the Third Week after Easter
Click here to join the effort!
Daily Devotionals
John Gossner's Treasury
Thou art fairer than the children of men. Thou liftest me up from the gates of death: that I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in thy salvation. Psalms 45:2; Psalms 9:13-14.
Where do I find the most beautiful and striking picture of my Savior, that my soul may rejoice therein? I know of none more attractive than that which the Prophet Isaiah has drawn (Isaiah 53:2-3.), where he says, "He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. " This sketch by the prophet was graphically and truly filled out and completed on Golgotha. Precisely where He had no"form nor comeliness" in the eyes of the world, where He was most despised and utterly worthless. He is most beautiful. For this reason He wins the prize above all others. If we pass through heaven and earth and seek in all their corners, we shall find nothing more beautiful than Christ, who bled and died for us on the cross of Golgotha. There He put off His divine and heavenly beauty and is completely covered with deepest disgrace, with cross and death. When a contrite heart intently regards Jesus on the cross, it finds more pleasure in Him there than on Mount Tabor; the heart would rather build a tabernacle on Golgotha than on Mount Tabor, because it can never see enough of His beauty as He hangs upon the tree. Nowhere in this life is the heart so well satisfied as at the cross; for there alone it finds comfort, salvation, power and life. There it finds all. His death and dishonor have forced open the gates of death, that otherwise through all eternity would have held us captive. He has led us forth and lifted us from death’s dungeon: He has placed us "in the gates of the daughter of Zion," the new Jerusalem. We can never sufficiently praise Him for His benefits; He has redeemed us, justified, sanctified and glorified us. Eternities are scarcely long enough for the enjoyment of His mercies, to say nothing of telling them. From eternity to eternity we shall have new material for His praise, and of His glory there shall be no end.
Let every kingdom, every tribe.
On this terrestrial ball.
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all.
O that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall;
We’ll join the everlasting song
And crown Him Lord of all.
