Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. A man may possess an intellectual
knowledge of the Christian faith without actually possessing the
gift of faith, which is bestowed by the Spirit of God in a supernatural
manner. Wherever you find this supernatural
gift of faith, it will be preceded by repentance from the same source. There can be no true faith where
there is no true repentance, because it pleases God to bestow
the gift of repentance upon men to prepare their heart to believe
in the imputed righteousness of Christ as their only hope
of eternal salvation. Man is a self-reliant creature
by nature. Adam disobeyed the plain commandment
of God because he thought his way was superior to that of his
Creator. All of his posterity still entertains
the same notion. This self-reliance must be completely
destroyed in order that a man might clearly see that in his
flesh dwells no good thing. Ephraim was the younger son of
Joseph, Manasseh being the oldest. When Jacob was upon his deathbed,
he blessed the younger son rather than the eldest, as was the normal
custom. Joseph thought this was a mistake,
but Jacob knew that the Lord had said a special blessing upon
Ephraim, even though he was not the firstborn. and not Manasseh. In this we see a picture of the
sovereign purpose of God in the election of his sons to inherit
the blessings he has intended for them. They were chosen unconditionally
without regard to their relative merit or worth nor anything foreseen
in them. He loved them because he loved
them. and has ordained that they should be brought into the enjoyment
of all spiritual blessings in Jesus Christ. Though some of
the human race have indeed been appointed under wrath, the elect
never have been. They have been ordained unto
eternal life and are by the grace of God made the heirs of salvation. There is a work of redemption
which has been wrought for them by the Lord Jesus Christ, wherein
He has purchased for them all things pertaining to their eternal
salvation. It is pleased Him to bring them
by a way that they knew not, and to give them the kingdom,
not only in the ages to come, but in the present time, as He
works in them by His Spirit a work which is fitting to those who
are called the sons of God. Thus we see Ephraim bemoaning
himself, that is, lamenting his sinful condition, which is an
illustration of the work of repentance which is accomplished in those
who are the heirs of salvation. There is a sorrow for sin which
is sometimes prompted by fear of punishment in the natural
men of this world. They sometimes are sad for the
heartache their sin has caused themselves and those around them. They may even be moved to reform
their lives in a moral way to some extent because of this.
Yet this bemoaning in which Ephraim is involved is not concerned
with moral reform or the heartache of others, but is centered in
a complete awareness of their total unfitness to stand in the
presence of God. No amount of encouragement by
well-meaning helpers can cause this to subside, nor is this
a temporary condition which comes and goes. The work of repentance
and the sons of God is a condition of the quickened mind and heart,
and is in no way the product of human power, but is an abiding
work of the Spirit in them. The culmination and fruit of
this work is that the sons of God are brought by it to a place
of complete reliance on the imputed righteousness of Christ. They
can have no confidence in their flesh, even confessing that the
only way that they can even now turn to Him is because He has
turned them. On Mount Sinai, the Lord hid
Moses in a cleft of the rock and only allowed him to see his
back parts as he went by, for no man could look on him and
live. Even now no man can advance into his presence, who dwells
in an inapproachable light. But it has pleased him to reveal
himself unto those whose sins he has taken away, as far as
the east is from the west. As Paul has said, for God, who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and
not of us. We have nothing whereof to boast
except the cross of our Lord. In what do you boast? If you
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