A Curious Meditation # 3

A Curious Meditation # 3

There are three things which have been taken from me: proud free will, vain boasting, and enmity to God.

There are three things which abide with me: faith, hope, and charity.

I am made up of three men: corruption - the old man, grace - the new man, and the body - the outward man.

I fill a threefold office: a prophet in the Church of Christ, a priest before the altar, and a king anointed to reign with Christ.

I wear a threefold garment: the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, the graces of the Holy Spirit, and the garment of humility.

I have been condemned in three courts - and yet justified in them all: the court of conscience, the Church of God, and the court of God's justice.

I have been justified three times: at the resurrection of Christ my substitute, when faith received His righteousness, and when good works justified my faith before the world.

I am the subject of a threefold sanctification: by the purpose of the Father, by the blood of the Son, and by the cleansing operations of the Holy Spirit.

I am a free man of three cities: the present world, the church below, and the Jerusalem which is above.

I have been an eye-sore to three parties: the devil, the world, and envious professors.

I have have occupied three peculiar seats: a dunghill by nature, among the princes in the Church by grace, and the throne of glory by special privilege.

I shall have three grand holidays: one when the Holy Spirit sets my soul at liberty, another when death sets me free from this mortal clay, and another when Jesus comes to be glorified in His saints.

I shall then have appeared in three different characters: a vile rebel against God, a supplicating sinner at mercy's footstool, and a justified son of God before His throne.

I shall have had three fathers: a human father, the devil, and Jehovah Himself.

I shall have received three laws: the law of nature, the moral law of God, and the law of the Spirit of life.

I shall have passed through three gates: the gate of hope, the gate into Christ's sheepfold, and the gate of death.

I shall have walked in three ways: the broad road of destruction, the highway of holiness, and Jesus Christ the only way to the Father.

I shall have conversed with three distinct classes of beings: carnal men, spiritual Christians, and the Lord Himself.

I shall have made  three appearances: once all black - like the devil, then speckled - with nature and grace, and then all pure - whiter than the driven snow!

I shall have undergone three momentous changes: one at regeneration - when I passed from death unto life, one at death - when my soul shall be admitted into Heaven, and one at the resurrection - when my body shall be raised powerful, glorious and immortal.

I view three things as pre-eminently excellent: the fear of the Lord, a sound judgment, and Christ formed in the heart, as the hope of glory.

There are three things which I may covet: the best gifts, a contrite and humble spirit, and to be filled with all the fullness of God.

There are three things which are removed from me: the burden of sin, the wrath of God, and all condemnation.

There are three things which I do not know: what is before me, how God will provide for me, and what I shall be.

There are three things which I do know: that in my flesh dwells no good, that though I was once blind, now I see, and that I must needs die.

There are three things which are prepared for me: a fountain to cleanse me, a robe to adorn me, and a mansion to receive me.

~James Smith~

(continued with # 4)