"Wherefore
He
is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him,
seeing He
ever liveth to make intercession for them." -Hebrews
7:25 [KJV]
If
the gracious Lord did not live to make intercession for us, He
could hardly be said to save us to the uttermost. But as He
ever lives at God's right hand and is ever interceding, ever
presenting the perfume of His
acceptable mediation, this gives us a certain pledge of His
love, His
pity, and His
power. Is not this very encouraging to all who come unto God by Him?
And may we not say, "Such
are we, O Lord; we do come, we daily come to Thee
by Jesus Christ?"
And do we not need all the encouragement that God may give us out of
it? for we often sink very low through temptation and trial and the
manifold afflictions of the way. How
blessed, then, it is if you can only trace this mark of grace in your
soul when others seem almost lost out of sight. If you know anything
of internal work, you know this— whether you have come, whether you
are coming to God by Jesus Christ.
It
is very simple, yet very expressive. Have you come as an outcast?
Have you come as ready to perish? For these are expressly spoken of
as coming in that day when the great trumpet is blown, the great and
glorious trumpet of the Gospel, for its jubilee notes
are sounded specially for them. Have you come in faith? have you
come in hope? have you come in love? and have you found any measure
of acceptance and approbation in your own bosom? "Yes,"
say some, "with all my doubts, fears, and questioning, I can
answer your question with an honest heart and a firm front, that I
have come to God by Jesus Christ, and have felt the blessedness of so
doing." Then you have known something or will know something
about the uttermost; and the more you know about the uttermost, the
more you will prize salvation by grace, the more you will cleave to
the Son of God, the more you will hang upon His finished work, and
the more you will look unto Him who has so kindly said, "Look
unto Me
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there
is none else" (Isaiah 45:22).
-Gospel
report by preacher J.C. Philpot (1802-1869 A.D.)
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