Tag Archives: Daily Christian Quotes

The greatest sinner that you know!

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The greatest sinner that you know!

(William Law, “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life“)

“This is a true saying, and worthy of all acceptance: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’–and I am the worst of them all.” 1 Timothy 1:15 

You may truly look upon yourself to be the greatest sinner that you know in the world. For though you may know many people to be guilty of some gross sins with which you cannot charge yourself–yet you may justly condemn yourself as the greatest sinner that you know, because you know more of the folly of your own heart, than you do of other people’s hearts. You can charge yourself with various sins, that only you know of yourself, and cannot be sure that others are guilty of them. 

So that as you know more of the folly, the degradation, the pride, the deceitfulness and vileness of your own heart, than you do of any one’s else–so you have just reason to consider yourself as the greatest sinner that you know; because you know more of the greatness of your own sins, than you do of other people’s sins. 

God Almighty knows greater sinners than you are; because He sees and knows the circumstances of all men’s sins. But your own heart, if it is faithful to you, can discover no guilt so great as your own.

Perhaps that person who appears so odious in your eyes, would have been much better than you are–had he been altogether in your circumstances, and received all the same favors and graces from God that you have. And therefore the greatest sinner that you know, must be yourself.

This is a very humbling thought. 

A serious and frequent reflection upon this will mightily tend to . . .
  humble us in our own eyes, 
  make us very sensible of the greatness of our own guilt, 
  and very tender in censuring and condemning other people.

This alone is the vexed soul’s refuge!

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This alone is the vexed soul’s refuge!

(Horatius Bonar, 1808-1889)

“In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge!” Colossians 2:3

The one true resting-place where doubt and weariness, the stings of a pricking conscience, and the longings of an unsatisfied soul would all be quieted–is Christ Himself!
 
Not the church, but Christ. 

Not doctrine, but Christ. 

Not religious forms and ceremonies, but Christ. 

Christ the God-man . . .
  giving His life for ours,
  sealing the everlasting covenant, and
  making peace for us through the blood of His cross!

Christ the divine storehouse of all light and truth, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge! 

Christ the infinite vessel–the enlightener, the teacher, the quickener, the comforter–so that out of His fullness we may receive grace upon grace.

This, this alone is the vexed soul’s refuge, its rock to build on, its home to abide in–until the great tempter is bound and every conflict ended in victory.

I cannot think little of sin, when . . .

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I cannot think little of sin, when . . .

(J.C. Ryle)

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46

Would I know how exceedingly sinful and abominable sin is in the sight of God? Where shall I see sin most fully brought out? 

Shall I turn to the history of the flood, and read how sin drowned the world? 

Shall I go to the shore of the Dead Sea, and mark what sin brought on Sodom and Gomorrah? 

No! I can find a clearer proof still! I look at the cross of Christ!

There I see that sin is so filthy and damnable, that nothing but the blood of God’s own Son can wash it away! 

There I see that sin has so separated me from my holy Maker, that all the angels in Heaven could never have made peace between us. Nothing could reconcile us, short of the death of Christ. 

If I listened to the wretched talk of proud people, I might sometimes imagine that sin was not so very sinful! But I cannot think little of sin, when I look at the cross of Christ! 

“A bleeding Savior I have viewed–and now I hate my sin!” John Newton

I am fast borne along the stream of time!

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I am fast borne along the stream of time! 

(John MacDuff, “Evening Incense” 1856)

“It is appointed unto all once to die–and after death, the judgment!” Hebrews 9:27

O my Father, You are daily loading me with Your benefits–giving me unnumbered causes for gratitude and thankfulness. No earthly friend could have loved and cared for me like You. Oh may the life You are thus preserving by Your unceasing bounty–be unreservedly dedicated to Your praise.

O my Father, keep me mindful that I am soon to be done with this fleeting world; that I am fast borne along the stream of time–to the ocean of endless futurity!

May I be living in a constant state of preparedness for that solemn hour when small and great shall stand before You, and the booksshall be opened. Train me for eternity! Let me not be frittering away these fleeting, but precious moments. Impress on me the solemn conviction . . .
  that as men live–so do men die
  that as death leaves me–so judgment will find me;
  and that as judgment finds me–so eternity will keep me.

Oh let death leave me falling asleep in Jesus, united to Him by a living faith–so that judgment may find me seated at His right hand, listening to the joyous welcome, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!”

Blessed Jesus, all my hope of a glorious resurrection centers in You. I look to You as the strong tower which cannot be shaken. I flee anew to the holy sanctuary of Your covenant love. Sheltered there, amid a dissolving earth, and burning worlds–I shall be able joyfully to utter the challenge, “Who shall separate me from the love of Christ?”

Keep me from all negligence and unwatchfulness. Trim my flickering lamp. Let me live with Your Judgment-throne in view. May I ever remember–that I must soon give an account of myself to You, the infallible searcher of all hearts. May I feel that all the talents and means which You have given me–are trusts to be laid out for You. When you come to demand a reckoning, may I not be among the number of those who have hidden their talent in the earth, and have the cheerless retrospect of a misspent life.

May every providential voice sound loud in my ears, “Arise and depart–for this is not your rest, because it is defiled–it is ruined, beyond all remedy!”

Make me more heavenly-minded. Give me more of a pilgrim attitude–and a pilgrim spirit. May I ever feel that my true home is above–and that I am here on earth, but a wayfarer and sojourner, as all my fathers were. May I attain, as I advance nearer to Heaven, the blessed habit of a holy life, declaring plainly that I am seeking a heavenly home. 

I delight often to anticipate that happy time, when I shall suffer no more–and sin no more!

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

A golden master-key!

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A golden master-key! 
 
(Charles Spurgeon)

The Lord opened Lydia’s heart to respond to what Paul was saying.” Acts 16:14

God’s saving grace will not be baffled. 
 
He frequently begins with the silver key of a mother’s tearful prayers and a father’s tender counsels. 
 
In turn, He uses the church-keys of His ordinances and His ministers, and these are often found to move the bolt. 
 
But if they fail, He thrusts in the iron key of trouble and affliction which has been known to succeed after all others have failed. 
 
He has, however, a golden master-key, which excels all others. It is the operation of His own most gracious Spirit, by which entrance is effected into hearts which seemed shut up forever.
 
Wonderful is the patience and long-suffering of the Lord, or He would long since have left hardened and careless sinners to themselves. He is importunate, whether we are so or not. We take pains to resist His heavenly grace, but He abides faithful to His own name of love.
 
O Lord, we bless You that You have opened our hearts, and we ask You now that You have entered, to abide in our souls forever, as a king in his own palace!

God deals mysteriously with me!

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God deals mysteriously with me!

(Alexander Smellie, “The Secret Place” 1907)

“Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters–though Your footprints were not seen!” Psalm 77:19 

Just so, God deals mysteriously with me. His footsteps, His judgments, His methods, are often untrackable, like the untried sea. What though cannot comprehend all His winding mazes? It is enough that He comprehends. I rest in His wise-heartedness and love.

I know that if He surrounds me with change, He gives me a hold on what is permanent and stable. Every breath of wind, every passing shadow, every ray of sun, alters the sea. And, meanwhile, by God’s will, nothing in my life continues unchangeable. The very mutableness of things, drives me into closer communion with Himself. Standing on the Rock of Ages, I am rooted in an element that is indestructible.

I know that if He permits me to be assailed by storm, He can keep my heart in peace. It is His decree that I am driven hither and thither over moonless waters by contrary winds. But the certainty is mine, that He makes all things to work together for my good. 

He is my holy Father, my unerring Father, my Father of immeasurable grace. He makes no mistakes now, and, by and by He will bring me to His house not made with hands, where I will sing with everlasting joy!

Trust His heart–even when you can’t trace His hand!

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Trust His heart–even when you can’t trace His hand!

(John MacDuff, “The Promised Land!” 1859)

“And He led them forth by the right way–that they might go to a city of habitation.” Psalm 107:7

God’s thoughts are not as our thoughts–neither are His ways as our ways! This truth is strikingly exemplified in the manner in which He led the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land. We would have chosen the way that was nearest and most direct–but God decided otherwise. He led them round about through the wilderness, and that for the space of forty years! And not merely was it the most distant way–but it was the most dangerous way as well. It was a land of deserts and of pits–a land of drought and death–a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt. 

But, as strange as it appeared, we are fully justified in saying that it was wisely arranged
Their long detainments;
their tiresome and circuitous wanderings;
their fierce conflicts with the Moabites and the Amalekites;
the bitter waters which they had to drink; and
the fiery serpents with which they were stung–
all fulfilled the high purposes of Him who is excellent in counsel, as well as wonderful in working. However contrary His way might have been to theirs–yet “He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.”

His dealings with His people now are still as unusual, and as much opposed to all their preconceived plans–as were His dealings with the Israelites! He has crossed their own schemes, and thwarted their most fondly-cherished purposes! He always effects His own ends–in His own way!

Christian, what is your duty?

It is to cherish high thoughts of God in all His inscrutable dealings towards you. 

It is to trust His heart–even when you can’t trace His hand; believing that “all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.” 

It is to follow His guidance continually; for as He led His people of old with “the cloud by day, the pillared fire by night”–so He has promised to direct all your steps, and preserve all your goings.

It is to wait His time; for although the way may appear long and tedious–yet remember, “all is well, that ends well.” And what will the end be? “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads! They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away!”

A book full of Christ!

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A book full of Christ!

(J.C. Ryle)

“Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Luke 24:44 

We have probably little idea how much deep truth is contained in the book of Psalms. No part of the Bible perhaps is better known in the letter–and none so little understood in the spirit. We err greatly if we suppose that it is nothing but a record of David’s feelings, of David’s experience, David’s praises, and David’s prayers. The hand that held the pen was generally David’s. But the subject matter was often something far deeper and higher than the history of the son of Jesse. 

The book of Psalms, in a word, is a book full of Christ:
  Christ in humiliation,
  Christ suffering,
  Christ dying,
  Christ rising again,
  Christ coming the second time,
  Christ reigning over all. 

