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Temperance
sin or master passion may hold him a captive as helpless as was the
demoniac at Capernaum.
Yet his condition is not hopeless. God does not control our minds
without our consent; but every man is free to choose what power
he will have to rule over him. None have fallen so low, none are
so vile, but they may find deliverance in Christ. The demoniac, in
place of prayer, could utter only the words of Satan; yet the heart’s
unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need, though it
fail of utterance in words, will be unheeded. Those who consent to
enter into covenant with God are not left to the power of Satan or to
the infirmity of their own nature.
“Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive
delivered? ... Thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty
shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered:
for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save
[124]
thy children.”
Isaiah 49:24, 25
.
Marvelous will be the transformation wrought in him who by
faith opens the door of the heart to the Saviour.—
The Ministry of
Healing, 91, 93
.
The Saviour’s Love for Ensnared Souls
—Jesus knows the cir-
cumstances of every soul. The greater the sinner’s guilt, the more he
needs the Saviour. His heart of divine love and sympathy is drawn
out most of all for the one who is the most hopelessly entangled
in the snares of the enemy. With His own blood He has signed the
emancipation papers of the race.
Jesus does not desire those who have been purchased at such
a cost to become the sport of the enemy’s temptations. He does
not desire us to be overcome and perish. He who curbed the lions
in their den, and walked with His faithful witnesses amid the fiery
flames, is just as ready to work in our behalf, to subdue every evil in
our nature. Today He is standing at the altar of mercy, presenting
before God the prayers of those who desire His help. He turns no
weeping, contrite one away. Freely will He pardon all who come
to Him for forgiveness and restoration. He does not tell to any all
that He might reveal, but He bids every trembling soul take courage.
Whosoever will, may take hold of God’s strength, and make peace
with Him, and He will make peace.