The Sacredness of Opportunity

The Sacredness of Opportunity
J. R. Miller, 1899

Jesus said, "Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you!"

Sometimes darkness is very welcome. It is welcome to the weary man who can scarcely wait until the sun sets to cease his toil. To him darkness means rest. It folds him in its curtains, away from the noise and strife, and restores his exhausted strength. Darkness is welcome in many a home, for it is the signal for the home gathering of loved ones and the joys of the evening fireside. All day the hearthstone has drawn upon the hearts of the scattered household, and the coming of the night—is the signal for the home gathering.

But it is not a friendly darkness to which our Lord refers. The figure his words suggest is that of a wild beast coming upon the traveler, pursuing him, overtaking him, pouncing upon him, devouring him! Thus it was that Jesus urged his disciples to walk in the light while they had it, to be quick to use the few moments of the day that remained, before the devouring darkness should swoop down upon them!

The lesson is for us. Most of us live as if we had a thousand years to stay here in this world! We loiter in the golden hours of our little days—as if the days were never to end! We do not see how swiftly the sun is whirling toward his setting, while our work is but half done, our task perhaps scarcely begun.

We fritter away days, weeks, months—not noticing how our one little opportunity of living in this world is being worn off, as the sea eats away a crumbling bank until its last shred is gone! We set slight value on time, forgetting that we have only a hand-breadth of it—and then comes eternity!

What did you do yesterday that will brighten and glorify that day forever? What record of blessing in other lives did you give it, to carry to God's judgment? What burden did you lift off another heart? What tear did you wipe away? On what soul did you leave a mark of beauty? Where is your yesterday?

Many of us fail to appreciate the value of 'single days'. "A day is too short a space," we say, "that it cannot make much difference if one, just one, is wasted—or idled away in pleasure!" Yet the days are links in a chain, and if one link is broken—the chain is broken. In God's plan for our life—each little day has its own load of duty, its own record to make. We never know the sacredness of any particular day—what it may have for us amid its treasures.

Its sunshine may be no brighter than that of other days, there may be no peculiar feature in it to mark it as 'special' among a thousand common days, and yet it may be to us a day of destiny. If we fail to receive it as God's gift—we may miss and lose that without which we shall be poorer all our life and in eternity.

How often do we see afterward, that the days which are gone, were bearers of heavenly gifts to us—which we had not the wit to recognize, nor the grace to take? When they have passed beyond recall—then we see what we missed in wasting them. How these lost days shame us—as they turn their reproachful eyes upon us out of the irrevocable past!

"Walk while you have the light—before darkness overtakes you!" There are many illustrations of this coming of darkness, this ending of opportunity. The lesson touches everyone's life. There is the darkness that comes—as season after season of privilege closes.

A Word about TEMPER

A Word about TEMPER
J. R. Miller, 1888

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

More than half of us are bad-tempered—at least an English social scientist tells us so. He claims that this is no mere general statement and no bit of guesswork; he gives us the figures for it. He arranged to have about two thousand people put unconsciously under espionage as to their ordinary temper, and then had careful reports made of the results. The calculations of the returns has been announced, and is decidedly unflattering to the two thousand tempers that were thus put to the test. More than half of these people—to be entirely accurate, 52 percent of them—are set down as bad-tempered in various degrees.

The dictionary has been well-near exhausted of adjectives of this order, in giving the different shades of bad-temper: aggressive, angry, bickering, bitter, capricious, choleric, contentious, crotchety, despotic, domineering, easily offended, gloomy, grumpy, hasty, huffy, irritable, morose, obstinate, reproachful, peevish, sulky, surly, vindictive—these are some of the qualifying words. There are employed, in all, 46 terms which describe a bad temper.

We do not like to believe that the case is quite so serious—that many of us are unamiable in some offensive degree. It is easier to confess our neighbor's faults and infirmities, than our own. So, therefore, quietly taking refuge for ourselves among the 48 percent of good-tempered people—we are willing to admit that a great many of the people we know, have at times rather ungentle tempers. They are easily provoked; they fly into a passion on very slight occasion; they are haughty, domineering, peevish, fretful or vindictive!

What is even worse, most of them appear to make no effort to grow out of their infirmities of disposition! The sour fruit does not come to mellow ripeness in the passing years; the roughness is not polished off the diamond to reveal its lustrous hidden beauty. The same petulance, pride, vanity, selfishness and other disagreeable qualities are found in the life, year after year! Where there is astruggle to overcome one's faults and grow out of them, and where the progress toward better and more beautiful spiritual character is perceptible, though ever so slow—we should have sympathy. But where one appears unconscious of one's blemishes, and manifests no desire to conquer one's faults—there is little ground for encouragement.

Man-like it is—to fall into sin.