Both of Christ’s advents are here: His coming in suffering to bear the cross–and His second coming in power to wear the crown

Both of Christ’s kingdoms are here–His kingdom of grace, during which the elect are gathered–and His kingdom of glory, when every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord. 

Let us always read the Psalms with a peculiar reverence. Let us say to ourselves as we read, “A greater than David is here!”

Gather your manna fresh every morning!

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Gather your manna fresh every morning!

(Charles Spurgeon)

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

The Bible in the pulpit, must never supersede the Bible at home. Let us read our Bibles in private more, and with more pains and diligence. 

There is less private Bible reading than there was fifty years ago. I never would have believed that so many men and women would have been tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, some falling into skepticism, some rushing into the wildest and narrowest fanaticism, and some going over to the Roman church. With many, there was a habit developed of lazy, superficial and careless reading of God’s Word.   

Read the Bible daily. Make it part of your everyday business to read and meditate on some portion of God’s Word. Gather your manna fresh every morning! Choose your own seasons and hours. Do not scramble over and hurry your reading. Give your Bible the best, and not the worst, part of your time. But whatever plan you pursue, let it be a rule of your life to visit the throne of grace and the Bible every day.

Next to praying there is nothing so important in practical religion as Bible reading. By reading that Book we may learn . . .
  what to believe,
  what to be, 
  what to do,
  how to live with comfort,
  and how to die in peace.

Happy is that man who possesses a Bible!

Happier still is he who reads it!

Happiest of all is he who not only reads it, but obeys it, and makes it the rule of his faith and practice!

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness–that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

You will soon end your tedious, tiresome journey!

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You will soon end your tedious, tiresome journey!

(James Smith, “The Believer’s Companion in Seasons of Affliction and Trouble” 1842)

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth!” Hebrews 11:13

Every believer is a pilgrim. He is traveling to his Father’s house! He is presently a stranger in a strange land, surrounded by temptations, trials, and foes. His journey lies through a great and terrible wilderness. Therefore he must not expect a very smooth path, or many comfortable accommodations. He will have much to grieve and distress him. His heart will be often burdened with grief, and filled with sorrow — tears are common to the Christian. He feels the unsuitableness of the things of time to his spirit, profession, and aim. And therefore he confesses, “I am a stranger and a pilgrim — as all my fathers were!” Psalm 39:12

Weariness and painfulness are his portion now — but a rest remains for him! It is a glorious rest. It embraces and includes all that the believer has prayed for — or can desire! 
It waits for him at the end of his journey, 
it was prepared for him from the foundation of the world, 
it is now promised to him in the faithful word, and 
it will be bestowed upon him when he has fought the good fight, and finished his course.

Everything at present may appear gloomy and distressing; but ahead of you, believer, everything is glorious, magnificent, and blessed! Press on then — fight the good fight of faith. Travel on in the strength of Jesus! You are going home — and you have a glorious home to go to! 

The minute after you have entered your rest — you will forget all the fatigue, all the dangers, and all the difficulties of the way! You will perhaps be filled with wonder, that you should ever have allowed such trifles to vex you, or such little trials to discourage you — with such a glorious end before you. 

Fellow-pilgrim, expect trouble — but also expect mercy to help you in time of need! Expect to feel your circumstances to be trying — but also expect your Savior’s strength to be perfected in your weakness! You will soon end your tedious, tiresome journey — and enter into the joy of your Lord!

Never forget you are now a pilgrim — a stranger — only a sojourner here in this poor world. Here you have no continuing city — but you seek for one to come. 

Nothing can make this poor world your rest — it will always be a wilderness to you. Be content then, to wait until you get home! There you shall enjoy — and always enjoy, all your desires! There will not be one unfulfilled want, wish, or desire there! All will be satisfied — all will be full. In a little while — you will see the portal of your Father’s house, and hear Him say, “Come in, you who are blessed of the Lord, tarry no longer outside! Come, dwell forever with Me!”

The annals of hell—or the biography of devils!

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The annals of hell—or the biography of devils!

(Samuel Davies, “The Universal Judgment!”)

Though we are too apt to think that we are not accountable for our words—He who is to be our Judge, has plainly told us that “for every careless word which men speak, they shall give an account in the day of judgment.” Matthew 12:36

“For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14

What astonishing discoveries will this trial of every hidden thing make! 

On the one hand—what noble dispositions which never shone in full beauty to mortal eyes! What generous purposes crushed in embryo for lack of power to execute them! What pious and noble actions concealed under the veil of modesty, or misconstrued by ignorance and prejudice! What affectionate aspirations, what devout exercises of heart, which lay open only to the eyes of Omniscience, are now brought to full light, and receive the approbation of the Supreme Judge before the assembled universe”!

But on the other hand—what works of shame and darkness are then revealed! What hidden things of dishonesty! What dire secrets of treachery, hypocrisy, lewdness, and various forms of wickedness—all artfully and industriously concealed from human sight! What horrid exploits of sin now burst to light in all their hellish colors—to the confusion of the guilty, and the astonishment and horror of the universe!

Surely the history of mankind must then appear like the annals of hell—or the biography of devils! Then the mask of deceit will be torn off—and men will appear in their true characters. Their hearts will be, as it were, turned outwards—and all their secrets exposed to full view!

The design of this judicial inquiry will not be to inform the omniscient Judge—but to convince all worlds of the justice of His proceedings. And this design renders it necessary that all these ‘secret things’ should be laid open to their sight, that they may see the grounds upon which He passes sentence.

Does not the prospect of such a ‘revealing’ fill some of you with horror? For many of your actions, and especially of your thoughts—will not bear the light. How would it confound you, if all your secret thoughts were now all published, even in the small circle of your friends! How then, can you bear to have them all fully exposed before God, angels, and the universe! Will it not confound you with shame, and make you objects of everlasting contempt to all worlds!

See the cause of my happiness

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See the cause of my happiness

(James Smith, “My Savior!” 1860)

My soul, meditate for a few moments on what Jesus is to you, and what Jesus has done for you. Look back and glance at the circumstances in which He found you — and the deliverance which He wrought for you.

1. The circumstances in which Jesus found you. Jesus found me out of the way. God by His law had marked out a way in which His creatures should walk — its character was holiness, and its end His glory. But all we like sheep had gone astray, we had turned every one to his own way. We were in the path of death and destruction, and on the way to Hell. 

We were not only out of the way — but we were enslaved. We were . . .
  slaves of sin,
  the drudges of the world, and
  led captive by the Devil at his will. 

We were diseased — as well as enslaved. We were leprous from head to foot. We had the plague of the heart! The whole head was sick, and the whole heart was faint. 

We were imprisoned, as well as diseased. We were shut up in unbelief and sin. Our cell was cold and damp, dark and narrow — and our imprisonment was not merely for a few years — it was forever! 

We were dead, though still conscious, and to some things alive. Dead in trespasses and sins. 

In this state we were — and we loved it well. We neither desired, nor sought deliverance. Left to ourselves . . .
  we would have wandered on in darkness, until we had perished in our sins; 
  we would have continued the slaves of sin and Satan forever;
  our disease would have preyed upon our vitals to all eternity; 
  our prison walls would have enclosed us still; 
  we would have remained dead in sin, 
  we would have suffered all the pangs of damnation forever!

2. The deliverance which Jesus wrought for you. Jesus saved me!

He saved me from the roaring lion, who goes about seeking to devour me!

He saved me from my raging lusts, so that sin shall not have dominion over me!

He saved me from righteous wrath, and I, being justified by His blood, shall be saved from wrath through Him!

He saved me from death, the ‘king of terrors,’ depriving the monster of his sting, and giving me the victory over him!

He has also saved me from the flaming furnace of Hell — from that lake of fire, and those floods of flame in which the lost must welter forever!

See the cause of my happiness — 
I have a Savior! 

A Savior who is divine. 
A Savior who has ever loved me. 
A Savior who lived, labored, and died for me. 
A Savior who pleads for me before the throne of His Father. 
A Savior who is in His Father’s house, preparing a place for me. 
A Savior who will soon come and receive me to Himself, that so I may be forever with Him! Yes, I have a Savior — one who . . .
  watches over me, 
  walks through the wilderness with me, 
  and rejoices to do me good.

Reader, have you a Savior? 
Can you use these two precious words, “My Savior”? 
Have you realized that you were lost? 
Have you fled to His cross? 
Have you fallen into His arms? 
Have you been cleansed by His blood, and clothed in His righteousness? 
Do you possess His Holy Spirit? 

Make sure work, O make sure work!
Eternity is just at hand!
Death is coming!
Judgment follows!
And then — an eternity of happiness or woe!
Your eternal all depends on having Jesus for your Savior!
No one can save you but Jesus. 
No one can . . .
  support you in sickness,
  comfort you in death, or
  give you victory over the grave — but Jesus!

If you dare!

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If you dare!

(Samuel Davies, “The Universal Judgment!“)

“Then I saw a great white throne—and HIM who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened  . . . If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life—he was thrown into the lake of fire!” Revelation 20:11, 12, 15

What an astonishing scene is this! The stable earth and sky cannot bear the majesty and terror of His look; they fly away affrighted! This is the Judge before whom we must stand; and this is the manner of His appearance!

But is this the babe of Bethlehem—who lay and wept in the manger? 

Is this the supposed son of the carpenter, the despised Galilean? 

Is this the man of sorrows? 

Is this He who was . . .
  arrested, 
  condemned, 
  buffeted, 
  spit upon,  
  crowned with thorns, 
  executed as a slave and a criminal, upon the cross? 

Yes, it is Him! The very same Jesus of Nazareth! 

But oh how changed! How deservedly exalted! Heaven and earth flee before Him! 

Now let his enemies appear and show their contempt and malignity!

Now, Pilate—condemn the King of the Jews as a usurper!

Now, you Jews, raise the clamor, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Now bow the knee in scorn, spit in His face, and buffet Him! Now tell the scourged impostor that He must die!

