If salvation depends upon our being or doing\nanything, we shall inevitably be lost. Thank God, it does not; for the great\nfundamental principle of the gospel is that Christ is all: man is nothing. It\nis not a mixture of Christ and man—it is all of Christ. The peace of the\ngospel does not rest in part on Christ\u2019s work and in part on man\u2019s work; it\nrests wholly on Christ\u2019s work, because that work is perfect, perfect forever;\nand it renders all who put their trust in Him as perfect as Himself! Christ must\neither be a whole Savior or no Savior at all. The moment a man says, \u201cExcept\nyou be this or that, you cannot be saved,\u201d he totally subverts the gospel; for\nin the gospel I find Christ coming down to me, just as I am–a lost, guilty,\nself-destroyed sinner; and coming, moreover, with a full remission of all my\nsins, and a full salvation from my lost estate, all perfectly wrought by\nHimself on the cross. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
~C. H. Mackintosh<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“EVEN THOUGH our outward man is perishing, yet the inward\nman is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a\nmoment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,\nwhile we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are\nnot seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are\nnot seen are eternal.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014II Corinthians 4:16-18<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Apostle Paul suffered a great many hardships: he was beaten,\nstoned, left for dead, attacked by an angry mob, shipwrecked three times, his\nlife threatened, he was arrested, imprisoned, bitten by a viper, persecuted by\nother Christians, and, he was tormented by a “thorn in the flesh”,\nand though we are unsure exactly what that was, we know it was long-lasting and\ntroubled him greatly. And yet, in verse 17, he calls these things “light\nafflictions”. That almost seems laughable in light of what he suffered,\ndoesn’t it? But in fact, they were, when compared to the glory which would be\nrevealed in him after death. Oh, that I might have the same attitude, and bear\nup as Paul, and many other godly men and women have\u2014looking ahead to those\nthings that are eternal. Be strong in the Lord, Christian\u2014one day you will look\nback upon these things and smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his\nbosom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isaiah 40:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who is he of whom such gracious words are spoken? He is the Good\nShepherd. Why doth he carry the lambs in his bosom? Because He hath a tender\nheart, and any weakness at once melts his heart. The sighs, the ignorance, the\nfeebleness of the little ones of his flock draw forth his compassion. It is his\noffice, as a faithful High Priest, to consider the weak. Besides, he purchased\nthem with blood, they are his property: he must and will care for that which\ncost him so dear. Then he is responsible for each lamb, bound by covenant\nengagements not to lose one. Moreover, they are all a part of his glory and\nreward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But how may we understand the expression, \u201cHe will carry them\u201d?\nSometimes he carries them by not permitting them to endure much trial.\nProvidence deals tenderly with them. Often they are \u201ccarried\u201d by being filled\nwith an unusual degree of love, so that they bear up and stand fast. Though\ntheir knowledge may not be deep, they have great sweetness in what they do\nknow. Frequently he \u201ccarries\u201d them by giving them a very simple faith, which\ntakes the promise just as it stands, and believingly runs with every trouble\nstraight to Jesus. The simplicity of their faith gives them an unusual degree\nof confidence, which carries them above the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe carries the lambs in his bosom.\u201d Here is boundless\naffection. Would he put them in his bosom if he did not love them much? Here is\ntender nearness: so near are they, that they could not possibly be nearer. Here\nis hallowed familiarity: there are precious love-passages between Christ and\nhis weak ones. Here is perfect safety: in his bosom who can hurt them? They\nmust hurt the Shepherd first. Here is perfect rest and sweetest comfort. Surely\nwe are not sufficiently sensible of the infinite tenderness of Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014C. H. Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Restraining Grace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n John MacDuff<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Satan hath desired to have you-that he may sift you as\nwheat. “The poor have the gospel preached to them.” Matthew\n11:5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the gospel? Is not the gospel a proclamation of pure\nmercy, of super-abounding grace? Does it not declare the loving-kindness of God\nin sending his only-begotten Son to bleed and die, and, by his obedience,\nblood, and merit, to bring in a salvation without money and without price? Is\nnot this the gospel? Not clogged by conditions, nor crippled by anything that\nthe creature has to perform; but flowing freely forth as the air in the skies?\nThe poor to whom the gospel is preached, value it; it is suitable to them; it\nis sweet and precious when the heart is brought down. But if I stand up in\nreligious pride, if I rest upon my own righteousness, if I am not stripped of\neverything in the creature, what is the gospel to me? I have no heart to\nreceive it; there is no place in my soul for a gospel without money and without\nprice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But when I sink into the depth of creature poverty, when I am\nnothing and have nothing but a mass of sin and guilt, then the blessed gospel,\npardoning my sins, covering my naked soul, shedding abroad the love of God,\nguiding me into everything good, and leading me up into enjoyment with a\nThree-One God, becomes prized. When such a pure, such a blessed gospel comes\ninto my heart and conscience, has not my previous poverty of spirit prepared me\nfor it? Has not my previous beggary and necessity made a way for it, made it\nsuitable to me, and when it comes, makes it precious to me? We must, then, sink\ninto poverty of spirit, that painful place, in order to feel the preciousness,\nand drink into the sweetness and blessedness of the gospel of the grace of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n But I have prayed for thee-that thy faith fail not.” Luke 22:31, 32
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\nWhat a scene does this unfold!
\nSatan tempting-Jesus praying!
\nSatan sifting-Jesus pleading!
\n“The strong man assailing”-“the stronger than the strong”\nbeating him back!
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\nBeliever! here is the past history<\/em> and present secret<\/em> of\nyour safetyin the midst of temptation! An interceding\nSavior <\/em>was at your side, saying to every threatening wave, “Thus\nfar shall you go-and no farther!” God often permits His people to be on\nthe very verge <\/em>of the precipice, to remind them of their own\nweakness; but never farther than the brink! The restraining hand and grace of\nOmnipotence is ready to rescue them, “Although he stumbles-yet he shall\nnot be utterly cast down.” And why? “For the Lord upholds him with\nHis right hand!”
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\nThe wolf <\/em>may be prowling for his prey; but what can he do,\nwhen the almighty Shepherd is always there, tending with the watchful eye that\n“neither slumbers nor sleeps!”
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\nWho cannot subscribe to the testimony, “When my foot slipped, Your mercy,\nO Lord, held me up!” Who can look back on his past pilgrimage, and fail to\nsee it crowded with Ebenezers<\/em>, with this inscription: “You\nhave delivered my soul <\/em>from death, my eyes <\/em>from\ntears, and my feet <\/em>from falling!” My soul, where would\nyou have been this day-had you not been “kept” by the power of God?
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\n“Hold Thou me up-and I shall be safe!” Psalm 119:117<\/p>\n\n\n\n