The Security of the Heights
“Because he hath set his love upon Me... I will set him on high.” — Psa.m xci. 14.
THE only moral security is to be found in the heights. The only escape from many things is to be above them. If we meet them on their own level we shall be undone. The principle of immunity is this — salvation by elevation. The deadly chlorine, which was used in the war with such frightful destructiveness, moves along the ground, closely clinging to it on its fatal errand. It assails the foot-soldiers; it does not reach the aviator, the man with wings! And in the realm of the spirit there is a ‘‘ pestilence which walketh in darkness.” It is of the earth earthy, and it steals along the low grounds. It finds its victims among those who are described by our Lord as ‘from beneath.” It has no power over those who have risen with Christ, and who sit with Him in the heavenly places. The lofty character carries its own immunity.
Perhaps we have over-emphasised the element of struggle in the Christian life. Perhaps we have proclaimed too vigorously the necessity of fighting our way through serried ranks of foes, and we have said too little about rising above them. Maybe we have not known as we might the power of the resurrection. We have only regarded foot-warfare; we have forgotten the wings! We have counselled men to face their enemies; the Lord is calling us to rise above them.:
The secret of security is devout communion with the Lord. We must think less about our foes, and more about our Saviour. We must set our love upon Him. Love always moves in the direction of the beloved. That is a spiritual tendency which cannot be broken. If we love the Lord we surely begin to rise. We enter into the wonder of “the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The soul experiences its ascension, We
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mount up with wings as eagles. And the ground-enemies, the deadly gases which creep along the low levels, have no power over us, for they have been left behind. * Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”