Now despise His grace, 
now laugh at His threatenings, and 
now make light of His displeasure—if you dare!

Ah! now their courage fails, and terror surrounds them! Now they try to hide in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. Now they call to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

But, alas! That LAMB who once bled as a sacrifice for sin—now appears in all the terrors of a LION! Oh! could they hide themselves in the bottom of the ocean, or in some rock that bears the weight of the mountains—how happy would they think themselves!

You are walking in the midst of snares and traps!

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You are walking in the midst of snares and traps!

(James Smith, “The Pastor’s Morning Visit”)

“Be very careful, then, how you walk!” Ephesians 5:15

To honor Jesus in your thoughts, words, and every action—should be your constant aim.

You are in an enemy’s land; surrounded by temptations; and have a heart that is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked! 

This present world is not your home! Satan’s family are not to be your intimate friends. Riches, honors, or pleasure—are not to be your objects of pursuit. You are walking in the midst of snares and traps! Be watchful, prayerful, depending upon Jesus, and cultivating fellowship with Him.

O keep your eye on Jesus, as your example! Walk by His Word—as your rule. Do not be venturesome or presumptuous, but avoid the very appearance of evil. Never leave the Lord’s ways—to join the world’s vanities or to please a carnal lust. Keep close to Jesus—and follow on to know the Lord. 

Walk as a beloved child, who going home to his loving Father’s house! “Be very careful, then, how you walk!”

Where shall you find a rock?

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Where shall you find a rock? 

(Samuel Davies, “Jesus Christ, the Only Foundation” 1757)

“The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men! The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be burned up!” 2 Peter 3:7, 10

The fiery deluge of divine vengeance, which has been gathering and swelling for thousands of years; but has been, as it were, restrained and kept within bounds by divine patience—shall then rise so high as to burst through all restraints, and overwhelm the guilty globe, and turn it into a universal ocean of liquid fire! This resistless torrent shall sweep away all the refuges of lies, and those who trusted in them—into the gulf of remediless destruction!

Well my friends, where shall we find a support to bear us up in this tremendous day? Where shall we find a rock to build upon, that we may be able to stand the shock, and remain safe and unmoved—in the wreck of dissolving worlds? What can uphold us—when this vast machine of our world, formed with so much skill and strength by the hands of a divine Architect, shall be broken up and fall to pieces?

Now, now is the time for us to find the refuge; it will be too late when all created supports are swept away, and this solid globe itself is dissolved beneath our feet into a sea of fire!

And where will you look? Where will you turn? This earth, and all its riches, honors, and pleasures—will prove to be but a quicksand in that day! Your friends and relations, were they ever so great or powerful—can then afford you no support! Therefore, think—where shall you find a rock on which you may build a happiness that will stand the shock in that dreadful day?

Everything else besides Christ . . .
  is sliding sand,
  is yielding air,
  is a breaking bubble! 

In that dread day . . .
  wealth—will prove to be a vain shadow, 
  honor—will prove to be an empty breath, 
  pleasure—will prove to be a delusive dream, 
  your own righteousness—will prove to be a spider’s web!
If we rely on these, disappointment and doom are inevitable!

Nothing but Christ, nothing but Christ, can stably support us in that dread day! “He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress—I will never be shaken!” Psalm 62:2

His righteousness is infinitely perfect, equal to the highest demands of the divine law—and therefore a firm, immovable ground of trust. We may safely venture the weight of our eternal all—upon this rock! It will stand forever, without giving way under the heaviest pressure; without being broken by the most violent shock. Let thousands, let millions, with all the mountainous weight of guilt upon them, build upon this foundation, and they shall never be moved!

The firm foundations, the stately columns, the majestic buildings of Nineveh, Babylon and Persia, and all the magnificent structures of antiquity, though formed of the most durable stone, and promising immortality—are now shattered into ten thousand fragments, or lying in ruinous heaps! 

But here in Christ—is a foundation for immortal souls—a foundation that will remain the same to all eternity! His righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, His strength an everlasting strength, and Himself the everlasting Father. He ever lives forever to make intercession for His people, and therefore he is able to save to the uttermost, to the uttermost point of duration—all who come unto God by Him!

Millions and millions of depraved, wretched, ruined creatures, have always found Him perfectly able, and as perfectly willing
  to expiate the most enormous guilt;
  to deliver from the most inveterate corruptions;
  and to save to the very uttermost! 

Ten thousand times ten thousand, have built their hopes upon this rock—and it has never failed so much as one of them! Manasseh, Paul, and Mary Magdalen, and thousands more atrocious sinners—have ventured upon this all-sufficient rock with all their load of sin upon them, and found it able to sustain them!

Should it be according to your mind?

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Should it be according to your mind?

(James Smith, “Important Questions!” 1858)

Should it be according to your mind?” Job 34:33

We are prone to be fretful, to complain of the dispensations of Divine Providence, and to reflect harshly upon the Lord’s dealings with us.

We want our own way.

We wish to carve for ourselves.

We would be treated as God’s favorites.

We want our ease, and prosperity, and pleasure, consulted in all things. And if this does not appear to be done — if our wills are crossed, if our schemes are frustrated, if our purposes are broken off — then we stumble, think ourselves badly treated, and look for everybody to sympathize with us.

Under these circumstances, God comes to us — as we sit among our broken cisterns, surrounded by our dethroned idols — and puts this question to us: “Should it be according to your mind?”

Are you wiser than God?

Are you kinder than God?

Are you holier than God?

Are you more just than God?

Are you better informed than God?

May not your mind be dark, or selfish, or foolish?

Should it then be according to your mind?

Should you reign — or God?

Remember that God acts in the highest wisdom; His motives are grace and justice; and all His purposes are worthy of Himself.

The least the Christian can do is to submit — and to prefer God’s wisdom, way, and work — to his own. Seeing God has so arranged all events, that all things must work together for the good of His people — they, at least, should daily say, “Father, may Your will be done!”

O my soul, seek grace from God, not only to submit and be resigned to the dispensations of Divine Providence — but to acquiesce in them, and be pleased with the whole of them! Your good is consulted — your best interests are secured; and soon, very soon, it will be seen that infinite wisdom and mercy, grace and goodness, have marked out every step of your road!

“Jesus replied: You do not understand what I am now doing — but someday you will.” John 13:7

Your conscience will not always sleep!

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Your conscience will not always sleep! 

(Samuel Davies, “Divine Mercy to Mourning Penitents“)

“They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.” Romans 2:15

The principal means which God uses in conversion, is that of conscience; and indeed without this, all the rest are in vain. Outward afflictions are of service—only as they tend to awaken the conscience from its lethargy to a faithful discharge of its duty. It is conscience which makes the sinner sensible of his misery and scourges him. The lashes of a guilty conscience are intolerable; and some under them have chosen strangling and suicide, rather than life.

Conscience is a serpent in his breast, which bites and gnaws his heart; and he can no more avoid it, than he can fly from himself! 

Let not such of you as have never been tortured with its remorse, congratulate yourselves upon your happiness, for you are not innocents! Your conscience will not always sleep! It will not always lie torpid and inactive, like a snake benumbed with cold, in your breast! 

It will awaken you either to your conversion—or condemnation!

Either the fire of God’s wrath flaming from His law will enliven it in this world—to sting you with medicinal anguish; or the unquenchable fire of His vengeance in the lake of fire and brimstone will thaw it into life—and then it will horribly rage in your breast, and diffuse its tormenting poison through your whole frame! And then it will become a never-dying worm, and prey upon your hearts forever!

Who is this amazing spectacle of woe and torture?

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Who is this amazing spectacle of woe and torture?

(Samuel Davies, “The Preaching of Christ Crucified, the Means of Salvation”)

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

In the cross of ChristGod’s hatred to sin is manifested in the most striking light! The evil of sin is exposed in the most dreadful colors! Now it appears, that such is the divine hatred against all sin, that God can by no means forgive sin, without punishment; and that all the infinite benevolence of His nature towards His creatures cannot prevail upon Him to pardon the least sin—without an adequate satisfaction.

Nay, now it appears that when so malignant and abominable a thing is but imputed to His dear Son, His co-equal, His darling, His favorite—that even He could not escape unpunished—but was made a monument of vindictive justice, to all worlds! 

What can more strongly expose the evil of sin
—than the cross of Christ? 
Sin is such an intolerably malignant and abominable thing, that even a God of infinite mercy and grace—cannot let the least instance of it pass unpunished!

It was not a small thing that could arm God’s justice against the Son of His love. Though He was perfectly innocent in Himself—yet when He was made sin for us—God spared not His own Son—but delivered Him up unto death—the shameful, tormenting, and accursed death of the cross!

Go, you fools, who make a mock at sin! Go and learn its malignity and demerit—at the cross of Jesus! 

WHO is it that hangs there writhing in the agonies of death
—His hands and feet pierced with nails, His side with a spear, His face bruised with blows, and drenched with tears and blood, His heart melting like wax, His whole frame racked and disjointed; forsaken by His friends, and even by His Father; tempted by devils, and insulted by men? Who is this amazing spectacle of woe and torture? It is Jesus, the eternal Word of God; His Elect, in whom His soul delights; His beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased!

And WHAT has He done? He did no wickedness; He knew no sin—but was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. And WHY then, all these dreadful sufferings from heaven, earth, and hell? Why, He only stood in the law-place of sinners; He only received their sin by imputation. And you see what it has brought upon Him! You see how low it has reduced Him! What a horrid evil must that be—which has such tremendous consequences, even upon the Darling of heaven!

Oh! what still more dreadful havoc would SIN have made, if it had been punished upon the sinner himself in his own person! Surely all the various miseries which have been inflicted upon our guilty world in all ages, and even all the punishments of hell—do not so loudly proclaim the terrible desert and malignity of sin—as the cross of Christ!

The infinite malignity of sin, and God’s hatred to it, appear nowhere in so striking and dreadful a light—as in the cross of Christ! Let a reasonable creature take but one serious view of that cross, and surely he must ever after tremble at the thought of the least sin! 