Fiend-like it is—to dwell therein.

Saint-like it is—for sin to grieve.

God-like it is—for sin to leave.

Bad temper is such a disfigurement of character, and, besides, works such harm to one's self and to one's neighbors, that no one should spare any pains or cost to have it cured! The ideal Christian life is one of unbroken kindliness. It is dominated by love—the love whose portrait is drawn for us in the immortal thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." That is the picture of the ideal Christian life!

We have but to turn to the gospel pages—to find the story of a life in which all this was realized. Jesus never lost his temper. He lived among people who tried him at every point—some by their dullness, others by their bitter enmity and persecution—but he never failed in sweetness of disposition, in patience, in self-denying love. Like the flowers which give out their perfume only when crushed; like the odoriferous wood which bathes the axe which hews it with fragrance; the life of Christ yielded only the tenderer, sweeter love to the rough impact of men's harshness and wrong. That is the pattern on which we should strive to fashion our life and our character. Every outbreak of violent temper, every shade of ugliness in disposition, mars the radiant loveliness of the picture we are seeking to have fashioned in our souls! Whatever is not loving—is unlovely character.

There is another phase: bad-tempered people are continually hurting others, ofttimes their best and truest friends. Some people are sulky—and one person's sulkiness casts a chilling shadow over a whole household! Others are so sensitive, ever watching for slights and offended by the merest trifles—that even their nearest friends have no freedom of fellowship with them! Others are despotic, and will brook no kindly suggestion, nor listen to any expression of opinion! Others are so quarrelsomethat even the meekest and gentlest person cannot live peaceably with them! Whatever may be the special characteristic of the bad temper, it makes only pain and humiliation for the person's friends!

A bad temper usually implies a sharp tongue. Sometimes, indeed, it makes one morose and glum. A brother and a sister living together are said often to have passed months without speaking to each other, though eating at the same table and sleeping under the same roof! A man recently died who for twelve years, it was said, had never spoken to his wife, though they continued to dwell together, and three times daily sat down together at the same table!

Bad temper sometimes runs to sullen silence. Such silence is not golden. Generally, however, a bad-tempered person has an unbridled tongue and speaks out his hateful feelings; and there is no limit to the pain and the harm which angry and ugly words can produce in gentle hearts!

DELIVERANCE FROM PRISON

DELIVERANCE FROM PRISON

(From the Gospel Standard Magazine, 1838)

"Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name" (Psalm 142.7). 

It is not certain that David composed this Psalm in the Cave of Adullam, when he had fled from Achish king of Gath, or in the cave of Engedi, when he had taken refuge from the wrath of Saul (1 Sam. 22:1, 2 and 24:1-3). But this is a matter of very little consequence to us; as it is the state of his soul we want to come at, in order to render the subject profitable to the Lord's tempted, tried, and harassed people, whose souls are often in such a state of captivity as obliges them to cry with the Psalmist "Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name." Let us, then, notice the threefold state of imprisonment of a spiritual nature which the Scriptures speak of, and with which all God's elected, redeemed, and regenerated people, are, more or less acquainted.

First, our attention is directed to that condition of thralldom we are all in by nature; namely, "the pit wherein is no water" (Zech. 9:11), under sin's dark dominion (Romans 3:9), under the law and subject to its curse; as the Apostle observes, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Gal. 3:10). And, "what things soever the law says, it says to those who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19). Thus men are shut up under the law, in unbelief, led captive by the Devil at his will, are wholly under the power and dominion of sin and Satan; for he is the strong man armed, that has the possession of the heart, and keeps his house in peace.

And yet men fancy they are at liberty; or, if bound at all, that it is so slightly, they can at any time break their chains, open the prison doors, and let themselves out. Awful delusion! But the child of God made sensible of his imprisoned state, does not think and speak thus, but, with the Psalmist, he confesses his bondage, sighs and groans under it, and cries unto the Lord, who alone can set his soul at liberty, and redeem his life from destruction.

We now come to notice the second state of imprisonment; which is, the condition of soul of a sinner, made sensible of his undone, wretched, and miserable state, arising from the law having come with power to his heart in the hand of its Divine Author by which he has knowledge of sin, and the wrath and curse of God due to him as a vile offender; his soul, which was previously dead in sins, and lay unconsciously imprisoned, is now quickened by the eternal Spirit, and feels sin a burden; the hand of God lies upon him, pressing him sore; he is shut up under the law, and cannot come forth, has no soundness in his flesh, because of a sense of God's anger; neither is there any rest in his bones, because of his iniquities, for they are gone over his head as a heavy burden, too heavy for him to bear; he is troubled and bowed down greatly, seeing others walk at large, and, mourning his own lonely state, longs for deliverance.

