The cry is lifted up, and the name of the Lord Jesus is invoked; but mark well, the request itself tells us nothing of the case, nothing of the soul’s standing, nothing of the sorrow save its sharpness. When a man can only repeat the name of the Lord and cry for intervention, we may hope it is the prayer of faith, but we must also fear it may be the scream of mere terror. The question must be put: have you acted according to His word? For Elijah could spread his hands unto heaven and say, "I have done all these things at Your word." His plea was firm because his feet had trod the path of obedience. Not that any man merits success by his doings, away with the proud thought, but the obedient heart commands the blessing because it walks in the King’s own highway where His chariot of deliverance is wont to run.
If your life is hidden in Christ and your steps are ordered by His precepts, then this brief prayer is a mighty plea indeed. The Lord cannot deny Himself; He will honor those who honor His word. But if there be a secret sin indulged, a known command neglected, or a fondness for some way the Lord abhors, then the devil himself may put on the appearance of a minister and preach to you a false peace while your prayer beats against a closed heaven. I charge you, as you value your soul, let no wedge of gold or Babylonish garment lie concealed in your tent. Rise by the Spirit’s help to the highest pitch of obedience, and then plead His promise and see if He will not open the windows of heaven.
Yet, what if you cannot say you have acted according to His word? What if the heart is so confused and the mind so tossed that you can barely form a thought, let alone trace your life’s conformity to the rule? Then fly to that plea which wells up from the inner consciousness of every quickened sinner: "Lord, be merciful unto me; heal my soul; for I have sinned against You." It is a strange argument to the carnal reasoner, but it is the logic of the Cross. A self-righteous man would never dream of urging his sin as a claim upon mercy, but the broken heart knows that confessed guilt is a void which grace delights to fill. This is no borrowed plea fetched from another’s lips; it is your own, a child’s plea suited to the most confused and distressed soul. It needs no fine words, no deep reasonings; it simply exposes the wound to the Physician. Go to Him just so, and say, "Lord, I have nothing to bring but my sin; I deserve nothing but wrath; yet for Your dear Son’s sake, be merciful unto me." There is no argument equal in force to this, for it makes room for sovereign grace and leaves not a trace of self-righteousness upon the transaction.
And this plea is bound up with His immutability. Has He been your help before? Then He will be still. A father who has fed his child will not let him starve; a Savior who has begun a good work will complete it. If you can say, "You have been my help," then the heart has a hold upon the unchangeableness of the Eternal. The same love that quickened, that pardoned, that preserved in days past, loves still. It is not fickle human affection that waxes and wanes; it is the ancient love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Plead that, and fear not.
But, O soul, if this desperate case be a matter of some darling lust, some bosom sin that the devil uses to torment you and keep you from full surrender, if you are tempted even to make an end of life under the furious assaults of the enemy, know this: that often just before the Lord works a great deliverance, the devil hath great wrath, knowing his time is short. These very strugglings and convulsions may be the signs of coming salvation. The desperateness of the case is a platform for Divine grace. When iron natures melt, when old rebels bow, when those who have been as sons of Belial cry out for mercy, then is the majesty of Divine love displayed. I adjure you, do not let go the hem of His garment because the evil seems to grow worse; rather, plead Christ’s own plea from the tree: "Father, forgive them." He intercedes with His wounded hands and riven side. His Sonship and His sacrifice are the everlasting pillars upon which a sinner’s hope must rest. If He pleads for you, who shall condemn? Only be sure you are wholly His, separated from the world unto Him, for it is to such that His intercession belongs. Prove your claim upon His plea by fleeing from all that He forbids and cleaving to all that He commands. Then, come what may, you may rest confident that He who spared not His own Son will with Him also freely give you all things.