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

The unsearchable riches of Christ!

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The unsearchable riches of Christ!

(Samuel Davies)

The unsearchable riches of Christ!” Ephesians 3:8

Consider what rich blessings Christ has purchased for His people; purchased not with corruptible things such as silver and gold—but with His own precious blood! The purchase price recommends and endears the blessings, though they are so great in themselves, as to need no such recommendation! What can be greater or more suitable blessings to hell-bound sinners, than . . .
  pardon for the guilty,
  redemption for slaves,
  righteousness and justification for the condemned,
  sanctification for the unholy,
  rest for the weary,
  comfort for mourners,
  the favor of God for rebels and exiles,
  strength for the impotent,
  protection for the helpless, and 
  everlasting happiness for the heirs of hell! 
And, to sum up all—grace and glory, and every good thing, and all the unsearchable riches of Christ—for the wretched and miserable; for the poor, the blind, and naked!

These are blessings indeed, and, in comparison with them—all the riches of the world are impoverished, and vanish to nothing!

He cannot love you more!

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He cannot love you more!

(James Smith, “The Pastor’s Morning Visit”)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

The Lord cares for His children!
 
He knows our needs—and has promised to supply them. 
He knows our foes—and will deliver us from them. 
He knows our fears—and will make us ashamed of them. 

All creatures and things are in His hand, and at His disposal; all circumstances are under His absolute control. He . . . 
  directs the angel,
  feeds the sparrow,
  curbs the devil, and
  manages the tempest! 

He is your Father—and His love to you is infinite. You are His delight—His dear child. Will He neglect you? Impossible! Cast then your cares upon Him. Tell out all your desires, fears, and troubles to Him; let Him know everything; keep nothing back. And then in the confidence of faith, expect Him to fulfill His Word, and act a Parent’s part.

Bless Him for all He has given, for all He has promised. Plead with Him for all you may need. But never for one moment, or under any circumstances, distrust Him! He cannot love you more! He is your ever present help. He will rejoice over you to do you good, with His whole heart, and with His whole soul.

“Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares about you!” 1 Peter 5:7

True beauty is not of the face–but of the soul!

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True beauty is not of the face–but of the soul!

(Mabel Hale, “Beautiful Girlhood” 1922)

“Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the LORD shall be praised!” Proverbs 31:30 

Every girl is a lover of beauty. Beautiful homes, beautiful furnishings, beautiful flowers, beautiful clothes, beautiful faces–anything wherein beauty is found, there will be found girls to admire it. From the time her little hands can reach up, and her baby lips can lisp the words, she is admiring “pretty things.” And when a little of that beauty is her own–her pleasure is unbounded.

Every girl longs to be beautiful.
 There is in woman a nature, as deep as humanity, which compels her to strive for good looks. There is no more forlorn sorrow for a young girl, than for her to be convinced that she is hopelessly ugly and undesirable. Oh, the bitter tears that have been shed over freckles, or blemishedskin–and the energy that has been expended in painting and powdering and waving and curling herself into beauty!

A desire to be beautiful is not unwomanly. But, mark it: true beauty is not of the face–but of the soul! There is a beauty so deep and lasting, that it will shine out of the homeliest face and make it lovely! This is the beauty to be first sought and admired. It is a quality of the mind and heart–and is manifested in word and deed

A happy heart, 
a smiling face, 
loving words and deeds, and 
a desire to be of service–
will make any girl beautiful!

A beautiful soul shining out of a homely face–is far more attractive than a beautiful face out of which looks a soul full of selfishness and pride!

Let your chief charm be of heart and mind–not of face and form. 
Seek the true beauty which lasts even into old age!

Solomon, in one of his wise sayings, plainly expressed the evil that comes to a woman who is beautiful of face, but lacks the true beauty of soul: “Like a gold ring in a swine’s snout–is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion!” Proverbs 11:22. As the swine would plunge the golden jewel into the filth and the mire as he dug in the dirt–so will a pretty woman who is not godly, drag her beauty down to the very lowest. 

There are many peculiar temptations to those who are only lovely of face. Without true beauty of soul–a pretty face is a dangerous gift!

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight!” 1 Peter 3:3-4

Indelible impressions!

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Indelible impressions!

(William Bacon Stevens, “Parental Responsibility“)

We aid and abet the spiritual death of our children, by our irreligious example — both in doing that which is positively wrong, and in neglecting to do what is as positively required. As young as our child is — it has learned to join together precept and practice. And if we are professors of religion, our child has put along side of this profession — our daily walk and conversation, and is perpetually drawing inferences from the one to the other, either for, or against, the truth which we profess.

Uncurbed tempers, ill-governed passions;
unbridled tongues, uncharitable words;
lack of meekness, and gentleness, and truth; 
lack of sobriety of mind, and kindliness of heart; 
the absence of that strict conscientiousness which should mark all our actions;
neglect of the Bible and of prayer; 
disregard of the means of grace;
irrepressible worldliness, in ever dwelling upon “What shall we eat, and what shall we drink, and with what shall we be clothed?”
 — are leaving indelible impressions upon the minds of our offspring! So that, copying our habits of thought, speech, and action — our child’s character in its essential characteristics, may be formed for eternity; before its mind is able to receive the precepts which perhaps we occasionally teach.

Mother, don’t you love me?


Grace logoMother, don’t you love me?

(Susannah Spurgeon, “Words of Cheer and Comfort for Sick and Sorrowful Souls!” 1898)

“I have seen his ways — and will heal him!” Isaiah 57:18

Here is one of the blessedly incomprehensible paradoxes of God’s love and mercy, which startles us by its excess of compassionate grace: “I have seen his ways, and . . .” — one would have thought that the next sentence must be, “I will punish him,” or at least, “I will rebuke him!” But, instead of wrath — here is pardon! Pity makes room for love; and in the place of bitterness, the Lord gives a blessing! “I have seen his ways — and will heal him!”

O wanderer, will not these tender words cause you to return to your Lord? 
O stony heart — will you not break at so loving a touch as this? 
O cold and half-dead soul — will not such a Divine cordial revive you?

“I have seen his ways.” What “ways” has God seen in you? Have they not been “wicked,” “crooked,” “perverse,” “your own ways” — “the ways of death?” Have you not turned aside from the path of life, and refused to walk “in all His way,” and chosen “a stubborn way” for yourself?

Our heart must give a sad assent to all these charges. As we bow humbly before Him, and say, “You are acquainted with all my ways” — we feel that such knowledge of us on His part, intensifies our wonder and gratitude at the loving compassion with which He regards us!

When I was a little child, and had been troublesome to my mother — her reproof or punishment would often be followed by my trembling question, “Mother, don’t you love me?” And my mother’s reply invariably was, “Yes, I do love you; but I do not love your naughty ways!” Poor mother! Doubtless I tried her very much, and this was the best that grieved parental love could say. But our heavenly Father has sweeter, choicer words than these, for His erring children.

His love is Divine, so He says, “I have seen his ways — and will heal him!” O sweet pitifulness of our God! O inexplicable tenderness! O love surpassing all earth’s loveliest affection! Do not our hard hearts yield under the power of such compassion as this?

God knows all our wickedness, He has seen all our waywardness; yet His purpose towards us is one of healing and pardon — and not of anger and estrangement.

As I learn more of God, I get so sick of my sin — indwelling-sin, heart-sin, that my soul welcomes this Word of the Lord, as a condemned prisoner embraces a pardon, or as a drowning man clutches the life-buoy thrown out for his rescue. To be healed of the disease which wastes us, to be delivered from the deadness and indifference which enchain us, to have a perfect heart with the Lord our God, and to walk before Him in a perfect way — this, I take it, is the blessed prospect held out by this promise. Who will claim its fulfillment at once? Who will take our gracious God at His Word, and believingly receive the priceless blessing which His love offers?

O blessed Lord, Your forbearance with us in the past, has been a miracle of mercy! You have seen so much in us which Your soul has abhorred — and yet You come now with this gift of healing in Your hands, which means not only pardon — but the power to be holy.

Lord, we lift up our empty, beseeching hands — to Your full ones. Our own ways have led us farther and farther from You; now let Your forgiving, healing love draw us so close to You, that we can never again be among those “who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness.”

The master-key which fits the locks!

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The master-key which fits the locks!

(Susannah Spurgeon“Words of Cheer and Comfort for Sick and Sorrowful Souls!” 1898)

“The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loved you!” Deuteronomy 7:7-8 

My gracious God, there is a honeycomb of delight and sweetness in these words! Will You put the rod of faith into my hand, this morning, and enable me to dip the end thereof into this rich provision, that my soul may eat and be satisfied, and that the eyes of my understanding may be enlightened?

“Because the Lord loved you!” 
This is His great “reason” for all of God’s dealings with His redeemed people. It is a full and convincing answer to all the doubts and questionings with which Satan can perplex and distress the Lord’s timid ones. The enemy of souls has, alas! a powerful confederate in the wicked unbelief which lurks within us; but they will both be vanquished when we have learned to use this weapon of war against them.

Come, my heart, try its blessed force and quality at this moment! The foe says, “Why does God send you affliction, and sorrow, and suffering — when those who do not fear His Name have continual quietness and abounding prosperity?”

If you can boldly answer, “It is because the Lord loves me!” then you will have given him such a sword-thrust as will free you, for a time, at least, from his cunning devices and fierce onslaughts.

Or, look at the text as a shaft of sunlight, piercing through a chink in the shuttered window of some dark experience. Bring your fears and forebodings out of their dusky corners, and place them within the radiance of this light of love — you will be amazed to see them transformed into confident trusts — your doubts will vanish as if they had never been, and the evil and bitter things of life will all be transformed into blessings in a moment. 

“Because the Lord loved you!” is the master-key which fits the locks of the hardest question, and opens the mysteries of the deepest problem! It is a charm of wondrous efficacy, and every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ may not only rejoice in its possession — but use it constantly to obtain all the desire of his heart in spiritual things.

