A Dear, Dear Savior

"...Now I saw that the grief of Christ—was the grief of my Maker; that His wounds—were the wounds of the Almighty God; and the least drop of His blood—now appeared to me more valuable than ten thousand worlds! As I had before thought His sufferings too little—they now appeared to me to be too great; and I often cried out in transports of blissful astonishment, "Lord, 'tis too much, 'tis too much; surely my soul was not worth so great a price!"

I had also such a spirit of sympathetic love to the Lord Jesus given me—that after I had left off to sorrow for myself, for some months I grieved and mourned bitterly for Him. I looked on Him whom I had pierced, and felt such sharp compunction, mixed at the same time with so much compassion, that the pain and the pleasure I experienced, are much better felt—than expressed.

Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, is now the only thing I desire to know. In that incarnate mystery are contained all the rich treasures of divine wisdom. This is the mark towards which I am still pressing forward. This is the cup of salvation, of which I wish to drink deeper and deeper. This is the knowledge in which I long to grow; and desire at the same time a daily increase in all true grace and godliness. All duties, works, ordinances, etc. are to me then only rich—when they are enriched with the blood of the Lamb, in comparison of which all things else are but chaff and husks!"

Joseph Hart, from his Spiritual Autobiography

Christ's Righteousness Is of Infinite Worthiness and Merit

"The wounded soul is sensible that he has affronted the majesty of God, and looks upon God as a vindicator of his honor; as a jealous God that will not be mocked, an infinitely great God that will not bear to be affronted, that will not suffer his authority and majesty to be trampled on, that will not bear that his kindness should be abused.

A view of God in this light terrifies awakened souls. They think how exceedingly they have sinned, how they have sinned against light, against frequent and long-continued calls and warnings; and how they have slighted mercy, and been guilty of turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, taking encouragement from God's mercy to go on in sin against him; and they fear that God is so affronted at the contempt and slight which they have cast upon him, that he, being careful of his honor, will never forgive them, but will punish them.

But if they go to Christ, the honor of God's majesty and authority will not be in the least hurt by their being freed and made happy. For what Christ has done has repaired God's honor to the full. It is a greater honor to God's authority and majesty, that, rather than it should be wronged, so glorious a person would suffer what the law required. It is surely a wonderful display of the honor of God's majesty, to see an infinite and eternal person dying for its being wronged.

And then Christ by his obedience, by that obedience which he undertook for our sakes, has honored God abundantly more than the sins of any of us have dishonored him, how many soever, and how great soever. How great an honor is it to God's law that so great a person is willing to submit to it, and to obey it! God hates our sins, but not more than he delights in Christ's obedience which he performed on account. This is a sweet savor to him, a savor of rest. God is abundantly compensated, he desires no more; Christ's righteousness is of infinite worthiness and merit."

Jonathan Edwards, "Safety, Fullness, and Sweet Refreshment in Christ"

In the Bible JESUS Is the Alpha and the Omega, the Substance, the Sweetness, the Glory, the One, Precious, All Absorbing Theme!

The Word of God must ever be transcendently precious to the believer.

The Bible is, from its commencement to its close, a record of the Lord Jesus. Around Him the divine and glorious Word centers; all its wondrous types, prophecies, and facts gather.

His Promise and Foreshadowing, His holy Incarnation, Nativity, and Baptism, His Obedience and Passion, His Death, Burial, and Resurrection, His Ascension to heaven, His Second Coming to judge the world, are the grand and touching, the sublime and tender, the priceless and precious truths interwoven with the whole texture of the Bible, to which the Two Witnesses of Revelation, the Old and the New Testaments bear their harmonious and solemn testimony.

Beloved, let this be the one and chief object in your study of the Bible- the knowledge of Jesus.

The Bible is not a history, a book of science, or a poem; it is a record of Christ.

Study it to know more of Him, His nature, His love, His work. With the magnanimous Paul, "count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus your Lord."

Then will God's Word become increasingly precious to your soul, and its truths unfold.

In every page you will trace the history of Jesus, see the glory of Jesus, admire the work of Jesus, learn the love of Jesus, and hear the voice of Jesus.

The whole volume will be redolent of His name, and luminous with His beauty.

Oh, what is the Bible to us apart from its revelation of a Savior! Is there not great danger of studying it merely intellectually and scientifically, of reveling among its literary beauties and its grandeur, blind to its true value, and without any desire to know that precious Savior who died for sinners, that Divine Redeemer who purchased the ransom of His Church with His own blood; that Friend who loves us; that Brother who sympathizes with us, that enthroned High Priest who intercedes for us within the veil?

Do we study the "Word of Christ" spiritually and honestly, as those whose souls hunger and thirst for this the bread and water of life?

Do we search it diligently and earnestly as for hidden treasure; treasure beyond all price?

Can we say with David, "O how love I your law! it is my meditation all the day."

Do we read it with a child like mind, receive it with a believing heart, bow to its teaching with reverence of soul, and receive its decisions in all questions of faith and practice as decisive and ultimate?

In a word, do we search the Scriptures humbly, prayerfully, depending upon the guidance of the Spirit, to find Jesus in them?

Of these Scriptures He is the Alpha and the Omega, the substance, the sweetness, the glory, the one, precious, all absorbing theme.

Yes, Lord! Your word is precious to our souls, because it reveals to us Your glory, and tells us of Your love!

Octavius Winslow, "The Precious Things of God"

The Bridegroom Himself Is Better

"I would fain learn not to idolize comfort, sense, joy, and sweet felt presence. All these are but creatures and nothing but the kingly robe, the gold ring, and the bracelets of the Bridegroom. The Bridegroom himself is better than all the ornaments that are about him." 

-Samuel Rutherford