In the book which God has graciously given to us, and which addresses itself to every creature under heaven, a few plain facts are stated which will enable you, dear reader, if you so desire it, to take a true account of yourself, and see where you are, and how you stand in relation to God. Nothing, surely, can be of greater importance than this. Life is uncertain. There is nothing in this poor world upon which you can safely rely. The heart of man instinctively longs for that which is stable and abiding; and the anxious cry is going forth from many a weary soul today, “Who will show us any good?” (Psa. 4:6).
In Genesis 1, God is seen diligently working for the benefit and blessing of His creatures. In chapter 2 a “garden of delights” is planted, eastward in Eden, and there God placed the man whom He had formed for His own pleasure. In chapter 3, man, listening to Satan’s lying insinuations, revolts from God; and, conscience stricken, seeks a hiding place from his Maker among the trees of the garden; he is there challenged, exposed, convicted, and subsequently driven out of Paradise. Thus, briefly, the Spirit of God sums up for us the “present situation.” “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Solemn picture! Have you honestly faced it, reader? There is no way of return to an earthly Eden (Gen. 3:24), and the sentence of death is upon all who are born outside of it (Rom. 6:23; Heb. 9:27). Gloomy enough would this outlook be were it not that God Himself has intervened on man’s behalf. No sooner had sin cast its withering blight upon His fair creation, than the voice of God is heard in the garden, announcing the fact that the woman’s seed, should bruise the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15), and following quickly upon this blessed intimation, Adam and Eve were clothed with coats of skin, signifying that a victim had been slain, and sinful man accepted in the life of another. In that innocent animal, put to death to cover the nakedness and guilt of ruined man, God’s mighty triumph over the powers of evil is typically declared, and the all-atoning sacrifice of Christ shadowed forth. And from that moment onwards, until the Son of God was manifested, the slain victims at the altars bore continuous witness to faith’s only ground of approach to God.
But in the death of Jesus, where man’s guilt and enmity reached their culminating point, God’s righteousness was established and His love fully expressed. Jesus laid down His life, to end forever, as before God, the sad history of man “in the flesh” (Gen. 6:13; Rom. 8:3). His holy soul was “made an offering for sin.” The waves of judgment, in all their fury, spent themselves upon Him who came to do the will of God (Isa. 53:10; Psa. 40:7, 8). But death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24). He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father” (Rom. 6:4). The everlasting gates were opened wide to welcome the mighty Conqueror into the courts of glory (Psa. 24:7, 8). God has placed Him at His own right hand (Rom. 8:34). The sacrifice of Christ has come up as a sweet savor to God: and now—
“The river of His grace,
Through righteousness supplied,
Is flowing o’er the barren place
Where Jesus died.”
(To be continued.)