Tag Archives: Christian Life

This, and nothing but this, is true Christianity!

November 14, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

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This, and nothing but this, is true Christianity!

(Edward Griffin, 1770-1837)

“You do not belong to yourself–for God bought you with a high price!” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 

All that you are and have–are His. You owe Him your whole selves! 

The Lord Jesus Christ, who created you and redeemed you from eternal damnation–is your Proprietor, Master, and King.
Whom else then should you serve?
To whom else should you devote your lives?
Whose interest should you rather seek?

“For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself. For if we live–we live for the Lord; or if we die–we die for the Lord. Therefore whether we live or die–we are the Lord’s.” Romans 14:7-8

Our religion is exactly in proportion as we cease to live for ourselves–and live for God alone. We have just as much religion–as we have of self-denial. The only evidence of attachment to Him on which we can rely–is that we make it our design and care to promote His glory and the accomplishment of His benevolent purposes, not now and then, but in the general tenor of our lives.

To live for God, is to regard His will as the rule and ground of our conduct, and His glory as our supreme object. Not merely one day in a week–but in our general course to act from a reference to His authority. 

To live for God, is to choose our calling, to pursue our business, to frame our habits, to regulate our actions from hour to hour–from a regard to His will and honor. 

To live for God, is to feel and act as those who are not at liberty to live to themselves, but have their work daily assigned them by a heavenly Master. 

To live for God, is to live under a sense that we are not our own–not our own masters, not our own proprietors, not at our own disposal. 

To live for God, is to live as though our time, talents, influence, property, and all that we are and have–are God’s. 

To live for God, is to hold everything in readiness to use for Him, or resign all things to Him as He shall direct. 

To live for God, is to to be submissive under afflictions, and willing to be at His disposal in all our trials. 

To live for God, is to to be ready to deny ourselves for Him in every way which His Word or Providence may point out. 

To live for God, is to desire life chiefly that we may serve Him. 

To live for God, is to make Him the center in which all the lines of our life shall meet. 

To live for God, is to make it the business of our lives to please Him and not ourselves.

The very core of all true religion, is not to live for ourselves–but for God; not to consider ourselves our own–but the property and the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ; not to feel as though we are set up in the world to work for ourselves, to spend the most of our time in pursuing what is termed our innocent gratifications–but to hold our time, powers, influence, and property as talents entrusted to us to be used for Christ–keeping our eye on His Word to learn His will, and aiming habitually to please and honor Him. 

This, and nothing but this, is true Christianity! Whatever our creed is–if this is not our character–then all our religion is vain! 

“So we make it our goal to please Him–whether we are at home in the body or away from it!” 2 Corinthians 5:9


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The best evidence of Christianity!

November 13, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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The best evidence of Christianity! 

(Frederick Marsh)

Jesus is the chief among ten thousand–the altogether lovely One!

Christ is the Chiefest–or better than the best. 

His love is unknowable! Ephesians 3:19 

His riches are unsearchable! Ephesians 3:18 

His joy is unspeakable! 1 Peter 1:8 

His ways are untrackable! Romans 11:33 

His grace is inexhaustible! 2 Corinthians 9:8 

His peace is unfathomable! Philippians 4:7 

And He Himself is unsurpassable! Exodus 15:11 
 

His character was beautiful with holiness in every detail. Hebrews 7:26 

His love was pure and faithful in all its affection. John 13:1 

His service was true and beneficent in all its workings. Acts 10:38 

His words were tender and true in all their utterances. John 7:45 

His life was consistent in every department. Mark 7:37 

His aim was single and concentrated in glorifying God. John 17:4 

His mission was to benefit all who would trust Him, in dying a death which they deserved. 2 Corinthians 8:9 

Christ is Christianity–and the best evidence of Christianity is Christ!

“Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!” Song of Songs 5:16 

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Of all sins, it is the most secret, subtle and insinuating!

November 12, 2018 by Steve 2 Comments

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Of all sins, it is the most secret, subtle and insinuating! 

(Edward Payson, 1783-1827)

“In his pride, the wicked does not seek Him. In all his thoughts, there is no room for God.” Psalm 10:4 

The pride of the wicked is the principal reason why they will not seek after the knowledge of God. 

In the first place, pride renders God a disagreeable object of contemplation to the wicked–and a knowledge of Him as undesirable. Pride consists in an unduly exalted opinion of one’s self. It is, therefore, impatient of a rival, hates a superior, and cannot endure a master. In proportion as it prevails in the heart–pride makes us wish . . .
  to see nothing above us,
  to acknowledge no law but our own wills,
  to follow no rule but our own inclinations. 

Thus it led Satan to rebel against his Creator–and our first parents to desire to be as gods. 

Since such are the effects of pride, it is evident that nothing can be more painful to a proud heart than the thoughts of such a being as God–one who is infinitely powerful, just, and holy–who can neither be resisted, deceived, nor deluded–who disposes, according to His own sovereign pleasure, of all creatures and events–and who, in an especial manner, hates pride, and is determined to abase and punish it. Such a Being, pride can contemplate only with feelings of dread, aversion, and abhorrence. It must look upon God as its natural enemy–the great Enemy whom it has to fear. 

The knowledge of God directly tends to bring this infinite, irresistible, irreconcilable Enemy full to the view of the proud man. It teaches him that he has a superior, a master . . .
  from whose authority he cannot escape,
  whose power he cannot resist,
  and whose will he must obey–
or be crushed before Him, and be rendered miserable forever! It shows him what he hates to see–that, in despite of his opposition . . .
  God’s counsel shall stand, 
  He will do all His pleasure, and
  that He is infinitely above them. 

These truths torture the proud unhumbled hearts of the wicked, and hence they hate the Scriptures which teach these truths. On the contrary, they wish to remain ignorant of such a Being, and to banish all thoughts of Him from their minds. With this view, they neglect, pervert, or explain away those passages of Scripture which describe God’s true character, and endeavor to believe that He is altogether such a one as themselves.

How foolish, how absurd, how ruinous, how blindly destructive of its own self–does pride appear! By attempting to soar–it only plunges itself in the mire! While endeavoring to erect for itself a throne–it undermines the ground on which it stands, and digs its own grave!

Pride plunged Satan from Heaven into Hell; it banished our first parents from paradise; and it will, in a similar manner, ruin all who indulge in it. Pride . . . 
  keeps us in ignorance of God,
  shuts us out from His favor,
  prevents us from resembling Him, and
  deprives us in this world, of all the honor and happiness which communion with Him would confer.
And in the next world, unless previously hated, repented of, and renounced–pride will bar the door of Heaven forever against us, and close the gates of Hell upon us! 

O then, my friends, beware, above all things–beware of pride! Beware, lest you indulge it imperceptibly, for of all sins–it is the most secret, subtle and insinuating!


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WHY?

November 11, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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WHY? 

(Horatius Bonar)  

“Do not love the world or anything in the world.” 1 John 2:15 

WHY?

1. Because the gain of it, is the loss of the soul–Matthew 16:25-26. 
  
2. Because its friendship is enmity to God–James 4:4. 
  
3. Because it did not know Christ–John 1:10; 17:25. 
  
4. Because it hates Christ–John 7:7; 15:18. 
  
5. Because the Holy Spirit has forbidden us–1 John 2:15. 
  
6. Because Christ did not pray for it–John 17:9. 
  
7. Because Christ’s people do not belong to it–John 17:16. 
  
8. Because its Prince is Satan–John 13:31; 16:11. 
  
9. Because Christ’s kingdom is not of it–John 18:36. 
  
10. Because its wisdom is foolishness–1 Corinthians 1:20. 
  
11. Because Christ does not belong to it–John 8:23. 
  
12. Because it is condemned–1 Corinthians 11:32. 
  
13. Because it is passing away–1 Corinthians 7:31. 
  
14. Because it slew Christ–James 5:6; Matthew 21:39. 
  
15. Because it is crucified to us–Galatians 6:14. 
  
16. Because we are crucified to it–Galatians 6:14. 
  
17. Because it is the seat of wickedness–2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 5:19. 
  
18. Because its god is the evil one–2 Corinthians 4:4. 

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If Christ has our love–then He has our ALL!

November 10, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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If Christ has our love–then He has our ALL! 

(Thomas Doolittle, “Love to Christ Necessary to Escape the Curse at His Coming!” 1693)

“If any man does not love the Lord Jesus Christ–he shall be accursed!” 1 Corinthians 16:22 

If Christ has our love–then He has our ALL! Christ never has our all from us–until He has our love. Love withholds nothing from Christ, when it is sincerely set upon Him. 
Then He shall have our time, 
and He shall have our service, 
and He shall have the use of all our abilities, and gifts, and graces! 
Yes, then He shall have our estates and our very lives–when He calls for them. 

As when God loves any of us–He will withhold nothing from us that is good for us; no, not even His own only begotten Son! Romans 8:32 

And when Christ loves us, then He gives all unto us:
  His merits to justify us, 
  His Spirit to sanctify us, 
  His grace to adorn us, 
  His glory to crown us!

