"Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that
time that thine ear was not opened." -- Isaiah 48:8
There are matters within which we ought to have seen, corruptions which have made headway unnoticed; sweet affections which are being blighted like flowers in the frost, untended by us; glimpses of the divine face which might be perceived if we did not wall up the windows of our soul. But we "have not known." As we think of it we are humbled in the deepest self-abasement. How must we adore the grace of God as we learn from the context that all this folly and ignorance, on our part, was foreknown by God, and, notwithstanding that foreknowledge, he yet has been pleased to deal with us in a way of mercy! Admire the marvellous sovereign grace which could have chosen us in the sight of all this! Wonder at the price that was paid for us when Christ knew what we should be! He who hung upon the cross foresaw us as unbelieving, backsliding, cold of heart, indifferent, careless, lax in prayer, and yet he said, "I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour ... Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life!" O redemption, how wondrously resplendent dost thou shine when we think how black we are! O Holy Spirit, give us henceforth the hearing ear, the understanding heart!" -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon
1 comment:
I know this is nothing new to anybody...but I've never before heard this articulated quite the way John MacArthur puts it here:
"On the cross, Jesus was guilty of nothing, yet God treated Him as if He had personally committed every sin that would ever be committed by every person who would ever believe. And He did it so that we might become the righteousness of God. We're not righteous, yet God treats us as if we are. On the cross, God treated Jesus as if He had lived your life, so that He could treat you as if you had lived His."
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