"Now I say that Jesus the Messiah was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers." [Romans 15:8]
Surely there can be no rational doubt as to the importance
of our knowing the blessed Redeemer to
whatever extent He has clearly revealed himself in Scripture. Such a knowledge
of him is a mark of our being members of his flock, for he says, "I know my sheep and am known
of mine." [John 10:14] Hence we are commanded to "Grow in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus the Messiah." [2 Peter 3:18] Now a clear understanding of this text
will greatly increase our knowledge of him and of that gospel
of the kingdom which he and his apostles preached. To obtain a clear
understanding of Paul's language
in this verse, let us first enquire, who are "the fathers?" and what
are "the promises" made
to them?
1st. Who are the fathers? Moses
was commanded to say to the children of Israel,
“The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath
sent me unto you." [Exodus
3:15]
And Peter says,
"The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the
God of our fathers, has
glorified His son Jesus." [Acts 3:13]
These testimonies, one from each Testament, are enough to
show that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are the
fathers. But in another place Paul has clearly enough explained himself and
settled the question, saying,
"To Abraham and his seed were THE PROMISES made." [Galatians 3:16]
And because those promises were substantially repeated to
Isaac and Jacob they are called "the promises
made unto the fathers," in the plural number.
2nd. What are the promises made to
them? They are found in the history of those patriarchs as recorded in Genesis. When Abraham left
Mesopotamia and came into the land of Canaan the Lord said to
him,
[1] "Unto your seed will I give this land. . ..[2]
Lift up now your
eyes
and look from the place where you are northward and southward, and
eastward, and westward: for all the land which you see, to thee will I give it and
to thy seed FOREVER. . .. [3] Yehovah
- God
made a COVENANT with Abraham, saying, unto your seed have I given THIS land from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river
Euphrates. ... [4] I will establish my
COVENANT between me and
you, and your seed after you in their generations, for an everlasting
covenant, to be a God
unto you and
to you seed after you. I will give unto you, and to you seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of
Canaan for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. . .. [5] Your seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies, and in your seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." [Genesis
2:7; 13:14, 15; 15:18; 17:7,8; 22:17, 18]
That substantially the same promises were repeated to Isaac
and Jacob are
verified by the fact that, about 67 years after the last promise that I have
quoted, Yehovah - God said
to Isaac who was dwelling in the same land,
"Unto you, and
unto your seed,
I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore unto
Abraham your
father. . . And in your seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." [Genesis 26:3]
About forty-four years after these promises to Isaac, Yehovah - God said to Jacob, who was also
dwelling in the same land,
"Behold, Yehovah stood
above it and said, “I am Yehovah, the
God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are
lying, to you I will give it and to your seed. Your seed
will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and
to the east and to the north and to the south. In you and in your seed all the
families of the earth will be blessed. [Genesis 28:13, 14]
When about to die Jacob said, "God Almighty appeared
unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto me, Behold
I will make you
fruitful and multiply you, and
I will make of you a
multitude of people; and I will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession." [Genesis 48:3]
Having now learned WHAT are the promises, let us bring out
their full MEANING by carefully considering the following important points; [1.] who are the heirs? [2.] where is the
inheritance? [3.] how long will they hold it? [4.] the certainty of the
promises; and [5.] how may individuals obtain a personal interest in them?
1. Who are the heirs? It is plain enough who Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were, but perhaps there are some who imagine that the word "Seed" here refers to the Jews who came into the land of Canaan under Joshua. This question, however, is not left to human conjecture, for the inspired Paul has settled it plainly and forever. O that all the world, wherever the Bible is read, would hear this explanation, and would understand its full import. "To Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He saith not 'And to seeds' as of many, but as of ONE, 'And to your Seed,' WHO IS THE MESSIAH." [Galatians 3:16. In these words, "And to your seed," (hai to spermati sou), Paul makes an exact quotation, word for word, from the Greek version of Genesis 13:15; 17:8], both of which places refer to the promise of the land. In Genesis 17:7], the Greek words are (sou, hai tou spermatos sou,) which literally rendered would be "of you, and of your seed." Neither can Paul's quotation be found in Genesis 22:18, for the words there are "and in your seed” (hai en to spermati sou.) Common fairness requires us to observe the critical exactness of the quotation, which is a key to its meaning. That Paul refers to the (and is further evident from his calling it "the inheritance," (vs 18). Because the promise of the landed inheritance is so often repeated and involves or comprehends within itself so many other promises, it may rightly be called "the promises," in the plural.