What ails you, poor soul?
 Is it loss of health, or friends, or means? Has God taken from you some dearly-loved one, and left you alone on this sad earth? Is He trying and proving you, by many and varied tests and troubles, “to know what was in your heart”? Whatever may be your immediate and peculiar sorrow, if you have grace and faith enough to say, “This is because the Lord loves me!” — then I dare to promise you that all the bitterness of the affliction will melt away — and the peace of God will fill you with a sweet contentment which surpasses understanding. No distress can withstand such Divine solace, no anguish can refuse the relief of this balm of Gilead. If all that happens to you can be traced directly or indirectly to the hand of your loving Lord — then how gladly should you bear life’s burdens, and how perfect should be the rest in which heart and mind should dwell!

O gracious Master, looking back over the years that are gone — the interminglings of grief and gladness, pass before my eyes as the clouds sail by on an April day. And though the memories of great affliction and sore bereavement cast deep shadows across the scene, and seem for a time to blot out all the brightness — yet, above and beyond those changeful skies — the sun has never ceased shining, and darkness as well as day has proclaimed the immutability of Your love. When the ears of my soul are attuned to catch the soft whisper of Your voice, I hear You saying: “All this, My child, was because I loved you! Left to yourself; you would have destroyed yourself; but in Me was your help found. All the tribulations you have endured, were but My servants to whom I entrusted the necessary discipline of your earthly life. Do not forget those words of Mine: As many as I love — I rebuke and chasten!”

What a compassionate, gracious arrangement!

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What a compassionate, gracious arrangement!

(Susannah Spurgeon“Words of Cheer and Comfort for Sick and Sorrowful Souls!” 1898)

“My times are in Your hand!” Psalm 31:15 

Why then, need I worry or tremble? That great, loving, powerful hand keeps all the events of my life sealed and secure within its almighty clasp! And only He, my Maker and my Master, can permit them to be revealed to me as His will for me. What a compassionate, gracious arrangement! How eminently fitted to fulfill that sweet promise of His Word, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You!” If we fully believed this, we would be absolutely devoid of the worry which corrodes and chafes the daily life of so many professing Christians.

“My times.” Not one or two important epochs of my history only — but everything that concerns me:
  joys that I had not expected,
  sorrows that must have crushed me, if they could have been anticipated, 
  sufferings which might have terrified me by their grimness, had I looked upon them,
  surprises which infinite love had prepared for me,
  services of which I could not have imagined myself capable
 — all these lay in that mighty hand — as the purposes of God’s eternal will for me. 

But, as they have developed gradually and silently — how great has been the love which appeared enwrapping and enfolding each one! 
Has not the grief been measured — while the gladness has far more abounded? 
Have not the comforts and consolations — exceeded the crosses and afflictions? 
Have not all things been so arranged, and ordered, and undertaken, and worked out on our behalf — that we can but marvel at the goodness and wisdom of God, in meting out from that dear hand of His, all the “times” that have passed over us?

You agree with me in all this, do you not, dear reader? Then, I beg you, apply it to your present circumstances, however dark or difficult they may be. They have come directly from your Father’s hand to you, and they are His dear will for you!

Soul-Comfort

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Soul-Comfort

(Susannah Spurgeon“Words of Cheer and Comfort for Sick and Sorrowful Souls!” 1898)

“When my anxious thoughts multiply within me — Your comforts delight my soul.” Psalm 94:19 

“Your comforts delight my soul!” Blessed Lord, how sweet is this text in my mouth! The taste of it is “like wafers made with honey.” It is both food and drink to my heart, for every word has joy and refreshing in it; so that, like the “best wine” of the Canticles, it “goes down sweetly.” 

The first of Your comforts, gracious God, is this — that You have said unto my soul, “I am your salvation!” He saves us, not because of any merit in us, or any deservings of our own; but because sovereign grace chose us, and Divine compassion redeemed us. And when we were afar off, infinite pity brought us back, and made us near by the precious blood of Christ. This may well comfort our hearts — coming as it does directly from “our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace!” A saved and pardoned sinner can truly say, “Your comforts delight my soul!”

The next thought is that, having saved us — He keeps us. “We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” Comparatively few Christians put God’s keeping power fully to the test. If we would trust Him for the keeping, as we do for the saving — our lives would be far holier and happier than they are. “I will keep it every moment,” is one of those grandly unlimited promises which most of us are afraid of; and we store them away in the background because we dare not believe them, and bring them out into the light of our daily practice. O foolish and unbelieving hearts, how much of soul-delighting comfort do we thus miss!

Then comes another thought — He cares for us. Dear friends, if you are His, you know the exceeding comfort of casting all your care upon Him — and being quite sure that He will “undertake” for you. Have we not often come to Him oppressed and burdened with an intolerable weight of anxiety and distress — and been enabled to roll the whole mass of it on Him, leaving it all at His feet, and returning to our work with a lightened and restful heart? Some of us have had burdens and sorrows, which would have crushed the very life out of us — if we had not been enabled to look up and say, “You, O Lord, have helped and comforted me!” Yes, truly, God’s care for us is one of the sweetest comforts of our mortal life!

Closely linked with this, is the thought that He knows all about us. Our enemies — sometimes, even our friends — misunderstand and malign us; they misconstrue our words and actions, and impute to us motives which never actuated us. But our God knows the thoughts and intents of our heart, and never makes a mistake in the judgment He passes on us. The comfort of this knowledge on the Lord’s part, to those who are “suffering wrongfully,” is inexpressibly precious. They can lift up their heads with joy, and say, “The Lord is good. He knows those who trust in Him.” I have known this comfort to so delight my soul, that trials and temptations had no power to vex or annoy it, for my soul was hidden “secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.”

Lastly (though there are many, many more), one of the multitude of thoughts which stand out prominently from the rest, as a comfort which delights the soul — is that He loves us. This truth has been running through the fields of previous thought, as a silver streamlet glides through the meadows — here, it would deepen and expand to a broad and fathomless ocean, had I the power to speak of its height, and depth, and length, and breadth, and to tell of the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge! But my pen utterly fails here. You who love Him, and know that He loves you — must each one say to himself what that “comfort of His love” is to your own heart. This will be a better commentary than any I can offer. 

And, if some poor distressed soul is mourning the loss of the sweet consolation which Christ’s love alone can give — let him call to remembrance a tenderly precious promise which the Lord put into the lips of the prophet Isaiah, “I have seen his ways — but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him!” Isaiah 57:18 

Our thorn!

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Our thorn!

(J. R. Miller, “The Blossoming of Our Thorns” 1905)

“To keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud.” 2 Corinthians 12:7

We do not know how much of Paul’s rich, beautiful life, and his noble work for his Master — he owed to his thorn. Just so, we do not know how much we are indebted to our sufferings and sorrows. Our richest lessons — are the fruit of pain, of weakness, of sorrow.

There is not one of us who has not his own thorn. With one it may be a bodily infirmity or weakness. With another it is some disfigurement which cannot be removed. It may be some difficulty in circumstances, something which makes it hard to live beautifully. 

The Master told Paul that his thorn was necessary to him — to save him from becoming proud. We may think of our thorn, too — as something we need. Instead of allowing it to irritate us or to spoil our life — its mission is to make us sweet, patient, loving. Many people beseech the Lord to take away their thorn. Yet it may be, that the prayer is not answered, will not be answered, should not be answered. It may be, that the thorn is necessary to keep them humble at God’s feet.

God sends some of our best blessings to us in our thorns, and it will be a sad thing if we thrust them away and miss them.

He will sustain you!

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He will sustain you!

(J.R. Miller)

“Cast your burden upon the Lord — and He will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22

The promise is not that the Lord will remove the load we cast upon Him, nor that He will carry it for us — but that He will sustain us so that we may carry it.
He does not free us from the duty — but He strengthens us for it.
He does not deliver us from the conflict — but He enables us to overcome
He does not withhold or withdraw the trial from us — but He helps us in trial to be submissive and victorious, and makes it a blessing to us. 
He does not mitigate the hardness or severity of our circumstances, taking away the difficult elements, removing the thorns, making life easy for us — but He puts Divine grace into our hearts, so that we can live sweetly in all the hard, adverse circumstances.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Philippians 4:13


The fruits and effects He produces

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The fruits and effects He produces

(J.C. Ryle, “The Holy Spirit“)

“When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment.” (John 16:8)

Where the Holy Spirit is, there will always be deep conviction of sin — and true repentance for it. It is His special office to convict of sin. 

He shows the exceeding holiness of God. 

He teaches the exceeding corruption and infirmity of our nature. 

He strips us of our blind self-righteousness. 

He opens our eyes to our awful guilt, folly and danger. 

He fills the heart with sorrow, contrition, and abhorrence for sin — as the abominable thing which God hates. 

He who knows nothing of all this, and saunters carelessly through life, thoughtless about sin, and indifferent and unconcerned about his soul — is a dead man before God! He has not the Holy Spirit. 

The presence of the Holy Spirit in a man’s heart can only be known by the fruits and effects He produces. Mysterious and invisible to mortal eye as His operations are — they always lead to certain visible and tangible results.

Just as you know there is life in a tree by its sap, buds, leaves and fruits — just so you may know the Spirit to be in a man’s heart by the influence He exercises over his thoughts, affections, opinions, habits, and life. I lay this down broadly and unhesitatingly. I see it clearly marked out in our Lord Jesus Christ’s words, “Every tree is known by his own fruit.” Luke 6:44


Desiring God!

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Desiring God!

(Thomas Watson, “The Lord’s Prayer”)

“Whom have I in Heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You!” Psalm 73:25 

We may know the kingdom of grace is set up in our hearts — by having true desires after God. By the beating of this pulse — we conclude there is life

A true desire after God is sincere. We desire God for Himself, for His intrinsic excellencies. The savor of the ointment of Christ’s gracesdraws the virgins’ desires after Him. Canticles 1:3. A true saint desires Him not only for what God has — but for what He is; not only for His rewards — but for His holiness. No hypocrite can thus desire God. He may desire God for His jewels — but not for His beauty!

