"For _then will I turn to the people a pure language_, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent." Zeph. 3:9.
20. How thoroughly will the effects of sin be removed?
"And G.o.d shall _wipe away all tears_ from their eyes; and there shall be _no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are pa.s.sed away_." Rev. 21:4. "_And there shall be no more curse_: but the throne of G.o.d and of the Lamb shall be in it [the holy city]; and His servants shall serve Him." Rev. 22:3.
21. Will sin and its evil results ever appear again?
"What do ye imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end: _affliction shall not rise up the second time_." Nahum 1:9. "There shall be _no more death_." "And there shall be _no more curse_." Rev. 21:4; 22:3.
NOTE.-That sin exists none can deny. Why it was permitted has perplexed many minds. But He who can bring light out of darkness (2 Cor. 4:6), make the wrath of man to praise Him (Ps. 76:10), and turn a curse into a blessing (Deut. 23:5), can bring good out of evil, and turn mistakes and downfalls into stepping-stones to higher ground. Heaven will be happier for the sorrows of earth.
"Sorrows remembered sweeten present joy," says Robert Pollock, in "The Course of Time," page 29. In the final outcome it will be seen that all things have worked together for good to them that love G.o.d. Rom. 8:28. Cowper, despondent and about to drown himself, was carried the wrong way by his driver, and went home to write the inspiring hymn below.
G.o.d moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines Of never-failing skill, He treasures up His bright designs, And works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings o"er your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.
Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan His work in vain; G.o.d is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain.
WILLIAM COWPER.
Creation And Redemption
[Ill.u.s.tration.]
Creative Power. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." Eph. 2:10.
1. What is revealed concerning G.o.d in the first verse of the Bible?
"In the beginning _G.o.d created the heaven and the earth_." Gen. 1:1.
2. What contrast is repeatedly drawn in the Scriptures between the true G.o.d and false G.o.ds?
"Thus shall ye say unto them, _The G.o.ds that have not made the heavens and the earth_, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.... The portion of Jacob is not like them: for _He is the former of all things_; and Israel is the rod of His inheritance: The Lord of hosts is His name." Jer. 10:11-16. See Jer. 14:22; Acts 17:22-29; Rev.
14:6-10.
3. Through whom did G.o.d work in creating all things?
"In the beginning was _the Word_, and the Word was with G.o.d, and the Word was G.o.d. The same was in the beginning with G.o.d. _All things were made by Him_; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:1-3.
4. Through whom is redemption wrought?
"But G.o.d commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, _Christ died for us_. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Rom. 5:8, 9.
5. In what scripture do we learn that Christ, the active agent in creation, is also the head of the church?
"_For by Him were all things created_, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or princ.i.p.alities, or powers: _all things were created by Him_, and for Him: and He is before all things, and _by Him all things consist_. And _He is the head of the body, the church_: who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence." Col.
1:16-18.
6. What scripture shows that the Creator is also the Redeemer?
"But now thus saith _the Lord that created thee, O Jacob_, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for _I have redeemed thee_, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine." Isa. 43:1.
7. Who is declared to be the source of power to the weak?
"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting G.o.d, the Lord, _the Creator_ of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding. _He giveth power to the faint_; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength." Isa.
40:28, 29.
8. What prayer of David shows that he regarded redemption as a creative work?
"_Create in me a clean heart_, O G.o.d; and renew a right spirit within me."
Ps. 51:10.
9. Who keeps the heavenly bodies in their places?
"To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith _the Holy One_.
Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, _that bringeth out their host by number_: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth."
Isa. 40:25, 26.
10. What can the same Holy One do for the believer?
"Now unto Him that is able to _keep you from falling_, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise G.o.d our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." Jude 24, 25.
11. What is the measure of the power which is available for the help of the believer?
"That the G.o.d of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us ward who believe, _according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places_." Eph. 1:17-20.
12. How great was the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage?
"Ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, _since the day that G.o.d created man upon the earth_, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?... _Hath G.o.d a.s.sayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors_, according to all that the Lord your G.o.d did for you in Egypt before your eyes?" Deut. 4:32-34.
NOTE.-The great deliverance of Israel from bondage and oppression in Egypt is but a type of the power of G.o.d displayed in the deliverance of man from the bondage and slavery of sin. In both is seen a manifestation of creative power.
13. What scripture plainly states that it is creative power which transforms the believer?