INVIOLABLE SECURITY
"This is the resting place, let the weary rest; and this
is the place of repose"—
"Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved
them until the end." John 13:1
"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
no one can snatch them out of My hand." John 10:28
"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and
whoever comes to Me I will never drive away." John 6:37
These three verses bring before us the indissoluble
union between the believer and his Lord. That union, once completed, is
indestructible. It is hedged round and buttressed with immutable
guarantees. "Our lives are hidden with Christ in God." "If we perish," says
Luther, "Christ perishes with us." Identifying Himself with His people, He
may be supposed to say, as David said to Abiathar, "Abide with me, for he
that seeks your life seeks my life, but with me you shall be in safeguard."
And what is this safeguard? It is the Deity of the Redeemer. He who gives me
life, and who promises that that life is imperishable, is "the Mighty
God." The hope of eternal life, promised before the world began, stands
on the Rock of Ages. Divinity gives it strength. He who is able to
keep me from falling, is the "only wise GOD our Savior."
It is true, indeed, the life of the most devoted believer
has its ebbs and flows, by reason of his own backslidings, corruptions, and
unwatchfulness. "Young sailors," says Rutherford, "think the shore and land
are moving, while it is they themselves all the while. So we often think God
is changing, while the change is all in ourselves." The sheep of Christ may,
in some moment of temptation, be found, and are found, wandering
along the dark glen, entangled in brier-thickets, or carried down the
swollen stream. But as the shepherd among ourselves puts a mark on the
various members of his flock, that he may know his own, so the sheep of
Christ bear upon them what the old writers call "the blood-mark of the
covenant"—and of these, the Great Shepherd (when they may be themselves
uttering the cry of despair), says, in one of our motto-texts, "All that the
Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive
away." Their soul safety may seem to be imperilled, but it is only as the
flow of the majestic river is apparently impeded by the mass of
opposing rock in its channel. It is fretted for the moment; but, after
clearing the temporary barrier, it dashes onwards, with grander impetuosity,
in its way to the ocean.
So with the Christian. Temptations may obstruct and
arrest the smooth current of his spiritual and eternal life; but it is only
for the moment—He that has begun the good work—He that has begun the new
being—will carry it on until the day of the Lord Jesus. You may as soon
dream of stopping a river—damming up the mountain torrent as it plunges over
rock and cataract in its way to the shoreless sea—as arrest the flow of that
God-given life. Remember the Apostle's golden chain—"Whom He did
predestinate them He also called, and whom He called, them He
also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified!"
We may lose sight of the links of the chain, but it never can be
broken.
We love this doctrine of the preservation of the
saints. We cannot believe in the possibility of a man being regenerated
today and unregenerated tomorrow. As Christ's blood has purchased, so
will His grace sanctify and His power save. "Having loved His
own which were in the world, He loved them to the end." If we are ever
tempted to doubt or despond—if ever led to fear that, as wandering sheep, we
may be fatally swept down the rapids, or fall a prey to the evening
wolves—let us think of a living, life-giving, life-sustaining Intercessor on
the throne of Heaven—the Shepherd's eye watching us from the mountains of
myrrh, and the hills of frankincense!
Israel could never have coped with the war-disciplined
chieftains of Amalek, but for the uplifted hands of their interceding head
on the mount at Rephidim. They would have been scattered as chaff, and their
bones left to bleach in the wilderness. Joshua, with all his fiery courage,
as column after column swept along the valley beneath, would have been
nothing, had not Moses been pleading on the hill. Blessed be God, we have
One on the heavenly mount, whose arms never faint—whose hands never grow
weary. His words have a perpetual meaning—a perpetual music—"I have
prayed for you—I am praying for you—that your faith fail not."
You who are Christ's own, see the secret of your
preservation—your perseverance—see the secret of this marvelous triumph
of your weakness over Satan's strength—the "worm Jacob" in the strength
of his Savior-God "thrashing the mountains, and beating them small, and
making the hills like chaff"—the spiritual David, with a few brook-pebbles
laying low the giants of sin and unbelief! Yes, indeed, it is a mighty
marvel, the security of every member of God's family. This poor delicate
plant—beaten with wind and hail, outliving all, and destined to flourish
in eternal luxuriance and beauty. This fragile vessel—the sport of
ten thousand adverse influences—buffeted by the waves—left for nights on the
starless ocean—grazing with its keel the rocks of temptation—yet outriding
the storm, and entering peacefully the haven. This vile heart with
its legion-foes confederate with Satan—Pleasure in its Proteus
shapes—Worldliness with its hydra-headed power—the archers of
Mammon with their golden arrows—our own sins—each individual sin
we commit, a foul attempt on our part to pluck us out of the Savior's
hand—yet the battle is certain to end in triumph.
In earthly battles, victory trembles in the scale often
for long hours of bloodied fight; neither side can predict the results. By
some apparent accident—some trifle—the fortunes of the day may be
decided—the destiny of a country altered, the liberty of a people lost or
won. But no such uncertainty hovers over this spiritual conflict—success is
sure—no trophy will be lost—no straggler will be left to perish—as with
Israel in leaving Egypt, "not a hoof will be left behind." You will
not only be conquerors, but "more than conquerors, through Him who
loved you!" "I give unto you," says He, "eternal life." Your names
are imperishably engraved on this Heart of love—on this priestly
Breastplate—and they never can be erased!
He even tells the measure of that love. It is
gauged by no human plumb-line. "As the Father has loved Me, so have I
loved you!" We must first attempt to understand the intensity of the love
subsisting between the Son and the adorable Father, before we can rightly
estimate the depth of affection between Christ and those whom He has from
all eternity redeemed with His precious blood. "Nothing would surprise me
very much," said a dying believer, "after having found out God loved me. The
breadth of that love indicates that it is for the whole world; the
length, from eternity to eternity; the depth, to the vilest of
sinners; and the height, to raise us to heaven" (Victory Won).
"Everlasting arms of love
Are beneath, around, above;
He who left His throne of light
And unnumbered angels bright,
He who faced the fiery flood,
Braved the baptism of blood,
Who upon the accursed tree
Gave His precious life for me.
"He who marks each falling tear
Of His burdened pilgrims here,
Never slumbering, never sleeping,
Vigils ever wakeful keeping;
Faithful He, whatever betide,
Is my everlasting Guide.
Safe, howe'er the sky o'ercast,
He will bring me home at last!"
"He guides them to their desired haven."