And All Flesh Shall See the Salvation of God - Part 1263

"O sing unto the Lord a new song, for He hath done marvelous things. His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him the victory. The Lord hath made known His salvation. His righteousness hath He openly showed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered His mercy and His truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." (Psalm 98:1-3)

"Sing unto the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth. Ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the habitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare His praise in the islands." (Isaiah 42:10-12)

Why? Because as Isaiah wrote, "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man. He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war. He shall cry, yea, roar, He shall prevail against His enemies." (Isaiah 42:13) The Lord of hosts shall come down to fight for mount Zion and for the hill thereof, (Isaiah 31:4) God Himself manifest in the flesh. (I Timothy 3:16)

He who knew no sin was made sin for us. While the world, particularly at this time of year refers to Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes, the believer in Jesus rejoices that God willingly clothed Himself in human flesh so that we might have eternal life with Him.

"He was in the world and the world was made by Him but the world knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not." (John 1:10-11)

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, "God with us." (Matthew 1:21-23)

And yet many in this world have chosen to sacrifice unto Ba-alim, and burned incense to graven images. "I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by the arms; but they knew not that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love, and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them. He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return. And the sword shall abide in his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels. And My people are bent to backsliding from Me; though they called them to the Most High, none of them would exalt Him." (Hosea 10:1-7)

Nevertheless, the Lord is still God, and not man -- "the holy one in the midst of thee." (Hosea 10:9) And as the scriptures state, all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

"The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." (Isaiah 52:10)

And as the angel said unto Mary, "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end." (Luke 1:30-33)

And while we may ask (as did Mary) how this can be, we will also begin to understand (like Mary) how to rejoice in God our Saviour. But as we know the angel of the Lord answered Mary's question, saying, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

And Mary agreed. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," she replied, "be it unto Me according to thy Word." (Luke 1:38)

As a consequence, we have all seen the salvation of God revealed.

In the old covenant, the prophecy -- "And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:5) And in the new testament -- "For my eyes have seen Your salvation," (Luke 2:30)

Like Mary, our souls can choose to wholly magnify the Lord within our very being, and our spirits rejoice in God our Saviour, or like God's original chosen people, we can turn to other gods for our sustenance. Still, the whole purpose of this world is so that each and every one of us have an opportunity to decide in our hearts what we will do with Jesus. Our entire existence (both in this life and the next) depends on how we respond to His call to the wedding feast. As we read in the scriptures, Mary gladly made her choice.

"For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden, for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things and HOLY IS HIS NAME. And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with His arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath holpen His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy. As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to His seed forever." (Luke 1:30-55)

We need to do the same. Either we accept His gift of salvation -- His gift of grace, wherein He paid the price for our sin once and for all, or we, like God's original chosen people can reject His love. I pray that we all choose His gift of salvation, wherein His abundance of joy can fill our souls. And, in so doing, we can not only see the salvation of God, but understand how far our God would steep to become our Lord and Saviour.

Today is the day of salvation. Harden not your hearts. Ask Jesus into your heart, and seek His guidance and counsel through His Word. Repent and be water baptized/ buried in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can receive His Spirit in your life. And know, beyond a shadow of any doubt, that when you ask Jesus into your heart, you become an integral member too of "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (I Peter 2:9)

Stand in the offering plate.