A true desire after God is insatiable. It cannot be satisfied without God; let the world heap her honors and riches — they will not satisfy. No flowers or music will content him who is thirsty. Just so, nothing will quench the soul’s thirst — but the blood of Christ! He faints away, his heart breaks with longing for God. Psalm 84:2; Psalm 119:20

A true desire after God is active. It flourishes into endeavor. “With my soul have I desired you in the night — yes, with my spirit within me will I seek You early.” Isaiah 26:9. A soul that desires aright says, “I must have Christ! I must have grace! I must have Heaven, though I take it by storm!”

A true desire after God is supreme. We desire Christ, not only more than the world — but more than Heaven! “Whom have I in Heaven but You?” Psalm 73:25. Heaven itself would not satisfy — without Christ. Christ is the diamond in the ring of glory! 

A true desire after God is increasing. A little of God will not satisfy — but the pious soul desires still more. A drop of water is not enough for the thirsty traveler. Though a Christian is thankful for the least degree of grace — yet he is not satisfied with the greatest degree of grace. He still thirsts for more of Christ, and His Spirit. A saint would have more knowledge, more sanctity, more of Christ’s presence. A glimpse of Christ through the lattice of an ordinance is sweet; but the soul will never stop longing — until it sees Him face to face! It desires to have grace perfected in glory! It desires to be wholly plunged into the sweetness of God. We would be swallowed up in God, and be forever bathing ourselves in those perfumed waters of pleasure which run at His right hand!

Surely this sincere desire after God is a blessed sign that the kingdom of grace has come into our hearts. The beating of this pulse shows life! Desires for God — are from God. If iron moves upwards contrary to its nature — it is a sign some magnet has been drawing it. Just so, if the soul moves towards God in sincere desires — it is a sign the magnet of the Spirit has been drawing it!

“He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him.” Psalm 145:19


Father knows best!

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Father knows best!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“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

“Shall we accept good from God — and not trouble?” Job 2:10 
 

Let the Lord do as He wills to us! He will never be unkind to us! He has always been our friend — He will never be our foe! 

He will never put us into the furnace — unless He means to purge the dross out of us. Nor will there be one degree more heat in that furnace than is absolutely necessary — there will always be mercy to balance the misery — and strength supplied to support the burden to be borne.
 

Oh, children of God, your Father knows best! Leave everything in His hands and be at peace — for all is well.
 

“I was silent; I would not open my mouth — for You are the one who has done this!” Psalm 39:9 
 

“He is the LORD; let him do what is good in His eyes!” 1 Samuel 3:18 

“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 LORDI will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” Habakkuk 3:17-18 

This city was a moral cesspool, a sink of pollution, filled with all corruption, and reeking with vileness!

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This city was a moral cesspool, a sink of pollution, filled with all corruption, and reeking with vileness!

(Charles Naylor, “In Christ, and in Ephesus” 1920)

To the saints in Ephesus — the faithful in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 1:1 

Ephesus was one of the great centers of paganism. It was adorned with costly and magnificent heathen temples. It was rich and voluptuous. Both private and public life were utterly corrupt. Even the religious practices of the Ephesians were unspeakably vile. This city was a moral cesspool, a sink of pollution, filled with all corruption, and reeking with vileness! It was a second Sodom. Vice stalked abroad everywhere — and was honored and worshiped.

We might therefore well say, “Can any good thing come out of Ephesus? Can Christianity flourish in such surroundings?” 

Yes! There were saints in Ephesus — and faithful ones, too. They were such in their lives and characters as to win the commendation of that great apostle to the Gentiles. Out of that obnoxious cesspool of iniquity, were growing the pure white lilies of Christian character! That is the glory of Christianity and of Christ. Those who were now Christians were not superior to the other Ephesians — they were not by nature different. In fact, Paul tells them that they had been the children of wrath, even as the others — and that they had been such by nature. What a triumph of divine grace, which raised these people up out of such unspeakable filth — and made them faithful saints! And yet that is the power of our great Christ!

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8


This is too much!

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This is too much!

(Edward Payson, 1783-1827)

Only to be permitted to contemplate such a being as Jehovah . . .
  to ponder goodness, holiness, justice, mercy, patience and sovereignty — personified and condensed;
  to ponder them united with eternity, infinite power, unerring wisdom, omnipresence, and all sufficiency;
  to ponder all these natural and moral perfections indissolubly united and blended in sweet harmony — in one pure, spiritual being, and that being placed on the throne of the universe
 — to ponder this would be happiness enough to fill the mind of any creature in existence! 

But in addition to this, 
  to have this ineffable Being for my God, my portion, my all; 
  to be permitted to say, “This God is my God forever and ever!” 
  to have His resplendent countenance smile upon me;
  to be encircled in His everlasting arms of power and faithfulness and love;
  to hear His voice saying to me, “I am yours — and you are Mine! Nothing shall ever pluck you from My hands, or separate you from My love — but you shall be with Me where I am, behold My glory, and live to reign with Me forever and ever!” 

This is too much! It is honor, it is glory — it is happiness too overwhelming, too transporting for mortal minds to conceive, or for mortal frames to support!

Who are you, O man, to talk back to God?

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Who are you, O man, to talk back to God?

(Thomas Watson, “Body of Divinity“)

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I
 will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
 It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or
 effort, but on God’s mercy.” Romans 9:15-16

God has a sovereign right and authority over man. 
He can do with His creatures as He pleases. Who shall 
dispute with God? Who shall ask Him a reason of His 
doings? “Who are you, O man, to talk back to 
God?
 Shall what is formed say to him who formed 
it—Why did you make me like this?” Romans 9:20

“Our God is in heaven and does whatever He pleases.”
 Psalm 115:3 

“The Lord does whatever He pleases in heaven and
 on earth, in the seas and all the depths.” Psalm 135:6

God sits as judge in the highest court, and is not bound 
to give a reason for His proceedings. “He puts down one, 
and raises up another.” He has salvation and damnation 
in His power. He has the key of justice in His hand, to 
lock up whomever he will, in the fiery prison of hell! And 
He has the key of mercy in His hand, to open heaven’s 
gate to whomever He pleases! The name engraved upon 
His vesture is, “King of kings, and Lord of lords!” He sits 
Lord paramount, and who can call Him to account? The 
world is God’s house, and shall not He do what He
desires in His own house? 

“My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please!”
     Isaiah 46:10

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!”
     Revelation 19:6

A sleeping lion

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A sleeping lion

(Thomas Watson, “Body of Divinity“)

“Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why 
do the treacherous live at ease?” Jeremiah 12:1

Such as are highest in sin—are often highest in 
prosperity. This has led many to question God’s 
justice. Diogenes, seeing a thief live on affluently, 
said, “Surely God has cast off the government of 
the world, and does not care how things go on 
here below.”

How can it be consistent with God’s justice
that the wicked should prosper in the world?

If God lets men prosper a while in their sin—His 
vial of wrath is all this while filling; His sword is 
all this time sharpening. Though God may forbear 
with men a while—yet long forbearance is not
forgiveness. The longer God is in taking His blow, 
the heavier it will be at last! As long as there is 
eternity, God has time enough to reckon with 
His enemies!

God’s justice may be as a sleeping lion—but the 
lion will awake at last, and roar upon the sinner!

“Yes, Lord God Almighty, Your punishments are
 true and just.” Revelation 16:7

The Preciousness of God’s Children

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The Preciousness of God’s Children 
(“The Preciousness of God’s Children” Octavius Winslow) 

Oh, how precious to Jesus is 
  your tear of godly sorrow; 
  your touch of trembling faith; 
  your look of lowly love; 
  your offering of sincere gratitude; 
  your yearning and longing of holy desire! 

So precious to Jesus are you, that 
  His ear is attentive to your faintest cry; 
  His thoughts are never withdrawn from you for a moment; 
  His hand is ever extended to support you. 

You are so precious to Jesus that 
  He sits at the fountain of grace to supply all your need; 
  He bows His shoulder to your heaviest burden; 
  He unveils His heart to your deepest sorrow. 

O believer, do not live without a deep, constant 
realization of your preciousness to Jesus; and 
the depth, tenderness, and constancy of the 
love He bears towards you.  Let your faith grasp 
it, amid the varied phases and changes of your 
Christian course, and it will be as a sweet flowing 
stream gliding and sparkling by your side all 
through the sandy desert, imparting swiftness 
to your feet in travel, strength to your hand in 
labor, nerve to your arm in battle; soothing, 
reviving, and refreshing your spirit when sad, 
faint, and drooping by the way. 

Be assured of your personal place in His 
affections, and your home and sanctuary in 
His heart, and no act of obedience, of love, 
or of service on your part, will be too costly. 

Your love to Him will be the reflection of His 
love to you, proportioned in its degree and 
intensity to the vividness with which His love 
is seen and realized. 

Reader, let your eye see His beauty! 

Bow your heart before His cross! 

Fall at His feet! 

Crown Him Lord and Sovereign of your soul! 

Spiritual Joy!

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Spiritual  Joy! 
 (by Octavius Winslow) 

Spiritual joy is a holy, sensitive plant. 
It shrinks from the rude, ungentle touch; 
from every influence uncongenial with its 
heaven born nature. Watch it with sleepless 
vigilance; shield it with every hallowed defense. 

There are many hostile influences to which 
it is exposed, any one of which will seriously 
injure it. Temptation courted, sin tampered 
with, worldliness indulged, the creature 
idolized, means of grace slighted, Christ 
undervalued. 

Any one of these things will dampen your joy, 
and cause it to shrink, and compel it to retire. 

But nothing will sooner or more effectually 
do this than looking away from the Object 
and Source of joy, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

There is everything in Christ to make you a 
joyful Christian. There is all redundance of 
grace to subdue your corruptions, an 
overflowing sympathy to soothe your sorrows, 
a sovereign efficacy in His blood to cleanse 
your guilt, infinite resources to meet all your 
needs, His ever encircling presence around 
your path, His ceaseless intercession on your 
behalf in heaven. His loving attention of all 
you feel, and fear, and need. 

