From Spurgeon’s sermon,\n“HIS NAME — WONDERFUL!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once upon a time, there came\none to my house of a black and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
terrible aspect. He smote\nthe door; I tried to bolt it- to hold<\/p>\n\n\n\n
it fast. He smote again and\nagain, till at last he entered,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and with a rough voice he\nsummoned me before him; and he said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I have a message from\nGod for you–<\/p>\n\n\n\n
you are condemned on account\nof your sins.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked at him with\nastonishment; I asked him his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said, “My name is\nthe Law.” and I fell at his feet as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
one that was dead. “I\nwas alive without the law once:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
but when the commandment\ncame, sin revived, and I died.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I lay there, he smote me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He smote me till every rib\nseemed as if it must break,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and the bowels be poured\nforth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My heart was melted like wax\nwithin me;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I seemed to be stretched\nupon a rack-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to be pinched with hot\nirons-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to be beaten with whips of\nburning wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A misery extreme dwelt and reigned\nin my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I dared not lift up mine\neyes, but I thought within myself,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There may be hope,\nthere may be mercy for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps the God whom I have\noffended may accept my<\/p>\n\n\n\n
tears and my promises of\namendment, and I may live.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when that thought\ncrossed my mind, heavier were the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
blows and more poignant my\nsufferings than before, till hope<\/p>\n\n\n\n
entirely failed me, and I\nhad nothing wherein to trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Darkness black and dense\ngathered round me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I heard a voice as it were,\nof rushing to and fro, and of wailing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and gnashing of teeth. I\nsaid within my soul, “I am cast out from<\/p>\n\n\n\n
his sight, I am utterly\nabhorred of God- he has trampled me in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the mire of the streets in\nhis anger.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And there came one by, of\nsorrowful but of loving aspect,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and he stooped over me, and\nhe said, “Awake you that sleep,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and arise from the dead, and\nChrist shall give you light.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I arose in astonishment, and\nhe took me, and he led<\/p>\n\n\n\n
me to a place where stood a\ncross, and he seemed to<\/p>\n\n\n\n
vanish from my sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But he appeared again\nhanging there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked upon him as he bled\nupon that tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His eyes darted a glance of\nlove unutterable into my spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and in a moment, looking at\nhim, the bruises that my soul had<\/p>\n\n\n\n
suffered were healed; the\ngaping wounds were cured;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the broken bones rejoiced;\nthe rags that had covered me<\/p>\n\n\n\n
were all removed; my spirit\nwas white as the spotless snows<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of the far-off north; I had\nmelody within my spirit, for I was<\/p>\n\n\n\n
saved, washed, cleansed,\nforgiven, through him that did hang<\/p>\n\n\n\n
upon the tree!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, how I wondered that I\nshould be pardoned!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was not the pardon that I\nwondered at so much;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the wonder was that it\nshould come to ME.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wondered that he should be\nable to pardon such sins as mine;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
such crimes, so numerous and\nso black, and that after such an<\/p>\n\n\n\n
accusing conscience he\nshould have power to still every wave<\/p>\n\n\n\n
within my spirit, and make\nmy soul like the surface of a river,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
undisturbed, quiet, and at\nease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His heaven mine; my hell\nHis!<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n (Octavius Winslow)<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is astonishing that I\nshould so be one <\/p>\n\n\n\n with Christ, that all that\nHe is becomes <\/p>\n\n\n\n mine; and all that I am\nbecomes His! <\/p>\n\n\n\n His glory mine; my\nhumiliation His! <\/p>\n\n\n\n His righteousness mine; my\nguilt His! <\/p>\n\n\n\n His joy mine; my sorrow His!\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n His riches mine; my poverty\nHis! <\/p>\n\n\n\n His life mine; my death His!\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n His heaven mine; my hell\nHis! <\/p>\n\n\n\n The daily walk of faith is a\ncontinuous <\/p>\n\n\n\n development of the wonders\nof this <\/p>\n\n\n\n wondrous truth. That in\ntraveling to Him <\/p>\n\n\n\n empty; I should return from\nHim full. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That in going to Him weak; I\nshould come <\/p>\n\n\n\n away from Him strong. That\nin bending <\/p>\n\n\n\n my steps to Him in all\ndarkness, perplexity, <\/p>\n\n\n\n and grief; I should retrace\nthem all light, <\/p>\n\n\n\n and joy, and gladness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “For what the law\ncould not do, in that it was weak through the flesh.” Romans 8:3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is it that the law\ncannot do? The law has no power to place the sinner in a justified state. In\nother words, it cannot fulfill its own righteousness. “By Him all who\nbelieve are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by\nthe law of Moses.” “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no\nflesh be justified in His sight.\u201d Nor has it power to give life. “For if\nthere had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness\nshould have been by the law.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n The law pronounces the\nunjustified sinner dead- his religion dead- his works dead- his faith dead; but\nwith not one breath of spiritual life has it power to inspire the soul. Oh, the\ninfatuation which prompts men to seek spiritual life from a law powerful only\nas an instrument of eternal death! Nor has the law power to make anything\nwhatever perfect in the great matter of man’s salvation. “For the law made\nnothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw\nnear unto God.” These things the law fails to achieve. And herein is it\nweak. Holy in its nature, it is yet incapable of making the sinner holy.\nRighteous in its precepts, it yet cannot justify the ungodly. Respecting the\nDivine image, it yet has no power to transfer that image to the soul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But let us trace this\nfailure to its proper cause. From where, then, this weakness of the law of God?\nWe reply, not from any inherent defect in the law. “The law is holy, just,\nand good,” and of itself powerful enough to take the soul to glory. But\nthe apostle supplies the answer- “weak through the flesh.” It was\nright that he should thus shield the dignity of the law, and maintain that\nthere belonged to it a native force and capacity worthy of Him from whom it\nemanated, and equal to the accomplishment of the great end for which it was\nenacted. The weakness of the law, then, is to be traced, not to any\ninefficiency of the instrument, but to the sinfulness of man; not to the agent,\nbut to the subject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What an impressive view does\nthis give us of the deep depravity, the utter sinfulness of our nature! So\ngreat is the corruption of the flesh, that it opposes and thwarts the law in\nits great work of imprinting its image upon the mind of man. Oh, what must be\nthe character and power of that sinfulness which can thus sever the locks of\nits strength, and divert it from its sacred purpose! Sincerely would the law\nmake us holy, but our depravity foils it. Sincerely would it recall our\nalienated affections, but our heart is so utterly estranged from God that its\ngenerous effort fails. Thus the law is weak, through the corrupt and sinful\nflesh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us be deeply humbled by\nthis truth. How entirely it stains the pride of all our fleshly glory! Where,\nnow, is our native holiness, our boasted pride, and our vaunted worthiness? The\nlaw, always on the side of purity and love, yearned to bring us beneath its\nholy and beneficent influence, but our carnality interposed, and it became\nweak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PAID IN FULL!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n from Spurgeon, “IT IS\nFINISHED!” (No. 421)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The satisfaction which Jesus\nrendered<\/p>\n\n\n\n to the JUSTICE OF GOD was\nfinished!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The debt was now, to the\nlast farthing, all discharged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The atonement and\npropitiation were made once for all, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n forever, by the one offering\nmade in Jesus’ body on the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was the cup, hell was\nin it, the Savior drank it — not a<\/p>\n\n\n\n sip and then a pause; not a\ndraught and then a ceasing, but he<\/p>\n\n\n\n drained it till there is not\na dreg left for any of his people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The great ten-thonged whip\nof the law was worn<\/p>\n\n\n\n out upon his back, there is\nno lash left with<\/p>\n\n\n\n which to smite one for whom\nJesus died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The great cannonade of God’s\njustice has exhausted<\/p>\n\n\n\n all its ammunition, there is\nnothing left to be<\/p>\n\n\n\n hurled against a child of\nGod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sheathed is your sword, O\nJustice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Silenced is your thunder, O\nLaw!<\/p>\n\n\n\n There remains nothing now of\nall the griefs, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n pains, and agonies which\nchosen sinners ought to have<\/p>\n\n\n\n suffered for their sins, for\nChrist has endured all<\/p>\n\n\n\n for his own beloved, and\n“it is finished.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ has done what all the\nflames of the pit could<\/p>\n\n\n\n not do in all eternity–\nChrist has paid the debt which<\/p>\n\n\n\n all the torments of eternity\ncould not have paid!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can the Ethiopian change\nhis skin?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Can the Ethiopian\nchange his skin or the <\/p>\n\n\n\n leopard its spots? Neither\ncan you do good <\/p>\n\n\n\n who are accustomed to doing\nevil.