The Grace of Christ, or,
Sinners Saved by Unmerited Kindness
William S. Plumer, 1853
"We believe it is through the grace of our
Lord Jesus that we are saved." Acts 15:11
THE POWER OF DIVINE GRACE TO CONSOLE
The gospel is called the power of God, and the wisdom of
God. Nor is it losing any of its efficacy. In the hands of the Holy Spirit
it works wonders. The secret of its power is chiefly in its grace. By
revealing love it begets love. "Responsibility prevents crimes and makes all
attempts against law dangerous." But love goes much further. It never ceases
to desire to serve and please. It is ingenious in devising methods of
service. It is full of alacrity, life and energy. It never counts the cost,
and is patient of endurance; even as "Jacob served seven years for Rachel,
and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her." It is
an honor peculiar to revealed truth, that it converts the soul. It not only
converts men; but it also guides and cheers, purifies and elevates their
minds. It throws floods of light on the darkness which surrounds us, and
makes us sweetly submissive to God's will and authority. Who does not need
such help? There is no sober mind on earth, which, like the sundial, notes
only the unclouded hours. We all have our days of darkness. "Man, who is
born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble." "Who has not lost a
friend?" Who has not wept over departed joys, blighted hopes, and darkened
prospects? At times nature casts a dark pall over all her face, providence
assumes a threatening aspect, fears rise up like mountains in our path, and
trouble comes in like waves of the sea, or falls like water-spouts from
heaven. At such a time, God's Spirit can pour light and joy into our hearts,
and give us songs in the house of our pilgrimage.
But if so, he will put great honor upon the Bible.
"Remember the word unto your servant, upon which you have caused me to hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction: for your word has quickened me." Psalm
119:49, 50. Solid peace to the troubled mind, must be based in the pardon
of sin and the favor of God. The gospel calls the poor and needy, the
weary and heavy-laden, the sad and sorrowful—and leads them to Christ; and
through his blood and righteousness gives comfort, which can be found
nowhere else. Even a little divine knowledge firmly believed will do great
things for us in the day of calamity, while a soul without acquaintance with
God is shut up to misery.
Marcus Quintilian was a great orator. He was the friend
of Pliny, and received the favor of the emperors. He died at Rome A. D. 60.
His great work is his "Institutes of the Orator." The introduction to the
sixth book of this treatise relates the loss of his wife and children, and
especially the recent death of a promising son. What are his thoughts on an
occasion so full of interest? He complains of the "bitterness of fortune,"
and says that this was "the second wound that was struck deep to afflict me,
now a childless father! What then shall I do? or on what shall I any more
employ the unhappy talents, which the gods seem to reprove? It was my
misfortune to be borne down by a like stroke, when I set about writing the
book, which I gave to the public, 'On the Causes of the Corruption of
Eloquence.' Why then did I not cast into the fire that accursed work? Why
did not I commit it, with that little unhappy learning I might have, to the
flames of the funeral pile kindled so untimely to consume my affections?
What good parent would pardon me, if I again engaged in study? Who would not
detest my insensibility, if I made any other use of my voice, than to vent
complaints against the injustice of the gods, who have made me survive all
that was dearest to me in the world; if I did not proclaim aloud that there
is no providence in the regulation of human affairs? There reigns a secret
envy, jealous of our happiness, which pleases itself in nipping the bud of
our hopes. If my life be my crime, it shall also be my punishment. I can
brave fortune; it has brought my vexations to their height, and in this I
find a doleful but just security."
Who can without a shudder of horror read such effusions
of rage, pride, sullenness and impiety? A human soul, thus stung, rebellious
and maddened, is one of the saddest spectacles ever beheld on earth. A wild
bull caught in a net, and filling the forest with his roaring, is a Hebrew
emblem of a man thus minded. In the day of calamity how gloomy is
heathenism, how cheerless is philosophy! Neither brings any solace to the
stricken heart. On the other hand, a little light from heaven is a blessing.