But he can no more come out of this low dungeon, this horrible pit, this mire and clay, of himself, by his own strength or exertions, than he can create a world; and the more he struggles to break off his chains, and open the prison doors, and come out by his legal works, the more he gets entangled, and the deeper he sinks in the pit, for he finds that the law demands perfect and perpetual obedience, is inflexible, and will not abate the least mite. Therefore, the Lord alone can bring a soul out of prison and set it at liberty; hence we read that "God sets the solitary in families: He brings out those who are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwells in a dry land" (Psalm 68:6). This is alone of His free favor, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, by means of the Gospel of His grace, which "is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).

And the man who has thus been imprisoned and delivered, knows when, by whom, and by what means he was brought out. He knows that it is owing to the love of God the Father, as the moving cause; and to the Lord Jesus Christ, as the sinner's Surety, in His obedience, death and resurrection, as the procuring cause, by whose doing and dying the law is magnified and made honorable, and the justice of God completely satisfied: therefore the poor prisoner is sent out of the pit wherein is no water, by virtue of the blood of the covenant: the lawful captive is delivered, and the prey taken from the terrible one; he is ransomed from Hell, and delivered from going down into the pit of endless misery.

He knows, too, that it is owing to the power and grace of God the Spirit as the efficient cause, who has shed abroad the love of God in his heart, brought near the blood, righteousness, and salvation of Christ, and testified of the validity and efficacy of His blood to pardon, His righteousness to justify, and of His power to save to the uttermost, all who come unto God by Him; having wrought faith in his heart to look to, and confide in the merits of Christ. Nor can he ever forget the mercy of God to him, a lost and helpless sinner, who was just ready to perish, when the great trumpet of love, pardon, and salvation was blown in his heart by the almighty Spirit, and his soul set at sweet and happy liberty thereby from the yoke of bondage, freed from Satan's heavy chain, and brought out of the prison house into the glorious liberty of the children of God, to hold converse and communion with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ by an unction from the Holy One.

THE KING OF TERRORS

THE KING OF TERRORS

by Archibald Alexander


His dominion is wide as the world; his subjects, all men except two. His tyranny is inexorable. By no art, by no flight, by no concealment, by no resistance, can we escape. DEATH is the doom of every man. And whatever we do, wherever we are, his approach is relentless. Every moment lessens the narrow span between us and death. It is in vain that we shut our eyes to the reality of his nearness; this only serves to make the surprise more terrible when he, at an unexpected hour, pounces on us!

Death is terrible, because he cuts us off from all our possessions. However painfully and unjustly wealth has been accumulated, and however cautiously the soul clings to its treasure, death forces it away. As "naked we came into the world, so naked we must go out." Death severs the strongest, tenderest bands of nature; it takes away the beloved wife at a stroke, or the kind husband; it snatches children, tenderly beloved, from the affectionate embrace of their parents—even the only loving son is not spared. The bond of friendship is rudely sundered, and the affections of the heart are torn and left bleeding with hopeless sorrow. All plans and projects are in a moment frustrated, and anticipated pleasures and honors are left behind.

Death is a terror to men, because it drives them into a world unknown. We look into the grave and inquire anxiously. "What is the condition of our departed friend? Does he still exist in a conscious state?" We see no sign of life; he gives no token by which we can learn anything respecting him. We consult the oracle of reason, but there is no satisfactory response; she mutters some ambiguous and uncertain answer, but casts no light on the darkness of the grave. Oh, how awful, to be obliged to go down into a world of darkness--not knowing where we are going, or what is our destiny!

This obscurity is not all that terrifies; there is something far worse. This king of terrors comes armed with a tremendous sting. 'Conscious innocence' would inspire us with courage; but guilt, a sense of sin, a feeling of 'deserved punishment', above all other things, renders death terrible. In the gaiety and bustle of life, men may drown the voice of conscience; or by repeated violations of its dictates, men may enjoy temporary ease; but when death comes near, the voice of the monitor within sounds an alarm. The guilty soul would give worlds to be delivered from the stings of conscience. Nothing so corrodes the soul with anguish indescribable as remorse.

A celebrated statesman and orator of our own country, when arrested by this king of terrors, wrote on a card this awful word, 'remorse', and nothing more, and then died. The sting of death is sin. The time of death is commonly an honest hour. When a man is about to appear before his Judge, what need is there of any concealment? Yet sometimes the pride of character and dread of disgrace lead men to pretend even at the hour of death.

What a transition, from time to eternity—from ignorance and unbelief, to the realities of the judgment!

Thus far, there is nothing in death but terrors. Has he no other aspect? Does no animating light from any quarter shine upon the darkness of the tomb?

