July 10, 2005
I was thinking of a passage in John 12; it came before me in the first hymn and it has to do with the fact that the Son of Man glorified God. John 12:27 starts with some interesting words: Now is my soul troubled. This is the One that speaks in John 14: Let not your heart be troubled, yet at the cross, He said, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour:” Oh, think, the blessed One came from glory to this world. He is the One Who is from a past Eternity, and is here to be a Saviour. He is facing the wickedness of man; He could have felt troubled, but that is not the end of the verse: “but for this cause came I unto this hour.” Oh, think of the way in which the Lord Jesus glorified the Father at the cross! Where else do we see the marvels of divine grace or the wonders of His kindness? We can read about His love in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world”; we can read the depths of His love: “that he gave his only begotten Son”. How wondrous indeed is the cross of Calvary – the place where the Lord Jesus was brought to the deepest humiliation. They beat his back until it was all ripped up; they plucked all the hair off His face, so that you could hardly recognize Him; they spat on Him; He was totally mutilated. Then He stands there and listens as Pilate cries, “Behold the man.” They beheld Him the way man had treated Him. Then they went on to Calvary. They put nails in His hands and feet; they pierced His side. He suffered for our sins; He gave His life for us. God was glorified like He had never before been glorified. The heavens declare the glory of God; at the birth of the Lord, the angels said, “Glory to God.” But the Lord Jesus said, “Father, glorify Thy name.” O Beloved, we have seen God’s grace to us; well might we worship!
EG Hymn 333 – Come to the Saviour, make no delay: Prayer • When you have a new baby around, you can watch as she develops: first she rolls, then she sits, crawls, and finally stands. When she starts standing, the pulls herself up on a couch; then someone else usually stands at the other end of the couch and will say, “Come,” with his arms wide open. Matthew 14:22-31 • The Lord told the disciples to sail to the other side of the lake while he sent the multitudes away. A storm blew up while they were out there and they became afraid. Then Jesus came out to them, walking on the water. At first they were afraid, but then Jesus told them that it was He. Peter said, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” The Lord said, “Come,” so Peter started to walk on the water. Then he looked away from the Lord, and at the water; he started to sink. Immediately he cried, “Lord, save me!” That was a prayer, a very short prayer; if he had prayed any longer he probably would have drowned. One time when Mr. Whissel was delivering a load of wood chips and he was driving in an area where there were many moose, he had a call over the truck radio saying there was a moose ahead; then the person called back and said that the moose had gone. But when Mr. Whissel got up there, a moose was standing right in the middle of the road! Quickly he prayed, “Seigneur, aide moi!” (Lord, help me). Suddenly, the moose reared up on its hind legs, turned, and landed – just as the big truck roared by! The Lord is always ready to help us when we ask Him for help. He was right there for Peter; when Peter prayed, the Lord immediately caught him; He must have had His arms out, waiting for Peter. Mr. Fox was once out ice- fishing with some friends. He heard something behind him and turned around just in time to see one of the little girls fall into the hole in the ice. Quickly he grabbed her and pulled her out. If he had been a little later, she would have gone under the ice and drowned. The Lord pulled Peter out just in time, too. • The Lord said “come” to Peter; He says “come unto me” to people today; he will give them rest.
Hebrews 4:11-16 • This part of chapter 4 is about God’s resources: