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The Woman Which Was a SinnerA Sermon Delivered on Lord's-Day Morning, March 22nd, 1868, by C. H. SPURGEON, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington "And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment."—Luke 7:37-38.
I. GRACE,the most costly of spikenard: this story literally drips with it, like those Oriental trees which bleed perfume; or as the spouse when she rose up to open to her beloved, and her hands dropped with myrrh, and her fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh upon the handles of the lock. Grace, that gentle dew of heaven, is here plenteously distilled, and falls like small rain upon the tender herb. Grace, sovereign, distinguishing, omnipotent, is exceedingly magnified in this narrative; lo, I see it exalted upon a glorious high throne, with the king's daughter waiting as an honourable woman among its courtiers.1. First, grace is here glorified
in its object. She was "a sinner"—a sinner not in the flippant,
unmeaning, every-day sense of the term, but a sinner in the blacker,
filthier, and more obnoxious sense. She had forsaken the guide of her
youth, and forgotten the covenant of her God; she had sinned against
the laws of purity, and had made herself as a defiled thing; she had
fallen into that deep ditch concerning which it is written, "The
abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein." According to our Lord's
parable, she was in comparison with the Pharisee as a five-hundred-
pence sinner, while the Pharisee was but as fifty. She was one of the
scarlet sinners that we read of in Scripture—she sinned and made
others to sin. Hers were offenses which provoke the Lord to jealousy,
and stir up his wrath. Yet, oh, miracle of miracles, she was an
object of distinguishing grace, ordained unto eternal life! Why was
this? On what legal grounds was she selected? For what merit was she
chosen? Was this an extraordinary and out-of-the-way instance? By no
means, dear friends, for the grace of God has frequently chosen the
lowest of the low, and the vilest of the vile. Recollect how, in the
pedigree of our Lord, you find the name of the shameless Tamar, the
harlot Rahab, and the unfaithful Bathsheba, as if to indicate that
the Saviour of sinners would enter into near relationship with the
most degraded and fallen of our race. This is, in fact, one of the
dearest titles of our Lord, though it was hissed at him from the lips
of contempt, "A friend of publicans and sinners." This is Jesus'
character of which he is not ashamed: "This man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them." Free grace has made no distinction among men on
account of merit, whether false or real, if real there be. The law
has concluded us all in unbelief, and then the abounding grace of God
looking upon us all as equally cast away and ruined both by Adam's
fall and by our own personal transgression, has predestinated and
called whomsoever it would. Do you not hear from the throne of mercy
the echoes of that sovereign proclamation, "I will have mercy on whom
I will have mercy; I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion"? Grace has pitched upon the most unlikely cases in order
to show itself to be grace; it has found a dwelling-place for itself
in the most unworthy heart, that its freeness might be the better
seen. Do I address one who has greatly fallen? Let this thought
comfort thee, if thy heart bewails thy sin—let this give thee hope
of mercy, that in the election of grace some of the grossest
blasphemers, persecutors, thieves, fornicators, and drunkards, have
been included, and in consequence thereof they have been forgiven,
renewed, and made to live sober, righteous, and godly lives. Such as
these have obtained mercy that in them first God might show forth all
longsuffering as a comfort and encouragement to others to cry unto
the Lord for mercy.Grace reigns right majestically in
the case before us, in that this particular sinner should be chosen;
to choose a sinner was something, but to choose this one individual
was even more astonishing. No doubt, she did in spirit ask herself,
"Why me, Lord? why me?" Had she been here this morning, she would
sing as heartily as any of us—My God, how can it be That thou, who has discerning love, Shouldst give that gift to me!
How many hearts thou mightst have had
Ah, Grace! into unlikeliest hearts 2. Grace is greatly magnified in
its fruits. Who would have thought that a woman who had yielded her
members to be servants of unrighteousness, to her shame and
confusion, should have now become, what if I call her a maid of
honour to the King of kings?—one of Christ's most favoured
servitors? Who offered hospitalities to Jesus which the Pharisee
omitted, and offered them in an infinitely better spirit and style
than the Pharisee could have done it even had he tried! Let us
remark, that the grace of God brought this woman in a way of
providence to listen to the Saviour's discourses. In a former part of
this chapter it appears he had been preaching the gospel, and more
especially preaching it to the poor. Perhaps she stood in the street
attracted by the crowd, and, as she listened to our Saviour's talk,
it seemed to hold her fast. She had never heard a man speak after
that fashion, and when he spoke of abounding mercy, and the
willingness of God to accept as many as would come to him, then the
tears began to follow each other down her cheek; and when she
listened again to that meek and lowly preacher, and heard him tell of
the Father in heaven who would receive prodigals and press them to
his loving bosom, then her heart was fairly broken, she relinquished
her evil traffic, she became a new woman, desirous of better things,
anxious to be freed from sin. But she was greatly agitated in her
heart with the question, could she, would she, be really forgiven?
