What depth, power, and fullness in the brief passage which we have just culled from the book of Jonah! What a truth it presents to the heart! “Salvation is of the Lord.” It is not of man, nor by man. It is divine. There is not one atom of the creature in it, from first to last. If there were the weight of a feather, or the movement of an eyelash of man’s doing, in any shape or form, it could not be said—because it would not be true—that “salvation is of the Lord.” But, blessed be God, man has nothing to do with it, but to receive it, enjoy it, and walk in the light of it, now and forever—here and in heaven.
But ere proceeding to unfold the precious word “salvation,” we must remind the reader of something very necessary for him to know and remember; and that is that the very fact of God’s having provided salvation for man is a plain and unanswerable proof that man is lost. There is no getting over this. It may be said to be an indirect proof; but it is a proof, and one that cannot be gainsayed. Why provide salvation, if man be not lost? For, be it noted, it is not a question of help. Mere help will not do! A man may say, “With the help of God I hope to get to heaven when I die.” But this implies that he is to co-operate with God in the great business of salvation; and in that case, most clearly, salvation would not be of the Lord; but partly of the Lord, and partly of man. And, moreover, man could never sing that lovely song of the redeemed, “Worthy is the Lamb,” inasmuch as he would have to add, “Worthy am I,” which were simply blasphemy, and nothing less.
But no; man is lost—totally, absolutely, and irretrievably lost, in himself—lost and perfectly powerless—perfectly incompetent to help himself, in any one way. It must, therefore, be a full, free, and perfect salvation, or nothing at all. It must be wholly of God, or it is of no possible use. Every link in the golden chain of salvation must be of divine formation; for if man had to supply a single link, it would, most assuredly, be a missing one.
Has the reader been brought to see this? Have his eyes been opened to see his true condition, as utterly lost—not merely defective in some points, but absolutely lost Say, reader, has the Holy Ghost led you to see the real truth of the matter; as to your state in the sight of a holy God? Have you been really brought to take your true place as lost? If so, you are in a position to enter into the meaning of the glorious word that forms the heading of this paper.
But it must be a reality—the genuine fruit of the Spirit’s work in your heart and conscience. It will not do to take up the heartless, powerless, worthless, formulary of general profession, and say, “We are all sinners.” It is an entirely personal matter. It is not “We” but “I” We cannot escape in a crowd. When the Holy Spirit deals with the soul—when He sends the arrow of conviction into the heart—when He brings the conscience into the light; then, verily, we are made to feel the intense reality of that wonderful little monosyllable— “lost.” Then, too, we find that nothing short of a full, free, everlasting salvation will avail for us. Help will not do; we want to be “saved.” The only word that—will do to put over against our true condition as lost, is that most precious little word—saved. The former expresses all that we are in ourselves—all that we are in nature. The latter sets forth all that we are in Christ.
And we are either the one or the other. There is no neutral ground, as to this question. The reader is either lost in himself, or saved in Christ. No doubt, there are heights and depths in our lost condition—heights of folly and depths of depravity—some higher up and some deeper down—various shades, grades, and conditions of lost men, women, and children. So also there are heights and depths in our condition as saved—heights of privilege and depths of spiritual blessedness. But there is not the breadth of a hair between those two conditions—lost or saved. Reader, where art thou?
(To be continued if the Lord will.)