I had a call today from Steve
Martin. One of the companions of his,
a lady that died suddenly, a lot of folks talking, and he wanted
to know how you can give comfort to folks in such times. For the unbelieving, There is
no comfort. For those who do not know God,
when they lose friend, family, when they are about to face eternity
themselves, there is no way you can comfort them. They resign
everything to fate, to luck, to chance. That's just the way
things are and they chin up best they can and go on. But believers see things differently. We have, if God will be pleased
to give us grace, to believe Him. We have a source of consolation
that will stand us in good stead of comfort and hope in the midst
of the most trying circumstances, in the midst of the most devastating
loss. It is that comfort, that hope that David spoke of on his
dying bed, that man who already had some of his own flesh and
blood in hell, and he knew it. And others looked like were sure
to perish after their example, unless God intervened. And he
said, although my house be not so with God. Things aren't the
way I planned. They aren't the way I'd hoped.
They aren't even the way I had prayed. Although my house be
not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and sure. And this is all my salvation
and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. Now let's
look at that covenant tonight, Hebrews 13 and verse 20. These are the things I keep falling
back on. Whenever things come up that
cause me to cast about in my soul with questions about what's
going on, what God's doing, what's happening. When I have to bury someone I love who
doesn't know God. When I have to go through difficulties
or see others go through difficulties that if I could choose, if I
had the ability to determine things, I would not choose those
things. I fall back on the wisdom and
goodness of God Almighty. What God does is right and what
God does is good. It's good, whatever it is. Good for His glory and good for
His people. Whatever comes to pass is absolutely
the best thing that could happen. Whatever comes to pass. It's absolutely the best thing
that could happen. And we'll see that one of these
days, clearly. For now, I find strength to go
on believing it. It's the best that could happen.
Not only is he wise and good, but he's absolutely sovereign.
That means his goodness he will accomplish. His purpose will
be done. And that which is being done,
is done according to His purpose of grace in covenant love for
His people. And I hope that I'm one of them,
because I trust His darling Son, whose blood and righteousness
alone gives me hope before Him, a good, sure, confident hope. Now let's look at Hebrews 13.20
together. And let's read it real careful.
Now the God of peace. What a word. He made peace by the blood of
His cross for us. He gives peace to us by His grace. And He is at peace with us. That God who alone can give you
peace is here called the God of peace. He is the God of peace
that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ died under
the penalty of sin, under the curse of God's holy law, when
he was made to be sin for us. But now the God of peace has
brought him again from the dead. because justice has been satisfied,
because sin has been put away. And he brought him forth from
the dead specifically now as our Lord Jesus. He who is Jesus the Savior, the
almighty God who came here in human flesh, that one that folks
speak about so much this time of the year, but know so little
about. He's not just some babe or a little babe in a manger.
He is God Almighty in human flesh. He's lived on this earth in our
room instead, and now that very same God in human flesh, having
died for the satisfaction of justice on our behalf, sits in
heaven, Lord over all. If you get hold of this now,
it'll sail your boat through troubled waters. He who is Lord
over all is our Lord Jesus. He's our Lord. He's our Lord.
Personally, specifically, our Lord. He's Lord over all, but
He belongs to us, and we belong to Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ
was raised up from the dead as that great shepherd of the sheep. uses a very definite article.
He is that one and only shepherd of the sheep. He is the great
shepherd who came here to save his sheep, and in order to do
so, laid down his life for the sheep. The Lord Jesus has been
raised up from the grave and is now seated in heaven as the
great shepherd of the sheep. Look at this, through the blood
of the everlasting covenant. He ascended up on high and took
possession of heaven as our great shepherd and as our Lord through
the merit of his own blood. That is to say, he purchased
all that the Father gave him by his blood. He purchased us,
and he purchased all the glory that he possesses as our mediator,
even his dominion as our mediator by his blood. Now look at the
first words of verse 21 and see why I did it all. To make you perfect. The blood of the everlasting
covenant. That's our subject tonight. In
this covenant of grace and peace, The three persons of the triune
God fixed the salvation of all the objects of his love before
the world began. Every saved sinner, no exceptions,
every saved sinner traces the origin of his salvation back
to a work done by God before ever the world was made, and
that work done by God before ever the world was made is called
a covenant. It is here called the everlasting
covenant. It's called the covenant of grace
and the covenant of peace. Now understand these things.