  Oh, is this not enough to make your heart a 
constant sunshine, and your life a pleasant psalm? 

Fly to the Word of God!

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Fly to the Word of God! 
(from “The Preciousness of God’s Word” by Octavius Winslow) 

As a system of ‘consolation’ Christianity has no equal. No other religion in the wide world touches the hidden springs of the soul, or reaches the lowest depths of human sorrow, but the religion of Christ. 

When your hearts have been overwhelmed, when adversity has wrapped you within its gloomy pall, when the broken billows of grief have swollen and surged around your soul, how have you fled to the Scriptures of truth for succor and support, for guidance and comfort! Nor have you repaired to them in vain. “The God of all comfort” is He who speaks in this Word, and there is no word of comfort like that which He speaks. 

The adaptation of His truth to the varied, the peculiar and personal trials and sorrows of His Church, is one of the strongest proofs of its divinity. Take to the Word of God whatever sorrow you may, go with whatever mental beclouding, with whatever spirit sadness, with whatever heart grief; whatever be its character, its complexion, its depth unsurpassed in the history of human sorrow, there is consolation and support in the Word of God for your 
mind. 

God will not leave you in trouble, but will sustain you in it, will bring you out of, and sanctify you by it, to the endless glory and praise of His great and precious name! 

Christian mourner, let me once more direct your eye too dimmed perhaps by tears to behold this divine source of true, unfailing comfort. God’s Word is the book of the afflicted. Written to unfold the wondrous history of the “Man of Sorrows,” it would seem to have been equally written for you, 0 child of grief! God speaks to your sad and sorrowing heart from every page of this sacred volume, with words of comfort, loving, gentle, and persuasive as a mother’s. “As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you.” 

The Bible is the opening of the heart of God. It is God’s heart unveiled, each throb inviting the mourner, the poor in spirit, the widow, the fatherless, the bereaved, the persecuted, the sufferer, yes, every child of affliction and grief to the asylum and sympathy, the protection and soothing of His heart. Oh, thank God for the comfort and consolation of the Scripture! Open it with what sorrow and burden and perplexity you may, be it the guilt of sin, the pressure of trial, or the corrodings of sorrow, it speaks to the heart such words of comfort as God only could speak. 

Have you ever borne your grief to God’s Word, especially to the experimental Psalms of David, and not felt that it was written for that particular sorrow? You have found your grief more accurately portrayed, your state of mind more truly described, and your case more exactly and fully met, probably in a single history, chapter, or verse, than in all the human treatises that the pen of man ever wrote. 

Fly to the Word of God, then, in every sorrow! You will know more of the mind and heart of God than you, perhaps, ever learned in all the schools before. Draw, then, O child of sorrow, your consolation from God’s Word. Oh, clasp this precious Word of comfort to your sorrowful heart, and exclaim, “It is mine! The Jesus of whom it speaks is mine, the salvation it reveals is mine, the promises it contains are mine, the heaven it unveils is mine, and all the consolation, comfort, and sympathy which wells up from these hidden springs, is MINE.” 
  

He was infinitely happy and glorious without us!

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He was infinitely happy and glorious without us! 

(James Smith, “The Pastor’s Evening Visit”)

“Christ, who loved us!” Romans 8:37

No condition can possibly be more dreary—than to feel that no one loves or cares for us!

There is something peculiarly sweet and pleasant—in being the object of another’s love. Even the love of a poor child is sweet. But to be loved by one who is most wealthy, most exalted in station, and most honorable in character—must be peculiarly delightful!

How, then, should we rejoice; how happy should we be—who are loved by the Lord Jesus! Especially when we consider: 
on the one hand:
  how despicable,
  how poor,
  how worthless, and
  how unlovely WE are! 
And, on the other hand:
  how glorious,
  how wealthy,
  how worthy,
  how lovely JESUS is! 

To be loved by Jesus—is to be preferred before the possession of a world!

Think of . . .
  the glory of His person,
  the vastness of His possessions,
  the number of His angelic attendants,
  the unlimited sovereignty which He exercises, 
  and the excellent character He bears!

Also bear in mind—that He knew what loving us would cost Him—how He would be treated by us and by others—for our sakes! 

Yet He fixed His love upon US! 

He loved US—just because He would!

He passed by others more dignified in nature, more exalted in station—but He chose US!

He did not, could not, NEED us—for He was infinitely happy and glorious without us! 

Yet He loved us! 

He still loves us!

My Father’s eye!

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My Father’s eye!

(James Smith, “The Pastor’s Evening Visit”)

“Your Father—who sees in secret.” Matthew 6:6

Can anyone hide himself from the Lord in secret places? 

Can I, under any circumstances, escape His notice? 

Impossible! 

The eye of God has been fixed upon me every second of this day; it is now at this moment fixed fully upon me. But it is my Father’s eye! My Father sees in secret! 

He sees my needs—and my woes

He sees every secret working of my foes—and will save me from them. 
He sees every secret influence which is likely to injure me—and will prevent it. 

He sees . . .
  the secret workings of my heart,
  my hidden thoughts,
  my unuttered desires,
  my soul conflicts,
  my private temptations. 

But He sees also my secret sins!
Every evil thought
every improper action
every unfitting word
passes under His eye!

Solemn consideration this!

May it make me cautious. May it preserve me. . . 
  from yielding to temptation,
  from nourishing sinful thoughts, and
  from acting inconsistent with my profession. 

My heavenly Father sees me! 

He sees me at this moment!

He sees me every moment!

He sees my most secret motives, thoughts, and purposes!

He who thus sees me—hates every sin with an infinite hatred!


If you meet that poor wretch who thrust his spear into My side!

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If you meet that poor wretch who thrust his spear into My side!

(Benjamin Grosvenor, “The Temper of Jesus Christ towards His Enemies, and His Grace to the Chief of Sinners”)

“Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:47

It is very affecting that the first offers of grace should be made to those who, of all people in the world—had done it the most harm! One would rather have expected the apostles should have received another kind of charge, and that Christ should have said, “Let repentance and forgiveness of sins be preached—but do NOT carry it to Jerusalem, that wicked city, that has been the slaughter-house of my prophets, whom I have often sent. Last of all, I myself, the Son, came—and with wicked hands, they have crucified and murdered Me! They may do the same to you! Do not let the gospel enter those wicked gates, through which they led Me, its Author, to crucifixion!”

But Christ singles out exactly these—to make monuments of His mercy, and commands the first offer of eternal life to be made to them! As if our Lord had said: “Lest the poor house of Israel should think themselves abandoned to eternal despair—as cruel and vile as they have been—go, make the first offer of grace to them! Let those who spilled My blood—be welcome to its healing virtue. Tell them that there is repentance and forgiveness, even for them!”
“Nay, if you meet that poor wretch who thrust his spear into My side, tell him that there is another way, a better way of coming to My heart—even My heart’s love! Tell him, that if he will repent, and look upon Me whom he has pierced, and will mourn—then I will cherish him in that very bosom which he has wounded! Tell him that he shall find the blood which he has shed—to be an ample atonement for the sin of shedding it! And tell him from Me, that he will put Me to more pain and displeasure by refusing this offer of My blood—than when he first drew it forth!”

For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance!” Matthew 9:13

Why Christ offends men

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Why Christ offends men
The following is from Spurgeon’s sermon,
“Unbelievers stumbling; Believers rejoicing”

There are some who stumble at Christ because of his holiness.

He is too strict for them; they would like to be Christians,
but they cannot renounce their sensual pleasures; they
would like to be washed in his blood, but they desire still
to roll in the mire of sin.

Willing enough the mass of men would be to receive Christ,
if, after receiving him, they might continue in their drunkenness,
their wantonness, and self-indulgence. But Christ lays the axe
at the root of the tree; he tells them that these things must be
given up, for “because of these things the wrath of God comes
upon the children of disobedience,” and “without holiness no
man can see the Lord.”

Human nature kicks at this.

“What! May I not enjoy one darling lust? May I not indulge
myself at least now and then in these things? Must I altogether
forsake my old habits and my old ways? Must I be made a
new creature in Christ Jesus?”

These are terms too hard, conditions too severe, and so the
human heart goes back to the flesh pots of Egypt, and clings
to the garlic and the onions of the old estate of bondage, and
will not be set free even though a greater than Moses lifts up
the rod to part the sea, and promises to give to them a Canaan
flowing with milk and honey.

Christ offends men because his gospel is intolerant of sin.

“Spiritual Leadership is not won by

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Spiritual Leadership is not won by
promotion, but by prayers and tears.

It is attained by much heart-searching
and humbling before God; by
self-surrender, a courageous sacrifice
of every idol, a bold uncompromising,
and uncomplaining embracing of the
cross, and by an eternal, unfaltering
looking unto Jesus crucified.

This is a great price, but it must be
unflinchingly paid by him who would
be a real spiritual leader of men, a
leader whose power is recognized
and felt in heaven, on earth and in
hell.”    -Samuel Brengle

WE NEED REVIVAL

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WE NEED REVIVAL
 . . . when we do not love Him as we once did.

 . . . when earthly interests and occupations are
      more important to us than eternal ones.

 . . . when we would rather watch TV and read secular
      books and magazines than read the Bible and pray.

 . . . when church dinners are better attended than prayer meetings.

 . . . when concerts draw bigger crowds than prayer meetings.

 . . . when we have little or no desire for prayer.

 . . . when we would rather make money than give money.

 . . . when we put people into leadership positions in our
      churches who do not meet scriptural qualifications.

 . . . when our Christianity is joyless and passionless.

 . . . when we know truth in our heads that we are not
      practicing in our lives.

 . . . when we make little effort to witness to the lost.

 . . . when we have time for sports, recreation, and
      entertainment, but not for Bible study and prayer.

 . . . when we do not tremble at the Word of God.

 . . . when preaching lacks conviction, confrontation,
      and divine fire and anointing.

