The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. James Smith, Manor in the Wilderness, 1863.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Galatians 6.14.

In the cross we see the rights of divine justice maintained, the designs of divine mercy revealed, sin appearing exceedingly sinful, the law magnified and honoured, and the lawbreaker pardoned and delivered. At the cross, God and sinners meet, and a reconciliation takes place. Here, man drops the weapons of rebellion, and God lays aside the sword of divine displeasure. Here the works of Satan are destroyed, and the gates of paradise are thrown open, Here the creditor is discharged, his every crime is atoned for, and everlasting righteousness is completed. Here God is just and the justifier of the one who believes in Jesus.

At the cross, mercy takes the throne, justice guards her rights, holiness maintains her prerogative, the sinner has hope, and iniquity is forever atoned for. At the cross, we are stripped of self and clothed with Christ. We lose our fears and obtain the sweetest comforts. We find paradise restored and have a foretaste of glory. Jehovah is revealed as the sinner's friend. Death is destroyed as the believer's foe, Satan's folly is published, designs are frustrated, and character is exposed to perpetual shame.

At the cross, all the truths of Revelation center, all the perfections of deity unite, and the way to eternal life is opened.

The cross of Jesus. May it be the emblem of my faith, the subject of my song, the antidote of my sorrows, and the glory of my soul.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6.14.