“By the grace of God I am what I am.”
1 Corinthians 15:10

“Be this my motto, both as to my natural and spiritual life:  how else could I have existed at all.  Had not foreknowledge planned, and wisdom contrived, and power put every atom together, and fixed my scene of action, I had never been here.  Nor is this God of grace less to be seen in every motion of my soul towards him; had not every spring been in him, this table on which I lean had felt as much bias towards him as I. The first check of conscience, the first thrill of fear, the first view of guilt, the first tear of penitence, were all his own; the first drawings of the Spirit, the first sight of Christ, the first dawn of hope, were all his own; every succeeding step in the path of duty, every attainment in grace, every victory over the world and sin, every evidence and token of the safety of my everlasting state, and every sweet interval of communion I have had with him,  were still all his own; and the last labor of love, the last act of faith, and conquest over sin, death, and hell, together with an admission into eternal glory, must and shall be all his own likewise.  The spring is love; the means is Christ; the footing firm, the headstone “shall be brought forth with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it;” and grace shall be crowned with everlasting glory.

Whate’er I am, whate’er I hope,
Proceeds from bounty of rich grace;
Grace makes and holds my body up,
And heals my spirit’s sickly face.
_________
(A Golden Treasury ~ March 10)

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