It’s true. Many are the times that one must “hit rock bottom” before finding a “Firm Foundation!” It is when we come to the end of ourselves that we find the Solid Rock, Christ Jesus! It is when we seemingly have lost all hope that we find the “Blessed Hope!” It is when we find ourselves undeserving of any merit, that we discover the unmerited favor of the God of abundant mercy and grace.
“He [the Lord] brought me up out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. And hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God” (Psalm 40:2,3).
Do you feel yourself in a pit, a pit so deep that you can’t see the light of day? A Christless life is one sinking in miry clay; quicksand. The more you struggle, the deeper you sink. We’ve all been there. We need deliverance; someone to lift us up out of the quicksand; someone to set our feet upon a Firm Foundation, a Solid Rock: that Rock is Jesus. The scripture continues: “and established my goings.” Have you lost your sense of direction; you don’t know where to turn? Jesus said, I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
David, the Psalmist, continues: “And hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.” Have you lost the joy of living? The Lord can put a new song in your mouth and joy in your heart; praise unto our God.
You cannot save yourself. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God commendeth [exhibited, made known] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6,8.).
“Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. . .All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:4,6)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16) Are these meaningless words: or are you willing to believe them? Is God the True God? Are His Words true? Are you willing to trust Him to do what He says He will do? “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Tim. 1:15).
None are Exempt. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” There is none that under-standeth, there is none that seeketh after God. There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:9-12.)
Jesus Saves. You‘ve seen signs with this testimony. Believe it! It‘s true! “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thine heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God that raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:8,9). Christ died for you; He lives for you! Will you not trust Him?
What does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? its reply is: it means knowing oneself to be a sinner, and Christ to have died for sinners, abandoning all self-righteousness and self-confidence, and casting oneself wholly upon Him for pardon and peace; and exchanging one’s natural enmity and rebellion against God for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ through the renewing of one’s heart by the Holy Ghost. And to the further question still: how am I to go about believing on Christ and repenting, if I have no natural ability to do these things? it answers: look to Christ, speak to Christ, cry to Christ, just as you are; confess your sin, your impenitence, your unbelief, and cast yourself on His mercy; ask Him to give you a new heart, working in you true repentance and firm faith; ask Him to take away your evil heart of unbelief and to write His law within you, that you may never henceforth stray from Him. Turn to Him and trust Him as best you can, and pray for grace to turn and trust more thoroughly; use the means of grace expectantly, looking to Christ to draw near to you as you seek to draw near to Him; watch, pray, read and hear God’s Word, worship and commune with God’s people, and so continue till you know in yourself beyond doubt that you are indeed a changed being, a penitent believer, and the new heart which you desired has been put within you. . .
“Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him” -
so do not postpone action till you think you are better, but honestly confess and give yourself up here and now to the Christ who alone can make you better; and wait on Him till His Light rises in your soul, as the Scripture promises that it shall do. Anything less than this direct dealing with Christ is disobedience to the gospel.
J. I. Packer
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