Just so, when any of us love Christ sincerely, we lay all down at His feet, and give up all to be at His command and service! “And they did not love their lives unto the death!” Revelation 12:11

Love gives the character to a man, according as the object is, which he superlatively loves. 
As is the love–such is the man. As is the love–such might you boldly call the man. 

If he is a lover of honor–then he is an ambitious man. 

If he is a lover of pleasure–then he is a voluptuous man. 

If he chiefly loves the world–then he is he is a covetous man.

If he loves holiness–then he is he is a pious man. 

If he loves the things above–then he is a heavenly-minded man.

If he loves Christ with a predominant love–then he is a Christian man!

“The upright love You!” Song of Songs 1:4


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Nothing worse can happen to a Church!

November 9, 2018 by Steve 2 Comments

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Nothing worse can happen to a Church!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world–but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

Someone was asking, the other day, how it was that the church, nowadays, was not so separate from the world as it used to be. One who heard the question suggested that, possibly, the world had grown better; but another more truly said that, probably, the church had grown worse.

There are some, in these apostate days, who think that the church cannot do better than to come down to the world to learn her ways, follow her maxims, and acquire her “culture.” In fact, the notion is that the world is to be conquered by our conformity to it. This is as contrary to Scripture as the light is to the darkness!

Brethren, beloved in the Lord, you may depend upon it that nothing worse can happen to a Church, than to be conformed unto this world! Write “Ichabod!” upon her walls, then–for the sentence of destruction has gone out against her. 

It will be an ill day for the church and the world when the proposed amalgamation shall be complete, and the sons of God and the daughters of men shall be as one–then shall another deluge of wrath be ushered in!

“Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:17-18

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Which is the best apple tree in the garden?

November 8, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Which is the best apple tree in the garden?

(Charles Spurgeon)

Ask the gardener which is the best apple tree in the garden–and he will tell you that it is not the one which has the best shape, but the one which yields the most fruit! 

In the same way, he is not the best Christian who occupies the highest position, or who talks the most about divine things–but it is he whose life is most fruitful in good works to the glory of God!

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit–so you will be My disciples.” John 15:8 

“He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” Psalm 1:3 

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Eloquent prayers

November 7, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Eloquent prayers

(Charles Spurgeon)

If the eloquence of our prayers mattered to God, then eloquence would be more valuable than grace–but it is not so. 

Some of us may be able to express ourselves very fluently from the force of natural abilities–but it should always be an anxious question to us, whether our prayer is a prayer which God will receive.

We often pray best when we stammer and stutter–and we often pray worst when words flow articulately one after another! God is not moved by eloquent prayers–they are but empty noise to Him. He is only moved by sincere emotions which dwell in the innermost heart. 

For a man to bend his knees and utter the hypocritical language of affection to God which he never feels in his heart–is little short of blaspheming God! We must have very light thoughts of God, when we try to deceive Him with such prayers as these!

I often say my prayers
But do I ever pray?
And do the wishes of my heart
Go with the words I say?

I may as well kneel down
And worship gods of stone,
As offer to the living God
A prayer of words alone.

For words without the heart
The Lord will never hear;
Nor will He to those lips attend
Whose prayers are not sincere.
   John Burton, 1803-1877

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He has a perfect knowledge of all His subjects!

November 6, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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He has a perfect knowledge of all His subjects!

(William Dyer, “Christ’s Famous Titles“)

Oh, brethren, earthly kings and princes do not know all their subjects; nay, they know very few. Alas! they do not know a quarter of them! They are not acquainted with all the troubles, and needs, and miseries that their poor subjects lie under. 

The Lord Jesus infinitely excels all other kings–in that He has a perfect knowledge of all His subjects! He knows them all by name. He knows . . .
  all their thoughts,
  all their needs,
  all their ways,
  all their conditions. 

So say I to you, brethren, Your King knows . . .
  all your necessities,
  all your sufferings, 
  all your troubles,
  all your fears!

Yes, and “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus!” Philippians 4:19. Oh, this is a sweet Scripture!

Oh, poor souls, Christ knows everything about you! This is our great happiness, that we have a King who knows us so well. Oh, here is the excellency of our King!


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Lord, let me be a pure stream

November 5, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Lord, let me be a pure stream

(Thomas Sherman, “Divine Breathings; Or, a Pious Soul Thirsting after Christ”)

Jordan, that famous river, no doubt runs through many a pleasant meadow, by many a shady grove and flowery bank; and yet at last empties itself into the Dead Sea. 

So it is with a wicked man! Here on earth he walks through meadows of worldly pleasures, and rests under the shades of earthly comforts, and sports and wallows among the flowers of worldly delights–but at last runs himself down into the Dead Sea of Hell.And not only so–but . . .
  his earthly delights will fade,
  his beauty shall be turned into horror,
  his honor shall be turned into shame,
  his lusts shall be turned into tormentors, and
  his pleasures shall be turned into bitterness! 

Lord, let me be a pure stream, that I may terminate in Heaven! I care not what difficult channels I pass through here on earth–if in Heaven I may exchange my weakness and corruption, for perfection and glory!


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A comfortable nest for us!

November 4, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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A comfortable nest for us!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“I thought: Surely I shall die in my nest!” Job 29:18

God has never meant this world to be a comfortable nest for us. If we try to make it such for ourselves–He will plant thorns in it so that we may be compelled to mount and find our soul’s true home somewhere else, in a higher and nobler sphere than this poor world can give!

“Arise and depart, for this is not your rest; because it is polluted!” Micah 2:10


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Hands up, everyone who has a Bible!

November 3, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Hands up, everyone who has a Bible!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night!” Psalm 1:2

If I were to say, “Hands up, everyone who has a Bible!“–everybody’s hands here would go up, as I suppose that nobody here is without a Bible. 

But if I were to ask, “How many here, as a habit and a delight, meditate upon the Scriptures?”–I wonder how many hands would be raised? Well, I will not ask you that question, but let everybody ask it for himself and judge himself concerning it in the sight of God.

Lord, give us a Bible reading, Bible loving people!

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Pray our Beloved to print the image of His bleeding self upon the tablets of our hearts!

November 2, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Pray our Beloved to print the image of His bleeding self upon the tablets of our hearts!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows–yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:3-5 

Pilate delivered our Lord to the lictors to be scourged. The Roman scourge was a most dreadful instrument of torture. It was made of the sinews of oxen, and sharp bones were intertwined among the sinews; so that every time the lash came down, these pieces of bone inflicted fearful laceration and tore off the flesh from the bone. The Savior was, no doubt, bound to the whipping post and thus beaten. He had been beaten before; but this flagellation of the Roman lictors was probably the most severe of His scourgings.

My soul, stand here and weep over His poor stricken body! Believer, can you gaze upon Him without tears as He stands before you, the mirror of agonizing love? He is at once as white as the lily for innocence, and as red as the rose with the crimson of His own blood. 

As we feel the sure and blessed healing that His stripes have wrought in us–does not our heart melt at once with love and grief? If ever we have loved our Lord Jesus, surely we must feel that affection glowing now within our bosoms.

We would be compelled to go to our chambers and weep, but our business calls us away. So we will first pray our Beloved to print the image of His bleeding self upon the tablets of our hearts all the day; and at nightfall we will return to commune with Him and sorrow that our sin should have cost Him so dearly!

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God’s grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers!

November 1, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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God’s grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“But He said to me: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 

If none of God’s saints were poor and tried, we would not know the consolations of divine grace half so well. 

When we find the wanderer who does not have a place to lay his head, who yet can say, “Still I will trust in the Lord”; when we see the pauper starving on bread and water, who still glories in Jesus; when we see the bereaved widow overwhelmed in affliction, and yet relying on Christ–oh what honor it reflects on the Gospel. 

God’s grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers!

Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring. They know that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily–or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as He is pleased to keep them in it. This perseverance of the saints proves the power of divine grace.

He who would glorify God, must reckon upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord, unless his conflicts are many. If then yours is a much-tried path, rejoice in it because you will better show forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for His failing you, never dream of it–hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11 

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CONTENTMENT

October 31, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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CONTENTMENT

(John Mason’s Spiritual Sayings)
 

**The deeper your self-abhorrence–the easier is self-resignation. 

**Those who know they deserve nothing, will be content with anything.


**We must commit our souls to God’s keeping, and submit ourselves to God’s disposing. 


**We should obey His revealed will, and then be resigned to His providential will.

 

**Neither contentment nor discontentment arises from the outward condition, but from the inward disposition. 

**If a man is not content in the state he is in–then he will not be content in any state he would be in.
  

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13

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The sword of His pure, infinite and incensed wrath!

October 30, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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The sword of His pure, infinite and incensed wrath!

(Thomas Brooks, “The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures”)

“Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer.” Isaiah 53:10 

To see God thrust the sword of His pure, infinite and incensed wrath through the very heart of His dearest Son, notwithstanding all His supplications, prayers, tears, and strong cries–is the highest manifestation of the Lord’s hatred and indignation of sin–which ever was, or ever will be!

