The cup!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

      (George Everard, "Submission in Trial" 1868)

"Shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given Me?" John 18:11

O let us consider the contents of the cup of which Jesus drank.

Every bitter ingredient was there--none was lacking.

What bodily suffering and extreme weariness and pain did He endure! No limb of His sacred body, but had a share in the agony He bore.

Beyond this, what soul grief did He endure in the base ingratitude of a people whose every need and sorrow He had been ready to relieve!

What desolation of heart did He experience through . . .
  the treachery of Judas,
  the denial of Peter,
  the desertion of the rest of His disciples!

What pangs must have rent His spirit when upon the cross He heard the reproaches that were cast upon Him!

What darkness of soul did He pass through when He uttered the cry, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Who can express, who can fathom one of these depths of untold woe?

The object of our Lord in drinking this cup, was that He might empty at one draught, that cup of wrath which His people must forever have been drinking--and yet never have exhausted!

O blessed Jesus, in Your wondrous love You have taken the cup of poison--that You may give to me the cup of salvation! You have drained to the very dregs, that cup in which was the curse due to my sin--that You may give to me the cup of blessing, of peace, of everlasting life! To my lips, You now hold the cup which is full to the brim of everlasting consolation!

Oh, how can I thank You enough for all this love of Yours!

   ~  ~  ~  ~