Yes! I see One rising from the sepulcher with the air of a conqueror. I hear him proclaiming, "I am the resurrection, and the life. Whoever believes in me shall never die." I hear a voice from heaven, saying, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." I see, through the narrow vista of the grave, a shining light. It brings to view the gates of the celestial city. By faith, I behold many of the dead entering in, clothed in robes of light. I hear them singing a song of praise and triumph to their great King; who has by his own death redeemed them from the power of the grave. Death is then no more "the king of terrors." He now appears with the face of an angel! Welcome death! Welcome the hour of complete deliverance from sin and sorrow, and all the evils to which fallen man is heir. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly, and receive a soul ransomed by your blood into your bosom.

"There shall I bathe my weary soul
In seas of heavenly rest,
And not a wave of trouble roll
Across my peaceful breast!

The touchstone of friendship!

The touchstone of friendship!

(George Lawson, "A Practical Exposition of the Book of Proverbs" 1821)

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17

Adversity is commonly reputed the touchstone of friendship. That is the season when our hollow friends forsake us--but a real friend then acts the part of a brother, and reveals his friendship more than ever.

But a true friend is steady in his love and care. Times of prosperity and adversity, honor and dishonor, evil report and good report--make no more difference to him, than the changes of the air to a man of a healthy constitution.

But no friend but Christ deserves our unlimited confidence. In Him the text received, and still receives, its most glorious accomplishment. He remembered us in our low estate, and forgets us not in His own exaltation. Afflictions are the seasons when His kindness is most richly experienced--and our provocations do not alienate His affection from us. This is our Beloved, and this is our Friend. In Him we will trust, and to Him we will devote our hearts!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Joy in God's Providence

Joy in God's Providence  by Jared Waterbury The Bible teaches the doctrine of a particular providence. "Not a sparrow," says Jesus, "shall fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." This doctrine is, by the pious man, not only believed, but practically recognized in all the business and events of life; and it is this practical recognition alone that constitutes it a foundation of joy. How many are there who do not sympathize in the least with this view of divine providence. They are willing to install the great Creator on the universal throne, and pay him the homage due to a distant and comparatively uninterested monarch too lofty to stoop to the affairs of men, and too much absorbed in his vast empire above, to interfere in the concerns of this diminutive sphere. Hence, we hear so much of chance, of fortune, of second causes, and so little of the divine hand, in the vicissitudes of nations and of individuals.  The Scriptures teach that the bird that folds its wing and falls to the earth, or that is arrested by the archer's arrow and drops bleeding to the ground, is directed in its fall by the hand of God. Yes, even the hairs of our head, insignificant as they may singly seem, are still noticed and numbered by the Almighty. Not a step that we take, nor a purpose that we accomplish, do we take or accomplish independent of him. This is the view that brings God near; that acknowledges his hand in the minutest affairs of life, and yet detracts not from his dignity as the maker and mover of the spheres. He who 'lighted' up the sun, formed the moth that bathes its beauteous wing in the bright sunbeam; and that insect's existence as truly demonstrates the infinitude of his power, as does the great fountain of light in whose radiance it rejoices.

