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(William Nicholson, "God's Word, a Preservative Prom
Sin" 1862)
"Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin
against You." Psalm 119:11
The Psalmist deposited the precepts and promises of God in
his heart, and proved their value and efficiency . . .
to preserve him from
sin,
to comfort him in
trouble, and
to cheer him in a
dying hour.
Just so, Christians must "let the word of Christ dwell
in them richly, in all wisdom"--which will preserve them from sin, and
make them wise unto salvation.
The Word must be deposited in our hearts, woven into our
natures--by carefully reading and meditating upon it. "Do not let this
Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that
you may be careful to do everything written in it." Joshua 1:8
The Word is the perpetual standard of all moral excellence.
All its precepts tend to purity.
Its doctrines present the most powerful motives against sin.
When the Christian looks at the sufferings and death of the
Redeemer . . .
in His intense
agony,
in His bloody sweat,
in His transfixing
on the cross,
in the desertion of
His Father,
in the endurance of
the penalty of sin--
he sees in all these complicated and unparalleled sorrows,
"the exceeding sinfulness of sin!"
Why is he redeemed? "Christ gave Himself for us--to
redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His
very own, eager to do what is good!" Titus 2:14
Why is he regenerated? "Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2
Corinthians 5:17
Why is he adopted into God's family? But to bear the image
of Him who adopts.
What is the tendency of all the doctrines of grace which he
has received? "For the grace of God . . . teaches us to say 'No' to
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and
godly lives in this present age!" Titus 2:11-12
Why is he preserved? "May God himself, the God of
peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body
be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!" 1 Thessalonians
5:23. "But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through
death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from
accusation!" Colossians 1:22
Above all, when he contemplates the character of his Savior
. . .
His ardent love,
His ineffable
meekness,
His profound
humility, and
His unexampled
obedience--
he perceives such a bright constellation of virtues, that he
is dazzled by their splendor, and longs and prays to be impressed with His
image and likeness.
Thus the Word of God is hidden in his heart . . .
as his counselor,
as his guide,
as his pattern!
The Word of God is the Christian's compass and chart, by
which he is steered safely over the tempestuous ocean of life!
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