Would such pardoning love as she had heard of reach even to her? She
hoped so, and was in a measure comforted. Her faith grew, and with it
an ardent love. The Spirit of God still wrought with her till she
enjoyed a feeble hope, a gleam of confidence; she believed that Jesus
of Nazareth was the Messiah, that he had appeared on earth to forgive
sins, and she rested on him for the forgiveness of her sins, and
longed for an opportunity to do him homage, and if possible to win a
word direct from his mouth. The Lord of mercy came to the city where
she lived. "Now," she thought, "here is my opportunity; that blessed
prophet has come; the man who spake as never man spake is near me,
and I have already derived such benefit from him that I love him
better than all besides; I love him as my own soul. I will steal into
the house of the Pharisee, that I may feast my eyes with the sight of
him." Now, when she came to the door, the Saviour was reclining at
his meat, according to the Oriental custom, and his feet were towards
the door; for the Pharisee had but little respect for Christ, and had
not given him the best and innermost place at the feast; but there he
lay with his uncovered feet towards the door, and the woman, almost
unperceived, came close to him, and, as she looked and saw that the
Pharisee had refused him the ordinary courtesy of washing his feet,
and that they were all stained and travel-worn with his long journeys
of love, she began to weep, and the tears fell in such plenteous
showers that they even washed his feet. Here was holy water of a true
sort. The crystal of penitence falling in drops, each one as precious
as a diamond. Never were feet bedewed with a more precious water than
those penitent eyes showered forth. Then, unbinding those luxurious
tresses, which had been for her the devil's nets in which to entangle
souls, she wiped the sacred feet therewith. Surely she thought that
her chief adornment, the crown and glory of her womanhood, was all
too worthless a thing to do service to the lowest and meanest part of
the Son of God. That which once was her vanity now was humbled and
yet exalted to the lowest office; she made her eyes a ewer and her
locks a towel. "Never," says bishop Hall, "was any hair so preferred
as this; how I envy those locks that were graced with the touch of
those sacred feet."There a sweet temptation overtook
her, "I will even kiss those feet, I will humbly pay reverence to
those blessed limbs." She spake not a word, but how eloquent were her
actions! better even than psalms and hymns were these acts of
devotion. Then she bethought her of that alabaster box containing
perfumed oil with which, like most Eastern women, she was wont to
anoint herself for the pleasure of the smell and for the increase of
her beauty, and now, opening it, she pours out the costliest thing
she has upon his blessed feet. Not a word, I say, came from her; and,
brethren, we would prefer a single speechless lover of Jesus, who
acted as she did, to ten thousand noisy talkers who have no gifts, no
heart, no tears. As for the Master, he remained quietly acquiescent,
saying nothing, but all the while drinking in her love, and letting
his poor weary heart find sweet solace in the gratitude of one who
once was a sinner, but who was to be such no more.Grace, my brethren, deserves our
praise, since it does so much for its object. Grace does not choose a
man and leave him as he is. My brethren and sisters, men rail at
grace sometimes as though it were opposed to morality, whereas it is
the great source and cause of all complete morality—indeed, there is
no real holiness in the sight of God except that which grace creates,
and which grace sustains. This woman, apart from grace, had remained
black and defiled still to her dying day, but the grace of God
wrought a wondrous transformation, removing the impudence of her
face, the flattery from her lips, the finery from her dress, and the
lust from her heart. Eyes which were full of adultery, were now
founts of repentance; lips which were doors of lascivious speech, now
yield holy kisses—the profligate was a penitent, the castaway a new
creature. All the actions which are attributed to this woman
