by Octavius Winslow (1808-1878)
"fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." -Hebrews 12:2
When heart and flesh are fast failing, and the trembling feet descend into the dark valley of the shadow of death, to whom shall we then look but unto Jesus? The world is now receding, and all creatures are fading upon the sight; one object alone remains, arrests and fixes the believer's eye–it is Jesus, the Savior; it is Emmanuel, the Incarnate and now-present God; it is the Captain of our salvation, the Conqueror of death, and the Spoiler of the grave; it is our friend, our brother, our Joseph, our Joshua, loving and faithful, and present to the last. Jesus is there to confront death again, and vanquish him with his own weapons. Jesus is there to remind His departing one that the grave can wear no gloom, and can boast of no victory, since He himself passed through its portal, rose and revived, and lives for evermore.
- Sick one! in your languishing, look to Jesus!
- Departing one! in your death-struggles, look to Jesus!
- Are you guilty?–Jesus is righteous.
- Are you a sinner?–Jesus is a Savior.
- Are you fearful, and do you tremble?–the Shepherd of the flock is with you, and no one shall pluck His sheep out of His hands.
How fully, how suitably, does the gospel now meet your case! In your bodily weakness and mental confusion, two truths are, perhaps, all that you can now dwell upon–your sinfulness and Christ's redemption, your emptiness and Christ's sufficiency. Enough! you need no more; God requires no more. In your felt weakness, in your conscious unworthiness, amid the swelling of the cold waters, raise your eye and fix it upon Jesus, and all will be well. Hear the words of your Savior calling you from the bright world of glory to which He bids you come,
"Arise, my love, my fair one! and come away." Believer! look to Him–lean upon Him–cleave to Him–labor for Him–suffer for Him–and, if need be, die for Him. Thus loving and trusting, living and dying, for "Jesus only."
9 comments:
It is SO good to have an unconquerable defender...especially on days like today.
Thank you Jesus!
Soli Deo Gloria!!!
What encouragement there is for us simply in Christ. Thank you brother for sharing your heart.
Steve
Col. 1:9-14
This post was indeed a great encouragement.
May the blessings of the Lord be on you all this most blessed day in which we worship our risen Lord and find our hope in His triumph and His salvation.
Why does it seem like the 19th century writers could see things so clearly? I think maybe our lives are too cluttered up with modern stuff.
Lee,
I think you've nailed it.
Maybe uncluttering would change a few things?
We'd all do well to give it a shot. I think we might see things much more clearly if we made it a regular routine to do this.
SDG,
Carla
Speakign of uncluttering, (is that a word? lol!) I'm learning that less tv is a very good thing. Often it's left on for "background", but silence (or good clean music be it raise or jazz or whatever) does wonders for self-discipline! :)
Mr. Camp,
You have an excellent blog! I love the old preachers and the powerful and clear messages that they preached. Thank you for posting their sermons. It is good to read and think on.
CR
Name the question, the answer is Jesus. So much of the church is placing buckets under the leaky pipe instead of addressing the leak itself.
Jesus - He is all the individual parts as well as their sum.
I never tire of hearing of the amazing grace that our Lord has lavished upon us...the undeserving.
Thanks for that.
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