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ÒI
will give youÉÓ Leviticus
26:1-13 The first
thirteen verses of Leviticus 26 hang heavy with rich clusters of unimaginable
temporal good. What a dazzling catalog of goodness the Holy Spirit sets
before us in this passage! The Lord God promises to rid the land of His
chosen of assailing armies, ravenous beasts, hunger, thirst, and uneasiness
of any kind. Faith in Christ These bounties are spoken of in the language of
external, carnal things; but earthly language is used here to convey
spiritual blessedness, spiritual delights for our souls, bounties of grace
scattered by GodÕs infinite hand. These bounties are promised to all who walk
in His statues and keep His commandments. That is to say, to all who believe
on His Son. That is not a fanciful stretch. That is exactly what God says
obedience to His law is (Romans 3:31; 10:1-4; Galatians 3:19, 24; 1 John
3:23; 5:1-3). The promise of
God to all who trust His dear Son is, ÒFor I will have respect unto you,
and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with youÓ (v. 9). He says I will look upon you with delight
and pleasure. My eye will be upon you to care for you, watching over you to
do you good and protect you from all evil. I will turn myself from all others
to you, having a distinct and particular regard for you. Cast all you care on
me and I will care for you. Constant
Grace Then, in verse 10, He says, ÒAnd
ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.Ó With those words the God of all grace promises
every believing sinner a constant supply of grace, an unbroken continuity of grace to our
souls forever, grace sufficient to meet our souls needs without fail. His supplies of wisdom, love, joy, peace, and power to our
souls are always enough and more than enough for our needs. Even when we
complain of languishing in our hearts, of hunger and thirst in our souls, the
flow of His grace is uninterrupted. Our great God and Father, the God of all
grace, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is ever pouring forth grace
for His elect, all grace and all-sufficient grace in Christ Jesus. He
sometimes appears to withhold His grace. He sometimes appears to be angry.
But, in so far as His chosen are concerned, that is never the case. Believing
sinners are accepted in the Beloved, because of the Beloved, and as the
Beloved, as one with Christ Himself. That means that the Niagara of GodÕs goodness in Christ,
the infinite flood of His grace toward His chosen can never be stopped,
paused, or even diminished. May God the Holy Spirit sweetly constrain us to
keep our poor, empty vessels beneath the downpour of His goodness at the
throne of grace. In our FatherÕs house there is bread enough and to spare
(Psalm 31:19). The gift of Christ leaves no gift withheld. ÒHe who spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him
also freely give us all things.Ó Don Fortner Listen to sermons
at FreeGraceRadio.com |
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