_ASSURANCE OF SALVATION_.
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the
Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye
may believe on the name of the Son of God."
(1 John v. 13. )
There are two classes who ought not to have Assurance. First: those
who are in the Church, but who are not converted, having never been
born of the Spirit. Second: those not willing to do God's will; who
are not ready to take the place that God has mapped out for them, but
want to fill some other place.
Some one will ask "Have all God's people Assurance?" No; I think a
good many of God's dear people have no Assurance; but it is the
privilege of every child of God to have beyond doubt a knowledge of
his own salvation. No man is fit for God's service who is filled with
doubts. If a man is not sure of his own salvation, how can he help
any one else into the kingdom of God? If I seem in danger of drowning
and do not know whether I shall ever reach the shore, I cannot assist
another. I must first get on the solid rock myself; and then I can
lend my brother a helping hand. If being myself blind I were to tell
another blind man how to get sight, he might reply, "First get healed
yourself; and then you can tell me." I recently met with a young man
who was a Christian: but he had not attained to victory over sin. He
was in terrible darkness. Such an one is not fit to work for God,
because he has besetting sins; and he has not the victory over his
doubts, because he has not the victory over his sins.
None will have time or heart to work for God, who are not assured as
to their own salvation. They have as much as they can attend to; and
being themselves burdened with doubts, they cannot help others to
carry their burdens. There is no rest, joy, or peace--no liberty, nor
power--where doubts and uncertainty exist.
Now it seems as if there are three wiles of Satan against which we
ought to be on our guard. In the first place he moves all his kingdom
to keep us away from Christ; then he devotes himself to get us into
"Doubting Castle:" but if we have, in spite of him, a clear ringing
witness for the Son of God, he will do all he can to blacken our
characters and belie our testimony.
Some seem to think that it is presumption not to have doubts; but
doubt is very dishonoring to God. If any one were to say that they
had known a person for thirty years and yet doubted him, it would not
be very creditable; and when we have known God for ten, twenty or
thirty years does it not reflect on His veracity to doubt Him.
Could Paul and the early Christians and martyrs have gone through
what they did if they had been filled with doubts, and had not known
whether they were going to heaven or to perdition after they had been
burned at the stake? They must have had Assurance.
Mr. Spurgeon says: "I never heard of a stork that when it met with a
fir tree demurred as to its right to build its nest there; and I
never heard of a coney yet that questioned whether it had a permit to
run into the rock. Why, these creatures would soon perish if they
were always doubting and fearing as to whether they had a right to
use providential provisions.
"The stork says to himself, 'Ah, here is a fir tree:' he consults
with his mate, 'Will this do for the nest in which we may rear our
young?' 'Aye,' says she; and they gather the materials, and arrange
them. There is never any deliberation, 'May we build here?' but they
bring their sticks and make their nest.
"The wild goat on the crag does not say, 'Have I a right here?' No,
he must be somewhere: and there is a crag which exactly suits him;
and he springs upon it.
"Yet, though these dumb creatures know the provision of their God,
the sinner does not recognize the provision of his Saviour. He
quibbles and questions, 'May I?' and 'I am afraid it is not for me;'
and 'I think it cannot be meant for me;' and 'I am afraid it is too
good to be true.'
"And yet nobody ever said to the stork, 'Whosoever buildeth on this
fir tree shall never have his nest pulled down.' No inspired word has
ever said to the coney, 'Whosoever runs into this rock cleft shall
never be driven out of it.' If it had been so it would make assurance
doubly sure."
"And yet here is Christ provided for sinners, just the sort of a
Saviour sinners need; and the encouragement is added, 'Him that
cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out;' 'Whosoever will, let him
take the water of life freely.'"