God Almighty always and only deals with men in a covenant
relationship. Though he brings the blessings
of grace or the curse of the law against men and upon men
individually, he does so always in terms of a covenant through
a representative. According to his own sovereign
purpose, God has arranged that he will not deal with man except
in covenant terms. And he won't let us deal with
him except in covenant terms. It won't happen. You're not going
to come to God except by a covenant representative. You're not going
to be accepted by God except through a covenant representative.
You cannot approach God except through a covenant representative.
We see the Lord God back in Genesis chapter 1, or chapter 2, making
a covenant with the first man, Adam. It ran like this. The Lord
said to Adam, of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely
eat. But of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, You shall not eat of it. And what was he doing? What was he doing? He set Adam
in the garden and gave him the whole creation. He said, you
have it all. It's all yours. Everything. Here is one symbol
of my right as God. One symbol. You can't eat this
tree. One, one word, you can't eat
this tree. And Adam quickly broke the covenant,
as we all know, and he plunged himself and us and all the human
race into spiritual death, headed to eternal death under the curse
of God's holy law. Later, when God gave the law
at Sinai, that covenant that God gave to Israel through the
hand of Moses was really but a restatement of that old covenant
of works God made with Adam. And the purpose was not so that
the Lord says, now I'm going to give you a second chance.
You messed up in the garden. But now if you'll keep the law,
then you can live forever. That was not the purpose. The
purpose of the giving of the law was simply a statement and
a revelation, a clearer revelation of God's justice in punishing
every transgression. The law was never given to be
a system of salvation by works. It was never given to be a rule
of life for believers, but rather it was given to show men that
we are justly cursed and justly condemned. The law was given
to drive us away from Sinai, to drive us away from ourselves,
declaring by the works of the law there shall no flesh be justified
into the arms of Christ, who is the covenant head of a new
covenant. But this new covenant was made
before the world began, long before God made the covenant
of works with Adam. Long before he put Adam and Eve
in the garden, he had made a covenant with his son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. It was made for us, but it was made with his son. Now
be sure you understand this. This covenant of grace, David
said, the Lord made with me an everlasting covenant. And certainly
that can be understood to mean David is a representative of
Christ. But it is also clearly stated here that this covenant
was made specifically with David through his Lord, the representative
man, Jesus Christ, our Savior. And God's covenant of grace,
though it was made for us, was made with his Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now look at the scriptures. Turn
to 1 Corinthians 15. It's important that we see this.
Adam, as a federal head, that is a legal head, like a senator
on Capitol Hill or one of our legislators over in Frankfort.
They are representatives of the people, representatives in a
legal sense. Adam was a legal federal head
and representative of all men in the covenant of works. And
as such, he was both a type and a prophetic picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ, who is called the last Adam. Here in 1 Corinthians
15, verse 21, since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection
of the dead. Four, as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive. Skip down to verse 45.
So it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul.
God made Adam, formed his body out of the dust of the ground,
and then God breathed into his nostrils and Adam became a living
soul. The last Adam, was made a quickening
spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ, by his
resurrection from the dead, now has power over all flesh to give
eternal life to as many as the Father has given him. But Adam
was a representative, and he was a type, and a picture, and
a beautiful one he was of the Lord Jesus. First, because he
was a representative man. And secondly, because of his
great love for his wife Eve. Rather than be parted from Eve,
rather than be separated from Eve, Adam voluntarily assumed
her sin and her guilt and her death and plunged himself into
her sin and her guilt and her death because he loved her. Now that's no excuse for his
sin. God Almighty has priority claims over everybody, and He
did over Adam. But Adam sinned against God and
plunged himself into sin and guilt and death because he would
not lose Eve, his wife. And in that is a picture of our
Savior and His work for us. Let's look one more time at Romans
5. Romans 5. Paul is explaining how God justifies
sinners freely by His grace through the redemption that's in Christ
Jesus. We have received the atonement by faith in Christ. Now look
at the word that begins, verse 12. Wherefore. Wherefore. That is, in order to accomplish
this. in order to accomplish our justification,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
Well, what does that mean? Verse 18 explains it. Therefore,
as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation,
even so by the righteousness of one, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For
as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. This covenant
of works was broken by Adam, but the covenant of grace was
fulfilled completely by the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This everlasting covenant was typified many, many times in
the Old Testament. God, before He gives a clear
revelation, He gives stages of revelation. When Noah stood before
the Lord, and God sends judgment upon the whole world, except
for Noah and his house. God made a covenant with him.