The word "Seed" is frequently used of a single person; it has this meaning in Genesis 3:15; 2 Samuel 7:12, as its pronoun "His” in the singular number sufficiently proves. And Liddell and Scott's Lexicon refers to various Greek authors who also use it in this way.
Here then we discover that, in the very plainest and most positive manner, a real and tangible inheritance on THIS EARTH has been promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the Messiah, for an EVERLASTING or ETERNAL possession. (That everlasting and eternal have the same force, neither more nor less, you may perceive by noticing that "EVERLASTING LIFE" and "ETERNAL life" are used interchangeably and synonymously in the Bible. - Luke 18:30, with Mark 10:30. They are both translations of the same Greek word, aionios.) But the Bible just as clearly shows that although the Messiah and all of those "fathers" have sojourned personally on that land, yet none of them obtained the promised possession of it. Concerning Abraham, it is testified that Yehovah "gave him NONE; yet He PROMISED that He would give it to him." [Acts 7:5]. Nor did Isaac and Jacob fare any better, for "all these died in the faith, NOT having received the promises." [Hebrews11:13, 39] And the blessed Saviour, at the very ZENITH of his personal ministry on earth, testified concerning himself that "the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no where to lay hisd head." [Matthew 8:20]. "He came unto his own (ta idia), and his own (hoi idioi) received him not;" or "He came to his own land, and his own people received him not." Campbell's edition, 1832. [John 1:11]. In Greek the former "His own" is of a different gender from the latter, implying a difference in the meaning. That land is particularly called Immanuel's by virtue of "the promises." [Isaiah 8:8]. But although his enemies rejected and crucified him, he arose from the dead and ascended to heaven to take his place at the right hand of Yehovah as Lord and Messiah. And from that day until now "the land of promise" has been desecrated by wicked men. But it would be acting the part of an unbeliever to conclude from this that the promises have become a failure, or that they ought to be tortured into some other than their true meaning. " The Scripture cannot be broken." [John 10:35]. "Though the vision tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come" [Habakkuk 2:3].
Jesus foresaw that the people then occupying the land would reject him, and so he spoke two parables which, viewed in succession, afford a thrilling outline of events from his first coming as a "Lamb" to suffer and die, until His return as a "Lion" to conquer and reign. In the parable of the Vineyard, he is "the heir" of whom the wicked husbandmen say, "Come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance." [Matthew 20:33-39]
This
represents his
inheritance as on earth, for, of course, they could not expect to seize an
inheritance above the skies by killing him. And having crucified him, his resurrection intervenes at this point, as
the golden link which connects this parable with that of the Pounds; for
without his
resurrection the latter parable could not be fulfilled. [Luke 19:12-27] In this parable we behold the risen
"Heir" as the "Nobleman," arrayed in the princely attire of
immortality and going into the "far country to receive for himself a
kingdom, and to return." Yes, by a glorious retinue of holy angels, He is
escorted from the top of Olivet through the shining pathway of the skies,
through the crystal ports of light, and seated at the Father's right hand. And
while the bereaved and sorrowing disciples were looking
"steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." [Acts 1:11]
The parable of the Pounds [Luke 19:11-27] is based on the fact that the kings of Judea in those days used, before commencing their reign, to go on a journey to Rome in a far country to be invested with the royalty; after which they would return and reign in Judea. Herod and Archelaus are notable instances of this. And so, although the Saviour's kingdom will be on earth, he has gone to heaven to receive it, or rather "to procure for himself the royalty;" as Campbell's edition, 1832, renders it. He would not accept His crown either from the multitude or from Satan, but only from His omnipotent Father who alone has the right to give it [John 6:15; Luke 4:6, 7.
