Love, Eternal

I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.  Jeremiah 31:3

I have loved thee: I, who am the great God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; a God of infinite purity and holiness; the Lord that changes not: and His love is like unto Himself: it is sovereign, unchangeable, and eternal.

Hear the testimony of Jude: .... To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and preserved in Christ Jesus ...

God's people have had a vital, living union with Christ, long before
our awakening unto Him in this life -- we have, and have always had an
eternal, immanent union with Him before all worlds were created.
It is by virtue of this eternal union that we come into the world . . .
   at such a time,
   at such a place,
   from such parents,
   and under such circumstances,
as God has appointed.

It is by virtue of this eternal union that the circumstances
of our lives are ordained. By virtue of this eternal union
we are preserved in Christ, even before we are awakened by His Spirit.
The lamb will not pass until God has reawakened that vital
union with Christ within him.

Whatever sickness we may pass through—whatever
injuries we may be exposed to—whatever perils assault
us — perish we will not, we cannot;
until God's purposes in us are executed.

Thus, this eternal union watched over every circumstance
of our birth, watched over our childhood, watched over us until the appointed
time and spot, when the God of all grace, according to
His eternal purpose, quickened our hearts, and awakened us,
renewing this eternal union with the Lord of all life and glory.

You see, my friends, the love of Christ is eternal; it is not a passion of His humanity — but a witness to, and a perfection of His divinity. He has always existed — and He has always loved His people. His people . . .
  have always had a place in His bosom,
  have ever been before His eye, and
  have always been loved by Him.

Hear the words of our Lord from Proverbs:
Pro 8:30  Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him;
Pro 8:31  Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.

He has loved us — ever since He knew us — and He knew us from before all creation. His love has run through the boundless ages of eternity past — and fixed upon those who were His; and having fixed upon us — His love forever maintains its hold.

When He created the earth, spread abroad the Heavens, and gave His decree to the sea — His love was fixed upon His people. Their welfare, in connection with His Father's glory was the object which He sought in all things.

When we consider the dim past; even flowing into the mists of eternity — there is an echo that resounds within all of our hearts: our Savior loved us then; He loved us from all eternity; always, has He loved us; and always will He love us. My friends . . .
  before worlds existed,
  before devils appeared,
  before sin was committed;
we were the delight of His heart.

His love to us is as eternal as His nature — without beginning of days, or end of years; and from His love, as from a mighty river, flows . . .
  all the acts of His power,
  all the displays of His benevolence,
  all the manifestations of His grace, and
  all the provisions of His gospel.

This witness and testimony of His love has been a beacon shining through His Word, and the hearts of His lambs down through the centuries:
We are a chosen generation, my friends, a royal priesthood.

Every believer is a chosen vessel. The body of our Lord had its origin in Jehovah's eternal choice. This eternal choice . . .
  is an exercise of His Divine sovereignty;
  yet, it flows from Divine love;
  for it secures the lamb's salvation and God's eternal glory.

He chose us in Christ before the creation of the world. It was a choice of pure grace and love; but it was also an election unto holiness -- unto His holiness:

We were chosen to be . . .
  redeemed from curse;
  purified from sin;
  separated from the world;
  wedded unto the Lamb; and therefore,
  eternally one with Jehovah.

Being chosen of God -- we choose Him in return.
His choice caused ours; it was not the other way around.

As it says in His Word:

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;


Do you remember, my friends, the days before you were awakened? Always searching for God;
but never quite apprehending -- you had learned the language of Christ, forgiveness, and grace;
but what, in your heart did you truly know of these things?  Nothing, absolutely nothing!

Ignorant of your own ignorance — you thought yourself rich,
and increased with goods, and to have need of
nothing—and you knew not that you were wretched,
miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

Then, in His own time, Almighty God reached into your world
and you were never the same again. In that one instant, you were awakened,
and called out -- in that world altering flash you saw,  at once  . . .
  God and self,
  justice and guilt,
  power and helplessness,
  a holy law and a broken commandment,
  eternity and time,
  the purity of the Creator, and
     the filthiness of the man.