It is true, God revealed His great hatred against sin . . . 
  by casting the angels down to hell, 
  by turning Adam out of paradise,
  by drowning the old world, and
  by raining hell out of heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah, 
and by the various and dreadful judgments which He has been a-pouring forth upon the world in all ages. But all this hatred is butan emblem of hatred–compared to that hatred which God manifested against sin, in causing the whole curse to meet upon our crucified Lord!

It is true that God reveals His hatred of sin by those endless, easeless, and remediless torments, which He inflicts upon devils and damned men. But this is no hatred–compared to that hatred against sin, which God revealed when He opened all the floodgates of His envenomed wrath upon His Son–His own Son, His only Son, His Son who always pleased Him.

Suppose there was a father who had but one son–and he was such a son in whom he always delighted, and by whom he had never been provoked. Now suppose you should you see this father inflicting the most intensified pains and punishments, tortures and torments, calamities and miseries upon this, his dearest son. Would you not wonder at the cause of the father’s exercising such amazing, such matchless severity, fury and cruelty upon his only beloved son?

Now cast your eye upon the actings of God the Father towards Jesus Christ–and you will find that He has inflicted more and greater torments upon the Son of His dearest love–than all mortals ever have or could inflict upon others. God made all the penalties and sufferings that were due to us–to fall upon Jesus Christ. God Himself inflicted upon dear Jesus, whatever was requisite to the satisfying of His justice, to the obtaining of pardon, and to the saving of all His elect!

“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

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Are we Christians–or are we worldlings?

October 29, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Are we Christians–or are we worldlings?

(Horatius Bonar, “Self-Denial Christianity”)

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion!” Amos 6:1

What do we say to . . .
  our self-indulgence,
  our spiritual sloth,
  our love of ease,
  our avoidance of hardship,
  our luxury,
  our pampering of the body,
  our costly feasts,
  our silken couches,
  our brilliant furniture,
  our gay attire,
  our expensive jewelry,
  our idle mirth,
  our voluptuous music,
  our jovial tables, loaded with every variety of rich viands?

Are we Christians–or are we worldlings?

Where is the self-denial of the New Testament days?

Where is the separation from a self-pleasing luxurious world? Where is the cross, the true badge of discipleship, to be seen–except in useless religious ornaments for the body, or worse than useless decorations for the sanctuary?

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion!” Is not this the description of multitudes who name the name of Christ? They may not be “living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.” But even where these are absent, there is ‘high living’–luxury of the table or the wardrobe–in conformity to this present evil world.

“At ease in Zion!” Yes! there is the shrinking . . .
  from hard service;
  from spending and being spent;
  from toil and burden-bearing and conflict;
  from self-sacrifice and noble service;
for the Master’s sake.

There is conformity to the world, instead of conformity to Christ!
There is a laying down of the cross, instead of a taking up of the cross. 
Or there is a lining of the cross with velvet, lest it should gall our shoulders as we carry it! 
Or there is an adorning of the cross, that it may suite the taste and the manners of our refined and intellectual age.

Anything but the bare, rugged and simple cross!

We think that we can make the strait gate wider, and the narrow way broader–so as to be able to walk more comfortably to the heavenly kingdom. We try to prove that modern enlightenment has so refined ‘the world and its pleasures’, that we may safely drink the poisoned cup, and give ourselves up to the inebriation of the siren song.

“At ease in Zion!” Even when the walls of our city are besieged, and the citadel is being stormed!

Instead of grasping our weapons, we lie down upon our couches!

Instead of the armor, we put on the silken robe!

We are cowards, when we should be brave!

We are faint-hearted, when we should be bold!

We are lukewarm, when we should be fervent!

We are cold, when we should be full of zeal!

We compromise and shuffle and make excuses–when we should lift up our voice like a trumpet! We pare down truth, or palliate error, or extenuate sin–in order to placate the world, or suit the spirit of the age, or ‘unify’ the Church.

Learn self-denying Christianity. Not the form or name, but the living thing. 

Let us renounce the lazy, luxurious, self-pleasing, fashionable religion of the present day!

A self-indulgent religion has nothing in common with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ; or with that cross of ours which He has commanded us to take up and carry after Him–renouncing ease and denying self.

Our time,
our abilities,
our money,
our strength–
are all to be laid upon the altar.

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion!” Amos 6:1

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See the hand of God in all the barbarisms and incivilities of men!

October 28, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

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See the hand of God in all the barbarisms and incivilities of men!

(Thomas Watson)

“The Almighty has afflicted me!” Ruth 1:21

“The cup which My Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11

All the injuries and unkind treatments we meet with from others, do not come to us by chance, but are ordained by the all-wise God for our good. 

Many are like the foolish cur that snarls at the stick, never looking to the hand that swung it. If we looked higher than instruments, our hearts would grow meek and calm. Instruments can no more stir until God gives them a commission–than the ax can cut by itself without a hand. David looked beyond Shimei’s rage: “Let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him!” 2 Samuel 16:11 

What wisdom for Christians–to see the hand of God in all the barbarisms and incivilities of men! Job eyed God in his affliction, and that meekened his spirit: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised!” Job 1:21. He does not say, The Chaldeans have taken away–but “The Lord has taken away.”

Whoever brings an affliction, it is God who sends it.

“God has sovereign right to dispose of us as He pleases. We ought to acquiesce in all that God does with us and to us.” William Carey

“When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other!” Ecclesiastes 7:14 

“Shall we poor worms give laws to our supreme Lord and Governor, and oblige Him always to bless and favor us, and never to afflict us?” Matthew Poole

“What? Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad?” Job 2:10 

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Christian joy!

October 27, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

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Christian joy!

Author unknown, 1872)

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 

Just so, “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,” says Paul, speaking of his own experience. 

The believer’s joy does not exclude sorrow, but . . .
  attends it,
  sustains under it,
  and raises above it. 

Joy in the Lord should be constant–for He is the same. 
There is as much ground for joy in Him in the winter of adversity–as in the summer of prosperity. 
He is as good when he chides us–as when He comforts us. 
He is as gracious when He lays us low–as when He raises us up. 
He is as kind when He takes away–as when He gives. 

If our joy springs chiefly from creature good and agreeable circumstances–then it must be fluctuating at the best, and at times it will entirely dry up. But if our chief joy is in God, then the spring of it never fails!

“When all created streams are dried,
 His fullness is the same!”

Observe, my soul, that joy in the Lord is not only encouraged–but commanded. 
After once giving the admonition, the apostle says, “Again I say, Rejoice.” 

The Lord would have His children . . .
  happy in His love, 
  restful under the shelter of His wings, 
  and peaceful in the midst of storms. 

Seek then to know more of Him, live upon His fullness, dwell on His unchanging grace–and so will you be joyful in Him even in the midst of tribulation!

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The root upon which our blessings grow

October 26, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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The root upon which our blessings grow

(Charles Naylor)
  
“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried” Daniel 12:10

All Christians desire to be purified and made white–but when it comes to being tried, that is a very different thing. They shrink from the very word. Their trials are to them as a nightmare from which they would gladly escape. But trials are a necessary part of God’s process of preparing us for Heaven. 

The storms and obstacles in our lives, all work out for out good if we meet them as we should. Through them, our lives are enriched and ennobled and developed. They are blessings to us, though they may seem to be blessings very much disguised.

Life has both its bitter and its sweet. We should not always expect to have the sweet alone. Sometimes circumstances are in our favor, and work for our happiness, peace and contentment. Sometimes we have smooth sailing, and everything goes pleasantly. We are courageous and confident and rejoicing. The sun shines brightly out of a cloudless sky, and every prospect seems fair.

But this smooth sailing does not last forever. Sooner or later, the clouds must come and the storm-winds beat upon us. We must have the rough weather–as well as the pleasant weather; the storm–as well as the calm. 

The sunshine and the calm are very needful in life–and they work out a definite purpose. 
But the storms and the rain and the wind are likewise needed–and they also fulfill their purpose. 

Trials will come–we cannot evade them. We may plan and build up hopes–only to have our air-castles come crashing down around our heads! If we have set our hearts upon these things, we are likely to be very disappointed upon their wreck, and to feel very gloomy over the result.

How greatly we are affected by our trials, depends on whether or not we sweetly submit to them. We should never fret on account of disappointments. If we do, they will only grow more rapidly, both in size and in intensity.

Losses may come to us–our property may be swept away or burned up. If we have our hearts set upon our possessions–then this may touch a tender spot, and it will darken our lives and make us morose and dissatisfied. 

Poverty may come and the many difficulties incident thereto. 

Sickness may lay its heavy hand upon us or our loved ones, and try every fiber of our being. Sickness may play upon the chords of pain, a lamentation that incites with exquisite torture! Or it may fire our blood with fever until the sparkle has gone from the eye and the glow of health from the cheek. Or it may bind us helplessly captive in chains. 

Death may come and take those dear by the ties of nature or friendship–and leave sorrow and grief to be our companions.