And when He returns, having been divinely invested with the royalty
"then shall he sit upon the throne of His glory,"
and establish in the land of promise a glorious and divine kingdom which will quickly and miraculously
"break in pieces" all human kingdoms, and, like a great mountain, fill "the whole earth; " for His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth." [Matthew 25:31; Daniel 2:35, 44; [Zachariah 9:10]
Thus, throughout the world He will "possess the gate of His enemies," and great voices will be heard saying,
"The kingdoms of this world are become our Lord's – Yehovah’s and His Messiah's; and He shall reign forever and ever." [Genesis 22:17; Revelation 11:15]
And because the full scope of the promise to Abraham and his seed involves all this extensive inheritance, Paul speaks of it as the promise of "the world" [Romans 4:13].
The relationship which every believer sustains with the Messiah makes that believer a joint heir with the Messiah.
"As many of you as have been baptized into the Messiah have put on the Messiah [Galatians 3:27]
You are all one in the Messiah Jesus. And if you be the Messiah's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to
the promise.
[Galatians 3:29]
Heirs of God and JOINT-HEIRS with Jesus the Messiah." [Romans 8:17]
The Messiah is pre-eminently Abraham's Seed, but believers being reckoned by adoption as all one in and with the Messiah, they too are Abraham's seed (though multitudinous) and therefore they are JOINT-HEIRS with Him. So intimate is the union between the Messiah and believers that they are called
"the body of the Messiah," [Ephesians 5:30]
And
"are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." [1 Corinthians 12:27];
They are also, collectively and by a figure of speech, called
"The Bride the Lamb's wife," all of which proves their joint heirship with him. [Revelation 21:9]
I have now shown that the Messiah and the saints are the heirs; and that the inheritance will be obtained at the second coming of the Messiah.
Here let me answer several objections concerning the heirs. I have met some persons who without properly examining the subject have imagined that the promised inheritance was obtained when Israel settled in Canaan under the law of Moses. But this error is at once refuted by the positive declaration of Scripture that they
"possessed it but A LITTLE WHILE;" [Isaiah 63:18 with Genesis 17:8]
whereas the covenant with Abraham promises an everlasting possession of it. And even during the little while of their dwelling upon it, they occupied but a small portion of the large territory covenanted to Abraham; and were forbidden to take the part occupied by the Edomites, Moabites and Ammonites. [Deuteronomy 2:5, 9, 19] The law or "constitution" under which they were settled positively declared them to be "sojourners" i.e., temporary residents on the land. Leviticus 25:23. Hence, in the very height of their national triumph and prosperity, their inspired king David said
"We are strangers before you, and sojourners, as were ALL OF OUR FATHERS." [1 Chronicles 29:15; Habakkuk 11:9]
Their occupation of the land under the law was made conditional on their keeping the law. [Deuteronomy 11:22, 24]; but the covenant with Abraham which after being confirmed was not to be added to, imposed no such conditions as this. Hence the Scripture positively teaches that the inheritance promised to Abraham was not of the law. [Galatians 3:15, 18]. About seven centuries after they entered Canaan a holy prophet spoke of the Abrahamic covenant as still unfulfilled, for he says (not "you have not performed” but)
"You will perform the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham which you have sworn unto our fathers from the days of old." [Micah 7:20]
And Paul, glancing at a long succession of good men who lived there during the law, says,
"These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." [Hebrews 11:39, 40]
This reminds us of some great estate of which the older heirs cannot obtain their portion till the younger become of age; till the number of their brethren be made up. [Revelation 6:11]
In the writings of one Professor Bush, of America, and a Bishop Waldegrave, of England, it has been gravely suggested (apparently with the view of restricting it to Israel under the law) that the promise ought to be read "To you even to your seed" This would exclude Abraham personally from the inheritance. [Wrong interpretation]
Instead, it should correctly be "To you and to your seed”.