And he made a covenant and he gave him a sign of a covenant,
called it the rainbow, set a bow in the sky. He said, no, I'll
never again destroy the earth by a flood like this. And said,
to show you that, remind you that, I'm going to set my bow
in the sky. Well, before ever Noah walked on the earth. Before
ever the flood came, before ever God made the earth, His throne
was surrounded by a bow and the covenant of grace. And that covenant
was typified back then, that covenant God made with Noah who
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God made a covenant with
Abraham. That covenant too was typical
of and prefigured this new covenant of grace fulfilled in Christ.
God made a covenant with David, set him up as king in Israel,
made him to rule and said, your house will stand forever. Beautiful
picture of the covenant of grace. David and Jonathan made a covenant,
and long after Jonathan was dead, because of a covenant made before
ever Mephibosheth was born, Mephibosheth was made later to sit at the
king's table and eat bread as one of the king's sons. spoken
of throughout the scriptures. This is not something that's
kind of tucked away and hidden and you have to study hard and
become a real deep, refined theologian in order to get it. It's written
everywhere. Psalm 89 speaks of the covenant. Isaiah 49, the
Lord speaks of Christ Jesus and said, I have given thee for a
covenant to the people, so that he who gets Christ gets the covenant. It's spoken of in the terms of
it in Jeremiah 31, Jeremiah 32, Ezekiel 36. And of course, what I quoted
earlier is found in 2 Samuel 23, where David speaks of this
covenant. In other words, God's saints, throughout the Old Testament,
before ever Christ came and fulfilled all the stipulations of the covenant
in his person, God's saints, looking by faith to the Son of
God who was to come, rested their souls upon this covenant made
for them before the world was. They found it to be an inspiration.
and a motive in life, and they found it to be comfort and strength
in death. It was a covenant on which they
leaned and found strength, and a pillow on which they laid their
weary souls and found rest. This everlasting covenant is
that which Paul speaks of when he says, the foundation of God
standeth sure. This is sure. What's that mean? You can't shake it. You can't
destroy it. Nothing in time is going to hinder
it. Nothing in eternity is going
to thwart it. This covenant is the foundation of God, the foundation
of all God's works, the foundation of all that God does, the foundation
of all God's revelation. This covenant is the foundation
of God that standeth sure. Now, let's look at Hebrews 13.20,
and I want to briefly show you three things here, and the Lord
willing, we'll come back to it another time. I want so much
to give you something that will comfort your hearts, prepare
you for whatever evil comes between now and the day that God brings
us to glory, and strengthen you in the midst of your current
trials. And I pray for you who know not God, that the God of
peace will this hour bring you from the dead. by the power of
his grace, granting you life and faith in Christ Jesus. First,
the covenant. What is this covenant spoken
of here in Hebrews 13.20? The blood of the everlasting
covenant. The word covenant is mentioned
in the book of Hebrews other places. It's first mentioned
in chapter 7, verse 22, where Christ is called the surety of
a better testament, and the word would be better translated covenant.
This is the better covenant described in chapter 8, verses 6 through
12. This is the same covenant spoken
of in chapter 10. And that's a new covenant. It
is that covenant that's described as being the very same one in
chapter 10 that Jeremiah spoke of back in Jeremiah 31. It is
a covenant made with Israel and Judah. That is with God's people,
those who are God's chosen, those who are the true circumcision.
