Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The mercy of God is displayed
in his sovereign election of a people in Christ before the
foundation of the world. The mercy of God is displayed
in providing a lamb for a sacrifice for his people's sin. The mercy
of God is also displayed in revealing the work which he has done for
his elect in this present world as he causes them to hear the
sweet words of reconciliation in the gospel and gives them
faith to believe it. But the atoning work of Christ
is strictly a legal work, which cannot be overturned because
the one who became our substitute has entered into a legal contract
in our behalf, and has fully paid the price that the law demanded
for our redemption. Even as the words of Top Lady's
hymn says, complete atonement thou hast made, and to the utmost
farthing paid, whatever thy people owed. How then can wrath on me
take place, if sheltered in thy righteousness, and sprinkled
with thy blood? If thou hast my discharge procured
and freely in my room endured the whole of wrath divine, payment
God cannot twice demand, first at my bleeding surety's hand
and then again at mine. So while we marvel that the mercy
of God should be bestowed on such worthless creatures as ourselves,
the foundation of our hope rests on our confidence in his unfailing
justice. We know we have no merit of our
own, But all of our hope is built on His righteousness, and we
can trust in no other. We may often doubt our own inclusion
in His covenant of grace, but we are unshakably certain that
what Jesus Christ has done in the behalf of His elect is totally
sufficient and efficient to satisfy every claim which the law could
bring forth against them. In the Mosaic law, a husband
had the power to cause the words which his wife spoke to be held
against her, or he could, by owning her as his wife, cause
her to be absolved of their consequences. He did this by becoming guilty
for her iniquity. Whatever words she had spoken
were still binding, but because he was her husband and gladly
owned her as his wife, he became her substitute. We see the glory
of redemption played out as the Lord Jesus Christ has declared
his love for his bride. Some picture the atoning work
of Christ as being some kind of a general payment for sin,
which men can avail themselves of according to their own choice.
The work which Christ did, he did for a specific group of people,
known in the scriptures as the elect. The basis and law under
which a man might take the iniquity of a woman was that she be his
wife, either in fact or by betrothal. Before the foundation of the
world, the son of God was given a bride and she has been hidden
in him ever since. He has gladly owned her as his
own and by his actions to bear her sin has proved it for all
to see. She reaps the benefits of this
relationship which she had absolutely no participation in establishing.
The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because
you were more in number than any people. For thee were the
fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you,
and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto
your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand. The
Lord has demonstrated the glory of redemption as He has taken
her iniquity as His own. The scripture is very plain that
He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. He was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Yet the
same scripture tells us that God hath made Him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. He has transferred his righteousness
to his bride as he has taken her iniquity upon himself as
only a husband could do for his bride. We see his redemption
as he has fulfilled the law for her. The husband's decision under
Moses' law to bear his wife's blame did not make the iniquity
which she was guilty of disappear. The law demands satisfaction
and the scripture is plain in its declaration that God will
by no means clear the guilty. nor will he at all quit the wicked.
So when a husband heard his wife's vow and owned her as his wife,
the vow was not canceled but rather had to be fulfilled by
the husband as if he made the vow himself. Our husband has
gladly owned his bride and has willingly undertaken all of her
responsibilities and accountability and made them his own. He has
fulfilled the law completely for her in such fashion that
any and all condemnation is forever abrogated. And you, being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross. Are you hidden in Christ? For
a free CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email
to forthepoor at windstream.net.