Morning, January 14
Go To Evening Reading
“Mighty to save.”
Isaiah 63:1
By the words “to save” we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the
first holy desire onward to complete sanctification. The words are
multum in parro : indeed, here is all mercy in one word. Christ is not only “mighty to save” those who repent, but he is able to make men repent. He will carry
those to heaven who believe; but he is, moreover, mighty to give men
new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man
who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of his name
to bend the knee before him. Nay, this is not all the meaning, for
the divine power is equally seen in the after-work. The life of a
believer is a series of miracles wrought by “the Mighty God.” The bush burns, but is not consumed. He is mighty to keep his people
holy after he has made them so, and to preserve them in his fear and
love until he consummates their spiritual existence in heaven. Christ’s might doth not lie in making a believer and then leaving him to
shift for himself; but he who begins the good work carries it on;
he who imparts the first germ of life in the dead soul, prolongs the
divine existence, and strengthens it until it bursts asunder every
bond of sin, and the soul leaps from earth, perfected in glory. Believer,
here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh,
give not up thy prayers, for Christ is “mighty to save.” You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty.
Lay hold on that mighty arm, and rouse it to put forth its strength.
Does your own case trouble you? Fear not, for his strength is sufficient
for you. Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in
you, Jesus is “mighty to save;” the best proof of which lies in the fact that he has saved you . What a thousand mercies that you have not found him mighty to destroy!