Ancient Things

And these are ancient things. (1 Chronicles 4:22). Yet not so ancient as those precious things which delight our souls. Let us for a moment recall them—handling them over and over as misers handle their gold. The sovereign choice of the Father, by which He elected us to eternal life long before the earth existed, is a matter of vast antiquity. No date can be conceived for it by the human mind. We were chosen from “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1: 4 nkjv). Everlasting love went with the choice, for it was not only an act of divine will by which we were set apart—the divine affections were concerned too. The Father loved us in and from the beginning. Here is a theme to contemplate daily. God’s eternal purpose—to redeem us from coming ruin, to cleanse us and set us apart, and at last to glorify us—was of infinite antiquity and runs side by side with unchangeable love and absolute sovereignty. The covenant is always described as “everlasting,” and Jesus, the second party in it, is one “whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2). He made a sacred guarantee long before the first stars began to shine, and it was in Him that the elect were destined to eternal life. So in this divine purpose a most agreeable covenant union was established between the Son of God and His elect people—one that will remain as the foundation of their safety when time is no more. Isn’t it good to be familiar with these ancient things? Isn’t it a shame that they are often neglected and even rejected by many professing Christians? If we knew more of our own sin, would we not be more ready to adore God’s distinguishing grace? Let us both admire and adore Him in the words of this great old hymn, “Indulgent God, How Kind” (1803): A monument of grace, A sinner saved by blood; The streams of love I trace Up to the Fountain, God; And in his sacred bosom see Eternal thoughts of love to me.

—Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening