A TESTIMONY TO FREE AND SOVEREIGN GRACE – Charles Spurgeon
A Testimony to Free and Sovereign Grace
“But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.” Psalm 37:39.
Introduction
Salvation is a blessing peculiar to the righteous. The ungodly do not, as a rule, believe that they have any need of salvation and, therefore, they do not desire it, or seek after it. The righteous know that they are born in a fallen state; they acknowledge that they have destroyed themselves by personal sin; and they are conscious of a thousand dangers which surround them. Hence, they need salvation, seek it, and find it. It is to them that salvation has come to make them righteous, for until they are saved, they are unrighteous, even as others. But now that salvation has come to their house, they bring forth the fruits of righteousness to the glory of God, their Savior.
This may be used as a description of the Believer’s life—he lives a life of salvation. He is saved in Christ, who is his life, in whom he has forgiveness of sins and every other Covenant blessing. He is always being delivered, or saved, and from the moment he begins as a Believer until that last moment on earth when he shall be about to depart out of the world unto the Father, his whole life is encompassed within the Divine circle of salvation. God is working salvation for him, salvation in him, and salvation by him—and is giving him to receive the fullness of salvation, which he shall forever enjoy in the world to come—
“Salvation is forever near The souls that fear and trust the Lord. And Grace, descending from on high, Fresh hopes of Glory shall afford.”
Salvation in its Fullest Sense
Beloved Friends, we rejoice in that right royal word, “salvation!” We would let its echo fly over the whole world. To us, it is a word of great meaning. It does not signify salvation from the punishment of sin alone, though it comprehends that blessing, and we are glad that it does so, but it means complete and immediate salvation from the love of sin, conscious salvation from the power of sin, growing salvation from the propensity to sin, and ultimate salvation from all tendency to sin! When we have gained full salvation, we shall never, never again sin, but shall find ourselves before the Throne of God as pure as that throne, made perfect by the work of the Holy Spirit, who will have sanctified us wholly—spirit, soul, and body!
Men of the world think, when we talk of salvation, that we mean escaping from Hell. This is all they would fear, and so it strikes them as the great matter—but we are not of their mind. Being delivered from the pains and penalties of evil is certainly a great blessing, but it is by no means the greatest! It follows in the train of a grander blessing, even as the blaze of the comet follows the central light. The righteous dread sin more than Hell and, to them, wrong is more terrible than any punishment which awaits it. The joy of salvation to us is that we are delivered from this present evil world, delivered from the lusts of the flesh, delivered from the old death of natural corruption, delivered from the power of Satan and from the dominion of evil! Our salvation will not be full till we are totally and finally delivered from every trace of sin and are “without fault before the Throne of God.” Sanctification completed is our salvation perfected—purity without spot will be our Paradise Regained!
“The salvation of the righteous” in the broadest sense of the word “is of the Lord” and the more breadth of meaning we give to it, the more completely we shall see that it must be Divine. At the same time, our life is made up of a series of salvations and each of these is of the Lord. We are constantly being saved—saved from this and that form of danger and evil. As each daily trouble threatens to engulf us, we are saved from it. As each temptation, like a dragon, threatens to swallow us up, we are saved from it. Our God is the God of salvations, and unto Him belongs the issues from death. We escape from deaths often, yes, and from the very belly of Hell—and still we live to sing, as Jonah sang when he was in the depths of the sea, “Salvation is of the Lord!”
The Source of Salvation
I have said that this glorious salvation, which is of the Lord, is the peculiar heritage of Believers. They alone know their need of it, and they alone participate in it. Look at the ungodly man who is pictured in this Psalm. He does not want salvation. He flourishes like the green bay tree—he spreads his branches to overshadow everybody else. Such men need no salvation. “Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.” They want no salvation—their lands are abundant, their house is full of treasure, and they leave the rest of their substance to their babes. They put no trust in the name of the Lord. “They call their lands after their own names.” They want no God—they have no sighs after Him. They never cry, “As the hart pants after the water-brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God!” They have no trials in their lives, and “there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.”
The rod of God’s children does not fall upon them—“Whom the Lord loves, He chastens”—but often those whom He loves not, He leaves to indulge in such pleasure as they can find. He gives His swine a good measure of husks, for He would not be unkind even to them! And there they lie and feed without fear—knowing nothing of another world, nor caring for it—
“Fools never raise their thoughts so high—
Like brutes they live, like brutes they die!
Like grass they flourish, till Your breath
Blasts them into everlasting death.”
The Doctrine of Salvation: A Foundation of Sound Doctrine
See the distinction between the righteous man who fears God and he who fears Him not! Were it not for this word, “salvation,” their ease and prosperity might make us envy the ungodly, but this turns the scale. Because “the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord,” we would take the worst portion that ever was meted out to them in preference to the best that was ever given to the ungodly! Taking all for all, God’s worst is better than the devil’s best and the portion of God’s saints at the lowest ebb is better than the portion of the wicked, even when their joys are at the flood!
I am going to speak at this time upon our text as a statement by itself. It is complete and self-contained. It is a diamond of the first water. Its words are few, but its sense is precious. “The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.”