JOB, the man of Uz was also a great orator. "Unto
him men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at his counsel." After his
words "they spoke not again, and they waited for him as for the rain." He
was held in the highest veneration. "When the young men saw him, they hid
themselves." In his presence "the aged arose and stood up. The princes
refrained talking, and laid their hands on their mouth. The nobles held
their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their jaws." He was
also the greatest captain of his age. "He dwelt as king in the army.
He broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth." He
was also a great philanthropist. "When the ear heard him then it
blessed him; and when the eye saw him, it gave witness to him; because he
delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to
help him. He caused the widow's heart to sing for joy; he was eyes to the
blind, and feet to the lame. He was a father to the poor: and the cause,
which he knew not, he searched out." He was also the richest man in
the East. "He washed his steps with butter, and the rock poured him out
rivers of oil." For a long time he enjoyed this prosperity and said, "I
shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand." "His root was
spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon his branch. His
glory was fresh in him, and his bow was renewed in his hand." He had seven
thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and a
great number of servants. He had also ten children—seven sons and three
daughters.
Yet in one day all were taken from him. He was bereft
indeed, and with crushing suddenness. Suspicion instantly wrapped him in her
poisoned mantle, and neglect from his servants, and scorn from the abjects
speedily followed. "At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his
head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: 'Naked I came from my
mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken
away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Job 1:20-22. It is commonly
believed that Job lived before any part of God's word was written, though
not before many important truths had been revealed to the fathers. He had
some light, though not the full light of the gospel. He also embraced the
truth as far as he knew it. Behold the difference between the proud Roman
and the humble Arabian, the former without God in the world, the latter
saying, "I will trust him though he slays me."
Quintilian lived in the days of Christ and his apostles,
and might have heard Paul preach, and might have known the truth as it is in
Jesus. In one sentence of his work he is thought by some to have made a
scornful allusion to the Christians. Strange that a man should blaspheme his
own gods, and yet see no need of a better religion. Without the light of
gospel truth, life is without happiness, and death is without hope. A
false religion is a horrible engine of torture. But the gospel freely offers
precious blessings to all the sons of men, and especially to the children of
sorrow. So that all, who heartily embrace it, may even "rejoice in
tribulation."
How strange it is that any should oppose the spread of
the gospel. How can one defend himself from the charge of malignancy, when
he would withhold from the wretched of his race, the cup of divine
consolations? Let those, who tell of the happiness of the heathen,
henceforth keep silence. "Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten
after another god." "Our God is in heaven and does whatever He pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but
cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses,
but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot make a sound with their throats. Those who make them are just
like them, as are all who trust in them." Psalm 115:3-8
There is but one only living and true God; and Jesus
Christ is his Son. His mediation alone can bring salvation. His word is
truth. His blood is the sole efficacious sacrifice for sin. His gospel is
glad tidings of great joy to all who hear the joyful sound. Blessed are
they, all they, and only they—who have made Jehovah their refuge, and hope
and portion. This must be done with the heart. The Holy Spirit must illumine
the darkened understanding, else we shall be like the bat and the owl, which
see not at noon. The divine Spirit alone can so reveal to us the fullness
and excellency of Christ, as to enable us to "glory in tribulation." Oh that
all the wretched would come and with joy draw water out of the wells of
salvation. Jesus came "to appoint unto them who mourn in Zion, to give them
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness." "Hallelujah! My soul, praise the Lord. I will praise
the Lord all my life; I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. Do not
trust in nobles, in man, who cannot save. When his breath leaves him, he
returns to the ground; on that day his plans die. Happy is the one whose
help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of
heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful
forever, executing justice for the exploited and giving food to the hungry.
The Lord frees prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord
raises up those who are oppressed. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord
protects foreigners and helps the fatherless and the widow, but He
frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reigns forever; Zion, your God
reigns for all generations. Hallelujah!" Psalm 146.