Oh, how comforting, how sanctifying is the conviction that the Bible is Gods word, that the gospel is Christs revelation, and that all that it declares is as true as Jehovah Himself is true! What a stable foundation for our souls is this! We live encircled by shadows: Our friends are shadows, our comforts are shadows, our defenses are shadows, our pursuits are shadows, and we ourselves are shadows passing away. But in the precious gospel we have substance, we have reality, we have that which remains with us when all other things disappear, leaving the soul desolate, the heart bleeding, and the spirit bowed in sorrow to the dust. It peoples our lonely way, because it points us to a cloud of witnesses. It guides our perplexities, because it is a lamp to our feet. It mitigates our grief, sanctifies our sorrow, heals our wounds, dries our tears, because it leads us to the love, the tenderness, the sympathy, the grace of Jesus. The gospel reveals Jesus, speaks mainly of Jesus, leads simply to Jesus, and this makes it what it is: glad tidings of great joy, to a poor, lost, ruined, tried, and tempted sinner.
- Octavius Winslow
_________________ Paul Frederick West
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