{"id":6836,"date":"2025-04-22T01:51:51","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T01:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6836"},"modified":"2025-04-22T01:51:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T01:51:51","slug":"bulletin-edition-april-2025-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6836","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition April 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You will find no bottom!<\/strong>
\n
\n(“Every Day!” Author unknown, 1872)
\n
\n“He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities.
\n The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are\nhealed.” Isaiah 53:5
\n
\nDwell, my soul, with wonder and adoration on the glorious grace of your great\nSubstitute. Perfectly pure and innocent-He took the place of the guilty, and\npaid the penalty of the broken law! To redeem us from its curse-He was made a\ncurse for us! In the foresight of all He would have to endure as the Substitute\nof transgressors-He came willingly from the throne of His glory, and “took\nupon Him the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death\nof the cross!”
\n
\nWith what clearness is the great truth of the substitution <\/em>of\nChrist stated in the Word of God:
\n“Christ died for <\/em>the ungodly!”
\n“He was delivered for <\/em>our offences.”
\n“He gave Himself for <\/em>our sins.”
\n“He has once suffered for <\/em>sins, the just for the\nunjust.”
\n“Who His own self bore our <\/em>sins in His own body on the\ntree.”
\n
\nThe guilt <\/em>of all who believe in Christ was imputed to Him-and\nHis perfect obedience<\/em> is imputed to them. God “made Him\nwho knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of\nGod in Him.”
\n
\nDwell, my soul, upon the grace of the precious Saviour. Drop your\nsounding line into this depth of redeeming love<\/em>-but you will find\nno bottom!<\/strong> No! not while you live here, or dwell in the realms of\nglory-for the love of Christ surpasses knowledge!
\n
\n“May be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth, and\nlength, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth\nknowledge, that you may be filled withal the fulness of God.” Ephesians\n3:18-19<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“By\nthe grace of God I am what I am!<\/strong>“
\n1 Corinthians 15:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(John\nNewton)
\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As believers, we are often\naffected with a sense of God’s distinguishing mercy <\/em>to us. We\nare debtors, great debtors to the sovereign grace of God, which alone makes us\nto differ from the perishing world around us!
\n
\nYet it does not yet appear what we shall be<\/em>. We cannot form a just\nconception of the misery from which we are redeemed<\/em>, much less of the\nprice paid for our redemption!<\/em> How little do we know of the Redeemer’s\nsurpassing excellency, and of the unutterable agonies He endured, when His soul\nwas made an offering for sin, and it pleased the Father to bruise Him \u2014 that by\nHis stripes we might be healed! These things will strike us in quite another\nmanner \u2014 when we view them from the light of eternity!
\n
\nMay the cheering contemplation of the glorious hope set before us \u2014 support and\nanimate us to improve our short interval on earth, and fill us with a\nholy  ambition of shining as lights in this evil world, to the praise and\nglory of His grace \u2014 who has called us out of darkness, into His glorious\nlight!
\n
\nEncompassed as we are with snares, temptations, and infirmities, it is possible\n(by His promised assistance) to live in some good measure above the\nworld<\/em> \u2014 above the influence of its cares<\/em>, its smiles<\/em>,\nor its frowns<\/em>. Our citizenship is in heaven \u2014 we are not at home \u2014\nbut only reside here on earth for a season, to fulfil our appointed service.\nThe Lord, whom we serve, has promised that He will guide <\/em>us by\nHis wisdom, strengthen <\/em>us by His power, and comfort <\/em>us\nwith the light of His countenance, which is better than life. Every temporal\nblessing we receive from Him, is a token of His favor, and a pledge of that far\nmore exceeding and eternal weight of glory, which He has reserved for us in\nheaven. Oh! to hear Him say at last, “Well done, good and faithful\nservant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!”<\/em> will be rich amends\nfor all that we can lose, suffer, or endure, for His sake!
\n
\n“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen,\nnor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God\nhath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We meekly knock at\nmercy’s gate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Henry Law, \u201cFamily prayers\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But we are all as an\nunclean thing<\/em>, and all our righteousnesses are<\/em> as\nfilthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf;
\nand our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6
\n
\nHoly Father, Almighty God,
\nWe feel our weakness, our ignorance, our deep corruptions. We meekly\nknock at mercy’s gate<\/strong>. Regard us in tender love-for Jesus’ sake. Bend down\nYour ear-and grant Your smile.
