Deliverance from the curse is by a process similar to that by which slaves are set free, namely, by their being bought with a price. We are not merely delivered from the curse by a moral change in us but by a redemptive work for us. Christ was slain and has redeemed us to God by His blood. The manner of our deliverance is this, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us." I do not understand language at all, unless this means substitution. Christ was made a curse for us. That is to say, in our place He bore our sins and the curse which came of it.
Our past guilt and the condemnation consequent thereon, have locked us up in a dungeon, whose bars we can never break! The Prince of Darkness, also, has such power over our evil natures that we cannot overcome him, or escape from under his dominion of ourselves. But the clock of mercy struck in Heaven the hour and moment of my deliverance, for the time had come! Thus had the eternal purpose of Jehovah decreed it! Nobody would have thought of that way of the deliverance of a sinner from the pit of Hell through a ransom if God had not thought of it! Notice, next, that God has not only invented a way of deliverance, but he has found a ransom. So that it is a gift of Divine Love. Sinner, do not doubt your deliverance, for God has said it, "I have found a ransom."
Those who looked to the brazen serpent found life and healing in that look. And even so, there is life from sin by looking to Him who was made sin for us. Though the serpent's poison was deadly, its bites were cured by a look at the brazen serpent. There is, then, an abundance of healing power in Jesus Christ and His salvation. Not only is His fruit sweet and nourishing, but the leaves, the little things, as it were, about Christ, are full of healing virtue. These healing leaves change the life blood, affect the spirits and make the nature other than it was before. Yonder in Heaven, those faces which look so bright and comely, fresher than new born babes, owe their freshness to these healing leaves! First, they have no need to say it when the Lord comes and dwells with them, for the Sun of Righteousness has risen upon them with healing in His wings. When Jesus healed the sick of the palsy, He said to him, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." Pardon and healing were one!
See it purged of every evil and see in it the great conduit Head, from which abundant streams of healing flow down to men below! So have I found it and I bear my willing witness that sickness has brought me health, loss has conferred gain, and I doubt not that one day death will bring me fuller life! Be wise then, dear child of God, and look upon your present affliction as a chastening. It is a comfort that we see a wall of fire round us, a circle so complete that even the devil, malicious as he is, cannot break through it to do more than the Lord allows! Like a careful dispenser, He will not pour out a drop too little or too much, "To His Church, His joy and treasure, Every trial works for good, They are dealt in weight and measure, Yet how little understood, Not in anger, But from His dear Covenant love."
Here is declaration. If we had no troubles, we would all have less to declare. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. The joy of pardon makes us ignore the sorrow of the past. "You shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood any more." O you who are now sick unto death, ask to be forgiven and healing will come from the pardoning hand. God bless you!