He is Precious

"Unto you that believe, He is precious." - 1 Peter 2:7

Jesus is precious to believers--as the Bread of God coming down from heaven, and giving everlasting life to their souls. By Him they are really, constantly, and daily supported, fed and sustained. As bread is sweet and precious to a hungry man, so is Christ sweet and precious to those who live by Him. The entertainment that He gives to them is a divine, a spiritual feast!

Jesus is precious to believers--as the Sun of Righteousness. The beams of His grace are healing, enlightening, cheering, and full of consolation. If natural light is sweet, if it is a pleasant thing to behold the sun; how much more pleasant to experience the irradiating influences of the Light of life!

Jesus is precious to believers--as the fountain where they bathe their weary souls, and in which they are cleansed from all sin and impurity. He is the tree of life, under the shadow of which, they sit with great delight, and His fruit is sweet to their taste. He is a rock, a strong tower, a hiding-place, where they find protection from every storm, and security from every foe. He was precious to the Psalmist under all these views--"I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." It is therefore the delight of their lives to know Him, to love and honor Him with their whole hearts, and to aspire after conformity to His blessed image and His holy will."

O blessed Redeemer, I find in you all that my poor helpless soul stands in need of. Though I have the greatest reason for shame and humiliation on account of what I am in myself, yet in You I behold everything to elevate my hopes, and to afford me relief and encouragement! May my soul magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoice in God my Savior! The characters and relations in which You have revealed Yourself to me in Your Word, exhibit a balm for every wound, and a cordial for every fear.

If I am naked--You are the Lord my righteousness. If I am soul-sick--You are my physician. If I am weak and helpless--You are my strength. If I am neglected and despised--You are my compassionate and faithful friend. If I am ignorant--You are made unto me wisdom. If I am polluted and enslaved--You are made unto me sanctification and redemption. If I am nothing but emptiness and vanity--You are full of grace and truth."

Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!

- John Faucett