And these things you saw, and you received — not merely as
promises — but as  personal, living realities, encompassing all
of your struggles and all of your joys in time and
in eternity;  as though a new existence had been communicated,
a new dimension had been opened, and a new life was given.

It was as though all your days you had been asleep,
and were now awakened -- as if all
your past life were a dream, and in this dream, you had been:
  hunting butterflies and chasing bubbles;
  picking daisies and playing games building houses of cards --
and the dream was now at an end.


But now awakened by the power of Almighty God, washed in the Blood of the Lamb, and enlivened by the Spirit of Truth;
you travel as one apart, for you are now forever conscious that you have been redeemed and set apart by the Living God.

In this new walk, through this anointing from the Holy One, you see that you can do all things, be all things, and bear all things.

Though. we soon find that we can no longer abide all things -- because we have seen the glory of God and have been filled with His Truth,
we can no longer stomach the lie we see everywhere about us in the world we were once so attached to -- The main characteristic of a child of God is that he is now a
stranger upon earth. One of the first effects of the
grace of God upon our soul was to separate us from
the world, and make us feel ourselves estranged from it.

The world was once our home — the active, busy center
of all our thoughts, desires, and affections. But when His
grace planted His imperishable principles of life into our bosom,
it at once separated us from the world in heart and spirit; life, and walk.
We are strangers by the power of divine grace making
this world a wilderness to us.

This may seem a strange path in which to return to eternity; but this is only because of our limited perspective, the wilderness journey is part of His plan;
as it says in His Word:  Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

When you are in the wilderness, you have no friend — no creature help — no worldly comfort — these have all abandoned you. God has led you into the wilderness to  separate you from these earthly ties of creature refuges and vain hopes, that He may Himself become your help, your friend, your comfort; and speak His Words of life, and love to your soul.

If, then, you are separated from the world by being brought into the wilderness — if you are passing through trials and afflictions — if you are exercised with a variety of temptations — and are brought into that spot where the creature yields — it is because then, and only then, are you made to see, feel, and understand that nothing but God living and breathing with power deep within your soul can give you any solid grounds of rest or peace. It may be painful — it is painful — but it is profitable, because by it we learn to look to the Lord and the Lord alone — and this must ever be the lesson to learn for every child of God.

Hear the words of Peter, my friends, ... you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people ...

The Son of God gave Himself to purify unto the Father a peculiar people — a people whose thoughts are peculiar, for their thoughts are the thoughts of God — a people whose affections are peculiar, for they are fixed on things above — a people whose prayers are peculiar, for they are wrought in their heart by the Spirit of grace and supplication — a people whose sorrows are peculiar, because they spring from a spiritual renewal — a people whose joys are peculiar, for they are joys of a soul at peace with God — a people whose hopes are peculiar, as anchored within the veil — a people whose expectations are peculiar, as witnessed in His Word:

Psa 107:2  Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Psa 107:3  And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
Psa 107:4  They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Psa 107:5  Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Psa 107:6  Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:7  And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

And the only city of habitation, our only place of refuge, is the City of God, from which we departed for our sojourn here according to His will; and our only path of return, my friends, runs through the Blood, the resurrection, and the renewal in the wilderness.

We confess to be strangers and pilgrims here on earth. The people of God are expected to be different from the world. We profess to be of another Spirit, and to be the sons of God.  We look for a new heaven and a new earth,  for that coming of His Holy City, wherein alone dwells Righteousness.

His Spirit encourages us to be watchful, prayerful, diligent, holy, patient, thankful, and expectant .......
and to set little value on the things of time and space, for our hearts and our eyes should be fixed on the things which are eternal.

For we, ourselves, if we be lambs of the Living God, are of these things which are eternal.