The Essence of Sound Doctrine
Our first head is this—THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF SOUND DOCTRINE. “The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.” There are several young men here who go forth to preach the Gospel. I hope that they will speak with clear knowledge and attractive speech, but this is far from being the main object of my desire—I want them to really preach the Gospel, the whole Gospel, and nothing but the Gospel! I reckon preaching to be Gospel preaching and sound preaching, in proportion as it is consistent with this statement—“The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.”
It is not every preacher who proclaims this Truth of God in bold terms and in plain English. More or less, I hope that all who preach Christ Crucified would subscribe to this. But some are a little afraid of it in all its breadth and length. They must bring in man a little. They must have him something, or something. They are always afraid lest Grace should be misunderstood and should be turned into licentiousness, and, truly, I share in their fear, though I would not use their way of preventing the evil which I dread.
Salvation as Fully of the Lord
The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord in the planning. Long before we were in existence, God had planned the way of salvation. Before the Fall, He had ordained the Covenant by which the fallen should be restored, and that plan shows, in every line of it, that consummate wisdom and infinite love which can be found nowhere but in the Lord. He took counsel with no one and no one instructed Him—He alone fixed the eternal settlements of unchanging love! “The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord” as to the persons who are included in it, for God has chosen from the beginning, His people and, “whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed unto the image of His Son.” There is a choice, somewhere, and I am persuaded we have not chosen Him, but He has chosen us. Did not the Lord Jesus say as much? He is first and foremost in salvation and though we gladly run when He calls, yet His call comes first and His choice comes before the call!
The salvation of the righteous was determined in the council chambers of eternity before the stars began to shine. It is of God and only of God! And as it is of the Lord in the planning, so it is of the Lord in the providing. It was He who gave His Son from His bosom and truly our Lord Jesus Christ is the full purchase price of our salvation. We do not add a penny to it. The mortgage upon lost humanity was paid off by Christ to the last farthing, without any contribution on our part to eke out the matchless price.
Salvation: From God Alone
The Spirit of God, who is another great item in the provision of salvation, is of the Lord. God has given us the Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes, not according to our mind or will, but according to the gift and purpose of the Lord. Nothing is lacking for the salvation of men. God has provided all. He has not left the garment almost long enough, just needing that we should add a fringe. Nor has He provided a feast almost sufficient for us if we bring at least another loaf. Nor has He built a house of mercy, almost completed, but leaving us to add a few more tiles to the roof. No, the work is finished and, from top to bottom, salvation is of the Lord! All Covenant provisions are already in the Lord Jesus in full and the salvation of the righteous is entirely of the Lord in the providing!
So, dear Friends, it is of the Lord in the applying. The first application of the blessings of the Covenant to us is of God. Of course, that first application is in regeneration, when the soul first begins to live. The first sense of need of mercy springs not from nature, but is a work of Grace. The first desire we have to be right—the first prayer we breathe towards God—all this is the movement of eternal Grace upon our souls which otherwise would have lain as dead as the corpses in their graves!
Salvation by Grace Alone
The Lord first deals with us before we have any inclination whatever to deal with Him. We do not see this Truth of God at first. Possibly we discover it months after our conversion, when we come to sit down and look over our experience. Then we cry, “Yes! Had You not sought me, I had never sought You! Had You not drawn me, I had never run to You! Had You never looked on me in love, I had never looked to You in faith! It is Your Free Grace which began with me. I acknowledge that the Alpha of my salvation is of the Lord.”
The knowledge of this Truth of God usually comes to us as we advance in knowledge—the full understanding of it is a fruit of the Spirit and belongs to our riper years rather than to our spiritual infancy. As salvation is of the Lord at the commencement, so it is as to the continuing of it. Rest assured, Beloved, there is no true growth in Grace except that which is of the Lord. No, there is no sustaining the position to which you have reached except by the Lord—
“And every virtue we possess,
And every victory won,
And every thought of holiness
Are His and His alone.”
He has worked all our works in us, and if we have produced any fruit to the honor of His name, from Him has our fruit come, for our Lord truly said, “Without me You can do nothing.” We must give Him all the glory, for certainly, He has given us all the Grace, and as it has been, so will it be. Between here and Heaven, there will be nothing of our own in the matter. We shall work out our own salvation with fear and trembling because He first works it in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure. There is no working out our salvation unless the Lord works it in!
The Necessity of God’s Work in Salvation
We bring to the surface of our life what He works in the deep foundation of our inward nature, but both within and without, the spiritual life is all of Grace. When we put our foot upon the threshold of Glory and pass through the gate of pearl to the golden pavement of the heavenly city, the last step will be as much taken through the Grace of God as was the first step when we turned unto our great Father in our rags and misery! Left by the Grace of God for a single moment, we would perish. We are dependent as much upon Grace for spiritual life as we are upon the air we breathe for this natural life. Take the atmosphere from us—put us under an exhausted receiver—and we die. Take Your Grace from us, O our God, and we perish at once! What else could happen to us?
