Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. After his resurrection, the Lord
Jesus Christ said to his disciples, All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world. Amen. Then just before his ascension
he said to these same eleven, But ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses
unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. The word power,
which the Lord used here, literally means miraculous strength. It
is the root word from which we get our English words dynamo
and dynamite. However, the word which he used
to describe the power which he possesses is exaustion, which
literally means the privilege of force or mastery and jurisdiction. While any power which is given
to his disciples is conferred to them and is manifested by
the outworking of his Holy Spirit in them, his power is in no wise
a derived power, nor a conferred power, but that which he possesses
as part of his person and character. He needs no one's approval, nor
can his power or authority be in any wise diminished by any
action or lack thereof on the part of any of his creation.
He demonstrated that fact time and again as he shut the mouths
of the gainsayers who sought to overturn his words and proved
himself to be invincible and untouchable until such time as
it pleased him to lay down his life through the instrumentality
of human hands, which he had ordained to fulfill his own purpose.
Even as he told his disciples, therefore doth my father love
me because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. It was impossible
that he should in any wise be holden, that is, seized or retained
by death, because death is as much at his beck and call as
is any other part of his creation, both animate and inanimate. Yet
in order to fulfill the righteousness of his own purpose, he did subject
himself to it as a mortal man. As a mortal man, he did indeed
triumph over death, forever destroying its power to keep or retain those
for whom he came into the world to deliver. For as much then
as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy
him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver
them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage. One of the most glorious revelations
in all the scriptures is the fact that the God who inhabits
eternity without beginning or end did take upon Himself the
likeness of sinful flesh and dwelt among finite men in a finite
world. In so doing, He manifested Himself
as Immanuel, that is, God with us. This was no afterthought
nor remedy for an unforeseen problem, but rather a fulfillment
of His own purpose to manifest His glory in the redemption of
sinners. Before ever the foundation of
this world was laid, he was already the Lamb slain. Christ stood
as the covenant head of his elect bride before the foundation of
the world. He created them to be the objects of his love, mercy,
and grace in this world and that which is to come. This is too
glorious for men to contemplate in all of its sublime details,
but we have merely been given a glimpse of it in order to declare
the glory of him who is worthy of all praise in the complete
deliverance of those objects of his mercy. From time to time
we hear some talk of justification by faith as if to say that men
cause their justification to occur by believing the gospel. This is a total reversal of the
truth and a usurpation of the authority of Jesus Christ to
justify His elect. The justification of the sons
of God rests completely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ,
who has made their justification by the imputation of His righteousness
to them. solely based on that which he
has performed in their behalf. They are given faith to believe
it by the same power, and thus are manifested as those whom
he has forever justified, even as Abraham believed God. God
was not waiting for Abraham to believe, but was rather the moving
cause of Abraham's faith, and the very object of it, even as
God's children believe in the gospel in the day of his power.
Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, my beauty or my glorious dress,
midst flaming worlds in these arrayed with joy, shall I lift
up my head. When from the dust of death I
rise to take my mansion in the skies, in then shall this be
all my plea, Jesus has lived and died for me. If you would
like a free transcript of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor
at windstream.net.