THE GOSPEL IN A MAP

THE GOSPEL IN A MAP A view of the exceedingly great and precious Promises by Joseph Alleine O all you inhabitants of the world dwelling on the earth, come; see and hear; gather yourselves together unto the proclamation of the Great King. Hear, you who are afar off and you who are near! He who has an ear to hear, let him hear. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord. Let every valley be exalted, and every mountain be made low, for the glory of the Lord is to be revealed." Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way, cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones, lift up the standard for the people; for the Lord proclaims salvation to the ends of the earth. Tidings! tidings, O you captives! Hear, all you who look for salvation in Israel. Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. Blessed news! Prepare your ears and hearts! The Lord has commanded me, saying, "Go unto the people, and sanctify them; let them wash and be ready; for the Lord is coming down upon Mount Zion in the sight of all nations; not in earthquakes and fire, not in clouds and darkness, not in thunderings or burnings, rending the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces." He speaks not to you out of blackness, darkness, and tempests. You shall say no more, "Let not God speak to us lest we die." He comes peaceably; the law of kindness is in His mouth. He preaches peace; peace to him who is afar off and to him who is near. Behold, how He comes, leaping upon the mountains. He has passed Mount Ebal (Deuteronomy 11:20; 27:12-13); no more wrath or cursing. He is come to Mount Gerizim, where He stands to bless the people. As Mordecai to his nation, He writes "the words of truth and peace, seeking the welfare of His people, and speaking peace to all His seed." Behold how He comes! Clothed with flames of love, with a heart of compassion, plenteous redemption, and multiplied pardons. Hearken therefore, O you children, hearken to me. To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time you hear the joyful sound, the trumpet of jubilee, the tidings of peace, in the voice of the everlasting gospel, you fall down before the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever. Arise and come away; prepare, prepare yourselves. Do not hear with an uncircumcised ear; you are not looking upon a common thing. Behold, the throne is set, the throne of grace, where majesty and mercy dwell together. From there the Lord will meet you; from there He will commune with you; from the mercy seat, from between the cherubim, upon the ark of the testimony. Lo, the Lord comes out of His pavilion, the mighty God from Zion. His glory covers the heavens, the earth is full of His praise. A fire of love goes before Him; mercy and truth round about Him; righteousness and peace are the habitation of His throne. He rides on His horses and chariots of salvation; the covenant of life and peace is in His mouth. Rejoice, you heavens; make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Let the sea roar, the floods clap their hands, and the multitudes of the isles rejoice. Stand forth, the host of heaven; prepare your harps, cast down your crowns, be ready with your trumpets; bring forth your golden vials full of odors, for our voice will jar, our strings will break, we cannot reach the note of our Maker's praise. Yet, let those who dwell in the dust arise and sing. Bear your part in this glorious service, but consider and attend. Call out your souls, and all that is within you. Lift up your voices, fix your eyes, enlarge your hearts, extend all their powers. There is work for them all. Be intent and serious, you cannot strain too high. Come forth, you graces, set the way; be all in readiness. Stand forth, faith and hope. Flame, O love! Come, you warm desires, and break with longing. Let fear, with all veneration, do its obeisance. Joy, prepare your songs; call up all the daughters of music to salute the Lord as He passes by. Let the generation of the saints appear and spread the way with boughs and garments of salvation, and songs of deliverance. You stand this day, all of you, before the Lord your God, your captains, your elders, your officers, with all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the stranger that is within your camp, from the hewer of wood to the drawer of water, that you should enter into covenant with the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 29:10-13), and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you unto Himself and, that He may be unto you a God, as He has said unto you, and as He has sworn. I have done my errand. The messenger of the morning disappears when the Orient Sun comes forth out of His chambers. I vanish, I put my mouth in the dust. The voice of the Lord! The soft and still voice! O my soul, wrap your face in the mantle, bow yourself to the ground, and put yourself into the cleft of the rock while Jehovah proclaims His name, and makes all His goodness to pass before you. THE VOICE OF THE LORD Hear, O you ends of the earth; the mighty God, the Lord has spoken: Gather My saints unto Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice (Psalm 50:1, 5). Behold, I establish My covenant between Me and you (Genesis 17:7). By My holiness have I sworn that I will be your covenant Friend. I lift up My hand to heaven. I swear I live forever, and because I live you shall live also (John 14:9). I will be yours (Jeremiah 32:38-40), your for all intents and purposes, your refuge and your rest (Jeremiah 50:6; Psalm 90:1; Psalm 46:1), your patron and your portion (Psalm 73:26; Isaiah 25:4-5), your heritage and your hope, your God and your guide (Psalm 48:14). While I have, you shall never lack; and what I am to Myself, I will be to you (Psalm 34:9-10). You shall be My people, a chosen generation, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people (Exodus 19:5-6; 