glorycloud's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Christ is the mystical serpent Christ is the mystical serpent I am up early on my day OFF because dreams of jelly woke me up. I got up to enjoy the morning with the music of Ryan Matthew. The CD belongs to Joe; he came home last night instead of today. Last night he called us and said he wanted to come home tonight instead of today. So Carol and I went and got him at Calvin College where he is a student. Calvin College is only 25 minutes from where we live. so it is no big deal driving over to get our boy. We like having our children around with us. Driving back home after picking up Joe we listened to a new CD he bought that day. Joe had bought the new Merle Haggard CD "ROOTS Volume 1". When we hear Merle Haggard music we know Joe is home. When we got home it was 9:30 PM, since I was weary from working all week in nowhereville I went to bed to read and sleep. I read for about 15 minutes the book "Satan And The Problem Of Evil" and turned off the lights and fell asleep next to my wife lover. Now I am up to face my OFF day from work. No plans for the day. Time will go by. Time is always rushing by. We can not stop time. Yesterday I did look at that sermon by Rev. Ebenezer Erskine found in volume 1 THE WHOLE WORKS OF THE REV. EBENEZER ERSKINE published in 1836. I do not have volumes 2 and 3 of this fine set of sermons, wish I did. I do have the Works of his brother Ralph Erskine and Thomas Boston's Works. These men the Erskine brothers and Boston were known as the Marrow Men. There are web sites devoted to these men if you want to know more. I use to be into Marrow Theology years ago. The whole issue of the Free Offer of the Gospel theological trip. The Protestant Reformed folk around here hate the theology of the Marrow Men. Well here is a quote from Ebenezer Erskine's famous sermon "The Assurance Of Faith" "1. That faith is a saving grace. And it is so designated because it is "the free gift of God," Eph.ii. 8. It is not the product of free will; such a flower never sprung out of the soil of depraved nature; no, it is one of the prime operations of the Spirit, in effectual calling, upon the souls of God's elect. It is not bestowed upon any upon the account of good dispositions or qualifications antecedent to itself; faith is the first grace, or the first act of spiritual life, and, as it were, the parent of the other graces, because its roots and ingrafts the soul in Christ, of whom alone our fruit is found. Before the implanation of faith, nothing but atheism, enmity, ignorance and unbelief, overspreads the face of the soul, "being alienated from the very life of God, through the ignorance that is in us." And, therefore, faith must needs be a grace, or free gift of God, bestowed without any antecedent merit, good dispositions, or qualification in us. Faith is a saving grace; because wherever true faith is, there salvation is already begun, and shall certainly be consummated in due time. . . 2. I remark from this description of faith, that it has Christ for its main and principle object; for it is a faith in Jesus Christ. There is such a suitableness betwixt Christ and faith, that they cannot be separated. Take away Christ from faith, then faith is but a cipher, and stands for nothing; nothing can fill the eye or hand of faith, but Christ only, Christ is the bread of life, faith is the mouth of the soul that eats and feeds upon him: Christ is the mystical brazen serpent, faith the eye of the soul that looks to him for healing: Christ is the strong hold cast open to the prisoners of hope, faith the foot of the soul that runs in to him for shelter: Christ is our living altar, his satisfaction and intercession like the two horns of the altar, and faith flees in thither for safety from the law and justice of God, which pursue the sinner for his life: Christ is the bridegroom, and faith like the bride, takes him by the hand, saying, Even so I take him. In a word, faith slights and overlooks every thing else to be at Christ, saying with David, Psal. Lxxiii.25, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee;" and, with Paul, "I desire to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord." . . ."pp.280,281 Rev. Ebenezer Erskine (1680-1754) I recommend the sermons of Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine. So here I sit on a warm Saturday morning. I will close to face my life. 9:06 a.m. - 2001-11-17 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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