The Saviour of Israel 2
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B. But when the Psalmist breathed forth the cry, "Say unto my soul, I am your salvation," it surely implied there were things from which he desired to be saved. For instance,
1. When a man is exercised as to his eternal state, the grand desire of his soul is to be saved from "the wrath to come." He feels, he knows, that unless the Lord Jesus died for him, and unless the blessed Spirit is pleased to make the blood of Christ known in his conscience, hell will swallow him up. Being exercised, then, as to his eternal state, and fearing lest hell should be his eternal portion, his longing desire is to have salvation made so manifest in his heart, and brought with such divine power into his soul, that the flames of hell may be extinguished for him, and he may be brought, as it were, from the very gates of hell into the enjoyment of heaven below. In this state, therefore, when deeply exercised, he will cry and sigh and beg of the Lord to say unto him, "I am your salvation."
2. But again. He may be, as many are, exercised, deeply exercised, with doubts and fears as to his standing before God. He cannot altogether abandon the hope that God has begun the work of grace upon his soul, or that he has done something for him. There have been times and seasons when the things of God were very precious to his heart; but doubts and fears may arise, and do arise, from time to time, in his soul, whether he is altogether right in the sight of God; whether there may not be something altogether wrong at the bottom—something peculiar, whereby he is deceiving himself. And the blessed Spirit having made his heart honest, planted the fear of God there, given him godly sincerity, and shown him the danger, the fearful danger of being deceived—he comes before the Lord in all the simplicity of a little child, and says, '"Say unto my soul, I am your salvation." Nothing, Lord, can save me but a word from your lips. If you will but be pleased to say unto me, "I am your salvation"—I have saved you from the wrath to come—I have set my love upon you—Lord, it will be enough; but nothing short of this will bring into my soul that peace and consolation which I want to experience there.'
3. Again. The Lord's people are, from time to time deeply exercised with the power of sin. They not only feel the guilt of sin by the blessed Spirit laying sin upon their conscience, but they are also from time to time deeply exercised with its power. They find such ungodly lusts, they feel such horrid evils; the corruptions of their hearts are laid so naked and bare, and they find in themselves such a reckless propensity to all wickedness; they feel sin so strong, and themselves so weak—that nothing short of God's salvation made manifest in their conscience, they are well assured, can save them from the power of sin. O how many of the Lord's people are tempted with sin morning, noon, and night! How many evils, horrid evils, are opening, as it were, their jaws, in their carnal mind, to swallow them up outright! Wherever they go, wherever they turn, snares, traps, baits seem lying on every side, strewed thickly in their path. They feel too so helpless, and so inwardly sensible, that nothing but the almighty power of God can hold them as they walk in this dangerous path—a path strewed with snares on every hand, that they are made to cry to the Lord, "Hold me up." "Say unto my soul, I am your salvation;" for nothing short of God's salvation, in its freeness, in its fullness, in its divine manifestation, and in its sin-subduing, lust-killing influence, can save them from the power of sin.
4. Again. The Lord's people are a tempted people. Satan is ever waiting at their gate, constantly suggesting every hateful and improper thought, perpetually inflaming the rebellion and enmity of their carnal mind, and continually plaguing, harassing, and besieging them in a thousand ways. Can they repel him? Can they beat back this monster to his filthy den? Can they say to him, 'Thus far shall you come, but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed?' Can they beat back this leviathan, who "esteems iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood?" They cannot, they feel they cannot. They know that nothing but the voice of Jesus, who "through death destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil," inwardly speaking with power to their souls, can beat back the lion of the bottomless pit. When, then, they are thus severely tempted by Satan, how they long to hear the Lord say, "I am your salvation!" One whisper, one soft word from the lips of his gracious Majesty, can and will put every temptation to flight.
5. But again. Many of the Lord's people are deeply exercised with the fear of death. When their evidences are beclouded; when darkness broods over their mind; when the Tempter is present, and the Comforter absent, they sink down sometimes almost into feelings of despair. These know and feel that none can disarm the monster of his sting, none speak peace to their souls in the gloomy hour, take them through the dark valley, and land them safe on the happy shore, but the Lord who has passed through it before them. They need him, therefore, to whisper in their souls, "I am your salvation;" and then, like aged Simeon, they will be able to say, "Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes has seen your salvation."
C. Continual salvation. But the salvation that God's people need is a daily salvation, and sometimes an hourly salvation. And herein the Lord's exercised family are distinguished from all others. They cannot be satisfied with looking back through a long vista of years upon something which, in times past, they hoped was a visit from the Lord, and rest secure upon that; as though having their title-deeds safe in a chest at home, no present manifestations of the Lord's mercy and love to their souls were now needed. How many do we see in this wretched state! They can speak of something they experienced some ten or twenty years ago; but what has been their intervening experience? What exercises, trials, temptations, inward tribulations have been since felt? What battles have they been engaged in? what victories gained? what conquests achieved? What sweet deliverances? What powerful application of God's word to their soul? What bright testimonies from the Lord of life and glory? Their religion is like a stagnant pool—and the green weeds of carnality and sin have, for the most part, overspread that stagnant pool of a lifeless profession.
But the Lord will not leave his dear people here. To keep water sweet, it must be perpetually running; and to keep the life of God up in the soul, there must be continual exercises. This is the reason why the Lord's people have so many conflicts, trials, painful exercises, sharp sorrows, and deep temptations—to keep them alive unto God; to bring them out of, and to keep them out of that slothful, sluggish, wretched state of carnal security and dead assurance in which so many seem to have fallen asleep—fallen asleep like the sailor upon the top of the mast, not knowing what a fearful sea is boiling up below.
