Determination!

Isaiah 50:7 " For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have i set my face like a flint,and I know that I shall not be ashamed".

There was no hardness in the heart of Jesus,but there was in his face.He was as determined as he was humble.He did not hide his face from the shame or the spitting,but he set his face like a flint.In our Lord there was no turning aside,though none helped him,and everyone hindered him.He was neither confounded by thoughts within his own soul,nor rendered ashamed by the scorn of others.

A divine support was given to the human nature of our Redeemer, for the great work in which he was engaged required abundant strength.But our Savior relied upon his Father's help.Faith in God is the best foundation for a firm resolution,and a firm resolution is the best preparative for a great task.Nothing is so hard that it cannot be cut with something harder;against his hard labor,our Lord set his harder determination.His face was like a flint,you could not turn him form his work,nor get him to feel pity for himself.He was set upon it,he must die to save his people,because he loved us more than he did himself. So our purpose must be God's glory.Our education must be God's teaching.Our life must be His living,our strenght must lie within him.We must walk on a path of faith,and our words must be His message to a dying world.

Oh what a sea of blood,wrath,sin,sorrow and misery did the Lord Jesus wade through for our internal and external good.Christ didn't complain this cross is too heavy for me to bear;or this wrath is too great for me to lie under;this cup to bitter for me to drink,no Christ doesn't complain about the difficulty of the service,but bravely wade through it all and fulfills his purpose.Christ makes nothing of his Father's wrath, the burden of our sins, the malice of Satan, and the rage of the world,but just triumphantly passes through all.A soul not stirred by this,not raised and lifted up by this,to be resolute and brave in the service of God,withstanding all dangers and difficulties,is a soul left of God to much blindness and hardness.