AMAZING GRACE! ASTONISHING KINDNESS!

"Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man." —Matthew 26:74 [KJV]

Self-righteous hearts are ready to think, better to have concealed Peter's abominable wicked conduct. No; the Spirit of wisdom hereby stains the glory of all flesh, and exalts the super-abounding riches of Jesus' grace over the aboundings of sin. He shews, in Peter's denying his loving Saviour, what human nature is, and what shocking depths of sin a believer may fall into when left to the workings of carnal nature and the buffetings of Satan. Dreadful to think of! Most earnestly to be prayed against! 

Yet we see the affectionate heart of Jesus is ever towards His wounded, fallen members. Love is within, and by a look of love, how suddenly, how effectually did Jesus raise and restore Peter! Three denials of Jesus, each attended with higher aggravations, though deserving only a look of wrath, and a frown into hell; yet were followed with a look from Jesus which broke Peter's heart into affection, and melted his very soul into love. Amazing grace! Astonishing kindness! 

Let no disciple think, I am not in danger of falling, after the like example of unbelief; for every one is. If any poor lamb of Jesus' flock is fallen, and has been worried and torn by the wolf, let him not say that his loving Shepherd has cast him off for ever, and has no more care for him or love to him. What! will the true Shepherd Who gave His life for the sheep, Who bought every one of them with His own blood, will He suffer the enemy to rob Him of His property, and destroy any one of His purchased ones? No, verily, this can never be while Jesus is mighty to save. 

That can never come to pass till Jesus ceaseth to love, and He can as soon cease to exist; for Jesus is God, and GOD IS LOVE—1 John 4:16. O, how oft are our poor souls hurt and wounded! though not in denying Jesus to a fellow-creature with oaths and curses, yet too oft are we ashamed to confess His dear person, His precious cause, His despised cross. Yea, and when we entertain unloving thoughts of our Saviour, from the working of unbelief in the heart, this naturally tends to deny Jesus in His office and character; leads to depreciate and think too meanly of His salvation, His blood, righteousness, intercession, and faithfulness to His people. 

Hence we encourage guilty fears, our views of His love get clouded, a sense of it in the heart grows cold, and the influence of it on the life is benumbed. Is not this in effect to say, "I know not the man?" Such are the workings of nature and unbelief. O, how little do we consider what Christ hath done, and is doing for us! We have too mean and contracted views of Jesus at best; and such at times as we are ashamed of, when we are enabled clearly to view "Christ in us our hope of glory."—Colossians 1:27.

-preacher William Mason (1724-1797 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