The voice from the cross did not summon men\nto do, but <\/p>\n\n\n\n
to be satisfied with what was done, \u201cIt is finished.\u201d The\nsacrifice of <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the Lord Jesus Christ is the only perfect thing which has\never <\/p>\n\n\n\n
been presented to God on man’s behalf. \u201cIt shall be perfect to\nbe <\/p>\n\n\n\n
accepted; there shall be no blemish therein\u201d (Leviticus\n22:21). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Scott Richardson <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When God intends to fill a soul, he first makes it empty. When\nHe intends to enrich a soul, He first makes it poor. When He intends to exalt a\nsoul, He first makes it sensible to its own miseries, wants, and nothingness.\n \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n
~John Flavel (c1627-1691)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justice of God <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The JUSTICE OF GOD is in itself a great barrier to\nthe <\/p>\n\n\n\n
salvation of a sinner. Because God is just, our sins must\nbe <\/p>\n\n\n\n
punished. Never has there been a sin pardoned without <\/p>\n\n\n\n
atonement since the world began. There has never been a\nsin <\/p>\n\n\n\n
remitted by the great Judge of heaven until justice has been\nfully <\/p>\n\n\n\n
satisfied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How, then, can a sinner be saved? This is the great\nriddle <\/p>\n\n\n\n
of the law and the grand discovery of the gospel. The answer\nis, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
God\u2019s justice has been fully satisfied through the substitution\nof <\/p>\n\n\n\n
our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ (Isa. 45:22; Rom.\n3:26). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He died \u201cthe just for the unjust\u201d (1 Peter 3:18) that\nHe <\/p>\n\n\n\n
might bring us to God. Through the obedience and death of\nour <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lord on our behalf, God can be just and justify the\nbeliever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Henry Mahan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Christ cried from Calvary\u2019s cross, \u201cIt is finished,\u201d\nHe <\/p>\n\n\n\n
could have cried, \u201cGod is satisfied,\u201d and it would have meant\nthe <\/p>\n\n\n\n
exact same thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
-David Eddmenson<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTurn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to\nday do I declare <\/em>that I will render double unto thee<\/em>.\u201d\n(Zechariah 9:12)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the Spirit of God reveals\nChrist in us, once he gives us a confident, lively assurance of faith and an\nassured hope before God, we are still, as long as we live in this body of\nflesh, \u201cprisoners of hope.<\/em>\u201d I find within me \u201cthe company of two\narmies<\/em>\u201d constantly at war. When I would do good, evil is present with me\n(Song of Solomon 6:13; Romans 7:14-23; Galatians 5:16-17). Child of God, is it\nnot so with you? Are you not constantly constrained, with the Apostle, to\ndeclare, \u201cBy the grace of God I am what I am.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Prisoner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n That is not merely my doctrinal\nconfession. It is my daily experience. Try as I may I cannot pray, except he\nput a prayer in my heart. I read the Book of God, but I cannot hear his voice\nexcept he speak by his Word. I cannot call upon him except he call me. I cannot\nrun after him except he draw me. I cannot turn to him except he turn me. I\ncannot seek him except he seek me. I cannot worship him except he inspire\nworship in me. I cannot speak to him until he speaks to me. I cannot hold him\nexcept he hold me by his grace. I cannot resist the slightest temptation except\nhe save me from the tempter\u2019s power. I cannot but fall except he uphold me by\nthe right hand of his righteousness. When I fall, I cannot cease from my\ndownward spiral of iniquity except he stretch out his arm and catch me in his\nmighty hand. When I am fallen, I cannot get up except he pick me up and cause\nme to stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Prisoner of Hope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, we are prisoners in these\nhouses of clay; but blessed be his name, we are Christ\u2019s prisoners, and we are\n\u201cprisoners of hope<\/em>,\u201d and ours is \u201ca good hope through grace,<\/em>\u201d\nbecause Christ is our Hope. He \u201cis the Hope of Israel, and the Saviour\nthereof<\/em>\u201d (Jeremiah 14:8). We have been begotten of God by the resurrection\nof Christ unto a living hope, and that living Hope is Christ himself living in\nus, \u201cthe Hope of glory<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThe hope of the hypocrite shall be cut off, and his trust shall be as a\nspider\u2019s web<\/em>\u201d (Job 7:14). But Christ our Hope \u201c maketh not ashamed,\nbecause the love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost<\/em>\u201d\n(Romans 5:5; Lamentations 3:21-26). \u2014 \u201cThis I recall to my mind, therefore\nhave I hope<\/em>. The Lord is my Portion.