Newspapers / Zion’s Landmarks (Wilson, N.C.) / Dec. 1, 1875, edition 1 / Page 3
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Zion's Landmarks : Wilson^ N. C. \ out fear.” For instance, there are deliverances troiii temptation by the removal of temptation; by power being ;j:iven to resist it; by its edge being abated; by our being enabled (o confess the sins that press upon our conscicnc-o, and by confes- ‘'ion finding relief. So, also, there is at times dro[>ped into the soul some '>\vi!etiiess out of Christ, which yet does not amount to a full deliverance from the temptation under which we may happcii to labor. Says some ■ s.oni^ I think I can come in here; I have had some deliverance; I have Ibmid some answer to prayer ; I have been in great straits, and cried to the Cord, and the Lord has delivered me ; f have passed through severe exer cises, and in these exercises I have, f)r a few moments, or for a short sea son, telt the imrd’s light and power; 1 have had tokens tliat he has heard my feeble cries. Well, these are de liverances, and if you have had but ' one deliverance, one answer to pray er, one testimony from tlie mouth of jod, one soft word spoken to your se.ul, it is an evidence of your deliver ance in Christ from eternal perdition. These, then, are some of the blessings '.vhich the elect obtain; but God has "rescril)ed a certain channel .through wliirh they shall obtain them. Jesus himself obtained salvation for his f.-c-ople through suffering. He did mot come into the world as a mighty ‘■mtqueror carrying all before him, ; •coiiiplisiiing the salvation of his ]-eo[)le without a sigh'or a groan or a vear, without much anguish of body, ■ud without much tribulation of soul- iu,..^was a suffe'.'.„(^ every of Ids existence iipo;4 earth, and he ‘Arought out the salvation of his dear people through the medium of rao.ff poignant suffering. The “election,” eht.n, has obtained God’s blessings, hat, though these mercies are freely • given by God, though they are irre- V '.'rsi!)]y granted—-for “ the gifts and idlings of God are without repent ance ” (upon his part)—though they are ?'reely given, yet the Lord has ap pointed a certain channel through mhicii they flow. The channel is not ri-e cause of them. None would rais- mke tlie course of a stream for its or igin and source, and yet the river must run in a certain channel, or it would cease to flow at all. So the Lord has appointed a certain channel ;'.)r i)is blessings to flow in; this chan nel is not the procuring cause of his blessings, but it is the mode in which 'he Loi'd bestows these blessings up- ; :i his elect. For instance, the Lord, usually speaking, does not communi- eale blessings to his people, except through the channel of sighs and (.vies and groans and wrestlings with him for the blessing. It is true th.at in the first corainunicatioiis of grace, those find it who seek it not, for I>d the communication of grace to o:vt' souls depend upon our seeking it, rone of the elect would receive it iiz ai.i. T I am found of them that .'■ough-t me not.” But the Lord has appointed that his people, when (■(uic.mened by his Spirit, should ask rb.e bles.sings he means to bestow: •• Jor all these things,” he say.s, “will r i>e inquired of by the house of Isra- G: with supplicntions will I lead Jho Lord, thct>, has ap pointed ])rayer and supjtlication as .a means through which he is pleased to communicate these blessings, dims it is not a matter of freewill on our parts whether we will pray or not; nor is it a matter of duty, but it is a matter of divine teaching. We pray because the Lord himself kindles in our hearts tlie spirit of prayer. Tiie Lord himself puts certain desires into our souls, })ours into our hearts a spirit of grace and of supplications, and then we freely pour out what the Lord pours in. The Lord, then, before he com muni cates his manifest ed blessings to his people, works in them (for the most part) these two feelings, a necessity of the blessing that they want, and a hungering and thirsting and panting desire after the. manifestation of that bles.^ing. These two ideas are conveyed by the compar ison of hunger. Hunger is a painful feeling; there is an absolute nece.ssity connected with it, for if food be not supplied, the man must die. But connected with this necessity there is a longing after food. It is not mere ly a painful sensation of emptiness and want; desire, an hut there is a intense longing. a ^ after the gratification of that want. Thus this expression, “hunger,” conveys the feelings jhat are wrought by the Spirit in living souls. They are brought to a feeling of want and des titution, a sense of emptiness and sinking, unless the blessings are com municated to them. But there is something more than the necessity.— Together with the want there is a craving to enjov food. And out o vneweVhing r*,^c:;;dr xlfeso com bined feelings there spiangs a fervent wre.stling with the Lord, that he would communicate, and manifest, and bestow his pardon upon the soul. But the children of God may have a long season of spiritual hunger and spiritual .thirst before their desires are fully satisfied. The “election” hath obtained righteousness, everlast ing righteousness in Christ; but the Lord has appointed that his })eople should obtain the manifestation of it through deep want, and through fer vent intercession. So that, though the blessing is theirs already in the mind of God; though they are freely justified from all things, yet the man ifestation of it, the enjoyment of it, the rich experimental revelation of it, they may be, and often are, destitute of for months and weeks and years. Yes, many of God’s pilgrims go toil ing on through life, and the desired blessing is communicated only a little i time before tbeir souls are takeh | into the eternal enjoyment ofit. The I Lord sees fit that his people shall be I kept humble; he will not suffer them I to be decf)ly entangled in that awful | sin of ])resumption, that is so rife; and, therefore, he sees good that many of his family shall, by thepain- ful exet else, be kept in a state of bondage, darkness and unbelief; and they shall no more be able to deliver their souls out of guilt and condem nation than they would be to create a new sun. But all for wise purposes, that they may be kept back from pre sumptuous sins, that they may taste somewhat of the w'ormwood and gall, that they maWbe bapiizei with