illustrate the transforming power of divine grace. She exhibited the
deepest repentance. She wept abundantly. She wept out of no mere
sentimentalism, but at the remembrance of her many crimes. She wept
for sorrow and for shame as she thought over her early childhood, and
how she had slighted a mother's training, how she had listened to the
tempter's voice, and hurried on from bad to worse. Every part of her
life-story would rise before her as a painfully vivid dream. The
sight of those blessed feet helped her to remember the dangerous
paths into which she had wandered; the sluices of grief were drawn
up, and her soul flowed out in tears. O blessed Spirit of grace, we
adore thee as we see the rock smitten and the waters gushing. "He
causeth his wind to blow and the waters flow."Note the woman's humility. She had
once possessed a brazen face, and knew no bashfulness, but now she
stands behind the Saviour. She did not push herself in before his
face; she was content to have the meanest standing-place. If she
might not venture to anoint his head, yet, if she might do service to
his feet, she blushed as she accepted the honour. Those who serve the
Lord Jesus truly, have a holy bashfulness, a shrinking sense of their
own unworthiness, and are content to fulfil the very lowest office in
his household. That is no service for Christ when thou wouldst need
ride the king's horse, and wear the king's garment, and have it said,
"This is the man whom the king delighteth to honour." That is serving
thyself rather than Christ, when thou covetest the chief place in the
synagogue, and wouldst have men call thee Rabbi. But that is real
service when thou canst care for the poor; when thou canst condescend
to men of low estate, and become a teacher of the ignorant and an
instructor of babes. He serves well who works behind his master's
back, unknown and unperceived—toiling in the dark, unreported,
unapplauded, and happy to have it so. See, beloved, how in a woman
who was once so shameless, grace plants and makes to flourish the
fair and modest flower of true humility.Yet was the woman courageous, for
she must have needed much courage to enter into a Pharisee's house.
The look of a Pharisee to this woman must have been enough to freeze
summer into howling winter. Those Pharisees had an insufferable
contempt of everybody who was not of their own clique, who did not
fast twice a week, and tithe their mint, anise, and cummin; they
said, by every gesture, "Stand by, I am holier than thou." To a
person of infamous character, the pompous Pharisee would be doubly
contemptuous, and a woman conscious of unworthiness would be sorely
wounded by his manners; besides, at a feast, her tears would be much
out of place, and therefore she would be the more rudely rebuked; but
how fearless she was, and how bravely she held her tongue when Simon
railed! What will not men and women do when grace moves them to love,
and love prompts them to courage! Ay, into the very jaws of hell the
grace of God would make a believer dare to enter, if God commanded
him. There is no mountain too high for a believing foot to scale, and
no furnace too hot for a believing heart to bear. Let Rome and its
amphitheatres, Piedmont and its snow, France and its galleys,
Smithfield and its stakes, the Netherlands and their rivers of blood,
all speak of what grace can do when once it reigns in the heart, what
heroes it can make of the very weakest and most timid of God's
children, where it rules supreme.I have said that in every part of
this woman's action grace is honoured, and it is so more especially
in this respect, that what she did was practical. Hers was not
pretence, but real and expensive service. The religion of some
professors stops short at their substance; it costs them nothing,
and, I fear, is worth nothing. They appear before the Lord empty.
They buy no sweet cane with money, neither does the Lord receive the
fat of their sacrifices. I must confess myself utterly at a loss to
understand the piety of some people. I thank God I am not bound to
understand it, and that I am not sent into the world to be a judge of
my fellow creatures, but I do greatly wonder at the religion of many.