Now let us come to the Word. John tells us in his Gospel what Christ
did for us on earth. In his Epistle He tells us what He is doing for
us in heaven as our Advocate. In his Gospel there are only two
chapters in which the word "believe" does not occur. With these two
exceptions, every chapter in John is "Believe! _Believe!!_
Believe!!!" He tells us in xx. 31, "But these are written, that ye
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that,
believing, ye might have life through His name." That is the purpose
for which he wrote the Gospel--"that we might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God: and that, believing, we might have life
through His name" (John xx. 31).
Turn to 1 John v. 13, he there tells us why he wrote this Epistle:
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the
Son of God." Notice to whom he writes it "You that believe on the
name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life,
and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." There are
only five short chapters in this first Epistle, and the word "know"
occurs over forty times. It is "_Know!_ Know!! KNOW!!!" The Key to it
is Know! and all through the Epistle there rings out the
refrain--"that we might know that we have eternal life."
I went twelve hundred miles down the Mississippi in the spring some
years ago; and every evening, just as the sun went down, you might
have seen men, and sometimes women, riding up to the banks of the
river on either side on mules or horses, and sometimes coming on
foot, for the purpose of lighting up the Government lights; and all
down that mighty river there were landmarks which guided the pilots
in their dangerous navigation. Now God has given us lights or
landmarks to tell us whether we are His children or not; and what we
need to do is to examine the tokens He has given us.
In the third chapter of John's first Epistle there are five things
worth knowing.
In the fifth verse we read the first: "And ye _know_ that He was
manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin." Not what I
have done, but what HE has done. Has He failed in His mission? Is He
not able to do what He came for? Did ever any heaven-sent man fail
yet? and could God's own Son fail? He was manifested to take away our
sins.
Again, in the nineteenth verse, the second thing worth knowing: "And
hereby _we know_ that we are of the truth, and shall _assure_ our
hearts before Him." We know that we are of the truth. And if the
truth make us free, we shall be free indeed. "If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John viii. 36.)
The third thing worth knowing is in the fourteenth verse, "_We know_
that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren." The natural man does not like godly people, nor does he
care to be in their company. "He that loveth not his brother abideth
in death." He has no spiritual life.
The fourth thing worth knowing we find in verse twenty-four: "And he
that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And
hereby _we know_ that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath
given us." We can tell what kind of Spirit we have if we possess the
Spirit of Christ--a Christ-like spirit--not the same in degree, but
the same in kind. If I am meek, gentle, and forgiving; if I have a
spirit filled with peace and joy; if I am long-suffering and gentle,
like the Son of God--that is a test: and in that way we are to tell
whether we have eternal life or not.
The fifth thing worth knowing, and the best of all, is "Beloved,
_now_." Notice the word "Now." It does not say when you come to die.
"Beloved, _now_ are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be: but _we know_ that, when He shall appear; we shall
be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (v. 2).
But some will say, "Well, I believe all that; but then I have sinned
since I became a Christian." Is there a man or a woman on the face of
the earth who has not sinned since becoming a Christian? Not one!
There never has been, and never will be, a soul on this earth who has
not sinned, or who will not sin, at some time of their Christian
experience. But God has made provision for believers' sins. _We_ are
not to make provision for them; but God has. Bear that in mind.
Turn to 1 John ii. 1: "My little children, these things write I unto
you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." He is here writing to the
righteous. "If any man sin, _we_"--John put himself in--"we have an
Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." What an
Advocate! He attends to our interests at the very best place--the
throne of God. He said, "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; it is
expedient for you that I go away" (John xvi. 7). He went away to
become our High Priest, and also our Advocate. He has had some hard
cases to plead; but he has never lost one: and if you entrust your
immortal interests to Him, He will "present you faultless before the
presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24).
The past sins of Christians are all forgiven as soon as they are
confessed; and they are never to be mentioned. That is a question
which is not to be opened up again. If our sins have been put away,
that is the end of them. They are not to be remembered; and God will
not mention them any more. This is very plain. Suppose I have a son
who, while I am from home, does wrong. When I go home he throws his
arms around my neck and says, "Papa, I did what you told me not to
do. I am very sorry. Do forgive me." I say: "Yes, my son," and kiss
him. He wipes away his tears, and goes off rejoicing.