1 Peter 2:9). I call heaven and earth to witness this day that I take you for Mine forever. My name shall be upon you, and you shall be pillars in the temple of your God, and shall go out no more (Revelation 3:12). My livery shall you wear, and the stamp of My own face shall you carry (Ezekiel 36:25-26; Ephesians 4:24); and I will make you My witness and the epistles of Christ unto the world (2 Corinthians 3:3). You shall be chosen vessels to bear My name before the sons of men. And that you may see that I am in earnest with you, lo, I make with you an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure (2 Samuel 23:5). And I do here solemnly deliver it to you as My act and deed, sealed with sacred blood (1 Corinthians 11:25), and ratified with the oath of a God (Hebrews 6:17) who cannot lie, and who knows no place for repentance (Titus 1:2). Come, you blessed ones, receive the instrument of your salvation: take the writings, behold the seals; here are the conveyances of the kingdom. Fear not, the donation is full and free. See, it is written in blood, founded on the all-sufficient merits of your Surety (Hebrews 9), in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:7), whose death makes this testament unchangeable forever; so that your names can never be put out, nor your inheritance alienated, nor your legacies diminished. Nothing may be altered, nothing added, nothing subtracted, no, not forever (Galatians 3:15-17). Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like unto you, O people (Deuteronomy 33:29)! Only believe, and know your own blessedness. Attend, O My children, unto the blessings of your Father; hear and know the glorious immunities and the royal prerogatives that I here confirm upon you. Here I seal to you your pardons. Though your sins are as many as the sands and as mighty as the mountains, I will drown them in the deeps of My bottomless mercies (Micah 7:19). I will be merciful to your unrighteousness. I will multiply your pardon (Hebrews 8:12; Isaiah 55:7); where your sins have abounded, My grace shall superabound; though they be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18). Behold, I declare Myself satisfied and pronounce you absolved (Job 33:24). The price is paid, your debts are cleared, your bonds are canceled (Isaiah 43:25; Colossians 2:13-14). Whatever the law, conscience, or the accuser has to charge upon you, I here exonerate and discharge you. I even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My name's sake. Who shall lay anything to your charge when I acquit you? Who shall impeach you when I proclaim you guiltless (Romans 8:33-34)? Sons, daughters, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you (1 John 2:12; Mark 9:2). I will sprinkle your consciences, and put the voice of peace into your mouths (Ezekiel 36:25; Hebrews 9:14; Isaiah 57:19), and they shall be your registers in which I will record your pardon, and the voice of guilt, wrath, and terror shall cease (Hebrews 10:22; Isaiah 27:4-5). Here I sign your release from the house of bondage (Romans 6:17-18; 1 Corinthians 7:22). Come forth, you captives; come forth, hope; for I have found a ransom (Job 33:24). I proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound (Isaiah 61:1; 42:7). Behold, I have broken your bonds, shaken the foundations of your prisons, and opened the iron gates (Luke 4:18). By the blood of the covenant I have sent forth the prisoners out of the pit wherein there is no water (Zechariah 9:11). Arise, O redeemed of the Lord; put off the clothing of your captivities, arise and come away. The dark and noisome prison of sin shall no longer detain you (John 8:34-36). I will loosen your fetters and knock off your bolts. Sin shall not have dominion over you (Romans 7:14). I will heal your backslidings, I will subdue your iniquities (Micah 7:19; Jeremiah 3:12), I will sanctify you wholly (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24), and will put My fear in your hearts so that you shall not depart from Me (Jeremiah 32:40). Though your corruptions are strong and many, yet the aids of My Spirit, the cleansing virtue of My Word, and the medicine of My corrections shall so work together with your prayers and endeavors that they shall not finally prevail against you, but shall surely fall before you (Ezekiel 36:37; Ephesians 5:26; Isaiah 27:9). From the strong and reeking jail of the grave I deliver you. O death, I will be your plague. O grave, I will be your destruction (Hosea 13:14). My beloved shall not ever see corruption (Psalm 16:10). I will change your rottenness into glory, and make your dust arise and praise Me (Daniel 12:2-3; Isaiah 26:19). What is sown in weakness, I will raise in power; what is sown in corruption, I will raise in incorruption; what is sown a natural body, I will raise a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). This very flesh of yours, this corruptible flesh, shall put on incorruption; and this mortal flesh shall put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:53). Death shall be swallowed up in victory and mortality of life (1 Corinthians 15:54; 2 Corinthians 5:4). Fear not, O children. Come, and I will show you the enemy that you dreaded. See, here lies the king of terrors, like Sisera in the tent, fastened to the ground with a nail struck through his temples. Behold the grateful present, the head of your enemy on a platter. I bequeath to you your conquered adversary, and make over death as your legacy (1 Corinthians 3:22). O death, where is your sting? Where now is the armor in which you trusted (1 Corinthians 15:55)? Come, My people, enter into your chambers (Isaiah 26:20). Come to your beds of dust and lay down in peace; let your flesh rest in hope (Isaiah 57:2); for even in this flesh shall you see God (Psalm 16:9; Job 19:25-27). O you slain by death, your carcasses, now as loathsome as the carrion in the ditch, I will redeem from