The Manifestation of Christ JESUS' Glory to His people

"..and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him." -John 2:11 [KJV]

It forms a very sweet thought to the believer, that, amidst the general darkness and ignorance concerning the person of Jesus, in the days of His flesh, the glory of His Godhead was frequently manifested to His disciples, so that they knew Him, and believed on Him. And it is equally blessed, that now, amidst the darkness and ignorance of many who call themselves Christians, after Christ, (but who denying, or being unconscious of His Godhead, prove that they know Him not) the Lord hath not left Himself without a witness of who He is, to the minds of His faithful followers; but hath manifested forth His glory; and all true disciples believe on Him.  

My soul! if thou wert called upon to give thy testimony to Jesus, concerning all the grand points which prove the Godhead of His person, and the eternal merits and efficacy of His blood and righteousness; how wouldest thou shew the evidences, that He hath manifested forth His glory to thee, and that thou believest on Him? I would answer, Jesus hath fully manifested Himself to me, as "One with the Father, over all, God blessed for ever;" and as such, having seen the Son, I believe in Him, "in Whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."  

Hence, therefore, as it is said, "they that know Thy name, will put their trust in Thee;" so "I know Whom I have believed;" and by His blessed Spirit, am persuaded, that "He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him to that day." Now, had not the Lord Jesus, by His Holy Spirit, taught me who He was, and what He was able to perform; had He not manifested forth His glory, never should I have known Him, so as to believe on Him. But the revelation He hath made of Himself, hath induced all those saving effects, which none but the teachings of His Holy Spirit could impart. It hath wrought in me faith and love, humbleness and self-loathing, a regard for His cause, a zeal for His honour, a love to His people, an indifferency to the world; and all those gracious fruits of faith which follow the knowledge of Jesus.  

Blessed Lord! My soul rejoiceth anew, this evening, in the contemplation of Thy glory. And under a sense of the distinguishing mercy, I feel constrained to cry out with the astonishment of the apostle, "Lord! how is it, that Thou hast manifested Thyself to me, and not unto the world!" 

-Robert Hawker (1753-1827 A.D.)  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JESUS - Rock of Ages

Jesus remains the same in all ages. He is the One who is constant when everything and everyone else fails. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is our R ock [I SAMUEL 2:2 ] . In the Old Testament, in Exodus 33, Jesus is pictured as the Cleft Rock. In that chapter, verse 18 and following, Moses desired to see the glory of the Lord, but was told, "You cannot see My face; for there shall no man see My face and live.” And the Lord said, “There is a place by Me, and you shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by." Notice that as Moses stood upon the rock, the Lord hid him in the cleft. This wonderfully applies to us today! Believers are both standing on and hidden in Christ [COLOSSIANS 3:3 ] . We are both in and on the Rock. As life with its many bitter events presses upon us, ...
Read more

CHRIST OUR ONLY AND PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS

" The flesh lusteth against the Spirit." —Galatians 5:17 [KJV] Christian experience fully proves this apostolic truth. Hence the children of God cannot do the things that they would: nor have we any authority from God's word to conclude this lusting ever ceased in any of the saints till they got to glory; none are delivered from it while in the flesh. For, as the renewed soul or spirit loves to enjoy spiritual and heavenly objects, so the flesh, or unrenewed part, lusts after those objects it is naturally conversant with, and from which it derives its happiness.  Here is thy conflict, O Christian. Hence the necessity of thy Lord's command, "Watch always." This is the use of the doctrine. What woeful effects have fulfilling the lusts or desires of the flesh produced in eminent saints! Thou standest by faith, be not high-minded, but fear. The conceptions of lust are the productions of sin.— see James 1:15 . The commission of sin contracts fresh s...
Read more

GLORY ALONE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

" Lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." -Judges 7:2 [KJV] Thus the Lord reasoned with Gideon. He knows what is in man. He sees the pride of the human heart: how prone we all are to boast in an arm of flesh. The Lord is jealous of His own glory. Gideon’s army of two and thirty thousand, is brought down to three hundred. By this handful of men, and no more, did Gideon gain the victory of the Midianites. The Lord’s wisdom in this was, “Lest Israel should vaunt themselves, and say, Mine own hand hath saved me.”   But I have not transcribed the text right. There are two little words of great import, which I have omitted. Mind then, O Christian— against Me. Now remember, whenever thou dost boast of thy power, thy free-will, thy human goodness, thy works, ditties, conditions, and performances in order to be saved, thou art then, as it were, two and thirty thousand strong. Thou vauntest thyself against the Lord . Thou art gloryi...
Read more