And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands
I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
Luke 23:46
Into thine hand I commit my spirit. These living words of David were our Lord's
dying words.....
Observe, the object of the good man's solicitude in life and death is not his body or
his estate, but his spirit; this is his jewel, his secret treasure; if this be safe, all is well.
See what he does with his pearl! He commits it to the hand of his God; it came from him,
it is his own, he has aforetime sustained it, he is able to keep it, and it is most fit that he
should receive it. All things are safe in Jehovah's hands; what we entrust to the Lord will be
secure, both now and in that day of days towards which we are hastening. Without
reservation the good man yields himself to his heavenly Father's hand; it is enough for him
to be there; it is peaceful living and glorious dying to repose in the care of heaven. At all
times we should commit and continue to commit our all to Jesus' sacred care, then,
though life may hang on a thread, and adversities may multiply as the sands of the sea,
our soul shall dwell at ease, and delight itself in quiet resting places. Thou hast redeemed
me, O Lord God of truth. Redemption is a solid base for confidence. David had not known Calvary as we have done, but temporal redemption cheered him; and shall not eternal
redemption yet more sweetly console us? Past deliverances are strong pleas for present
assistance. What the Lord has done he will do again, for he changes not.
He is a God of veracity, faithful to his promises, and gracious to his saints; he will not
turn away from his people.
C. H. Spurgeon
**********
.....Is it not very amazing, dear Friends, that the words which Jesus uttered on the Cross
you may still continue to use? You may catch up their echo and not only when you come
to die, but tonight, tomorrow morning and as long as you are alive, you may still repeat the
text the Master quoted, and say, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit."
That is to say, first, let us cheerfully entrust our souls to God and feel that they are quite
safe in His hands. Our spirit is the noblest part of our being; our body is only the husk, our
spirit is the living kernel, so let us put it into God's keeping. Some of you have never yet
done that, so I invite you to do it now. It is the act of faith which saves the soul, that act
which a man performs when he says, "I trust myself to God as He reveals Himself in Christ
Jesus. I cannot keep myself, but He can keep me and, by the precious blood of Christ
He can cleanse me. So I just take my spirit and give it over into the great Father's hands."
You never really live till you do that! All that comes before that act of full surrender
is death! But when you have once trusted Christ, then you have truly begun to live.
And every day, as long as you live, take care that you repeat this process and
cheerfully leave yourselves in God's hands without any reserve. That is to say, give yourself up to God—your body, to be healthy or to be sick, to be long-lived or to be suddenly cut off. Your soul and spirit, give them, also, up to God, to be made happy or to be made sad,
just as He pleases. Give Your whole self up to Him and say to Him, "My Father, make me
rich or make me poor, give me sight or make me blind. Let me have all my senses or
take them away. Make me famous or leave me to be obscure. I give myself up to You—into
Your hands I commit my spirit. I will no longer exercise my own choice, but You shall choose
my inheritance for me. My times are in Your hands."
.....Christ has redeemed you and, therefore, you belong to Him. If I am a redeemed
man and I ask God to take care of me, I am but asking the King to take care of one
of His own jewels—a jewel that cost Him the blood of His heart!
"Thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of Truth." Would He be the God of Truth
if He began with redemption and ended with destruction—if He began by giving His Son
to die for us and then kept back other mercies which we daily need to bring us to Heaven?
No, the gift of His Son is the pledge that He will save His people from their sins and
bring them home to Glory—and He will do it.....
C. H. Spurgeon