But the next day he says: "Papa, I wish you would forgive me for the
wrong I did yesterday." I should say: "Why, my son, that thing is
settled; and I don't want it mentioned again." "But I wish you would
forgive me: it would help me to hear you say, 'I forgive you.'" Would
that be honoring me? Would it not grieve me to have my boy doubt me?
But to gratify him I say again, "I forgive you, my son."
And if, the next day, he were again to bring up that old sin, and ask
forgiveness, would not that grieve me to the heart? And so, my dear
reader, if God has forgiven us, never let us mention the past. Let us
forget those things which are behind, and reach forth unto those
which are before, and press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let the sins of the past go; for "If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John i. 9).
And let me say that this principle is recognized in courts of
justice. A case came up in the courts of a country--I won't say
where--in which a man had had trouble with his wife; but he forgave
her, and then afterwards brought her into court. And, when it was
known that he had forgiven her, the judge said that the thing was
settled. The judge recognized the soundness of the principle, that if
a sin were once forgiven there was an end of it. And do you think the
Judge of all the earth will forgive you and me, and open the question
again? Our sins are gone for time and eternity, if God forgives: and
what we have to do is to confess and forsake our sins.
Again in 2 Corinthians xiii. 5: "Examine yourselves whether ye be in
the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how
that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" Now examine
yourselves. Try your religion. Put it to the test. Can you forgive an
enemy? That is a good way to know if you are a child of God. Can you
forgive an injury, or take an affront, as Christ did? Can you be
censured for doing well, and not murmur? Can you be misjudged and
misrepresented, and yet keep a Christ-like spirit?
Another good test is to read Galatians v., and notice the fruits of
the Spirit; and see if you have them. "The fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." If I have the
fruits of the Spirit I must have the Spirit. I could not have the
fruits without the Spirit any more than there could be an orange
without the tree. And Christ says "Ye shall know them by their
fruits;" "for the tree is known by his fruits." Make the tree good,
and the fruit will be good. The only way to get the fruit is to have
the Spirit. That is the way to examine ourselves whether we are the
children of God.
Then there is another very striking passage. In Romans viii. 9, Paul
says: "Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
His." That ought to settle the question, even though one may have
gone through all the external forms that are considered necessary by
some to constitute a member of a Church. Read Paul's life, and put
yours alongside of it. If your life resembles his, it is a proof that
you are born again--that you are a new creature in Christ Jesus.
But although you may be born again, it will require time to become a
full-grown Christian. Justification is instantaneous; but
sanctification is a life-work. We are to grow in wisdom. Peter says
"Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ" (2 Pet. iii. 18); and in the first chapter of his Second
Epistle, "Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to
knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound they make
you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ." So that we are to add grace to grace. A
tree may be perfect in its first year of growth; but it does not
attain its maturity. So with the Christian: he may be a true child of
God, but not a matured Christian. The eighth of Romans is very
important, and we should be very familiar with it. In the fourteenth
verse the apostle says: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God
they are the sons of God." Just as the soldier is led by his captain,
the pupil by his teacher, or the traveller by his guide; so the Holy
Spirit will be the guide of every true child of God.
Then let me call your attention to another fact. All Paul's teaching
in nearly every Epistle rings out the doctrine of assurance. He says
in 2 Corinthians v. 1: "For we _know_ that if our earthly house of
this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." He had a title to the
mansions above, and he says--_I know it_. He was not living in
uncertainty. He said: "I have a desire to depart and be with Christ"
(Phil. i. 23); and if he had been uncertain he would not have said
that. Then in Colossians iii. 4, he says: "When Christ, who is our
life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." I
am told that Dr. Watts' tombstone bears this same passage of
Scripture. There is no doubt there.
