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I SAW ONE HANGING ON A TREE
By John Newton 1779
In evil long I took delight, unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight, and stopped my wild career:
I saw One hanging on a tree, in agonies and blood,
Who fix'd His lanquid eyes on me, as near His cross I stood.
Sure never till my latest breath, can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death, though not a word He spoke.
My conscience felt and owned the guilt, and plunged me in despair;
I saw my sins His blood had spilt, and help'd to nail Him there.
Alas! I knew not what I did; but now my tears are vain;
Where shall my trembling soul be hid? For I the Lord have slain!
A second look He gave, which said, 'I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid, I die, that thou mayst live.
Thus while His death my sin displays, In all its blackest hue
(Such is the mystery of grace), It seals my pardon too.
With pleasing grief and mournful joy, My Spirit now is fill'd,
That I should such a life destroy, Yet live by Him I killed.
(Tune: Amazing Grace # 236)
“The greatest danger does not lie in the position we are called to occupy, but in our relying upon our own strength, and not upon our God.”
- Charles Spurgeon
Who is A God Like Unto Thee?
Micah 7:18
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy.
One of the most misunderstood conceptions of God Almighty who sovereignly rules and reigns as and how He pleases, is that He somehow enjoys and is glad to show His severity and judgment in the condemning of the unbelieving. This could not be further from the truth. The God of the Bible is a God of mercy who delights to show mercy! The pages of divine inspiration declare clearly and plainly that God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and He will have compassion on whom He will have compassion. (Romans 9:15). However, fallen and lost men and women hate the fact that His mercy and compassion is at His discretion so much, that they never consider the wonderful truth that HE WILL HAVE MERCY AND COMPASSION on some. God says plainly, I will have mercy, I will have compassion, but mankind, in their fallen state do not want God to have the say as to who His mercy is given and they declare that the Sovereign God is unfair in His doings.
O how apparent it becomes to the regenerated soul that men and women by nature love darkness rather than light. Unless God show you mercy you will never see mercy! The true teaching of Scripture is that God would be right and just if He showed no mercy to anyone! David the psalmist and king rightly said, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? (Psalm 8:4) Those that truly know the God of the Bible rejoice always in the wonderful and amazing fact that God not only HAS MERCY, but delights in giving mercy! What a God! All should put away their thinking that God somehow delights in the perishing of the wicked.
Ezekiel 18:23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Men and women perish because they refuse to bow to the Sovereign Creator. They would rather declare that God is unjust and unfair than to believe that He delights to show mercy to those who love and delight in His precious Son! - Pastor David Eddmenson
“His delight, and his joy is in the law of the Lord.”
His Word is the foundation of faith. “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” His Word is our comfort and our assurance. “Comfort one another with these Words.” His Word is our strength in time of trial and difficulty. “His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths” that we might not sin against Him. His precious promises in Christ give us strength for the day and hope for tomorrow. Happy is the man who knows God, who loves His Word, who delights in His Word, who has been given an understanding of His Word and an understanding of the mysteries of His grace in Christ Jesus through that Word. “He delights in the law of the Lord and the Word of God.”
More than that; listen; “And in that Word doth he meditate day and night.” The Word of God is just not a doctrine to him. Doctrine can be so rich and precious and yet it can be so dry and dead, if it is only in the letter. It’s not just doctrine and creeds; it is the living Word. I had someone say to me just recently; “Preacher, have you ever been to Jerusalem?” I said, “No, I haven’t been there.” He said, “You need to go to Jerusalem.” I said; “Why should I go to Jerusalem?” He said, “If you go to Jerusalem and walk where Jesus walked; the Bible will come alive for you.” I said, “The Bible is alive. The Bible is alive for me now. The Bible is the Word of God. It is the living Word of God. I don’t have to go to a place for the Bible to come alive. The Bible comes alive in Christ; the Holy Spirit reveals it to our hearts. It is called the Word of life. If it’s not the Word of life to me now, then I don’t have the life of Christ, because this is the Word of Christ.”
- Henry Mahan
Now, that word “law” is the Word of the Lord. “Blessed is that man whose delight is in the Word of God.” The Word of God to him is the children’s bread. The Word of God to him is the green pasture. That is what David talked about in Psalm 23. “He leadeth us by still waters; He makes us to lie down in green pastures.” That is His Word. What do the sheep feed on? It is the green pasture, the green grass. What do the people of God feed on? They feed on the Word of God. His Word is the green pastures and the children’s bread.
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