The Lord, therefore, "tries the righteous." He will not allow his people to be at ease in Zion; to be settled on their lees, and get into a wretched Moabitish state. He, therefore, sends afflictions upon them, tribulations, and trials, and allows Satan to tempt and harass them. And under these feelings the blessed Spirit, from time to time, raises up in them this sigh and cry, "Say unto my soul, I am your salvation. None but yourself, Lord, can save me; nothing short of your voice can whisper peace to my conscience; nothing short of your blood can speak away guilt from lying as a heavy burden upon my heart; nothing short of your love shed abroad by the Holy Spirit can make my soul happy in yourself."
Thus the Lord's people are kept alive in their souls by their various exercises, trials, and afflictions. They are thus kept from falling into that carnal ease, that wretched security, in which the church seems for the most part to have fallen asleep, the Lord taking care still to leave in the midst of professing Zion "a poor and afflicted people," who shall call upon his name. Thus day after day, as it brings its trials, will also bring, as the blessed Spirit raises it up, this sigh and cry, and desire of the heart—"Say unto my soul, I am your salvation. Speak it not to my judgment, speak it not to my memory, speak it not to my understanding, but speak it into my soul—my poor, tried, tempted soul; my exercised and cast-downsoul; my hungering, panting, longing, crying, and groaning soul; my dejected, depressed, and burdened soul." There the malady lies, there the trials are felt, there distress is experienced, there the battlefield of conflict is; and therefore nothing short of the voice of God himself speaking there, can communicate that peace which our hearts, from time to time, are in quest of.
If we could be satisfied with seeing salvation in the word, or with a well-informed judgment in the things of God, there would be no cry in our hearts, "Say unto my soul, I am your salvation." If we could rest upon the good opinions of men, or upon ordinances, church membership, coming to chapel, family prayer, and a thousand other things, we would not be crying, "Say unto my soul, I am your salvation." But when all these things are felt, painfully felt, to be "a bed too short, a covering too narrow" (Isa. 28:20); and when the wrath of God pierces through these veneers, coverings, veils, and hoods, and comes into the sinner's conscience; when thus all things are open and naked before the eye of him with whom he has to do, and he lies a guilty, needy, naked sinner before the footstool of mercy—nothing short of God himself coming into the soul with divine power, and manifesting blood, righteousness, and love, can raise up that solid consolation, that true peace, that "joy unspeakable and full of glory," which the soul longs after.
What reason, then, have we to thank God for sending us trials, exercising our souls, laying affliction upon our bodies, allowing Satan to tempt, distress, and harass our minds, that we may not be at ease in Zion and settled upon our lees! And what a mercy it is for the Lord, from time to time, to be raising up in our hearts dissatisfaction with everything short of himself—dissatisfaction with everything connected with the things of time and sense, with everything that springs from the creature, with sin in all it shapes and forms—dissatisfaction with everything that does not come from the mouth of God himself into our soul! And what a mercy it is to be blessed, from time to time, with some sweet and soft word from the God of salvation; and to hear his "still small voice" speaking to the soul, and saying, "Fear not, I am your salvation. I have saved you with an everlasting salvation. I have laid down my precious life for you. Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior!"
What a mercy to have such inward testimonies that the Lord himself is our salvation! that God the Father chose us in Christ before all worlds, that God the Son laid down his precious life for us, and that God the blessed Spirit has begun and is carrying on that saving work of grace upon our souls which will end in our salvation and in God's own eternal glory!
There may be, and doubtless are, those here who are amply satisfied with something short of this. But if so, O what is your standing? What evidence is there that God is dealing with your souls, that the blessed Spirit is at work upon your consciences? If you can be satisfied with anything short of God himself as your salvation coming into your soul—fatal mark, fatal mark! If you can be satisfied with a name to live—wretched state, wretched state! If you can be satisfied with the doctrine of salvation, without knowing the sweet manifestation of it to your own soul—state equally wretched!
Or are you resting in doubts and fears, in corruption, in the workings of your evil nature, in those temptations which the children of God are daily subject to? Both extremes are alike dangerous. To rest in corruptions and the evils of our nature felt and known, and to rest in dry doctrines and dead assurance, are extremes equally removed from the strait and narrow path. But hereby the strait and narrow path is known, as God has revealed it—to be either, from the bottom of our heart, sighing, crying, and longing that God would manifest his precious salvation; or to be walking, from time to time, in the light of it, enjoying its sweetness, and having the blessed Spirit communicating the power of salvation to our souls, and making it near, dear, and precious to our hearts.
But O, what encouragement the word of God affords to every poor, dejected, cast-down sinner, who is crying, from the bottom of his heart, "Say unto my soul, I am your salvation." This cry was raised up in the soul of David, by the Holy Spirit; and the same blessed Spirit is raising up that cry in your heart. Will he who has raised up that cry, who is from time to time drawing forth that cry, and who has made you feel how blessed and suitable that salvation is—will he, can he, leave his own work unaccomplished? To have raised up the desire, and not to grant that desire? when the Lord says, "the desire of the righteous shall be granted;" to have drawn forth the cry, and not to hear that cry? when God promises to hear and answer prayer; to give a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, which the Lord has pronounced blessed? and then to say, "Depart, you cursed"—it would be high treason against the Majesty of heaven to believe that the Lord the Spirit, who began the work, would not carry it on. It would be a flat denial of the truth of God from first to last, to believe that God's poor, needy, trusting family, can be put to shame. "Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "Blessed are all those who wait upon the Lord." Those who hope in his mercy shall find, to their soul's joy, that their hope shall not be disappointed, nor themselves put to shame!
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