 . . . when we seldom think thoughts of eternity.

 . . . when God’s people are more concerned about their
       jobs and their careers, than about the Kingdom
      of Christ and the salvation of the lost.

 . . . when God’s people get together with other believers
      and the conversation is primarily about the
      news, weather, and sports, rather than the Lord.

 . . . when church services are predictable and “business as usual.”

 . . . when believers can be at odds with each other and
      not feel compelled to pursue reconciliation.

 . . . when Christian husbands and wives are not praying together.

 . . . when our marriages are co-existing rather than
      full of the love of Christ.

 . . . when our children are growing up to adopt worldly
      values, secular philosophies, and ungodly lifestyles.

 . . . when we are more concerned about our children’s
      education and their athletic activities than about
      the condition of their souls.

 . . . when sin in the church is pushed under the carpet.

 . . . when known sin is not dealt with through the biblical
      process of discipline and restoration.

 . . . when we tolerate “little” sins of gossip,
      a critical spirit, and lack of love.

 . . . when we will watch things on television and movies that are not holy.

 . . . when our singing is half-hearted and our worship lifeless.

 . . . when our prayers are empty words designed to impress others.

 . . . when our prayers lack fervency.

 . . . when our hearts are cold and our eyes are dry.

 . . . when we aren’t seeing regular evidence of
      the supernatural power of God.

 . . . when we have ceased to weep and mourn and
       grieve over our own sin and the sin of others.

 . . . when we are content to live with explainable,
      ordinary Christianity and church services.

 . . . when we are bored with worship.

 . . . when people have to be entertained to be drawn to church.

 . . . when our music and dress become patterned after the world.

 . . . when we start fitting into and adapting to the world,
      rather than calling the world to adapt to God’s
      standards of holiness.

 . . . when we don’t long for the company and fellowship of God’s people.

 . . . when people have to be begged to give and to serve in the church.

 . . . when our giving is measured and calculated,
      rather than extravagant and sacrificial.

 . . . when we aren’t seeing lost people drawn to Jesus on a regular basis.

 . . . when we aren’t exercising faith and believing God for the impossible.

 . . . when we are more concerned about what others
      think about us than what God thinks about us.

 . . . when we are unmoved by the thought of neighbors,
      business associates, and acquaintances who are
      lost and without Christ.

 . . . when the lost world around us doesn’t know or care that we exist.

 . . . when we are making little or no difference in the secular world around us.

 . . . when the fire has gone out in our hearts, our marriages, and the church.

 . . . when we are blind to the extent of our need and don’t think we need revival.
The above article was by N. L. DeMoss

Losses, adversities, afflictions, griefs!

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Losses, adversities, afflictions, griefs!
The following is from Spurgeon’s sermon, “The Superlative
Excellence of the Holy Spirit”  No. 574.  John 16:7.

The saints of God may very justly reckon
  their losses among their greatest gains.

The adversities of believers minister much to their prosperity.

Although we know this, yet through the infirmity of the flesh
we tremble at soul-enriching afflictions, and dread to see those
black ships which bring us such freights of golden treasure.

When the Holy Spirit sanctifies the furnace, the flame refines
our gold and consumes our dross, yet the dull ore of our nature
likes not the glowing coals, and had rather lie quiet in the dark
mines of earth.

As silly children cry because they are called to drink the
medicine which will heal their sicknesses, even so do we.

Our gracious Savior, however, loves us too wisely to spare
us the trouble because of our childish fears; he foresees the
advantage which will spring from our griefs, and therefore
thrusts us into them out of wisdom and true affection.

The back door to the pit!

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The back door to the pit!
The following is from Spurgeon’s sermon,
“A Hearer in Disguise” No. 584. 1 Kings 14:6.

Many come to God’s house disguised in manner
  and appearance. How good you all look!

When we sing and you take your books, how
heavenly-minded!  And when we pray, how
reverent you are! How your heads are all bowed-
your eyes covered with your hands!  I do not know
how much praying there is when you sit in a devout
posture, though you assume the attitude and compose
your countenance as those who draw near to supplicate
the Lord. I am afraid there are many of you who do not
pray a word or present a petition, though you assume
the posture of suppliants.

When the singing is going on there are many who never
sing a word with the spirit and the understanding.

In the house of God I am afraid there are many who wear
a mask, stand as God’s people stand, sit as they sit, pray
as they pray, and sing as they sing-  and all the while what
are you doing?
Some of you have been attending to your children while
we have been singing tonight. Some of you have been casting
up your ledger, attending to your farms, scheming about your
carpentering and bricklaying; yet all the while if we had looked
into your faces we might have thought you were reverently
worshiping God.

Oh! those solemn faces, and those reverent looks,
  they do not deceive the Most High God!

He knows who and what you are!

He sees you as clearly as men see  through glass.
As for hiding from the Almighty, how can you hide
yourself from him? As well attempt to hide in a glass
case, for all the world is a glass case before God!

When you look into a glass beehive, you can see the bees and
everything they do- such is this world, a sort of glass beehive
in which God can see everything. The eyes of God are on you
continually; no veil of hypocrisy can screen you from him.

It is a melancholy and a most solemn reflection that there are
many who profess to be Christians who are not Christians.

There was a Judas among the twelve; there was a Demas among
the early disciples; and we must always expect to find chaff on
God’s floor mingled with the wheat.

I have tried, the Lord knows, to preach as plainly and as
much home to the mark as I could, to sift and try you; but
for all that the hypocrite will come in. After the most searching
ministry, there are still some who will wrap themselves about
with a ‘mantle of deception’. Though we cry aloud and spare
not, and bid you lay hold on eternal life, yet, alas! how many
are content with a mere name to live and are dead.

Many come here and even hold office in the Church, yes,
the minister himself may even preach the Word, and after
all be hollow and empty. How many who dress and look
fair outside, are only fit to be tinder for the devil’s tinder
box, for they are all dry and empty within!

God save as from a profession if it is not real!

I pray that we may know the worst of our case.
If I must be damned, I would sooner go to hell unholy,
than as a hypocrite- that back-door to the pit is the
thing I dread most of all.

Oh! to sit at the Lord’s table, and to drink of the cup of devils!
To be recognized among God’s own here, and then to find one’s
own name left out when God reads the muster-roll of his servants!

Oh! what a portion for eternity!

I bid you tear off this mask, and if the grace of God is not
in you, I beg you to go into the world which is your fit place,
and abstain from joining the Church, if you are not really a
member of the body of Christ.

“You, God, see me!”
Write that on the palm of your hand, and look
at it; wake up in the morning with it; sleep with it
before you on your curtains.

“You, God, see me!”

Believers err in many things, fall

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Believers err in many things, fall
in many ways, and sin is mixed with
all they do; but in the tenor of their
lives all believers are faithful, seeking
the will and glory of God in all things
and above all things.
As we become increasingly aware of our
personal sinfulness and corruption, as
we are humbled by the depravity of our
hearts,  nothing is more comforting,
cheerful, and reassuring to God’s  saints,
than the knowledge of the fact that in
the eyes of Christ  we stand perfect in the
beauty of his righteousness, the beauty
 which he has put upon us.
     -Don Fortner

Avenge his death!

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Avenge his death!
The following is from Spurgeon’s sermon,
“For Christ’s Sake.” No. 614  Eph. 4:32.

One of the first things which every Christian should feel
bound to do “for Christ’s sake” is to avenge his death.
“Avenge his death,” says one, “upon whom?”
Upon his murderers. And who were they? Our sins! Our sins?
“Each of our sins became a nail, and unbelief the spear.”

The very thought of sin having put Jesus to death should
make the Christian hate it with a terrible hatred. When I
recollect that my sins tore my Savior’s body on the tree,
took the crown from his head, and the comfort from his
heart, and sent him down into the shades of death, I vow
revenge against them.

“O sin! Happy shall he be who takes your little
     ones and dashes them against a stone!”

Yes, doubly blessed is he who, like Samuel, shall hew
the Agag of his sins in pieces before the Lord, and not
spare so much as one single fault, or folly, or vice,
because it slew the Savior.

Be holy, be pure, be just, be separate 
from sinners for Christ’s sake.

“See from his head, his hands, his feet,
 Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
 Did ever such love and sorrow meet,
 Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

 His dying crimson, like a robe,
 Spreads over his body on the tree;
 Then am I dead to all the globe,
 And all the globe is dead to me.

 Were the whole realm of nature mine,
 That were a present far too small;
 Love so amazing, so divine,
 Demands my soul, my life, my all.”

SIN

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SIN
The following is from Spurgeon’s sermon,
“The Smoke of Their Torments”
No. 602.  Genesis 19:27, 28.

See the blackness of your sin by the light of hell’s fire!

Hell is the true harvest of the sowing of iniquity.

Come, lost sinner, I charge you to look at hell–
  Hell is what sin brings forth.
  Hell is the full-grown child.
  You have dandled your sin.
  You have kissed and fondled it.
  But see what sin comes to.
  Hell is but sin full-grown, that is all.

You played with that young lion; see how it roars and how
it tears in pieces now that it has come to its strength.

Did you not smile at the azure scales of the serpent?
See its poison; see to what its stings have brought those
who have never looked to the brazen serpent for healing.

Do you account of sin as a peccadillo, a flaw
scarcely to be noticed, a mere joke, a piece of fun?
But see the tree which springs from it.
There is no joke there- no fun in hell.

You did not know that sin was so evil.
Some of you will never know how evil it is until the
sweetness of honey has passed from your mouth,
and the bitterness of death preys at your vitals.

You will count sin harmless until you
are hopelessly stricken with its sting!

My God, from this day forward help me to see through the
thin curtain which covers up sin, and whenever Satan tells
me that such-and-such a thing is for my pleasure, let me
recollect the pain of that penalty wrapped up in it. When
he tells me that such a thing is for my profit, let me know
that it can never profit me to gain the whole world and lose
my own soul. Let me feel it is no sport to sin, for only a
madman would scatter firebrands and death, and say it is sport.