\n
\nWe are blind<\/em>-be our light.
\n
\nWe are ignorant<\/em>-be our wisdom.
\n
\nWe are steeped in selfishness<\/em>-pluck all SELF <\/em>out\nof us.
\n
\nIn the deep sense of our guilt, we fly for refuge into the wounded side of\nJesus!
\nBe merciful, be merciful unto us-whose only hope is in Your unfailing mercy.
\n
\nOur sins <\/em>rise higher than the heavens-but Your merits<\/em> in\nour behalf surpass the very heaven of heavens!
\n
\nOur unrighteousness would weigh us down to hell-but Your glorious righteousness\nexalts us to Your heavenly throne!
\n
\nAll things in us <\/em>call for our damnation-but all things\nin You <\/em>demand our forgiveness.
\n
\nWe appeal, then, from Your throne of perfect justice<\/em>-to Your throne\nof boundless grace!
\n<\/em>
\nBlessed Jesus, we hide ourselves in the sure covert of Your\nwrath-appeasing wounds!<\/em>
\nGrant us to hear Your voice assuring us: that by Your stripes we are\nhealed; that You have been bruised for our iniquities; that You have been made\nsin for us-that we might have Your divine righteousness; and that all our vile\nand grievous iniquities, are forgiven and buried in the ocean of Your\nsin-concealing blood!<\/em>
\n
\nWe are guilty-yet pardoned!
\n
\nWe are lost in ourselves-yet fully saved in You!
\n
\nEnable us to cling firmly to Your cross-even as we now seek safety and repose\nbeneath its sin-atoning shelter!
\n
\nLet floods of sustaining grace from Your inexhaustible treasury, enrich our\npoor and weary souls.
\n
\nIf the enemy <\/em>approaches, quicken our steps to flee into\nthe wounds of Jesus<\/em> as our sure refuge! Sheltered in the ark\nof safety<\/em>, may we cease to tremble at all alarms. May You our good Shepherd\nlead us this day into the green pastures of His refreshing Word, and cause us\nto lie down beside the rivers of Your divine comforts.
\n
\nThese prayers we humbly offer in the name of Jesus Christ, and trusting only in\nHis saving merits. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith\nHis Stripes We Are\nHealed\u201d                   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaiah\n53:5<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The\nLord God treats our sin as a disease from which we must be healed, as well as a\ncrime from which we must be pardoned. Here he sets before us the costly remedy\nhe has provided for our healing – The stripes of sorrow and wrath endured by\nChrist as our Substitute. Meditate upon those stripes by which he was wounded\nfor us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            THE\nBLOODY SWEAT – <\/strong>In the beginning of his sorrows, when he tasted the\nfirst bitter drops of the cup he must drink as our Sin-Bearer, the Son of God\nsweat great drops of blood so profusely that they fell to the ground. He was in\nagony in body and in soul as he anticipated being made sin for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            THE\nBRUTAL SCOURGING – <\/strong>No sooner did he rise from the bloody sweat than\nJudas came to betray him. Arrested like a common criminal, he was hurried off\nto the high priest, then Pilate\u2019s judgment hall. Pilate delivered him up to be\nscourged and crucified. The Roman soldiers seem to have taken great pleasure in\nbrutality. They buffeted him with their fists, spit in his face, mocked him,\nand scourged him. Scourging by the Romans was one of the most terrible forms of\ntorture imaginable. The scourge was made by tying knots with pieces of broken\nbone into strands of rawhide-like leather. With every lash of the scourge, the\nflesh of a man\u2019s back was plowed to the bone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            THE\nBARBARIC SLAUGHTER – <\/strong>After he was scourged, the Son of God was nailed\nto the cursed tree. There he hung for hours suspended between heaven and earth,\nbearing the sins of his people and enduring the wrath of God. In agony of mind,\nagony of soul, agony of heart, and agony of body, he suffered all the hell of\nGod\u2019s wrath. Slaughtered by the hands of men as a vile wretch of a man, but all\nby the hand of God for the atonement of sin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            THE\nBLESSED SATISFACTION – <\/strong>Our Saviour endured the painful, shameful,\nignominious death of the cross for the satisfaction of justice, that God might\nbe just in putting away the sins of his people. Enduring the stripes of God\u2019s\nholy wrath as our Substitute, Christ both satisfied the justice of God and\nhealed us of the curse and plague of sin. \u201cWith his stripes we are\nhealed!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\nFortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharper scourges tear\nHis heart!<\/strong>
\n
\n(C.H.Spurgeon)
\n
\n“He <\/strong>delivered Jesus, when\nhe had scourged him<\/em>, to be crucified.<\/strong>”\nMark 15:15<\/strong>
\n
\nPilate delivered our Lord to the lictors to be scourged.
