Overcome Us! Melt Us! Draw Us!
God's infinite and free love is available to us despite our backsliding, and we can receive His fullness and grace by coming to the Savior daily and abiding in Him by faith.
Anne Dutton preaches about the infinite, boundless love and grace of God towards His people, despite their constant backsliding and ingratitude. She emphasizes God's promise to heal their backslidings and love them freely, even though they are naturally sinful and rebellious. Dutton marvels at the amazing, free love of God that continues to pursue His people, even when they have repeatedly turned away from Him and pursued other things. She encourages a daily surrender to the Savior, receiving His grace, pardon, peace, joy, strength, and holiness.
Text
Dear Sir,
Oh! the infinite love, the boundless grace of God--that though we are bent to backsliding from Him, and are every day guilty of it more or less--He will still call us His people, and, according to His promise, will heal our backslidings and love us freely--us who by nature were a sea of vileness, a hell of iniquity, a mass of black and horrid antithesis to His infinite purity--us who by practice were transgressors from the womb--and, which is most amazing, us who since the display of His infinite, all-attracting grace, in the forgiveness of our sins, and in the admission of us into all the royalties and privileges of the sons of God, have, nevertheless, slighted His love, despised His commandments, forsaken the Lord, and gone after other lovers!
And yet, oh yet, God loves us! Us who are guilty of such ingratitude as is not to be found even among the damned--and this, notwithstanding He knew beforehand how treacherously we would deal with Him; how rebellious, how abominable we would be. Oh, this was free love indeed! We have tried it by innumerable provocations, by most aggravated transgressions, all of our sins, being of a deep dye, an extensive guilt, a bloody color; and yet, all glory to infinite, unchanging love--our Jehovah consumes not the sons of Jacob, but loves them freely still!
Oh, free, invincible, everlasting love! Overcome us! Melt us! Draw us! Then returning, under Your healing influence, we will say repeatedly, after all our heart, lip, and life-backslidings, "Behold, we come unto You, for You are the Lord our God." Oh, what an unspeakable privilege is it, that such poor backsliding children as we are, have such a merciful Father, that will not cause His anger to fall upon us, though we have done as many evil things as we could!
Surely it is our wisdom to come to the Savior daily, as being in ourselves poor sinners, and to abide in Him continually by faith, to receive of His fullness and grace--and all supplies of grace for multiplied pardon, abundant peace, full joy, renewed strength, and increasing holiness.
Sermon Outline
- The Love of God
- God's love is infinite and free
- God's love is not based on our worthiness
Key Quotes
“Oh, free, invincible, everlasting love! Overcome us! Melt us! Draw us!” — Anne Dutton
“Our Jehovah consumes not the sons of Jacob, but loves them freely still!” — Anne Dutton
“Behold, we come unto You, for You are the Lord our God.” — Anne Dutton
Application Points
- We should come to the Savior daily, acknowledging our sinfulness and need for His mercy.
- We should abide in Christ continually by faith, receiving His fullness and grace.
- We should trust in God's infinite and free love, even when we feel unworthy or have backslidden.