ETERNAL VICTORY IN CHRIST JESUS!

"Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me, shall never die: believest thou this?" -John 11:26 [KJV]

Under great declining of strength, dejection of spirits, and in consideration of the near approach of death, these precious words of our dear dying Lord were brought to my mind: they were as a comforting, reviving, draught to my spirits. Lord! I bless Thee for them. O, my soul! dwell on them. Am I a sinner, born to die? Is death the wages of sin? Must these eyes, which now read thy precious sayings, be soon closed by death? Must the hand, which now directs this pen, be shortly still and motionless? 

Yet dost Thou, my Lord, say, “Living and believing in thee, I shall never die?” Dost thou ask me, “Believest thou this?” “Lord, Thou knowest all things!” knowest, that, by Thy grace, I can say, “Thou art the Son of God”—Thou hast fulfilled Thine own promise, “O death, I will be thy plague! O grave, I will be thy destruction!” (Hosea 13:14.) “Death is swallowed up in victory” (I Corinthians 15:54.) “Shall never die.” Death has lost his terrific appearance; he is changed from a substance into a shadow (Psalm 23:4.) Only children and fools are afraid of a shadow. 

Glory to Thee, my Lord! that I am a man of understanding, and by Thee am made “wise unto salvation.” Death has lost both his sting and his strength. Sin is atoned for: the law is fulfilled. I believe in Thee, O Jesus! Who hath done both for the victory. ‘Tis mine: I have it in possession. Thy word cannot fail: Thou hast said, “I shall never die.” The terrors of death are changed into the sweet composure of sleep. I shall soon fall into this precious rest—sleep in Thee! Thou shalt soon wipe away all tears from mine eyes; I shall awake with Thee, and sin and sorrow shall be no more for ever. 

O! well mayest thou ask, “Believest thou this?” For in the faith of this, consists all my comfort, which results from loving Thee, and glorifying Thee in life and death. “Faith works by love.” It works by the Father’s everlasting love, in giving His only Son to be our Saviour: it works by the precious love of Thee, Thou sin-atoning, law-fulfilling, justice-satisfying, death-conquering Son of God!—it works by the love of Thee, Thou soul-renewing, faith-begetting, sin-subduing Spirit of holiness and truth! 

This is the given principle of love, which faith springs from, lives upon, and works by. Here faith is all in all. For it brings Christ and all His victories into the heart, puts death, and every enemy, under our feet; silences all Satan’s accusations, and all legal condemnations. “This is the victory, even our faith” (I John 5:4.) 

O soul-reviving joy of faith, 

Which lives upon my Saviour’s word! 

It triumphs o’er the power of death, 

Possess’d of vic’try in my Lord. 

Christ lives and says, I ne’er shall die; 

His word I’m sure He will fulfil: 

He’s truth itself, He cannot lie, 

And death is subject to His will.

 

-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