Then turn to Colossians i. 12: "Giving thanks unto the Father, which
hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in
light; who _hath_ delivered us from the power of darkness, and _hath_
translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son."
Three _haths_: "hath made us meet;" "hath delivered us;" and "hath
translated us." It does not say that He is going to make us meet;
that He is going to deliver; that He is going to translate.
Then again in verse 14th: "In whom we have redemption through His
blood, even the forgiveness of sins." We are either forgiven or we
are not, we should not give ourselves any rest until we get into the
kingdom of God; nor until we can each look up and say, "I know that
if my earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, I have a
building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens"
(2 Cor. v. 1).
Look at Romans viii. 32: "He that spared not His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely
give us all things?" If He gave us His Son, will He not give us the
certainty that He is ours. I have heard this illustration. There was
a man who owed $10,000, and would have been made a bankrupt, but a
friend came forward and paid the sum. It was found afterwards that he
owed a few dollars more; but he did not for a moment entertain a
doubt that, as his friend had paid the larger amount, he would also
pay the smaller. And we have high warrant for saying that if God has
given us His Son He will with Him also freely give us all things; and
if we want to realize our salvation beyond controversy He will not
leave us in darkness.
Again in the 33d verse: "Who shall lay anything to the charge of
God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at
the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is
written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
That has the right ring in it. There is Assurance for you. "I Know."
Do you think that the God who has justified me will condemn me? That
is quite an absurdity. God is going to save us so that neither men,
angels, nor devils, can bring any charge against us or Him. He will
have the work complete.
Job lived in a darker day than we do; but we read in Job xix. 25: "I
_know_ that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand in the latter
day upon the earth."
The same confidence breathes through Paul's last words to Timothy:
"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am
not ashamed; for I _know_ whom I have believed, and am persuaded that
He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that
day." It is not a matter of doubt, but of knowledge. "I know." "I am
persuaded." The word "Hope," is not used in the Scripture to express
doubt. It is used in regard to the second coming of Christ, or to the
resurrection of the body. We do not say that we "hope" we are
Christians. I do not say that I "hope" I am an American, or that I
"hope" I am a married man. These are settled things. I may say that I
"hope" to go back to my home, or I hope to attend such a meeting. I
do not say that I "hope" to come to this country, for I am here. And
so, if we are born of God we know it; and He will not leave us in
darkness if we search the Scriptures.
Christ taught this doctrine to His seventy disciples when they
returned elated with their success, saying, "Lord, even the devils
are subject unto us through Thy name." The Lord seemed to check them,
and said that He would give them something to rejoice in.
"Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject
unto you; but rather rejoice because your names are written in
heaven." (Luke x. 20.)
It is the privilege of every one of us to know, beyond a doubt, that
our salvation is sure. Then we can work for others. But if we are
doubtful of our own salvation, we are not fit for the service of God.
Another passage is John v. 24: "Verily, verily I say unto you: He
that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into '_judgment_,'" (the new
translation has it so), "but is passed from death unto life."
Some people say that you never can tell till you are before the great
white throne of Judgment whether you are saved or not. Why, my dear
friend, if your life is hid with Christ in God, you are not coming
into judgment for your sins. We may come into judgment for reward.
This is clearly taught where the lord reckoned with the servant to
whom five talents had been given, and who brought other five talents
saying, "Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents; behold, I have
gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well
done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a
few things; I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into
the joy of thy lord." (Matt. xxv. 20, 21.) We shall be judged for our
stewardship. That is one thing; but salvation--eternal life--is
another.
Will God demand payment twice of the debt which Christ has paid for
us? If Christ bear my sins in His own body on the tree, am I to
answer for them as well?
Isaiah tells us that, "He was wounded for our transgressions; He was
bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon
Him: and with His stripes we are healed." In Romans iv. 25, we read:
He "was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our
justification." Let us believe, and get the benefit of His finished
work.
