Though he be poor, afflicted, diseased, neglected or despised, if the Lord imputeth not his iniquity to him, he is a blessed man. There is no situation in life so deplorable but a sense of the pardoning love of God can support and comfort the sufferer under it, compose his spirit, yea, make him exceedingly joyful in all his tribulations, for he feels the power of the blood of Jesus cleansing his conscience from guilt and giving him access, by faith, to the throne of grace, with liberty to say: “Abba! Father!” He knows that all his trials are under the direction of wisdom and love, are all working together for his good, and that the heaviest of them are light and the longest momentary in comparison of that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory which is reserved for him in a better world (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). Even at present, in the midst of his sufferings, having communion with God and a gracious submission to His will, he possesses a peace that passeth understanding, and which the world can neither give nor take away. – “The Consolation” (Isaiah 40:1-2)
We still wait for the full accomplishment of this promise, and expect a time when the whole earth shall be filled with His glory, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. It is to the power of His Word that we owe the continuance of day and night and the regular return of the seasons of the year. But, these appointments are only for a limited term. The hour is coming when the frame of nature shall be dissolved. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not a jot or tittle of what He hath declared concerning His kingdom of grace shall fail till the whole be fulfilled. – “The Harbinger” (Isaiah 40:3-5)
From: Messiah: Fifty Expository Discourses on the Series of Scriptural Passages Which Form the Subject of the Celebrated Oratorio of Handel, Preached in the Years 1784 and 1785 in the Parish Church of St. Mary Woolnoth, Lombard Street by John Newton; reprint (New Haven: Nathan Whiting, 1826), pp. 32, 42-43. This volume is Volume 3 of a 4-volume set of Newton’s Works which was reprinted in the United States the year after his death. These excerpts are from the first two sermons in the series of fifty sermons.
John Newton (1725-1807) was the famous converted slave-trader, hymn-writer, and Anglican pastor.