"He promised that He – Yehovah would give it to him for a possession and to his seed." [Acts 7: 5] "To Abraham and his seed were the promises made." [Galatians 3:16. 31]
"To you and to your seed WITH you," [Genesis 27: 4]
which implies that the patriarchs and the seed,
"which is the Messiah" will both possess it at the same time; hence they will then be "ever with the Lord."; [1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17]
Any rendering which would exclude Abraham personally would contradict the word of Yehovah who says,
"I am Yehovah that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it." [Genesis 15:7]
"I have also established my covenant with them (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) to give them the land of Canaan." [Exodus 6:4]
Abraham went into the
"place which he should after receive for an inheritance” and dwelt with Isaac and Jacob "the heirs with him of the same promise." [Hebrews 11:8, 9]
Let us kindly suppose that Bush and Waldegrave were betrayed into making that stupid suggestion through ignorance of the lucid explanation which Paul has given of the promises. If the promised inheritance was only intended for "Israel after the flesh" the merely natural seed who lived in Canaan under the law of Moses then not Abraham alone but we also would be excluded from the inheritance. But Paul's inspired explanation most positively forbids the application of the promise to the merely natural Jews under the Mosaic law, for he says that the "seed" specified in the covenant is the Messiah: and hence Abraham and other believers (even allowing the promise to be read, "To you even to your seed") are not disinherited, but rather have their portion secured to them in the Messiah, with whom all the righteous are "joint-heirs." [Romans 8:17]. And oh! I rejoice that all depends on the Messiah at last; that he, in whom "all the promises of God" are yea and amen, is the rich ddepositary of all these blessings. [2 Corinthians 1:20] In him our title stands secure, and in him we read our title clear; not to "mansions in the skies" but in the promised land of Canaan and the whole earth, which, by his beautiful and glorious presence will be gladdened and regenerated into an "heavenly country."
2. Where is the inheritance? The promises plainly enough prove that it will be ON EARTH. The demonstrative pronoun "this," five times used, ought to settle that matter.
"Unto your seed will I give THIS land." [Genesis 12: 7]
"THIS
land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." Genesis 15:18]
"Yehova God of heaven that swore unto me, saying, unto your seed will I give THIS land." Genesis 24:7]
"I will give THIS land to you seed after you for an everlasting possession." [Genesis 48:3, 4.]
It must be admitted that the holy and inspired Stephen interpreted the promise as referring to a Canaan on earth, for he spoke of it to the Jews as
"this land where you now dwell." [Acts 7:4]
It was described to Jacob as
"The land WHEREON YOU LAY;" [Genesis 27:13]
and to Abraham as
"The land wherein you are a stranger." Genesis 17:8]
And in Hebrews xi, 9, we are taught that Abraham went
"into the place (eiston topon) which he should after receive for an inheritance"
and sojourned in it.
We can form some further idea of the importance and excellence of that land from the following expressions applied to it in Scripture: It is called,
Yehovah’s land;
Leviticus 25:23.
Immanuel's
land; Isaiah 8:8.
The
pleasant land; Psalm 106:24.
The
glorious land; Daniel 11:16,
41.
The
glory of all lands; Ezekiel 20:6, 15.
A
good land and large, a land flowing with milk and honey; Exodus 3:8.
A
land which Yehovah
you God cars for; the eyes of Yehovah yourr God are always upon it; Deuteronomy 11:12.
The
holy land; Zechariah 2:12.
The land of the promise (tes epaggelias); Hebrews 11:9.
By its central situation it is admirably adapted to be the royal seat of a worldwide kingdom, being, as it were, the bridge and ligament of three continents. It extends from the Euphrates on the East to the river of Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea on the West; an area of about 300,000 square miles. [Genesis 15:18] I have counted thirteen states of the American Union whose aggregate area do not amount to this. But, as already shown, the promise of that land involves the promise of all lands, for the triumphant kingdom which the Messiah will establish there shall extend "to the ends of the earth" Zechariah 9:10. Hence the Father promises to give the son the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession; and the son promises to make the righteous heirs with himself, saying,
"Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." [Psalm ii,2:; Matthew 5:5. 3]
3. How long will they hold it? "Forever." [Genesis 13:15] "For an everlasting possession." It will be their "eternal inheritance." [Genesis 27:8; Hebrews 9:15] If the future life will be endless, the future possession of the land must also be, for it is the same word, "everlasting," that describes them both. Even in the present existence a man can legally hold his estate so long as his life endures; and that the future life of the righteous will be of endless duration is proved not merely Insuch words as forever, everlasting and eternal, but such expressions as,
"they CANNOT die any more;" [Luke 20:36 33]
they shall
"not perish;" [John 3:16]
"this mortal shall put on IMMORTALITY, and this corruptible shall put on incorruptibility." [1 Corinthians 15:53]
In the very nature of things, the promise of everlasting possession implies the promise of everlasting LIFE, because as soon as a man dies, he ceases to possess his property. And this is the reason why the law could not give that inheritance; because it could not give that life which is its indispensable adjunct or correlative. And it could not give that life because it could not give RIGHTEOUSNESS which is the condition that qualifies one for everlasting life.' So, Paul argues in Galatians 3:18, 21. Here there is a most important problem to be solved. We are all sinners by nature and therefore under the direct tendency to that death which is
"the wages of sin." [Romans 6:23]
By what means then can we obtain that RIGHTEOUSNESS without which we must come short of the everlasting life and the everlasting inheritance also? Can the law of Moses give us that righteousness?