Then again in John x. 9: "I am the door: by Me if any man enter in he
shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." That is
the promise. Then the 27th verse, "My sheep hear my voice; and I know
them, and they follow Me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they
shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My father which gave them is greater than all; and no man is able to
pluck them out of my Father's hand." Think of that! The Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost, are pledged to keep us. You see that it is
not only the Father, not only the Son, but the three persons of the
Triune God.
Now, a great many people want some token outside of God's word. That
habit always brings doubt. If I made a promise to meet a man at a
certain hour and place to-morrow, and he were to ask me for my watch
as a token of my sincerity, it would be a slur on my truthfulness. We
must not question what God has said: He has made statement after
statement, and multiplied figure upon figure. Christ says: "I am the
door; by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved." "I am the Good
Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine." "I am the light
of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life." "I am the truth;" receive Me, and you
will have the truth; for I am the embodiment of truth. Do you want to
know the way? "I am the way:" follow Me, and I will lead you into the
kingdom. Are you hungering after righteousness? "I am the Bread of
life:" if you eat of Me you shall never hunger. "I am the Water of
life:" if you drink of this water it shall be within you "a well of
water springing up unto everlasting life." "I am the resurrection and
the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."
(John xi. 25, 26.)
Let me remind you where our doubts come from. A good many of God's
dear people never get beyond knowing themselves servants. He calls us
"friends." If you go into a house you will soon see the difference
between the servant and the son. The son walks at perfect liberty all
over the house; he is at home. But the servant takes a subordinate
place. What we want is to get beyond servants. We ought to realize
our standing with God as sons and daughters. He will not "un-child"
His children. God has not only adopted us, but we are His by birth:
we have been born into His kingdom. My little boy was as much mine
when he was a day old as now that he is fourteen. He was _my son_;
although it did not appear what he would be when he attained manhood.
He is mine; although he may have to undergo probation under tutors
and governors. The children of God are not perfect; but we are
perfectly His children.
Another origin of doubts is looking at ourselves. If you want to be
wretched and miserable, filled with doubts from morning till night,
look at yourselves. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind
is stayed on Thee." (Isa. xxvi. 3.) Many of God's dear children are
robbed of joy because they keep looking at themselves.
Some one has said: "There are three ways to look. If you want to be
wretched, look within; if you wish to be distracted, look around; but
if you would have peace, look up." Peter looked away from Christ, and
he immediately began to sink. The Master said to him: "O thou of
little faith! Wherefore didst thou doubt?" (Matt. xiv. 31.) He had
God's eternal word, which was sure footing, and better than either
marble, granite or iron; but the moment he took his eyes off Christ
down he went. Those who look around cannot see how unstable and
dishonoring is their walk. We want to look straight at the "Author
and Finisher of our faith."
When I was a boy I could only make a straight track in the snow, by
keeping my eyes fixed upon a tree or some object before me. The
moment I took my eye off the mark set in front of me, I walked
crooked. It is only when we look fixedly on Christ that we find
perfect peace. After He rose from the dead He showed His disciples
His hands and His feet. (Luke xxiv. 40.) That was the ground of their
peace. If you want to scatter your doubts, look at the blood; and if
you want to increase your doubts, look at yourself. You will get
doubts enough for years by being occupied with yourself for a few
days.
Then again: look at what He is, and at what He has done; not at what
you are, and what you have done. That is the way to get peace and
rest.
Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring the emancipation of
three millions of slaves. On a certain day their chains were to fall
off, and they were to be free. The proclamation was put up on the
trees and fences wherever the Northern Army marched. A good many
slaves could not read: but others read the proclamation, and most of
them believed it; and on a certain day a glad shout went up, "We are
free!" Some did not believe it, and stayed with their old masters;
but it did not alter the fact that they were free. Christ, the
Captain of our salvation, has proclaimed freedom to all who have
faith in Him. Let us take Him at His word. Their feelings would not
have made the slaves free. The power must come from the outside.