These things try the soul, but they must be borne. We cannot escape such things, for they are the common heritage of those who dwell in tabernacles of clay. They belong to mortality and to the mutable things of time. How greatly such things may affect us, will depend upon how much we rebel against the circumstances–or how easily we submit to and adapt ourselves to God’s will. God may chasten you sorely, but He will do it for your profit, not for your destruction.

Our trials are the root upon which our blessings grow. These roots may be bitter–but the fruit is sure to be sweet, if we patiently wait for its maturing. Many choice fruits grow on thorny trees, and he who will gather the fruit, may expect to be pricked now and then by the thorns.

We cannot escape trials. The only thing some Christians do by rebelling, is to increase their suffering in the trials and prevent themselves from getting the blessedness out of them. 

We ought to be willing to suffer when it is God’s will for us to suffer, and when He sees it is necessary for us to suffer. Our Master drank the cup of suffering, even though it was bitter. Are we better than He? Shall we refuse to go by the path which led Him to glory?

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The difference between the godly and the ungodly

October 25, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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The difference between the godly and the ungodly

(James Meikle, “The Traveler” June 14, 1758)

There is a wide difference in both principle and practice, between the the godly and the ungodly. 

The affections of the godly are spiritually refined–and their desires are exalted. 
The inclinations of the ungodly are corrupt–and their desires are groveling. 

Sin has but a tottering standing, and a momentary abode–in the godly. 
But sin has fixed its throne, and taken up its eternal residence–in the ungodly. 

In the godly, grace and sin struggle for sovereignty. 
In the ungodly, sin domineers and there is no struggle. 

The godly is deeply concerned about world to come. 
The ungodly has no concern about eternal realities. 

The speech of the godly is seasoned with grace. 
The discourse of the ungodly is insipid and vain. 

The godly has his hope fixed on God. 
The ungodly has no fear of God before his eyes. 

The godly use the world without abusing it. 
The ungodly, in using the world, abuse both themselves and it. 

The godly sees God in his daily life, and rejoices in Him with his whole heart. 
The ungodly says in his practice: “There is no God!” and wishes in his heart that there were no God. 

The godly adores the Creator above all else. 
The ungodly worships the ‘creature’ more than the Creator.

The godly uses God’s name with profoundest reverence, and departs from iniquity. 
The ungodly profanes God’s name with impudence, and adds iniquity to sin. 

The godly redeems his time. 
The ungodly trifles away his time. 

The godly studies his duty in obedience to all God’s precepts. 
The ungodly shakes himself loose from every command of God. 

The godly forgives his foes. 
The ungodly lays a snare for his foes. 

The godly commits it to God to avenge wrongs done to him. 
The ungodly, fiery and tumultuous–seeks revenge. 

The godly loves purity in all things. 
The ungodly wallows in impurity. 

The godly is content with his condition. 
The ungodly covets all the day long. 

The godly is pure in heart. 
The heart of the ungodly is like a cage full of unclean birds. 

The godly walks at liberty in the ways of God. 
The ungodly is the servant and slave of sin. 

The Holy Spirit rules in the heart of the godly. 
Satan rules in the heart of the ungodly. 

The godly has his citizenship in Heaven. 
The ungodly has his citizenship in Hell. 

As there is such a wide difference in their principles and practices–so also, in their eternal destinies. 
God is faithful–He has promised felicity to the pious, and threatened vengeance to the wicked. 
“The wicked is thrust out in his wickedness; but the righteous has hope in his death.” Proverbs 14:32

The godly are under the blessing of God’s love. 
The ungodly are under the curse of God’s justice. 

The godly with joy, draw water out of the wells of salvation. 
The ungodly shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 

To the godly, pertain all the exceeding great and precious promises. 
To the ungodly, pertain all the threatenings of God. 

Heaven shall be the palace of the godly! 
Hell shall be the prison of the ungodly! 

While the godly shall dwell through eternity with God, 
the ungodly shall be driven away into everlasting darkness! 

Thus, the righteous and wicked are separated in their life, and divided in their death. They are divided . . .
  in their principles,
  in their practices, 
  in their choices,
  in their joys, 
  in their thoughts, 
  in their company,
  in their speech,
  in their fears,
  in their expectations, 
  in their death, and
  through eternity itself!

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The awesome, holy, glorious beauty of Christ!

October 24, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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The awesome, holy, glorious beauty of Christ!

(Charles Spurgeon)

Come here gracious souls, and behold the Man in the garden of Gethsemane. 

Behold His heart so brimming with love that He cannot hold it in–so full of sorrow that it must find a vent. 

Behold the Man as they drive the nails into His hands and feet. 

Look up and see the sorrowful ravishing image of your suffering Lord. 

If we would live right, it must be by the contemplation of His death. 

If we would rise to dignity, it must be by considering His humiliation and His sorrow.

The sight of Christ’s loveliness, and that alone–shows the soul its own ugliness.

The sense of the awesome, holy, glorious beauty of Christ kills pride and humbles the soul.

“Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!” Song of Solomon 5:16

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I have just been informed of the loss of your dear wife

October 23, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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I have just been informed of the loss of your dear wife

(Letters of John Berridge)

Dear friend,
I have just been informed of the loss of your dear wife. She was mortal–but she has now become immortal! Should this cause you to grieve immoderately? O that I was where she is now!

“Safe landed on that peaceful shore, 
 Where pilgrims meet to part no more.” 

She was once a mourning sinner in the wilderness–but is now a glorified saint in Zion! The Lord has become her “everlasting light, and the days of her mourning are ended!” She was once afflicted with bodily pains and weakness, encompassed with family cares, and harassed with a crowd of anxious, needless fears. She is now arrived at her Father’s house! Jesus has wiped away all tears from her eyes, and freed her in a moment from pain, and care, and fear, and want! Shall this make you sorrow, as those who have no hope?

You have not left your wife–she has only left you for a little moment. She has left her husband on earth–to dwell with her glorious Father in Heaven. She expects your arrival there soon, to join her Hallelujahs for redeeming love.

And are you still weeping? Weeping because your wife can weep no more; weeping because she is happy–eternally, gloriously happy? Are you weeping because she is joined to the blessed assembly where all are kings and priests–weeping, because she is where you would be, and long to be eternally? 

The Lord Jesus has called her home to His kingdom, to draw your soul more ardently thither! He has broken up a cistern–to bring you nearer, and keep you closer to the overflowing fountain of all felicity!

“Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.
 The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.
 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd;
 He will lead them to springs of living water.
 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes!” Revelation 7:16-17 

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Pilfering of another’s time

October 22, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Pilfering of another’s time

(Hannah More)

“Redeeming the time.” Ephesians 5:16

Christians should especially be on their guard against a spirit of idleness, and a slovenly habitual wasting of time. We must guard against a habitual frivolousness at home; and an abundance of unprofitable small-talk, idle reading, inane drowsiness, and a dull frittering away of time.

We must seriously consider: what a large portion of life we have unwisely squandered; what days and nights we have wasted, if not sinfully–yet selfishly; if not loaded with evil–yet destitute of good. In the day of judgment, the thin disguise which our treacherous heart now casts over indolence and sloth, will then be torn off.

We are guilty of the strange inconsistency of being most wasteful of what we best love–and of throwing away what we most fear to lose–that TIME of which life is made up. It is not so much a lack of time–as a wasting of our time–which prevents life from answering all the ends for which God has given it to us. Few things make us so useful in the world, as the prudent use of our precious time. 

We should not only be careful not to waste our own time–but that others do not rob us of it! The “stealing of our purse” is a serious wrong to us. But the “stealing of our time” should grieve us even more! Pilfering of another’s time is a felony for which no restitution can be made–for time is not only invaluable, but irrecoverable!

Every particle of time is valuable. No day can be insignificant–when every day is to be accounted for. Each one possesses weight and importance. What a scene will open upon us, when, from our eternal state–we shall look back on the use we have made of time–when we shall take a clear retrospect of all we have done, and all we ought to have done!

“Almighty God, I adore Your infinite patience, which has not cut me off in the midst of my follies. Let me no longer abuse that precious treasure, time. Let me bid adieu to all those vain amusements, those trifling entertainments and sinful diversions–which have robbed me of many valuable hours. Let me no longer waste my time in ease and pleasure, in unprofitable studies and conversation; but grant, that by moderation and temperance in my enjoyments, I may be able to give a good account of it in the day of judgment, and be accepted in and through the merits of Jesus Christ, my only mediator and advocate. Amen.”

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 

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Upon that short time, eternity depends!

October 21, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Upon that short time, eternity depends!

(Jeremy Taylor)

“You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning–though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered.” Psalm 90:5-6 

“The length of our days is seventy years–or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” Psalm 90:10 

God has given to man a short time here on earth–and yet upon that short time, eternity depends!

“So teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 

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Our true, abiding home!

October 20, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Our true, abiding home!

(David Harsha, “The Savior’s Ascension”) 

Heaven is now our true, abiding home. 

While on earth we are strangers and pilgrims, far from our final rest. And while such is our condition here, should we not often think of our heavenly home? Should not Heaven attract us more and more as we journey through life? 