No,
"for if righteousness come by the law then the Messiah died (apethanen, past tense,) in vain" [Galatians 2:21]
Ah! now the light breaks through the gloom; now the difficulty is solved;
"What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh” was accomplished by the pure and spotless Redeemer who "died for our sins" that "by means of" His death all who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. [1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 9:15]
In this way He "confirmed the promises," for but for the atoning merits of His death we see not how anyone could ever have been made worthy to realize them.
4. The certainty of the promises. The fact that they are the word of the Lord is proof enough of their certainty, but several times it has pleased the Lord to give His word and then confirm it with a solemn oath, thus giving us "two immutable" pledges.
"Yehovah that swore unto me, saying, Unto your Seed will I give this land." [Genesis 26:7]
"I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham your father." [Genesis 26:3]
"I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob." [Exodus 6:8]
"You will perform the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn unto our fathers from the days of old." [Micah 7:20]
Paul in speaking of the promises to Abraham says in the next verse,
"The covenant that was confirmed before of God in the Messiah, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of more effect." [Galatians 3:17]
Here we find that the covenant was "confirmed in the Messiah," and that the law has never disannulled it. We know by the date also, that he refers to the Abrahamic covenant, for commencing at Sinai, when the law was given, and measuring backwards four hundred and thirty years brings us to NO OTHER PERIOD in the world's history but the season when those promises were being made to the fathers. And since those promises were not antiquated or set aside by the law, and since the office of the Messiah himself is to "CONFIRM" them, they must remain in full force to this day, or, as Adam Clarke (on Romans 4) has truly said;
"It is the Abrahamic covenant in which we now stand." That is "an everlasting covenant," and one of which the Scripture says, "Be you always mindful." [1 Chronicles 16:17. 5]
5. How may individuals obtain a personal interest in those promises? or, in other words, by what process can they obtain that eternal inheritance and all the ceaseless joys connected with it? This, the most important question of the five, has, perhaps, the easiest and plainest answer. Paul describes the process when he says to some who had submitted to it,
"You are all the children of God by faith in the Messiah Jesus, for as many of you as have been baptized into the Messiah have put on the Messiah. . .. And if you are the Messiah’s then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. . .. Heirs of God and joint heirs with the Messiah." [Galatians 3:26, 27, 29; Romans 8:d17]
Here are two essential conditions to be complied with before you can become heirs of the promises made to Abraham and his seed. They are, first, "FAITH IN JESUS THE MESSIAH," by which expression Paul, of course, means exactly the same as when he told the jailor to
"believe on the Lord Jesus the Messiah." [Acts 16: 31]
And, as I have shown in a former discourse, no one truly believes on the Lord Jesus, or has "faith in the Messiah Jesus," if he refuses to believe the doctrine, message, or testimony which the Messiah Jesus preached; for "He that has received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true"; but on the other hand,
"He that believes not the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." [John 3:33, 36]
Now the doctrine, message, or testimony which the son preached was "the gospel of the kingdom of God" [Mark 1:14], and he who truly believes that gospel of the kingdom, and sincerely desires to be totally committed to obeying God’s will and strive to become more like the Messiah Jesus and is ready to comply with the second condition, which is being "BAPTISED INTO THE MESSIAH." In duly complying with both of those conditions he is enrolled among the "children of God," and becomes "a new creation in the Messiah Jesus," able to rejoice in the glorious hope of realizing, at the second Advent, his portion in those
''exceeding great and precious promises” made unto the fathers. [2 Peter I:4]
To recapitulate: I have now shown,
1st, That, when the Lord Jesus comes in heavenly glory to establish his kingdom, the land of Canaan and the whole earth besides will be given to him and the redeemed "for an everlasting possession;"
2nd, That this promise of everlasting possession involves and carries along with it the additional promise of everlasting life; and that the death of the Messiah for our sins was necessary in order to confirm these promises and make their attainment possible;
3rd, That a belief of the gospel of the kingdom, and baptism into the Messiah, followed by holiness of life, are the conditions on which an individual may obtain an inheritance in the promises made unto the fathers.
