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"To preach
deliverance to the captives."
- Luke 4:18 |
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None but Jesus can give deliverance
to captives. Real liberty cometh from him only. It is a
liberty righteously bestowed; for the Son, who is Heir of all
things, has a right to make men free.
The saints
honour the justice of God, which now secures their salvation.
It is a liberty which has been dearly purchased. Christ speaks
it by his power, but he bought it by his blood.
He
makes thee free, but it is by his own bonds. Thou goest clear,
because he bare thy burden for thee: thou art set at liberty,
because he has suffered in thy stead. But, though dearly
purchased, he freely gives it.
Jesus asks nothing of
us as a preparation for this liberty. He finds us sitting in
sackcloth and ashes, and bids us put on the beautiful array of
freedom; he saves us just as we are, and all without our help
or merit. When Jesus sets free, the liberty is perpetually
entailed; no chains can bind again.
Let the Master say
to me, "Captive, I have del ivered thee," and it is done for
ever. Satan may plot to enslave us, but if the Lord be on our
side, whom shall we fear? The world, with its temptations, may
seek to ensnare us, but mightier is he who is for us than all
they who be against us. The machinations of our own deceitful
hearts may harass and annoy us, but he who hath begun the good
work in us will carry it on and perfect it to the end.
The foes of God and the enemies of man may gather
their hosts together, and come with concentrated fury against
us, but if God acquitteth, who is he that condemneth? Not more
free is the eagle which mounts to his rocky eyrie, and
afterwards outsoars the clouds, than the soul which Christ
hath delivered. If we are no more under the law, but free from
its curse, let our liberty be practically exhibited in our
serving God with gratitude and delight. "I am thy servant, and
the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. " "Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do?"
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"For he saith
to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I
will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
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Romans 9:15 |
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In these words the Lord in the
plainest manner claims the right to give or to withhold his
mercy according to his own sovereign will. As the prerogative
of life and death is vested in the monarch, so the Judge of
all the earth has a right to spare or condemn the guilty, as
may seem best in his sight. Men by their sins have forfeited
all claim upon God; they deserve to perish for their sins-and
if they all do so, they have no ground for complaint.
If the Lord steps in to save any, he may do so if the
ends of justice are not thwarted; but if he judges it best to
leave the condemned to suffer the righteous sentence, none may
arraign him at their bar. Foolish and impudent are all those
discourses about the rights of men to be all placed on the
same footing; ignorant, if not worse, are those contentions
against discriminating grace, which are but the rebellions of
proud human nature against the crown and sceptre of Jehovah.
When we are brought to see our o wn utter ruin and ill desert,
and the justice of the divine verdict against sin, we no
longer cavil at the truth that the Lord is not bound to save
us; we do not murmur if he chooses to save others, as though
he were doing us an injury, but feel that if he deigns to look
upon us, it will be his own free act of undeserved goodness,
for which we shall for ever bless his name.
How shall
those who are the subjects of divine election sufficiently
adore the grace of God? They have no room for boasting, for
sovereignty most effectually excludes it. The Lord's will
alone is glorified, and the very notion of human merit is cast
out to everlasting contempt. There is no more humbling
doctrine in Scripture than that of election, none more
promotive of gratitude, and, consequently, none more
sanctifying. Believers should not be afraid of it, but
adoringly rejoice in it.
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