Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. The awakened sons of God desire
no greater prize than to be found hidden in the blood of their
dear Savior. They seek no other rest, for in Christ alone they
find perfect peace and lasting joy. It is not so with the men
of this world, who consider the message of the gospel to be unworthy
of their great powers of reason and intellect, and consider those
who declare it to be true mentally deficient, or at the least deluded. The religious men of this world
do not see the total sufficiency and power of that blood to save
the sons of God. They are convinced that they
must add something to it in order to make it effective. They often
make such statements as, Christ has done all that he can in shedding
his blood, now it's up to you to receive it. Faith is not something
which men bring to God, but rather is that which God brings to men.
Faith is the gift of God, and true faith is the evidence of
the sovereign work of God in those for whom Christ died. Christ
has made no failed attempts to save anybody. When he shed his
precious blood on Calvary, he unequivocally and without controversy
completely paid the whole sin debt of his elect bride. In so
doing, he finished the work which he came to do. He not only has
redeemed his people, but he has destroyed their enemies. The
scarlet thread of Christ's blood alone is the sole basis of the
saints' hope. This truth is woven by the hand
of God into the very tapestry of the faith which is delivered
to the saints. We neither know nor care to look for any other.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which
is Jesus Christ. For I determined not to know
anything among you, say Jesus Christ, and him crucified." With
all of that in mind, it is interesting to look at the three instances
when a scarlet thread is specifically mentioned in the Scriptures.
The first was when Tamar was giving birth to the twins sired
by her own father-in-law. One was called Phares, the other
Zerah. Zerah stuck his hand out of the wound first and had a
scarlet thread placed upon it. Yet Phares, whose name means
breaker, came forth out of the wound first. The Lord had promised
that the Messiah would come from the loins of Judah. The fulfillment
of this promise is observed in the book of Revelation. Weep
not, behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,
hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals
thereof. And it is here in this most unlikely
of situations, the result of incest and harlotry, that the
Lord would see fit to send forth a sign of his greatest triumph,
as he traced his earthly lineage through pharisees. Yet the scarlet
thread was not placed upon Pharaoh's hand, but rather that of his
brothers. He has triumphed openly over all of his enemies, and
as Job had said, who can hinder him? Who will say unto him, what
doest thou? Just as the midwife placed a
thread upon the hand of the one who was not the firstborn, so
too do the freewill midwives place the scarlet thread upon
the hand of the one who cannot save them or anyone else without
their permission. This quasi-savior, is not the
firstborn of God. For the firstborn of God is mighty
to save, and cannot be denied his right nor his possession,
which he has purchased with his own blood. His blood is both
sufficient and efficient for their redemption. Then the scarlet
thread appears again in the book of Joshua as that token which
was given. to Rahab by the Israelite spies to mark the place of her
abode, even as the children of Israel put the blood of the Lamb
on their doorposts and lintels on the night of Passover. It
is the blood of Christ that marks out the deliverance of the captives,
and does set at freedom those who are worthy of death. There
were probably at least a few morally upright women in the
city of Jericho, but it was unto a harlot that the messengers
were sent, and to whom the token was given, and she alone with
her family were saved alive. The third time a scarlet thread
is mentioned is found in the book of the Song of Solomon,
where the bridegroom is describing the beauty of his beloved. Thy
lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely. The
father sees the beauty of his children as he beholds them hidden
in the blood, which is the life thereof of his dear son. And
this is the record that God hath given to us, eternal life, and
this life is in his son. This scarlet thread is the mark
of his bride's beauty. She has lips as a thread of scarlet.
Her speech is that which is comely because it is a speech of those
lips which testify of a thread of scarlet. Peter exhorted the
saints to be ready to give to every man who asks a reason of
the hope that is in them. But sanctify the Lord God in
your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness
and fear. We have no other hope than that
which is displayed in the scarlet thread, which is woven into the
only garment of covering which we have or desire. What is the
reason of your hope? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.