“though your sin be great, is not God's mercy great, exceeding great? is not the satisfaction of Christ great? are the merits of Christ's blood small? Is not God, the great God of heaven and earth, able to do great things? You grant that God is almighty in providing for you and is he not almighty also in pardoning: will ye spoil God of his almightiness in pardoning? You say your sin is great, but is it infinite is there any more infinites than one, and that is God? Is your sin as big as God, as big as Christ is Jesus Christ only a Mediator for small sins will you bring down the satisfaction of Christ, and the mercy of God, to your own model? Hath not the Lord said concerning pardoning mercy, that his "thoughts are not as our thoughts, but as the heavens are greater than the earth, so are his thoughts (in this respect) beyond our thoughts." Hath not the Lord said, in Isaiah xliii, unto the people of the Jews, at verse 22, "But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel." Verse 23, "Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offering, neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices." Verse 24, "Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifice but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thy iniquity." Yet, verse 25, "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgression for my own sake, and will not remember thy sins." Here are sins, and great sins and if the Lord will therefore pardon sin because it is great, unto his people then surely they have no reason to be quite discouraged in this respect.” So may you do though God hath forsaken you, though you want the sense of his love, yea, and are under the sense of God's anger yet at the same time you may say, The Lord is my Father, and you may go to him as your Father: and if you can say, God is my Father, have you any reason for your discouragements?” And I pray tell me, is it not sufficient to be as our Master was? Did not Christ want the sense of God's love, when he said, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Yea, had not Christ the sense of God's anger upon him when he did perform the greatest act of obedience that ever the sun saw: yet did he then say, I am not the child of God, because I want the sense of God's love, because I am under the sense of God's anger? No, but with the same breath that he said he was forsaken, he said, "My God, my God " and at the same time he called God Father, "Father, forgive them," &c. Please read it for yourself.“We do not live by feeling, but by faith: it is the duty of a Christian to begin with faith, and so to rise up to feeling: you would begin with feeling, and so come down to faith but you must begin with faith, and so rise up to feeling. There is just so much good spiritual food to feed on. There is also a long explanation of the doctrine of election starting on page 249 and explains why it is a comfort to the afflicted soul.
This work is a true balm to the soul and anyone suffering from this affliction should read it and highlight. Take this excerpt from page 69: “And if you look into Scripture, you will find that the Lord does not condemn a man, no not a wicked man, barely for the act of his former sin, but because he will not turn from it.psalm 7.11,12…The Lord has prepared instruments of death against every wicked man but yet, notwithstanding, though a man be never so wicked, if he turn unto the Lord, God will not discharge those instruments of death upon him, yea, though his sins have been never so great but says the text, ‘If he turn not’ (not because he hath sinned before, only, but because he turns not from his sin), ‘ He will whet his sword he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.’ Now there is, always, in the saints and people of God, a turning disposition, although they do sin against God there is always, I say, a turning disposition in them, and therefore the Lord will not discharge the instruments of death upon them: surely, then, they have no reason to be quite discouraged in this respect.”īridge finishes the chapter on discouragements due to sin with: “Now therefore, if at any time you find your soul in any sin, then say, This has my unbelief done.” He says to trace all your sins to unbelief.īridge concludes with the remedy for discouragement to be faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Even if you have sinned you should not be discouraged. He anticipates every instance imaginable. He begins with the Christian should never be discouraged no matter what the circumstances. Martyn-Lloyd Jones’ “Spiritual Depression is also excellent on this subject but Mr. I cannot say enough of the excellence of this work and how it has benefited my soul.
0 kommentar(er)