There are to be found, and I have found them, persons whose love to
Christ is of such a sort that they give to his cause the larger
proportion of their substance, and do so gladly, thinking it a
privilege; yea, I know some who pinch themselves—some of the poor
and needy, who stint themselves that they may give to Christ. Such
are doubtless blessed in the deed. I do not understand those men who
have thousands upon thousands of pounds, perhaps hundreds of
thousands, and profess to love Christ, and dole out their gifts to
Jesus in miserable fragments. I must leave them to their Master, to
be judged at the last, but I confess I do not understand them or
admire them. If I did love Christ at all, I would love him so that I
would give him all I could, and if I did not do that, I think I would
say, "He is not worth it, and I will not be a sham professor. It is
rank hypocrisy to profess love and then to act a miserly part. Let
those who are guilty of it settle the account between God and their
own souls. This woman's alabaster box was given freely, and if she
had had more to give, she would have given it, after the spirit of
that other woman, that memorable widow, who had two mites, which made
a farthing, which were all her living, but she gave it all out of
love to God. Grace reigns indeed with high control when it leads men
who naturally would be selfish to practice liberality in the cause of
the Redeemer. Let these gleanings suffice, the vintage of the fruits
of grace is too great for us to gather it all this morning.3. I would have you remark, in the
third place, that grace is seen by attentive eyes in our Lord's
acceptance of what this chosen vessel had to bring. Jesus knew her
sin. The Pharisee wondered that Jesus did not shrink from contact
with her. You and I may wonder too. We sometimes feel it a task to
have to commune with persons of a certain character even when they
profess to repent: our Lord's sensitiveness of the guilt of sin was
much keener than ours, yet he rested still upon the couch, and
quietly accepted what she brought, permitted her the fond familiarity
of kissing his feet again and again, and to bedew them with her
tears—permitted all that, I say, and accepted all that, and herein
made his grace to shine most brightly. Oh, that Jesus should ever
accept anything of me, that he should be willing to accept my tears,
willing to receive my prayers and my praises! We cheerfully accept a
little flower from a child, but then the flower is beautiful, and we
are not far above the child; but Jesus accepts from us that which is
in its nature impure, and upbraids us not. O grace, how condescending
thou art; see, believer, Jesus has heard thy prayers and answered
them; he has blessed thy labours, given thee souls as thy reward, and
at this moment that which is in thy heart to do for him he receives,
and he raises no objection, but takes what thou bringest to him,
takes it with joy. O grace, thou art grace indeed, when the offerings
of unworthy ones become dear unto Jesus' heart.4. Further, grace is displayed in
this narrative when you see our Lord Jesus Christ become the defender
of the penitent. Everywhere grace is the object of human cavil: men
snap at it like evening wolves. Some attack it at the fountain head;
they cannot endure the doctrine of election. Some professors almost
foam at the mouth at the very mention of the word "predestination;"
they cannot bear it, and yet it is God's truth, let them say what
they will, and there shall it stand, let them kick against the pricks
if they dare. "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." Would to God men would give
up their rebellious questionings and bow before the King of kings. On
this occasion, Simon cavilled at grace in that a sinful woman should
be allowed to approach the Lord, he would have put her in quarantine
at the least, if not in prison. Some object to grace in its
perpetuity, they struggle against persevering grace; but others, like
this Simon, struggle against the bounty of grace. How could such a
woman as she was be permitted to draw so near to Christ? Certain
captious spirits will demand, "How should Jesus give to such unworthy
ones such acceptance, such manifestations of himself, such
privileges?" Our Lord took upon himself to defend her, and therefore
she might well afford to hold her tongue. So shall it be with you. If
Satan accuse you, and your enemies with loud-mouthed accusations cry
out against you, you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous, who will certainly plead your cause and clear you.
Jesus by his defensive parable shows that he was justified in letting
the woman approach, because great love prompted her. There was no sin
in her approach, but much to commend, since her motive was excellent,
and the motive is the true measure of a deed. She felt intense love
and gratitude towards the person who had forgiven her; therefore, her
acts were not to be forbidden, but commended. He justifies her and
incidentally justifies himself. Had he not done well in having won a
sinner's heart to penitence and love? Was not election justified in
having chosen one to such holy devotedness and fervency? At the last
great day, the Lord will justify his grace before the eyes of the
whole universe, for he will allow the grace-wrought virtues of his
chosen ones to be unveiled, and all eyes shall see that grace reigns
through righteousness. Then shall they for ever be silenced who
accused the grace of God of leading to licentiousness, for they shall
see that in every case free forgiveness led to gratitude, and
