This was the preacher's main point, and he pressed it with the earnestness of a man who believed that for all who die out of Christ the WRATH TO COME will be an awful reality.
One at least of his hearers was seriously impressed. She trembled at the thought that if she so passed out of life, wrath—the wrath of God—would be her portion for all eternity. If she endured it for hundreds, thousands, MILLIONS of years, it would still be "to come"! A finite creature could never exhaust the sentence meted out by Him who is infinite.
It was an awful thought! In her distress the poor girl cried to God for help; and He who knoweth the thoughts and intents of the heart heard her unspoken plea. It was as though she heard His own tender voice saying, "Come unto Me... and I will give you rest." With infinite love He showed her that there is no rest for the soul of one thus aroused until it is found at the feet of Him who, having Himself endured and exhausted the judgment, can speak peace to everyone who trusts in Jesus.
And there is no rest, no peace, for anyone whose eyes have been opened to see the wide chasm that yawns between a holy God and a sinful creature, until he learns-that the distance has been bridged by the cross of Christ. God Himself has provided the way of approach, and not only receives but welcomes with tenderest love every soul that avails itself of His supreme goodness.
"No wrath God's heart retaineth
To usward who believe;
No dread in ours remaineth
As we His love receive.
Returning sons He kisses,
And with His robe invests—
His perfect love dismisses
All terror from our breasts.”