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeremiah 13:23<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the soul can know\nanything about salvation, <\/p>\n\n\n\n it must learn deeply and\nexperimentally the nature of <\/p>\n\n\n\n sin\u2014and of itself, as\nstained and polluted by sin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The soul is proud\u2014and needs\nto be humbled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soul is careless\u2014and\nneeds to be awakened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soul is alive\u2014and needs\nto be killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soul is full\u2014and requires\nto be emptied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soul is whole\u2014and needs\nto be wounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soul is clothed\u2014and\nrequires to be stripped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soul is, by nature . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n self-righteous, <\/p>\n\n\n\n self-seeking,<\/p>\n\n\n\n buried deep in worldliness\nand carnality,<\/p>\n\n\n\n utterly blind and ignorant,<\/p>\n\n\n\n filled with . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n presumption, <\/p>\n\n\n\n arrogance, <\/p>\n\n\n\n conceit, <\/p>\n\n\n\n and enmity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It hates all that is\nheavenly and spiritual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sin, in all its various\nforms, is its natural element. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To make man the direct\nopposite of what he originally is . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n to make him love God\u2014instead\nof hating Him;<\/p>\n\n\n\n to make him fear God\u2014instead\nof mocking Him;<\/p>\n\n\n\n to make him obey God\u2014instead\nof rebelling against Him; <\/p>\n\n\n\n to make him to tremble at\nHis dreadful majesty\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n instead of defiantly\ncharging against Him;<\/p>\n\n\n\n to do this mighty work, and\nto effect this wonderful <\/p>\n\n\n\n change\u2014requires the\nimplantation of a new nature by <\/p>\n\n\n\n the immediate hand of God\nHimself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Can the Ethiopian\nchange his skin or the <\/p>\n\n\n\n leopard its spots? Neither\ncan you do good <\/p>\n\n\n\n who are accustomed to doing\nevil.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeremiah 13:23<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is the blood of Jesus,\napplied by the Spirit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Octavius Winslow)<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a perpetual\nproneness to seek our fruitfulness from anything but a close, spiritual, and\nconstant dealing with the cross of Jesus. But as well might we expect the earth\nto clothe itself with verdure, or the tree to blossom, and the blossom ripen\ninto fruit, without the sun’s genial warmth \u2014 as to look for fruitfulness in a\nregenerate soul, without a constant dealing with the Lord Jesus Christ. For\njust what the sun is to the kingdom of nature, Jesus the Sun of righteousness\nis to the kingdom of grace \u2014 the blessed source of all its verdure, fragrance,\nand fruitfulness. Then, let all your expectations be centered here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No real good can come to\nyou, no healing to your spirit, no fruitfulness to your soul, from a perpetual\nliving upon convictions of sin, legal fears, or transient joys \u2014 the Divine\nlife can derive no nourishment from these. But live upon the atoning blood of\nJesus \u2014 here is the fatness of your soul found. This is that which heals the\nwound, wins the heart, and hushes to repose every fear of condemnation. This is\nthat which enables a poor sinner to look fully at God \u2014 feeling that justice, holiness,\ntruth, and every Divine perfection are on his side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is the blood of Jesus,\napplied by the Spirit \u2014 which moistens each fiber of the root of holiness in\nthe soul, and is productive of its fruitfulness. This is that which sends the\nwarm current of life through every part of the regenerate man, quickening the\npulse of love, and imparting a healthy and vigorous power to every act of\nobedience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And when the spiritual\nseasons change \u2014 for it is not always spring-time with the soul of a child of\nGod; when the summer’s sun withers, or the autumnal blast scatters the leaves,\nand winter’s fiercer storm beats upon the smitten bough \u2014 then the blood and\nrighteousness of Christ, lived upon, loved, and cherished \u2014 will yet sustain\nthe Divine life in the soul, and in due season the spring blossom and the\nsummer fruit shall again appear, proving that the Divine life of a believer is\n“hid with Christ in God.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then shall be said of you,\nas was said of the church by her Beloved: “Look, the winter is past, and\nthe rains are over and gone. The flowers are springing up, the season of\nsinging birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. The fig\ntrees are forming young fruit, and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. Rise\nup, My darling! Come away with Me, My fair one!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then let your heart respond,\n“Awake, north wind! Rise up, south wind! Blow on my garden and spread its\nfragrance all around. Come into Your garden, my Beloved \u2014 taste its finest\nfruits!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From Spurgeon’s sermon, “HIS NAME — WONDERFUL!” Once upon a time, there came one to my house of a black and terrible aspect. He smote the door; I tried to bolt it- to hold it fast. He smote again and again, till at last he entered, and with a rough voice he summoned me before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5692"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5693,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5692\/revisions\/5693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}