Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morse's For Zion's Poor. The Bible is a love story
unlike any ever penned by the hand of men. It is the delight
of the Lord in the one He loved that moved Him to redeem her
from the auction block in the slave market of sin where she
had willingly sold her own self into captivity to escape His
rule over her. She had done everything in her
power to escape from him, even trying to hide her nakedness,
thinking that she could cover her disobedience by the actions
of the same sinful flesh which caused it. She thought to throw
off his rule by taking her fill of many lovers, and drowning
herself in her own religion, lusts, and pleasures, hiding
herself among the heathen, and being found in all ways by her
own nature, a child of wrath even as those she consorted with.
But long before she ever drew breath or even heard the name
of the Lord, she was one loved by Him with an everlasting love.
Long before she ever manifested her own wickedness and unfaithfulness
to Him, she was the delight of His eyes and the one chosen to
be the bride of His only begotten Son. He betrothed her to His
Son long before the first star was ever set in place or any
molecule of this world was ever formed. Yea, before its design
was ever taken from his drawing board, she was the one chosen
to be wed to his chief delight, the eternal Son of God. The Son
of God, being one with the Father, loved her who was given to him.
He delighted in her and determined to manifest to his whole creation
the glory of his grace and his everlasting love to her in the
open display of his redemption of her. by the giving of himself
in her behalf. She was his and hidden in the
bosom of his everlasting love before he created this world
in which he would make this declaration of his love known. He was already
her savior before he ever made the world in which she would
be lost and brought into captivity according to his own design to
manifest the glory of his grace in her redemption. Who has ever
known another love like this? But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace
you're saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages
to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. It is a love which had no beginning,
and it is a love which shall endure forever. Every thread
of the tapestry of this world is woven by the hands of him
who has designed the whole. There's not even one insignificant
tuft of yarn in the whole grand work which is not necessary to
its beauty, no color which is by chance, nor any stroke that
has gone into its weaving which is less than the purpose of him
who both designed it and produced it as a glorious thing of beauty.
The bridegroom is the most important participant in this love story,
for it is he who has instigated this love affair. He could have
any bride he desired, and this is the one which he has ever
loved, choosing her and fashioning her as the bride of his delight.
While he is the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys,
possessing an innate beauty, yet it pleased him for the great
love which he had for this bride to become one stripped of all
beauty and esteemed as one condemned in order to purchase her, when
she has yet manifested no love for him and continually despised
his way. But God commendeth his love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He described his bride as the
lily among thorns. How could it ever be that the
Lord could see his bride as a lily in this setting among thorns
is beyond the capability of men to explain or fathom. He described
this love through the prophet's pen. Now when I passed by thee
and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love.
And I spread my skirt over thee and covered thy nakedness. Yea,
I swore unto thee and entered into a covenant with thee, saith
the Lord God, and thou becamest mine. He loved her before she
was cast among the thorns, and therefore his love for her was
in no wise diminished by the terrible condition she came to
be in. Because she belonged to him, she was the apple of his
eye, that one in whom he took great delight. The fact that
she had been cast among the thorns in no wise deterred him from
rushing to her aid, a mighty deliverer to take her from the
captivity among these brambles. Though he thought it not robbery
to be equal with God, he made himself of no reputation and
took upon himself the form of a servant, willingly suffering
the damage of the thorns to his own body, counting it a joyful
thing that he might rescue his beloved spouse. It is pleased
him in the ages to come to present this one as his bride without
spot or blemish. Then she shall be viewed by all,
covered in that beauty which is his, for she shall be like
him, conformed to his image most completely. If you would like
a free transcript of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.