IF I BE LIFTED UP --- John 12:32.
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." --- John 12:32.
This Christ spoke of his death. And it is the remembrance of his cruel death, of what he suffered, said, and finished, when he hung naked and wounded upon the cross, that relieves an afflicted conscience, and effectually captivates the sinner's heart to himself.
The sharpest convictions, if not relieved by this sight, will never teach the heart to love. The strongest resolutions, unless made with this bleeding object in view, will melt away like snow: but a crucified Saviour is a powerful lodestone indeed; multitudes have been drawn by it from sin to holiness, from Satan to God, from earth to heaven.
Was it for crimes I have done,
He groan'd upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!