gratitude to holiness. The chosen shall be made choice men. Grace
chose them notwithstanding all their deformities; but when it has
cast about them a supernal beauty, they shall be the wonder and
admiration of the universe, evidently made to be the noblest and best
of mankind. Show me where grace ever created sin! You cannot, but lo,
in what a manner has grace created holiness! It is not ashamed to let
its chosen sheep appear before the great dividing Shepherd's throne,
for of them all it shall be said, "Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and
ye gave me drink." Grace does not smuggle men into heaven, but brings
them up to heaven's requirements through the Spirit and the
blood.5. Once more, my brethren, the
grace of God is seen in this narrative in the bestowal of yet richer
favours. Great grace saved her, rich grace encouraged her, unbounded
grace gave her a divine assurance of forgiveness. It was proved that
she was forgiven, for she loved much, but she had never received the
full assurance of it. She was a hopeful penitent rather than a
confirmed believer. But the Master said, "Thy sins are forgiven
thee;" from that moment full assurance of faith must have occupied
her soul. And then he gave her that choice dismissary benediction,
"Go in peace," by which the peace of God which passeth all
understanding henceforth kept her mind, so that even when she had to
go out of this world into the unknown realm, she heard in the midst
of Jordan's billows, the divine sentence, "Go in peace." Ah! beloved,
you know not what grace can do for you. God is not stinted in his
grace. If he has lifted you up out of the miry clay he can do more,
he can set your feet upon a rock. If on the rock you already stand,
he can do more, he can put a new song into your mouth; and if already
you lift the joyous hymn, he can do more yet, he can establish your
goings. You do not know the exceeding bounty of your own heavenly
Father yet. Unfathomable is his goodness. Arise and enjoy it. Behold
the whole land is before you, from Dan unto Beersheba—all the
provisions of the covenant of grace belong to you. Have but faith,
and you shall yet comprehend with all saints what are the heights and
depths, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.Here, then, was grace in its
object, grace in its fruit, grace in the acceptance of that fruit,
grace in the defence which Jesus made of the gracious one, and grace
in the blessings bestowed upon her. May grace deal thus bountifully
with us.II. We have but two or three
moments left for what requires far more space, namely, LOVE.The word blossoms with roses, and suggests the voice of the turtle and the singing of birds. Our time, however, binds us to a narrow path, which we must not leave, although the beds of lilies on either hand invite us.Love—its source: it bubbles up as
a pure rill from the well-head of grace. She loved much, but it was
because much had been forgiven. There is no such thing as mere
natural love to God. The only true love which can burn in the human
breast towards the Lord, is that which the Holy Ghost himself
kindles. If thou truly lovest the God who made thee and redeemed
thee, thou mayst be well assured that thou art his child, for none
but his children have any love to him.Its secondary cause is faith. The
fiftieth verse tells us, "Thy faith hath saved thee." Our souls do
not begin with loving Christ, but the first lesson is to trust. Many
penitents attempt this difficult task; they aspire to reach the
stair-head without treading the steps; they would needs be at the
pinnacle of the temple before they have crossed the threshold. First
trust Christ for the pardon of thy sin: when thou hast done this, thy
sins are forgiven, and then love shall flash to thy heart as the
result of gratitude for what the Redeemer has done for thee. Grace is
the source of love, but faith is the agent by which love is brought
to us.The food of love is a sense of sin,
and a grateful sense of forgiveness. If you and I felt more deeply
the guilt of our past lives, we should love Jesus Christ better. If
we have but a clearer sense that our sins deserve the deepest hell,
that Christ suffered what we ought to have suffered in order to
redeem us from our iniquities, we should not be such coldhearted
creatures as we are. We are perfectly monstrous in our want of love
to Christ, but the true secret of it is a forgetfulness of our ruined
and lost natural estate, and a forgetfulness of the sufferings by
which we have been redeemed from that condition. O that our love
might feed itself this day, and find a renewal of its strength in
remembering what sovereign grace has done.Love in the narrative before us
shines in the fact that the service the woman rendered to our Lord
was perfectly voluntary. No one suggested it, much less pressed it
upon her. It takes the gloss off our service when we need to be
dragged to it, or pushed forward by some energetic pleader. Brethren,
the anointing was impromptu with her. Christ was there, and it was at
her own suggestion that she anointed his feet. Mary of Bethany had
not then set the example: the woman who was a sinner was an original
in her service. In these days we have many inventors and discoverers
for our temporal use and service, why should we not have inventors
for Jesus who will bring out new projects of usefulness? We are most
of us content to travel in the old rut, but if we had more love to
Jesus we should be more eccentric, and should have a degree of
freshness about our service which at present is all too rare. Lord,
give us the love which can lead the way!Her service to Jesus was personal.