\nThe Roman scourge was a most dreadful instrument of
\ntorture. Sharp bones were inter-twisted in the whip, so
\nthat every time the lash came down, these pieces of bone
\ninflicted fearful lacerations, and tore off the flesh! The
\nSaviour was, no doubt, bound to the column, and thus
\nbeaten. He had been beaten before; but this scourging
\nby the the Roman lictors was probably the most severe
\nof His flagellations. My soul, stand here and weep over
\nHis poor stricken body!
\n
\nBeliever in Jesus, can you gaze upon Him without tears<\/strong>,
\nas He stands before you–the picture of agonising love?<\/strong>
\n
\nHe is at once fair as the lily <\/strong>for innocence–and red as
\nthe rose<\/strong> with the crimson of His own blood. As we feel
\nthe sure and blessed healing which His stripes have
\nwrought in us, does not our heart melt at once with
\nlove and grief? If ever we have loved our Lord Jesus,
\nsurely we must feel that affection glowing now within
\nour bosoms!
\n
\n“See how the patient Jesus stands,
\nInsulted in His lowest case.
\nSinners have bound the Almighty’s hands,
\nAnd spit in their Creator’s face!
\n
\nWith thorns His temples gored and gashed,
\nSend streams of blood from every part.
\nHis back’s with knotted scourges lashed,
\nBut sharper scourges tear His heart!<\/strong>“
\n
\nWe would readily go to our chambers and weep and
\npray our Beloved to imprint the image of His bleeding
\nself upon the tablets of our hearts–and sorrow that
\nour sin should have cost Him so dear!
\n
\n“With His stripes we are healed!<\/strong>” Isaiah 53:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These scars!<\/strong>
\n
\n(C.H.Spurgeon)
\n
\n“<\/strong> <\/sup><\/strong>And I beheld, and, lo, in the <\/strong>midst<\/strong> of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of\nthe elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven\neyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.<\/strong>”\nRevelation 5:6<\/strong>
\n
\nWhy should our exalted Lord appear in heaven<\/em>\u2014with\nHis wounds<\/em>? The wounds of Jesus are\u2014His glories, His jewels, His\nsacred ornaments. To the eye of the believer, Jesus is lovely, because He is\n“white and ruddy”; white<\/em> with innocence, and ruddy<\/em> with\nHis own blood. We see Him as the Lily <\/em>of matchless purity\u2014and\nas the Rose <\/em>crimsoned with His own gore. Christ is lovely in\nHis life and His teaching\u2014but oh! there never was such a matchless\nChrist <\/em>as He who hung upon the cross! There we behold all His beauties\nin perfection, all His attributes developed, all His love drawn out, all His\ncharacter expressed!
\n
\nBeloved, the wounds of Jesus<\/em> are far more\nlovely in our eyes\u2014than all the splendor and pomp of kings! The thorny\ncrown<\/em> is more attractive than any imperial diadem. Jesus wears the\nappearance of a slain Lamb<\/em>\u2014as His court dress in which He wooed our\nsouls, and redeemed them by His complete atonement.
\n
\nNor are these only the ornaments <\/em>of Christ\u2014they\nare the trophies <\/em>of His love and of His victory! He has\nredeemed for Himself a great multitude whom no man can number\u2014and these\nscars<\/strong> are the memorials of the fight! Ah! if Christ delights to retain\nthe thought of His sufferings for His people\u2014how precious should His wounds\nbe to us!<\/em>
\n
\n“Behold how every wound of His,
\nA precious balm distills,
\nWhich heals the scars that sin had made,
\nAnd cures all mortal ills.
\n
\nThose wounds are mouths<\/em> that preach His grace;
\nThe ensigns of His love;
\nThe seals of our expected bliss,
\nIn paradise above!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You will find no bottom! (“Every Day!” Author unknown, 1872) “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities.  The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 Dwell, my soul, with wonder and adoration on the glorious grace of your great Substitute. Perfectly […]<\/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-6836","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\/6836","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=6836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6837,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6836\/revisions\/6837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}