This covenant. Spoken of in Hebrews 13 20 is
the gospel, the covenant of grace, a covenant made in eternity for
the salvation of God's elect. And yet it's called the new covenant,
the new covenant frequently referred to as the covenant because it
is newly revealed. because it is always fresh, because
it brings us into the possession of the new creation. This everlasting
covenant is the whole will of God. It's the whole will of God. Listen to Romans 8, 28. You can
recite it, but just listen carefully. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called, according to his purpose. Everything works together for
good, to God's elect, according to God's purpose, because he's
determined that his people stand at last before him, conformed
to the image of his son, that his son might be the firstborn
among many brethren. The will of God, the purpose
of God regarding the salvation of His people is revealed here
and throughout the Bible in terms of a covenant. Now, I realize
I don't understand all I know about that. But folks arguing
for us say, well, you don't want to call it a covenant. That's
confusing to people. People are born confused. It's
called a covenant to keep us from being so confused. The Lord
God condescends in great mercy to speak to us in human terms
about profoundly infinite, mysterious, divine things. Let's see if I
can illustrate it. We are saved by the outstretched
arm of God. Now, wait a minute. God's a spirit.
He doesn't have an arm. Why did he say that? He doesn't have
an arm. To make us understand we're saved by his power. was
saved by him doing something. The eye of the Lord is upon his
people. Oh, wait a minute. God doesn't
have any eyes? Why does he use terms like that? Well, somebody
said to confuse the rebel. I'll agree with that. But it's
written that way to make us understand God watches over his own. He
watches over his own. And this term covenant. Certainly
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit did not need
to think or act logically. Known unto the Lord are all things
at all times instantly. God never learned anything and
He never forgot anything. He knows all things and He has
ordained all things. But it's revealed in covenant
terms so that you and I can see something of the wonder of God's
purpose and the certainty of His purpose on our behalf. So
call it a disposition of grace, call it a purpose of grace. It's
called all of those things. But it is revealed in terms of
a covenant for these reasons. It's called a covenant because
a covenant is a contract. A covenant is an agreement made
between contracting parties so that this party says, I'll do
this if you'll do that. And the two, speaking promising,
they will do this or that on the basis of what the other does,
put themselves under obligation. That's what a contract is. You
go sign a contract, you're expected to live up to the contract. And
if you don't live up to the contract or even can't live up to the
contract, somebody will take you to a court of law and sue
you. How come? Because the contract is binding.
If a man is a man of honor and he says, I'll do something, it's
good as done. It's good as done up to his ability. And if he doesn't do it for whatever
reason, he has failed to fulfill his word and must bear the reproach
of it. I'm talking now about a contract,
a covenant made between God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit before the world began. The Lord God, our Father,
pledged himself, saying, I will be gracious. I will be gracious. God the Son pledged himself saying,
I will satisfy God's law and justice. And God the Spirit pledged
himself saying, I will sanctify. And one of the three persons
of the Holy Trinity struck hands together in covenant mercy, the
deal was done. So that we are described in the
scriptures as having been saved before the world began. Now this
is not a matter of logic. It's not a matter of theological
accuracy. It's a matter of divine revelation
as plainly revealed as the nose on your face. Turn to that passage
in Romans chapter 9, or chapter 8 rather. Romans 8 chapter. Romans 8.28 is meaningless without
verses 29 and 30. Romans 8.28 is nothing but a
good luck charm for religious people without verses 29 and
30. Romans 8.28 doesn't do anything for anybody until they know what's
written in verses 29 and 30. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. to them who are the
called according to his purpose. Now watch his purpose. For whom
he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Those whom God foreknew, not what he foreknew,
Don't ever let anybody interpret it that way. Oh, no. It's not
what He foreknew, it's who He foreknew. Those whom He foreknew,
He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
His Son might have all the glory and be preeminent. Verse 30,
Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom
He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He
also glorified. Now, wait a minute. We're not
glorified yet. No, and some of you haven't experienced
justification yet. And we weren't justified as far
as experience is concerned when this was done. No, but it says
we were already called, already justified, and already glorified
when he predestined us to be his sons. How come? Because for
God to will it is for God to do it. For God to will it is for God
to do it. That which He willed in eternity,
He did in eternity, and now He's working it out in time. Brother
Don, if that's the case, then what you're saying is that when
a man or a woman is converted by God's grace, when a person
is born again by God's Spirit, they're just really sort of coming
into the awareness of what God had already done. That's a pretty
good assumption. Let's see if it's a biblical
one. 2 Timothy 1. 2 Timothy 1. Yes, we really experience the
new birth. Yes, we do by faith receive justification. But when a man or a woman is
born again, it doesn't add anything to his standing before God. When
God pours His grace in you, it doesn't change your record before
Him. When God gives you faith to believe
on His Son, it doesn't change or add anything to what His Son
had done. We were justified in Christ before the world began
and glorified in Him as the mediator accepted before the world began.
