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Psa. 98: 2, 3. "The LORD hath made known His salvation: His righteousness
hath He openly shewed in the sight of the heathen."
What is this salvation which has been "made known"?
"He hath remembered His mercy and His truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends
of the earth have seen the salvation of our God."
Isa. 11: 11; 12: 1, 2. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall set
His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people . . . . . and in that
day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise Thee: though Thou wast angry with me, Thine
anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation."
Isa. 52: 9, 10. "The LORD hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of
the earth shall see the salvation of our God."
The close connection between "salvation" and the restoration of Israel makes
comment unnecessary.
Rev. 19: 1, 2. "Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord
our God: for true and righteous are His judgments."
Here the overthrow of Babylon ushers in the full redemption of Israel.
Just as we saw in the articles dealing with The Hope and the Prize (Volumes VII-XI)
that there was something beyond the initial salvation from sin, so those who are under the
New Covenant have to learn that there is an aspect of salvation which is beyond the
testimony of the Scriptures just quoted. The "so great salvation" is something that could
be "neglected"; the salvation of the Psalms and Isaiah referred to above is unrelated to
human faith or faithfulness.
Now we know that Abraham, while dwelling in tents in the land of promise, looked
for the city which hath foundations, but we do not learn that from the Old Testament.
There is no hint there of anything of the kind. This special aspect of salvation had its
commencement in being spoken by the Lord. Literally the passage reads, "which having
received a commencement to be spoken by the Lord". The idea is that the Lord Jesus
was the first One to give shape and expression to this new aspect of salvation. It may be
asked, why? In the first case, He was born King and came preaching the Kingdom, and
until it became manifest that He would be rejected by His people the "so great salvation"
was not stressed. When, however, signs began to multiply showing that His ministry
would end in rejection, then He spoke more openly of the added glory that should be
shared by those who in His day of humiliation shared His reproach.
A hint is given in the parables of these two aspects in the distinction made between the
Treasure which, having been found in the field, was hidden again, and the One Pearl
(Matt. 13:). For an exposition of these parables, see Parable, Miracle and Sign. When
the Lord "began" to speak of His own death, He also began to speak of the qualifications
of those who should attain the "so great salvation". He speaks of self-denial, of losing