesus only. He is mighty to save; a Saviour and a great one (Isa. 19:2020And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. (Isaiah 19:20)). A great Saviour for great sinners. “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)).
An elderly man, when asked by an evangelist by the roadside if he knew whether he was saved, replied, “I take the lost sinner’s place, and claim the lost sinner’s Saviour.” Dear reader, will you do the same? A lost sinner you are if still unconverted; but the lost sinner’s Saviour is on the throne of God ready to save every one who believeth in Him. Will you receive Him? “I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Saviour.” He is the Saviour today, but may be your Judge tomorrow. The Saviour for lost sinners on earth; but there is no Saviour for lost sinners in hell. If you die without Him, you will prove the truth of this solemn statement to your eternal and unutterable woe (John 8:2424I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:24); Rev. 20:1515And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)).
If you meet Him as the Judge, your sins will testify against you; but take the lost sinner’s place in His holy presence now, and claim Him as your Saviour, and all your sins shall be blotted out by His most precious blood, for He saith, “I, even I, am he that blotted out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” He died for guilty lost ones on the cross. His blood was “shed for many for the remission of sins.” Your transgressions may be multiplied against you, but for His own sake, and to the praise and glory of His own name, He will blot out every one. And though Satan may lay your life-long sins to your charge, and your own conscience upbraid and condemn you, yet saith the Lord, “Thy sins and thine iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb. 10:1717And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 10:17)); and that relentless foe shall be silenced with the word, “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan,... is not this a brand plucked out of the fire.”
A poor old woman, when asked if she knew her sins put away, replied, “I hope so.” “What makes you hope?” “I haven’t committed the unpardonable sin, and there’s no night passes but what I pray.” Poor ignorant soul! A sandy foundation indeed was her house built upon! What an evidence of Satan’s deceit, and of the vain refuges of the poor deceitful flesh! Her hope of heaven based upon not having committed the unpardonable sin, as though all the rest were to be slurred over or not to be reckoned; her prayers, apparently, night by night a kind of atonement for the sins of the day! And she is but the type of many thousands.
Men know God is against sin, but they think of His mercy (and He is merciful indeed), and prop themselves up, even till death cut them off, with the delusive thought that having done the best they can (?) under the circumstances, and prayed, that it will be all right somehow, and that there is no occasion to make so much fuss about religion as some do. Infatuated souls, wake up! No sinner’s sins were ever pardoned thus; no sinner ever did, or ever will escape the lake of fire on such a plea as that (though prayer, of course, is right enough in its place). What saith the Scripture? The devil is blinding you with your own darkened ideas of the claims of the holiness of God and your own wretched doings. Wake up, wake up, and listen to Him who has authority to speak, and who desires your salvation. You cannot save yourself. “I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no Saviour.” “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” This poor deceived woman thought He would do it for her sake, because she prayed night by night, and though she had committed sins (the least of which, unpardoned, would land her in eternal woe), she had not been guilty of the unpardonable sin. May the Lord bless the word spoken to her, that pointed her to Christ!
Dear reader, come to the Saviour.
“Come to Jesus, come to Jesus, just now;
He will save you, He will save you, just now;
He is able, He is able, just now;
He is willing, He is willing, just now;
Only trust Him, only trust Him, just now.”
And then, not only will you find that He saith,
“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions,” but you will be able also to rejoice in the truth that comes out in Isaiah 43:2222But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. (Isaiah 43:22)― “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins: return unto me, for I have redeemed thee.” And what a striking figure of the complete blotting out of the sins of every one that believeth― “I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions.” We are all familiar with a thick cloud. The storm gathers, and a thick cloud covers the heaven, the whole scene being darkened by it. But suddenly the bright beams of the sun burst through, and the cloud disappears. Not a trace of it is to be found. The same cloud will never be seen again; it is gone forever; it is blotted out. Search heaven, earth, and sea, and it cannot be found. It was, but it is no more. So, poor sinner, will it be with your transgressions, if you only trust Christ. You cannot get rid of them, any more than you can remove the thick cloud. But though they seem to rise up between God and you thicker than the thickest cloud you ever saw, yet, saith the Lord to you, if you take the lost sinner’s place, and claim the lost sinner’s Saviour, “I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins.” He does it. Believe on Him, even now, as you read these lines, and He has done it for you. Henceforth your sins are blotted out, and you are redeemed by His precious blood (1 Peter 1:18, 1918Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:18‑19)). Then will arise a morning without clouds in your soul, the thick cloud of your sins being blotted out, and marvelous light both fill and surround you.
And now, note another passage of Scripture before we close. “I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him, I have brought him; and he shall make his way prosperous” (Isa. 48:1515I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. (Isaiah 48:15)). With your sins gone, and your soul redeemed, you will probably be left in this scene a little while, to live to His glory. And the Lord has also spoken as to your way. “I, even I, have spoken.” He has called you; He has brought you to Himself, and He will make your way prosperous. The world’s prosperity is all vanity. He has not left you, when you are saved, to choose your own devices, and to walk your own way; but to every believer on His name, as to Israel of old, He saith, “I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldst go” (Isa. 48:1717Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. (Isaiah 48:17)).
And, again, in Ezek. 34. we read: “Behold I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out.” And, “Behold I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and the lean cattle.” And what is true of His earthly flock, Israel, is also true with regard to every believer now. “By faith in his name we become his sheep” (John 1:12; 10:26, 3012But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)
26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. (John 10:26)
30I and my Father are one. (John 10:30)). He searched for us, sought us out, and we are His, the purchase of the Good Shepherd’s life’s blood. And He would have us feeding upon the rich pasture of His Word, “that we may not be lean in soul, but fat.”
Beloved reader, have you come to this Blessed One? Do you know Him? Sooner or later, you will surely find out your need of Him. Time is short; eternity is at your very door; this night thy soul may be required of thee (Luke 12:2020But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (Luke 12:20)). A sinner you are, unsaved one, guilty, ruined, lost, and here is the One you need. “I, even I, am He.” He is worthy of your acceptation. Will you accept Him? Will you have Him now? Will you, before you leave this page, say, “Yes, blessed Lord, I will.”
E. H. C.