Salvation by Grace 115 sown with mingled seed. The ox of mercy and the ass of merit must not be yoked together; indeed, they cannot be; they are too unequal. No linsey-woolsey garment can we weave o f works and grace. As Hart quaintly puts i t : “Everything we do we sin in, So the choice must be made between these two ways to heaven. The great question still is, “How can man be just with God ?” and it appears that he must either himself be es sentially and perfectly holy, or he must, by some means, ac quire a justness which will bear the scrutiny of Omniscience, and pass muster in the High Court of Heaven. WHAT SAYS THE BOOK? What has the Word of God to say about this all-import ant matter? It declares most plainly that all have sinned, that sin is exceeding sinful, that retribution follows iniquity as the cart-wheel follows the footprints of the ox that draws it, that none can make his hands clean or renew his own heart. It tells us also that God, in His infinite mercy, has devised a way of salvation, and that none but Jesus can do helpless sin ners good. Behold the bleeding victims and the smoking altars of the old dispensation! They speak of sin that needed to be put away, and they foreshadowed a sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood than they, the only Sacrifice which can make the comers thereunto perfect. Hearken to David as he cries: “Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, for in Thy sight shall no flesh living be justified.” The prophets tell the selfsame tale. “By the knowledge of him shall My righteous Servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:11). Then there is the won derful word which broke the fetters that were on Luther’s Chosen Jews Must not use Woollen mixt with linen.”
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