Shall we still cleave to earth, since Christ has obtained eternal salvation for us, and passed into the heavens to prepare a way for our entrance into those unending joys in the presence of God? 

Oh, let our best affections be placed on those spiritual and divine things above. 

Let the noblest aspirations of our minds be after a more intimate knowledge of Jesus. 

Let us look beyond this valley of tears and keep our eyes fixed on that better country . . .
  where the Savior ever reigns in glorious majesty;
  where the fountains of bliss ever flow;
  where the tree of life ever spreads its delightful shade, and yields its immortal fruits; 
  where all is unending joy, and love, and peace and felicity! 

Let our hearts be more and more disentangled from the cares and temptations of the present life.
Let us live in the world as those who are not of it; as those whose treasure is in Heaven, and whose hearts are there also. 

The nearer a Christian comes to Heaven, the less he loves or esteems this present world. 

May our affections rise heavenward, endeavoring to bring the realities of future, eternal things more vividly before our minds, and to realize our interest in them. 

O my soul, rise above these earthly scenes; and, on the wings of faith, soar to the realms of the blessed, where Jesus is enthroned in unspeakable glory–reigning as my life, my hope, and my treasure! 

“Blessed Jesus, we beseech You to show us Your glory, and to raise our hearts, our hopes, and our desires, to that blessed world to which You have ascended. O may our souls be daily rising, in holy thought, towards our home where the ransomed of the Lord shall forever obtain joy and gladness. May our thoughts become heavenly, and our hearts be attuned to those songs with which the arches of Heaven shall resound to all eternity! O my Savior, wean my heart from earth, and enable me to place my affection on things above!”

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Idiots catching flies!

October 19, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Idiots catching flies!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” Ecclesiastes 1:2 

Most people are not seeking to escape from the wrath to come–they are busy in worldly things while Hell is near them. They are like idiots catching flies on board a ship which is in the very act of sinking! We see them busy adorning their bodies, when their soul is in ruin. They are like a man painting the front door, when the house is in flames! 

Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things. 
They will hunt the phantom of wealth, 
they will travel the pathways of fame, 
they will dig into the mines of knowledge, 
they will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin.
Finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they still continue their fruitless search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except that of everlasting disappointment–yet they press forward with much ardor. 

Living for today is enough for them–that they are still alive, that they possess present comforts and present enjoyments–this contents the many. 

As for the future, they say, “Let it take care of itself.” 

As for eternity, they leave others to care for its realities; the present life is enough for them. 

Their motto is, “Let us feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

They have no forethought for their eternal state–the present hour absorbs them. 

Carnal minds pursue earth’s vanities with all their might; and when they are wearied in their pursuit they but change their direction, and continue the idle chase. They turn to another and another of earth’s broken cisterns, hoping to find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet! 

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

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It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

October 18, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

(Matthew Mead, “Falling into the Hands of the Living God!” 1629-1699)

“It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!” Hebrews 10:31 

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God, because, as He is the all-knowing and Almighty God–so He is the just and righteous God; and will be so forever, for He is the living God. His righteousness and justice are everlasting–and this makes Hell so dreadful.

As it is the great comfort of believers to have such a Mediator and Surety, such a high priest to live forever to make intercession for them–so this is the great misery of lost sinners: to fall into the hands of that God, who ever lives to avenge Himself on their unbelief and rebellion. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God . . .
  who knows all their sins, 
  who is so holy–that He must punish them, 
  who is so powerful–that He can punish them, 
  who is so just–that He does punish all impenitent sinners forever!

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Christ takes the garbage!

October 17, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

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Christ takes the garbage!

(Charles Spurgeon, “The Meek and Lowly One”)

Jewelers can only prepare and polish the choicest diamonds. 
But Jesus Christ polishes a common pebble, and makes a jewel of it!

Jewelers make their precious treasures, out of precious materials.
Christ makes His precious things, out of dross!

He always begins with bad material. Christ takes . . .
  the despicable,
  the vilest,
  the scum,
  the off-scouring,
  the filth,
  the garbage of the world,
and out of such stuff and matter as that, He builds up a holy temple, and gathers to Himself trophies for His honor and praise!

“Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And that is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

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In a few years

October 15, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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In a few years

(Thomas Chalmers, 1780-1847)

“For we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow.” Job 8:9 

“He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.” Job 14:2 

“Only a few years will pass before I go on the journey of no return!” Job 16:22 

“My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.” Psalm 102:11 

“Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.” Psalm 144:4 

How transient is human life–yet no one lays it to heart. With the magnificence of eternity before us–let fleeting time, with all its fluctuations, dwindle into its own littleness.

In a few years our heads will be laid in the cold grave, and the green turf will cover us. The children who come after us will tread upon our graves.

They will weep for us a few days.

They will talk of us a few months.

They will remember us a few years.

Then our memory shall disappear from the face of the earth, and not a tongue shall be found to recall it!

The character with which we sink into the grave at death–is the very character with which we shall reappear at the final judgment!

“O God, impress upon me the value of time–and give regulation to all my thoughts and to all my actions. O God, help me to live for Your glory. As the years roll over me, may I withdraw my affections from time, and feel that in moving through the world, I am moving toward eternity!”

“So teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

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The principle of iniquity is embedded in the human race

October 14, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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The principle of iniquity is embedded in the human race

(John MacArthur)

The Bible is absolutely crystal clear that all children are sinners from conception…all children. The principle of iniquity is embedded in the human race. Children are born morally corrupt. They are born with an irresistible bent toward evil. And any notion that children are born morally neutral and free from a predisposition to sin is absolutely contrary to Scripture.

All humans are born in sin. If infants were not sinful, if they were not morally corrupt, then they wouldn’t die. If they were born innocent or pure or morally neutral there would be no basis for their death. The very fact that they die indicates that the disease of sin is there in them because sin is the killer. It is in their inherited sin nature that the seeds of death are planted.

   ~  ~  ~  ~

“The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Genesis 6:5 

” . . . every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.” Genesis 8:21 

“The LORD looks down from Heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one!” Psalm 14:2-3

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me!” Psalm 51:5 

“Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.” Psalm 58:3 

“There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” Ecclesiastes 7:20 

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked!” Jeremiah 17:9 

“All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one!” Romans 3:12

“Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” Ephesians 2:3 

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We see hands and feet and side, all pouring forth crimson streams of precious blood!

October 13, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

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We see hands and feet and side, all pouring forth crimson streams of precious blood!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“The precious blood of Christ!” 1 Peter 1:19

Standing at the foot of the cross, we see hands and feet and side, all pouring forth crimson streams of precious blood! 

Christ’s blood is precious because of its redeeming and atoning efficacy. By it, all the sins of all Christ’s people are atoned for!

Christ’s blood is also precious in its cleansing power. “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin!” “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”

Through Jesus’ blood, there is not a spot left upon any believer–no wrinkle nor any such thing remains. Oh, precious cleansing blood–which removes the stains of abundant iniquity, and allows us to stand accepted in the Beloved, notwithstanding the many ways in which we have rebelled against our God.

The blood of Christ is likewise precious in its preserving power. Under the sprinkled blood, we are safe from the destroying angel. Remember that it is God’s seeing the blood, which is the true reason for our being spared. Here is comfort for us when the eye of faith is dim, for God’s eye is still the same.

The blood of Christ is precious also in its sanctifying influence. The same blood that justifies by taking away sin–quickens the new nature and leads it onward to subdue sin and to follow out the commands of God. 

There is no motive for holiness so great, as that which streams from the veins of Jesus!

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A flower that will adorn any garden!

October 12, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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A flower that will adorn any garden!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 

Humiliation of soul always brings a positive blessing with it. 
If we empty our hearts of self–then God will fill them with His love. 

Stoop, if you would climb to Heaven. You must grow downward, that you may grow upward. The sweetest fellowship with Heaven is to be had by humble souls, and by them alone. God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven”–along with all its riches and treasures!

God blesses us all up to the full measure of what it is safe for Him to do. If you do not get a particular blessing–it is because it is not safe for you to have it! If our heavenly Father were to let your unhumbled spirit win a victory in His holy war–you would pilfer the crown for yourself! And meeting with a fresh enemy, you would fall a victim. He keeps you low for your own safety.

When a man is sincerely humble and never ventures to touch so much as a grain of the praise–there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him. Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace, and fits us to deal efficiently with our fellow men. 

True humility is a flower that will adorn any garden! Whether it is prayer or praise, whether it is work or suffering–the genuine salt of humility cannot be used in excess.

“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another–because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time!” 1 Peter 5:5-6 

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I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God!

October 11, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God!” Psalm 90:1-2 

The Christian knows no change with regard to God. 

He himself may be rich today–and poor tomorrow, 
he may be sickly today–and well tomorrow, 
he may be in happiness today–tomorrow he may be distressed;
but there is never any change with regard to his relationship to God.

If He loved me yesterday–then He loves me today. My unmoving mansion of rest, is my blessed Lord.

Let prospects be ruined,
let hopes be blasted,
let joy be withered,
let mildews destroy everything–
I have lost nothing of what I have in God. He is “my strong habitation where unto I can continually resort.” I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet habitation.

