believe it about yourselves, you will find how
hard it is to accept that covenant and always to keep your feet firm upon
it. That the forgiveness is absolutely free is its first great
difficulty. If it had cost us all we could ever do or suffer, both in
this world and in the world to come, then we could have come to terms
with our Prince far more easily; but that our forgiveness should be
absolutely free, it is that that so staggers us. When I was a little boy
I was once wandering through the streets of a large city seeing the
strange sights. I had even less Latin in my head that day than I had
money in my pocket. But I was hungry for knowledge and eager to see rare
and wonderful things. Over the door of a public institution, containing
a museum and other interesting things, I tried to read a Latin scroll. I
could not make out the whole of the writing; I could only make out one
word, and not even that, as the event soon showed. The word was
_gratia_, or some modification of _gratia_, with some still deeper words
engraven round about it. But on the strength of that one word I mounted
the steps and rang the bell, and asked the porter if I could see the
museum. He told me that the cost of admission was such and such. Little
as it was, it was too much for me, and I came down the steps feeling that
the Latin writing above the door had entirely deceived me. It has not
been the last time that my bad Latin has brought me to shame and
confusion of face. But Latin, or Greek, or only English, or not even
English, there is no deception and no confusion here. Forgiveness is
really of free grace. It costs absolutely nothing, the door is open; or,
if it is not open, then knock, and it shall be opened, without money and
without price.

'Free and full.' I could imagine a free forgiveness which was not also
full. I could imagine a charter that would have run somehow thus: Free
forgiveness and full, up to a firmly fixed limit. Free and full
forgiveness for sins of ignorance and even of infirmity and frailty; for
small sins and for great sins, too, up to a certain age of life and stage
of guilt. Free and full forgiveness up to a certain line, and then, that
black line of reprobation, as Samuel Rutherford says. Indeed, it is no
imagination. I have felt oftener than once that I was at last across
that black line, and gone and lost for ever. But no--

'While the lamp holds on to burn,
The greatest sinner may retu