“I CAN speak of Christ as a Saviour for others, but He is more than a Saviour to me... He is so bright, always so bright... I shut my eyes, and I see Him so bright, He is always so bright. When He gave me a glimpse the other day of what He had suffered for me, I cannot tell you what it was; it was only a glimpse, but I did not think there could be such a thing known on earth. It was worth all the suffering I have passed through to have such a glimpse, and I would gladly go through another such time of suffering to have a like glimpse again... But I am in the Lord’s hands―I have no will but His will. I am ready to go, or to stay, whichever His will may be.”
Such were some of the utterances of a poor widow whom we lately visited, where weakness and exhaustion were intense in connection with a painful and serious illness. And surely it is the believer’s sweet privilege, while passing through this death-stricken scene, to be taken up with the surpassing excellency of Christ Himself! Was it not this which enabled the chief of sinners to count everything valueless in comparison with the Lord Jesus Christ? And has He not promised to manifest Himself to those who love Him? “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him” (John 14:2121He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21)) ―to those who believe in the preciousness of Christ, not only because He has died for us, but because of the glory and excellency of Himself. We delight to think of His sufferings and death for us, we rejoice that all our blessings have been securely founded in righteousness by the blood of His cross; but it is Himself that gladdens our hearts. His perfect and unchanging love many waters could not quench, or floods of trouble drown. His love could not rest till it had accomplished its purpose of redeeming us from all iniquity. But though we recall to mind His sufferings, and remember that the death of the cross has secured for us eternal glory, we can truly say that―
“Greater far than all beside,
He, He Himself is thine.”
With those who knew the sweetness of personal intercourse with Him, He has the first place in their hearts. No other object is comparable to Him. Not even service, however blessed, can be allowed to come between us and Himself. He is truly the chiefest among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely. In Him we have excellency which is unchanging and eternal, glory which nothing can tarnish; and the longing desire of His heart is not only that we should be with Him where He is, and behold His glory, but that we should share the glory which the Father has given Him. Even now He would have us have the enjoyment of the precious truth that we are one with Him, and loved by the Father even as the Father loved Him.
While our hearts adoringly remember that all our present and eternal blessings are founded on that one sacrifice for sin which He offered once for all, it is Himself that so attracts, engages, and satisfies the heart that knows Him. Where this is the case, the utterance of the soul must be―
“No object so glorious we see,
And none so attractive to us.”
When our unseen Saviour in the glory thus engages the heart, He is more than a Saviour to us, for He is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, and a never-failing fountain of joy, in whom are all our springs. We know Him in the highest place of honor and power. We see that, in heaven, angels, authorities, and powers are made subject to Him, and are assured that in a little while every knee in this vast universe shall bow to Him, and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. We see it is the same Person, and the same heart now engaged for us in the glory of God as Advocate, Shepherd, and Priest, that poured out His soul unto death for us on the cross. Though not in the same place now as He was then, His love is no less than when He laid down His life for the sheep. When He is thus known in the place where He now is, such can truly say, “He is more than a Saviour to me.” Things here then lose their hold upon us, our hearts are set free for worship and service, and even the good things of earth have not the charm for us they once had; besides, we better know Him as “He that is holy,” and “He that is true,” and aim in every way to be more suited to His mind.
When we are occupied with His perfections and glory the best things of time and sense seem poor, and a thousand things which formerly might have troubled us are now not even noticed by us. His glory eclipses all else. The inheritance of the Lord of glory makes man’s expectations look very small. His brightness makes all else appear to be dark. His fullness manifests our feebleness. His eternal and unchanging worth makes us dissatisfied with all else. Occupation with Christ Himself not only satisfies the heart, and brings the will in subjection to Himself, but brightens in us the hope of His coming.
H. H. S.