|
The thunders of the law and the terrors of
judgment are all used to bring us to Christ; but the final victory is
effected by lovingkindness. The prodigal set out to his father's house from
a sense of need; but his father saw him a great way off, and ran to meet
him; so that the last steps he took towards his father's house were with the
kiss still warm upon his cheek, and the welcome still musical in his ears.
Law
and terrors do but harden
All the while
they work alone;
But a sense of
blood-bought pardon
Will dissolve
a heart of stone.
The Master came one night to the door, and
knocked with the iron hand of the law; the door shook and trembled upon its
hinges; but the man piled every piece of furniture which he could find
against the door, for he said, "I will not admit the man." The Master turned
away, but by-and-bye he came back, and with his own soft hand, using most
that part where the nail had penetrated, he knocked again — oh, so softly
and tenderly. This time the door did not shake, but, strange to say, it
opened, and there upon his knees the once unwilling host was found rejoicing
to receive his guest. "Come in, come in; thou hast so knocked that my
heart yearns for thee [Song
of Solomon 5:4]. I could not think of thy pierced hand leaving its
blood-mark on my door, and of thy going away houseless, 'Thy head filled
with dew, and thy locks with the drops of the night.' I yield, I yield, thy
love has won my heart." So in every case: lovingkindness wins the day. What
Moses with the tablets of stone could never do, Christ does with his pierced
hand. Such is the doctrine of effectual calling. Do I understand it
experimentally? Can I say, "He drew me, and I followed on, glad to confess
the voice divine?" If so, may he continue to draw me, till at last I shall
sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb. |
|
Dear reader, have you received the spirit
which is of God, wrought by the Holy Ghost in your soul? The necessity of
the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart may be clearly seen from this fact,
that
all which has been done by God the Father, and by God the Son, must
be ineffectual to us, unless the Spirit shall reveal these things to
our souls. What effect does the doctrine of election have upon any man
until the Spirit of God enters into him? Election is a dead letter in my
consciousness until the Spirit of God calls me out of darkness into
marvellous light. Then
through my calling, I see my election, and knowing myself to be called of
God, I know myself to have been chosen in the eternal purpose. A covenant
was made with the Lord Jesus Christ, by his Father; but what avails that
covenant to us until the Holy Spirit brings us its blessings, and opens our
hearts to receive them? There hang the blessings on the nail — Christ Jesus;
but being short of stature, we cannot reach them; the Spirit of God takes
them down and hands them to us, and thus they become actually ours. Covenant
blessings in themselves are like the manna in the skies, far out of mortal
reach, but the Spirit of God opens the windows of heaven and scatters the
living bread around the camp of the spiritual Israel. Christ's finished work
is like wine stored in the wine-vat; through unbelief we can neither draw
nor drink. The Holy Spirit dips our vessel into this precious wine, and then
we drink; but without the Spirit we are as truly dead in sin as though the
Father never had elected, and though the Son had never bought us with his
blood. The Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary to our well-being. Let us
walk lovingly towards him and tremble at the thought of grieving him. |