<\/em>\u201d Our hope is his mercy. We\nare \u201clooking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.<\/em>\u201d\nOur hope is his great compassion. Our hope is his faithfulness. Our hope is his\ngreat goodness. Our hope is his salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nHow delightful, how blessed it is while in this prison, ever to turn to the\nStronghold Christ Jesus. Though I am a prisoner in this body of flesh, I am a\nprisoner of hope; and my hope I shall enjoy. I hope, at last, to be presented\nby God my Saviour, faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding\njoy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We are members\nof his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.”<\/em> Ephesians\n5:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n Child of God, can you begin to imagine what this text teaches?\nThere is a living, loving, and lasting union between the Lord Jesus Christ and\nall his people. It is beyond imagination, but it is true -We\nare One with our Redeemer! What does this imply?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Certainly,\nit implies A Similarity Of Nature<\/strong> between Christ and\nhis church. By the incarnation our Lord assumed our nature. He is God the\nEternal Son. But he is also a real man. As a man, he lived in perfect\nrighteousness, died as our Substitute, arose from the grave, and reigns in\nglory. Ever rejoice in the eternal Deity of Christ; but never forget that your\nSaviour is a real man. And by the new birth the Son of God has given us his\nnature. We are “partakers of the divine nature.” Christ bears our\nnature in heaven, and we bear his nature upon the earth. The text also\nimplies An Intimate Relationship<\/strong>. We are wed to the God-man! We\ncannot understand this relationship, but we can enjoy it. Christ espoused us to\nbe his bride before the world began. He redeemed us for himself He prepared our\nwedding garments. He allured us into the wilderness and there won our hearts by\nhis all-prevailing love. My God, my Maker, my Redeemer, my Saviour, my King is\nalso my Husband. “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; his love\nis better than wine.” Again, the text implies A Mysterious Origin<\/strong>.\nAs Eve was taken from the side of Adam, the church was born from the bleeding\nside of Christ, the Second Adam. He died that we might live. And these words\nimply A Loving Possession<\/strong>. We belong to Christ. “Ye are not\nyour own, ye are bought with a price.” For many years we lie in the arms\nof another. But all the while we belonged to him who loved us, chose us, and\nredeemed us. Once more, our text implies A Vital Union<\/strong>. “We\nare members of his body.” Those words imply much more than unity. They\nimply identity. We are One With Christ! He must have us. The Head\ncannot be complete without his body. The King must have his subjects. The\nShepherd must have his sheep. This is a vital union. Christ MUST have his\nredeemed ones. And we MUST have him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We\nare members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bone.\u201d What does this union\nsecure for us? It secures eternal salvation, absolute safety, and the\nperfection of eternal glory. The Lord will not share his glory with another.\nBut we are one with him. And WE SHALL HAVE THE VERY GLORY OF CHRIST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n DON FORTNER<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your Saviour-God has married you!<\/strong>
\n\u201cPrisoners of Hope\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nOUR BLESSED, MYSTERIOUS UNION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(John MacDuff<\/a>, “The Faithful\nPromiser”)
\n
\n“And I will betroth <\/em>thee unto Me for ever!” Hosea\n2:19
\n
\nHow wondrous and varied are the figures <\/em>which Jesus employs to\nexpress the tenderness of His covenant love! My soul! your Saviour-God\nhas married you!<\/strong> Would you know the TIME of your betrothal? Go back\ninto the depths of a by-past eternity, before the world was; then and there,\nyour espousals were contracted: “I have loved you with an everlasting\nlove!”<\/em>
\n
\nSoon shall the bridal-hour arrive, when your absent Lord shall come to welcome\nHis betrothed bride into His royal palace! At “midnight!” (the hour\nwhen He is least expected) the cry may be \u2014 shall be heard, “Behold, the\nBridegroom comes!”
\n
\nMy soul! has this mystic union<\/em> been formed between you and\nyour Lord? Can you say, in humble assurance of your faith in Him, “My\nbeloved is mine \u2014 and I am His!”<\/em> If so, great, unspeakably great\nare the glories which await you! Your dowry<\/strong>, as the bride of Christ\n\u2014 is all that Omnipotence can bestow<\/em> \u2014 and all that a\nglorified bride can receive!<\/em> In the prospect of those glorious\nnuptials, you need dread no pang of widowhood. What God has joined together, no\ncreated power can put asunder! He betroths you, and it is, “forever!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n