She did it all herself, and all to him. Do you notice how many times
the pronoun occurs in our text? "She stood at his feet behind him
weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them
with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them
with the ointment." She served Christ himself. It was neither service
to Peter, nor James, nor John, nor yet to the poor or sick of the
city, but to the Master himself; and, depend upon it, when our love
is in active exercise, our piety will be immediately towards Christ—
we shall sing to him, pray to him, teach for him, preach for him,
live to him. Forgetfulness of the personality of Christ takes away
the very vitality of our religion. How much better will you teach,
this afternoon, in your Sabbath-school class, if you teach your
children for Christ! How much better will you go forth this evening
to tell to others the way of salvation, if you go to do it for his
sake! Then you court no man's smile—you fear no man's frown. It is
enough for you that you have done it for the Master, and if the
Master accepts it you have the reward in that very fact.The woman's service showed her love
in that it was fervent. There was so much affection in it—nothing
conventional; no following chilly propriety, no hesitating enquiry
for precedents. Why did she kiss his feet? Was it not a superfluity?
What was the good of it? Did it not look sentimental, affected,
sensuous, indelicate? Little did she care how it looked; she knew
what she meant. She could not do otherwise. Her whole soul went out
in love, she acted naturally as her heart dictated, and, brethren,
she acted well. O for more of this guileless piety, which hurls
decorum and regulation to the winds. Ah, throw your souls into the
service of Christ; let your heart burn in his presence, and let all
your soul belong to Jesus. Serve not your Master as though you were
half asleep, do not work with drooping hands and half-closed eyes,
but wake up the whole of your powers and passions: for such love as
he has shown to you, give the most awakened and quickened love in
return. O for more of this love! If I might only pray one prayer this
morning, I think it should be that the flaming torch of the love of
Jesus should be brought into every one of our hearts, and that all
our passions should be set ablaze with love to him.One thought more, and I am done.
This woman's love is a lesson to us in the opportunity which she
seized. She was evidently but just pardoned: she was rather a weeper
than one who had learned to rejoice, and yet for all that, she would
serve him at the first dawn of her spiritual life. Now, you young
converts, no longer say, "We will do something for Christ in a few
years' time, when we have made our calling and election sure; we will
wait till we have grown in grace, and then try to do what we can."
No, no, but as soon as you are washed, bring your offering to Jesus.
The very day of your conversion, enlist in his army, for speedy
obedience is beautiful. Perhaps if this woman had lingered, she had
never anointed the Lord at all; but in the hot flush of her first
love, she did well to perform at once this zealous, fervent act.
Young converts maintain, by God's grace, the warmth of the blood
which circulates in the church's veins. Old churches generally become
diseased churches when they cease to grow. I do not know a church in
all England without conversions which is at all in a happy spiritual
state. The fact is, the fresh comers stir us all up by their fervour,
their simplicity, their childlike confidence. Now, beloved ones, we
encourage you to show this. For our sakes, for your own sakes, for
Christ's sake, do not hesitate—if there be anything you can do,
though you are uneducated in the divine school, do it. Though there
may be a dozen blunders in the method, yet do it, for Christ will
accept it. The Pharisee may cavil—well, perhaps it may keep his
tongue from other mischief—let him cavil, you can bear it, Christ
will defend you, Jesus will accept you; and as a reward for doing
what you can, he may be pleased to give you grace to do more, and may
breathe over you a full assurance of faith, which had you been idle
you might not for years have attained; and he may give you a peace of
conscience in serving him which, had you sat still, might never have
come to you. I beseech all of you who love Jesus, do not hide the
light you have under a bushel, but come out and show it. If you have
but a little faith, use it; if you have only a grain of faith, turn
it to account. Put the one talent out at interest, and use it for the
Master at once, and the Lord bless you in such a work, by increasing
your faith and love, and making you to be as this woman was, a highly
favoured servant of this blessed Master. May the Lord give every one
of you his blessing, for Jesus' sake.
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HIS is the woman who has been confounded with
Mary Magdalene. How the error originated it would not be easy to
imagine, but error it certainly is. There is not the slightest shadow
of evidence that this woman, who was a sinner, had even the remotest
connection with her out of whom Jesus cast seven devils. In
delivering you a sermon a few Sabbaths ago, upon the life of Mary of
Magdala, I think I showed you that it was hardly possible, and most
improbable, that she could have been a sinner in the sense here
intended, and now I venture to affirm that there is as much evidence
to prove that the woman, in the narrative now before us, was the
Queen of Sheba, or the mother of Sisera, as that she was Mary
Magdalene: there is not a figment or fraction of evidence to be
found. The fact is, there is no connection between the two.