the power of the grave (Psalm 49:5), and fashion those vile bodies like unto the glorious body of your exalted Redeemer (Philippians 3:21). Look, if you can, on the sun when it shines in its strength; with such dazzling glory. I will clothe you, O you of little faith (Matthew 13:43). From the terrible dungeon of eternal darkness I do hereby free you. Fear not, you shall not be hurt by the second death (Revelation 2:11; Romans 8:1); you are delivered from the wrath to come, and shall never come into condemnation (1 Thessalonians 1:10; John 5:24). The flames of Tophet shall not be able to singe the hairs of your heads, no, nor the smell of the fire pass upon you. Stand upon the brink and look down into the horrible pit, the infernal prison, from where I have freed you. Do you see how the smoke of their torment ascends forever (Revelation 14:11)? Do you hear the cursings and ravings, the roarings and blasphemies (Matthew 25:30)? What do you think of those hellish fiends? Would you have been willing to have had them for your companions and tormentors (Matthew 25:41)? What do you think of those chains of darkness? Of the river of brimstone, of the instruments of torment of both soul and body, of the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth? Can you think of everlasting banishment, of hearing "Go you cursed ones"? Could you dwell with everlasting burnings? Could you abide with devouring fire (Isaiah 33:14)? This is the inheritance you were born to (Ephesians 2:3). But I have wrought for you a great salvation. I have not ordained you to wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9), but My thoughts towards you are thoughts of peace (Jeremiah 29:11). Here I deliver to you your protection. From all your enemies I will save you (2 Kings 17:39). I grant you a protection from the arrests of the law. Your Surety has fully answered it (Galatians 3:13; Romans 5:10). My justice is satisfied, My wrath is pacified, and My honor is repaired (Daniel 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20). Behold, I am near Him justifies you; who is he who shall condemn you? From the usurped dominion of the powers of darkness I will deliver you. I will tread Satan shortly under you, and will set your feet in triumph upon the necks of your enemies (Romans 16:20). Let not your hearts be troubled; though you are to wrestle with principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world (Ephesians 6:12); for stronger is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). He may bruise your heel, but you shall bruise his head (Genesis 3:15). Behold your Redeemer leading captivity captive, spoiling principalities and powers, triumphing over them openly through His cross (Colossians 2:15). See how Satan falls like lightning from heaven (Luke 10:18), and how the Samson of your salvation bears away the gates of hell, posts and all, upon His shoulders, and sets them up as trophies of His victory; how He pulls out the throat of the lion, lifts up the heart of the traitor upon the top of His spear, washes His hands, and dyes His robes in the blood of your enemies (Isaiah 63:1-3). From the victory of the world I will deliver you (1 John 5:4; Galatians 1:4). Neither its frowns nor its flatteries shall be too hard for your victorious faith. Though it raises up Egypt, Amalek, Moab, and all its militia against you, yet it shall never keep you out of Canaan. Be of good comfort, your Lord has overcome the world (John 16:33). Thought its temptations are very powerful, yet this, upon My faithfulness, I promise you: nothing shall come upon you but what you shall be able to bear. But if I see such trials, which you fear would be too hard for your grace and would overthrow your soul, I will never allow them to come upon you. No, I will make your enemy to serve you (1 Corinthians 10:13), and I bequeath the world as part of your dowry to you (1 Corinthians 3:22). From the curse of the cross I will deliver you (Psalm 119:71). Afflictions shall prove a wholesome cup to you; your Lord has drunk the venom into His own body, and what remains for you is but a healthful potion which I promise shall work for your good (Romans 8:28). Do not be afraid to drink, nor desire that the cup should pass from you. I bless the cup before I give it to you (Job 5:17). Drink all of it and be thankful; you shall find My blessing at the bottom of the cup to sweeten the sharpest afflictions to you (James 1:12; Psalm 94:12). I will stand by you in all conditions, and be a unchanging Friend to you in every change (Isaiah 43:2). In the wilderness I will speak comfortably to you, and in the fire and water I will be with you (Hosea 2:14). I will be a strength to the poor and a strength to the needy in his distress; a refuge from the storm, and a shadow from the heat, when the blast of terrible ones is as a storm against the wall (Isaiah 25:4). Your sufferings shall not be a cup of wrath, but a grace cup; not a curse, but a cure; not a cup of trembling, but a cup of blessing to you (Hebrews 12:6-8). They shall not hurt you, but heal you (Psalm 119:67). My blessing shall attend you in every condition (Genesis 26:3). I say not only "Blessed shall you be in your basket, and blessed in your store," but "Blessed shall you be in your poverty (Genesis 28:15), and blessed shall you be in your straits"; not only shall you be blessed in your cities and in your fields, but blessed shall you be in your beds and your banishments (Mark 10:29-30). Blessed shall you be when you are persecuted, and when you are reviled and your name is cast about as evil; yes, then doubly blessed (Matthew 5:10-12). My choicest blessings, greatest good, and richest sweets will I put into your evil things (1 Peter 4:13-14; Luke 6:20-22). These happy immunities, these glorious liberties of the sons of God, by this immutable charter I forever settle upon you. And I do, in and with my covenant, unalterably, irrevocably, and