A reading of Anglican priest Robert Hawker’s (1753–1827) morning devotional writings from “The Poor Man’s Morning and Evening Portion.”
The music for this reading is “Great Blue Heron” by Chad Crouch and was adapted for length under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” —Gal. 3: 13.
Pause, my soul, and contemplate the unspeakable mercies contained in those precious words! However little thou hast regarded them, yet they contain in their bosom the whole blessings of the gospel. It is to Jesus, in this one glorious act of his faith, should the sinner be continually looking. There, (the believer should say,) there hangs my hope, my joy, my confidence. Christ hath redeemed me from the curse of the law, being made a curse for me. Now, my soul, observe how Jesus accomplished this great mercy for thee. Whatever Christ redeemed the sinner from, he became that for him. In the act of redemption, by substituting himself in the sinner’s place and room, he redeemed him from that place and room, by standing there himself. Hence, as the sinner stood before God, accursed by reason of sin; so Christ, by taking the sinner’s sin upon himself, and standing in his stead to answer for it, was made a curse also. If, therefore, Christ will come under the law for sinners, that law will have as much to demand of him, as of sinners. If Jesus, from his boundless love and mercy, will take the sinner’s curse upon himself, the law will speak as harsh to him as the sinner that is under the curse ; and not only speak, but exact from him all that could be demanded from the sinner. Pause, my soul! And did Jesus, thy Jesus, thus stand, thus be considered; and was he made a curse for thee? Did he really, truly, suffer the cursed sinner’s punishment, and die, the just for the unjust, to bring sinners unto God? Look to it then, my soul; he hath bought thee out, paid the full ransom, and taken away both sin, and the curse of sin, by the sacrifice of himself. Shout, my soul! shout salvation to God and the Lamb! Say, as Paul, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.”