Look here in 2 Timothy 1 verse 9. Let's see if this is what
Paul says. God hath saved us and called us with an holy calling,
not according to our works, not according to something we did
or might do, but according to his own purpose and grace, get
it now, which was given us in Christ Jesus. When did God Almighty
give Bobby Estes his grace? What does it say, Bobby? Before
the world began. Given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began, but is now made manifest. One day, I can't remember
how many years ago it was, that man right there met me at that
door and said, God's revealed himself to me. That's exactly
what he's talking about. That's exactly what it's talking
about. Was made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus
Christ, who hath abolished death and brought life and immortality,
look at it, to light through the gospel. So that when a sinner
is converted, God comes in saving power. Radical changes are made
down here. Radical changes are made in here.
Radical changes are made in our lives and continue to be. But
no change is made before God. We stand before God on the basis
of a covenant made before the world began, not with us, but
with a representative, Jesus Christ the Lord, on our behalf.
A covenant is not only a contract. A covenant, as I've already hinted
at, has specific stipulations. Stipulations which each contracting
party must perform. He is honor-bound to perform
them. And if ever one stipulation is broken by any of the contracting
parties, the whole covenant falls apart, is nullified, and comes
to nothing. If just one stipulation is left
out, just one. What can be said concerning this?
This everlasting covenant had stipulations. None for us, but
stipulations between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God the Father pledged himself to save our souls. He said, I
will be their God, and they shall be my people. He said, their
sins and iniquities Well, I remember no more. But I'm a holy God who
cannot pardon sin, who cannot pardon iniquity. He said, I will
forget their transgressions, but I'm God who marks iniquity. Read Isaiah, Exodus rather. Moses asked God, show me your
glory. He said, I forgive iniquity,
transgression, and sin, and will not pass by iniquity, transgression,
and sin. Well, that's a contradiction. It's a contradiction except for
folks who know the gospel of God's grace. The Lord God said,
I will be their God. They shall be my people. But
I've got to have satisfaction. Their sins must be punished.
This covenant, you see, was made in anticipation of the fall,
not as an afterthought, but before it. This covenant was made looking
upon us as men and women fallen in Adam. And the Lord God demands
satisfaction. And the Son said, I'll go. I'll redeem them. I will become
one of them. I will take upon myself their
nature. I will obey your law perfectly
in their room instead. And because I am both God and
man without sin, I can both satisfy all the demands of God's justice,
and I can suffer all the fullness of God's wrath. And I'll die. Give them to me, Father. Trust
them to me. Give me your people. Give me
the objects of your love, and I will bring them before you
and present them to you perfect and holy and without blame forever."
The Father said, here they are. Here they are. I trust you with
my glory and my people. Here they are. And the Holy Spirit
said, I'll sanctify I'll come in the fullness of time, in the
time of love, and I will call them. I will give them life.
I will spread over them the skirt of righteousness, and I will
cause them to live. I will make them believe. I will
cause them to come to Christ. I will compel them by sovereign,
irresistible, constraining grace, and make them willing in the
day of my power, and they'll believe on the Son of God when
He's revealed in their hearts by me. And I will seal them forever. And so the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit struck hands, and it was a done deal. It was
ordered in all things and sure. This covenant had stipulations. And in this covenant, those stipulations
were absolutely fulfilled by the three persons of the Holy
Trinity. And from eternity, our names
were written in the Book of Life of the Lamb, listen now, slain
from the foundation of the world. and all the blessings of grace,
all the benefits of the covenant, all that the Father promised
on condition of perfect obedience and perfect satisfaction by a
perfect substitute, all of it was given us in Christ before
the world began. All of it. This is what the book
says. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ. How? According as he hath chosen
us in him. Blessed us. The Lord God blessed
us from eternity, and he never turned back. He set his heart
on us from eternity, and nothing could quench his love. And he
accepted us from eternity. And he never, never, never, never,
never, not for one second, not for one second, refused to accept the sins. In the garden, when we sinned
against God and Adam plunged us into this hell of a mess called
humanity, God accepted us and loved us. When we came forth
from our mother's womb speaking lies with our fists shoved square
in God's face and would have killed him if we could, he loved
us and accepted us. When He called us by His grace,
it wasn't in order to make us so that He could love us. It
was because He loved us and accepted us. And though we fall a thousand
times a day, He loves us and accepts us. And when we stand
before Him when this world is over, He's going to love us and
accept us no better, no more, no more perfectly. but just as
he loved us and accepted us in Christ before the world began.
