Ready for a short post? For a switch, I'll be your host!
It's been a while, kids, but let's do another round of Mystery Quotation. Remember, no tricks—
- Memory (or guessing) alone
- No electronic tools
- No Googling
And on this ground it is that if all the world should (if I may so say) set themselves to drink free grace, mercy, and pardon, drawing [Cant. v. 1; Isa. lv. 1; Rev. xxii. 17; John vii. 37, 38] water continually from the wells of salvation; if they should set themselves to draw from one single promise, an angel standing by and crying, “Drink, O my friends, yea, drink abundantly, take so much grace and pardon as shall be abundantly sufficient for the world of sin which is in every one of you;” — they would not be able to sink the grace of the promise one hair’s breadth. There is enough for millions of worlds, if they were; because it flows into it from an infinite, bottomless fountain. “Fear not, O worm Jacob, I am God, and not man,” is theHave fun. You may be surprised.bottom of sinners’ consolation. This is that “head of gold” mentioned, Cant. v. 11, that most precious fountain of grace and mercy. This infiniteness of grace, in respect of its spring and fountain, will answer all objections that might hinder our souls from drawing nigh to communion with him, and from a free embracing of him. Will not this suit us in all our distresses? What is our finite guilt before it? Show me the sinner that can spread his iniquities to the dimensions (if I may so say) of this grace. Here is mercy enough for the greatest, the oldest, the stubbornest transgressor, — “Why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Take heed of them who would rob you of the Deity of Christ. If there were no more grace for me than what can be treasured up in a mere man, I should rejoice [if] my portion might be under rocks and mountains.
16 comments:
I'll say Thomas Aquinas.
Sounds like John Bunyan.
It is one of my favourite passages from the greatest theologian that the British Isles has ever produced
His name
John "the hammer" Owen
I don't know.
Not a clue - but Martin Downes seems to have it.
:-)
"There is enough for millions of worlds..."
Carl Sagan?
jsb--I think that would earn you a clowning, at Frank's blog.
I have no idea either. But it is very interesting.
John Owen hands down!
Charley Finney.
Martin Downes shoots, he scores. It's the great John Owen, from Of Communion with God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
I think it's worth reflecting on. You mightn't expect it of Owen, who's famous for being The Puritan, and for his still-unanswered case for effectual and particular redemption.
In this quotation, we see Owen positively exulting in God's bottomless grace, rejoicing in it. I don't think he stands one whit beneath Spurgeon, in this passage, in his glorying in the grace of God.
But see too the practical and essential connection he makes, at its end, to the truth of the Deity of Christ.
Challenging, weighty, edifying, encouraging, humbling, exalting. That's Owen.
I was thinking you were going to trick us by quoting a heretic and tricking us all!!!! But you wouldn't do that, wooouullddd you Dan ;-P
Not twice in a row, I wouldn't.
Ok - I don't know but I'm saying Calvin or Johnathan Edwards.
Calvin is my first option.
Ok - now I've read the comments I see I was completely wrong with my wild guesses. That's good for the soul too.
I just want to make sure somebody said this:
Apparently Owen thought that the Grace of God was big enough for the whole world -- that the call of the Gospel can be "come and drink of God's Grace!" because it flows fron an infinite, bottomless fountain.
That doesn't imply he thought the whole world was saved: it means He knew grace wasn't stingy -- there's more than enough Grace to go around.
Post a Comment