Sept. 25
THE SACRIFICE HAS BEEN ACCEPTED
"If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a
burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have
showed us all these things" Judges 13:23
This is a sort of promise deduced by logic. It is an inference
fairly drawn from ascertained facts. It was not likely that the Lord
had revealed to Manoah and his wife that a son would be born to them,
and yet had it in His heart to destroy them. The wife reasoned well,
and we shall do well if we follow her line of argument.
The Father has accepted the great sacrifice of Calvary, and has
declared Himself well pleased therewith; how can He now be pleased to
kill us? Why a substitute if the sinner must still
perish? The accepted sacrifice of Jesus puts an end to fear.
The Lord has shown us our election, our adoption, our union to
Christ, our marriage to the Well-beloved: how can he now destroy us?
The promises are loaded with blessings, which necessitate our being
preserved unto eternal life. It is not possible for the Lord to cast
us away, and yet fulfill His covenant. The past assures us, and the
future reassures us. We shall not die, but live; for we have seen
Jesus, and in Him we have seen the Father by the illumination of the
Holy Ghost. Because of this life-giving sight we must live for ever.