He blessed us and never turned back. But why is this called
an everlasting covenant? It's called this more than it's
called anything else. It's called covenant of peace, covenant of
salvation, covenant of mercy. It's called a better covenant.
But here, it's called an everlasting covenant. And it's called that
seven times in the scriptures. Why? To make us know that it's
everlasting. To make us know that it was from
everlasting and it reaches to everlasting. And that means the
covenant is absolutely immutable. It is absolutely sure. That which
is everlasting is unconditional. It is unbreakable. It is unalterable. It's absolutely sure. That which
God purposed from eternity, God does in time and God has to eternity. You got it? God saved us and
called us, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. And he declares in everlasting
covenant mercy, I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, you
heirs of the covenant are not consumed. He'll never change. Well, what's the connection here
to the blood? I'll have to be very brief, but
believe me, I've saved the best to last. The precious blood of Christ
has these intimate relations to God's everlasting covenant.
With regard to God our Savior, the blessed eternal Son, His
blood fulfilled everything stipulated to in the covenant. When he was
about to enter into glory, he said these two things. The night
before he died, he said, I've finished the work thou gavest
me to do. I've lived here in the perfection
of humanity. I came to do your will. Now it's
done. And when he died, He said, it's
finished. What's finished? Everything referred
to by it. Everything. All He came to do. All the Father's will. All the
purpose of God. It's finished. He has satisfied
the justice of God. He has fulfilled all righteousness.
He's put away sin. He's made it into transgression.
He's magnified the law and made it honorable. And now he says,
I'm coming, Father. I'll go back to my Father because
sin is over. Sin is put away. Judgment is
ended. Wrath is gone. And there's no
reason for God to be furious anymore. With regard to God the
Father, The precious blood of Christ puts the Almighty... Now listen to me. Listen to me.
There's nothing more needful than this. There's nothing more
important than this. There's nothing more comforting
than this. The blood of Jesus Christ, shed at Calvary, puts
God Almighty under absolute obligation to save every sinner for whom
He died. How can you say that? Because
God's just. and payment God cannot twice
demand, first at my bleeding surety's hand and then again
at mine. Thirdly, with regard to God the
Holy Spirit, the blood of Christ is that which he brings and sprinkles
on the conscience, causing the sinner, just so irresistible
as his grace, Here you are. I will not believe. And then He reveals Christ in
you. And you can't help but to believe. Why do you believe on Him? I
couldn't do anything else. Why do you trust Him? I was sweetly
forced by Almighty Grace to behold His glory and believe on His
Son. With regard to the believer,
the blood of Christ is the solitary ground of hope before God. I hope never for God Almighty
to look upon me and deal with me in any way except through
the mediation and merit of His Son. My faith is so full of unbelief,
the only thing that makes my faith pleasing to God is the
blood of His Son. My love for Him is so full of
self-love, the only thing that makes my love for Him something
He will accept is the blood of His Son. My obedience My best
obedience is so full of disobedience that it's fit for hell except
for the blood of His Son. I hope for God never to look
on me except through His Son. And I hope never to dare lean
on anything except the blood of the covenant of his darling
son shed on my behalf for acceptance with God. I mean to give peace
to my conscience. I mean to give consolation to
my soul. I mean hope never to lean on
anything but him. My only hope before God is this,
Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame. No matter how high I may soar,
no matter how exhilarated I may be, no matter how great my experiences
may be, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean
on Jesus' name, on Christ, the solid rock I stand. All other
ground is just sinking sand. And with regard to guilty sinners, the precious blood of Christ
is the only way a sinner can ever come to God.