February 3

The God of all grace.—1 Peter 5:10.

THE work of salvation is all of grace from beginning to end. Free grace in the plot of it, laid in the counsel of God, and performed by his own hand all of it; his Son sent in the flesh, and his Spirit sent in the hearts of his chosen, to apply Christ. All grace is in him, the living spring of it, and flows from him; all the various actings, and all the several degrees of grace. He is the God of pardoning grace, who blotteth out the transgressions of his own children, for his own name's sake, who takes up all quarrels, and makes one act of oblivion serve for all past reckonings between him and them. And as he is the God of pardoning grace, so withal, the God of sanctifying grace, who refines and purifies all those he means to make up into vessels of glory, and hath in his hands all the fit means and ways of doing this; purifies them by afflictions and outward trials, by the reproaches and hatreds of the world. The profane world know little how serviceable they are to the graces and comforts of a Christian, when they dishonor and persecute him; yea, little doth a Christian himself sometimes think how great his advantage is by those things, till he finds it, and wonders at his Father's wisdom and love. But most powerfully are the children of God sanctified by the Spirit within them, without which, indeed, no other thing could be of advantage to them in this. That Divine fire kindled within them, is daily refining and sublimating them, that Spirit of Christ conquering sin, and by the mighty flame of his love, consuming the earth and dross that is in them; making their affections more spiritual and disengaged from all creature-delights. And thus as they receive the beginnings of grace freely, so all the advances and increases of it; life from their Lord still flowing and causing them to grow, abating the power of sin, strengthening a fainting faith, quickening a languishing love, teaching the soul the ways of wounding strong corruptions, and fortifying its weak graces; yea, in wonderful ways advancing the good of his children by things not only harsh to them, as afflictions and temptations, but by what is directly opposite in its nature, sin itself; raising them by their falls and strengthening them by their very troubles; working to humility and vigilance, and sending them to Christ for strength, by the experience of their weaknesses and failings.

And as he is the God of pardoning grace, and sanctifying grace in the beginning and growth of it, so also the God of supporting grace, of that supervenient influence without which the graces placed within us would lie dead, and fail us in the time of greatest need. This is the immediate assisting power that bears up the soul under the hardest service, and backs it in the sharpest conflicts, communicating fresh auxiliary strength, when we, with all the grace dwelling within us, are surcharged.

Then he steps in, and opposes his strength to a prevailing and confident enemy, that is at the point of insulting and triumph. When temptations have made a breach, and enter with full force and violence, he lets in so much present help on a sudden, as makes them give back, and beats them out. When the enemy comes in as a flood, the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him. And no siege can be so close as to keep out this aid, for it comes from above.

And by this, a Christian learns that his strength is in God; whereas, if his received grace were always party enough, and able to make itself good against all incursions, though we know we have received it, yet being within us, we should possibly sometimes forget the receipt of it, and look on it more as ours than as his; more as being within us, than as flowing from him. But when all the forces we have, the standing garrison, are by far over-matched, and yet we find the assailants beaten back, then we must acknowledge him who sends such seasonable relief, to be, as the Psalmist speaks, a very present help in trouble.

"Grace taught my wand'ring feet To tread the heavenly road; And new supplies each hour I meet While pressing on to God.

"Grace all the work shall crown, Through everlasting days; It lays in heaven the topmost stone, And well deserves the praise."