Sunday, February 7, 2016

I could not do without thee,
O Savior of the lost,
Whose precious blood redeemed me
At such tremendous cost;
Thy righteousness, thy pardon,
Thy sacrifice, must be
My only hope and comfort,
My glory and my plea.

I could not do without thee,
I cannot stand alone;
I have no strength or goodness,
No wisdom of my own;
But thou, beloved Savior,
Art all in all to me,
And weakness will be power,
If leaning hard on thee.

I could not do without thee,
For years are fleeting fast,
And soon in solemn silence,
The river must be passed;
But thou wilt never leave me,
And, tho’ the waves run high,
I know thou wilt be near me
And whisper, “It is I.”
                       Frances Ridley Havergal


So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.  Heb 9:28

     Salvation is the work of God.  It is He alone who quickens the soul "dead in trespasses and sins," and it is He also who maintains the soul in its spiritual life.  He is both "Alpha and Omega."  "Salvation is of the Lord."  If I am prayerful, God makes me prayerful; if I have graces, they are God's gift to me; if I hold on in a consistent life, it is because He upholds me with His hand.  I do nothing whatever towards my own preservation, except what God himself first does in me.  Whatever I have, all my goodness, is of the Lord alone.  Wherein I sin, that is my own; but wherein I act rightly, that is of God, wholly and completely.  If I have repulsed a spiritual enemy, the Lord's strength nerved my arm.  Do I live before men a consecrated life?  It is not I, but Christ who liveth in me.  Am I sanctified?  I did not cleanse myself:  God's Holy Spirit sanctifies me.  Am I weaned from the world?  I am weaned by God's chastisements sanctified-to my good.  Do I grow in knowledge?  The great Instructor teaches me.  All my jewels were fashioned by heavenly art.  I find in God all that I want; but I find in myself nothing but sin and misery.  "He only is my rock and my salvation."  Do I feed on the Word?  That Word would be no food for me unless the Lord made it food for my soul, and helped me to feed upon it.  Do I live on the manna which comes down from heaven?  What is that manna but Jesus Christ himself incarnate, whose body and whose blood I eat and drink?  Am I continually receiving fresh increase of strength?  Where do I gather my might?  My help cometh from heaven's hills:  without Jesus I can do nothing.  As a branch cannot bring forth fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can I, except I abide in Him.  What Jonah learned in the great deep, let me learn this morning in my closet; "Salvation is of the Lord."                                            
                                                                                                                                      C. H. Spurgeon



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