Conclusion: A Comforting Hope in God’s Salvation
Brothers, we must always believe this and preach it, for it is the sum of all true doctrine. If you do not make salvation to be wholly of the Lord, depend upon it, you will have to clip salvation down and make it a small matter. I have always desired to preach a great salvation and I do not think that any other is worth preaching. If salvation is of man, then you do not wonder that man falls from Grace. Of course, he does! What man begins, man also soon ends in his own way with a failure! When God saves, He saves eternally.
Someone said to me the other day, “I do not quite know about that doctrine of Final Perseverance, whether it is true or not.” So I said to him, “What kind of life does Jesus Christ give His sheep?” He answered very correctly—“He has said, ‘I give unto My sheep eternal life.’” Very well, does not that settle it? If He has given them eternal life, they have eternal life. “But,” he said, “might they not die?” I answered, “Is it not clear that those who die have not eternal life? If they had eternal life, how could they die? Does eternal life mean six months’ life?” “No.” “Does it only mean 600 years’ life?” “No. It must mean nothing less than life which has no end.” Death is out of the question.
I must live if I am one of those of whom the Great Shepherd says, “I give unto My sheep eternal life.” But what is next? If you cannot quite see the Truth of God from that one expression, what follows? Will the sheep of Christ ever perish? Here is His answer. “They shall never perish.” Does not that secure them? What language could better describe their security? But another question is raised—“May it not mean that, if they get away from the Lord Jesus, they shall perish?” Then comes the next sentence—“Neither shall any pluck them out of My hand.” Does not that answer it? “Oh, but perhaps the Savior might fail!” We think not! But listen again—“My Father, which gave them to Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.”
There are four great reasons why Believers are and must be saved! Neither can anything shake the force of any one of them. If words mean anything, those who are in Christ are safe! The Lord God Almighty has given them eternal life, they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of Christ’s hand, and over that first hand of Jesus is the Father’s hand to make assurance doubly sure! Salvation, then, is of the Lord. This is a doctrine to be believed. If you do not believe it, you are sure to minimize and make small salvation and especially are you likely to deprive it of its certainty and immutability. It is a pity that you should attempt this, for thus you rob Christ of His power, God of His glory, and the saints of their comfort!
That is the awkward point about a salvation which is of man—it is worth nothing when you get it. We need an eternal salvation. We need a salvation which does really save. We need something which is not made up of, “ifs and ans,” and, “buts,” and, “perhapses,” and, “if you do this,” and, “if you do that.” We need sure, immutable, abiding, unchanging salvation—and this is exactly what we get and what we are not ashamed to preach, while we thunder out this Truth of God, “The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord!”
The Ground of Hope for Seekers
This text gives us a comfortable ground of hope. “The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.” Then I believe He will save me. I trust myself with Him and thus I become righteous by faith and, therefore, He will save me from my trouble and care. Brother, draw the same conclusion. Sister, draw the same conclusion. You are in a terrible condition just now. Everything has been going wrong. You do not know what to do. But “the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.” He will bring you through. You are in good hands. The Great Pilot knows the navigation of the river of life better than you do. You cannot see a channel for your boat—there are snags everywhere, or quicksand, or rocks, or shallows. He knows all about them. Rest. Trust. Wait. Commit your way unto the Lord.
There is personal comfort in the fact that our salvation is of the Lord. And there is comfort, next, with regard to all our tried Brothers and Sisters. It is my lot—my happy or unhappy lot—to be continually consulted by Brothers and Sisters in great trouble. They think I can help them, though I cannot. I hardly know what to say to them. I can only take their burden with my own unto the Lord. I often feel great pain in sympathizing with trials which I cannot remove, but then it is cheering to know that the Lord can help where we cannot, for “the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.” He can help the helpless, the forlorn, the impoverished, the dying. He will bring His people safely through floods and fires. Their straits are very great and their burdens very heavy, but the Lord will put underneath them the everlasting arms. Pray for them; sympathize with them; help them as far as you can and then, when you cast yourself on your Lord, cast them, also!
Next, this ought to give us hope about seekers. I see some Brothers and Sisters before me whose lives are spent in trying to encourage poor erring souls to return unto the Lord. Sometimes you are balked and defeated. Well, “the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.” Surely, if the salvation of the righteous is to come from the Lord, much more must the salvation of poor seekers! Have hope about the vilest and worst of men. If there are any such here, tonight, let them have hope, for if the Lord bids the righteous, in whom there is a measure of His Grace, to look to Him for salvation, assuredly He bids you to do the same, for you have nothing of your own. If those who are righteous before God yet find their salvation in Him, alone, where are you to look? You must look to the Lord, also! Look to Jesus on the Cross and find salvation in Him, for the Lord Jesus redeemed with His precious blood all who trust in Him. O my dear Hearer, come and cast yourself upon Him! “In due time Christ died for the ungodly.” So runs the Word of God. Look to that wondrous death of the Son of God which redeems such as you are and, in your case, too, it shall be found that your salvation is of the Lord! May God bless you and cause you to rejoice in His salvation!