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign LORD is my strength!” Habakkuk 3:17-19

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The malady–the misery–the shame of our whole race!

September 19, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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The malady–the misery–the shame of our whole race! 

(Henry Law, “The Sin Offering“)

“He must bring to the Lord a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.” Leviticus 4:3

SIN! 

The sound is brief–but it presents a dark abyss of thought. 
No mind can trace its birth–no eye can see its death. 
Before the worlds it scaled the heavens, and dragged angels down. 
In life’s first dawn it entered Eden and slew innocence. 
It ends not with the end of time. 
It ever rolls on in its ever-deepening course.

Reader, think much of sin!

It is earth’s death-blow. 
It marred the beauty of a beauteous world, and stripped it of its lovely robe. 
It caused the soil to harden, and the leaves to wither and decay. 
It turned fertility into weeds, and armed the brier with its bristling thorns. 
It made the clouds to blacken, and the storm to rage. 
It raised the tempest’s roar, and plumed the lightning with its forked wings. 
It placed its foot upon a perfect workmanship, and left it a disordered wreck!

Reader, think much of sin!

It is man’s ruin. 
Its most tremendous blight fell on our inner life. 
It drove the soul from peaceful fellowship with God. 
It changed the loving child into a hardened rebel. 
It robbed the mind of light. 
It rendered reason a bewildered maze. 
It made the heart . . .
  a nest of unclean birds; 
  a spring of impure streams; 
  a whirlpool of tumultuous passions; 
  a hot-bed of ungodly lusts; 
  a den of God-defying schemes! 

It is the malady–the misery–the shame of our whole race! 
It is the spring of every tear! 
Each sigh which rends the bosom;
each frown which ploughs the brow;
each pain which racks the limbs–are cradled in its arms. 

It is the mother of that mighty monster–death!
It digs each grave in every grave-yard. 
Each widow and each orphan tastes its gall. 
It fills each hospital with the sick. 
It strews the battlefield with the slain. 
It is the core in every grief.
It is the worm which gnaws the root of peace.

Reader, think much of sin!

Its terrible destructions do not die in the grave. 
There is a region where its full-blown torments reign. 
It built the prison-house of Hell. 
It kindled quenchless flames.
It forged the chains which bind lost sinners to their burning beds. 
It sharpened the undying sting of an upbraiding conscience. 
It arms the jailer–Satan, with his scourge. 
It bars the hopeless in that outer darkness, where . . .
  weeping ever weeps,
  and wailing ever wails,
  and teeth forever gnash,
  and all is woe, which knows neither respite nor end.

Reader, think much of sin!

It works this bitter and eternal anguish, because God’s curse attends it. 
It raised a rebel-hand against His will. 
It dared to violate His holy law. 
It strove to lay His honor in the dust.
It trampled on the statute-book of heaven. 
Therefore God’s anger fiercely burns against it. 
Hence every misery follows in its succession. 
He must be wretched, who has God against him!

Reader, here is a picture in which all horrors meet! 
Regard it with an earnest eye. 
No fiction colors it. 
No power can over-paint the terrible reality.
No artist’s skill can represent a flame. 
The dreadful truth exceeds description. 
The lost writhe out eternity in fully learning the deserts of sin!

Reader, receive the soul-reviving voice: Though sin is death, the sinner need not die. 
There is a fortress of escape. 
There is a remedy to heal these wounds. 
What though your sins are as countless as the sands? They all may disappear. 
What though the dye of each sin is double crimson? Each may be washed away. 
The filth may all be cleansed. 
The debts may be wiped out. 
The soul may meet Jehovah’s eye without one stain. 
There is a way, by which the vilest may stand pure.
God’s love decreed a plan. 
He willed a ransom, and His Son achieved it. 

Let us draw nearer to the amazing sight!

Each sin must bear its merited load of woe. 
Each curse must be endured. 
Each violation of the holy law must drink the dregs of condemnation. 

Jesus comes forth to help! 
The guiltless One takes the guilty place. 
The God-man represents His chosen flock. 
He stands as their complete sin-offering. 
He pays in anguish and in blood, their every due. 
Their wrath is endured. 
Their penalties are paid. 
Their sufferings are suffered. 
Their agonies are agonized. 
The saving work requires infinity of woe. Infinity of woe is borne by Him. 
His Deity enables–His manhood qualifies. 
Thus their sin is fully punished–thus the redeemed are fully saved!

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Do we have any evidence that we really intend to go there?

September 18, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Do we have any evidence that we really intend to go there?

(John Owen)

We all profess that we are bound for Heaven, immortality and glory. But do we have any evidence that we really intend to go there–if all our thoughts are consumed about the trifles of this world, which we must leave behind us–and have only occasional thoughts of things above?

“If then you were raised with Christ–seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above–not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears–then you also will appear with Him in glory!” Colossians 3:1-4

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Imitate the pearl oyster!

September 17, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Imitate the pearl oyster!

(Charles Spurgeon, “Love’s Labors”)

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13

I wish, brothers and sisters, that we could all imitate the pearl oyster. A hurtful particle intrudes itself into its shell, and this vexes and grieves it. The oyster cannot reject the evil–but it ‘covers’ it with a precious substance extracted out of its own life, by which it turns the intruder into a pearl!

Oh, that we could do so with the provocations we receive from our fellow Christians–so that pearls of patience, gentleness, and forgiveness might be bred within us, by that which otherwise would have harmed us!

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 

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The choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian!

September 16, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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The choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian!

Thomas Manton: “What is the reason that there is so much preaching, and so little practice? For lack of meditation. The end of study is information–and the end of meditation is practice, or kindling of the affections. The end of study is to hoard up truth. The end of meditation to lay it forth in holy conduct. To hear sermons and not to meditate upon them, is unfruitful. We may hear and hear, but it is like putting a thing into a bag with holes!”

Thomas Brooks: “It is not the bee’s touching of the flower which gathers honey, but her abiding for a time upon the flower which draws out the sweet. Just so, it is not he who reads most, but he who meditates most–who will prove to be the choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian!” 

William Bridge: “Meditation will keep your hearts and souls from sinful thoughts. When the vessel is full, you can put in no more. If the heart is full of sinful thoughts–then there is no room for holy and heavenly thoughts. If the heart is full of holy and heavenly thoughts by meditation–then there is no room for evil and sinful thoughts.” 

William Plumer: “Without meditation grace never thrives, prayer is languid, praise is dull, and religious duties are unprofitable. It is easier to hear a year of sermons–than to spend an hour in close, devout, profitable thoughts on divine things.”

George Muller: “It often astonishes me that I did not see the importance of meditation upon Scripture earlier in my Christian life. We must consider what we read, ponder over it, and apply it to our hearts. The most important thing I do, is to read the Word of God and to meditate on it. Thus my heart might is comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved and instructed.”

Thomas Watson: “The reason we come away so cold from reading the Word, is because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation. Without meditation, the truths which we know will never affect our hearts. As a hammer drives a nail to the head, so mediation drives a truth to the heart. Read before you meditate. Reading furnishes with matter–it is the oil which feeds the lamp of meditation. Be sure your mediations are founded upon Scripture. Reading without meditation is barren and unfruitful; meditation without reading is dangerous.”

Charles Spurgeon: “Some people like to read so many chapters every day. I would not dissuade them from the practice, but I would rather let my soul soak in half a dozen verses all day, than rinse my hand in several chapters. Oh, to be bathed in a text of Scripture, and to let it be sucked up into your very soul, till it saturates your heart! Set your heart upon God’s Word! Let your whole nature be plunged into it as a cloth into a dye!”

William Bridge: 
“By meditation, your knowledge is raised. 
By meditation, your memory is strengthened. 
By meditation, your hearts are warmed. 
By meditation, you will be freed from sinful thoughts. 
By meditation, your hearts will be tuned to every duty. 
By meditation, you will grow in grace. 
By meditation, you will fill up all the chinks and crevices of your lives, and know how to spend your spare time profitably. 
By meditation, you will draw good out of evil. 
By meditation, you will converse with God, and enjoy God.”

Philip Henry: “It is easier to walk six miles to hear a sermon, than to spend one quarter of an hour in meditating upon it when I come home.”

Arthur Pink: “Meditation upon the Word of God is one of the most important of all the means of grace and growth in spirituality, yes there can be no true progress in vital and practical godliness without it. Meditation on Divine things is not optional but obligatory, for it is something which God has commanded us to attend unto.”

   “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8 

   “But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His Law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:2 

   “I meditate on Your precepts, and consider Your ways.” Psalm 119:15 

   “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” Psalm 119:97 

   “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on Your promises.” Psalm 119:148

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Would any do this but a madman?

September 15, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Would any do this but a madman?

(David Clarkson, “Hypocritical Religion” 1622-1686)

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them: ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” Matthew 7:21-23

Many professors cannot judge of the face of their soul–whether the features of Heaven or Hell are on it. They dislike looking in the mirror of the Word–lest the visage of their soul, truly represented, should trouble them. 

Satan blinds one eye, self-love closes the other, and the deceitfulness of sin seals both! It is no wonder that they imagine themselves on the way to Heaven, when they are on the high road to Hell. 

When the blind leads the blind, you know what the outcome will be! It is no wonder that they think they shall be safe ashore in Heaven and their feet near the very banks of happiness–at that very moment they are falling into the bottomless pit!

Most professors simply assume that they shall go to Heaven–when, alas, they have no ground for such an assumption, but what Satan suggests, or their own deceitful hearts prompt them. And thus they hang the whole weight of eternity upon a cobweb! Thus, they pin the everlasting concerns of their souls upon a shadow, as though it would hang there safe enough, where it can have no hold at all. 

Would any do this but a madman? What! Trust without verifying, in a matter of eternal consequence to body and soul?

Many promise themselves Heaven–when nothing but Hell is reserved for them!

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Faithfulness in littles

September 14, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Faithfulness in littles

(John Colwell, “Little Foxes; The Little Sins That Mar the Christian Character” 1882)

“Catch the foxes–the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes!” Song of Songs 2:15 

The little things of life are most important. Those who affect to despise the importance of little things, are in danger of becoming little people. Certainly no great man will ever do so. He will the rather prove his greatness by a hearty recognition of the truth of the wise saying, “He who despises little things, shall fall little by little.”

The Great Teacher drew some of His most beautiful and important lessons from little things–such as little flowers, little birds, little dew-drops, little children. He insisted on faithfulness in littles.

My friend, life is great because it is the aggregation of littles.

As the coral reefs which rear themselves high above the crawling sea beneath, are all made up of minute skeletons of microscopic animalcules; so life, mighty and solemn as having eternal consequences; life that hangs over the sea of eternity–is made up of these minute incidents, of these trifling duties, of these small tasks. Only those who are faithful in the least are, or can be, faithful in the whole.

Little things make either . . .
  the joy–or the sorrow, 
  the success–or the ruin, 
  the safety–or the danger, 
  the grandeur–or the smallness
–of human life. 

Illustrations of this principle abound:

     Little neglects lead to great ruin. 

     Little precautions lead to great safety. 

     Little wastings make great losses. 

     Little savings make great gains. 

     Little troubles make us miserable. 

     Little virtues make us godly. 

     Little vices make us wicked.

Therefore, says inspired Wisdom, “Catch the foxes–the little foxes that spoil the vines,” which is equivalent to saying, “I know you will keep out the more hateful and destructive full-grown foxes, by stopping up all the large holes in the vineyard fence. Your danger lies in overlooking the smaller gaps by which the little foxes may enter, and thus spoil your vines by robbing them of the tender grapes.” 

How forcibly may this advice be urged upon Christian people! They will be almost certain to secure their character against the intrusion of shameful vices, destructive sins, and great scandals. But are they always so careful to stop the smaller breaches in the fence of their Christian character against the little foxes, lesser sins, smaller vices, and trifling moral blemishes which, nevertheless, spoil the loveliness and nobility of their lives? Judging from observation and experience, I fear not.

In this book, we will point out some “little foxes” that do much damage in the Christian vineyard, and invite our readers to hunt them down!

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True excellency!

September 13, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

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True excellency!

(Jonathan Edwards)

Worldly men imagine that there is true excellency and true happiness in those things which they are pursuing. They think that if they could but obtain them, that they would be happy. But when they obtain them, and cannot find happiness–then they look for happiness in something else, and are still upon the futile pursuit.

There is a transcendent glory, and an ineffable sweetness in Christ.

Jesus Christ has true excellency, and so great an excellency, that when you come to truly see Him, you look no further, but your mind rests there.

You see that you had been pursuing shadows, but now you have found the substance.

You realize that you had been seeking happiness in the stream, but now you have found the ocean.

The excellency of Christ is an object adequate to the natural cravings of the soul, and is sufficient to fill its capacity.

Christ has an infinite excellency, such as the mind desires, in which it can find no bounds.
The more the mind contemplates Him, the more excellent does He appear.

Each new discovery of Christ makes His beauty appear more ravishing, and the mind can see no end to His excellency. There is room enough for the mind to go deeper and deeper, and never come to the bottom.

Christ’s excellency is always fresh and new, and will as much delight us after we have beheld Him a thousand, or ten thousand years–as when we have seen Him the first moment.

The soul is exceedingly ravished when it first looks on the beauty of Christ. It is never weary of Him.

“His mouth is most sweet, Yes, He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!” Song of Songs 5:16 

“Put the beauty of ten thousand worlds of paradises, like the Garden of Eden in one; put all trees, all flowers, all fragrances, all colors, all tastes, all joys, all loveliness, all sweetness in one. O what a lovely and excellent thing would that be! And yet it would be less compared to our dearest well-beloved Christ–than one drop of rain compared to the whole seas, rivers, and lakes of ten thousand earths.” Samuel Rutherford

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Though it is less bestial–yet is it more diabolical!

September 12, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Though it is less bestial–yet is it more diabolical!

(Matthew Mead, 1629-1699)

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless, who takes His name in vain!” Exodus 20:7

Another provoking sin which is widespread among us, is using the most holy name of the majestic God in vain. 

This is a sin less excusable than debauchery, because I do not know any sense which is gratified with it. Though it is less bestial–yet is it more diabolical! O the horrid blasphemies which are daily belched out by the black-mouthed sons of Belial! A person is so likely to hear the name of God blasphemed, that he cannot walk the streets of the city without stopping his ears. The life, the blood, the wounds of our dear and precious Lord, are tossed to and fro by the mouths of wretched swearers. Truly, their tongues are set on fire by Hell! We wonder that they do not set our whole nation on flame! 

The polluted breath of these wretches, has infected the very air we breathe! When men shall set themselves purposely to swear, and devise new blasphemies–what possible excuse do they have for this? 

They are not ashamed to own themselves as the devil’s vassals, and they dance in his chains while others hear their damnable cackling. What other design can these swaggering sinners have in such vile behavior–but audaciously to affront the great Majesty of Heaven and earth, in the vilest manner they are capable of!

Ah, besotted wretches–can your mind find no other way to vent your malice on any other object? Do you have no other or cheaper way to eternally condemn yourselves? Are you afraid that you will miss entering Hell? What did you mean by your blasphemies–to dare God to His face? Would you force Him to give you a convincing evidence of His wrath? If so, I hope you are satisfied by this time–but if not, you shall be shortly. 

Were you resolved to see how far His patience would extend? Did you fear that He is so merciful, that you would never feel His wrath? Or were you in such haste to be with your everlasting companions, the devils and the damned–that you thought your judgment lingered, and damnation slumbered, and would therefore do your best to hasten it? Or were you so fully bent on the satisfaction of your lusts–that you were resolved to pursue them, even to the burning Lake of Fire? 

Are you resolute to do all that you can before-hand–to outrage that God, who will treat you so severely in Hell? Or are you now getting used to the language of Hell, that you might not have to learn it when you are thrown there? 

Shall we wonder when such rebels have risen up against the Lord–if He grows jealous for His great Name–and rises, and vindicates His glory and power from the contemptuous affronts of insolent mortals!

Yes, how many roaring swearers have we got, who, as if they were already entered into familiarity with devils, make nothing of it to curse themselves to the pit of Hell in their common discourse! They can scarcely speak a sentence without their abominable blasphemies. Were their tongues plucked out by the roots–it would be a small punishment in no way suited to the heinousness of their crimes! 

Let them stay a while longer in their contempt of God and His threatenings. They shall too soon find to their sorrow–that all their accursed curses are accomplished! The devil, whom they have so often wished to fetch them, shall very shortly have that commission which he eagerly waits for! Then let them say whether the dreadful God is to be jested with and blasphemed!

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What a treasure!

September 11, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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What a treasure! 

(Thomas Reade)

“His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night!” Psalm 1:2

What a treasure is the Word of God!

Here we have: 
  Light, to dissipate our darkness. 
  Truth, to guide us amid the mazes of error. 
  Consolations, to gladden us in a world of misery.

The Bible is . . . 
  the Revelation of our Father’s love; 
  the Expression of Jehovah’s grace to sinners; 
  the Depository of heavenly blessings; 
  the Charter of our highest privileges; 
  the Religion of true Christians; 
  the Glory of our churches; 
  the poor man’s Friend.

Everything sublime in conception, and tender in expression–is to be found in the sacred Scriptures.

The Eternal Jehovah has there revealed Himself as . . . 
  clothed with majesty and honor; 
  glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders; 
  of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; 
  in whose sight the heavens are not clean.

In the sacred Scriptures, He has manifested His glory–as mighty to save, forgiving iniquity transgression and sin.

In that blessed volume, Mercy is seen to arrest the arm of Justice–and all the tenderness of the Father is displayed in the person of the adorable Son.

Love breathes throughout its sacred pages!

“Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long!” Psalm 119:97

“When your Words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight!” Jeremiah 15:16

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When He strikes us–as well as when He strokes us!

September 10, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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When He strikes us–as well as when He strokes us! 

(Abraham Wright, 1611-1690)

“You have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He disciplines everyone He accepts as a son.” Hebrews 12:5-6 

We may feel God’s hand as a Father upon us, when He strikes us–as well as when He strokes us! 

What fools are we, then, to frown upon our afflictions! These, however difficult, are our best friends. 

They are not indeed for our pleasure–they are for our profit. I am . . .
  mended by my sickness,
  enriched by my poverty, and
  strengthened by my weakness!

“God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:10-11

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When God sent him to school to the swine-trough!

September 9, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

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When God sent him to school to the swine-trough!

(Thomas Case, “The Rod and the Word, A Treatise on Afflictions” 1653)

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied–then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” Deuteronomy 8:10-14 

In the school of affliction, God teaches us how to prize our outward mercies and comforts more–and yet to dote upon them less. We are taught to be more thankful for them–and yet  less ensnared by them. 

Naturally we are very prone either to slight or to surfeit God’s blessings. And yet (sad to consider) we can often do both at once! We can undervalue our mercies–even while we glut ourselves with them! We can despise them–even when we are surfeiting upon them. 

Behold while men fill themselves with the mercies of God–they can neglect the God of their mercies! When God is most liberal in remembering us–then we are most ungrateful to forget Him. Therefore that we may know how to put a due estimate upon mercies–God may cut them off, that we may learn to prize by the lack of mercies, that which our foolish unthankful hearts slighted in the enjoyment of them. 

Now this ungrateful distemper, God many times cures by the sharp corrosive of affliction!

Thus the prodigal, who while yet at home could despise the rich and well furnished table of his father; when God sent him to school to the swine-trough–would have gladly filled his belly with the pods which he was feeding to the swine! 

When months and years of God’s mercies and blessings are passed through–we scarcely take one grateful view of them; we seldom send up one thankful prayer to God for them. We pass by our mercies as common things, scarcely worth the owning. Whereas in times of famine–the lees and dregs of those mercies will be precious, which while the vessel ran full and fresh, we could hardly relish. In famine the very gleanings of our comforts are better than the whole vintage in the years of plenty!

In the withdrawing of common mercies–God will teach us their inestimable worth.

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The family disease!

September 8, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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The family disease!

(J.C. Ryle)

“He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves, that they were righteous.” Luke 18:9 

The sin which our Lord here denounces, is “self-righteousness.”

We are all naturally self-righteous. It is the family disease of all the children of Adam. From the highest to the lowest–we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We secretly flatter ourselves that we are not as bad as some, and that we have something to merit the favor of God.

We forget the plain testimony of Scripture:
  “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”
  “What is man, that he could be pure; or one born of woman, that he could be righteous?”
  “There is no one righteous, not even one!”

The true cure for self-righteousness, is self-knowledge. Once let the eyes of our understanding be opened by the Spirit–and we shall talk no more of our own goodness. Once let us see what sin there is in our own hearts, and what the holy law of God requires–and self-conceit will die. We shall lay our hand on our mouths, and cry with the leper, “Unclean, unclean!” Leviticus  13:45

“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:32

“Christ died for the ungodly!” Romans 5:6

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We would be forever contented with the garlic and flesh-pots of Egypt!

September 7, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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We would be forever contented with the garlic and flesh-pots of Egypt!

(Thomas Case, “The Rod and the Word, A Treatise on Afflictions” 1653)

One lesson which God teaches us in the school of affliction, is how to prize and long for Heaven. In our prosperity, “when we wash our steps in butter, and the rock pours us out rivers of oil” (Job 29:6)–we could sit down with the present world, and say, “It is good for us to be here; let us build dwellings here.”

While life is sweet–then death is bitter. 

Heaven itself is no enticement–while the world gives us her alluring baits. 

But when poverty and imprisonment, reproach and persecution, sickness and sore diseases–pinch and vex our hearts with a variety of afflictions–then we are not so fond of the creature, and are pleased to parley with death, and take Heaven into our consideration.

God by putting us into the school of affliction, takes off our hearts by degrees from this present world, and makes us look homeward. Being burdened, we groan–and with the dove we return to the ark, when the world is sinking round about us. 

We would be forever contented with the garlic and flesh-pots of Egypt–if God did not set cruel taskmasters over us to double our burdens. And when God thus lessens our esteem of the world–He reveals to us the excellency of heavenly comforts, and draws out the desires of the soul to Himself: 
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1-2
“Even so, come Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:20

Afflictions make Heaven appear as Heaven indeed! 

To the weary, Heaven is rest; 
to the banished, it is home; 
to the scorned and reproached, it is glory;
to the captive, it is liberty; 
to the soldier, it is victory;
to the hungry, it is hidden manna; 
to the thirsty, it is the fountain of life; 
to the grieved, it is fullness of joy; and 
to the mourner, it is pleasures forevermore. 
In a word, to those who have lain upon the dunghill of affliction, and walked in holiness–Heaven is the throne on which they shall sit and reign with Christ forever and ever!

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That Man of sorrows, is the Savior of the world!

September 6, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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That Man of sorrows, is the Savior of the world!

(Gardiner Spring)

O! Who was it that suffered?  What did He suffer?  For whom did He suffer? 

Think of Him–the Father’s fellow, and the church’s Beloved. 

Think of the Garden and the Cross, and see how they demonstrate on the one hand, the enormity of our guilt; and on the other, the force of His almighty love. 

Think of the debased and abject character of those for whom He died–depraved men, and the enemies of God! 

That Man of sorrows, is the Savior of the world! 

That naked, bleeding victim–is the mighty Conqueror of death and Hell! 

O what triumphs of love and of holiness were there, when . . .
  the earth trembled;
  and the sun grew dark;
  and the veil of the temple was rent in twain;
  and the rocks broke asunder;
  and the graves gave up their dead;
  and Hell itself was moved with terror;
  and the Great Redeemer exclaimed, “It is finished!” 

Christ is precious to all who believe!

Abraham “rejoiced to see Christ’s day, and he saw it and was glad.”

Moses esteemed Him more precious than all the treasures of Egypt.

David esteemed Him “fairer than the children of men.”

The Church in her divine songs speaks of Him . . . 
  as the “rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys;” 
  as “the chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely One;”
  and as the One whom “her soul loves.”

The wise men of the East adored Him.

Simeon took Him up in his arms, and said, “Now Lord, let you your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation!”

And to holy men wherever found, Jesus is precious! 
“The upright love You!” 
“Whom having not seen, you love.” 
“To you who believe, He is precious!”

In all your duties and trials–He will be precious.

When the world loses its charms–He will become more glorious and lovely than ever. 

When death invades–He will become its mighty conqueror.

When you sleep beneath the clods of the valley–He will be the resurrection and the life. 

When the books shall be opened, and small and great shall stand before God, and the precious Savior shall come in the clouds, and you shall go to be forever with the Lord–He shall be doubly precious, and more and more precious through interminable ages!

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Revelation 5:12 

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Rich in meditation–rich in grace!

September 5, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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Rich in meditation–rich in grace!

(Thomas Case, “The Rod and the Word, A Treatise on Afflictions” 1653)

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2 

Take heed of feeding your heart’s corruption with thoughts of the sweetness that is in sin.

Take heed also, of starving grace by withdrawing from it suitable nourishment. 

Meditate much upon . . .
  the sinfulness of sin, 
  the vanity of the creature, 
  the fullness of Christ, 
  the exquisiteness of His sufferings, 
  the finality of the judgment, 
  the torments of Hell, 
  the joys of Heaven, 
  the infinite perfections of the divine nature, 
  and the solemnity of eternity!

Rich in meditation–rich in grace!

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8 

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They hope that they shall not have two Hells!

September 4, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

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They hope that they shall not have two Hells! 

(Thomas Case, “The Rod and the Word, A Treatise on Afflictions” 1653)

Because men suffer in this world–they assume they shall be freed from sufferings in the world to come. 
Because they have a Hell here–they imagine that they shall escape Hell hereafter. 

They hope that they shall not have two Hells! 

Poor, deluded soul! You may and must have two Hells. Cain, and Judas, and millions of reprobate men and women, have two Hells–one in this life, in torments of body–and another in the life to come, in unquenchable fire. 

You may have a prison on earth–and a dungeon in Hell. 
You may now lack a crumb of bread–and hereafter lack a drop of water. 
You may now be the reproach of men–and hereafter the scorn of God Himself. 

Affliction alone is not enough to evidence a man to be a saved man. Blows may sooner break the neck, than the heart! Afflictions are in themselves, the fruit of divine wrath–and therefore cannot possibly of themselves make the least argument of God’s love to the soul. 

God forbid that a man should take that for his security from Hell–which may be but the foretaste of Hell! Present afflictions, may be the pledge of endless misery.

In many cases it is to be feared that the cup of affliction, is a vial of wrath–and that the plagues of this life, are but some drops of that coming storm of fire and brimstone, wherein impenitent sinners shall be scorched and tormented forever!

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