everlastingly convey them unto you and confirm them upon you. Yes, I will not only free you from your miseries, but will confer upon you ROYAL PRIVILEGES and prerogatives, and instate you into higher and greater happiness than every you have fallen from. Lo, I give Myself to you, and all things with Myself. Behold, O you sons of men! Behold and wonder. Be astonished, O heavens! Be moved, O strong foundations of the earth! For you shall be My witnesses. This day I do, by covenant, bestow Myself upon My servants (Genesis 17:7). I will be your God forever and ever (Psalm 48:14; Jeremiah 32:38; Revelation 21:3). Your very own God (Psalm 57:6; 16:2). Nothing in the world is so much yours own as I am. The houses that you have built, or the ones you have bought, are not so much yours as I am. Here you are but tenants; but I am your eternal inheritance (Psalm 16:5; 73:26). These are loans for a season, but I am your dwelling place in all generations (Psalm 90:1). You have nowhere so great a propriety, so sure and unalterable a claim, as you have here. What do you count your own? Your bodies, your souls? No, these are not your own; they are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). But you may boldly make your claim to Me; you may freely challenge an interest in Me (Jeremiah 3:19; Isaiah 63:16). Come near and fear not; where could you be free if not with your own? Where could you be bold if not at home? You are never in all the world so much at home as when you are with Me. You may freely make use of Me, or of any of My attributes, whenever you need (Psalm 50:15; Jeremiah 49:11; Psalm 145:18). I will be all to you that you can wish. I will be a FRIEND to you (Isaiah 41:8; James 2:2-3). My secrets shall be with you (Psalm 25:14; John 15:15), and you shall have free access to Me, and liberty to pour out all your hearts into My bosom (Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:16). I will be a PHYSICIAN to you. I will heal your backslidings and cure all your diseases (Hosea 14:4; Psalm 103:3). Fear not, for never did a soul miscarry that left itself in My hands, and would follow My prescriptions. I will be a SHEPHERD to you (Psalm 23:1; 80:1). Do not be afraid of evil tidings, for I am with you. My rod and My staff shall comfort you. You shall not lack, for I will feed you; you shall not wander or be lost, for I will restore you. I will cause you to lie down in green pastures, and will lead you beside the still waters (Psalm 23). I will gather you with My arm, carry you in My bosom, and will lead on as softly as the flock and the children are able to endure (Isaiah 40:11; Genesis 33:13-14). If officers are careless, I will do the work Myself. I will judge between cattle and cattle. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away. I will bind up that which was broken, and strengthen that which was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and will feed them with judgment (Ezekiel 34:16-17 compared with verses 2-4). I will watch over My flock by night (Isaiah 27:3). Behold, I have appointed My ministers as your watchmen, as overseers who watch for your souls (Hebrews 13:17; Acts 20:28). Yes, My angels shall be your watchers, and shall keep a constant guard upon My flock (Daniel 3:17, 23; Psalm 34:7). And if the servants should sleep (Matthew 13:25, 27), My own eyes shall keep a perpetual watch by night and by day (Psalm 34:15; 33:18; 2 Chronicles 16:9). The Keeper of Israel never slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:3-5), nor withdraws His eyes from the righteous (Job 36:7). I will guide you with My eye. I will never trust you out of My sight (Psalm 32:8). I will be a SOVEREIGN to you. The Lord is your Judge; the Lord is your Lawgiver; the Lord is your King (Isaiah 33:22). Do not fear the unrighteousness of men, for I will judge your cause and defend your rights (Deuteronomy 32:36; Psalm 140:12 and 9:4). You shall not stand at man's bar; you shall not be cast out by their vote (1 Corinthians 4:3-5; 2 Corinthians 10:18). Let them curse; I will bless. Let them condemn; I will justify (Isaiah 50:9; Genesis 12:3). When you come upon trials in your lives, such as will decide your eternal state, you shall see your Friend and your Father upon the bench (Psalm 80:9; Ecclesiastes 3:16-17). Into My hands shall your cause be cast, and you shall surely stand in judgment and be found at the right hand among the sheep. You shall hear the King say, "Come, you blessed; inherit the kingdom" (Matthew 25:33-34). I will be a HUSBAND to you (Isaiah 54:5). In loving-kindness and mercy I will betroth you unto Myself forever (Hosea 2:19-20). I will espouse your interest, and will be as one with you, and you with Me (Matthew 25:40, 45; Acts 9:4-5). You shall be for Me and not for another; and I also will be for you (Hosea 3:3). Though I found you as a helpless infant, exposed in its own blood, all your unworthiness did not discourage Me. Lo, I have looked upon you, and put My loveliness upon you. Moreover, I swear unto you, and enter into covenant with you, and you shall be Mine (Ezekiel 16:4-10). Behold, I do, as it were, put Myself out of My own power, and do here solemnly, in My marriage covenant, give away Myself to you (Jeremiah 24:7; 30:21-22; 31:33-34), and with Myself all things (Revelation 21:7). I will be an everlasting portion to you (Ezekiel 54:28; Jeremiah 51:19; Psalm 119:57). Now lift up your eyes to the east, to the west, to the north, and to the south. Have you not a worthy portion, a goodly heritage? Can you fathom your riches or count your own happiness? Can you grasp immensity, reach omnipotence, or comprehend eternity? All this is yours. I will set open all My treasures to you, and will keep back nothing from you. All the ATTRIBUTES in the Godhead, and all the persons in the Godhead, do I hereby make over to you. I will be yours in all My essential perfections and in all My personal relations.