“Lost, and is Found”
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cast out.”
John 6:37
. Tell the enemy that the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses from all sin. Make the prayer of David your own, “Purge me
with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than
snow.”
Psalm 51:7
.
Arise and go to your Father. He will meet you a great way off.
If you take even one step toward Him in repentance, He will hasten
to enfold you in His arms of infinite love. His ear is open to the
cry of the contrite soul. The very first reaching out of the heart after
God is known to Him. Never a prayer is offered, however faltering,
never a tear is shed, however secret, never a sincere desire after God
is cherished, however feeble, but the Spirit of God goes forth to meet
it. Even before the prayer is uttered or the yearning of the heart made
known, grace from Christ goes forth to meet the grace that is working
upon the human soul.
Your heavenly Father will take from you the garments defiled by
sin. In the beautiful parabolic prophecy of Zechariah, the high priest
Joshua, standing clothed in filthy garments before the angel of the
Lord, represents the sinner. And the word is spoken by the Lord, “Take
away the filthy garments from him. And unto him He said, Behold,
I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee
with change of raiment.... So they set a fair miter upon his head, and
clothed him with garments.”
Zechariah 3:4, 5
. Even so God will clothe
you with “the garments of salvation,” and cover you with “the robe of
righteousness.”
Isaiah 61:10
. “Though ye have lien among the pots,
yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her
feathers with yellow gold.”
Psalm 68:13
.
He will bring you into His banqueting house, and His banner over
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you shall be love. (
Song of Solomon 2:4
) “If thou wilt walk in My
ways,” He declares, “I will give thee places to walk among these that
stand by”—even among the holy angels that surround His throne.
(
Zechariah 3:7
).
“As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God
rejoice over thee.”
Isaiah 62:5
. “He will save, He will rejoice over thee
with joy; He will rest in His love; He will joy over thee with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17
. And heaven and earth shall unite in the Father’s song
of rejoicing: “For this My son was dead, and is alive again; he was
lost, and is found.”