HIM HATH GOD EXALTED TO GIVE REPENTANCE.

 

JANUARY 24
Him hath God exalted to give repentance.
   Acts 5:31
 

Every sinner ought to repent,
  for God commands him;
  but no one will repent unless Christ bestows
  the grace of repentance upon him.
 
God commands us to repent and
  thus maintains his authority;
  Christ gives us grace to repent and
  thus displays his grace.
 
We often tried to repent, and cannot;
  our hearts are so hard, they will not relent;
  Our eyes are so dry, they will not weep.
 
This is a source of grief, and
  sometimes furnishes Satan
  with matter for temptation,
  with which he distresses us.
 
We must see that repentance is necessary,
  we must feel the desires to repent, and
  then we must look to Jesus for grace
    to enable us to repent.
 
Jesus is exalted to the highest possible honour.
He has universal authority.
All the treasures of grace and glory are committed to him.
 
His Father who exalted him, did so,
that he might give all necessary grace to his people;
  and out of his fullness we must receive grace for grace.
 
What God requires of us as creatures,
  Jesus gives us grace to perform as Christians.
 
Everything, therefore,
  should lead us to Christ, and
  to make us use of his fullness.
 
The lamb is exalted repentance is given,
That sin maybe hated, while sinners believed;
Contrition is granted and God justified.
The sinner is humbled, and self is denied.
 
James Smith 1849