1.—THE CUP OF Judgment.
DEATH is stamped on all beneath the sun! The sad evidences of Adam's sin and Satan's power remain to-day, in all their terrible reality, before the eyes of men; and the whole world stands guilty before God!
Yes, ever since that solemn hour when man, through sin, became the slave of Satan and an outcast from God's earthly paradise, death has claimed his victims by unnumbered millions, and has thus for nearly six thousand years become the most forcible preacher the world has ever known Every day the silver cord is broken, and Time's ever changeful river is swiftly carrying us all on to the ocean of eternity! "It is appointed unto men once to die; but after this the judgment." This is God's verdict, for, "as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death has passed upon all men, for all have sinned.”
In view of these solemn realities, dear reader, surely, if still unsaved, "it is high time for you to awake out of sleep," for the world is dying fast, and you yourself are lost! Ere thy spirit then returns to God Who gave it, may the words of Him Who suffered, bled, and died, ring loudly in thine ears, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup [the cup of judgment] pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”
But alas! it was not possible, and Calvary's cross tells its own sweet tale of judgment fully borne, sin righteously put away, and death eternally triumphed over! Yes, reader, Jesus, the Son of the living God, yea, His own precious spotless Lamb, was the only One in heaven or earth Who could drink that bitter cup, but oh! what mystery of grace! He drained it to its dregs, even for His enemies, and now,
Nothing for us remains,
Nothing but love.
Judgment is passed and gone for every true believer, since every claim of divine justice has been met and completely satisfied by "the blood of the cross." "There is therefore now no judgment to them that are in Christ Jesus."
2.—THE CUP OF SALVATION.
This cup is yours, dear reader, the very moment you believe in Jesus. The psalmist could say, "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord." Old and New Testament saints both speak alike; and Joel's words are reechoed in a later day by Peter and Paul, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." David had sung the same song many years before, "I will take," "I will call," and grasping salvation's cup he drank it, and "passed from death unto life”
Judgment's bitter cup having been exhausted by the holy Lamb of God, God can now righteously offer salvation's cup to all of Adam's race, though all, alas! do not take it, like David, nor make it their own, like Joel, Peter, and Paul. Reader! the wounded hand of Jesus now offers thee the cup of salvation, for "now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation." Wilt thou take it, or perish in thy sin? The same God Who says, "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely," also says, "Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." David says, "I will take.”
The blind. man, the leper, poor sinking Peter, and the dying robber, all alike, in their distress, called upon the name of the Lord, and "were delivered;" and when you, dear reader, do the same, your eyes too will be opened, your uncleanness will be removed, life instead of death will be your portion, and the realms of glory, instead of the lake of fire, will be your happy future!
3.—THE CUP OF BLESSING.
“The cup of blessing, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?" Reader! if you have indeed truly drunk of salvation's cup, and are now, through grace, rejoicing in the knowledge of sins forgiven, and "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," let me lovingly entreat you, by the wounds of Jesus, not to slight His last loving request, "This do in remembrance of me," for "this cup is the new testament in my blood which is shed for you.”
Soon, very soon, will He come to "receive us unto himself," that where He is, there we may be also, and even now, as you read these lines, His words ring out in all their sweetness from the glory, "Remember Me." Oh! is it possible you can ever forget that He was wounded for your transgressions, and bruised for your iniquities? Nay, rather may you take, even now, from His pierced hand the cup of blessing which speaks so loudly of a full and accomplished atonement, and of a love that is past all telling. Thus will you announce, in a dark and evil world, the death of Him Who has set you free, and declare, in the drinking of that cup, that you are not your own, but bought with a price. Redeemed at such a cost, may you then take at once this cup of blessing from the loving hand of Jesus, while His word rings sweetly in your ransomed soul, "This do in remembrance of me.”
Trials make the promise sweet,
Trials give new life to prayer;
Trials bring me to His feet,
Lay me low and keep me there.