Welcome, friends, to another broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. By nature, men despise the sovereign grace of God. They feel that it is the obligation of God to show the same degree of mercy to all of mankind, since they believe that man has an intrinsic worth beyond that purpose for which the Lord created him. Grace and merit are two mutually exclusive concepts. There is no mixture of the two. Favor shown on the basis of merit or activity is the payment of a debt, whereas mercy is bestowed according to the sovereign prerogative of God. A man cannot be said to deserve mercy. Mercy and grace are closely related. We see grace occurring as a result of God's mercy, but they are not synonymous. Since all of God's creation, mankind especially, who giveth food to all flesh, for his mercy endureth forever, are the recipients of his mercy in one form or another, while grace is mercy applied to a particular people for a particular purpose. who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. The Lord's creation of Satan is a testimony to a sovereign prerogative to do as he will with his creation. Who can bring an accusation against him who knows the end from the beginning and orders all things to occur according to his good pleasure? Satan is indeed the embodiment of evil, the father of lies. and one whom the Lord has been pleased to use in the unfolding of his purpose in the earth. We see this manifested as he pointed out his servant Job to Satan and dared him to try to turn Job away from seeking the Lord. We see it when he would use Satan to tempt the Lord Jesus Christ in all points like as we are. And we see the utter triumph of Christ over Satan foreshadowed as he succumbed to none of Satan's bold attempts to turn him aside. We see it as he entered into Judas, a vessel before prepared unto destruction, and unwittingly fulfilled the purpose of God in delivering Christ into the hands of his tormentors, that he might become a propitiation for the sins of his people. When a man has given eyes to see the state of man by nature, among whom we also had our conversation in time past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath even as others, and the helpless condition that he had willingly entered into. And you, Hathae Quicken, who were dead in trespasses and sins, he cannot help but be struck dumb with amazement that the Lord did not destroy men completely, let alone to ordain some unto eternal life in the everlasting covenant. and not simply to deliver them from certain destruction, but to raise them up to be trophies of His grace throughout the ages to come. And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Thus we see Zechariah reporting the Lord's rebuke unto Satan, which centers around his everlasting love for Jerusalem, that is, the Holy City, which is synonymous with his kingdom, made up of that elect remnant which he has redeemed with his blood. He said she is as an ember which is snatched out from the fire, which would have ultimately consumed it. An ember in the fire has no power to keep itself from destruction. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness. So is every one of those who are made the recipients of His grace, completely apart from any merit or activity which they are the author of. Christ alone is the author and finisher of our faith. One of the greatest descriptions of the application of God's amazing grace to His elect children is found in Ezekiel's prophecy. Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem, Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan. Thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite. As for thy nativity and the day that thou wast born, thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee. Thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee. But thou wast cast out into an open field to the loathing of thy person. in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee, I saw thee polluted in thine own blood. I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, live. Yea, I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, live. Has the Lord made you to live? For a free CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.