O then, if you value your own eternal welfare, hasten at once to comply with those terms and conditions. The yoke is easy, the burden light, and the reward surpasses human thought. Come to the Lord Jesus in believing on him and submitting to his command to those who have died to self and made a commitment to obey the will of the God and Father of the Lord Jesus, Yehovah.
"Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." [Acts 22:16]
This is a delightful and easy task; not like what was required of Abraham. The command laid upon him was,
"Abraham, take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and get you into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of." [Genesis 22:2] As Abraham revolved this command in his mind, every clause of it must have pierced like a dagger to his heart. But he did not falter nor seek to change the command and make an offering from his flocks and herds instead. Rising early in the morning [vs. 3] he starts on the journey without even telling Sarah of his intentions regarding the darling of both their hearts. At the prospect of Isaac's birth, she had laughed, but she might weep now at the prospect of his death, and so either break her husband's heart or; make him waver in the path of duty. Therefore he "consulted not with flesh and blood." God's call is to you; do not wait for someone else but come alone; you have to die alone. And now think of Abraham's feelings on that sad journey. Perhaps he said to himself, “O! Isaac, my son Isaac, would to God that I could die for you!" But still he goes forward. And now as they near the fatal spot he lays on Isaac's shoulders the wood [vs. 9] on which the offering was first to be slain and then consumed in the fire. Does not this typify that divine son, the only begotten and dearly beloved, on whose shoulders was laid the very cross on which he was to die? And now comes a thrilling scene, a trying moment. The unresisting Isaac is placed on the altar, and Abraham looks up to heaven with a countenance beaming with angelic faith, and then he raises the great glittering blade and is about to plunge it into the heart of his son, when, hark! a voice rings through the skies,
"Abraham! Abraham! lay not you hand upon the lad, neither do you anything unto him." [Genesis 22:11, 12]
And then I can imagine that for the first time in the whole trial his pent-up emotions, too deep for weeping, now find relief in a flood of tears. And looking around he beheld a ram caught in a thicket and offered him up as a substitute for Isaac. But there was no substitute for the son of God. He endured the great agony himself that we might live. How can you refuse to accept the blood-bought blessings which redeeming love has provided for yon?
Do you fear that you will not be accepted if you come to the Lord Jesus? He says
"Come unto me all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." [Matthew 11:28]
"There is joy among the angels of God over one sinner that repents." [Luke 15:10]
Pleased
with the news, the saints below
In
songs their tongues employ:
Beyond
the skies the tidings go,
And heaven is filled with joy.
Suppose
a little child wanders from home and is lost in the woods where wild beasts are
roaming. Presently the mother and father miss him, and, wringing their hands
and weeping, they rush from one neighbour to another, crying out, "Oh! my
child is lost! my child is lost!" A general alarm is sounded. Men start
out in every direction, some on horses, some afoot. They scatter through the
woods and fields in search of the lost one, and at last the almost distracted
mother and father, straining their eyes, catch a glad signal of waving
handkerchiefs from some distant hilltop that their child is found and safe, and
they are coming home with him. Can any words describe the joy with which those
loving parents welcome their child back to his home? Neither can words describe
the joy felt "over one sinner that repents."
Written in the 1800’s by Wiley Jones an elder in the called-out Assembly and edited by Bruce Lyon
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