tiiat baptism with which the Lord him.self was baptized, and drink of the cap that he drank of; and thus, when righteousness is revealed and salva tion manifested, they learn what it really is, and what a power and bless edness there is in it. Many of the Lord’s people go on for weeks and months and years without a clear manifestation of the pardon of their ■sins; and sometimes, when death stares them in the face or when the wratli of God against sin is deeply Iclt, or w'hen things in providence take a frowning turn, or wdien their souls are exerci.sed with pow^erful temptations, they are cast well nigh iiup despair, and fear lest the bless ing should never be communicated to their hearts. These very exercises, under the Spirit’s teaching, wmrk in them so as to make them dissatisfied with every thing short of a manifestation. The guilt that they feel brings them to this spot: pardon must be “something known and felt;” that it must bean enjoined manifestation from God him- ■■idf; that there is a divine reality in it, and that nothing but the discovery ofit with power can really bring their souls into happiness and peace, .fiiey could not learn this lesson in any other way; they could not value it. The Lord never bestows his gifts upon unthankful hearts. He prepares and exercises the souls of his children that, when the blessing cotnes, they shall prize it; shall estimate it, in some measure, at its due worth, and shall thank, bless, and praise God'for his goodness to them, the very chief ^ot ’nn-ers, and of wretches. fSow'itli respept to th'e lote of God; he will teach all his people to .sigh, and cry, and ^^roan, and plead, and wi esthi vehemerifly for the manifesta tion of his love to their souls ; know that it is a reality, not merely lip- lafigttago, not an unknown .something just casually mentioned in God’s word; but that there is a spiritual enjoyment of it, through divine manifestation, and that all the elect of God have it shed abroad in their hearts, but before they are short of it; therefore they cannot rest satisfied; short of it, they feel themselves destitute of salvation, and, therefore, until the love of God is experimentally realized and made known by the Holy Ghost to their souls, they cannot be fully' persuaded that they' arc interested in that love of Christ which passeth knowledge. So with respect to deliverance ; the Lord has appointed a channel for them to come in, and the channel is temptation. Thus all the elect are exercised, more or less, by temptation. From these temptations they seek for deliverance. And as the temptation is real, so must the deliverance be sure too. It is one thing to see a porter staggering under a heavy hur- den in the street, and another thing to have the burden on our own back. \Ye might see the burden taken off) it would convey no relief to us ; but were we in his place, were we stagger ing and sinking under the weight, the removal of the burden would be a sensible relief and we should know lief To read h ow David was re lieved, how Paul was relieved, how Peter was relieved, brings them no comfort; they want it as a personal matter, as a realized thing, as what i- made known in their consciences aud felt with power in their hearts. Tht election hath obtained eternal deliver ance in Christ; but when the Lord gives a deliverance in time, seals ;i testimony’, brings in some timely’ help which delivei's the soul, it is sure evidence of its eternal deliver ance. and ratifies and manifests it in the heart. These, tlien, are some of the things which the election hatln obtained, and all the elect of God, who are quickened into spiritual lib , are in otic of these two states'; thev have either obtained the manifesht- tlon of these things in their con sciences, or else they are traveling after the obtaining of" them. God has none of those in his dear familv who are always at ease, carnal or careless, and utterly reckless whetiuif he will bless them or not. All of his quickened children, in their measure, some more, some Ies.s, sonm to a deeper degree, others in a more shallow degree, but all of his quick ened family are exercised with tin things of eternity : and those of tk- quickened elect w’ho have not beer brought hito the enjoyment of the things of Christ in their hearts and consciences, are at times, as the Spirit of the Lord works upon them, earn estly seeking that they may taste and feel, and handle these divine realitli. *- in their souls. EFctio!'., the;!,,in eternity, L fG-_ source of every blessing in time; out of it, as out of a root, grow all flu branches of the life in the soul. Bin the way in which the Lord’s pcojih; get at election, and taste the sweotno(-^ of it as scaled upon their souls, is, bv the moment vvhon we were relieved, and feel there was a hand that re lieved us. So tho.se that are bur dened in their consciences with temp tations and exercises must have re- passing through those straits and S'- vere exercises, whereby they’ ar- brought to the solemn conclusicB. that none but the elect are saved; and, that if their names are not in tl; Book of Life and their personal elec tion is not experimentally made known, they are lost and ruined for ever. “ And the rest were blinded.”-— Solemn words ! awful declaration ! Look at this a&sembled congregation, this large multitude. All here pre.-- ent are either elect or non-elect. Your iianie.s, each of y’ou, as indi\iduab, w’ere either written in the Lamb'- Book of Life before all world.s,or writ ten up to eternal perdition. Now, ii y’Ou are a living soul, you will be e.\ erci.sed with this matter, and y’ou wid have a conviction in your coixscienct, that salvation must be revealed f' you from the mouth of God ; and uu- til you get that .sweet testimony ;-i your heart, you can neve;’ feel full persuaded of your interest in eternal realities. “And the rest w’ere blind ed,” what a multitude thi.s compre hends! Look at God’s ancient fam ily’, tliose who live in the vicinity’ o. thi.s ])lace of worship, wlio dwell .(-i-i thickly in .streets and alley’s within ,i circle of half a mile from thi.s Chape-« —God’s ancient people, the Jews ' How blinded tliey are! We, .stand ing in their privilegcss, are grafted a- Gentiles into the olive tree; aie.i (1‘--ne"'.’,’":’ on oige Idp
Zion’s Landmarks (Wilson, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 1, 1875, edition 1
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