THIS was the need of a poor African chief named Sekoni, who was met by David Livingstone, the great explorer, on his travels through that dark land. He came one day to Livingstone, having heard that many of his subjects had been cured of their ills by the medicines that he had, and asked the missionary if he would give him medicine to cure his heart, which was full of hatred, envy, murder, and sin. Livingstone held up the Bible, and told the poor black chief that Jesus was the medicine for the sin-full heart.
It may be you, my reader, are like this poor African chief, possessed, of a heart full of sin, which is the cause of sorrow and distress to you. If so, thank God there is a Physician that can cure you, there is medicine you can take that will rid you of the burden of sin.
The prophet Jeremiah (8:22) said, “Is there no balm in Gilead, why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” and we may raise the cry today, Is there no balm for the wounded heart, is there no cure for the sorrows and burdens of the weary? Yes! a thousand times, yes! Praise God, there is, and this Physician is Jesus. Precious name! There is indeed a healing balm in His name. That poor woman in Luke 8:43-4843And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 44Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. 45And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 46And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. 47And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. 48And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. (Luke 8:43‑48) came to the great Physician, when no earthly doctor could cure her, and only touched the hem of His garment, and she was cured immediately, and went away body and soul leaping for joy, not only because her body was healed, but her soul was saved. That man with the withered hand in Mark 3:55And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. (Mark 3:5) did not even touch Him, but at the word of the great Physician was made perfectly whole. Also the woman of Luke 7 came to Jesus, not with a sick body, but with a sin-sick soul, a wounded heart, a heavy burden, an incurable disease, eating her very vitals, and sin like a cancerous growth devouring her very life. She came to Jesus, and He, blessed Man of sorrows, blessed Son of God, oh, how delighted He was to apply the balm to her distressed heart, even this precious ointment, “Thy sins are forgiven thee.”
Now, my dear friend, is this anything like your case? Is this the condition you are in? Then I beg thee to come to Jesus, the great Physician. Do you feel your heart to be like the poor African chief’s? Then come to the Saviour, and He wit give rest and forgiveness, and peace to thy burdened heart. Oh, how my Saviour delights to say, “Peace unto you.” His blessed mission (see Luke 4:1818The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (Luke 4:18)) was to heal the broken-hearted, and to set at liberty the bruised. Then come, poor brokenhearted sinner, and Jesus will say, “Thy sins are forgiven thee.” I imagine you saying, Will Jesus receive a poor unworthy sinner like me? Yea, dear friend, Jesus’s special patients are unworthy ones, and He says, “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.” Think of what Jesus has done for us, how He has shed His precious blood, how He has suffered untold agonies for us, how He has died on the cross, for poor unworthy good-for-nothing sinners like me and thee. Think of all this, then ask the question, Will He receive me? and thine own heart will answer, Yes. Then come to Him at once; find rest by trusting in Jesus.
Only this day a person said to me that she had a day or two before been converted at a meeting, and had come with her burdened heart to Jesus, and lost the load of her sins. She added, “My heart feels, oh, so light now!” What a perfect cure!
While Jesus is bidding thee come, accept His invitation. He asks thee to do nothing, for He has done all that is required; and what He desires of thee is to put out the hand of faith, and receive salvation. Then, peace and rest will be thine.
J. H. L.