By:
Edited By W. T. P. Wolston.
WHILST musing over this scripture some little time ago, I was struck with these words, “That we may have boldness in the day of judgment.” “Whatever does it mean?” I said to myself, when suddenly there flashed across my mind a narrative which forcibly illustrates this blessed truth. A Christian officer was going out to India with his wife and family. The vessel encountered a tremendous storm, the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, and the hurricane raged with fearful fury. All was consternation and confusion on board the vessel, but calmness and composure were depicted ill the officer’s countenance. His wife, who was much afraid, turning to him said, “How can you be so calm in the midst of such danger?”
He said nothing for a moment, then drew his sword, and pointing it to her bosom, said, “Does that alarm you?” “No,” she replied, “I am not afraid of your sword, because I know you love me too well to harm me.”
“Just so,” was her loving husband’s rejoinder; “the hand that wields this sword is the hand of one you trust, and of the one who loves you, and you have no fear, although its point is towards your heart. So, in like manner, I have no fear when the tempest rages, for God, who is my Father, wields the thunderbolt and guides the lightning’s flash, and I know and believe He loves me, and that I am safe and secure in His hand in the midst of it all.”
My dear reader, it is this blessed knowledge of God, and His wonderful love as revealed in the gift of His own beloved Son, that banishes every dread and fear from our hearts, and in its place inspires whole-hearted confidence in God. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.” It must be so, for it is God’s love, and therefore must be perfect. You find three times over His love told out in an unmistakable way. If He loves us at all, it must be with a holy love. This, then, brings to light our sins. What does He do? “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (vs. 10). He can put our many sins away now, on the ground of the blessed finished work His own Son hath accomplished.
But still there is something we have not got, and, oh, how the love of God has met us! “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (vs. 9). Our Adam life was forfeited: “death passed upon all men” (Rom. 5:1212Wherefore, 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: (Romans 5:12)); but, thank God, “He that hath the Son hath life (1 John 5:11-1311And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:11‑13)); and as if this in itself was not sufficient to calm our hearts, it is boldly written, “The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.”
If He is my Saviour, how then can He be my judge? Ere He takes the character of a judge, He has first of all been my Saviour. At Calvary’s cross His love was expressed to poor sinners like you and me. Dear reader, God “spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all” (Rom. 8:3232He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32))―delivered Him up for our sins, to death, and judgment which were ours, which we richly and righteously deserved, and which would have swamped us eternally. Jesus bore, that we might never bear, the Almighty’s righteous judgment, and cried: “My God my God, why hast thou forsaken me. Why art thou so far from helping me” (Psa. 22:11<<To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.>> My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? (Psalm 22:1)). Consider what it must have been for us to be forever far from God, eternally banished from His presence.
We deserved it for our sins, but the perfect boundless love of our God has devised the glorious means whereby poor sinners, no ‘matter how vile, may not only be saved from eternal punishment in hell, but be blessedly exalted into His own very presence, in all the unclouded favor that dwells there. His perfect love meets us just where we were.
W. N.