510 A SERIOUS ADDRESS TO chuse me. O, Absalom, my son ! my son ! give me thy heart; 1 have died for thee, do not crucify me afresh Lay down the spear of unbelief, and thine is my grace, my glory, my kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. "Be not afraid to surrender; rebellious as thou art, I love thee still. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the 'son of her womb? Yea, she may forget, yet will I not for- get thee. If thou wilt not take my word; believe my oath because I can swear by no greater, 1 swear by myself: ` As I live, 1 have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,' but that the wicked turn from his way and live : turn then, turn unto me, for I.have redeem- ed thee.. I have cast all thy sins into the depth of the sea, and will subdue all thine iniquities. And if thou canst not believe my oath, credit these scars See ! I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Long, too long, have I waited for thy return, thou poor, wandering weary prodigal. Let me see in thee the travail of my soul, and be satisfied. By the mystery of my holy incarnation and dreadful temptatio , by my agony and bloody sweat, by my infamous death and glorious resurrec- tion, I beseech thee come to the pardoning God by me. If thou hast nothing to pay, I forgive thee all the debt: whether it be fifty or five hundred pence, or ten thousand talents, I frankly forgive thee all. Only let me heal thy baekslidings, and love thee freely ; let my left hand be under thy head, and let my right hand embrace thee. See the wounds which I have received for thee in the house of my friends ! Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands ; and reach hither thy band, and thrust it into my side ; and be not .faithless, but believing. Cleave to me with full purpose of heart, follow me through the regeneration ; and thou .shalt not only be one of my jewels, but a ,crown of glory, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God : yea, as the bridegroóm re- joiceth over the bride, so will 1 rejoice over thee, and give thee a name better than that of son and daughter,
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