Looking at ourselves will not make us free, but it is looking to
Christ with the eye of faith.
Bishop Ryle has strikingly said: "Faith is the root, and Assurance
the flower." Doubtless you can never have the flower without the
root; but it is no less certain you may have the root, and not the
flower.
"Faith is that poor trembling woman who came behind Jesus in the
press, and touched the hem of His garment. (Mark v. 27.) Assurance is
Stephen standing calmly in the midst of his murderers, and saying, 'I
see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand
of God'" (Acts vii. 56).
"Faith is the penitent thief, crying, 'Lord, remember me' (Luke xxiii.
42). Assurance is Job sitting in the dust, covered with sores, and
saying, 'I know that my Redeemer liveth;' 'Though He slay me, yet
will I trust in Him'" (Job xix. 25; xiii. 15).
"Faith is Peter's drowning cry, as he began to sink, 'Lord, save me!'
(Matt. xiv. 30). Assurance is that same Peter declaring before the
Council, in after-times, 'This is the stone which was set at nought
of you builders, which is become the head of the corner: neither is
there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved'" (Acts iv. 11, 12).
"Faith is the anxious, trembling voice, 'Lord, I believe; help Thou
mine unbelief!' (Mark ix. 24). Assurance is the confident challenge,
'Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who is he that
condemneth?'" (Rom. viii. 33, 34).
Faith is Saul praying in the house of Judas at Damascus, sorrowful,
blind, and alone. (Acts ix. 11.) Assurance is Paul, the aged
prisoner, looking calmly into the grave, and saying, 'I know whom I
have believed.' 'There is a crown laid up for me' (2 Tim. i. 12; iv.
8).
"Faith is Life. How great the blessing! Who can tell the gulf between
life and death? And yet life may be weak, sickly, unhealthy, painful,
trying, anxious, worn, burdensome, joyless, smileless, to the very
end.
"Assurance is _more than life_. It is health, strength, power, vigor,
activity, energy, manliness, beauty."
A minister once pronounced the benediction in this way: "The heart of
God to make us welcome; the blood of Christ to make us clean, and the
Holy Spirit to make us certain." The security of the believer is the
result of the operation of the Spirit of God.
Another writer says: "I have seen shrubs and trees grow out of the
rocks, and overhang fearful precipices, roaring cataracts, and deep
running waters; but they maintained their position, and threw out
their foliage and branches as much as if they had been in the midst
of a dense forest." It was their hold on the rock that made them
secure; and the influences of nature that sustained their life. So
believers are oftentimes exposed to the most horrible dangers in
their journey to heaven; but, so long as they are "rooted and
grounded" in the Rock of Ages, they are perfectly secure. Their hold
of Him is their guarantee; and the blessings of His grace give them
life and sustain them in life. And as the tree must die, or the rock
fall, before a dissolution can be effected between _them_, so either
the believer must lose his spiritual life, or the Rock must crumble,
ere their union can be dissolved.
Speaking of the Lord Jesus, Isaiah says: "I will fasten Him as a nail
in a sure place; and He shall be for a glorious throne to His
Father's house: and they shall hang upon Him all the glory of His
father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small
quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of
flagons" (xxii. 23, 24).
There is one nail, fastened in a sure place; and on it hang all the
flagons and all the cups. "Oh," says one little cup, "I am so small
and so black, suppose I were to drop!" "Oh," says a flagon, "there is
no fear of you; but I am so heavy, so very weighty, suppose I were to
drop!" And a little cup says, "Oh, if I were only like the gold cup
there, I should never fear falling." But the gold cup answers, "It is
not because I am a gold cup that I keep up; but because I hang upon
the nail." If the nail gives way we all come down, gold cups, china
cups, pewter cups, and all; but as long as the nail keeps up, all
that hang on Him hang safely.
I once read these words on a tombstone: "Born, died, kept." Let us
pray God to keep us in perfect peace, and assured of salvation.